The Crandalls: May 2007

Monday, May 21, 2007

Mommy's Turn to Brag!!

I'm not quite the writer that my incredible husband is, but I wanted to create a quick post to let you know that all three of us are doing great! Ella is now two weeks old and is one of the best babies I have ever been around....and I'm not just saying that because she is my daughter! She is so content with life and the only time she gets somewhat fussy is when feeding time comes around! :) Other than that, she just sleeps and tries to keep Toby from licking her to death!

I wish that I could accurately describe all of the feelings and emotions that I have been feeling the past two weeks but I can't seem to find the words. Being a first-time mom has definitely had its challenges, but I praise God every single day because David has been the most supportive and loving husband (and father) a girl could ask for. My eyes fill up with tears every time I watch him hold her.....and nothing else makes my heart skip a beat like hearing him tell her how beautiful she is. I am very blessed and I know it.

I wanted to post some new pictures for you to see how much she has changed in just two weeks, but David is much better at that than I am, so he will have to post them later.

We love you all very much and thank you for showering us with your love and encouragement!

Monday, May 14, 2007

One Week of Parenting

Here are some more pictures. (I did a little photo manipulation with a few of the pictures.)

After one full week of being a parent I can officially say that I love it. Contrary to what everyone has told me, my fatherly instinct has not yet manifested at night though. Kaylane has to wake my up (which I have asked her to do) to change and feed Ella. Apparently last night I slept right through a screaming fit. Sweet. :)

Other than that, I feel like a dad...and I love it! We took Ella to church on Sunday and she was so good. (Now for those of you who just had a stroke because we took a newborn out into the big, bad, germ-infested world, please know that less people touched her at church than had been around her all week prior. The doctor had no stress since it is not flu season and so off we went.) She was great. We had a tiny fuss at one point but were fine as soon as we pulled a bottle out of the diaper bag. Yay for bottles!

Hope you like the pictures.

Our first bath; notice my brand new belly button!

Mother's Day lunch with Uncle Christopher

My bunny towel.

I'm an angel.

Just because Daddy loves me.

And one to show how much Toby is "loving" it...

Monday, May 7, 2007

My First Day as a Father

Today was my first day as a parent. You'll have to forgive me if the following post is the most emotional one I've ever posted...I've only had 2 hours of sleep in the past 40 hours. When God brought Kaylane into my life, my world went from black and white to color. I don't even know the analogy to use now that He has put Ella into our lives.

Labor was difficult for Kaylane...and difficult for me to watch. Hospitals provide drugs to the mother which hopefully dull any long lasting memories. No drugs for the father. No numbing. I sat helpless only to pray and beg God to hold safe the two dearest things in my life. Thank you, God, for doing just that. Delivery. I won't lie and make you think that I thought delivery to be beautiful...the idea of it is, the aesthetics of it isn't. It was scientifically interesting for me to watch what was happening, but I was surprisingly analytical about the whole thing. I think I was just scared for Mommy and Baby. However, after almost 20 hours of labor and much pain, the most incredible woman I've ever met delivered the most amazing thing that we've ever held.

And so began my first moments as a father. I held onto my wife's precious hand not wanting to leave her until she was safe but watching my newborn child only feet away. Kaylane looked at me and smiled and told me to go to her. The next moment I was touching earth's newest angel...and those were my first five minutes as a father.

Tonight, I sat holding my daughter only inches from my face; the nurse said this was a good bonding exercise. I figured it was worth a shot. She had mostly slept the previous 18 hours of her life but for some reason had opened her eyes as I was holding her and talking to her. She looked into my eyes. To say the least, the nurse was right. Kaylane was talking (and hadn't looked over yet) and asked, "Don't you just love her!" At that point she looked over and saw tears streaming down my face. We laughed as she said, "I guess so".

I can't wait for day number 2 as a father.

So, here's the real thing that you are after: Stats and Pictures. Stats: 7 lbs and 4 oz. 19.5 inches long. Born at 3:14am on 5/6/07. Pictures: There are a lot. I'm new to this and couldn't figure out how to choose which pictures to share.

And so I present, my daughter...Ella Rae Crandall. (Click on the picture for a larger version.)