Week 2

I keep telling myself that I will journal and blog about these first days with Mary Allison but instead I just keep staring at her and soaking up her tiny-ness... one of these days I'll put her down for a minute and grab a pen. 

She'd like you to believe that we never feed her but I assure you that is not true! She's up 9 ounces from her birth weight and already grew 5/8ths of an inch! Slow down, May!! 

 Happy Easter!

Shout out to our friend, Elizabeth Ross, for knitting this adorable carrot!! 

 Sic'em bears!!

Another knitting shout-out to our friend, Meaghan Bond, for knitting this adorable Baylor garb for our future Baylor bear!

 First tummy time!

And one last shout-out to our friend, Tammy Quackenbush, for sewing this incredible quilt!!

All our sleepy love-

Brigid, Chris and Mary Allison

Week 1

 Hi friends! Here is a glimpse into Mary Allison's first week with us!

Mary Allison- day 1 and 2

Hi friends! We wanted to show off our little Mary Allison. :) We plan on keeping her (mostly) off Facebook until she gets older so we will occasionally post photos here so that our far flung friends can keep in touch this way. I hope that I will write blog posts as well, but for now, the photos will have to speak for themselves. 

We were so lucky to have Esther Edith at the birth to photograph our girl's very first hours. We cannot wait to see the rest of her photos soon! (Obviously Esther took this top photo- not the rest of these not quite so professional pics.)

Despite her initial reaction, May has done quite well riding in her little car seat.  

I think that she might have my eyes, but she certainly has her dad's big ol' feet (and hands).

Thank you all for your sweet well wishes. We are certainly blessed.

-Brigid, Christopher and Mary Allison

41 weeks

In some ways pregnancy is one of the most selfless things a woman can experience. For nine whole months-- that's 280 days-- women share their whole body. They give up comfort, sleep, food, privacy, and even the ability to zip up their pants. My little creature seems to be particularly comfy in my womb, stealing more and more space, and more and more time.

At the same time, pregnancy has been one of the most selfish times for me. Although my body is now housing another, I am the one who gets to have nine months alone with my girl. I am the one who is invited to her nightly dance parties. I am the one who shares the Eucharist with her each week at mass. I am the one who provides her protection, her warmth, her food and her bed. 

But soon I will share my girl with the world. Soon, other people will hold my girl-- the girl I've been holding for 287 days and nights. Soon I will share the joy of feeling her kicks, of patting her tiny hiney and holding her tight. 

I promise I will share her. I promise I won't be a helicopter mom. But as her big entrance draws near, please understand that I'm not used to sharing my daughter. I may fiercely hold on to her little swaddled self and not hand her over to expectant arms and cameras. Please let me be selfish for just a little while longer.

So little child of mine, you are welcome to stay wrapped up with me as long as your please. I'm happy to live life with you tucked away in my papoose. Thank you for keeping me company at work, for reminding me that Mexican food and Chick-Fil-A lemonade are as good as I thought, for staying up with me while I studied for my Boards and for being such a good tenant. I hear that there is an eviction notice quickly approaching so I guess we'll have to play by the rules, but you can take your time packing up.

I promise to show you the world.