Baby Claire!

Meet the newest addition to the Hermansen clan. Baby Claire was born at 9:34 am on Thursday, January 13th. She was 8 pounds even & is 21 inches long. She has a fair amount (at least for a Hermansen) of dark brown hair... but it's mostly on the sides & in the back so you can't really see it in any of these pictures. She has been perfectly healthy so far, for which we are very, very grateful. She's a little angel! She looks A LOT like Hailee did as a newborn, which is great 'cuz Hailee's a babe! Jess did awesome with the labor & delivery and is recovering well (though she's VERY tired... and deservedly so). She and Claire are napping in the bed next to me as I type this. Jess & Claire will come home tomorrow (Saturday) morning sometime.

Of course, we are so thankful for EVERYONE who has been thinking of us, praying for us, and supporting us. But we especially wanted to say thank you to the Taylors (our good friends next door) for helping out so much with the kids at a moment's notice, and to my Mom for coming up and taking care of the kids (especially since they're all pretty grumpy, clingy (to Mom & Dad), and dramatic about this life change, despite their utter excitement about having a new little sister).


Daddy giving Claire her first bath (which she wasn't too terribly happy about)!


Little buddy Kyle holding his baby sister for the first time. Jess and I are pretty sure that, despite all the talk of "Baby Boo-Boo" over the past several months, he didn't have a clue what was coming. He still probably doesn't really grasp it (although we might be surprised). It will take some adjusting for he & the girls, I'm sure, but Kyle LOVES little babies and is (gratefully) surprising soft & gentle with them. I'm sure Claire will have Kyle wrapped around her little finger in no time.


As soon as the kids got to the hospital room & we got them sat down, they were all INSTANTLY reaching out for Claire. It was especially cute to see Kyle so anxious to meet his new little sister!


Raelyn meets her little sister, Claire, for the first time! She'll surely be a GREAT big sister to Claire, just like she is & will continue to be to Kyle!


Hailee is absolutely IN LOVE with her new baby sister! It's so adorable to see how Hailee is just living for those moments she can spend with Claire. We're all finding ourselves lining up behind Hailee to get a chance to hold her. People always comment on how much Rae & Kyle look alike; Hailee is thrilled about having a little miniature Hailee in the family.


Welcome to Earth, Baby Claire! Being born has got to be a pretty lousy experience for these little ones! But we're so happy she has joined our family!