Funny faces and a few pouts in between~

Amaia is such a character! Her facial expressions are already so pronounced an she's got a pouty lip that makes us melt! I think we're in trouble because she's already got us wrapped around her little finger! This must be payback from when I was a little girl. See for yourself!

Undeniably precious!!!!!

More moments of Amaia J. captured on film. She is our world and undeniably precious!!!

xoxxxx~

Many Firsts...

Wow....life with Amaia is so wonderful! We are head over heels in love with our little angel.

Its amazing how many of her firsts we've already experienced, and we wanted to share some that we captured on camera with all of you. From her first car ride, to her first day home, first bath and first smiles. We continue to learn something new about her every day. Our lives are complete now that she's finally here!

To be continued.....

Worth the wait!

August 5th, 2009 at 10:51AM our beautiful daughter was introduced to the world. Weighing in at 7lbs, 6oz and 21 inches long, it was love at first sight. Although labor and delivery did not end up as I expected, I've come to realize through many life experiences that everything happens for a reason. We were told numerous times by the doctors that she would arrive early, before my due date, but after being 9 days past due, they discovered that she was frank breech and had flipped during the last week of my pregnancy. With an attempt to turn her in the hospital that was unsuccessful, there was no other choice but to deliver her via c-section. I can honestly say that I felt robbed and was terrified of undergoing any type of surgery after experiencing what Phil had been through. I do feel in some ways that I missed out on bonding time with my new baby girl and the recovery was extremely difficult, but most importantly...Amaia arrived safely and couldn't have been healthier. Finally the moment we had been anticipating for months! She's here, she's beautiful, she's ours!! Absolutely worth the wait. The journey was amazing.

Check out her birth announcement!
http://www.newbabynews.net/hospitals/stj5/public/stj5birthannouncement.pl?babyID=h5-12404

My lovely baby bump...

Wow!! My baby bump has definitely grown over the months. From the beginning of March, all the way to the current date. The last picture of me was taken today. And yet...the doctors are still telling my that my stomach is small for being almost 38 weeks along??? After my visit yesterday they are actually expecting our daughter to arrive early! Her expected due date is 7/26/09. Now they are saying I could deliver anywhere from next week to week 39! We are so excited to see her beautiful face. I wonder everyday what she will look like. I've felt great throughout my entire pregnancy and will credit that to the 4 day per week exercise program and eating the right foods..PS hell yes to no stretch marks and being able to keep my navel ring in!

Now that my pregnancy is coming to an end, it seems like it's flown by! My husband and I have learned so much about each other through this entire process and I'm sure we'll continue to learn more and more. We feel as prepared as we can at this point and are anxious to see what the next weeks will bring. All and all it has been an amazing journey! The next post from me will be to introduce our beautiful and healthy baby girl to the world.

Until then....keep us in your thoughts!!!

Baby shower!!!

I tend to be quite the perfectionist and have been called a control freak before. Although this is never my intention I'm grateful for the people in my life that put up with my meticulous ways! A special thank you to my Mommy who worked so hard to make our baby shower such a special day for us! Hours upon hours were spent prepping and decorating, but I don't think it could have been a better day for me, with the exception of Ja'Niya missing it :(

More than anything, there's nothing better than having the opportunity to celebrate with good friends over good food and a rather tasty raspberry lemonade spritzer..yum!!! We are thankful to everyone for all of the amazing gifts and good conversation. Thank you for celebrating our little girl with us! It was a day we will never forget!!

More visuals...

Decor, amazing appetizers & dessert table!

Nursery fit for our princess!

So at this point we had decided on a special name and next needed to create a special place that we could call her nursery! We had to make sure that her room was perfect and fit for a princess, so that was our goal in planning the decor.

I am very inspired by modern interior design and vintage charm. I wanted to be able to tie in my personal style while also adding some antique pieces. Unfortunatly my husband did not have the same views...LOL! I was unsuccessful in my pleas for a chandelier, but made up for it with my night light :) We weren't interested in painting the walls as they were already a neutral color, but knew that we wanted white furniture. After days of research online we found the perfect crib, dresser and 3 drawer changer. I swear, the furniture came in a million little pieces and we spent hours upon hours putting it all together but it was all worth seeing the finished product in the end!

The color scheme we decided on was Pink, Raspberry & Chocolate.

It took forever to find the perfect crib bedding that embodied what we were looking for! We saw so many different sets, but none of them spoke to me the way that the one we finally chose did. It was modern yet clean and simple without feeling to cold. Absolutely perfect! And when we received the bedding we were able to begin accessorising. The fur rug was a must, along with the letters above her crib and the butterfly decals. We tied in the bows holding her crib letters in place, to the valance that hangs from the rod with the jeweled finish. Other special pieces include her princess piggy bank & vintage music box which I received from my own mother, her Grandmother.

These are the visuals...our finished nursery, fit for our princess!

A special name for a special girl...

After much discussion and reading an entire book of baby names which included some really horrific ones like Meckledoodum, Cinnamon, Poodle & Kentucky, my husband and I finally agreed on one. We knew we wanted to give her a name that was unique and that had special meaning. We decided on the following:

Amaia Jazelle
Origin of Amaia: Basque/Spanish/Japanese
Meaning: "A High Place"& "Night Rain"
Origin of Jazelle: American
Meaning: "One who is promised; influenced by the style of music"

We felt this was a perfect fit for our baby girl! Little Amaia Jazelle has brought us to the highest point of happiness in our lives and has also pulled us out of the dark to surround us with joy and light! Her late Grandfather, LaVerne Walker was an amazing Jazz musician and her middle name is our way of honoring his gift and spirit. She is such a blessing to us and her name is a reflection of just that!

Boy or girl...

Are we having a boy or a girl? Can you tell by the way I'm carrying? If I hang my wedding ring by a string and place it above my head will it swing back and forth or in a circle? Am I craving sweets or salty foods? Do I feel glorious and beautiful or like natural beauty is no longer? I took every quiz I could find on the Internet and it seemed like I got a different answer each time. Some days I was having a girl and on other days I was having a boy. Honestly, what's most important is that our baby is healthy, but I could barely handle the suspense! Hell..we had been through so much already, we thought we owed it to ourselves to know! We wanted to plan and be able to focus our energy on the positive! It was a decision that we are so glad we made! The day finally arrived on March 4, 2009. We discovered in a phenomenal ultrasound that we were having a baby girl!!!! I think by the time the ultrasound was over I may have flooded the entire room with my tears. What a blessing! Daddy's little princess & Mommy's beautiful little girl. Now the planning process could begin.

Look @ her go!

Getting to know baby

So many thoughts ran through my brain during the 1st trimester of my pregnancy and beyond. I wanted to know so much more about this amazing little being that was causing me to feel so excited, but at the same time so sick that the slight thought of food made me ill. I felt the many effects of the pregnancy in the 1st trimester while also dealing with many worries and a tremendous amount of stress that came with my husband's accident. My 1st ultrasound took place on January 7th 2009 and I felt an immediate bond to our baby! I guess this bond is one that can only be understood by mothers or mothers-to-be. Visually my body had not changed much yet, but I felt like a completely different person on the inside! In the coming weeks I began to discover many little surprises. From the baby's 1st kicks @ 16 weeks to the random food cravings..bring on the strawberry kiwi life water, green olives, pickles, baked lays and starburst...yum!!!!

My miracles...

More than anything lately I have been taught that nothing in life is guaranteed.
I've discovered through a series of unexpected and unfortunate events how precious life truly is! Not only did our lives change forever on the date we found out that we were pregnant with our first child, but then again 12 days later on the date of December 12, 2008 when my husband suffered a severe work accident. This accident landed him in the ICU @ Harborview for 6 weeks total where he was then transferred to a nursing home for an additional 9 weeks. He underwent 13 surgeries and many other medical procedures. He had to be re-taught how to stand and even walk again, and today he is a walking miracle! I actually have two miracles in my life now and honestly believe that our child is the reason my husband is in his current stage of recovery. Our unborn baby has given us strength, courage, determination and new hope for a better tomorrow. We always have something to look forward to and know that the gift of life is a blessing to be cherished and never taken for granted.

Life Changing Event

Life changed forever for us on Sunday November 30th 2008. A miracle had blessed us and entered our lives that day. As overwhelmed as we were, there was a sense of calming, peace and excitement that overcame us. I have always been told that I am nurturing & motherly.....perhaps my life purpose had finally been revealed!