So, we had a baby...

...this little bundle. Ann Steele Rice, born July 7 at 12:11 p.m., weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces.

She was our littlest baby, but as she was born about 10 days early via scheduled c-section (NOT my preferred way to have babies, but it turns out that's how I roll), it makes sense.

This is Annie at five and a half weeks, sleeping soundly, tucked in my arms.

This is us, six weeks ago at the WONDERFUL Rumford Hospital (I love their maternity unit - the doctors and NURSES are the best!).
But let's back up about 20 or so hours. The night before Annie was scheduled to be born, Owen and Marci were married in Rockport, about two hours away from Rumford. Hmm. How very convenient for us! But, the doctors were pretty insistent that July 7 was the day to have the baby, for a number of reasons I won't go into here. It did make sense, really. So, we partied down at the wedding for a few hours (I say "partied down" but let's remember I was nearly nine months pregnant and we had our other four children with us, so "partying" is used loosely here) and then headed back to my parents' house for some sleep. The wedding was so lovely and we were SO glad that it all worked out to attend!

Thursday morning, bright and early, Curtis and I drove to Rumford Hospital to finally welcome our last little baby.

One of the good things about having Annie the day after the wedding was that all the family was in town, so everyone got to see the little moppet before heading back to their various homes in New York City, Vermont, Utah or Oklahoma.

Dear Aunt Mary!

Loving this new baby HARD!

And loving mom a bit, too.

Aunt Gwennie!

Rice kids running wild in the hospital...the hospital staff was so wonderful to us, even when our kids ate every available snack and drank every orange juice they could find! (Too bad we're not going to be giving them any more business in the baby department...Annie is officially our caboose.)
I do believe I must have been on a lot of pain pills to allow Betty anywhere near my stomach at this point - !!!!!!!!!

Speaking of that Betty, oh BOY does she love her sister! Sometimes a little too much...

The three weeks following Annie's birth were a bit of a blur for me. I was having a tough time recovering but thank heaven for Curtis's mom, Lorna, and our niece, Michaela, who came out from California for three weeks to help! I have to find some pictures of them and post them next - I wasn't taking many pictures during that time (shame on me!) and don't know if there are any floating around on my computer here.

But I do know the kids had LOTS of fun with Grandma and Michaela here, and also with their cousin Kaylee, who came for a few days.

We (along with most of the rest of the country) had some HOT weather. The sprinkler was much loved.

We also had a new picnic table to enjoy. Curtis finished it so it's not splinter-y and we've had some lovely meals on it!

So, that's the update - xoxo to all!