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Baby Boy Harris Is Here

Posted by Rachel's brother Brian:

Josh and Rachel are atill stubbornly discussing the name and promise to have the perfect name soon, once Rachel is able to hold her baby boy. He was 7lbs 6oz and 19 inches long, born at 5:57pm Thanksgiving Day. He seems to be doing good and hasn't needed any machine assistance so far. They are still observing and assessing his abilities in the NICU. Rachel is still recovering and asks for visitors to hold off at least one more day, especially since only parents and grandparents are allowed to visit the NICU at this time due to flu season. Their baby is a wonderful reminder to everyone to be grateful for everything they have. Josh and Rachel definitely feel blessed. Please include Baby Boy Harris in your family prayers of Thanksgiving this week.

Princess Robot

My brain is not rotten....

As I sit here on bedrest all day watching hours of crappy t.v. and feel like my brain has turned to mush, I am very, very happy to find out today that I was on the Dean's List for my first year of law school grades. That makes me like this -----> :o)

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Five years ago, I was in labor while Josh's whole family was singing happy birthday to him and he blew out the candles - in my labor & delivery room at the hospital! Josh just kept saying to keep her in there until after midnight so they wouldn't share their birthday. Well, at 1:36 am Madeline London Harris was born. We called her Miracle Maddie because of all the medical issues we went through to get her here healthy and alive, and I still feel like she is an absolute miracle.

My sister-in-law, Candace, was kind enough to bring cupcakes to Maddie's preschool class for her birthday party since I am stuck in bed. Here she is eating her cupcake with her cousin, Cole, in her classroom.

Then that night she had nine little friends go to the Color Me Mine studio where they picked out what they wanted to paint....

Then we all walked across the parking lot to the Little Pastry Chef Bakery where they made their own pizza....

And decorated their own cakes....

And then Maddie got to blow out her candle and make a wish. (Something about wanting wings like a fairy so she could fly.) And when we got home she opened her present from mom and dad - her own sewing machine!! (For anyone who thinks she is too young, you obviously don't know Maddie very well!) And then, we totally got shown up by Grandpa Rick's birthday present - pet frogs! Only a grandpa can give a present like live pets and get away with it!!!

(I didn't include pictures of any of the kids from the party because a friend of mine who has a private blog said it wasn't appropriate to put other kids' pictures on a non-private blog. I totally respect that, but what do other parents think?)

Happy Birthday Josh!

This last weekend Josh turned 31, and is as handsome as ever!

I threw a last minute surprise family & friend BBQ. I hadn't planned anything because I didn't know if I would be stuck in a hospital for his birthday, so that morning I woke up and text messaged everyone's phone number that I had and invited them over to celebrate. Here is the birthday boy BBQing with a few of his friends.

And I sat on the couch and only got up a few times. (I know, I know, my stomach got massive.) By the end of the night I was EXHAUSTED and contracting. Family and friends are great to have over for birthday parties, both to help celebrate and to help with the clean up!

Trick or Treat!!

Maddie looking gorgeous on her picture day at school.

Maddie looking slight tranny on her Halloween party day at school.

Thank goodness for Grandma, who filled in for me at the Halloween party at Maddie's preschool. I was supposed to be in charge of the lollipop ghosts, but Grandma Piggy did a fine job of replacing me.

Due to my ridiculous bedrest and trips to the hospital, my mom offered to take Maddie up to Utah to trick or treat with cousins. I was pretty sad because Halloween and trick or treating with Maddie is a big deal to me, but it turned out to be a good thing since I was hooked to an IV on Halloween. Here she is with her "twin" cousin, and they are gorgeous princesses.

The whole group of cousins. Trick or Treat!

And they even got to squeeze in a grandma sewing class. I still don't know how mothers do it without having their own mothers around. Grandmas are a blessing!