Tiny Treasures Tuesday

Oh My! How did I forget to post Lorelei's Santa visit? About a week or two ago, we visited Santa at Chick-Fil-A. That's right people, no mall Santa for us. Mall Santa charges $20 and Chick-Fil-A Santa is FREE. (Or as my dear mother and sister in law say, "free thirty free!!") And we are all about the free. And to a baby, a Santa is a Santa. The pictures came out pretty cute..no smiles. It was past her bedtime and she was a bit sleepy. She did tell him she wanted Sophie the Giraffe this year. Funny thing with the Santa visit is that they took the picture and then printed it for us, and then took another because turns out, Santa's very large arm tattoo was showing in photo number one. Mrs. Claus was very upset by this and told us to never let her see the picture and we needed a retake. Anyways..here are the results from my camera.




Now on to Tiny Treasures Tuesday. A wonderful friend at work gave me a book called "A Baby Changes Everything," and it includes the Faith Hill single cd where she sings the words to the book. This is the most precious little book ever. It celebrates the life of Christ in a fresh way, in that one baby changed and still changes everything. It celebrates the true meaning of Christmas, life, and is so true of anyone's life who has a baby. I have found several quotes from it that I just love. I find them to be so true and just wanted to share a few of them...

"To have a baby is to dream new dreams,
to dream further into the future than you ever have before.
This child will change who you are and who you will become.
From the first cry, your dreams will never be the same."

"A baby turns every parent into an improv artist
doing the best they can with what they've got.
Luckily, babies don't know if you're 'doing it right'
Babies just know you love them."

"No matter how ready
(or not)
you think you are, nobody is.
Everyone thinks they know what will change when the baby comes. Nobody does.
Everyone things they know a baby changes everything. But they don't.....until it does."

"A baby brings a love so profound you can't imagine it until you are in it.

Through the Years

Rob and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on the 16th! Even though we stayed home, it was a great day. I finally took the time to get my nails done and we ordered our favorite-Texas Roadhouse (thank you Stewart friends!). Rob got me a flower arrangement that includes 3 pink roses, and he made chocolate covered strawberries! We watched our wedding & reception video, which was SO MUCH FUN! It seems like we see something new each time we watch it, and there are lots of funny parts! I have posted our wedding highlights video and a slideshow that I threw together that represents our 8 and a half years together. I feel so blessed to have been given such a wonderful husband.

P.S. To watch them, turn my music off on the blog by scrolling to the bottom of the blog.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Makes a Momma's Heart Melt

We took this picture when we were in Chicago at a Christmas get-together in one of the Blue Cross office buildings. We were watching the parade on Michigan Ave. and Natalie noticed that my dear husband was carrying around Lorelei's wubby in his back pocket :) True love.

Tiny Treasures Tuesday

Check out this cutie patootie

Dear Little Baby

Dear Lorelei,
Today you are 3 months old! Time is going too fast. The past month has been so much fun. You took your first plane trip to Chicago to see your Nana and Grandpa and you met your Aunt Natalie and Aunt Melanie for the first time! You were wonderful on the plane, although I was nervous that you were going to start screaming at any second! We stayed in Chicago for 10 days. You spent your first Thanksgiving there! We had to go out and buy a swing while in Chicago because you refuse to sleep on your back in the crib. You are still sleeping in your papasan swing, which your doctor said is just fine for now, as long as you were sleeping. Most nights you only wake up once to eat and sleep wonderfully the rest of the night. You have been going to sleep between 7-8pm and you wake up around 6:30am, but then shortly go back to sleep until around 8-8:30am. Some nights, you wake up several times a night for just a second because you realize you dropped your pacifier. This went on and on for a few weeks this past month but I think we are over that stage, and now it is just occasional. You got your first little illness this month. No fever, just a cough, and some pretty bad congestion. We have been running the vaporizer and giving your pedialite like crazy! You are smiling and talking all the time! One of your most favorite things is after your bath when I give you a massage with your baby lotion. You talk up a storm! You must love massages...just like me. You are also doing much better sitting in your boppy chair and holding your head up. You had your first days at daycare this month. You go to daycare three days a week and your Daddy stays home with you the other two days. Dropping you off at daycare is so sad for me, but all day I look forward to getting to pick you up! After your first day or two at daycare you seemed out of sorts when you got home. I was worried you had cried all day. I think you are adjusting to it though, and you even painted a Christmas tree this week at daycare!! I was so proud. I would have loved to have been there to see your tiny green paint hands! The best news this month is that after Christmas break begins on Dec. 18, I will be home with you! I am so much looking forward to our time together next year!! In the upcoming month you will have your first Christmas! We will spend Christmas at your Mimi and Gdaddy's house, but we will also see Nana and Grandpa when we go to their lake house. Another exciting thing will be your baptism. You are going to be baptized at the church where we were married in Dallas. You are going to wear the same dress that I wore for my baptism! Not only did I wear it though, but so did Aunt Natalie, Aunt Melanie, Cousin Ashley, Cousin Kara, and Cousin Rylee. I think that is so special that you will wear the same beautiful white dress. We love you more and more every day and are so thankful for you.
Love,
Momma and Daddy

Tiny Treasures Tuesday

What treasure do you have to be thankful for?
We have the cutest little treasure to be thankful for. God has truly blessed us with such a sweet little baby. I am thankful for her sweet smiling face. I am thankful that she is healthy and growing, even if I think she is growing too fast. I am thankful for the spit up that I wear sometimes all day long. I am thankful for the busy days and sleepless nights because I know that God has given me this tiny treasure to care for, which is much more important than any thing else I may waste my time doing. I am thankful for the times we spend rocking in her nursery. I am thankful for the permanent stretch marks because when I see them in the morning it is a constant reminder of the little life we have been given to take care of. I am thankful for the daily baby laundry that must be done. I am thankful for my Little Miss Lorelei.

Big City Visit

The week before Thanksgiving we went to visit my family in Chicago. I wouldn't call it home...just their current place of residence! Home will always be Plano :( It was L's first plane trip. I never imagined how stressful it would be. 2 adults, 1 baby, 1 gigantic car seat, one duffel for baby items, one huge rolling bag, 2 small rolling bags, one purse, one diaper bag, and one carry on. WHOA! Next time I think I will pack lighter. Not that I packed heavy...but when you have a baby, you do not have time or energy to care as much about your own appearance. So maybe I could leave a few pairs of shoes behind next time :) We had a great time visiting! We did lots of shopping, hung out with the fam, toured downtown with our personal tour guide (my sister), and Rob and I went to Cirque Du Soilel, Banana Shpeel...which was fabulous! We also went downtown and up into one of my dad's company office buildings that overlooks Michigan Avenue for the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival. They had a parade down Michigan Ave. and as they went down the street, the Christmas lights came on. Then the ending was one of the best fireworks shows I have seen, right in front of the office building! Rob came home early to go back to work and L and I stayed over Thanksgiving. I flew back with her by myself..which was good, except I was nervous most of the time! But we made it through the flights and I even have plans for L and I to go visit my grandparents in Georgia in January--all by ourselves!

Calling all Mommas

HELP! Emergency Posting!! Lorelei is almost 12 weeks old and we are having terrible sleeping problems. If you have any suggestions for what we might try--please let me know! I am desperate. Here is the story...

I thought the magic number was 8. 8 weeks and they should be able to "sleep through the night." Atleast this is what Babywise book tells me. I have a love-hate relationship with the Babywise book. I love it because it answers most all of my questions, but I hate it because it makes me feel like I am doing something wrong because my baby is not sleeping through the night. I am following the guidelines...eat, awake/play, sleep, repeat. So according to this book, she should drop the nighttime feeding and sleep 8 hours or more. Then at 3 months (almost there!) she SHOULD sleep 10-12 hours at night. WHOA! We are not even close. Let me explain what is happening with my dear child....

Let's start with the good part of the day. Wakes around 6am to eat. Eats and goes back to sleep. However, at this point, I am so tired of being up all night and don't have energy to deal with her crying in the crib so I put her in bed with me. I set an alarm to get up at 8:30 for the first daytime feeding. Eats, plays, nap between 9:30-10am. Now this is when she will sleep 2-3 hours. I do not wake her from this nap.*** She wakes up around 12:30-1pm and eats again. The afternoons vary from day to day because this is when we run errands. So she cat naps in the afternoons. A little in the car, a little while she is in the sling and we are at the store, etc. I start the bedtime routine around 6 or 6:30. It takes up to 2 hours to go through the routine and get her to sleep. So I start early. Bath, baby massage, singing and rocking, eating, bed. She usually falls asleep sometime around 8. Sometimes she just falls asleep and other times she crys for a while and I have to keep going in there. IMPORTANT NOTE: She sleeps with her pacifier. ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: She HATES to sleep on her back. She has reflux so I suspect it has something to do with this. So, she has been sleeping in the portable swing (which I placed inside the crib so atleast she is sorta in her crib!) on her side. Bad habit, yes. Sanity saver, yes. Well I wouldn't say it has completely saved my sanity because we haven't gotten to the worst of it...

Then, she falls asleep.** After falling asleep... i t b e g i n s. She is up every hour or two, sometimes more than once an hour--fussing. Usually because she dropped her pacifier. So I go in and give it to her and then climb back in my bed. Then she knows that my head hits the pillow, drops her pacifier again, and fusses again. Repeat. ALL NIGHT LONG. I think she drops it. Other times she squirms around like she isn't comfortable so maybe that is why she is waking up.

Now, Babywise suggests that it takes several days to break a sleep habit, such as a middle of the night feeding. A few weeks ago she was not doing this waking every hour thing. A few weeks ago we were doing a much later bedtime (which I promptly changed to an early bedtime after reading my new book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child."). So I was doing the last feeding around 8-9pm and then bed around 10:30. She was waking around 3am to eat, but at the "magic 8 weeks" I realized this may be out of habit so I eliminated the 3am feeding. I toughed it out several days thinking we were so close to sleeping through the night. But then this every hour thing started. Well, I would much rather do a middle of the night feeding then wake every hour all night.

Obviously, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different/better results is not going to work. So we are trying new things. Open to suggestions :) Today, the new thing is feeding more during the day. I wonder if she is not getting enough to eat during the day. She has 5 feedings a day (early am, 8:30, 1:00, 4:30, 7:00). I was giving 4 oz. at feedings and 6 oz. at bedtime. Except when I nurse her at the early am feeding. So that is only like 20 oz. a day maybe. So today I am giving 5 oz. at each feeding and a little more at bedtime. We will see.


Footnote:
***I do not wake her because according to "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child," it says that the better they sleep during the day for naps, the better their nighttime sleep will be. This is opposite of what Babywise suggests, in that you should wake her to eat.
**I should mention that I swaddle her. I have tried not swaddling her or leaving one arm out because lately she sucks on her fist, however she is a complete spaz and cannot control her arms. She flails them all around while she is trying to get herself to sleep.

Next Blog Please

I have a confession. I decided to confess because I was sitting here getting wrapped up in what I am about to confess so I decided if I blogged about it, I could pull myself away from all the .blogspots and go to bed.

My confession is as follows: I could sit for hours and hours reading strangers blogs. I recently discovered the nifty "next blog" tab on the top of the page, which takes you to a random person's blog. How fun is that! Just peeking into people's lives. Oh dear, that sounds stalker-ish. But really, I must find a way not to get carried away looking at random blogs. I guess I am just nosey like that. Oh well, atleast I will have something very entertaining to do if I ever get really bored. Which is an unlikely occurrence when you have a baby at home :)

End of confession. Time for bed.

Precious Face

How can you not have a good day when you have this precious face with you? This morning she was wearing a smock dress and her "jacki" that my Nana (her great Nana) sent to her! Who knows why they call it a "jacki," but it is stinkin cute!

Random thought--any blogger friends know how to make my top banner/header bigger?? I was in the middle of coming up with new designs for the blog and now I am stuck because I can't seem to find the html code to do this...help! Anyone?

Under Construction

Working on my blog to find the perfect background, header, and fonts! Check back soon for a cute new look!

The Simple Life

I tend to over complicate MY life. I love details and can get caught up in them. However, I do know how to find simple solutions and I can see when complicated things are not working, you must go back to the basics. Start fresh. Make things easy on people so that they can be challenged in ways they need to be, not in ways that just waste time. (And I don't over complicate other people's lives...just my own :) )

Ok, enough with my rant. There is a hidden message in all that...but I dare not state what that rant is really about...

But truthfully, I have been thinking a lot lately about the simple life. When I see girls out around town with their sorority shirts on, I remember those days...those easy days. Now at the time, I didn't think that keeping a 4.0 and being involved in sorority life was simple. At the time, it was stressful. So much fun, but challenging. So when I see those girls today, I miss those days. And when Rob and I drove by the apartment complex where we lived when we were first married, we said that we missed those simple days. Rob was in nursing school and not working, I was working, we had a little apartment, and two dogs. That was it!! The end! No house to keep up with, no "real" jobs, and no little person! But then I think about all that Rob and I aspire for. He will be a CRNA and I will be a stay at home mom keeping up with lots of little people! Life will be more complicated. So I realize, THESE are the simple days. One little house, two jobs, two dogs, & one precious little baby. Easy cheesy!! (No, not easy at all...being a mom is the most difficult, but also the most wonderful, job in the world.) Now, when we see college kids out, or our old apartment, or even think back to what life was like a few months ago before Lorelei, we won't miss those days because we are so blessed to have all that we have, and one day, we will think back and realize RIGHT NOW is the simple life!

Dear Little Baby

Dear Lorelei,

Happy 2 month birthday!! This past month has been so much fun, watching you change and grow so quickly! In the past month, you have had your Nana come to visit you, had your first professional photo shoot (which you cried most of), taken your first trip to Dallas to see your Mimi and G-daddy, sat for the first time in your swing and Bumbo seat, smiled for the first time, started cooing and "talking," met your Grandad and Grandma Cathy, slept in your crib for the first time, outgrew your Miracle Swaddling Blanket (not to worry-we promptly purchased a bigger swaddling blanket), went to your first night at Parent's Night Out, moved up to size 1 diapers from Newborn, & had your first Halloween. That's a lot of new things in one month!!

Yesterday you went to your 2 month doctor appointment. You were 12 lbs. and 24.4 inches long! That is one long little baby!! You had to get several vaccines and it was so sad to see you so upset! Your legs are still very sore from the shots so we are giving you baby tylenol around the clock to keep you comfortable. The doctor also gave us some medicine for your reflux. So far it has really helped with your spitting up and fussy times.

In the upcoming month you will continue to have lots of firsts! We will be taking your first plane ride, first Thanksgiving, and you will have your first day at daycare. Mommy is very sad about your first day at daycare, but I know that it will make the afternoons when I pick you up that much sweeter. Daddy will stay home with you two days a week, so you will only be going to day care three days a week.

We learn more and more about you each day. While I thought that I would never be able to distinguish your cries, it is now so natural to know what you need just by listening to your cry. You really don't cry very much, which is a great blessing! You are such a good & sweet baby and we are enjoying this time with you so much. You love bath time, and after your bath each morning we spend time singing and reading in the glider in your room. This is my most favorite time of the day. You also have really started looking around, whether we are at the store, or you are in your crib looking at your toys--I love that everything is so new to you and you are enjoying learning about all of it!

When I get sad about you growing so quickly, I remember to be thankful that you are growing and healthy. God has blessed us with you and we thank Him for you each day.

We love you to the moon & back, angel baby!

Love,
Momma and Daddy

Pictures from 1 month-2 months:

Sweet November

I can't believe it is already November!! Fall is flying by, which is really too bad because it is my favorite time of year. The anticipation of the upcoming holidays, cooler weather, pretty leaves (not too much in Lubbock), football, and fires in the fireplace. Oh, and this year-Lorelei & maternity leave. Which makes Fall even better :)

Halloween weekend Rob's Dad and stepmom, Cathy came for a visit! It was the first time they got to meet Lorelei! We were so thankful that they made the long drive to visit.

I have started my Christmas shopping and gotten our stockings embroidered with our names! Funny thing about my stockings. When Rob and I first got married I had the idea that I wanted our family stockings to match. You know, how you see in Pottery Barn where all family members have the same or coordinating stockings. Well, I wasn't sure how to accomplish this since I didn't want to buy new stockings every time we had another baby, and I was certain a stocking pattern wouldn't be around each time we had a new baby. So, being the crazy planner that I am, I pre-purchased stockings for our family. Mind you this was before we had any babies. So, we had talked about wanting maybe 4 kids, so I bought 6 stockings from Pottery Barn Kids. We have a Santa, snowman, train, Christmas tree, and 2 others I can't think of right now. So this year is the BIG year for stockings! Rob decided to be Santa and I am the Christmas tree. Lorelei is the snowman snowgirl. When I went to the attic to get the stockings this year Rob asked how many more kids we could have. 1 is here, 3 to go. 4 stockings. No more, no less. So there you have it. My crazy and controlling stocking story. So you can call me nuts, but I will be the one with a fireplace full of perfectly coordinating stockings when my family is complete :)

Later this month we are going to visit Chicago! This will be the first time that Natalie and Melanie get to meet their little niece!! We plan to visit the Shedd aquarium and visit downtown while we are there! Last time we stayed up in Lake Forest at my parent's and didn't venture downtown. This time Natalie has agreed to be our tour guide :)

Lorelei had her first sit in her Bumbo seat this weekend. I took a few pictures and then decided to video her. The video is below. By the time we started videoing, the newness had worn off and she was pretty much tired of holding her head up!!

An Art Project

Okay, well it is not REALLY an art project...but my little friend and I made a Christmas ornament with her handprint impression on it. However, I really wasn't thinking when I decided to buy it because when I went to actually do the print, I realized that babies don't really spread their fingers out!! What was I thinking? A footprint would have been much easier, but I was determined to do a handprint. So, it took me numerous times of rolling out the molding and then attempting to spread her fingers out and smooch her hand down before I got an impression I was happy with. Then, I got so excited that it turned out, I took a picture of L and her first art project! It is currently in the drying stage and once it is dry I will add the ribbon.

As you might guess, she was exhausted after our big project. Hey, having mom smooch your hand down over and over until it was just perfect was hard work! So, right after we finished, Lorelei got into her burrito and took a nap in her swing. Here she is, clearly very ready to be left alone and go to sleep!

Lorelei's Trip

Well, I got out of LBK for a few days. We made a last minute trip to Frisco last week and it was FABULOUS! I was so glad we were able to get out of town and spend time with family. We also got a lot accomplished while we were there. We spent time looking around the Fort Worth area at Texas Wesleyan, since Rob is applying to CRNA school there. We found a few areas of town that we really liked. We are looking for a happy medium in distance between downtown FW (where school is) and Frisco (where family lives). I did a little shopping at the Allen Outlet Mall (could have stayed all day) and we traded my car in. Yes, Rob says it is my new "Dave Car." Although it is not at all a Dave car. He just calls it that since it put money in the bank. So goodbye to my very fun H3 and hello to my mom car. I got a 2004 Honda Pilot and so far, I LOVE it! It is very spacious and much more practical for getting a baby in and out of. Speaking of Dave...Rob went with his step-dad, Tom, to one of the Financial Peace University classes while we were in town. He really liked it. But did I really expect him not to enjoy something that has anything to do with Dave? While we were in Frisco, we also got to go on a date! Rob's mom watched L and we went to Cheesecake Factory. It was delicious and so much fun to have time together. Shalinda got to babysit Lorelei lots while we were in town and I think it was mutually enjoyable for both parties! Thank you Shalinda for taking such good care of little Lorelei and allowing Rob and I to get out!

I almost forgot to mention, L did so well on the trip. She was great in the car (mostly) and we stopped half way to feed her. While at Mimi and G-daddy's house, she was an angel! She is sleeping more at night and wasn't very fussy at all :)

Now for the news of the day, I am hoping to have the birth announcements out this week. I know she is already 6.5 weeks old, but I am just now finishing them up. The old mary beth would have had them out much sooner. Which reminds me, I usually have Christmas card lists and pictures ready by now, but this year...not so much.

So if you are reading and would like to be sure you get an announcement, send me your email address so I can include you on the baby announcement list. I promise they will be super cute!

Get. Me. Out. Of. Here.

In the saying "Lubbock or leave it" I usually choose Lubbock. I do really love Lubbock. I love the small town feel. (ok, not everyone would agree but when you are from Dallas...Lubbock is SMALL TOWN!) I love that Nelda, the teller at the bank, asks Rob if I had the baby yet and how we are doing. I love that the pharmacist was very much in tune with my pregnancy woes and her sister was my OB's nurse! (Everyone knows or is related to everyone it seems.) I love that my primary care physician texted my OB's nurse to inform her of a small pregnancy problem I was having!! I love that I know where all the cute tea rooms and boutique shops are. I love that when you go somewhere you almost always see someone you know, or the weather man, or news anchor, or "that guy from the commercial!!' I love our little house. (It wasn't really that little until we had a baby. Then her stuff took over and now it is a very tiny house.) I love that everything in town is just a short drive away. I love that you can see the stars at night. I love that when a fire truck or ambulance has their siren on, just about everyone stops and pulls to the right side of the road. I love that people are so friendly, which is the reason I came to Tech in the first place.

HOWEVER

Today, more than ever, I choose LEAVE IT! I am done. Done with Lubbock. Done with living in the middle of no where. Done with living in isolation of all family. While LBK has been a wonderful home for us the past six years, I would like to move back to a place where we can make a short drive to visit family. A place where I can go shopping with sisters and moms and a place where we can get together for dinner on Sundays. A place where Rob and I can drive a few short hours to another city for a weekend getaway.

So, I ask for prayers. Patience is "an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay." I am currently very restless and annoyed. I am ready to move and annoyed that we are here in Lubbock with no family. However, I remember that patience is a fruit of the Spirit and I pray to draw patience from Christ, the vine, as I am a branch that is called to bear the sweet fruit of patience.

L's photo shoot

Yesterday Lorelei had her first professional photo shoot! Brittany Strebeck (www.brittanystrebeck.com) took them! We have only seen these few so far, but I know the rest will be amazing. Brittany is so sweet and it is so much fun to have her come capture memories in Lorelei's first year of life!

Dear Little Baby

Dear Lorelei,

In just a few short days, you will be one month old. Where did the time go? It seems like last week that we anxiously anticipating your arrival.

On Tues. Sept. 8, we went to the doctor for my last check up and Dr. Owen said we would go into the hospital that night to begin the induction! We hadn't planned on going in until Wednesday, so you can imagine our excitement to find out we would be starting this incredible journey sooner than expected! We spent Tuesday running last minute errands, cleaning the house, packing, and finding babysitters for our puppies. (You have two puppy friends named Maggie and Milo.) Tuesday night, we arrived at labor and delivery and got things started. The plan was that Daddy would come home to get a few hours of sleep and come back to the hospital early on Wednesday. So I sent him home from the hospital around 10pm, but a few short hours later, I called him back. The nurse called the on-call anesthesiologist so I could have the first epidural. Apparently, my spinal spaces are small and it was difficult to get the epidural! He had to poke me with the needle half a dozen times! Your daddy and I fell asleep and awoke Wednesday morning when my water broke on its' own. By that time, the first epidural had worn off and I told the nurses I needed another. The nurses and anesthesiologist (a different one) gave me the run around and told me lots of options, one of them being that they could try giving different pain medicines. The only option I saw was another epidural. I insisted and got the second epidural. (Pregnancy really made me much more direct!) Again, they poked me numerous times before getting the epidural in the right place, but it surprisingly wasn't painful. From that point on, labor moved VERY quickly and you were born at 11:25 am. You must have been very anxious to begin your life in the world, because you did not come out gracefully! You had lots of bruising on your face, but it has since healed. I just see it as you being really eager to start your wonderful life, which is a great quality to have! In the coming years, we hope you are just as excited about life! You were 22 inches long and 8 lbs, 5 oz. You had (and still have) dark hair. Everybody says you look just like your Daddy. You have a very cute Daddy, so this should be no problem at all :)

The nurses took you to the nursery and they wheeled me over to postpartum. On the way, we stopped at the nursery window to see you. You were the most beautiful baby in the nursery. I was so happy that you had finally arrived and couldn't wait to spend more time with you. I noticed that the nurses were talking and looking at something on you. I thought something must not be right. As we were getting into the postpartum room, the labor and delivery nurse told me that they suspected that you broke or fractured your collar bone. I was so sad! They said they were going to talk to your pediatrician and order some x-rays and they would let us know. In the meantime, the nurses kept your right arm tucked close to your body. It wasn't until much later in the hospital stay that they determined that your collar bone was fine. I was skeptical, but took the doctor's word! In your first week of life at home, I noticed you still were not moving your right arm very much and that you had a big bump on your collar bone. This is the first time I realized that Moms know best, and that my instinct was right. At your 2 week pediatrician visit, I showed the bump to your doctor and she agreed that it had been fractured and told me that at your 2 month appointment, we will do some more x-rays. Also in your first week of life, you spent lots of time with phototherapy, which is a mini-tanning bed looking thing. You were jaundice and the pediatrician felt that your levels were high enough that home health needed to come and set up your phototherapy bed and take your bili ruben levels each day. When they came to prick your heal every day, it was heart breaking. You looked so sad. But your levels dropped quickly, and within a few days we got to give the bed back!

In the past month, we have learned a lot about you! You are very strong and have wanted to hold your head up since you got home from the hospital. One night when Daddy was holding you, you practically jumped out of his arms! You also have a love-hate relationship with swaddling. We have a special swaddling blanket called the "Miracle Blanket" that I bought to swaddle you in. You usually only fall asleep when swaddled, but you like to break free of the swaddle. (See photo below!) You also don't entirely love your pacifier. Sometimes you like it and sometimes you want nothing to do with it. I quickly learned that you will need a bath everyday! I first thought that I would bathe you every other day, but you can get a little smelly! So, every morning after your first feeding, you take a bath in your pink tub. So far, you like bath time but you tend to get fussy after I spend too much time diapering you, putting on your lotion, and trying to find an outfit for you! Bath time is one of my favorite times of the day with you. You are usually very happy and awake in the mornings. In the first month of your life, we have taken many walks in your stroller. Sometimes you sleep through the walk and sometimes you are wide awake. You don't stay awake much for tummy time. I have tried to put you on your tummy for tummy time several times a week, but it usually doesn't last because you either spit up or fall asleep! When you do stay awake for tummy time, you are a superstar! You are doing so well at holding your head up. When we take you out with us, you are a little angel! Sometimes you stay asleep in your carrier when we are out, but other times you just sit quietly and look around.

You have had lots of visitors come to meet you! On the day you were born your Nana came from Chicago and Mimi and Gdaddy came from Dallas. The next week, your Grandpa came from Chicago to meet you! Then, your Aunt Brooke came from Dallas. Lots of our friends came to the hospital or our house to meet you! This weekend, your Nana is coming back to see you again! You will also meet Miss Amber and Miss Leslie this weekend! Your other two aunts (Natalie and Melanie) will meet you when we got to Chicago in November! They are just dying to see you in person!

You are a gift from God and a blessing to your Daddy and I. We are so excited to see your personality develop and to watch you grow. We loved you from the day we found out about you, and our love grows stronger with each passing day.

Love,
Momma