A Visit From Hayden

This past weekend, our good friends, Ryan & Denise came for a visit. Malakai has had lots of visitors, but these were extra special! Ryan & Denise moved to North Carolina in October and their son Hayden was born one week after we brought Malakai home. They really wanted to come to the shower we had down at the Prince St. Cafe, but Denise actually went into labor that night so we were glad they stayed in NC. It was so much fun to see our two sons together for the first time. Denise and I have always dreamed about raising our children together. Even though we're in different states right now, we have lots of phone conversations about the two new little men in our lives. We hope that Malakai and Hayden will cultivate a special friendship over time as Eric and I share with Ryan & Denise. We love you guys and are excited for our families to grow together. Hayden is so adorable and you are great parents to him!

Of Dogs & Babies...

...a little different than Of Mice & Men. How do you tell a dog what you want him to do for a picture? The same artist that painted Gideon a few weeks ago wants to paint Gideon & Malakai together now. So we had another photo shoot at home this morning. It lasted about 10 minutes and then it was all over. Here are a few of my favorites. I'll keep you posted when Julia has this painting finished. Have a Happy Easter, everyone!

Family Meets Malakai

On Saturday, there was a family shower held at my parents' house. All of our grandparents, aunts, and cousins were so excited to meet Malakai for the first time. We had a lot of fun opening gifts and answering questions about how he came to join our family. My mom hung a clothes line full of Eric's and I's clothes when we were babies. Two pairs of my shoes made an appearance too. We even did the "four generations" pictures which was really special. Malakai did great being passed around and held all afternoon. It was wonderful to feel the support of our families.

First Family Photo Shoot

It's more work than it looks like to do a photo shoot with a baby when it's just mom and dad! Yesterday morning Eric and I were all psyched up for our first family photo shoot. I had visions in my head of what I wanted and pretty much none of that happened, but we did get some really cute shots. Malakai woke up around 10am. We gave him a bath, dressed him and fed him and then started taking pictures. He was happy for about 10 minutes on his own and the rest was a lot of coaxing from Mommy and Daddy. By 11am ALL of us were done and Malakai was so exhausted he fell right asleep again for another nap. Whew...that was work, but worth it!

Malakai's Shower...and Bath

A few weeks ago, our friends had a baby shower for us downtown at the Prince Street Cafe. My good friend, Voni was shooting pictures all night and here are a few of my favorite images that she captured. Thanks, Von for documenting this special night for our family. You are wonderful and I am excited to be a mother with you...finally!

The other images are of bath time with Daddy. It looks peaceful but it actually was kind of a zoo. I was taking pictures, then the phone rang and I picked it up (not smart) and then Gideon was feeling jealous and needed some attention...so he decided while all of our arms were full to run into the already crowded, small, city bathroom and grab ahold of the toilet paper roll and run out the door with a trail behind him! It sounds funny now, but I was a bit frustrated with him. He is like a little jealous two-year old kid always needing my attention! He really does love Malakai, but misses alone time with "Mommy" and "Daddy". Ahh yes, parenting...always on the learning curve!