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Yep, this has been me for the past month. Home-bound, scrubby, blurry-eyed, sometimes completely overwhelmed, most of the time seriously over-joyed. I’ve been loving every second of this special time with Eloise and Mae. But now it’s back to school for Eloise, and back to work for mommy. I’m so excited to get behind the camera again and to see all of my little clients’ bright smiles. I know it’s snowing and cold today (seriously, April?), but spring will be here before we know it with all of the fresh green leaves and warm sunshine that comes with it. I’m currently booking weekend sessions now through the end of July. Get ’em while the gettin’s good!
We have enjoyed every moment of the last three weeks with baby Mae. It’s been such a special time, filled to the brim with emotion and joy. When Eloise was born, Mike and I created a slide show of special images from her first two weeks at home. We wanted to do the same for Mae. Mae’s song was one I heard on the radio when I was pregnant. The first time I heard it, it filled my eyes with tears and struck such a chord with me. I listened to it frequently throughout the pregnancy. When I would get nervous, it had a soothing way of calming me down. It sums up our journey with Mae perfectly. Thank you for sharing our happiness with us.
Mae Genevieve
February 27, 2016
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Well, here we are on our due date…and Baby Mae is 2 weeks old! We are all so HAPPY. Happy for midnight snuggles and late night feedings. Happy to be doing tummy time and to watch these little sisters bonding. Happy to be exhausted and overwhelmed in a normal way for such a wonderful reason. Mae is an absolute joy, and Eloise, Mike, Dorey and I have enjoyed every second with her. What was life before Mae?! It’s already hard to remember. Seeing her with Eloise (who has proven to be the best big sis we could ever have hoped for) makes every single anxious second of the pregnancy and this (sometimes scary) infant time worth it a hundred times over. Rest assured, I’ve been having a ton of fun snapping photos, and am slowly but surely working on a newborn slideshow, like we made for Eloise. In the meantime, we are looking forward to hunkering down for three more days to enjoy the rest of Mike’s paternity leave and this special family time before we are forced to surface, and life, work, and routine set in.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all of the sweet messages, generous gifts, and abundance of well-wishes! We are feeling so very loved, and are thrilled to share our happiness with all of you.
Mike, Eloise, and I are thrilled to introduce our new family member. Mae Genevieve Soares Krantz was safely delivered on Saturday, February 27 at 1:48am, at 38 weeks +1, weighing in at 6lbs 1ounce. The labor was amazingly calm and smooth, although it was a bit of a surprise.
We discovered at my 38 week checkup on Friday afternoon that I hadn’t made further progress laboring, so they scheduled an induction for the following Thursday. While at that appointment, we also discovered my blood pressure had spiked. To play it safe, the doctor checked me and Mike into triage to monitor for preeclampsia. After about two hours, we thankfully ruled out pre-e…but ironically, contractions had started every five minutes! How lucky (and strange!) that I naturally went into labor while at the hospital. Mae is the most accommodating baby ever!
We got home from the hospital late yesterday afternoon. Watching Eloise and Mae meet for the first time filled our eyes with happy tears and our hearts with so much joy we thought they would burst.
Having Mae here with us feels like a dream come true. Mike and I are overwhelmed and sleep-deprived (someone is getting night and day confused. I won’t name names) and not a little bit scared (admit it…newborns are terrifying!). And we are loving every second of the chaos. Mae is a calm, sweet, cuddly, smiley, happy baby, and we couldn’t possibly love her more.
Congratulations to your family! She is adorable!!
These two! Can’t get enough of them. We had a warm and fuzzy Valentine’s Day last weekend. Mike made me and Eloise heart-shaped pancakes, then we spent some great family time relaxing together, playing the new Paw Patrol game we got for Ellie. It was a very sweet day.
*Flower Girl! One of my best friends surprised me and Eloise this week by asking me to be her Matron of Honor and Eloise to be one of her flower girls in her wedding this coming September. I couldn’t be more touched, and Eloise is very excited “to throw pedals and eat cake!” She’s already practicing walking down the aisle…which entails clutching a pretend bouquet of flowers demurely before running as fast as she can, laughing hysterically. Thankfully, we have 7 months to work on our poise before the big day! Lachelle and Mike…we are so thrilled for you and can’t wait to be a part of your big day. Thank you again for such an incredible honor.
*My little country star. I overheard Eloise singing the Berenstain Bears theme song the other day…with a serious country accent. It. Was. The. Best.
*Retail therapy. While Mike chaperoned a field trip for Eloise the other day (one perk of being super pregnant…not having to field all school activities!), Mom and I spent an incredibly pleasant and relaxing morning shopping for the Littlest Sister. Then we enjoyed coffee and pastries while we over-analyzed MLS listings. I love my kiddo, but at the moment, I will take shopping and pastries and online house-hunting over wrangling 18 crazy 3 year-olds at a play!
*My Littlest Sweetheart. Here we are at 37 weeks…full term! This is the longest I’ve ever been pregnant. The Littlest Sister seems to be doing well, and things are progressing (read: I am more physically uncomfortable than ever). It’s a toss whether we have days or another two weeks before we can meet her. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going out of my mind. The waiting game at the end of a pregnancy is always brutal, but we have some serious emotional baggage that is making this one ridiculously challenging. It is what it is, and so long as she continues to be OK, I will find a way to be OK, too. Onwards I go…distraction, distraction, distraction!
What a beautiful slideshow! Love the song, too.
Oh how precious! Thank you for sharing!
what precious and beautiful pictures.
thank you for sharing them with us.
Congratulations.
we love you all!!!!!