You've got a friend in me!

This post is to thank all of our wonderful friends for the love and support they've given us from before Eliza was born through the first 3 weeks of her life. Steph was admitted into the hospital the Monday before Eliza was born as a precaution due to Eliza's breech position and Steph's early dilation, but I don't think Steph spent more than 3 hours total (not including sleeping time) alone while she was at the hospital. I spent the majority of the time w/ her in her room, but when I had to go home to take care of Sadie or do a little work there was always a friend willing to spend a few hours w/ her while I was gone. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends who care so much and are so willing to help when they're needed. We can only hope to repay your kindness in the future. Here are a few pics of some of our wonderful friends w/ Eliza:

Em & X

Emily & Owen

Sterling & Bethann

"Uncle" Erik

I feel pretty, oh so pretty

Since Eliza was born about 3.5 weeks early, all the clothes we had for her were too big. So, Grandma Nguyen came through in the clutch and bought her a new outfit she actually fit in! We think she looks so cute in the outfit and we're a little sad that it'll only fit for a short time, but there'll be many more cute outfits to come!

Family, isn't it about...time?

Since Eliza's been born she's been visited by her grandmas, grandpa, & even her great grandmother. We've been so grateful for our family coming to help us out during the first 2 weeks of Eliza's life. We really don't think we could've done it alone!

Grandma Nguyen

Grandma & Grandpa Wood

Our Prophet...

As many of you know, President Hinckley passed away on January 27, 2008. I (Richard) thought I would throw in my 2 cents on how I feel about our prophet's passing b/c he's the only prophet I've ever known since being baptized in 1996. He was a man who would always bring a smile to my face regardless of the mood or situation I was in. I remember when I was in high school I had just listened to a talk he had given in Conference for that session and I get a knock at my door from my neighbor who infomed me that my car had been broken into and my stereo had been stolen. Now, any of you who know me know that I'd usually freak out and go ballistic b/c of the situation, but for some reason, that day I simply smiled and said, "Oh well." I know that reaction was b/c of the message I had just heard from our prophet. Also, I always marveled at the love he had for his wife. I remember the message he gave at Conference after her passing and he said, "She was always the girl of my dreams. Now, she really is." I will always use that as an example of how much I should love my wife through the good times and the bad. There's so much more I could say about him but I don't think anything I say could do him justice as a man, a leader, or our prophet. I will say, though, that I never met him (although would've liked to) but the the testimony he helped build in my heart will be w/ me always and that's enough for me to say that I loved him and he will be missed.

Gordon B. Hinckley

June 23, 1910 - January 27, 2008

Eliza's first photoshoot

I guess when a new baby comes the ol' camera gets quite the workout! Here are some of our favorite pics from a recent photoshoot:

The newest Noojen

Introducing ELIZA NGUYEN! She was delivered on 01/18/08 @ 3:03 PM CDT via c-section. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 4.3 oz & is 17.5 inches long. Mother & daughter are doing great! Thanks for all the love & support we've received over the past 9 months. We know that this little miracle will be a blessing to us for the rest of our lives!

I'm ready for my close-up

We were able to get a 3D sonogram of our daughter recently and here are the results:

We think she has Dad's lips & Mom's chin, but we're undecided about her nose. We hope she gets Mom's nose but it's looking like Dad's genes are taking over. The whole process was quite interesting b/c she didn't want to give us a full facial shot and kept laying on her right side, but just as the sonographer was about to give up she turned for her close up. We're a little biased, but we think she's pretty darn cute! :)