And then there were nine!

Maia Claire has arrived! She was in a great, big hurry coming four days early and giving her mother only 3 1/2 hours to get used to the idea that it was her birthday. Another beautiful grandaughter...Maia makes three in a row now, one every year for the last three years. I am so blessed! Maia is a gorgeous, raven-haired, lusty girl who seems (at least at this early stage) to have a very mellow demeneur. She seems quite happy to let her older sister be the "drama queen".

I got the phone call from Alexis at 5AM on Tuesday, the 8th, and was on the road by 6 headed to LA. I wasn't even halfway there when I learned that Maia had arrived. Though I was disappointed not to be there for the birth, I did get there in time to help with Sofia that afternoon and evening, and the next day until Alexis and Maia came home. And then I got to stay for another nine days! I did so love being with the family watching the new life unfold. There were lots of comings and goings. Geoff arrived; Geoff left; Erin arrived; Marc arrived; the Hillmans came to visit; Marc left; Erin left; Shelden and family arrived; I left. Through it all Alexis and Chris were gracious and grateful hosts happy to have so much family around them to share in this joyous event. I don't know that I would have been so mellow.

So now I'm home and I think about how their lives have changed with this new addition and I wonder who Maia will become, what she will look like in a year, two. It's all a mystery, the whole wonderful process and I am proud to be a little part of it. Happy Birthday, Maia! Love, Grandma