Welcome Baby Emily!

We (Beth and the kids) got together with my Mom and Dad this past weekend to celebrate Christmas a little early. My brother and his wife were expecting baby number 2 any time, and we decided to celebrate early to give them the flexibility to visit the new baby whenever he/she arrived. We joked that now they could haul out of town first thing Monday morning. Sunday evening that joke turned prophetic. Mike and Betty Ann were on their way to hospital around 9pm, and by 10:40, they had a new baby, and I had a new niece, Emily! Beth went a step further and surprised me with a quick trip to D.C. to visit my nephew and new niece.

Aidan was very eager to show off his new sister "Em-muhl'" to me. He was also quite the proud little brother holding his little sis.


I of course didn't waste too much time getting the chance to hold my little niece. I may have been a bit of a baby hog, but I was only there for a 1 day visit after all. :-)


I did however have to find some time to play with Aidan and learn all about his fascination with trains. So Mom, Grandpa, and Grandma all got their turns holding the newest addition to the clan.




First things first, I helped Aidan pick out an outfit for the day and got him dressed. He loved his bear shirt, so it was a quick choice:


From there, it was an afternoon of playing trains and racquetball with the robot claw.


While I was there, Mike and BA were happy to be able to put me to work helping bring the holidays to life. We got their TV mounted back on the wall, and then took an extended family trip to pick out a Christmas tree. Aidan and I walked around and supervised the selection process while Mike and BA picked out the perfect tree. A little living room rearranging and presto, the perfect tree was ready for Christmas decorating to begin...


I had a fantastic time visiting and it was wonderful to see my brand new niece. I look forward to visiting again soon, and I know that Beth and the kids are eager to get their hands on the newest member of the family.

Lots more pictures out on Picasa, so be sure to look around and see the great shots of the kiddos!

From Emily arrives