The birth of Riley

With the most joyful heart (and yes, at 3 in the morning) I want to introduce you to the most beautiful, wonderful and perfect girl God ever made...Riley Madison O'Connor.

Heather went into labor this morning. She was so brave and did so well. We all sat around and joked and laughed while waiting for Riley to be born. My mom was there, as was Scott and their friend, Danielle. After they broke Heather's water, things got moving very quickly and Heather was in a tremendous amount of pain. That lasted for about an hour while they tracked down the midwife and got her epidural going. She was like a new woman after that!

Fast forward to 11:00 when they came in to check her. We were all believing that Riley would be born around 7am or after, so it came as a great shock when they said she was PUSHING!!! Twenty minutes of pushing and out popped Ms. Riley!! She weighed in at 7 pounds and six ounces.

Heather and Scott did an AMAZING job and welcomed their precious daughter into the world right after midnight. She is a beautiful combination of the two of them with golden curls and bright blue eyes. She seems to have Heather's eyes and some of Scott's features. She couldn't be more wonderful if she tried.

I am, of course, completely in love with my first and favorite niece! I snuggled her right up. I could not be prouder of Heather. She truly is a gift to our family and has brought us such unimaginable joy with the birth of this baby.

Plenty more pictures to come in the days ahead, to be sure, but for now, I give you these shots of my niece, Riley.