Hazel Rae Senneff

Guess what?  I'm a grami again.  I'm sure that if you even remotely know me, you would know that already.  But, nevertheless, I am.  I am ecstatic!  Here's are my numbers  where the grands are concerned:

Josh:  1 grandson:  Royan (15)
Spencer:  2 grandsons:  Milo (9) and Keeler (4)  1 grand-daughter: Isabel (9)
Melissa:  2 grand-daughters: Olivia (5) and Lyla (5)
Abbie: 1 grandson: Eli (6) and 1 grand-daugher: Audrie (4) AND one due in May!!  (I know it's a girl but they are waiting to find out...which I LOVE!)
Erika:  2 grand-daughters:  Eloise (22 months) and HAZEL (one month old!)
Melissa:  TBD

Hazel Rae was born on Martin Luther King Jr. Day just before midnight.  The Monday holidays are a big thing in our family.  Well, we'd like to think so.  You see, Eloise was born on Memorial Day and Terry passed away on President's Day.  Now, we have a MLK birthday.  I can't wait to find out what will happen on Labor Day!!

Remember when El was born?  I do.  I was there and witnessed her first breath.  It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen.  This time around, Erika and Tyler wanted to go it alone.  I definitely respect that...expecially since I got to watch Eloise while they went in.

Erika was in labor for a short THREE hours.  ONLY THREE HOURS!  I was so proud of her.  She was such a trooper.  Melissa and I claim full credit for sending her into labor.  The night before, Erika expressed that she was so sick of being pregnant.  She was uncomfortable and ready to pop.  She had already tried the regular ways to spur labor on:  walking, bumpy car rides, exercise, etc.  Well, I asked my online friends to suggest labor inducing techniques they had tried.  One of them suggested reflexology. We were on that one quick.

We looked it up on Youtube (best invention ever) and found out the sweet spots that would help bring Hazel into the world.  We even added our own zen-like chanting.  As we each had a foot and leg we were massaging, we got slaphappy and chanted "TO THE EARTH!" trying to summon little Hazel to make her entrance.

It worked!!

Hazel came "to the Earth" the very next day, less than 24 hours after her invitation.

No amount of words could express or describe meeting a grandchild for the first time.  The love that exudes and fills the hospital room is otherworldly.  Something I am always overcome with is an intense love for my daughter.  What a brave girl my Erika is.  She made me proud of her strength once again.  She's twice as strong as I ever was or will be.

For lack of words...here are some of the photos from the day.  Pictures truly speak louder than words.  Enjoy!

We felt him there.

Being a Grami is my favorite!