sakura bloom: sling dairies: communication

when i was pregnant with emerson i would often talk to him and tell him about the world around us. i prepared for his birth with the hypno-birthing method and so in the days leading up to his birthday, i would visualize meeting him. we would listen to music together, nap together, spend every moment together. to be quite honest... not a lot has changed since then- and i'm totally ok with that.

communication is so important. understanding one another builds love, trust, friendship. i talk to my baby, explaining to him why we do things and helping him to learn how to appropriately interact with the world around him.

before he was born i knew i wanted to try to teach him sign language. i wanted to provide him with the tools of communication, eliminating frustration and helping him to feel happy and understood.

he's only 10 months old but he signs regularly to communicate with us. some of his favorites are: "milk" "more" "eat" "diaper" and "all done". he surprises me with his ability to communicate what he wants. he's affectionate and loving and he'll even give me a kiss when i ask for it (and even when i don't!!).

we went on a little family outing this past saturday and had a picnic. sharon was there to document it and to capture some of our interaction as a family as we lovingly communicated with one another. she did a beautiful job! enjoy! xoxo

signing milk, while nursing

this post was done as part of the sakura bloom sling diaries.

i'm wearing the double linen sling in lagoon. you might be interested in my other posts on
love
style
and exploration.

you also may have noticed that i am now a blonde! it was quite the process... let me tell you! but an amazing stylist and good friend was willing to take the challenge. you can see the steps here.

reflecting on father's day

here is one of the first photos taken of my husband in his new role as a father. this was taken on the day that our little emerson was born. i love this picture so very much.

with fathers day being yesterday, i took some time to reflect on how i feel about my husband's new role of father. we have learned so much this past year as we have embarked on the journey of parenthood. we are so imperfect and often times extremely under qualified for the position. but we are both amazed at how much natural love we have for our son.

i'm going to share with you some very intimate photos from emerson's birth-day. these pictures were taken by christine olsen. i'm so grateful that she was there.

he labored with me. was by my side for the entire 20 hours. i don't know what i would have done without him. i needed him there, holding my hand, helping me to bring our son into this world.

he was there for me the entire time.

he supported me through labor.

he helped catch our baby.

he weighed him.

put on his first diaper.

he even held my hand as my midwife stitched up my tears...

he was everything i needed. and has continued to be to this day.

happy father's day to my sweetheart. xoxo
you might be interested in reading the full account of the day here.