Coincidence

So, many of us know of Stephanie Nielson of the NieNie Dialogues. Her blog is inspiring and beautiful and loved by many. But did you realize how much we share in common? First off we share the same name. And our husbands share the same name. And our oldest child also shares the same name! And strangely, her new life began the same day as mine. Although I don't want to make light of such a tragedy I find it interesting that their plane accident occurred the evening of August 16th, 2008, the same evening I began my journey with Christian Bennion.

Maybe I'm reading too hard into things, which would not be surprising as I find her the epitome of beautiful and cool.

ps...Claire is growing up beautifully and smiling at us more and more. I love her bright eyes which beam out her beautiful spirit.

Bellissima Baby

So, Bella Baby is one slick photography company. They come to your hospital room and take pics of your day-old baby and then show you the adorable pictures to tempt you to buy them. We fell for it hook, line, and sinker. How could we give up these precious pictures?

Our baby is more than bella, she's bellissima!

Here are a couple other pics I couldn't help but post. Look how big and alert she's getting! And even though she's sporting her classic concerned expression in almost every picture, she has started to smile at mom and dad :)

Time flies when you're having fun

Well, fun except for the sleepy night-time feedings. But time does fly once that baby is outside of you. The two weeks prior to birth - an eternity. Two weeks since - I feel like I'm in a weird time-warp. Babies do that to you I guess. Here's her progression over the last two weeks:

Just days old. One floppy, squishy little bundle of baby

Features are still soft and hard to define

Uncle Matt with niece Claire

Her face is finally starting to mold into its own unique little self

This is who our Claire is today!

I try to remind myself to enjoy the journey - every moment. I'll someday miss the sweet smell, innocent eyes and tiny mouth that make up our infant, but it's fun to see who's she's becoming too.