Establishing Traditions as a New Family

'It takes three to make a child'

During the final weeks of my pregnancy with Bee I had made it a point to remember to enjoy the last moments between my husband and I before our family changed forever. I wondered what a new addition might mean for us as a couple. I wondered if we would still take time to enjoy each other, to enjoy our routines, and to spend time together. The thought of our dynamic changing was very stressful to me at the time and, quite frankly, the source of a lot of grief. I think the fear that a new baby will function as a dividing wedge rather than a member of a cohesive family is a worry many couples have when faced with the birth of their first child. After all, it's such a huge change, and one without the benefit of drawing on past experience!

Looking back, I honestly feel so silly that I spent any time at all worrying about how our new family would work. The very first time I saw my husband holding Bee, I felt a completely new sense of love for him that I didn't even think possible. Not only was he my best friend, the person who I trust the most and had come to be madly in love with, but he now had a new role as the father of my daughter. Bee, this perfect, tiny person who we were so taken by from the start. Who we would delight in teaching and learning from, who we would care for, and who would come to know she could rely on us her entire life. From those first moments that we met her it just was. This new family, that I thought would require so much work to piece together, just happened. Completely perfectly and naturally without any effort at all on our part. It just was, as if it always was. We were a family, no questions asked, no looking back.

One of the best parts of being a new family is establishing our own traditions. As the holiday season approaches there are so many opportunities to celebrate and begin new customs that your family can enjoy each year. Today, we did just that by picking out Bee's first Halloween pumpkin at the pumpkin patch.

Bee was very cordial in her first introduction to pumpkins, welcoming them into her life with a round of applause!

The hay was especially fascinating - much different than the grass that she's used to!

She was most interested in the pumpkins that were as big as her!

'many parents wouldn’t exist if their children had been a little more careful'