First Bath

Eliana's umbilical cord finally fell off, which allowed us to give her a real bath. She seemed to enjoy the warm water, including on her face. No fussing.

After her hair is washed it stands up giving her a buzz look.

Thanksgiving and Day After

Eliana had her first Thanksgiving at the home of Ty, Marjorie, Dario and Adriana. She slept through the entire meal, however, and never even left her car seat. The rest of us enjoyed a feast of all the traditional Thanksgiving foods, plus a few extra dishes. Delicious food, and we enjoyed the musical talent show following the meal from all who participated.

The day after Thanksgiving, the turkey must have finaly made its way to Eliana.

Visitors

We have appreciated everyone who has stopped by our home in the past few weeks to visit, bring food or check in on us. We have felt very loved. While we have not captured every visitor on film, we did want to post another one... Ryan and Rebecca came by that first week and got to meet Eliana at less than one week old.

Ottomatic

Aaron Otto got in on an early Eliana visit this week while visiting in DC from Kansas.

Uncles Visit

Unlce Joey and Kevin Flanner drove from Kansas all night to visit Eliana. And Uncle Nathan stopped by for a visit and photo shoot.

Fruit Bouquet

We received this beautiful fruit bouquet this afternoon from a delivery man. But we don't know who it is from! Any clues would be appreciated.

It's a girl!

Saturday evening we drove to the hospital in anticipation of a new arrival. Sarah poses on our way out to the car in front of our apartment. Leaves have turned. All is calm.

Eliana Grace Stover Sackett was born 9:05 a.m. Sunday, November 12 at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. She was healthy in all respects and weighed about 7 lbs and was 19 inches long. The name Eliana (pronounced “El ee ahna” comes from a loose combination of three family names: Elaine, Loraine and Ann. Grace was Sam’s great grandmother. Stover is Sarah’s maiden name.

Sarah did a remarkable job throughout the entire labor process, with several nurses and the doctor even commenting how calm and focused she was during the delivery.

Sarah's sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth and Bryan Lucore, drove from Ohio in time for the birth. Sam and Elizabeth were in the delivery room coaching and encouraging. They made a good team and it was the first live birth either had witnessed. Quite miraculous.

Eliana has a spiral cowlick in the center of her forehead.

Sunday afternoon we got a brief visit by Nancy, Caleb and Simona Brenneman, Kyla Cofer and Allison Madson. Thanks for the beautiful flowers and baby blanket!

Before coming home from the hospital Tuesday afternoon, Virginia Hospital Center gave us what they call a celebration meal. They do this for all new mothers at their facility. It was certainly a nice touch to an exhausting two days. Grandma and Grandpa Sackett sent the fragrant roses pictured in our celebration meal photo.

We are adjusting to new schedules, especially sleep routines. Once you fall behind on rest, it takes a while to make it up, especially for nursing mothers.

Eliana checked out OK during her first pediatrician visit this morning. We will return Friday for a follow-up.