Welcome to the World Our Baby Girl

As I'm wrapping up my maternity leave (as much as a small business owner can take maternity leave) and wedding season is upon us, I wanted to share a little behind the scenes look at what life has been like the past few weeks. In early July we welcomed our baby girl, Mila. Our hearts, home and hands have never been more full. We have had late night feedings, approximately one million loads of laundry, a few boxes of diapers, hours of sweet snuggles, a few accidental smiles and lately more intentional smiles. As far as babies go, we think we got a good one... even when she scrunches her face and it turns bright red before letting out a cry. Our house has been a revolving door of family that can't get enough of her and graciously babysits so we can have a few date nights ...and help me see the outside world a bit. In the last few weeks I've learned more about myself and what I'm capable of than I ever expected.  Life with a newborn is like living in the movie Groundhog Day... but on a three hour cycle. For someone that is used to a great deal of independence during the day, that is a challenge.  

I have also learned more about my husband than I ever thought I would. Seeing him become a dad has been the most amazing joy in my life. We've had people tell us they didn't feel like a dad until their baby could really interact with them.  That hasn't been the case for Morgan. He became a dad the second Mila let the delivery room know she was here (and meant business) with her fingers outstretched as she belted out a loud cry. ​When he gives her a bath at night or sings to her to settle her, my heart melts. This little one has him wrapped around her finger and I am so grateful to have Morgan as a partner in raising this happy girl. Mila will one day know how lucky she is to have him, something I've known for quite some time. 

Mila has truly changed our lives like everyone said she would, just in ways we couldn't imagine. Our routines are different. My body is different. Our house is different (in that tornado just came through kind of way). All of these changes, some harder to accept than others, are so worth it when Mila flashes one of her gummy grins.  I've decided that becoming a mom comes with this untapped strength, patience, love and ability to do things one handed with a pacifier between your teeth. It also comes with this time warp in which almost two months can go by and it feels like an eternity and a millisecond all at the same time.  Thankfully this time has flown by because we have been having FUN, but I'm torn between wanting to freeze time and anticipating all of the milestones ahead of us! I guess that's what pictures are for, right? 

This AMAZING watercolor is by our dear friend, Taryn Schwartz who has an incredible talent she graciously shared with us!

Photographing a newborn is hard... photographing your own newborn has its own challenges but was so surreal!! Special thanks to Amy J Owen Photography for coming to capture us as we came home and Amanda of A.Bloch Photography for visiting and snapping a few shots when we got settled in. I will cherish these images for a lifetime. 

Oh and since motherhood is far from these picture-perfect images (who has time to shower and put on makeup???), here's a look at what really goes down...

Feeding a baby surrounded by laundry in piles, pump supplies not put away, dog in the baby's bed, hours of Candy Crush under my belt, laptop open with emails unanswered, diaper supplies everywhere, the rock and play in the same spot that Roomba left it...

How Mila REALLY feels about having her picture taken...