And my personal favorite:

Kate made it clear that she was finished posing for the day.

Kate's First Photo Session

Kate was not very cooperative. She didn't cry, but she kept flailing her arms about, scratching her face, and making very odd expressions....she kept acting like a newborn! But, I got a good shot for her birth announcement, so she is off the hook for a while. I'm not posting it here, so you all will have to wait to see it on her announcement.

My Girls

I can't believe I am blessed enough to have two daughters! Aren't they beautiful?

As most everyone knows....

Kate McKenna Jones arrived four weeks early on July 16th! She was 5 lbs, 6 oz and was 18 1/2" long. She has lots of brown hair and looks similar to Claire. So far she has been a good baby, but is starting to kinda "wake up" and has been a little fussier lately.

We are praising God for her safe arrival. Her delivery and how it came about was really a miracle. I had a quack for a Dr. who was trying desperately to get me to 39 weeks for some reason. She was doing things to keep me from labor when the baby needed to be delivered due to low amniotic fluid. When this was discovered (not by the Dr. but by a Nurse Practitioner that we are extremely grateful for) she was delivered immediately.

Sam and Claire are very happy with their new sister, although the "new" has worn off a bit. Claire still asks to hold her all the time. However, Sam asked to hold her the other day and I told him to go wash his hands and he decided it wasn't worth it if he had to do that.

Claire's 2nd Recital

Claire's recital was Saturday night. She looked beautiful and we loved watching her perform. She seemed a little more apprehensive than last year. At intermission Granny Deborah helped me get her changed (with not much time allowed to do it) and Claire was not happy. Her costume itched, and she grumpily went off with her group as they left to go line up. Deborah and I looked at each other like, "Hmmm, this could be interesting." I was really worried that she was about to have a melt-down on stage, especially because their group was 7th to dance...that's a long time to stew over your circumstances when you are 4 years old. But, she came out and did her dance and looked happy toward the end. HOWEVER, they had to wait to change until after the finale where they came back on stage to bow. By then her eyes were red from crying and her lip was pretty much out. I can't blame her. It was 8:30 or later, she was itchy, and she was finished with the whole idea. But, she did what she was supposed to without crying on stage. I rushed back to get her changed and by then she was crying. But, once changed she was happy, and we gave her a flower and candy bouquet and promised ice cream on the way home. So, she perked up and never mentioned her disgruntled behavior. I think it was entirely too late for that age kids. I hope next year she performs at the 10:00 AM show!

Baby Shower

Friday night Mary, Tracie, and Susan gave me a "surprise" shower. It was supposed to be a surprise, but when I was put on bedrest they had to tell me about it so that I would show up! We had a great time with a fun "guess what's in the diaper" game, awesome food, gifts, and laughter. Claire enjoyed helping me open gifts, and I think she would like to claim a few for herself. Daddy and Sam went to Chuck E. Cheese's, so we all had a fun night.

Wedding shots

Here are some shots of the kids getting ready and all dressed up for the wedding. As you can see, Sam was very pleased with himself. There's also a shot of all of the 1st cousins. It was the first time we have all been together in a long time.