"Introducing Clare Avery"

Good evening,

This is a very special posting for obvious reasons. Ashley and Dane are "over the moon" to introduce their sister, Clare Avery Hantscher. Our plan came to fruition and I was induced on Mother's Day. The labour and delivery went very smoothly and after a few hours of tough contractions, an hour or so with an epidural and one little push, our precious daughter made her entry at 12:15 am Monday, May 11. She weighed 6 lbs, 10 oz and measured 19 3/4 inches (a nice size considering she was 11 days early). As you can see from the pictures, she has a full head of light brown hair and is petite statured. Of course we are biased and in love with little Clare, but we think she is quite the stunner.

We were released from the hospital this morning and arrived home to see the kids over the lunch hour. We met them at school after the bell and were immediately swarmed by their friends and classmates. Given everything that has been going on in our world, Clare is a real community baby and it's a very special feeling to know we have such caring "neighbors". We all went to Dane's soccer game tonight to cheer him on and when Ashley, Clare and I arrived, he turned up his effort another notch. The kids have been taking turns holding her and also helped give Clare her first bath at home.

All three of our children are now asleep and that's my cue to finish typing and get to bed before the feeding frenzy begins. I've had about six hours of sleep since Sunday morning and the adrenaline will be running out real soon. Dane has been feeling very well since his treatment last Friday and has managed to maintain his appetite in the midst of all the excitement. We are hopeful for an uneventful week with him until his treatment next Tuesday.

Thanks to everyone for holding our family in their thoughts. Clare's safe and healthy arrival was a huge relief and we are now relishing in being the parents of a newborn after a seven year hiatus. A special thanks from Ashley and Dane to their grandma and grandpa for taking such good care of them the past couple of days.

We'll post more pictures and updates in the days to come.

Take care - Janie and Dirk