Now Parents of TWO!

I have been meaning to brag since the 18th of November; That is the day I gave birth to Miss Samantha Anne Moody!

My due date was officially November 17th and while I tried to have two babies on their due date, Scott & White hospital was out of beds and said I was only in "pre-labor," and so they sent me home. Fortunately, everything worked out better than I could have anticipated so! Josh has been in a master gunner course and the week Samantha was due also happened to be the week that the class was spending in the field. Just my luck, right?!

The instructors of the course originally said that no soldier could miss more than 8 hours of class, and factoring in the hour drive time to and from post, I thought I only had six hours with my husband. Low and behold, when I did call the instructors they got him out of the field as fast as they possibly could and just told him to call when our daughter was here!

Another wonderful surprise was Rhandi Stanford! She was supposed to be in College Station all day and Brian was out of town, so we thought there was absolutely no way she could make it. Rhandi came into my delivery room carrying flowers, a decorative sign for Samantha's nursery and her camera! Rhandi's presence was really the cherry on the sundae!



Samantha's birth went far better than I dreamed it would. By comparison of Stephen's birth, my pain was really low and I pushed for less than a fraction of the time I had before. It was still no walk in the park, but I have little room for complaint.

At 5:22pm November 18th, 2010 Samantha Anne greeted the world! Everyone in the room told us how beautiful and healthy she was. It took her a minute to begin to cry when she first came out, and Dr. Spears told us she came holding onto her umbilical cord. I love this shot Rhandi captured of my little girl!



In the delivery room I was sure to bring along Stephen's first photograph. I remember being confused the first time I saw him; I couldn't figure out why my son looked chinese! Samantha wasn't as swollen as Stephen had been, but their resemblance was undeniable.



Four days from now will mark Samantha's one month milestone! I can honestly say this has been the happiest month of my life!



Stephen's birth changed my life, but I was such a mess when I had him; I felt I needed to be at work every minute I could be. On top of having a newborn, I had court dates and "custody investigators". All of these things really ruined my experience; I was sad and overwhelmed as well as angry. Now, it makes me that much more thankful that I have a wonderful husband, a sassy four-year-old, and great friends and family in our lives. This newborn experience is nothing like it was the first time around; I don't mind late night bottles or stinky diapers. I am just crazy about my daughter. I can already tell you this precious little girl is growing up too fast! I want to remember every little thing about her.



Samantha, Mommy and Daddy are absolutely in love with you. Even your burps make us proud! You have have helped us complete our "Moody Chiperno" family and we are grateful for your presence with us. It is so good to hold you, Miss :)