our daughter arrives!

we are thrilled to announce the arrival of our baby, virginia hanson rodriguez! she was born on december 28, 2008 at 11:26 p.m., weighing 7 lbs. 6 oz.

she is named after my very dear and beloved grandmother, Grandma Reis.

the birth was amazing! it all happened incredibly quickly, but we got our wish to have a natural birth at the birth center. it was awesome to be in such a nurturing and peaceful environment. i especially loved that they did not interfere with us as a new family or take virginia away for any tests or anything. we all had a chance to get to know each other uninterrupted and it was beautiful. the birth center puts photos of all the babies born there on their website, which you can check out here.

virginia is a very healthy and gorgeous baby and greg and i have totally fallen for her. she has already changed so much in just a few days.

we are finding that we have very little time to do anything other than take care of her and ourselves and that is why it took me so long to get online to post this. no matter how often you hear that being the parents of a newborn leaves you sleep-deprived and without spare time, it just is hard to fathom until you experience it (or least it has been for me). so thank you for all the emails and please know that we are thinking of you even if we can't find the time to call or email just yet.

but even though we are busy, we are in a blissful state and just having a blast taking care of our daughter.


here are some photos:


















just minutes after the birth




















at the birth center
















getting to know her dad

















curious

















playtime

















nap with dad

















getting comfortable after nursing





















post-breast bliss