Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How About A Baby Announcement?

Just thought we should mention that we recently welcomed a new member of the family.

On Friday the 14th at 5:57pm, Clara Kenley Petersik was born with a paint brush in her hand weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. We’re insanely in love with her. And she and Burger are already best buddies. Seriously, he thinks it’s his job to stand guard next to her at all times.

Clara And Burger2

Clara was named after John’s grandmother on his dad’s side. And her middle name, Kenley, is an homage to my dad (Ken) with John’s mom’s maiden name worked in there (Kelley) along with a reference to my great aunt on my mom’s side named Lee. Gotta love rooms and names that multitask.

We’re all home from the hospital and happily settling back into life here at Casa Petersik (there’s nothing like a four day hospital stint to make you miss your house like crazy). Yes, we actually had an extended stay due to a pretty terrifying scare during Clara’s birth (an unexpected placental abruption paired with an umbilical cord prolapse had a slew of wonderful doctors and nurses performing an emergency c-section in under three minutes to ensure that Clara was a-ok). But although her delivery was anything but restful, we’re both over the moon that she’s 100% healthy and 1000% adorable (not that we’re biased or anything).

Clara Emergency Room

And now that we’re all back home, Clara really seems to be enjoying her new surroundings. In short: we feel like two of the luckiest people in the world. And we’re so thankful to be able to share this amazing time in our lives with such wonderful readers. Thank you all for the well wishes that you’ve passed along throughout our big journey to parenthood. We can’t wait to detail all the ways that our house grows and changes to accommodate a little person and we promise to share all the organization, storage, and simple living tips that we pick up along the way (while tackling even more DIY adventures and cheap-o room makeovers of course).

Clara Little Feet

But now back to our regularly scheduled blogging. We have an awesome house tour to share, so stay tuned…

Psst- We’ll also be announcing the random winner of the big baby pool (and a $100 West Elm gift card) tomorrow, so stick around.

Comments

  4. Erica says

    Congratulations! I’ve been looking for this post, wondering if you guys were going to spill the beans about the beanette! I love her name! Clara is a classically beautiful name for a such a beautiful little girl! Can’t wait to see more pictures and hear more about her! And I love that Burger loves her too!

    Again, congratulations! Good luck adjusting to parenting- you two will be fabulous!

    Reply

  6. Megan says

    Congratulations! Adorable pictures and I’m amazed (but Thankful) that the blog is still running like clockwork. Very nice of Clara to be born on the Friday so you’d have the weekend to recover!

    Reply

  10. Erika says

    CONGRATULATIONS! There is nothing that prepares you for the overwhelming love and joy that comes with the birth of your child! My story (delivery and name game) is very similar to yours… our daughter is 6 months old and named Klair Byerley (her middle name is a family name, too!). One question… do you have any ideas on how to store toys, swings, walkers, baby propaganda in a design savvy way?

    Good luck in the coming weeks!! She is gorgeous!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Erika,

      Congrats on your baby Klair! When it comes to story baby stuff, we’re sure we’re going to learn a lot in the next few months (and of course we plan to post about, so stay tuned). Off the bat, we’ve already loved using baskets and large storage ottomans to keep baby stuff corralled in style. Stay tuned for more as we go.

      xo,
      s

  11. brooke says

    beautiful, beautiful, beautiful bundle of baby girl. love the pics and LOVE LOVE her name!! congrats.

    Reply

  12. NancyV908 says

    Congratulations! I loooove the name Clara too. Sorry the delivery had scary moments, but I’m so happy it worked out so beautifully–& she really is a beauty.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hi Ju Fidelis,

      Our first day at home has been an adventure – and much better than being cooped up in the hospital any longer. Sherry’s mom was in town all weekend and dropped by this morning on her way back to NY to give us a hand, and we’ve got some visits from my mom coming up later this week. Plus, my sister lives in town, so we’re not short on help when needed. We’re happy to have the comfort of relatives nearby, but are also enjoying some private family time after all those days spent hanging out with nurses and doctors.

      -John

  18. Shauna says

    Congratulations!!! Sherry, I hope you bounce back quickly! Your little girl is absolutely adorable. I wish you guys all the best and I hope you give yourselves plenty of time to just enjoy your little girl.

    But when you are ready…..I will be eagerly awaiting all your home organization, decorating, remodeling, etc. tips WITH BABY IN TOW. I just had a baby in July, and to say that all my little projects I had in the works were derailed is a complete understatement. He is now a little over 10-months old and I’m just now getting to the point where I have a little sporadic time throughout the day to accomplish small (teeny, tiny) little projects around the house.

    Congrats again!

    Reply

  20. Gloria says

    Congrats, she is so cute! Clara is my sister’s name, you don’t hear much of that name anymore, but it is really cute!!

    Reply

  22. Michiganhome says

    Wow, what a nice surprise to see beautiful Clara at the top of your blog today! Congratulations to the whole family!

    Reply

  24. Sarah K. says

    Congratulations to you both- she is absolutely gorgeous!!!
    Enjoy this incredibly special time together- and get as much rest as you can! :)

    Reply

  26. Kana says

    Congratulations!! She is gorgeous! and I can’t believe how great you look post-labor!!! I can’t wait for little Clara’s first piece of art to go up on your walls!!!

    Reply

  28. Yvette says

    CONGRATS! Love the pictures of gorgeous Clara! Perfect camera timing! Glad to hear you are all safe and sound! Take it easy and sleep when baby sleeps!

    Reply

  29. Barbara the CT Granny says

    Congratulations. She is adorable.

    You remember the rules? When Clara sleeps, mom sleeps. I’m sorry you had to do it the ‘hard’ way. You were very smart to keep your expectations flexible. Here’s to smooth sailing and a baby that is mellow.

    Reply

  30. Cristina says

    Congratulations! So excited for you all. Thanks for sharing your lives with us … I’ve been reliving my own pre-baby, post-baby times while reading yours, and it’s been such a nice reminder of how lovely and exciting new parenthood is. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

    Reply

  32. No Biggie Kerry says

    What a gorgeous little girl with a uniquely creative and meaningful moniker. She is one lucky little lady!

    You may have thought your “four walls” couldn’t hold any more love, but with the addition of Miss Clara, your happy home is about to explode with emotion.

    Congratulations … enjoy it all! Thanks for sharing the joy.

    Reply

  41. Kay says

    YAYYYYY!!!! It feels just like a family member has been born! Congratulations and I am so glad that everything worked out just fine after the scare. Clara is a beauty!!

    Reply

  42. Adriana says

    Congratulations on having such a beautiful and healthy baby! She is precious and she is also lucky to have parents like you two. :)

    Enjoy your little one and parenthood.

    Reply

  43. Christie says

    Congratulations! The joy and relief on your faces is obvious in that beautiful family photo. Clara Kenley is beautiful!

    Reply

  45. erin says

    Congrats! Clara is truly beautiful and arrived just when I predicted… Friday, May 14! :) Enjoy your first official week of parenthood. So cute to see Burger “protecting” her!

    Reply

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