Now that we are inching out of the fourth trimester, I think it is about time our sweet new addition made her Something Pretty debut! Meet Emilia Jane Kirk, who arrived on November 21.

I had heard from countless women that third labors are quick, and mine was no exception to that! I fully expected to be induced again, since I wasn’t showing any signs of impending labor at my 39-week appointment. Emilia surprised us all when I started having contractions (three minutes apart right from the beginning–I didn’t know that could happen!) on that Monday morning. My in-laws were en route to stay with Charlie and Azelie when we went to the hospital, but still an eight-hour drive away, so our dear friends jumped into action when we were told to head to the hospital. Three short hours later, Dave and I were holding our new daughter, overwhelmingly grateful for her safe arrival and that our big kids were being well cared for, despite everything transpiring not quite according to plan.

The past three months have been a blur of getting to know Emilia, celebrating Christmas and ringing in the new year, navigating new “routines” (I use that word so lightly!) in our family and work lives, and, finally, starting to find our footing as a family of five. As someone who was not a “baby person” before having my own, I still marvel at how much I adore having a newborn. This was finally a newborn season I haven’t wished away, having spent the first in the throes of postpartum anxiety and the second closed up at home during spring 2020. These months haven’t been easy, but God has redeemed so much of what we walked through in the past, which I am so thankful for.

Once again, my dear friend Ally snapped some newborn photos for us, and I love the way she captured our little fam at home over Christmas! I know Emilia’s Thanksgiving week birthday will always kick off the holidays for us in a special new way and I am so excited to embrace that magic in the years ahead.

My dress: Hill House / My cardigan: old Gal Meets Glam Collection, similar here / My shoes: Maylis Sadie Ballerina in Creme / Emilia’s sleeper: The Proper Peony / Charlie’s pajamas: Petite Plume / Azelie’s pajamas: Petite Plume