My brand-new cousin!

What a fantastic week it has been! I just spent seven full days with Jimmie and Steph, and we had such a great time! We spent half the week hanging around D.C. and the other half in Richmond/Montpelier/Louisa, Va. It's never long enough, but it was awesome to have them here for a full week this time. (Last fall, they came for just a few days.) Anyway, in the coming days you can expect a post full of photos and videos from the visit, but first, this post, which covers just one day of that trip. And what a day it was! That day – Aug. 20, 2008 – we welcomed the newest member of the Jackson clan to the world – Roxy Viola Gisselman, born at 10:58 a.m. (I love this quote that Proud Papa Sam posted on the Gisselman family blog: "1058am: Roxy is cut away and 1 person becomes 2. For a quick moment, she is the youngest of 7 billion people on this planet.") And what an honor – we were among the first people in the world to see her!

We arrived at the hospital, got to the maternity floor, but we weren't sure exactly where to go. We spent some time peeking into the nursery at the other babies, but no Roxy... So we started to wander down the hall to see if we could figure out where we needed to go, and we were passed by a nurse wheeling the most perfect little baby girl down the hall. "Maybe that's her!" said Aunt Julie. "Who are you looking for?" asked the nurse. We told her; "Here she is!" said the nurse. And sure enough! There was Big Brother Hank's chin. There was that famous Gisselman Family Charm, the smile, the personality!

Here we all are stealing every peek we could get during that first hour or two of Roxy's life:






Already, full of energy:


And yet, perfectly capable of sweet serenity:


I may have gotten a little carried away with the photos of the new big brother holding his pride and joy, but what's better than one little Gisselman? One little Gisselman, and one very big boy!









No question that Roxy is already a huge admirer of her big brother. You should have seen the way she stared at this sign that hung on the inside of her cradle:


And now, some other people introducing themselves to Roxy.

"Hi! I'm your mama!":


"It's me! Dad!":


"We flew all the way from Utah to meet you!":






"Get ready for all the hugs and kisses you could ever need! I'm your loving – and fun-loving – Aunt Julie!":



"Just ask Hank about me – he'll tell you that your cousin Matty-Mo is the coolest cousin you could ever ask for!":


"How old is old enough to learn to play Rock Band? When can I bring her on my motorcycle?" asks Uncle Robbie:


Get a load of the new and improved Gisselman crew:




With funny teeth, lots of giggles and a little whoopie cushion, hanging out in a hospital room is a blast:




Nice to meet you, Roxy! Thanks for joining our family – we're better than ever now that you're here! And thanks, Terri, Sam and Hank, for letting us be a part of your family's special day! We love you all!!