He's Here!

Ashley's birthing coach and friend called us around 9pm on the 16th and said that Ashley was feeling some contractions. They were going to wait for her clothes to dry and then make their way to the hospital. We jumped in the car and started driving. At 10:30pm she called to say they were at the hospital and Ashley was dialated to 8cm!!! At 12:30am when we were just 18 miles from the hospital, Ashley called to congratulate us on our new baby boy. We missed the birth! But we had a healthy beautiful baby boy. He was born at 11:52pm on the 16th. Lillian's birthday was the 16th of October so we were so pleased to hear that they share a birthdate. He was 8lbs 13oz and 21 inches long with blue eyes and short blondish brown hair. We arrived around 1:10am to greet our son.

After much debate, our little boy is named Ian Zachary Harris. Zachary was a name that Ashley had selected. Ian was chosen for several reasons. 1) It is a version of John (according to the name books) which is Jeff's middle name, his Dad's middle name and his Grandfather's name. 2) The "I" initial is in honor of my grandma Irene who passed away when I was a little girl. 3) It means "God is gracious" and we praise God's grace in this adoption. 4) I-A-N are the last 3 letters in Lillian's name. He is Lillian's little brother even by name.

After 3 days in the hospital, Ashley signed the necessary paperwork and we celebrated our new family with a special entrustment ceremony. Then we all headed to a house at Sunriver to spend some more time getting to know each other and doting on our little boy. We also hosted a birthday party for Ian with Ashley's friends and family in attendance. It was a wonderful week with love just pouring over Ian.

And now, we're home! It feels so good. Our little champ slept the entire way home even skipping a meal in the process. (Of course he demanded that meal as soon as the car stopped.) Thank you all for your prayers. We can't wait for all of you to meet him! In the meanwhile, this well photographed young man has tons of photos (we're averaging 60 photos a day so far...) at: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=211631746/a=105385130_105385130/t_=105385130