MADE FOR LOVE

Monday, April 13, 2015

- 26 is way MORE than it's cracked up to be! -

Every time there was one of those time capsule questionnaires or pageant interviews or diary entries that was like, "Where do you see yourself when you're 25?" I would always respond with:

Graduated from college.

Working as a nurse.

Married.

With a house.

HAVING A BABY.

My personal "timeline" always included bambino numero uno making an appearance at that magical "age 25."

And we .j.u.u.u.u.u.s.t. barely made it!

Momma be 25 years and 357 days old, and helloooo Baby Harper. :)

But now I'm 26 and none of that sh*t matters.

Birthday day = early morning family snuggle sesh! We fit on this couch a lotttt better than we did a week ago! ;)

Thennnn homemade breakfast and Starbucks from my hubs + more super sweet snugs from my bug!

Brian had a bachelor party to attend later that day [yeppp, nominate me for wife of the YEAR, because I didn't even attempt to throw a feisty fit about this], so after lunch time Harper and I headed up north to visit the grandparentals.

Sarge meet Harper, Harper meet Sarge...

And birthday night = an awesome home-cooked birthday dinner for the masses, and THEN my mom and bro babysat the boo while I hit up a performance of The Promise with some other family! [Pics and post of Harper's acting debut at The Promise coming next!] Grandpa + his biblical garb! ;)

We made it home around midnight -- both of us beyond ready to P.T.F.O. and so sleepy we didn't even miss Daddy! ;)

So.......26 years old?

Getting too damn old to party like it's 1989, but pretty sure this is still going to be the best year yet!

Happy birthday to meeee!

- Mexican birthday BASH! -

SEVEN DAYS OLD...

One week!!

Where has the time gone...

For real.

My super great nurse friends wanted to throw Harper Bug a one-week birthday bash...

...so we celebrated with some quesadillas and margaritas!

[Well, lemon-ade-ritas.]

MEXICAN NIGHT!!! And snuggles all around!

Come back to play soon, frans! Harper loves margaritas, and this momma could use another quesadilla! ;)

- Six-Day Updates // Sleepfest -

Play-by-play-by-play baby updates like you've never seen them before! I love that no one cares!

BUT.

A sunrise to sunset day in the life of six-day-old [very well behaved!] Harper:

-- A visit from Grandma and Grandpa and lotssss of snuggles from a very proud Grandpa Mark!

-- And thennn packing up for our first appointment with the pediatrician! I walked around in a circle for 20 minutes before we left replaying over and over and over in my head all the things we could possibly need in the diaper bag. I think we could've survived for a week on a deserted island with all the supplies I stowed away. [My four-week mom-self looks back in hindsight and cackles at my one-week mom-self, bahahah.]

Brian had been out and about a couple times, but this pediatrician visit was MY first time out of the house since our ride home from the hospital four days ago. And..oh em gee...life still existed and civilization was pressing on outside our humble abode.

Such a big girl! Today, she weighed 7 lbs, 10.5 oz, and was 20 inches long! [She was 8 lbs, 4 oz at birth but dropped down to 7 lbs, 10 oz by discharge time. Apparently "maintaining" weight for the first week is normal, but the pediatrician would like to see her back up to birth weight by the 2-week weight check. Grow baby, grow! ...Although I'm not too worried about this considering she eats like a small horse.]

While we were waiting for the pediatrician to come in, Harper decided it was snack time. As mentioned up top, this was our first family trip out of the house and I was REAL PROUD of my first-time mom-self for pumping right before we left and having a full [still warm!] bottle on hand for her to guzzle in the exam room. ...Not that I would've minded whipping the sisters out in public, but you know...modesty is a classy thing when you're trying to make a decent first impression on the woman who's gonna be taking care of your kid for the next 18 years...............

BUT...

[There's always a but.]

Modesty is only a classy thing for momma. Baby bear don't currrr.

That blessed bottle led to a boisterous blowout, and the woman in the white coat walked right on in while Harper was earning herself a diaper/clothes change. Nothing like meeting your doctor with your butt up in the air and poop smeared on your back. Good one, bebe... ;)

-- After checking out with an A+ report, we decided to treat Harper to her first trip to Target! She was thoroughly enthused. Vitamin D3 drops and Starburst jellybeans all around!

-- Dinner and cuddles from Marko and Emma!

Love this photo of Harper and her cousin-to-be! This little lady will be making her appearance in about 4-ish weeks! So excited for this family to live so close and these girlie girls to grow up together!!!

-- Time for the bedtime ritual after a longgg fun-filled day! Harper's diapey is from the stash of Pampers that the lovely women in my life decorated at our shower in January; this one says "Thank you, Mommy! I love you!"...

...because you can obvi tell that she loves me a real lot. <3

Momma is exhausted!! Catch ya'll after some zzzzzz's.........

Thursday, April 9, 2015

- Newborn Pics // Family Fotoz -

I have been on Paige's calendar for newborn pics since she first started taking them YEARS ago. I hadn't even met Brian yet, but when Paige would post a newborn session on her Facebook or website, I would shoot her a text like, "Yo.......mark me down for newborn photos if I'm not still single when I'm 50 and barren."

Then Brian came along. Every time I caught up with Paige, words like these were exchanged: "Hey sis......I have a man! Keep me in mind for those newborn photos......!"

When Brian put a ring on it, guess who was one of the first to know?! Paige. "I GOT SOME BLING! Babiessssss in the next few years! Mark me down, hoe."

First comes love...

Then comes marriage...

Then comes...yep...THE BABY!

The second that positive pink line appeared, this momma be callin' up Paige. "NEWBORN COMING IN MARCH!!! SAVE THE DATE/MONTH!"

And then just like that, a little Harper Cecilia entered the world.

So then just like that, a talented and accommodating and wonderful Photographer Paige immediately put us on the books for photos.

We went to her house when Harper was a week-ish old to knock these out. She shoots in a little "studio" room upstairs and has this mini-heater cranked up to full blast. [I guess naked babies like to be warm, but postpartum mommas do not and da-yummmm I was immediately sweating my @$$ off! Beads rolling down my boobs and butt crack. :/ Ten minutes into the session I was stripped all the way down to my bra; thank God Paige and I are the way we are because a rando photographer totes would've judged me rullll good.] Even though that room was hot as Hades, Harper would NOT fall asleep for her sweet little life. We rocked her, fed her, burped her, fed her, rocked her, snuggled her, fed her, held her upside down, fed her...etc etc etccccc. I fed her right before we went, but I think she literally ingested 5+ MORE ounces before she .f.i.n.a.l.l.y. drifted off into a milk coma. [That's a LOT of food for a one-week-old! Still shocked about it. Actually we know she ingested that much, because she peed it all out and soaked six of the photo prop blankets and THEN pooped on Paige's leg!!! Cray-z bebe.]

Ok.

No one cares.

Shut the hell up, Bridget.

[Almost done.]

Before I spill the real awesomeness, here's a little "behind the scenes" action! Paige be like, "Go the eff-word to sleep, child!" and Harper be like:

Anyway...

-- NEWBORN PICS! -- ...in all their glory...

We wanted to snap a few family photos while we were already there, too. By the time Harper ate her 5+ ounces and then fell asleep and THEN she had all her photos taken, I'm fairly certain the room temperature was up to 90 degrees. Maybe more??? 95? Not even kidding. Paige had to come wipe the sweat off my forehead in between each pic [could've used a cleavage wipe-down too, but surprisingly we didn't go there! ;) ] HAH. Saint Paige. I didn't even give her a tip for having my sweat all over her hands and Harper's poo all over her pants!!

[Shut up, Bridget...again...]

-- FAMILY FOTOZ! --

Thanks for the beautifulllll photos, Paige!!! We love them and you! :-*

*****
Here's another session Paige did for us [way back when we were young and innocent!]!

And check out her website, too!!!
*****

- And THEN we made it... -

...HOME.

Home...after "Birth Story" parts...

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

AND FOUR!

Home home homeee. Home, sweet home. Home: where the heart is. <---All of those things.

It was really amazing to be back in the comfort of our own home. Two nights and three days at the hospital was enough [although a teensy tiny bit of me missed a) laying in that postpartum bed twiddling my thumbs, b) sitting back and watching the nurses do all the dirty diaper changes, and c) sending Harper off to the nursery for a few hours every night so we could get some uninterrupted shut eye! ...But only a teensy tiny bit of me missed that.].

"That moment" everybody warned us about never ever hit. [You know, "that moment" of walking in the front door and letting reality set in; "that moment" when new inexperienced parents be like, "Oh em gee double-yew tee eff whattttt did we get ourselves into and whereeeee is the baby manual and howwwww are we ever gonna take care of this child???"] I'm not sure why it never hit, because I was totally expecting it to. Maybe Harper is an easy baby or maybe we're just too laid back in the parenting realm, but taking care of her and picking up on her wants and needs seemed totally second-natured. <---Not mad about that.

Of course, the classic "first-time parenting experience" was ours to a "T": the love was abundantly overflowing, but the sleep was not. Luckily, the little lady kept on a pretty regular every-3-ish-hours nursing schedule. She only cried when she was starving or sopping wet down in the genitalia region. She was a greedy glutton for some serious snuggles [which we obviously quickly obliged to]. Only downfall? ...She did NOT approve one bit of being put down or left alone for more than five hot seconds. That was all fun and cute during the day time, but at night it led to her super-smitten/wholly-whipped parents taking turns sleeping in the recliner all snuggled up with her.

Buuuuut whatever. No need for good sleeping posture or intact neck muscles, because they're only small for a little while right? ;)

^^ Going home! Bad nighttime sleeping habits commence! Swinging alone for five seconds without crying!

We had the first evening/night at home to ourselves [in the recliner], and then: Happy St. Patrick's Day [note everyone's festive green clothes] and holyyyyy visitor train [omg everyone loves a little Harper Bug!].

-- GREAT Grandma Penny and GREAT Grandpa Jim! Harper is the first great-grandchild on my dad's side, and I don't think these two could be even a tiny bit prouder! :)

-- Aunt Sarah + cousins Murphy and Melody... Murphy is only three weeks older than Harper. We can't wait for these two cousins to grow up together so close in age!