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Welcome to the world, Baby Girl



The arrival of Violet Louise on November 5th completed our family!

The name Violet was on our short list of naming possibilities, but rose to the top after Grayson's class recommended it blindly. Louise is the pet name my Grandpa Wright gave to me, and it makes me smile to hear people call my little daughter by the same.

More favorite memories:
The epidural paperwork asking if there was a chance I may be pregnant, and then offering to kiss the anesthesiologist when it finally kicked in.

Rushing to pause the raunchy parts of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Weeds" every time a doctor or nurse came into the labor room.

Telling the nurse I was afraid the epidural was wearing off. She took a quick peek and said, "Oops, nope that's the babies head." And then literally laughing the baby out to the Beatles song "Yesterday."

Julie rushing into the room just 5 seconds too late.

Calling Grayson's classroom to announce the birth. When he heard it was a sister, he said "Awww, Shoot." And every girl in the class started screaming. We had the conversation on speakerphone and the doctors and nurses all belly laughed.

Robbie bawling for joy for three days straight.

Grayson saying in the hospital that "she is so beautiful it hurts my eyes" and "the only problem is that I just love her too much."

Lucie giving me her new baby doll in what she deemed was a fair exchange for Violet, and then bawling as she left the hospital after the initial introduction, "But my want to keep her!"

The new baby doll being bigger than Violet.

Lucie chuckling as she watched Violet nurse for the first time. "Huh, huh. Dat baby chewing on your boob! Dat baby not chew on my boob?" She has since changed her mind and frequently walks around the house topless offering to nurse people and things.

The absolute chaos of having all five of us in that tiny hospital room trying to eat a pizza dinner on the bed, the children pushing every button, climbing in the incubator, threatening to harm the baby and disrupt the other patients. And Rob and I looking at each other above it all and wondering what the heck we have done.

Watching the sunrise for the first time with her in our arms while the Foo Fighters sang "Hands on A Miracle."

Staying up until 2:30am trying to pick-out the perfect name. Evelyn? Elise? Camille?

Picking Violet up from the nursery one evening, and nurses had all the newborns lined up in their incubators wearing matching crocheted hats from their senior volunteers. The edges looked like flower petals on Violet's tiny head.

When visitors ooh and aah over Violet, Lucie tells them, "You should get one. They are at the hospital. Just look in the window and pick one out. You should pick a boy."

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