Bath time

Abel's umbilical cord finally fell off and he had his first "real" bath! As you can see in the progression of photos he wasn't sure how he felt about it at first, but he quickly changed his mind and decided he loved it.

Snow in Bellingham

Abel only ventured out in the snow a few times, the day it started and the day it all melted! Thought we would share a family portrait to document the event. Well, Maddie isn't in the photo, she was too excited about the snow to sit still for the photo.

More visitors

Dad and Dewey braved the winter conditions to meet Abel this weekend. And, they arrived just in time to help us cope with Abels' first bout of gas! Not the most exciting event ever but Ian and I were grateful for the help and advice! You wouldn't know it from these pictures but it was a long weekend!

Thanks Dad and Dewey for visiting and giving us a hand!

Sunshine and Vitamin D

We decided Abel was ready to venture outside for some fresh air and Vitamin D! He loved it. We think. The fall colors in the backyard are amazing right now and it felt so good to be out of the house, even though it was a pretty short (and slow) jaunt in the backyard. Ken and Mona were here so we got to take a few "family" photos as well.

Abel Frederick Rae

Abel made his way into the world on Halloween night, in the midst of stormy Bellingham weather. As many people know we had planned a home birth but Abel had other plans. After laboring overnight at home we transferred to St. Joe's, where eventually we delivered Abel via cesarean section at 5pm.

We stayed at the hospital until Tuesday night when we finally got to come home and Abel met all of the critters! Francis has been edged out of the bed and isn't impressed, Angus seems pretty oblivious and Maddie is very interested in Abel and seems to know he will be dropping food on the floor soon and that she should stay close!

We would like to thank all of our friends and family that have feed us, walked Maddie, cleaned the house and in general made us feel loved and supported. While we were well cared for and had amazing nurses at the hospital it was great to come home to delicious homemade dinners after too many hospital meals. We feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing people.

We can't wait for everyone to meet Abel! We're sure you'll adore him as much as we already do.