grandma love

My mother with my daughter. My heart is full. ♥️♥️♥️

meeting friends

It's Friday the 13th and you are 11 days old. Today is the first day since you were born that we haven't had any visitors. There are so many people who love you and are excited to meet you, we are the luckiest. You are such a sweet baby, you only fuss when your tummy hurts. You sleep most of the day and I have to wake you every two hours to eat so you won't nurse all night. We are getting a rhythm down and everyone is feeling more rested. The last two nights I didn't even have to wake your dad for help! We are so glad Grandma is here, especially since daddy is in Joshua Tree for Uncle Nick's wedding this weekend. Despite the fires all over Northern California, today is a beautiful day. I sure love October. 

hormones

Our first few days are a blur of long nights, baby snuggles, soft cheeks, and so much love. I got to laze around in my sun drenched bedroom and stare at my perfect newborn while angels brought me food. The day my milk came in I was bursting. I felt like I had everything I'd ever wanted in my whole life and it was a crime to be this happy. I watch your papa with you and I get to fall in love with him all over again. You were worth the wait, kid. 

four days new

People keep telling us that you don't even look like a newborn. And it's true, you're spectacularly alert and beautiful, and all that luscious hair doesn't hurt. It was worth every moment of heartburn. ;) Baby girl, how we love you so!

you're here!!

Welcome to the world, baby girl! You joined our family on a sunny afternoon in October, and have pretty much been sleeping ever since. There were a few things I intuited about your birth. I thought you would be born on 10/2 (you were), I thought my labor would start with contractions (it did) and last 10-15 hours (it was 12 hours on the nose). And I thought you would be a girl. We are so glad you're here. Yesterday morning I stepped out of the shower and felt like someone should pinch me—the fact that we made it to this point is astounding. I know we're only at the beginning of this journey, but it feels like a huge accomplishment to have gotten here. And we feel so incredibly lucky to have you.

Ella Clementine. Ella, a variation of Ellen, means light. When I read that I cried and knew it would be your name if you were a girl. I also love the way the name Ella feels in my mouth when I say it. Clementine because we wanted a nature name. And when I read that a nickname for Clementine was Lemon, I just about died I thought that was the cutest thing ever. Our little lemon. 

getting closer

You are due in two days. Your dad is working tirelessly on house projects, finishing up the floors in your room and painting baseboards so we can move your things in. I am relishing in the change in seasons and have been baking and cooking quite a bit. Applesauce, marinara, chile verde, carrot ginger soup, oatmeal raisin cookies...I hope you love food as much as we do. I get choked up when I think about how close we are to meeting you and naming you, I'm 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced, making progress. My midwives think it may happen within the week. I'm not sleeping great, particularly between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m., but I'm still swimming every other day and trying to nap as much as possible. Our days have an unhurried pace to them, and I feel happy and content. My body feels good, I'm not in any pain and I'm much more comfortable than I have been in weeks past. You are low in my pelvis and are no longer taking up real estate in my ribs, which is a relief. Getting closer!

waiting for baby

A woman at the grocery store asked me if I was nervous about giving birth. I told her I'm not. "Really?" she pressed, "you're not nervous at all?" Really, I'm not. But it sounds like you are, lady. I have felt really calm throughout this entire pregnancy, and I'm hoping the peace and serenity continue into early motherhood.

That being said, I feel like I'm waiting for a train, and I have no idea when it's going to get here. It could be two days, it could be three weeks. The train is going 100 mph, and once I get on, I'll never get off. 

I'm really excited to watch Jeffery become a dad. And I can't wait to meet our baby. I'm trying to swim every other day so my feet don't swell and nap daily. I got a pedicure and finished editing my August wedding. I have more thank-you-notes to write and I'm working my way through this novel. I'm mostly sleeping okay, as long as I prop myself up with lots of pillows. Tomorrow I'll be 38 weeks.

maternity photos in our garden

My friend Jasmine snapped these photos of us at the end of July, and I'm so glad she did. I was 30 weeks along and our garden looked incredible. I am now 36 weeks, and the garden is overgrown, but finally producing more than it was. We have had a really hot summer, and the plants aren't happy. The heat wave is continuing into September, and hopefully after this things will cool down.

This blog has largely been neglected the duration of my pregnancy, and though I have lofty plans to blog the weddings, engagements, families, lookbooks, and portrait sessions I have shot this year, but I'm not sure if it will actually happen once baby arrives. I will need to market myself for when I'm ready to get back to work, and I imagine having another mouth to feed will be the motivation I need, so I'm optimistic. 

Baby Curry is very active, and I think he or she has dropped because I'm feeling more pressure down in my pelvis and less pressure up on my ribs. We finished up our birth classes last week, learned a lot and are feeling prepared, considering. I still have a lot of editing to do in the coming weeks, but other than that I'm trying to swim and nap as much as I can. Overall, I'm feeling grateful that I don't have a lot on my plate right now, but time will tell if the next four weeks creep by.

Baby Shower Invitations with Paperless Post

At first, I was so consumed by this pregnancy that that I didn't think there would be a moment in all 40 weeks where I could possibly forget I was housing a small human. Maybe I've settled into my largeness, because I find myself momentarily forgetting. And then I'm reminded as soon as I stand still and the baby moves (like a little sea creature turning flips), or my hand gravitates towards my belly, or I bump into something, or I catch sight of my reflection in a pane of glass. It is nice to have a bit more head space, and I feel extremely lucky that my second trimester has been so smooth.

I'm 26.5 weeks, officially 6 months along, and with less than 100 days until my due date, the reality is sinking in that this baby is going to be on the outside really freaking soon. And once it is, our entire world is going to change. There are a lot of people who are looking forward to this little one's arrival, and now that the shower invitations have been sent out, the excitement is pouring in and it's contagious. 

My mom is throwing me a baby shower in August and we decided months ago that we would send out digital invitations via email. So when Paperless Post reached out to collaborate, I was very excited to see the designs they offer. 

Paperless Post carries designs by dozens of reputable designers, including some of my favorites: Rifle Paper Co, merimekko, Liberty fabrics, and Kate Spade. They have so many pretty invites, I had trouble choosing a favorite! In the end I wanted to be practical. I have a tendency to lean towards girlier, floral designs, but the gender of our baby is a surprise, and because we're having the party in our garden at the peak of the season, we decided to go with the vegetable theme (bottom right), which is by Happy Menocal.

The Paperless Post website is really easy to navigate. I was able to completely customize my invites, add a link to our registry, and ask guests for their mailing address so that I won't have any trouble getting thank-you-notes in the mail (before baby comes—no guarantees I'll get anything accomplished after). There is also a comment wall where guests can ask questions or share photos and the website keeps track of RSVPs and allows the host to easily contact the guests. Overall, it's extremely user-friendly. The designs can also be easily ordered in paper form to mail to grandparents (or anyone who doesn't use email) or to save as a keepsake—we ordered 10 for this very purpose. If you are interested in creating beautiful invites for any event, be sure to check out their designs. 

With a party to look forward to, I know the next couple months are going to fly by. And I hope they do, because I really want to meet this tiny person. 

This post was published in partnership with Paperless Post. ❤