i'm in love.

since 4:40 this morning, i have been thinking of how to tell you about the newest addition to my family and heart.

a bunch of us were sleeping in different areas of craig and kara's little apartment in new york, and then all of the sudden we hear "they say it's your birthday.. du nu nu nu nu nu... it's my birthday too..." blasting out of the speakers in the living room. i thought of my best friend lyds, who sings that to me every year on my voice mail - but then my dad came in telling us all that ava had come into the world. mark text messaged a picture to us with the details of her new little life: seven pounds, fifteen ounces. twenty inches long.

i cannot even begin to tell you how much love i have for this little girl. she is beautiful and perfect, and has brought me to tears already over the fact that she has been hold-able for almost twenty-four hours and i'm nearly 3,000 miles away.

of course my dad, the boys, and i have all changed our phone backgrounds to ava and the trip back to north carolina today included many stares at our phones. ava could be the new iphone model.

mark and jamie are doing great - love their new babe and love each other. i'm so proud of jamie for having this little girl completely natural and at home! i'm sure that's why she's so perfect looking. and no, i'm not bias.

this isn't the first blog dedicated to the sweetest and newest person in my life, and it certainly won't be the last. i am crazy about her. thanks for coming, ava.