Nancy Swarts

    She was a long time coming, but a little Beaver Crossing girl brought in the new year in a real big way.
     Emily Elizabeth, daughter of Tamara Grunke-Kenning and Aaron Kenning, was born just 10 seconds into 2008 at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln. Jo Miller, Public Relations Director for St. E's, said the newborn was the first for their busy maternity ward, the first in the state, and as far as they know, the first in the nation this year.
     "We're kind of excited about that," she said. "We're laying claim to it until somebody says different."
     The closest new year baby to Emily Elizabeth they know of was born in Atlanta, Ga., just one minute after midnight.
     Tamara had spent nearly the entire month of December in the hospital battling pre-term labor, but Emily Elizabeth held out until she was a healthy six pounds, three ounces.
     In the meantime, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Beaver Crossing kept meals coming to Aaron and the couple's two older children, Joey, 4, and Lilly, 1.
     "We had a lot of help from the church," Tamara said. "That was a huge relief for us."
     Grandparents of the baby are Mary and Roger Grunke, Seward, Ramona and the late Lorence Kenning, Hebron, and great-grandmothers are Betty Parr, Seward, and Ardene Grunke, Scribner.
     Tamara said things are getting back to normal in her household. The baby's working up an appetite, Lilly wants to cuddle and Joey is "all wrapped up in the excitement of seeing Mom every day."
     Whether or not Emily Elizabeth's birth stands as the first in the nation, her mother says that's just the fun part of their experience. After the worries of the last month, she's happy just to have her baby in her arms.
     "She's a blessing."