On January 12, 2009 we welcomed our second daughter into the world at 2:29 am. She weighed in at 6lbs 11oz and was 20 inches long. We had a very adventurous couple of days. We were hoping to have her with us before Colin started his live-in week at Kellogg-Northwestern in Chicago but she just wasn't ready. We put Colin on the plane and as soon as he was safe in Chicago I started with contractions. Colin was away but I had a wonderful coach, my mother, who was there to help me through the delivery. I arrived at the hospital at 12:30 and Grace couldn't wait any longer, she was born 2 hours later. I had a smooth delivery and am feeling great. I couldn't ask for anything more. We are very blessed.

Grace is a wonderful baby, she is calm and already getting used to the craziness of our family. Emma is a very proud big sister and taking to her duties very well. She loves to hug and kiss her new little sister. I can already tell that they are going to be great friends. Oh, and Daisy is getting used to the baby too- she loves to give her little kisses once in a while and is very protective, when Grace cries Daisy is the first one there.

We have posted some pictures of her first week with us. Thank you to everyone for all of your well wishes and support.

Love, Colin, Melissa, Big Sister Emma, Grace and Daisy

We all can't believe that it was two years ago this week that Colin faked his appendectomy (just kidding), driving Melissa into a stressed state that brought Emma into this world a little early than expected. That's ok though because every single day she has been part of our lives she has brought us joy. This weekend we celebrated Emma's second birthday by having friends and family over for a party. Emma had a great time hanging out with her buddies Keegan and Tyler, and her new buddy Dylan who is the latest member to join the crew. she got enough presents to last her 5 years, and enjoyed diving into her Mickey Mouse cake.

Ok, before you think I am starting off with some bad word, Mi Dushi means "my sweetheart" in the lovely local dialect of Aruba. The funny part is that it took us 4 days into our trip to understand what it meant, but that did not stop us from screaming it loudly whenever we wanted (especially after 6 Mai Tai's).

We had planned this trip for about a year leading up to it. Melissa, Colin and Emma traveled with Chris, Rich, Adam, Loraine, Ernie, Alyson, and Brian to the "one happy island" of Aruba. We all had a great week and enjoyed the sun and relaxing by the pool or on the beach day after day. It was a great experience for all as we got to celebrate Chris and Rich's 35th anniversary, as well as Alyson and Brian's 2nd. Due to the special occasions, we had a photographer take some great pictures of the family for lasting memories - check out his blog at http://bryanmorrisphotography.com/blog/2008/08/14/35-years-wedding-anniversary/.

This past Saturday, we took a drive out to Clifton Park, NY (just north of Albany) to see our friends Sarah and Jim, and their two sons James and Andrew (newborn). We had a great time, and Emma loved hanging out with James all day in the pool, eating watermelon, and playing with James's awesome train set. The new baby was precious, and it was great to hang out with our friends outside on a warm summer day.

Colin found out this past week that he was accepted into the EMP program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, to get his MBA. He will be part of the North American program, which is focused on those that don't reside in the Chicago area, and will be starting January 2009. The program will take two years to complete, with classes every other weekend.