On the 4th of July, after a long labor, we welcomed our new arrival: a girl we named Julie!
Here's a hospital pic -- the velcro on her face is from a little face mask. She had jaundice and needed to wear the mask while getting light treatment. She is a little peanut; in all these pictures, she is wearing newborn clothes. She is just over 8 pounds now (and was just under at birth), so she is growing well.

She is absolutely adorable, and we are so in love. The last two weeks have been full of new challenges and a profoundly deep amount of love. I'm lucky that both Matt and I are off for the summer, so we've been able to adjust together. The little one sleeps enough that I'm tired but not exhausted.

We are learning new boundaries; the spur of the moment drive up to the Twin Cities (1 hourish) is not a reality for us for now. We've been twice -- once went just fine, and one time we overstayed and had a noisy trip back.
She is responsive and delightful. We read books, make faces, sing with her, and tell her all about the world. We are both absolutely enamored. I can't wait to see what the coming days hold.
