Week 1 photo roundup

Rather than upload every single photo in a new post and start overwhelming people, I figured I’d hold back a little and collect them into small galleries so that you get a whole bunch of cuteness all at once. So enjoy this little gallery of photos from the past week or so.

1 week

Weight: 8lbs 10oz (80th percentile)

4th of July: a moral dilemma

Well, today is the 4th of July, which America knows as Independence Day and the rest of the world knows as the 4th of July.

Today presents the first of many moral dilemmas to come for me. Thing is, I’m British – quite proudly so – and I never really “got” or “cared for” American culture, so imagine my quandary when I fell in love with an American and moved here.

That wasn’t too hard to deal with, but now things have become more complicated. By virtue of Ellie being born in America, she is now an American citizen, and will be going to American schools and working with Americans. Continue reading “4th of July: a moral dilemma”

Week 1 Baby Essentials

Well, Ellie is now officially one week old. It’s been a little testing at times, but for the most part, it’s just been incredibly fun watching her grow and learning her idiosyncrasies.

There’s been a few things that have really made this first week a lot easier to manage, so I thought I’d write down a few of the things that we just couldn’t do without, so that expectant parents can get a headstart and make their first week a little easier: Continue reading “Week 1 Baby Essentials”

My extremely long dissertation on the birth and events leading up to the birth of Ellie Grace

The birth story of Ellie Grace Clements doesn’t begin on 6/25/13 for me.  It began in the living room of our pastor, Terri Dieter, with Terri, Michelle Demus, Katie Stermer, Dave and I.  I had just been through a bunker night with them, with God setting me free from some things, many hurts, and so many lies.  It was close to Labor Day of 2011.

We were chatting in the living room before saying goodnight and Katie said something about us having children. I said, “Dave and I aren’t having kids. We have decided it is just not for us and its not who we are. It may be selfish but we just don’t feel like we want to have children”. In typical Katie fashion she laughed and said “well God showed me that you ARE totally having kids.”  We chatted a bit more and Katie just laughed and said “I know you two are having children…I saw you with them!”  Michelle and Terri both had GIANT grins and Michelle agreed and Terri said she believed we were going to have children as well.  At this point in time, both Dave and I were adament that there was NO child or children anywhere in our future. Continue reading “My extremely long dissertation on the birth and events leading up to the birth of Ellie Grace”

Our experience with Katrina Hollon, Holistic Maternity

We were very excited when we first met and hired Katrina as our midwife. She just fit our personality types very well (laid back, sensible, professional, nature-driven) and we knew that it was a good fit.

Well, here we are now, over 7 months later with a baby in our hands, so I thought I’d write a little about our overall experience.

Katrina was wonderful throughout Marti’s pregnancy. She was always gentle, informative, flexible and friendly. No question was ever too stupid, no concern ever too trivial and no need ever unmet. Continue reading “Our experience with Katrina Hollon, Holistic Maternity”