Sunday, February 18, 2018

our isabella rose.

life has been so exhaustingly beautiful since this little one made her entrance into the world. even after nearly three months, i'm still blown away by every little breath she takes and can't believe she knows how to eat and coo and smile and grow. 
she's really such a miracle. 
this song will always hold such a special place in my heart. it was the song my dad and i "danced" to (more like bawled to as we swayed) at mateo + my wedding, and it's the first song i ever sang to elle. after the chaos of a quick delivery and six weeks of preterm labor, it took me several hours to even begin to comprehend the magnitude of what had occurred. mateo had gone to the house for a bit to tend to the dogs, and i was alone with our sweet baby in the hospital room. as i turned this song on and started singing to her, all snuggled in my arms, i was overcome with such emotion and such a depth of gratitude that i hadn't ever felt before. i couldn't believe that god had blessed us with this perfect daughter and that she would be our's forever. i still get teary nearly every time i sing this song to her.

i made this film a couple of weeks postpartum and somehow had it in my head that it would be "no big deal" to shoot her newborns + newborn film after giving birth... but what i didn't account for was the whole actually giving birth (and recovering!) part, as well as a newborn who needed to eat every couple of hours and didn't like to sleep at night much.

soooo we filmed this a bit later than intended (and after she had gained almost a pound!!), one afternoon as the sun was setting. in fact, i completely forwent a stabilization device and completely freehanded this one in between photographs just to save time. she still didn't really fill out any of her preemie clothes, so i cozied her up in one of our favorite swaddles and popped on a sweet little bow and called it a day.

but despite all of the imperfections, i love it so, so  much. and looking back on it now, i can't believe how much she's already changed! i love those skinny little arms and legs that are now covered in chunk, and look at that preemie diaper! we couldn't adore this girl any more.

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