Rachels

My sister (technically in-law, but, whatever...I consider her the biological sister I never had) and her kids spent the summer in Baltimore to be with my brother as he traveled there for his work. They unfortunately missed the birth, and so I was quite anxious for everyone to see the baby, but especially for these two to finally meet...this was the first time that Aunt Rachel got to meet her namesake baby niece. These two are some pretty special ladies to me-I couldn't wait to get a picture of them together. Waiting 7 weeks for them to meet felt like an eternity! We are so happy they are back safe and sound with us where they belong!

Lego Master and Wall-E

My 5 year old is a Lego master. He makes some of the most incredible things ever with his Legos. He just makes up the design and builds them from spare parts. Some of my favorite things he has built were the Wall-E and Eva.

These photos don't really do these creations justice, but you get the general idea. This kid amazes me!

Practical

I remember being a first-time mom, and someone teasingly brought up the notion of putting a newborn baby in a laundry basket...I remember feeling appalled, as if that would be some sort of insult to the baby or something. Now that I have a little more experience under my belt, I have decided that it is just plain practical! She likes it, it's cheap, it's portable, and it actually looks pretty comfy and cozy to me! Hooray for practicality winning out!

Sisters

These two are so lucky...I grew up with only brothers, and didn't know anything about sisters until my brother got married (then I got the best sister ever!) But these two will always have each other- I sure hope they appreciate it. (And for you geneticists out there- is it possible to have a child with blue eyes if neither parent has blue eyes? Both Marshall's dad and my dad have blue eyes- could that skip a generation? Perhaps this is just baby blue and they will change to brown or something in a few months. I don't know though- they look quite blue to me!) We just love our beautiful girls!

Baby Rachel's One Week Photos

We had some fun newborn pics taken of our little Rachel. A local photographer named Parker Grimes came to our home for the shoot on Rachel's one week birthday. We are all adjusting quite well to our new addition. The kids absolutely adore her, and are so sweet and gentle with her. There have definitely been some hectic moments and I occasionally feel like I need a clone of myself to get everything done, and especially to have enough time to spend with the other kids, but luckily for me I have had lots of help from family and friends, and so the transition hasn't been too hard. (It also helps to know from experience that things won't be this crazy forever!) I know things will settle down eventually, and that helps me to enjoy the moment better. We have been very blessed with meals being brought in, thoughtful gifts, people offering to help with the other kids, and my mom (as usual) has been so awesome to come and help with whatever I need whenever I need it. She is so amazing! I hope I can be like her someday. We are just loving our sweet little redhead girl and are so thankful to have her in our family. Enjoy the pictures.

(The files are so big that Blogger was having a hard time uploading them, so you will have to settle for a link instead.)

http://photos.pagrimes.com/p719478546

Bubba-Bot!

Drew is taking advantage of the fact that we are a diaper family once again...no sense in throwing away a perfectly good big box, right? He had a vision of the potential of this box, and good old dad helped him bring his vision to life. He is so excited about it- he wanted to make sure I took pictures of all 4 sides, and has big plans to wear it for Halloween. (We'll see if it lasts that long though.) He is such a creative and funny kid. He really is very artistic- he has set up an art studio in our front entryway and draws and colors there all day long. I have stacks and stacks upon piles of his artwork. How am I going to find the heart to get rid of them someday? I love this kid so much!

I love the personal touches on the mask...
He drew robots on the sides...

..and back.

So funny!

I love my Bubba-Bot!!!

Introducing...

Rachel Abby Chamberlain
June 19th, 2010
4:55 a.m
7 lbs. 12 oz. - 19 1/2 in.

We are so happy to announce the birth of our beautiful daughter! We had been planning on an unmedicated birth, which was a good thing because she was so excited to join our family that she couldn't even wait until we got to the hospital. Little Rachel was delivered at home on Saturday morning and thankfully the delivery was very fast and uncomplicated- baby was perfectly healthy and safe. After a short ambulance ride and one night in the hospital, we returned home Sunday morning in time to celebrate Father's Day together. Her middle name is Abby, because she entered this world in her home on Abby Way. We feel extremely blessed, and everyone is doing great!