Welcome to my blog! I thought it only fitting for my first niece to be the first blog on my website. I was extremely fortunate that I was able to be present in the hospital room during her birth, and to witness her drawing her first breath and hear her first cry. I was one of the first people to welcome Miss Hayley Dawn into this big, wide world along with her parents, my mother, and my older sister. (We may have had to break the "only the father and two visitor" rule to all be there, but who could have resisted?) Witnessing new life being brought into the world is truly the most incredible experience imaginable. There was not a dry eye among us in the moment that we saw that beautiful little face for the first time. Her official birth time was 8:31 p.m. on Wednesday, January 16th, 2013 and she weighed in at 7 lbs 10 oz and was 19 3/4" long. And every inch is perfection. But I don't need to tell you that; a picture is, after all, worth a thousand words.

That night, I drove back to my parents' home so I could visit Kayla, Kyle, and Hayley again in the morning on my way back home.

Several days later, I drove back up again to get in some more baby snuggles...

and okay, some more baby pictures, too!