It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!, a photo by raniel diaz on Flickr.

Wow - what a week! It's hard to believe that seven full days have passed since we first fell head over heels in love with our little girl.

We're learning about the relatively predictable (sometimes in hindsight) yet surprisingly interesting task of detective work required to keep our baby happy. It goes a little something like this: diaper - eat - burp - diaper - swaddle - sleep - swaddle sneaky arm - diaper - burp - spit up - sleep - diaper - eat - repeat.

Not much different than us although we don't normally take our meals two hours apart. Although it would be a lot better for us if we ate light snacks over a shorter period of time, but I digress...

The chest cuddles have been out of this world amazing. We've been sleeping in and having fun staying warm. She's already got me wrapped around her little finger. I've made it out on a couple errands and always seem to pick out a cute little outfit for my little Quinley. I could probably find Newborn Size clothes at the gas station...maybe something NASCAR!

It was "beginning to look a lot like Christmas" with baby's first Christmas tree! We picked up a cutie tree - our first real tree in quite a few years. We left fauxtree in the garage this year. And, dad had his normal fun with blurry tree lights on the camera...only he appreciates that.

Dad is also realizing that he has a bigger photography issue than he had previously thought and coping with it.

Really enjoying visitors and the new normal that comes with the privilege parenting. We're looking forward to our walks together when we can get out again and feel the ocean breeze in our faces. The days have been beautiful from the little moments we've seen.

Living in the moment. Loving every second.

Our Baby Closet - 5x6 & Real Simple

Our Baby Closet - 5x6 & Real Simple, a set on Flickr.

We love life here in Corona del Mar and about a million times more now with sweet Quinley Joy.

With the 2nd bedroom of our cozy living space acting as Eren's Etsy Bridal Shoppe office we selected the walk-in closet out of sheer necessity - we really don't want to move...just yet.

It's fun to think of living in a tiny little studio in Manhattan or a little cabin in the woods and this exercise in space discipline was a part of that thought process.

With sweet Quinley arriving a couple weeks early I'm so glad that I painted a few weeks ago! That may have been an overwhelming task at this point in time.

Special thanks to Hillary Blake for the bin labels, amazing sign and Owl burp cloth. And, to Gina Diaz and Louisa Cash for the wonderful Baby sign. Whitney Wright for the fun Baby Diaz banner. Lastly, everyone else who showered us with gifts that fill this tiny space. We love you all!

And, perhaps most importantly, my Grandpa - Mr. Keith Watson for the use of this beautiful handmade cradle that was built by his loving hands in 1951 for my mother, the eldest of eight siblings and the same resting place for me back in 1976.

Rest easy, Quinley - you'll be forever in our love and just a few steps away from our warm embrace.

First Friday

IMG_5095, a photo by raniel diaz on Flickr.

A third day with oxygen in her lungs and Quinley is at home teaching us how to care for her. A lot of sleeping, eating, burping and pooping. Each of these variables are critical to our success - amazing how often the pooping happens. Ran out of Size 0 diapers already and got changed in the back of the car in the Target parking lot on a Yoga mat. Classy beginnings...

Got some eyes open action before bed tonight and some great facial expressions. My girls are truly amazing. Eren is so beautiful right now and recovering well.  I will sleep well tonight no matter how many times we wake up. So - on to our fourth day and our first weekend full of surprises.

Welcome Beautiful Little Quinley Joy

IMG_4769, a photo by raniel diaz on Flickr.

Sitting in silence with Eren, reflecting on a day of anticipation, longing, physical pain and emotion so deep that all of the combined experiences in our life could not rival that single minute after the last push.

We are humbled to welcome beautiful Quinley Joy into this world with hearts full of gratitude. Her 20 inch frame was wrapped in a 7lb 10oz package and delivered to us at 6:24am.

Eren was so courageous today - I've never witnessed such a display of strength and commitment. I can't stop looking at her in amazement and telling her how incredible she is. She sleeps peacefully now.

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers. We enjoyed all of the thoughtful messages throughout the day.

We can't wait to spend time with you soon.

Beginning in the Middle

I've spent the past few months wondering when I would actually start documenting what should become one of our short life span's most life altering events. No more procrastinating (that's what I do best) - I'll give it a try and see where things go. It may be a bit scattered at this, "the beginning", because it all began in April when we pulled out what seemed to be just another pregnancy test.

So, this is our story. My lovely and beautiful wife, Eren, and I have been married for going on ten years this November. Most of our child rearing up to this point has been directed at our 7-year old dog (also ranked world's cutest by an expert panel of highly biased judges) named Derby. Being puppy parents has perhaps prepared us for some of life's little messes (aka all forms of projectiles) and even the discipline of schedules that revolve around potty breaks, but most parents have probably tuned me out by now because I HAVE NO IDEA and I'm talking about our dog.

We're well into our mid thirties (more me than Eren as she would want me to point out) and starting a family (more human than dog based) seemed like the right plan. After all, we had always planned on being parents at some point.  Plus, the longer we went without, the longer we would have to entertain the age-old line of questioning about "When are you having kids?" - "Do you even want kids?" - "Can you have kids?" and "What's wrong with you?"

I will readily admit that the process of trying to get pregnant is somewhat confusing and often frustrating. It probably took us about a year to find two stripes on the pregnancy stick. I'm sure we shouldn't have felt alone in this, but the process definitely feels lonely given that making babies is not a spectator sport (except for Derby on the end of the bed) and it's not something that you want to call home about frequently or talk through with the same friends who use the line of questioning referenced above.

Camera came out quick on this one - captured 4/11/11 - 9:43pm

But now we had something to discuss...the lines on the First Response (99.9% accurate) were both present and not disappearing. The look on Eren's face was a mix between the first time she saw her new Christmas puppy (excitement tempered with a huge dose of responsibility) and seeing a ghost (fairly obvious emotions here). I had more fun watching her reaction given that just a day prior she was almost yelling a prayer in the car that she wanted a baby. Well, He answered.

The past few months have been a blur and we're knocking on the halfway point of this pregnancy. I know I'm enjoying this process because it's not my body being invaded by an alien life form. I would say that Eren is approaching what I would call the "acceptance" phase or the "no more hiding" stage. Every day is filled with subtle changes that, in the end, amount to some large changes. My primary job now is to affirm my wife every step of the way.

If anyone wants to provide direction for me on how to keep this blog moving please let me know in the comments section. Otherwise I'll do my best to touch on all the areas that have received express written permission by the mother-to-be. It's late for me (almost midnight) and I just heard the most famous words in our pregnancy so far - "I'm hungry". I'm off to find her a snack.