Felicity Catherine is here!

It was a dark and stormy night in Northern Virginia on June 4. Very powerful thunderstorms swept through during the afternoon, and Grandma-to-be Vogl even saw a funnel cloud. We were fortunate - most of Oakton lost power for hours or days, but not our neighborhood. Aunt Hilary called Lillian, who had just started staying home from work the day before. "You better watch out," Hilary said. "Don't they say big storms, with a big drop in barometric pressure, can send women into labor?"

After going out to dinner with our friend Melanie who just moved back to NoVa from Texas, and more heavy rain rolling through, Matt and Lillian headed to bed around 11:00. About a minute after getting into bed, Lillian's water broke, and it was off to the hospital.

Lillian wasn't feeling her contractions yet, so she and Matt did their best to sleep in the labor and delivery room at Fair Oaks Hospital. In the morning we walked around the maternity center and played a few rounds of Uno. Then Dr. Anderson said we needed to speed things up: indeed, the storms probably caused Lillian's water to break before her body was quite ready to go into labor. Some Pitocin and a few hours later, Felicity Catherine was born at 5:28 p.m. on Thursday, June 5.

Felicity was energetic and alert from her very first moments. Matt, soon to be Testing Coordinator for Pimmit Hills High School, is proud to report that she got 9 out of 10 on her very first standardized test, the Apgar. And when he spoke to her as the nurses cleaned her up, she immediately stopped crying and focused on him with wide eyes. She knew his voice!

Since coming home from the hospital, we have had near-constant help from our parents. What a great help, especially as Matt finishes out the school year!

Here is a collection of photos of Felicity's first days outside the womb.

In the Labor & Delivery Room

Felicity's Life - Day 2

First Day Home

More Visitors

Walking Around the Neighborhood

Bath Time

Sleepy Time