Then and Now

The following pictures are from two of the best days of my life: the births of my two precious daughters. We got some really great pictures when Evie was born, and tried to get similar shots of Ella this time around. I'm sure we'll try to get similar pictures of all of our kids, turning these poses into a family tradition. These are the girls' close-ups. Honestly, I think they look pretty different. Sure, you can tell that they're sisters (especially when they make certain facial expressions), but they're definitely not clones of one another.

Evie had dark brown hair and those dark blue eyes that all babies are born with. However, her eyes quickly darkened until they turned dark brown, and her hair has gradually lightened to a dark blonde. Also, Evie has her Daddy's slightly darker complexion.

Ella has bright blue eyes and light brown hair. We're pretty sure that her eyes will stay light, either staying blue or turning green like mine, and we have no idea what her hair will do. Also, she seems to have my really fair complexion.

These are the "proud papa" shots: Todd holding each of his girls just minutes after they're born. If you look closely, you can see the happy tears in his eyes; I absolutely love these pictures!

Todd holding Evie for the very first time. He actually got to hold her before I did.

The doctor put Ella on my chest immediately after she was born, so Todd was a little more composed by the time he got to hold her. Not by much, though!

I really debated even posting these next two pictures because I prefer to be the one taking the pictures, rather than being the subject of them. Besides, nobody ever really looks good immediately after giving birth. However, since I posted "proud papa" pictures, I guess it's only fair to post the "proud mama" pictures too.

This is me in all my grunge...I mean glory. Even my baby had had a bath more recently than I had, and I felt very slimy and unattractive. Evie sure was cute, though!

This time, I made sure I had my makeup with me so I could feel a little bit better about letting Todd take pictures of me post-birth. Funnily enough, Ella is the slimy one in this picture!

These next couple were Todd's idea, and this is what I meant by family tradition. When Evie was born, he thought it would be fun to measure her against his hand to show how little she was. Then, when Ella was born only a couple of ounces bigger than her sister, he wanted to measure her in the same way. I think it's a really cute idea, and I'm glad he remembered to do it the second time around. 

Evie weighed 6 lbs, 3 oz when she was born, and measured 18 inches long.

Ella weighed 6 lbs, 6 oz when she was born, and measured 19 inches long.

I might love this next picture most of all. I love that they both have their eyes open so you can see the contrast in their coloring. But my favorite part is the idea that our girls are going to be best friends, and that their bond started in this one moment. I feel lucky that we caught it on camera!

My two precious girls, sharing a sweet moment of sisterly love.