"And I thought I loved you then..."

Your wedding one day, and then you wake up and find that it's already your anniversary...that's how we felt this year.  I honestly can't believe that an entire year has passed by and in that year so much has happened.  We've settled into our little home, we've been crazy busy and have also had wonderful lazy Saturdays, both of us have celebrated our birthdays without our families, we've learned more about each other, been greatly blessed with a baby, and have realized that we agree with the phrase, "And I thought I loved you then..."  It's been a beautiful year and we look forward to many, many more.  

Oh, you came here to find out the baby's name?  Well, keep reading and you'll find her name in somewhere in this post! 

 One year ago on May 15th, we thought we were so in love...

...one year later, we realized that was only the beginning of a love that grows deeper and richer every day.

Little did we know that one year later, on May 15th 2011, we would be dressing a baby of our own in our new family heirloom for her Christening.

 My family made the long journey out from Illinois for a few things and we were so blessed to have my dad baptize his granddaughter.  Talk about a tear jerking ceremony...

 Two families joined by love...what a nice looking bunch! 

 Little Miss Blue Eyes

 Neither of my loved ones are morning people.  Baby likes to sleep in on Saturday with her daddy.

 In the car seat again for another trip in the car.  She really hates being put into her seat, but once we're on the road, she settles in for the drive.

 The family heirloom...I made this gown from the extra silk dupioni and antique lace that I had saved from my wedding gown.

 All of the embroidery on the bodice was done by hand and the gown laces up the back.

 A long extravagant gown for my little princess...and she looks like a miniature Marie Antoinette in it!  I'll try to get some pictures of her in it.  And here is her hat:

 

 It is with great pleasure that we introduce to you Lilyana Shapirta Hector.  An Assyrian name, and we thought the meaning was fitting..."beautiful lily".

Come back soon to hear about our new experiment...and to see more pictures of Lilyana!

It's a charmed life...

The Hector household has been awfully busy this past month. In between the birth of our sweet baby (no name yet!), Ben's surgery, parties, other events, and our upcoming annual Presbytery meeting we're awfully tired. The baby has a wonderful sleep pattern and usually sleeps for at least 4 hours at a stretch during the night. We're beginning to adjust to running errands with a baby...it just takes a little more planning on our part and it takes longer for us to actually get out of the door...not to mention the extra stuff we have to take with us! But it's all worth it!

Good guesses...but Linds was right! Her 1 month birthday is today (sorry for not posting earlier today...it's been a bit crazy around here...), so there are a bunch of pictures this time! Enjoy!

Top to bottom:
Newborn, 1 week, 2 weeks and 3 weeks
Her 1 month pictures are below!

The hat is a little big, but doesn't she look beautiful in green?

Baby loves her bath, but just like her mother, she gets reeeeeeeally cold when it's time to get out. So here she is wrapped up in her towel and my bath sheet.

Look how big she's getting!!!

Such a sweet expression.

My tired little one.

Ben's stitches needed to be removed...so he called on a seamstress that he knows to take them out...a.k.a me.

The arm minus the stitches. He says that it feels much better now.

Almost one month old, and we decided to take the baby to experience the great works of a dead English author.

We were excited about it, too.

That's right! Romeo and Juliet was her first taste of Shakespeare.

Beautiful big blue eyes.

Sleeping in a fur lined basket looks cozy to me!

Awwww....isn't she cute?!?

Waking up.

Tummy time for baby!

Have I mentioned that I love baby feet?

Our anniversary is coming up, and this was our anniversary present...antique European gates. They'll be house decor for the time being, but one day, they'll guard the entrance to our secret garden. *smile*

One year ago, I was getting ready to don a gown made out of this same silk and lace. On May 15th of this year, we will be celebrating our 1 year anniversary and the baby will be christened. Her gown is made from the same silk and antique lace that I used on my wedding gown.

Me and my girl!

My sleeping angel. Speaking of my sleeping angel, she's ready for bed now, so I'll bring this to a close and spend time with my husband and our little one.

Check back next week for more pictures of her Christening gown and her baptism...oh, and to find out what her real name is! *grin*

And tomorrow....

...will have another post FULL of pictures! "Why?" You may ask. Well, I'll let you do the guessing. *smile* Behold, a teaser picture...

Check back tomorrow for more!

Another day in paradise...

Life has been crazy since the baby was born...life was crazy before she was born...so why does our current craziness surprise me? I don't know.

The annual Hector Bonfire was this past weekend, so our suitcases were packed up again, and once more we found ourselves singing, "On the road again...". Daniel, Christa and Joshua came up from the L.A. area to party with us. After a relaxing weekend up in the mountains, we made our way back home and settled in for another week.

It's Monday again, which means my baby is 3 weeks old now. She is currently sleeping on my lap and I've been learning how to type with one hand. I have the computer propped up so that I can use both hands, though, because I'm hoping to get this finished before she wakes up. So, I guess we should get on to the pictures....

Ben's shoulder still hurts and moving his arm only makes it worse. He hasn't been able to push the lawn mower, much to his dismay, so he went out with some scissors to get rid of the tall weeds growing in our yard.

And here is the BIG fire. For more pictures of the party, click here.

Look at that cute face!

Aunt Christa holding her niece for the first time.

Baby is all bundled up in the adorable outfit that Aunt Lindsey made for her and is ready to head out to see the bonfire.

Ben making his S'mores. I just ate the chocolate.

Boys and a baby...

...girls and a baby.

Christa took this picture, and it was too cute not to post!

All cozy in her favorite blanket.

Aunt Christa soaking up some cuddles.

Joshua and his cousin, "Elfafa."

Chilling on a Sunday afternoon.

"Touchdown!"
A caption for Aunt Jessica.

Grandma bought this adorable dress for Shapirti, and she was so cute in it (I'm still trying to figure out when she isn't cute) that I couldn't resist taking a bunch of pictures of her.

She's getting so big!

Each day she becomes more and more interactive, more expressive and, of course, cuter.

Ben had to leave for a business trip, and she wasn't thrilled about that. You should've seen MY frown...

And one more before I sign off. Baby is squirming and wants some "Mommy time" so I'll bring this post to a close.

More pictures next time!