when people ask how Harlow’s doing
I tell them she is so great and so in love… (which is so true.)
AND she is so. three.
Yup! Happy Friday, folks!
xo
Y’all!! Rachel just had her baby girl!!
when Harlow met Jones // a peek-a-whoo giveaway!!
Andy and I knew that we wanted the moment to be really special when Harlow finally got to meet her baby brother. I say finally, because I think she was flabbergasted by how long it took for him to arrive. Almost every morning, I was greeted by, “Did baby bwover come out yet, mommy?” or at naptime, “is he still in there, mommy?”
When I found the Peek-A-Whoo shop, an online boutique run by friends Kelley and Heather, I knew one of their personalized items would be perfect! We wanted something that Harlow could give as a present to her baby brother when she first met him — but we also loved the idea of giving her a gift when we dropped her off with friends on our way to the birth center.
These Jellycat bunnies fit the bill — I was blown away by how cuddly these little guys are! The fur is so soft and snuggly. Harlow’s has her name stitched in pink on one ear, and Jones’s initials are in blue on his.
The afternoon of the 18th, it was clear that my contractions weren’t stopping, so we got our bags packed, Harlow’s bag packed, and we headed over to her BFF JoJo’s house. Before we left, we gave her lots of hugs and kisses and her bunny too! Harlow was so excited: about her bunny and that her baby brother was finally making his debut.
So when we were heading home the next morning, I was so excited that Jacquie would be there to catch Harlow’s first moments meeting her brother. I am blown away by the love she captured in these photos — and Harlow was pumped about her present to Jones….if you can’t tell by the photo below. :)
Today I’m so excited to be giving away a Jellycat bunny from Peek-A-Whoo! Take a moment to online window shop a bit — their stuff is so cute! And you can use the coupon code COCOBABY for 10% off the Jellycat bunnies!
Good luck!
Jacquie, I cannot thank you enough for capturing these first moments! I can’t wait to share my most favorite photo you snapped, but it deserves a post of its own! xo!
Jones Lauritzen…otherwise known as Oranges
Oranges.
I’ve had quite a few people asking me why on earth we’ve been calling him a fruit on the regular and well, you can blame his big sister. :)
The story really isn’t that awesome or funny or cool or anything, but I’ve decided that Harlow is the queen of nicknames — the names she doles tend to stick!
Let’s back up a bit…
When we announced that we were expecting with Harlow, Andy’s parents asked to keep things simple: they wanted to be called Grandpa and Grandma. Well, no matter how many times we called them that, Harlow would see them and squeal, “Mema! PopPop!!”
And well, it stuck.
My little sister, Kaitlyn, was given the name Aunt TeeTee, and now I think I call her that more than Kaitlyn/Kaiti or Kait!
So it only fits that she would give baby brother a nickname too!
This summer while we were at Northern Pines, Harlow’s CCA (babysitter), Cassidy, told me one evening that Harlow had randomly declared that her baby brother’s name was Oranges. The next morning I asked her about it, honestly thinking that she wouldn’t really remember what she’d told Cassidy, but she proudly announced,
“Oranges.”
Okay then!
Fast forward a few weeks, and we quickly realized that we couldn’t use his real name around her if we wanted to keep it quiet until his arrival. (The most random people knew I was pregnant before we announced it due to Harlow’s random declarations of, “there is a baby in my mommy’s belly!” including the neighborhood crossing guard, the barista at Starbucks and the librarian. Whoops!
We started just calling him Oranges whenever we were referring to him in front of Harlow or talking with her about her baby brother. She also informed me that he would have sprinkles on his cheeks, so I’m super curious to see if he ends up being a total redhead with freckles!
After a late night of labor and delivery — Jones was born during the 1am hour like his big sister — Rachel went home to crash, and we slept at the Midwife Center until about 7am. We were treated to breakfast, and then began getting ourselves ready to bust on outta there to get home!
I had texted Jacquie the night before to see if she’d want to come over and capture images of Jones just a mere 8 hours old!! And she caught the first moments when Harlow met her baby brother, Oranges as well! She is sharing a few of those photos over on her blog, and I can’t wait to share more with you here soon!! (Annnnnd a giveaway!) We are praying everything aligns so that I can be there to photograph the birth of her sweet girl, Sally Lyn!!
I have a fun giveaway planned for Thursday — remember those gorgeous necklaces I was wearing during Jones’s delivery?
Thank you, Jacquie for capturing these moments — I feel totally spoiled…and y’all. I cannot WAIT to show you when Harlow met her Oranges. My heart seriously exploded everywhere.
We are off to the Orchard for Harlow’s first field trip!
xo
Jones’s Birth Story // in photos
These photos were taken by my dear friend, Rachel. Part of me is tempted to explain and write captions throughout the photos , but I think they stand strongest on their own.
When I was given the honor of photographing the birth of my friend Ashley’s daughter, Marion, I told numerous people that capturing those emotions was almost more incredible than giving birth myself. Well, I’ve found one thing that topped it: allowing myself to experience my labor and delivery experience again through these photos. The moments when I wanted to escape and not be present, I am able to see clearly and look back on now.
Rachel, thank you for being there and documenting these moments — for giving up a night of sleep to do it! I cannot wait for your precious bundle to be here!
Photos // Rachel Rowland Photography
Location // The Midwife Center
Necklace // Bip & Bop
xo
he’s here!
Jones Lauritzen
I will definitely be writing out his birth story — I’m so thankful that I wrote out Harlow’s before the details weren’t clear in my mind anymore.
In a nutshell, it was intense and fast and painful and perfect and amazing. Every detail fell into place — including Harlow’s absolute joy about where mommy and daddy were headed as we dropped her off at her friend JoJo’s house.
Last photos as a family of three…
Getting ready to bust on outta there! So excited to be home.
Wyler wasted no time making it known he was there to protect his new, baby brother. He hasn’t wanted to leave Jones’s side since we got home — add his big sister to the mix, and it can get a little hectic at times. :) More on that later….
Thank you all for your kind words of congratulations and your excitement right alongside us. We feel so loved, and we are enjoying the slowing down to enjoy the change in our family. A lot of naps for everyone, a lot of dates for Harlow, and a lot of random excuses for ice cream because why not.
I have some pre-baby/pregnancy posts to share — they are still relevant, so I’ll post those next week! I just wasn’t planning on posting baby news this week — oh babes! They have their own opinion on time, don’t they? :)
xo
daddy, will you get the moon for me? // Eric Carle & Gymboree
I don’t remember too many children’s book authors from when I was a kid, but Eric Carle is one I could tell you without skipping a beat. I love that his books are timeless and such classics — Harlow loves them just as much as I did growing up! Perhaps more!
Harlow’s favorite book to read with daddy is — she can recite almost all of it!
The other day, as they began reading it together, we stopped her at the first page…. telling her we had a special surprise that would make reading it even better!
Almost every evening, she and daddy will stare out the window at the top of the stairs to find the moon together.
If it’s a sliver? “Daddy, you need to get a very long ladder!”
If it’s close to being full? “Daddy, you can wait until to-later — it’s too big right now!”
If it’s covered by clouds? “Daddy!? I need you to fix the moon for me. It’s broken!” (or “brote-en” in the “K = T” language of my girl)
If it looks a bit too far away? “Daddy, I can wait and be patient. You get it later? That sound good?”
I love these memories and special moments that these books help create!
So obviously when I heard that Gymboree was teaming up with Eric Carle to create this pajama and clothing collection — I did a few high kicks and said oh-my-goodness-YES! Pajamas for kids and babies are definitely one of my favorite things to buy, but these take the cake.
I love watching these two make these memories I know Harlow will cherish for her entire life. I often turn up the monitor during bedtime just so I can eavesdrop their adorable conversations while I’m washing dishes — okay, I almost always do. And yes, sometimes I tear up and fight back tears it’s so cute!
What was your favorite Eric Carle book as a kid? Do you have a favorite that you read to your kids now?
xo
