Josh and I had the chance to go see Maeby again last night and she is doing so much better!  She’s out of her astronaut hood, breathing room air, and her Breaths per Minute are at a calm rate now.  Which meant she was able to try eating from a bottle last night!  According to her mommy, she sucked it down quick!  And I just saw today on her dad’s Facebook that they have removed all feeding tubes and extra IV’s from her!  Yeah!  They are still waiting for results from a blood test that showed something growning in her blood, so continue to keep that in your prayers.  Also, continue to pray for Bert & Laura as they were discharged yesterday from GBMC and now have to spend nights at home with out their darling little one.  You can keep up to date on all their happenings at the Rode Family Blog.  Here are some quick photos we got last night!  Enjoy!

My husband’s sister, and my lovely sister-in-law, Laura and her husband Bert welcomed their second daughter into this world yesterday.  Delaney Mae, or “Maeby,” was born shortly before 8pm yesterday, April 13, 2009.  And she is precious!  She has a full head of hair, weighs 7lbs. 7 oz, and is 20 inches long.  Laura’s water broke Monday morning around 9 and she labored most of the day until Delaney made her debut.  Since Laura had a fever before delivery, Maeby was born with one as well and subsequently is having some difficulty with her breathing.  As you can imagine, she is going through a multitude of tests.  If you have time in your day, please remember to keep Maeby, Laura, Bert, and big sister Mackinzie in your prayers.  We’ll keep you updated on her status.  Here are some photos of my first shoot with her…hopefully one of many!

(Disclaimer:  These photos were taken with my iPhone because I didn’t want to lug my nice 40D out in possibly torrential downpours)

Yesterday we continued our tradition of attending the Baltimore Orioles‘ Opening Day.  We went with our friends Steve & Heather and each of us were excite because our lovely mothers had our children for most of the day!  We were also excited because the O’s played the Yankees and it’s apparently a big rivalry.  Not that the Orioles skill level matches the Yankees, just that the Yankees fans live so close that they always come down and crowd our stadium.  Well, we showed them yesterday just who’s house they were in…OUR HOUSE!  The Orioles won 10 to 5…amazing!  We had a great time with Heather & Steve.  Here’s a little about what happened….

On our way in, dodging many bar-goers, we were stopped at a light and this huge Gecko kept looking at Heather through her window.  So we amused him/her and took it’s picture.

We ferociously booed the Yankees‘ Mark Teixeira.  I mean that poor guy got booed from the time he left the dugout until he finished striking out at bat!  Josh informed that he had apparently teased the Orioles by saying he may play for his hometown team and then went to the Yankees instead for more money.  What now, Teixeira!

Every year we comment on how we love Opening Day, but we hate how many crazy drunks we run in to.  Steve had the wonderful opportunity to sit next to “Mark.”  We saw him with a few drinks, but didn’t realize why he was so wasted until he told Steve that his “coke” wasn’t really Coca-Cola…it was another mixture!  Thankfully he was seated next to Steve who helped him not set a Yankees hat on fire…twice! We didn’t take a photo of him, but you can barely see the side of him in this photo of Heather & Steve.

Then there was the ever-so-loud, slightly drunk, woman next to me who kept shouting, “Give me my money back, O’s!  Do something.  Show me why I spent my money!”  Hopefully she feels her money was well spent!  Here’s a view of Josh hiding under his hood, and Heather, being silly behind him.

And last, but not least, a photo of Josh and ME! I know…those are rare!  I begged Josh for one so we’d have evidence that we actually were there.  Now, I know, it does look like I’m choking my husband, but that’s not at all what happened.  He kept shaking his head around so Steve wouldn’t be able to take a picture, so I had to hold his head still.  End of story.

Great win, Orioles!  Let’s see what you do today!

A few weeks ago I “met” Hughe Parker from ZaZa Gallery on Twitter.  Hughe & his wife, Senta, are photographers in California who started ZaZa Gallery to put their own artwork on canvas.  And now they use their skills to carefully put others’ works of art on hand stretched canvases as well.  Hughe offered a trial for an 8×10 canvas print so I just couldn’t resist trying him out.  I’ve been looking for a canvas company to recommend to my clients and I think I’ve finally found one.  His work is exquisite!  The 8×10 canvas arrived quickly, covered in bubble wrap and a protective cover.  I couldn’t help but gasp when I opened it.  I had simply emailed him a photo of my little Emma, and in turn, he provided me with a priceless canvas wrap!  Thank you so much Hughe & Senta for your loving handiwork.  I’ll definitely be recommending you to my family, friends, and clients.  Here are some photos of Hughe’s work.

Front view

You can see the depth here.

The corner carefully wrapped.

The back view.

More wrapping on the back.

I love little girls!  They are so sweet, and feminine, and petite, and just so….girly!  Don’t get me wrong, God has gifted boys with all their uniqueness, but I am partial to little girls because I have two of my own.

Well I met a sweet bundle of little girlness yesterday named Clara.  (Don’t you just love that name?)  Clara is three weeks old and the first granchild in her family.  So you can probably imagine how she is doted on from all sides.  When I arrived, her mommy showed me all the possible cute little dresses & shoes she had pulled out for our photo session.  One was even a dress that her mom wore when she was a baby.  There’s just something about little baby girls in little baby dresses that almost makes me want to have another….almost.

Clara was an absolute jewel during our session.  She tolerated my cold hands trying to curl her little body into the “perfect” newborn pose.  She even allowed three outfit changes!  She was a doll, and only cried when she was hungry…which is what I do too!  Here is Clara in all her girlie sweetness…