The Babe-ette Party

Brunching with the ladies, Jessica, Kate, Carly, Becca and Anna at Flour Bakery

Every new mom deserves to have girlfriends as good mine. August in Boston was just about the perfect month for maternity leave. The weather was ideal for long walks and lounging in the park with my brand new babe. I only had eight weeks off and the highlight was six weeks in, when my best college buds came to meet Emaline and whisk me away for a much needed ladies night on the town.  

For some, six weeks may be too soon but I felt great and our chill baby made it easy to let Dad have his first few nights on duty. We brunched at Flour Bakery, spent a day strollering all over Boston, a night out in Harvard Square - dinner at The Red House and then dancing at The Donkey Show and the girls were too sweet to shower Emaline with gifts. It was the perfect weekend! Thank you ladies!

The infant stage is so precious but it can turn your mind to mush when baby's routine consists of eat, sleep, wail, repeat. I kept telling the girls that this should be the new Bachelor-ette party, because really when you have a baby that's the end to your fun nights out, not when you get married. So we decided, for first babies, whenever mom is ready, we'll do a 'Babe-ette' party. Can't wait for the next one!

Love Pangs

Emaline Jane, photo by Jonathan Schoeck

Emaline Jane Kirnie arrived, July 6 at 6:04am, 7lbs 10oz, 21 inches long. In four short weeks, she has entered our hearts and changed us forever.

The first feeling in that first moment of meeting your newborn is a different experience for every mother. Some speak of love at first sight or an instantaneous bond. Others grapple with the experience of less amorous emotions that leave them confused or even depressed. The expectations around this first moment are extremely high and its important to know that its okay and completely normal to have feelings other than love.

When I held her for the first time, it wasn't quite love I felt but rather, ecstatic relief. Such happy relief that she had finally arrived, my labor had ended, I had heard her cry and she was a healthy baby girl! Then, love began to grow.

I guess you might call the first sensations of love, 'pangs of joy'.  It happened when I saw them together - Nate with Emaline, my husband with his daughter. The sweet sight of them would tug so strongly at my heart that I would feel as though I may weep and laugh all at once.

It makes perfect sense and is a wonderful affirmation of our relationship that my love for her would grow from my love for Nate, the love that brought her into being. As our love for her blossoms, I hope we never lose sight of the fact that our love came first.  

baby animal photography

I am totally in love with these baby animal prints by photographer Sharon Montrose. The whole collection is beyond adorable but because these are real animal portraits, the sweet baby faces take on a level of sophistication that can be placed anywhere in the home.

We are short on space, so we converted a corner of our bedroom into the nursery. I wanted to create a special place for baby but I didn't want an over the top theme to dominate our bedroom. I love animals, so it didn't take me long to decide on this as a theme for our nursery, especially after I saw these prints.

It was difficult to choose from the wide variety of cutie baby animals but we ended up with the baby porcupine and the baby monkey. Nate insisted on the baby porcupine because he is such an unusual and quirky little fellow and we thought the baby monkey would be the perfect silly companion.

We originally registered for these through the photographer's website until we discovered Restoration Hardware had similarly subtle taste in nursery decor. The prints were on sale and already framed! Our sweet sis and bro snagged these for us and they are hanging over baby's crib.

Which baby animal would you pick? They are all so cute!

Firsts

Stella's first ball game!

"Do not say, 'it is morning' and dismiss it with a name of Yesterday. See it for the first time as a newborn child that has no name." - Ravindranath Tagore

One of the things I am looking forward to most as a new parent is seeing the world through new eyes and with new excitement as our baby experiences firsts. 

I have never been one to get overly excited about things. This has always frustrated my Mom. Birthdays, Christmas, surprises... I never quite had the reaction she was hoping for. Now, my husband gets to be the frustrated one. To be honest, I think this lack of outwardly expressed elation has always frustrated me. I don't know what's holding me back or why I've had to monitor my expectations or my reactions. Now that I'm going to be a parent, I'm finally ready to let go and allow life to surprise and delight me. Having a baby is sure to bring this about in ways I can only begin to imagine.

Earlier this week, Nate and I took Sarah and Brandon and our four month old niece, Stella to her first Red Sox game. It was my first game too, but it was more fun to see Stella experience it and take in all the sights and sounds of the game. I became so sensitive to the stimuli and so much more aware of the experience myself and I got excited!

During pregnancy it has been fun to think of our baby's firsts even as they are experienced from the womb. Needless to say, I'm excited to experience these firsts with our little one for real when s/he arrives!

Do you have favorite memories of your child's firsts or your own as a child? Please do share! 

Time Flies

Marrying the man of my dreams May 12, 2012 in Chattanooga, TN (photo: Austin Gros)

The internet has this way of documenting time that makes it all too clear how fast the years have passed. Reviving a blog that has stood still for the past four years makes me think. "Wow, I'm a completely different person now. Where did the time go?" So much life has happened. I finished grad school, landed the job of my dreams, married the man of my dreams and now, I find my self quite literally full of life with our first baby growing inside me.

I like looking back at the person I was then, hearing the voice of my youth and being able to relive the experiences documented on screen. Life has become so full and I feel compelled to find my voice again - to document the wonderful life experiences that are so important to remember.

I have three weeks until my due date (July 11) and before this special time in my life passes, I feel an urgency to document - to share how it feels, what I've learned, the joys and the challenges and even the little things. I've loved every moment of being pregnant and as one of the first of my friends to experience it, Dwelling Here will provide a place to share and learn together as this beautiful life develops and our little family grows. So, here we go...