6th anniversary

On May 28, 2011, we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. This was our first chance at a date night since Eleanor was born. It felt really good to get dressed up and wear heels again. We didn't go far - just to the Irish Frog in Clinton, where we listened to one of Brad's former students playing in the pub. Brad entertained me by imitating Eleanor's many facial expressions. It was nice to get away for a little while and feel like ourselves again. Above is one of our first family photos from that special night. And below is a photo of us at our wedding.

Haven't changed a bit! :)

And then there were three

After 6 wonderful years of marriage, Brad and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. As happy as we were to find out that we were pregnant, I was worried about how we would adjust to this new chapter of our lives since it has just been the two of us for so long. Sure, people told us that it would just click after she was born, but I had my doubts. As soon as I held my little girl, I was overwhelmed by the love I felt for her. I could not believe that this precious baby had been inside of me for the past 9 months. I held her close and tried to memorize every inch of her beautiful face. It turns out that everyone was right; it does just click.


Eleanor Clara was born on May 11, 2011. She arrived 3 weeks early, as I was having issues with preeclampsia. We went in the night before around midnight for observation, since my blood pressure was consistently high and wouldn't come down. We thought I'd probably go home on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy, but my doctor thought it would be best to induce. I didn't have my bags packed or anything. The next morning, as I alerted everyone about the induction, Brad raced home to grab some things we might need for the hospital. By the time he returned, Dr. K had already broken my water (Ouch!), and we were on our way! I was induced at about 8:30 am and got the epidural around 10:30 am. I started pushing around 1:30 pm, and Eleanor was born at 3:17 pm, weighing 5 lbs 15 oz and was 19.5 inches long. Brad was so supportive through it all, giving me encouragement and ice chips when I needed it, holding my hand the whole way through. I couldn't ask for a better partner.

And so our little family of two became a family of three. Parenthood has been both wonderful and exhausting at the same time. We haven't slept for more than a few hours at a time for the past two months. Our days consist of feeding, changing, soothing and bathing Eleanor. Somewhere in there, we find time for a shower or dinner. But even though our life has changed so drastically, we just adore our little girl and wouldn't change a thing!