a perfect day (before we were 4)

I meant to post these photos weeks ago but then, you know, I went and had a baby and my plans kinda fell by the wayside.

These shots were taken on one of those perfect days, a few weeks before I gave birth. Joe, Nina, and I hopped in the car and took a drive to the coast. The weather was perfect, the beach was nearly empty, and a good time was had by all.

I

a week after i met my son

Those of you who read this blog may remember my post about getting pregnant. Well, on February 23rd at 10:46 in the morning, Hugo Oliver Barboza made his way into this world.

I took these photos a week and half ago and have tried, repeatedly, in the limited free time I have to write a post that accurately sums up how I feel about my son and about this crazy, emotional, sleep-deprived time. But, unfortunately, words totally escape me right now. I am about as un-articulate as it comes, my friends.
So, instead, I've decided to give you some bullet points:

•This whole parenthood thing? This thing where you love your child in the most indescribable way? Yeah. I get that now. The love is huge and all-encompassing.

•All those things that Joe and I did for YEARS and didn't think twice about-- going on dates, leaving town spontaneously, staying in bed for as long as we wanted, getting at least 8 hours of sleep, having ample amounts of down time-- well, I can honestly say that we totally took those things for granted. And I NEVER. WILL. AGAIN.

•Breast feeding is one of the hardest, most frustrating things I have ever done. I keep getting told it gets easier, so I'm holding on to that and praying it's true.

•Pre-baby, I never understood how parents of newborns seemed to be so short on time. Now I get it.

•When your hormones crash a few days after giving birth, you can expect you will cry about EVERYTHING. I cried because I wasn't pregnant anymore (WTF?!) I cried because I loved my son so much. I cried because my doctor had been so nice to me during the birth. I cried because Hugo was only a few days old and yet time was already passing too quickly. I cried because I felt so completely and enormously vulnerable. I cried because the sky was blue, (not really, but you get the point.)

That's it for now. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts later.
Enjoy the photos in the meantime...

xo