Giddy-up! Gannon is 1 month old!

Wow, what a quick month it's been! But I guess that's the way things are when it comes to Gannon. (Insert rimshot)

He went to the doctor for his 1-month checkup and my how he's grown – an even 10 pounds and 22" long! Dr. Benuck is impressed with how strong he is, especially how well he holds his head up. Gannon certainly lives up to Daddy's nickname for him, "big boy"!

Meet the Murphys

On Sunday, the Murphy family stopped in on their way back home to Cincinnati to meet their newest little friend. And Isla couldn't have been more excited to have a couple hours of fun play time with her best gal pals. Thank you all so much for making a special trip to see us! We miss you so much already!

It looks so natural for them to have 3 children... What do you say guys? Ready to be the Murphy 5?

Happy Due Date!

We're so happy you're already here with us, Gannon. You sure know how to make an entrance and what a birth story you have to tell. But, it was all more than worth it to have such a precious baby boy in our lives.

Good thing Isla can't read what your shirt says!

Check out a recap of Gannon's 2nd week below.

First bottle with Daddy

So thirsty! Gannon downed 3 oz in no time flat. The milk factory is working overtime!

Zzzzz...

Gannon's favorite activity...

Worn out from a great weight check at the doctor on the 8th. He gained 3 oz. from his last appointment. A growing boy is a good boy!

Uncles, Aunts and Lou, oh my!

Gannon got to meet more family members last weekend. We'll let them decide who his favorite one is!

Uncle Michael

Aunt Jenna

Mimi (a.k.a. Golden Goddess!)

Uncle Pete (and the lovable Lou in the background)

Happy 1 week, Gannon!

What a great week it's been! We couldn't be happier to have this sweet little boy in our family.

Sooo sleepy

Sometimes you just have to sleep whatever way you can. Wait, why am I taking this photo and not sleeping too?

"Gannon"ball comin'!

When I woke up at 3:30 am on Friday, July 29 to use the bathroom (2nd time since I'd been asleep that night), I had no idea my second child would be laying on my chest an hour and 37 minutes later, in the back of an ambulance, 2 blocks from my house.

Contractions started sporadically at 3:45 and at 4:00, my water broke. At that point, we put the "Let's go to the hospital plan" into action. Unfortunately, the plan we had in mind was not going to happen.

Paul kept reassuring me that he could get me to Prentice Hospital. However, as I screamed in pain and felt the urge to push, I convinced him to call an ambulance. The on-call doctor who was in a pleasant slumber at 4:25 agreed.

At that point, the contractions were coming every two minutes. The EMTs arrived at 4:45 and decided to get me into the ambulance instead of delivering the baby in the bedroom. As I was loaded into the ambulance, my parents pulled up to stay with Isla. Paul had talked to them three times and a few minutes prior confirmed that they were really close.

We pulled away with lights and sirens a-blazin' headed for Swedish Covenant Hospital, the closest hospital to our house. The EMT told me to tell him if I needed to push...and I did. With the ambulance parked at approximately 5000 N. Kimball, I pushed 4 times in a two minute span and out came a baby boy!

Paul cut the cord, the baby was placed on my chest and we continued on to the hospital.

Here he is in the warmer soon after "arriving" in Labor & Delivery.

The happy Mommy gets reacquainted with her son and asks him "What was the rush?"

This Bears hat has seen a lot, but nothing will top this morning!

Family photo less than 2 hours after the ambulance ride.

The first bath is always the hardest.

Aah, much better now.

One of my favorite moments of the day. The Kapellas name lives on.

TOGA! TOGA! TOGA! After waiting 11 hours in L&D for a post-partum room to open, without even laboring or delivering, Paul got creative. I'm a good sport.

Finally a moment of calm after all of the chaos. Welcome to the world, Gannon Michael.

We can't wait to the thank the two EMTs who delivered Gannon. Jonathan and Tasso were simply amazing. They were calm, confident and certainly capable of delivering a baby in a less than ideal manner.

The following six posts are a quick recap of our first week as a family of four.

Nice to meet you, Baby Brother

When Isla walked into the room to meet Gannon, she was beaming like sunshine as she held her hands over her mouth, overwhelmed with true excitement. It was the moment she'd been waiting for. She came right over to the bed to say "hello" and "I love you" to her baby brother, Gannon.

Gannon surprised her with a special Princess storybook since she's been such a great big sister, even before he officially met her.

Absolutely precious.

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Gannon was able to meet his Auntie Maryann and Uncle Fryer on Saturday too. Thank you so much for making the trip from Valpo to share in our excitement. It means so much to have great friends like you! Jacob finally has a little boy buddy to play with!

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After only 38 hours in the hospital, it was time for us to head home!

Gannon put on his cool clothes and was ready to go.

Gannon and I decided to let Daddy drive us home from the hospital since he didn't get to take us there originally. Ha, ha!

Meet Gammo & Grampy

Now you have one of each to spoil!

Welcome to the family

Our first full day at home was a good one. Overnight Gannon had a very wet diaper (good sign after the circumcision) and in the afternoon, he reacquainted us with his poop in a big way after skipping a day. Good job, buddy!

Isla's been keeping a close eye on her baby brother, making sure he's happy and comfortable.

Later in the day, Gannon met some special members of his family:

Big Yia Yia (Another great-grandson to add to the long list. We can't keep track!)

Blake

Aunt Babs

Lea

Thank you all for making the trip up and spending a fun afternoon with us. You're so special and generous and we love you very much!

Proud Papa

So handsome, just like his daddy!

First bath at home

On Tuesday, it was time to get clean. At first Gannon was a little unsure of why he was out of his nice warm swaddle...

...but then he relaxed and enjoyed the pampering.

A kiss from Isla sure made it all worth it.

And the afternoon was topped off by a visit from Aunt Jaime. She is an old pro with little boys!

First doctor visit

On Wednesday, Gannon met Dr. Benuck since he wasn't able to in the hospital. He was so brave during his checkup as Big Sister Isla helped keep him calm.

The doctor usually has a Northwestern medical student come in for the exams as part of the learning process. Since this is our second time around as parents, we're familiar with the doctor's typical questions and exam procedures. Apparently Paul is so familiar and confident in his "doctor" skills after helping to deliver Gannon, he took it upon himself to ask the student one of the questions the doctor would. Poor Joe, the student. He didn't know the answer. Better look that one up. Or just ask Dr. Paul!

We're happy to report that Gannon is a healthy, strong boy and healing nicely from his battle wounds.

7 lbs., 15 oz.