HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD

love, henry (your son)

Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone a safe, happy, and healthy 2009.
Love,
Josh, Ainsley, & Henry

STILLE NACHT

On Monday the 8th of December our son was born. We named him Henry Neil Thatcher and he weighed in at 5 lbs 7 oz, and was 19 inches long. Despite being nearly two weeks early, he is perfectly strong and healthy. He has his daddy's chin and his mamma's hair. He loves to kick his strong legs. He loves to keep both arms near his face. He loves to smile in his sleep. He loves having his head rubbed and he loves snuggling. He loves to practice his growls. He loves his Oma. And he loves foot rubs.

We are so proud to be a family of three. When we look at Henry, we realize how much we have missed him all these years that we've been apart. Although we have only been parents for a mere 10 days, we already recognize that parenthood is a daunting and ever-evolving challenge, probably more so than we are now able to recognize. But it is also the best thing we have ever done.

Buon Compleanno, figlio nostro.

Best Seats in the House

...well, maybe not the best seats in the house, but certainly the cheapest and most comfortable. Here's to Tech's big win over Texas last night! From the comfort of our living room couch, 6.6 miles away from Jones AT&T Stadium, here are the most memorable moments of the night:

1) The removal of both goal posts (with the aid of the local sheriff) before the final second had ticked off the clock.

2) Bobby Knight on College Gameday

3)Michael Crabtree's bold dash for the end zone in the last 8 seconds of the game, and his subsequent interview with ESPN correspondent Lisa Salters. He dreamt it, folks.

WRECK 'EM TECH!!

32 WEEKS

Here are some pictures we took in our backyard today after church. Ain is officially 32 weeks along and today we realized that we don't have any "belly" pictures. (Don't worry, we will try not to post too many more pictures of us in front of random trees.) This pregnancy has really flown and we just can't believe that our son is almost here.

our little guy

Yesterday we had our 3D ultrasound, and I figured this would be a good excuse to begin our blog. If anyone recalls, we half-heartedly attempted to keep a blog right after we were married, 3 years ago, but failed miserably. One of our favorite things to do is see our nieces and nephews through family blogs as they grow and change, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to try our hand a second time with blogspot, so that our close friends and family can keep in touch and watch as our family grows. Back to the ultrasound...it went GREAT. Our son wiggled the whole time and hid his face from the camera, so the doctor had a hard time getting clear shots of him. He is very active and all his organs are developing perfectly. He has long legs, big cheeks (from his mom), and a swell cleft in his chin (from his dad). The jury is still out, but he seems to have his Uncle Charlie's lips, which was a great source of amusement for us when we first saw him on the 50" monitor. We can't wait to meet him.