All's well

Sophie is very glad that her little brother is at home. In this picture, Brazos is wearing the outfit his Gigi (Abby's mother) got for him. It's a tradition in the Zemanek family that Gigi provides the going-home-from-the-hospital outfits for the grandchildren.

All is going well. Brazos has slept really well two of the four nights that he's been at home, so we've got that going for us. He slept from 1 to 6 a.m. last night and from midnight to 6 the previous night.

Sophie seems to be adjusting well to having another little person in the house. When Brazos is in Mom or Dad's arms, Sophie says, "I hold that." She's very gentle with her brother and is always excited to see him every morning.

First day at home

Our little family is now at home. We checked out of the hospital about 9:30 this morning. Abby's mom will be here today and stay through the weekend to help us get adjusted, and Kevin's mom will be here off and on next week. They were both a big help when we had Sophie, and we're counting on them again.

Name? Name?....

We don't need no stinkin' name!

Actually, that's about what it was starting to feel like. We couldn't settle on anything. We went through every computation of all the names we had been tossing about the past few months and nothing was working. But, like she did with Sophie Bess, Abby again nailed it.

Our baby boy is Brazos John Joseph Tankersley. (We got both of the grandfathers' names in there). Yes, it's a mouthful, but when the boy is blessed (?) with the last name Tankersley, anything you add to it is going to be a bunch. He'll be the only kid in his class who will write "See pg. 2" on the headings of his papers.

We greatly appreciate the name suggestions we have received. Terry Keith Hughes Tankersley did not make it past the first round of voting though Bubba T. Tankersley got some strong consideration. My suggestion of Elvis as a first, middle or even second middle name got shot down pretty quickly, as did my entry of Brazos Graceland. Go figure.

Today was a good day. Brazos ate a few times (he's latching on to the source of his food really well; I'm very proud!) and was circumsized this afternoon. After that, he pretty much slept the rest of the day.

Abby is feeling good as well. The doctor came by a few times today and said after he makes his early-morning rounds tomorrow, we'll be free to go. So we should be home by mid-morning.

Thanks to everyone for the very kind e-mails. We'll make them part of Brazos' baby book.

Grandmothers

Abby's mother, Georgianne Zemanek (left) and Kevin's mom, Linda Tankersley, keep a careful eye on Sophie as she holds her brother for the first time.

First meeting

This was the first meeting between Sophie and her little brother.

BabyBoy

This was the first photo of BabyBoy. He was a few minutes old, and the nurses had just finished getting him all cleaned up.

Sophie

We've been explaining the concept of "big sister" to Sophie, but we're not sure if she's quite ready for what's in store for her.

BabyBoyTank makes his debut

Proving once again that God does, indeed, still perform miracles, we would like to welcome to the world BabyBoyTank. He was born at 2:20 p.m. on Aug. 16 at Providence Health Center in Waco. He weighed 7-12 and was 20 inches long.

Why BabyBoyTank and not Brazos, you may be asking. Well, while looking at him today we weren't sure if he looks like a Brazos or not. So, we're going to sleep on it tonight and make a decision on naming him tomorrow.

However, if, perchance, we go with a name other than Brazos and you have had a gift monogrammed, etched, engraved or tattooed, we will still cherish it. And it will make for good stories for years to come.