Introducing Sophia Ruth Stolley

I have the wonderful pleasure of posting the announcement of the birth of our daughter Sophia Ruth Stolley; born 7 May 08 at 02:19 AM. Ms. Sophia weighed in at 8 lbs 4 ozs and rated a 9.9 on the APGAR. Mother and baby are both healthy and well and spending much needed time together. Briana and I are truly humbled by this amazing gift of life that we have recieved and look forward to all of you meeting her in the coming weeks. In the mean time please keep mother and daughter in your thoughts and prayers as we approach this coming Mother's Day. Thanks to everyone for all of your love, support, email, packages and love.

Happily smitten,

Briana & Oliver

Sophie's Bathroom

Here is the bathroom. Thanks to all for towels and accessories!

Sophie's Room

So everyone's been asking... here it is! Notice bead board and crown moulding... this is what took so long. Thanks to moms for crib and changing table, and to countless others for bedding, decorations... and can you believe all those clothes???

35 Weeks

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I gained 3 lbs in the last two weeks. They estimate (which can be off 1 lb or so in either direction) that Sophie is 5.5 pounds with about 4 weeks to go. She is head down, so not breech- which hopefully shouldn't change. There are no signs of her coming early (bummer!) so it looks like I might continue to be uncomfortable for a while yet.
My back has been hurting a bit at work as I keep getting bigger, and I'm not sleeping very well, but for the most part, I'm feeling fine. I'm just tired of being pregnant- its impossible to tie my shoes, and I waddle and move really slowly. Pictures of our Virginia shower to follow soon!

Baby Shower Cincinnati Style

We are so sorry we haven't posted in so long! I know some people were worried- but everything with is fine with all of us, baby included. I am feeling VERY pregnant these days and definately looking forward to moving past this stage and actually meeting Miss Sophie face to face. We were in Cincinnati this past weekend just in time for a huge blizzard in Ohio. On Friday, the drive- normally 7 hours- took about 13. I was scheduled to take a nationwide ethics exam on Saturday, but it was cancelled. We have great timing don't we? But the snow didn't stop us from enjoying the incredible baby shower for me given by Jennifer Green and Annabel Stolley. Jen's house looked amazing, and the food was fabulous. It really was such an honor and I so appreciate the shower- and all the amazing gifts from everyone. We can't wait to put all the wonderful things- and clothes- to good use when Sophie arrives. Hope you all enjoy these pictures!

Baby Boot Camp

This weekend we went to visit law school friends Mike and Alicia Kroll in Minneapolis, MN. We were excited to spend time with Mike and Al and their 2 boys Wesley (almost 3) and Spencer (almost 1). We thought we'd see what parenting was all about. Ollie was calling it "baby boot camp"- and, to say the least, it lived up to its name. As soon as we arrived, little Spencer started throwing up and was up all night Friday with a stomach flu. Poor guy. I tried to steer clear of him- but it didn't work. On Saturday night, I started throwing up at about 11:30 pm and eventually made my way to the hospital on Sunday AM. My OB was worried about my increased heart rate and dehydration and the possibility of preterm labor. So, we spent an extra day in Minneapolis in the hospital. On the upside, Sophie and I are just fine now; a little weak but otherwise feeling better. Oliver is home sick today though. What an adventure! Sorry no pictures of Mike and Al- once the throwing up began for me, the camera went away for the weekend.

We did manage to have a great time Friday night and Saturday, though. We think Mike and Al are doing an amazing job parenting, we learned a lot, and had some wonderful conversations. We only hope we do half as well as they are doing with those kids! Alicia and I also managed to squeeze in a trip to the Hanna Anderson outlet and Sophie got some of the cutest clothes for the best deals I have ever seen! I'm getting excited....