we were standing in a friend’s kitchen, making inappropriate shapes out of playdoh (come on, that is what you do at bachelorette parties!) and she casually says to me, “speaking of…when I get pregnant, you HAVE to take my newborn pictures!”.  at the time, november 2009 to be exact, she and big joe had been married for nearly eight years.  they had decided to try for a baby and she was calling dibs on me.  [turn head down with sly smile and blush]

in march of 2010, the 4th if you want to get specific, she shoots me a facebook message stating she “can’t hold it any longer” and needs me to mark my calendar for the september arrival of their precious little peanut.  joy of all joys.  september has come and gone, her extremely long and laborsome delivery has come and gone, all for the miracle that is…malia.

malia was born into an xxl world.  her dog is a great dane and her daddy is supahtall.*    along with their extreme physical height comes some huge hearts.  the puppy wouldn’t go near the baby, as if he were afraid of hurting her.  and daddy…if it were up to him, he would be a stay-at-home daddy.  changing diapers (even pooish ones) without a fuss, folding blankets up just right, getting any little thing that was requested (by mommy or baby) and just doting on his girls…daddy has a huge heart for his little malia.

*mommy has a big heart and a big, beautiful smile but is only xxl by association.  😉

9 days old and she totally stole my heart.  her sweet, sweet newborn smell, her soft fluttery lashes and  her little curled up body just made me want to hold and cuddle her.  sorry mommy.  you were very kind to let me hold her as long as you did.

her room was expertly decorated by mommy and made my room look like a kids clubhouse.  the image on the left was just a silly test to see what came of it but turned out to be very important.  i held the camera high over my head and pointed it down to take the shot.  big joe walked in right behind me and said “now you see what i see”.  he was so right.

my favorite part of the room, aside from the stellar chandelier, the handmade mini-paper banners over the window and the aqua paint, was her little book shelf.  one level designated to mommy’s love of knowledge and one level dedicated to malia’s soon-to-be head of knowledge.  such a cute story for their current story.

she was awake for most of the session  (most likely my fault) and was just the most beautiful thing.  so very alert for just nine days.  i really honestly could have stared at her all day.  i am totally aware that makes me sound like the biggest creep.  i accept.

little tiny baby details are so cute.  those furry shoulders will soon be hairless and those little perfectly manicured nails will change their shape.  i think one of the reasons babies are so magical is because you just can’t imagine that big people start out so small.

little annie and big joe have been married for almost nine years now.  it was so sweet to watch them as they transitioned over to their new roles and how they seemed to be growing together in this new adventure.  and i love that annie still looks at him as if she just fell in love with him.

congratulations you three.  life in xxl will never be the same.  thank you andrea, for calling dibs, for sharing your pregnancy news with me before it was facebook official, for giving me the chance to tell your birth story and for our new-found friendship.  and thank you joe for folding up my backdrops, warming up that rice thing and for your use of jerry-curl juice.  you guys have the biggest hearts and i am so honored you let me in.