Monday, January 23, 2012

newborn pictures

James and I knew we wanted to capture some pictures of Ella in her sweet newborn stage, but felt we wanted to invest in a photographer to take family pictures when she is a little older. Since James has a great camera with a couple of lenses we decided to let him take the pictures. He worked so hard to research ways to get a newborn photo shoot ready and keep her calm and sleepy. I was so impressed with everything he had set up and how well it went. 

We took a few pictures of her in the morning when she was 4 days old. Everything went very smooth, minus the time she peed and pooped on me between pictures. Thankfully we were standing on the tile and definitely got a good laugh in as new parents learning as we go. 

Here are a few pictures from the shoot....





She did such a good job and I am so happy with the sweet pictures James captured! I know I will look back at these and be amazed at how tiny she was! It already feels like she is growing so much every day! 

Friday, January 20, 2012

Welcome Ella!

It has been 8 days since our sweet little girl completely changed our lives and joined our family. I wanted to get up some pictures sooner, but having a newborn is definitely a learning experience and free time is usually filled with naps! 

Ella joined us at 5:31pm on January 12th and we could not be more blessed with a perfect baby girl. Our labor and delivery process was very smooth. I had worries and anxiety about what the process would look like and I know it is different for every woman, but every bit of labor and delivery is worth meeting your baby and you really do forget how hard each part is once it is done. 

We can't believe it has already been a week and we are definitely learning more each day about how to love for and take care of our sweet baby. We know the Lord is already using this journey to refine both of us and has surely taught us so much about how much we can love. 

Here are some pictures of Ella...

 Love at first sight! 

 Ready to go home! 
 One excited Daddy ready to meet his little girl! He was so amazing during the entire process. I could not have done it without him! 

What most of our week has consisted of...lots of snuggle time! 

We are so thankful for Ella and can't wait to watch her grow. She has stolen our hearts and we are so in love with her!