Jordan Israel's birth rings in new year for Souzas

With his bright blue eyes and beautiful red hair, the Souza family welcomed their newest member, Jordan Israel, at 8:20 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2008. His arrival also marked a special occasion for Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital. He was the first baby born at the hospital for 2008.

Jordan's parents are Amy and Joshua Souza, of Lebanon.

Amy, 22, said Jordan looks a lot like his brother, Noah, who is two years old. Both boys have the blue eyes of their paternal grandmother.

"Jordan's brother has really blue eyes. It comes from Josh's mom. I think she has really pretty blue eyes," she said.

The red hair is a characteristic from her side of the family. The baby spent most of Friday lounging in Amy's arms, wrapped in a soft blanket.

"He's pretty mellow. He's a nice calm baby," she said, kissing her new son's forehead.

John Bailey, MD, from Samaritan Mid-Valley OB/GYN, delivered Jordan by caesarean section. He weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. Jordan was five ounces bigger than his big brother, Noah.

Taking on the role of "big brother" has been easy for Noah, Amy said.

"Noah talks about his baby brother all the time. He came in earlier and said, 'That's my baby brother.' It's pretty cute to watch him," she said.

Amy and her husband Joshua, 27, also have two girls Emilee, 8, and Zoe, 7. The boys both have names deriving from the Bible. "We wanted our boys to have Biblical names," Amy said.

The Souzas attend Lebanon Foursquare Church.

The pregnancy went well for her.

"Everything was planned and he was a very easy

C-section," she said.

Both grandmothers, siblings, and other family members were at the hospital for the birth.

The couple didn't try to have the first baby of 2008. It just happened. The Souzas received a basket of gifts from the hospital that included a Wal-Mart gift card, stuffed animal, bath toys and other items for the newborn.

"It's pretty cool," Amy said.

Jordan slept most of the day on Thursday, while Josh and Jordan's siblings took care of final touches to welcome the family's newest member home.

"We're ready to take him home," Amy said.