other people’s children...

Rock my socks off.

I actually wrote this blog entry last night. I needed to go to bed so badly, but sleep was nowhere to be found. Low and behold, I found myself cross-legged in my pj’s at the kitchen table with a large wooden spoon in one hand, steaming pot of spiral mac’n’cheese in the other (yes, I said ‘pot and large wooden spoon’), so thrilled at the opportunity to boast such fabulous news. I didn’t post until today for two reasons; 1) I don’t have Internet at my house. Yes, a drawback in my line of work, but I love stalking local coffeehouses and friends’ homes, and 2) posts are SO much better with a photog, so I just had to get my grubby, baby cheek-loving hands on a few before I even thought about throwing this out there for all to savor in all it’s cheesy glory.

So, last night…

I got a phone call from my cousin, whom I still very affectionately call Dute (even though I’m not entirely sure where the nickname came from…). Derek and I go way back; we even made up our own club with a secret handshake. We were the only members. Guess it was a complicated handshake. Anywho, he was calling to inform me that after spending all day (and part of the night) in the hospital, my cousin (his older brother) and his wife welcomed their first born into the world. Perhaps you remember Aaron and Melissa from one of my first blog posts last August…

Oh, Internet, what a glorious day! After he told me all the details, I hung up the phone and was just all a-twitter. I was staring down the long end of an hour drive coming home from a photo shoot in Mankato (post on that later) and just had to talk to someone! Of course I called Nick who was equally as pumped as I was (in a manly, ‘cool, a baby!’ way), but I needed to really share my excitement…so, obviously, I called Dute back for some serious lowdown of the situation. I peppered him with more questions, he Dute-ifully (haha) answered, we laughed, we cried…it certainly was the best of times.

I got to meet the little man just a few hours ago and he is just a little peanut. His cry is so soft and needy, his skin silky smooth (newborn skin is the absolute coolest texture), with eyes so big and beautifully dark blue. Aaron was obviously thrilled to be a father and Mel looked wonderful-can’t believe she just went through 18+ hours of labor!!!

A huge congrats and shout out to Aaron and Melissa; may Brody be healthy and good, may you get some well-deserved rest and good luck and God bless the beginning of your beautiful family. Love you guys.