February visits

We were lucky enough to get several visitors in February. My sister, Kelley, came with her daughter, Zoe, for a long weekend. We had a wonderful time. Zoe was very excited to finally meet Rachael, and, as always, the older cousins had tons of fun playing together.

My brother, Dan, also came for a couple days. He looked great holding Rachael, though there are no pictures to prove it. Brittany, Alex and Nate were super excited to see Uncle Dan. He is always willing to throw them around and give piggy-back rides. What more could a kid want?

NEW Rachael Pic... for Skeeter

Here is Rachael TODAY, Skeeter... well, the middle pic with Alex was three days ago. The rest should be "fresh" enough for everyone... even Skeet on his 111th Birthday :)

January

Here is a rundown of January...we seem to be a bit behind!

Andy's mom came to visit for 10 days after my mom left. She was a huge help! It is always nice to have an extra set of hands with the kids, and the joy of the kitchen always being clean is hard to beat...though the joy of the laundry magically getting folded is a close second. It was wonderful having her here.

Nathan turned 5 on January 6th. We celebrated here at the house with Grandma. He also had a bowling party with his friends, but I forgot to take the camera with me. Oops!

Alex participated in his first Pinewood Derby. He had an awesome time. We also learned some valuable lessons for next year...for instance, this is not a project to start the day before the race.

On January 30th Brittany had a birthday party. (She turned 9 on February 1st.) She had three of her friends over for a slumber party. I wish we could have gotten a video of all of them dancing and singing to High School Musical. It was priceless!

And here's a picture of Rachael for good measure (2 1/2 weeks old). Yes, Dad, I know I need to get a more recent one posted. ;)

Updates Soon!

Do the holidays at home with some family in town as you prepare to bring a new life onto this planet... get ready for a new year with family & kids' schedules (School, Church, Sports, Scouts-both-girl-and-boy)... start a new academic semester at West Point for the kids & Andy's work... needless to say, we're a bit behind on posting some stuff. More posts will follow soon, including topics such as "Rachael and her Plan for world domination by being cute", "Christmas with the Sumners", "Nathan Turns Five", and "the Pinewood Derby".

To hold you over, here's a pic of Rachael.

WELCOME HOME RACHAEL!

Rachael slept in late on New Year's Eve 2008 anticipating a big day ahead of her.

She had really bonded with the nurses at the hospital, but she realized she was old enough to venture out into the world and explore her new home. She asked the staff to do the paperwork so she & mom could go home for the New Year.



Laura & Rachael Grace had an incredible group of nurses and doctors working at Keller Army Hospital. After three military hospital births, the experience at West Point proved to be a special one. Rachael was excited to find out they would probably get to see each other again for well-baby appointments!

It was just below freezing with snow flurries and gusting winds outside, so Rachael needed to get out of the hospital clothes. The change of outfits and introduction to the car seat sure made her tired, but the kids really wanted to snap a quick "going home" photo before we took her home.



Well it wasn't long before everyone was back home watching New Years football games, eating nachos, and celebrating the arrival of a new daughter & sister. Yet again, another great day.

Rachael Grace Meets the Clan

Rachael was happy & very excited to meet the kids & Laura's mom...

Alex & Brittany were excited to hold their new sister...



Doctor Nathan helped the nurse check Rachael out...

Grammi got to hold her newest grandchild (as well as help Andy pretend he knows what he's doing while taking care of the other kids)...

All in all, Rachael Grace had a Rock-Chalk-kind-of-day with the Mack clan.

IT'S A GIRL! WELCOME RACHAEL GRACE!

Rachael Grace Mack was born at 1:34pm today (December 29th) at Keller Army Hospital at West Point, New York. She was 7 pounds 13 ounces and 20 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great! Me, the kids, and Laura's mom will head to the hospital to meet them at 6pm tonight, so watch for that post tomorrow morning!