Yankee Doodle Baby

At long last, Gracie Marie Healy makes her arrival on July 5, 2011 at 12:48 p.m. We were scheduled for induction on July 4, but labor started on its own around 4:30 p.m. that day. Twenty hours later, our lives changed in a matter of seconds as our 7 lb, 5 oz baby girl whisked us into a whole new world.

Before Shawn's tearful "It's a girl" could even register in Vikki's brain, a medical team swept the baby away for precautionary procedures. Shawn followed and will never forget the way Gracie grabbed and held onto her Daddy's finger as the team worked. Then he changed her first diaper.

Watching from her bed, Vikki listened to Gracie's strong cries and wept happy tears, thinking, "She's so beautiful; this is such a magnificent moment; I'm so in love; and -- wow, she's really fair-skinned!"