Our bundle of Leah Joy!

Leah Joy arrived 5 days early at 1:24 PM, on Sunday, February 20. It was a day we will never forget in so many ways. We have waited a long time to hold this little sweetie in our arms, and her arrival into the world was the most exciting thing either one of us has ever fathomed. It realy is true what "they" say- there is NOTHING like the feeling of your child coming into the world. I'm not so sure who "they" are, but I can tell you what- I get it now, and could not be happier about it. Being her mother has been the biggest honor of my life so far.

She was a big, healthy girl right from the get-go. Leah came into this world at 8 lbs, 10 oz, and 20 inches long. Our little love was perfect from red-head to tiny toes, and we can't stop smooching either one of them. :)

Here are some memories from the first few days of our darling daughter's life. They are out of order, so please bear with me as my non-tech saavy self learns how to be a better blogger!


He is one proud daddy! I have known my husband for 11 years, and I have never, ever seen him even close to this happy. It is magical, and we love each other more every day we share as her parents.

Our new family. It feels better than we imagined.

Teeny feet in Daddy's hand.

Right before we left to take our girl home for the very first time!

Waiting for her first car ride, all snuggly-buggly!

Having our baby home is the best feeling in the world.

Showing Leah her room for the first time. She didn't seem to care. :)

How about those CHEEKS???

My new fav pass time. She is so easy to snuggle, and has been a marvelous baby so far!

Minutes after Leah's arrival. She had quite the conehead!

The doctor and nurses could not get over the red hair! People were coming in our room asking to see her. She was the talk of the floor!

Our first five days as parents have been great, and we know it will only get better. WELCOME TO THE WORLD, our Little Miracle!

OK, Let's GO!

I had my 37 week doctor's appointment last week, and they did an ultrasound. Everything looked fabulous, but baby girl is HUGE- 9 lbs to be exact- with 2 weeks to go! I was told that they can't make an estimate based on ultrasound alone, so I freaked a bit and figured it MUST be off. I had my 38 week appointment today, and OH BOY! My belly was measuring 42 weeks! That is 2 weeks late in pregnancy land! She said she was shocked I am as functioning as I am, considering my body is carrying around the weight of a 2 week overdue baby! The combination of the ultrasound and my belly measurement confirm the fact that Leah is, unfortunately, not taking after her tiny father in the size department. Poor girl. :(

What, you ask, was the first question out of my mouth at that point? Ummm... when can you induce me??? My doctor does not believe in induction without a need, but she does think that this might be just that. My next appointment is in one week, and, if I am still pregnant with our giant child, we will discuss the possibility of inducing me the following day. BRING IT ON!

Hey, at least she will have darling little chubby cheeks, right? Can't wait to kiss 'em.

All we need is a baby!

We have been working on our baby girl's room for months now, and, with less than 3 weeks to go, we are thrilled to say it is done! We are more anxious than ever for her to be here, but she will be so worth the wait! At least she has a little place to call her own once we bring her home. Ok, not that she'll care, but it makes us feel better!


Here are the GORGEOUS canvases that one of our best friends, Natalie, painted for Leah. She is so talented (insert plug here- she has a website for her buisness- let me know if you want any info) and took a lot of time and love to help make the nursery special. We love you, Nat!

The words say "How wonderful life is while you're in the world". Music is such an important part of our lives, and we hope to pass that on to our children. So, we thought we would base her room around our favorite line from our wedding song, "Your Song", by Elton John. If you look closely at the birds on the canvases, you can see they are singing the tune. I am so happy it came out like it did. We hope Leah loves it as much as we do.



Our girl has also been given a few other incredible, hand-made gifts from some of her other Aunties! Morgan made the little pink frame on the shelf. It says "Rock on Lil' Girl"- so appropriate for the daughter of a band nerd! Alicia made her the beautiful growth chart next to the door with her name on it. Both gifts are so meaningful to us. We have amazing friends, and Leah will have awesome "Aunties".

Come to think of it, most of what it in this photo has been a gift from people we love. Leah's G-ma (Paul's mom) made a photo book for her, called "Everyone loves Leah." It has photos from generations back on both sides of our family, and tells her a little story of where she comes from and who loves her. Needless to say, that one made me cry, too. The recliner is from her Aunt Beth and Aunt Nancy, the year frame from Aunt Peggy, and the recordable book and little butterfly from her Nonni (my mom). What a lucky little girl we have! She is already so loved.

This is the view from the door of her room. We like to think it looks bright and cheerful, just as we hope she is! Thanks again to my parents for the darling book case!!!

We (and by "we", I mean Paul and my Dad- let's get real) took the doors off the closets and turned one into a double hanging closet, and one into nothing but deep storage shelves. It is just awesome! We can fit so much in there. My Dad is a genius and always thinks of the best solutions.

There it is! A lot of hard work and love poured into one room for one very special, itty-bitty person. We are ready when you are, little Love!

365 days later...

Just a little over a year ago, we got the news that rocked our world. Paul was diagnosed with chiari malformation, and we learned that he needed to undergo pretty risky and major (is there any other way to describe it?) brain surgery. Suddely, our little bubble of life and contentment was popped. We had never lived in a world with such doubt and fear for the safety of the other. I spent the two weeks before the procedure in a fog, not even being able to comprehend the fact that something horrible could happen to the love of my life. The big day was set for February 1. Well, guess what? I was mad at the month. I guess I needed something to blame, so I blamed the month that was labeled as "surgery month." I thought I'd be pretty peeved at the good old second month of the year for a long time to come.

Thank GOD, the patient (who happened to look cute in his hospital scubs, I might add) came out not only fine, but better than ever! February 2010 was a trying month, but one also filled with a lot of realization about what is REALLY important and worth fighting for. As long as we had one another, we could do anything. Loving the people around you is all that really counts. It forever changed both of our perspectives on life, AND P felt a heck of a lot better. Chiari turned out to be a blessing in disguise!

365 days ago, as I was anxiously sitting in the waiting room at Rush with our families, I never, ever would have belived the joy and anticipation that would be in our lives a mere year later. Today, I am typing in our office next to our baby girl's room, watching the snow come down and my belly wiggle when Leah rolls around.

February, I think I forgive you. You have been good to us in many ways.