November 27th, 2005

When we returned home from the hospital after Stella's birth we experienced those surreal moments of being home with your first child. Everything is new and wonderful and heartbreakingly real.

Before Stella, we talked about going the entire winter without using our heat. We'd done it in the past. In fact, our first year in this house we didn't have heat or air until mid-April because our unit broke and the warranty company was stonewalling us. After that, we realized how relatively easy it is to go without heat here in Arizona.

(Caveat: Some of you that aren't from around here might think this an incredibly easy feat. "Arizona winters? Isn't that an oxymoron?" NO! It gets cold at night. Outdoor plants freeze and die because it gets cold here. If you doubt me check it out.)

In our new parent hubris we brought Stella home at the end of November and put her to sleep in her little bed with her little clothes and no heat. The next morning her little hands and toes were ice. We both got up and went in to change her diaper. She was a cold little thing. We experienced our first parenting mistake and decided we'd use the heat this winter at night. We didn't want our little munch to get cold.

I like to look back on these pictures of her first days home. There was so much that I was feeling. And I love this picture of Jamie with his new daughter. The look on his face is so sweet and awestruck. I've been lucky to have both of them. Jamie has made life as a first-time mother so pleasant. He doesn't worry or pester me with questions about Stella's well-being. He doesn't freak out whenever she cries. He helps out when he's home and the older she gets the more enchanted he becomes. I can quite honestly say that Stella has been the best bonding experience for us as a family. I highly recommend it.