Rebekah Jane Miller

At 2:01 pm on November 23rd, we were blessed to have Rebekah Jane Miller join our family at long last. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 11 oz. (1 oz. lighter than Alex), and measured 21 1/4 inches long (a little longer than Alex). She currently has brown hair and we think blue eyes (of course) and is gorgeous. Her skin is soft and pink. Her hands and feet are huge, and her fingers and toes are long.

She sticks out her bottom lip just before she gives her little cry, but she doesn't cry often--not even during her shot, glucose checks, and bath. She opened her eyes almost right away and peacefully looked around. When she sleeps she makes little random peeps and wimpers--you can tell I'm already smitten, and I don't think its going to get any better.

And of course . . . pictures!

Here's Heidi enjoying labor--really, an epidural is magical. Having gone natural with Alex, Heidi has a special appreciation for this wonder of medical science:

Joseph in labor? I'm not sure. Maybe this is my reaction to being sidelined as breathing coach by the epidural or the realization that I'm going to be a father of two:

Okay, I know that the following pictures are what you really came to our blog to see:

She was quick to find her thumb:

I know what you're asking . . . yes, she really is this beautiful--no trick photography:

Before baby Rebekah came, we felt like someone was missing. But when she came and Alex was home with Grandma, we felt that our family was incomplete. We both missed Alex a lot yesterday. We were so excited when he came. It was nice that he got to be there before we were even out of the delivery room. We wanted him to be a part of this. These are two of my favorite pictures of the day, because our little family is all together:

At first, Alex didn't know what to do, but he softly stroked her hair and gave her a gentle kiss on the head. Grandma and I are watching Alex's reaction to his new sister:

And of course, Mommy is well and so happy to have Rebekah in her arms and not in her belly anymore. It's easy to see why Rebekah is so beautiful--just look at her mom:

Here's Rebekah awake, well-fed, and happy:

Content after a feeding:

Sleeping peacefully:

So, what does Alex do when Mommy and Daddy are at the hospital? He loves life with Grandma:

For those of you who thought we were going to name the baby Jane Caroline, we were. I don't think that mothers feel this way very often, but Heidi looked at her and felt that we should use another name we'd been considering: Rebekah. The name is Hebrew for "bound," which makes us think of Rebekah of the Old Testament, who was so faithful in keeping her covenants with the Lord and her family. We are keeping the name Jane as a middle name, after Heidi's mom, who is also a wonderful example of the same quality.

Thank you Dr. Hunter, Jen the resident, and Connie the nurse.