Julia's First Photo Shoot

What can I say other than Shanna Nye is one of the most talented photographers I know! And I'm so lucky that she has photographed my family and new baby! At 9 days old, Julia Grace had her first photo shoot. We needed her to be totally asleep, and sometimes this proved... ummm, challenging, to say the least. Every time we moved Julia, she wanted to eat. Finally, I think we just wore her out and she fell into a deep sleep, allowing Shanna to get some really great shots. The pictures won't be ready for a few weeks, but Shanna put some teasers on her blog, which you can go check out at Shanna Nye's Photo Blog, you'll see baby Julia, in all her new baby yumminess.

Our Photo Shoot Slideshow

Our wonderful photographer, Shanna Nye, put together a slideshow of our last photo shoot that we did just before I had the baby. We shot at Pinecrest Gardens in 100 degree heat.... but they still came out amazing. Turn on your sound, grab a hankie, and click here for the Kauffman Family Slideshow.

Big Sister Gets Taste of What's to Come

Cotton onesies for the new baby: $12. Jar of cashews to supplement hospital food: $5. Olivia's face when she hears Julia cry for the first time: Priceless. (Be sure your sound is turned up.)

Olivia's First Encounter with Julia

Olivia was brought to the hospital the day after Julia Grace was born. I was glad that she didn't seem too freaked out about the new baby, though I'm sure she didn't know that the baby was actually coming home with us to stay. She seemed mildly curious, but then was more concerned about taking off all her school clothes so she could be "more comferterrr," as she calls it. I won't post the pictures of her running around the hospital room butt naked, but it was quite the sight. At least the nurses seemed amused.

I asked her if she wanted to hold the baby. She said, "No, mommy, she's stinky." We'll see how this new big sister thing plays out over the next couple of days.

Julia Grace Has Arrived!

Julia Grace arrived in this world at 1:36 pm after a very short, induced labor (Mommy is forever grateful for the greatest invention of the 20th century.... epidurals.)

She weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces, and is a long skinny girl at 20 1/2 inches. She has a full head of jet black hair, just like Olivia did when she was born. The purple thing attached to her umbilical cord is the "Baby LoJack" device so people can't remove the babies out of certain rooms.

Most children are born butt naked.... ours arrived in Gator booties.

Mommy was so happy that this labor was only about 3 1/2 hours (compared to the 18 hours it took with Olivia.)

Daddy's got a new princess to love!

So peaceful (and so deceiving!) The nurses would eventually nickname her "Lungs." Hope Olivia is ready for this! You can click on the picture to get a better look at her if you wish. Use your "back" button to return to the blog.

St. Stephen's Has A New Teacher

After Olivia is done with school, she sometimes goes up to Daddy's classroom. He is teaching her all kinds of cool things, like how to use these new Smart Boards. (Whatever happened to overhead projectors??) Check out Olivia as she plays "teacher." It's a classic, and be sure your sound is turned up.

41 Weeks and Counting...

Today makes it a full week that Baby Kauffman is late. So even though Lamar wanted to wait until she was born to tell people what her name is, in reality, she should have been here a week ago, so he's agreed to let me tell you.... Drumroll please... The baby's name is Julia Grace. (Big shout-out to Olivia's favorite Julia out there, you know who you are!!) I've been so hesitant to post a picture of the big 'ole belly, but so many of you have asked for it. So here you go! If she doesn't come on her own by tomorrow, I am going to be induced on Wednesday the 16th. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going back to my jalapeno pepper hummus and my pressure point/labor inducing foot massage, courtesy of a fantastic husband.

My Wonderful Staff

As I embark on my maternity leave, I am thankful that I have such a wonderful staff to keep the office going while I'm away. These are the employees of the Office of Historic and Archaeological Resources for Miami-Dade County. It's amazing how having dedicated, positive and hardworking people all around you can make such a difference in how much you enjoy and love your own job. They are an amazing crew, and I hope that we all pull through these next few weeks (budget proposals are not being kind to us.) I love you guys!

Baby's Got Big Shoes to Fill

I know that I promised those of you who actually read our blog that you would be the first to know the new name of Baby Kauffman (formerly known as Vanilla, according to Olivia.) Unfortunately, Lamar wants to keep it a secret until she is actually born. 

Naming the second one seemed a lot harder, maybe because we were remembering the trauma of naming the first one. RULE #1 for expecting parents: Don't tell people what you're "thinking" of naming a baby unless you are ready and willing to hear lots of unsolicited advice and opinions! Anyway, we think Olivia Rose ended up being a perfect name for our first little cutie, and we know she's going to be a great big sister. Speaking of big, check out those size 9's! Baby's got big shoes to fill!

The New Nursery (Before)

Olivia and Baby Kauffman are now going to be sharing a bedroom, so we turned the office/guest room into the new nursery. Maybe I've watched one too many home improvement shows on HGTV, but we had a great time bringing their new room to reality. Our wonderful friend and neigbor Amit came over with his fancy tools and saws. The boys got in some serious "Tool TIme" as they put up a chair rail and built out more shelving for the closet.

The New Nursery (After)

We used low VOC paint from Benjamin Moore (Bermuda Teal on the bottom and Crystal Clear on the top.) We found the twin bed with matching nightstand on Craig's List. The two outside paintings over the crib were painted by my sister-in-law, Ceci Slesnick. Butterfly curtains were from Bed, Bath and Beyond. The "Aloha Girl" crib bedding is by Pottery Barn, and the rug, pink chenille chair and grass bedskirt were from Target. There you have it. Now if only all of those companies would start paying me for the big promos I just gave them.....

Olivia's First Day of School!

The Kauffman family was up early this morning (oh joy!) to get Olivia ready for her first day at St. Stephen's. After much coaxing and promises of trips to playgrounds, we got her fed and dressed in relatively good time. Then it was outside for some pictures. It was one of those moments when, as you look back at the pictures you just took, you know it'll never happen again (SIGH). Off to school at age 3! Here we go! Looks like she is getting some good first day of school advice from daddy. Maybe mommy is going back to bed now.....