Introducing...Rosemary

Day 1:

Don't let those round cheeks fool you.  She's our littlest yet, weighing only 6 pounds 14 ounces and just 19 inches.  I elected to be induced four days before my due date. The birth was amazing.  I asked for my epidural about twenty minutes too late.  Two or three contractions after I was hooked up, she was ready to come.  In just a few pushes she was out.  Seriously intense pain, but very, very quick.

Tim held for a few moments so we could snap a picture.  Carolina held on tight and cried when she had to leave for home.  Joe had nothing to do with her.  I still don't have a picture of the two of them together.

Day 2:

Some of the worst pictures ever of me are in the hospital following a delivery.  I don't love this picture, but it's the best of all four deliveries, so I can actually post it.  I'd really like to permanently delete all the rest from my computer.

Day 3:

Day 4:

Day 18:

I totally know that newborns can't smile, but this one smiles A LOT.  It's rare for a newborn to cry real tears, but she had a couple of crocodile tears the other day when she woke up hungry and I was outside for a few minutes.  Way to make your mama tear up, girl!

I had a moment of enlightenment today.  Every one of the girl names in our little family comes from Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I knew I was a big fan as a girl, but this is ridiculous.
Our names:
Laura Elizabeth
Carolina Grace
Rosemary Elizabeth

Her names:
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder
mother and sister: Caroline
sister: Mary
sister: Grace
daughter: Rose

Ben said that it sure was a coincidence.  I'm not so sure...