Luke Ryan McIntosh is here!

He was born today at 3:34 pm and is 8 lbs 3 oz and 21 inches long. Mom and baby are healthly and doing well. He is the 5th grandchild for my mom and dad and the 3rd this year alone! He is just precious and looks a lot like his big sister Ally did as a newborn.

Ally was just giddy with excitment. And me- thrilled to be an aunt again!

And finally "The BOYS". They are finally starting to catch up in number but we will still always be the boss of them.

A funny story about Grace while we were at the hospital. She had an up the back poop and the incredibly sweet labor and delivery nurse offered to change her. While she was doing so another labor and delivery nurse walked by and was like "dear god you scared me, I thought she just came out of someone". She about had a heart attack, it was hilarious. Can you imagine, a 15 pound newborn? Yikes- LOL.

Congrats to Scott and Nicki on your sweet baby boy! We love you!

Ho Ho Ho

Adam was pretty sure this was child abuse. Thursday night Grace went to see Santa for the first time at Westwood mall. We walked up and Santa greeted us at the gate. I said I wasn't sure if she would be afraid of him or not and Adam assured me that this kid ain't afraid of anything. And she wasn't! We put her on his lap and she looked at him like who in the hell are you? And then she proceeded to grab his beard (real, by the way) and not let go for the rest of the pictures. I wish I would have got one of her looking at him with his beard in her hand. Priceless. Here is a shot of her when she is still like, "who is this guy and why are you letting him hold me"...... Both of the looks on their faces crack me up.

I did manage to get one decent shot. They let you take your own now and don't make you buy the stupid computer generated ones which is nice.

I'm not sure what she told him she wanted for Christmas. I'm just glad she didn't poop or throw up on his Santa suit.

30 Things I Learned From Being a Mom

I took most of this from babycenter.com and thought it rang so true. My favorite is # 15.

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.
3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
4. You respect your body for what is able to produce.
5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.
8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.
9. Your heart breaks much more easily.
10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
11. Every day is a surprise.
12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
14. You become a morning person.
15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.
16. You discover how much there is to say about one tooth.
17. You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth.
18. You now know where the sun comes from.
19. You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have.
20. You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers
21. You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night
22. Silence? What's that?"
23. You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having.
24. You discover an inner strength you never thought you had
25. You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule.
26. You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one.
27. Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog.
28. You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late.
29. You learn that taking a shower is a luxury
30. You realize that you can love a complete stranger

Busy Busy Busy

Grace on the go with Mama!

My dad and Adam looking down on the little people from our suite at the Michigan State Hockey game Saturday. My mom and dad bid on tickets for the game and won. Scott and Nicki & Joel and Katie joined us for the game. It was awesome up there. Great seats, drinks, and your own personal waiter. Livin' the high life! The defending national champion Spartans won 3-1. Nicki is 37 weeks preggers so she was quite uncomfortable but safe as we were sharing the suite with Dr. Nassar and his wife Stephanie who is a PA just in case anything happened.

Today we went to Evan's baptism in GR. Mark and Laura asked us to be Godparents which we were honored to do. Evan is 8 days older than Grace but so much bigger! I would have pics to post but my stupid camera battery died. He & Grace have the same excersaucer and he can stand up in it flat footed while our munchkin baby can barely touch her toes- LOL. It is going to be so fun watching them grow up together. At the baptism, Evan and Grace were mesmerized by each other and were growling and gurgling at one another. Yes, that's right, Grace's new thing is to growl. Hilarious, which of course makes us laugh and eggs her on. Lord help us. I am working on getting this on video and will post it later.

Rub a Dub-Dub...

...It's Gracie in the tub! She is getting so big, I swear it looks like she is going to get up and get out of the tub by herself. Daddy is in charge of bathtime and she LOVES it. She talks and gurgles and splashes. Oh my Chunky Monkey.

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

When I was little my mom always sang that song the first time it snowed- even if it was October. We would all roll our eyes at her but now I find myself humming it this time of year. We got a few inches of snow today so I took a picture of our house all decked out for Christmas. We went with a different setup this year, no "stupid icicle" lights. Every year Adam goes out and pays $2 for a shit-ton of those things and then gets all pissed off when half the strand goes out in two days. So, I was in charge this year. I think it turned out rather nice if I don't say so myself. AND being that there are no lights on the treacherous peak maybe we can take them down before March this year :)

It's a brave new world.

So I have decided to start a blog to keep up with friends and family. I have been inspired by many "great bloggers" and hope that my blog can too be a place to share thoughts, feelings, stories, and pictures from my life. To get me started check out this Christmas Greeting from the Dawsons (except poor Sydney- there were only 4 elves).

Please leave a comment so I know you stopped by.

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