Happy Thanksgiving

Miranda and Papa (Notre Dame)

Lil' Notre Dame Fan
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

I was going through old pics of Miranda and came across this one of her and Papa, similar to the one of Dan and Johnny. She is about 3 weeks old here. Ya know we aren't just fair weather fans.

Go Irish!

Go Irish!
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Check Your Newsstand!

Announcement

Announcement
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Click on the picture, then click "dandeelines photostream" (to the right of the picture) to see our latest batch.

A Gift from Brother

Pooh Bear!
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

We got Miranda a stuffed Winnie the Pooh to give her in the hospital as a gift from her brother. She really liked it and my mom says she's been toting it around the apartment; dressing it, diapering it, and sleeping with it. I think this smile says it all...she loves "Booh".

Mmm....Animal Crackers....

Mmm....Animal Crackers....
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Oooo...Baby!

Oooo...Baby!
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Miranda and Grandma had a good visit with Johnny yesterday. Miranda really exclaimed when she came into the room. She was a little concerned about the band-aide on my arm where they had just removed my IV (I was really glad that wasn't in when she came!), but we got rid of that and then she enjoyed sitting with Mommy on the bed eating her box of animal crackers. She didn't pay too much attention to her new little brother after the initial wow, probably because she was just glad to be with Mommy and Daddy and because her surroundings were different...oh, and did I mention the chocolate shake she was sharing with me?

It's hard to tell how well she is connecting the dots, but I have a feeling that she understands more than we give her credit. When Dan walked them out and was putting Miranda in the van she said, "Bye, bye, Mama...bye, bye, baby, Mama". Not only does that break my heart, but it shows something may be clicking. I'm really looking forward to being all together at home!

John Daniel

Johnny2
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

He's here!!! We are so thrilled. Everything went great! He was born at 1:26pm. Weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. and 20 inches long. We'll write more details later, but wanted to get some pictures up, so you all could see him too. Thank you everyone for your prayers. Big sister Miranda is on her way to see her little brother for the first time.

Quick note about the name. We picked John because we like the meaning, "God is Gracious" and Dan's grandpa's first name is John. He is an inspiration to us and we look forward to telling little Johnny the stories of Dan's grandpa's life and the sacrifices he made for the Gospel. Dan's grandparents were career missionaries in India for those who don't know.

11:00

Epidural is in. Water broken, it shouldn't be long now!

Checked In

Well, it's almost 7:00 and we're already checked in! Up since 4:00, it was a short night--and we didn't sleep too well because we're so excited!

Home Stretch

Sitting in Grass
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Welp, these very well may be some of the last prego shots. If the little guy doesn't come this weekend we are all set to have an induction Monday morning. We are really looking forward to picking my mom up from the airport tomorrow. The bassinet came tonight and Miranda was quite the little helper putting it together. She is in love with it, so we'll have to set some pretty strict ground rules...like no throwing your toys in it and no attempting to push it around--basically, "no touching." But I have no doubt she'll be an "involved" big sister. We'll keep y'all posted!

The Four of Us

The Four of Us
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

"This Way Mommy!"

"This Way Mommy!"
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Fall Festival

Out of Africa2
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Our church had a Fall Festival/Trunk or Treat on Halloween. People lined up their cars and passed out candy from their trunks. There was a bounce house and a big inflated slide. Miranda was a giraffe and I wore my African dress that Dan got for me in Nigeria. Dan was working so he wasn't able to complete the ensemble. More pictures of all the fun in Flickr if you click on any of the pictures.

Top of the Slide, Getting Ready!

Top of the Slide, Getting Ready!
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Eating Smarties, Yum!

Eating Smarties, Yum!
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Happy Giraffe

Happy Miranda
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Chatting with the Lone Ranger

Giraffe Profile
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

I love this pic because you can't even really see her face. She sat here with John Gram for a long time. They've bonded...He's the one who babysat her solo when she had the poop explosion of her life and he'd never changed a diaper before, enough said.