A true gift...

I snapped this photo today and couldn't resist sharing it with everyone. It was just too precious of a moment not too pass along. In the picture, Milana has hold of the pregnancy gift I gave Karin. It's called a Birthstone Bar and is made by Mindy Searcey. Mindy hand stamps each letter of each word in the metal. Karin's bar is inscribed with Marbella, 9-28-06, Milana, 6-20-08 and contains a sapphire and pearl birthstone.

What a difference a day makes

 

Today was a great day for Mommy. This afternoon she was finally allowed to eat solid food, get rid of the catheter and IV, plus get out of bed and take a shower. As you can see, she looks amazing holding her new little angel.

Milana Hope Green - June 20th Photos Part II

More pictures from the first day, including Marbella meeting her little sister.

Milana Hope Green - June 20th Photos - Part I

At the moment Mommy and Milana are resting, so Daddy is updating with some photos from today. Marbella will be coming to the hospital in a little while to meet her new sister (photos of that event to come)

Here are a few pictures of the minutes leading up to the C section, delivery and afterwards.

Welcome Milana Hope Green

Milana Hope Green was born this morning at 8:07 at Las Colinas Medical Center. She weighs 6lb 7.2oz and is 17 3/4 in long.



Mother and baby are doing fine. We are in room 317 and should be staying in the hospital through Tuesday.

Karin's Belly - 37 1/2 Weeks

Only 5 days left to go.

 

Watermelon

Marbella loves fruit! Peaches, Pineapple, Mango, Papaya, Apples, Oranges, Pears it does not matter. She loves it any way she can get it. She's a happy camper whether it is in one of Daddy's fresh fruit smoothies or out by the pool. As you can see in the photos today's (and all summer long) fruit of choice...watermelon.

Karin's Belly - 36 1/2 Weeks

 

Nursery Time

Two weeks to go, well actually 13 days, and Milana's nursery is complete. The final items were hung on the walls with care, take a look at the photos.



And...for those of you that have never been to the house, here is what Marbella's room looks like.

Marbella's 18 month photo shoot

Enjoy the photos from Marbella's 18 month photo shoot. The pictures were taken by our friend Susie Juergens. Susie is a great photagrapher and we would highly recommend her to anyone in the DFW area. You can access Marbella's album by clicking here. You'll need to register. The event key is green.

Fun times at the pool

Summer is now in full swing in North Texas. We seem to find ourselves by the pool as much as possible. Marbella loves playing by the waterfall and swimming around the pool with Daddy. She's even starting to try and jump to Daddy from the edge. Enjoy the pictures.

Karin's Belly - 35 1/2 Weeks

 

Only 20 more days to go!

May 2008 Photos

Well, May isn't quite over yet, but we've accumulated quite a few photos and it's been awhile since we've share some pictures of Marbella. Here is a quick rundown of the month's activities. Mom and Dad Green (Grammy and Grandpa) came out the first week of May. We had a great time at the Dallas Zoo. Grammy introduced Marbella to PLA-DOH. Since Grammy left, we have not missed a day of playing with the PLA-DOH.

Other pictures from the month include Marbella playing around the house wearing Daddy's socks plus two festivals, Taste Addison and Main Street Days in Grapevine. The McGee family spent a brief weekend in Dallas and we all went to the Rangers vs. Astros baseball game.

Thanks for the Prayers - Evan Paul Beckett has arrived.

Thanks for all the prayers.
Last night Megan delivered a healthy 9 pound 13 ounce boy, via natural childbirth, with no ansethetic. She couldn't have an epidural, due to her low platelet count, which is a side effect of the HELLP. Because of this condition she has developed, she will need to stay in the hospital an extra day or two, until her platelets are near normal levels.

Mother and baby are doing well.

Pray for Megan - Baby Beckett Update

I wanted to get this up and make you all aware of my sister, Megan, and her pregnancy.

This morning, Megan went to the hospital in Goldsboro, NC to be induced. She was due last Saturday. This morning they discovered that Megan has HELLP Syndrome which is a serious condition for Megan. She basically does not have any platelets in her blood. Because the hospital in Goldsboro is not capable of treating Megan was transfered via ambulance to UNC Women's Hospital in Chapel Hill. Gary Beckett and Mom are now at the hospital with Megan. Dad Green and Drew will make the drive up to Chapel Hill a little later. We're not sure what is going on yet, but we believe a transfusion has probably already begun. All of this has happened in the past few hours.

We just ask for your prayers at this time. I'll try to post updates as we learn anything.

All in a name

Maybe some of you didn't catch the subtle announcement in the post a few weeks ago, but we have decided on a name for the baby.

Milana Hope Green

Milana pronounced 'mee-LAH-nah' has a variety of meanings and origins. In English it means precious one; whereas, in Hawaiian it means, beloved, Czech it means gracious, from Milan in Italian, and in Spanish it means Miracle of the blessed virgin and light.

Hope is a family name from both sides of the family.

We have come to love this name for a variety of reasons. It was a name that Karin thought she made up, until we started to research on the Internet. The name has Italian roots, which represents the time Karin and I spent together in Rome right after we were engaged. You'll also notice the prounounciation simalarities to Marbella. Also, neither of the names are in the Social Security Administration Top 1000 Baby Names for the past 99 years.

Karin's Belly - 30 1/2 Weeks

 

Save the Date

Mark your calendars. Milana Hope Green will make her debut on Friday, June 20, 2008 as the newest member of the Green family. We had another appointement today to check on the little one, and everything sounds perfect. Marbella just loves hearing her sister's heartbeat. It is so cute, she'll smile and start dancing as soon as she hears the beat. We'll make sure and post a video after our next appointment on May 5th.

Quick Little Update

The baby is growing right on schedule. She (still no name) now weighs 2.2 lbs. We are right on track to deliver sometime the week of June 23rd. We'll be scheduling the c-section in the next few weeks.

I must provide equal time, so here is what's going on with Marbella. She is now 18 months old and weighs 22.2 lbs. She loves dancing, singing, and talking on the phone (something tells me this will still be her favorite things in 16 years). She is quite the chatter box and does something daily to warm our hearts.

Mommy and Daddy are going on their first vacation since we went to Marbella, Spain in June 2005. We are headed to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos on Wednesday April 9th and heading back home on Sunday the 13th. Aunt Kirstin and cousin Emily will be up in Dallas taking care of Marbella. We are sad and nervous to head so far away from our baby girl but are looking forward to the R&R before the new baby arrives.

We hope all is blessed in your life.

The Greens

Karin's Belly - 27 1/2 Weeks