Yesterday afternoon, just a few hours before the new moon, we planted a tree for Ava. Mountain Laurel's hold a special place in the heart of my family ever since my mom passed away. We believe the little red seeds are little gifts from her. We let Ava pick one out at the nursery a few weeks ago. We wanted to plant it on her first birthday, but since it's in the middle of summer we decided to go with a nice spring new moon instead. She watched her daddy dig the hole in fascination, and then we let her put her little hands on it before we put it in the ground. We buried her umbilical cord under it along with ashes from my dad, and our cat + dog who recently passed away, Bella + Violet. This will be her tree to grow alongside with.
The Origin of Her Name
Ava Pearl has been destined to come into this world long before I ever anticipated her to. Her name is proof of that to me. When James and I were dating, about 8 months along, he proposed to me. I had no idea it was coming when he took me on a date downtown San Antonio. Even when we walked up to the Little Church of La Villita where my parents tied the knot, did I even suspect. But right there on the steps of that church, he popped the question. Even more to my unknowing, many of our loved ones knew what was happening. James had asked my parents, my Nanna, his parents, my best friend & his best friend at the time all for their blessing to marry me! I couldn't believe it.
Rewind to a few days before... James and I were having the 'if we ever babies what would we name them' talk. He told me he loved the name Ava. Partly b/c of Angels and Airwaves, but he also just really loved the name and how the letters flowed together. At the time I thought it was sweet, but definitely not on my list of names I had been hoarding since I was in my teens. (anyone else do that???)
Fast forward to the morning after he proposed to me. My parents took me out for celebratory breakfast tacos. My mom was so giddy and full of joy that her baby girl was getting married. Over breakfast with pure delight she told me that she just couldn't help but to lay awake all night thinking of baby names for us! Ha ha, jumping the gun a little??? She was so excited. She said she was reading a book and came across a really long name (I wish I could remember what it was now), but she said it started with AVA and she thought it sounded to pretty. I couldn't believe that her and James both came up with the same hypothetical baby name within a few days of each other without knowing it. So from that moment on, Ava has been our name picked out if we ever had a girl. We lost my mom to cancer just 4 short months after getting married, so this one day baby girl name felt even more special when we finally got to use it almost 9 years later.
Her middle name was changed a few times. At first James wanted it to be Claire b/c he has had a long time boy crush on Claire Danes. But I talked him out of that. ;) I have always loved the name Pearl, and it has always reminded me of my mom. She loved that name too. When she was a little girl she came across a Poor Pitiful Pearl doll at the store and she told her mom that she wanted to take that doll home b/c she thought no one else would want her. She loved the unloved from the beginning. She also loved Janis Joplin who's nickname is Pearl. And my birthstone is Pearl (and it was almost Ava's too). Once I started saying the names Ava Pearl together I just knew it was right. James fell in love with it too. We love it so much that we call her Ava Pearl most of the time instead of just Ava.
I just love that her little name feels so special. This was a story I wanted to write down for her to have one day.
Ava's First Bath
There are so many firsts with newborns, and each one is so precious. We waited until Ava was 2 weeks old to give her first bath. I was so happy that the hospital we ended up at (a story for another time) was so respectful of all my wishes, and no bath was one of them. The creamy substance on your newborns body has immune properties and when left on leaves a layer of protection while your baby's immune system adjusts. It also allows for more uninterrupted skin to skin time with your baby in that first hour.
Waiting was a bit hard b/c I was looking forward to this special moment, but the fact that I had lots of stitches myself made it easier since I needed to wait about two weeks before getting in the tub myself. This moment, just her and I was so precious. Daddy took a few photos and hung out for a bit, but then left us to be for a while. I remember the soft blinking of her eyes and the way she relaxed into the water after a bit. I knew she was going to be a water baby having so much Cancer in her birth chart. I have always been a water lover myself, and I took a long soak in the tub almost every night when I was pregnant with her. I'm sure it was something she was already familiar with. I have still only given her one bath without myself in the tub with her and that was b/c of a huge poop explosion! Oh, and she did poop in the tub with me once, that was super fun. ;) It's our special time together though. There is something so sacred about this time with her. And I'm not quite sure what it is and why it is so specific to bath time, but every time I lay her on her back in the tub she looks just like me when I was a baby. It's like I'm staring into myself as a baby which is a very intense feeling. It's really the only time I fully see it in her though.
Do you remember your first bath with your little? How did it make you feel?
*Btw, all opinions I ever post on here about what we chose to do with our babe are purely my own personal experiences + opinions. I am a huge supporter of 'what works for you is best' or 'to each his own'. I am not here to tell anyone how to do something when it comes to their child and I hope that respect can be returned.*
A FEW OF MY FAVORITE CAPTURES
I have been sharing my 'Pieces of Home' features for quite some time... but these images are not always taken at home, although they usually are... I feel like they needed a new caption though... So now these simple 10 photo posts will be called 'A few of my favorite captures'... b/c essentially that is all they are. I snap photos all day long everyday. It's just part of what I do.