happy birthday baby madelyn...

meet madelyn irene, she was born this morning at 4:57am, 7lbs 13oz...she's my best friend's second daughter...her first is my goddaughter, reese, who i was lucky enough to babysit while mommy and daddy went to the hospital to deliver this little angel in the middle of the night...


i'm not going to lie...being in your early 30's without children of your own is both a blessing and a curse. yes, i love my freedom (and my sleep), the ability to do whatever, whenever. but boy-oh-boy, holding this little one and having her sister cuddle up close next to me made my heart (and womb) ache...


and then i witnessed a special, intimate moment like this. mommy sharing her big girls first glimpse of her little sister...


...and then letting her hold her baby sister while mommy watched her two girls...


...and i have to admit i cried a little in my car later that day thinking what i just saw. i am so proud of my best friend and love the kind of mother she is. and a bit of envy creeped into my heart, wishing it was my turn to share a private moment like that with my own husband and children...someday...someday.