Can you guess what we did today??

Our Funny Valentine...

A day late - but for me, that ain't too shabby! We celebrated our first Valentines Day with the new love of our lives - Finley Valentine! She spent the day being as darling as possible - as she does every other day. Only this day she wore a special dress, a gift from Auntie Heidi, that was perfect for the holiday! I continue to brag and say our daughter is the cutest baby ever... (sorry, not sure yet how to make them appear vertically...)

As for Taylor and I - we celebrated the day of love on Friday by going out on our first date in a LONG time (neither of us can remember when we last went out - just the two of us...something we'll have to work on in the future.) Grandma and Grandpa Ritchie babysat - and gave a glowing report of Finley's behavior while we were out.

In honor of the holiday - and in appreciation of the love i share with those nearest and dearest to me (Finley and Tay-Tay get a special shout out!), i hope that all of your days are filled with love, and that on Valentines Day in particular, you made a point to express that love to those people you care most about, and that they did the same for you!

feel the love! s

blogging is hard work

in my past life as a blog reader (rather than blog writer) i was a frequent complainer when people were lackluster about updating their blogs. in light of this and heidi's comment - i provide a brief update. being a mom continues to be the best thing ever and the days continue to fly by. my darling Finley hit the four week mark this weekend - which was totally shocking. i was near tears yesterday when i realized that she may not get to wear her newborn sized outfits with feet anymore. her feet have filled up the booties, and her legs are longing to stretch past the constraints of the fabric. our girl is definitely growing. taylor continues to recognize himself in her face - but the super duper double chin that is emerging is definitely reminiscent of my baby days. todays goals: introduce Finley to one of our building's security guys, Jerry (whose wife we've never met but she made Finley a quilt!); homework; and brainstorming what Finley and I can do for Daddy on Valentines Day. i leave you with a couple more pics...none terribly recent, but here they are all the same...

Finley Finally Arrives

Taylor and I had been anticipating the arrival of a new member of the family for quite some time, expecting him or her to make their debut in this loud, bright world sometime around January 30th. However, our little peanut had other plans. I was put on bedrest due to high blood pressure on a Tuesday, and by Friday I was admitted to the hospital to be induced - three weeks before my due date. After a day and a half of attempts to force our baby into this world, our fine doctors made the decision to go ahead with a c-section in the interest of both mom and baby's health. So, shortly after our parents had called it a night (after waiting for their grandchild's arrival all day), we called to announce that in about 15 minutes I'd be heading into surgery. By that time, I was more than happy to give birth via c-section. I'd had enough of labor and was ready to hold my baby! It didn't take long to prep me - and shortly after Taylor joined me in surgery, our beautiful daughter - the picture of perfection - joined us with loud cries and an announcement from the doctor's "It's a girl!". My response to her moment of birth - instant tears. Taylor's response: "Oh Wow!". Best moment of our lives. And thus, Finley Valentine Ritchie transformed us from couple to family. Lots more pictures to follow I assure you!!