Christmas Candies

Every year I have good intentions of sending goodies to Alex's work around Christmas. Something always seems to happen and I never get around to it, so yesterday while little miss Amelia was sleeping - I started on some Christmas candy! I made buckeyes. These are my favorite to make at Christmas. Even though mine aren't really buckeyes because I cover them completely in chocolate, but oh well. I found these cute boxes at Hobby Lobby, the day after Thanksgiving. They are like huge matchboxes. They would be perfect for cookies but I was making buckeyes, so they are perfect for buckeyes.

Sleep Sheep...

Amelia was a little fussy on Sunday. She actually exercised her lungs a little - totally not like her. We were trying anything and everything to make her happy, so I decided to pull out her sleep sheep. She received two of these - one was travel size, so I put it in the corner of her bassinet. I have found that she really likes the sound of running water. Whenever I'm making her a bottle, she gets very still as soon as I turn on the faucet. Well let me tell ya, this thing is our new best friend. It makes all different sounds, one being the sound of water. It will run for up to 45 minutes before stopping. She slept from 10pm-3am and then from 4am-9am! She would get a little restless and I would reach over and push the button again and she would go out...AMAZING!

Can you say precious?

Love to all,

Best Christmas Present EVER!

This is going to be the best Christmas we've ever had. Having a baby in the house just makes the holidays even more special...even though she has no clue what's going on! :) God's gift of salvation is the best gift I've ever been given, but this baby girl is definitely making this Christmas very special. Our new stockings came in. I teared up when I opened them...to see her name on one and to see us as Dad & Mom just made my heart swell. Can't wait to show them to you!



We celebrated Jackson Luke's birthday last night. That kid is hilarious! I'll be sharing more pics from his party soon. I hope you have a great weekend!

Love to all,

Sleep in Heavenly Peace...

Straight broke a Momma down!

Amelia had a doctor's appointment yesterday. She now weighs 8.5 pounds and is 21 inches long!

She has been getting these little red bumps on her face. I thought it was baby acne until it's started moving down her neck. Come to find out - it's eczema. I have to start using the non-scented lotions and soap. I bought Aveeno products today. We already use Dreft to wash all of her clothes. Do any of you have a favorite product or know of something that works well for this?

She also had to get three shots. We both cried.


She isn't a baby that cries much, so to see/hear her get so upset - it straight broke this Momma down! I was literally sweating before they came into the room to give them to her - I was a nervous wreck! When I got to the car, I just lost it...couldn't stop crying. Of course at this point, Amelia is in her seat totally asleep and not remembering anything that just happened. It definitely hurt me more than it hurt her. Oh, and when she got really upset from the shots, she put her hand on her face and scratched herself really bad. It bled and bled and she cried and cried. Luckily, these scratches heal quickly and the next time she gets shots...she's wearing mittens! Alex apologized that I had to take her to get her shots and I said, "that's okay, because you're going next time!" (LOL) When I got her home and took the blanket off of her carseat - this is what I found.


Her hat had slipped down over her eyes and she was sound asleep...made me laugh out loud! Is it just me or is she the cutest thing ever!? ;)

My sweet M-I-L came yesterday and stayed the night. She watched Amelia so that we could get a full nights sleep. It was heavenly. She also made chicken and dumplings and her yummy mac&cheese for dinner! Thanks, Linda...we love you!!

Oh, and I guess you guys are wondering who won the Target gift card!!! I used Random.org to choose the winner. And the winner is....................#33 - Ginny Agee!! It made me smile to see that it was Gin who won. I actually grew up with Ginny...we were best friends through grade school. She's one of the only friends from my childhood that I have stayed in touch with over the years. Congrats Ginny...I'll be contacting you to make sure I have your current address.

Thanks to everyone who entered and be looking for my next gift card giveaway SOON!

Love to all,

6 week follow-up and a GIVEAWAY!!

I had my 6 week follow-up today with Dr. S. He was very pleased with my weight loss so far...30 lbs down - MANY MORE to go. My bp was normal - praise God! I will start weaning myself off the bp medicine (per his instructions) and if my bp stays down - no more meds!! My incision looks great, so my main questions were when can I start taking hot baths and exercising. I have missed taking a hot bath every night! He gave me the okay on both. He then asks me when I plan on having another baby. (LOL) I will be honest, before Amelia's arrival we really felt like we would want to start trying for our 2nd soon after. I've heard/read that you have a window of opportunity to get pregnant on your own, once you've actually gotten pregnant w/IF treatment. Whether that's true or not - I have no idea. My doctor told me that because of my endometriosis, I shouldn't wait long. I didn't think to ask how long was too long. Here's the deal...my delivery pretty much scared us out of our minds...we don't want to even think about getting pregnant anytime soon. I don't want Amelia to be an only child but I do want her to be the baby for a while. I want to love her and spoil her and soak up every minute I can with it just being her. The thought of having my kiddos less than two years apart is overwhelming to me. So we'll wait, pray, and trust that when the time is right to add to our family of 3 - we'll know it. :)

Amelia has a doctor's appointment this week. I'm thinking she's going to have to get shots and I'm DREADING it. I know that I'm going to cry. I had to spray nasal spray up her nose for congestion and she gave the most pitiful cry...I then started to cry. Yeah, Wednesday is not going to be pretty. She's getting so big, y'all. She can wear all of her newborn clothes and some of her 0-3 month. I put her first 0-3 month outfit on her last week. She looked so cute. I was just giddy while dressing her. She's like my own little baby doll! :) I sure hope she likes to shop and loves clothes as much as her Mommy. If she does - we're going to have so much fun!

Okay, so here's the deal. Being a new Mommy and starting back to work with my sis on the catering business -I haven't found the time to do the giveaways that I wanted to do. I had big plans, but once Amelia arrived - those plans went out the window! :) SOOOOOOOOOOO.......I've decided to do some gift card giveaways!! My first gift card giveaway is to one of my favorite stores. TARJAY!!
So if you could use a $25 Target gift card - just leave a comment on this post. If you don't have a blog - please leave your email address, so that I can contact you. I'll take entries until midnight on Wednesday!

Love to all,

A Baby Changes Everything...

I no longer know how to take a shower before noon.

I call my husband to describe the boogers that our daughter blows out of her nose. Color, size, etc. He greatly appreciates this.

I talk about my daughter's bowel movements. A lot.

9:30 is my new bedtime.

I rarely leave my house anymore.

It takes about 4 hours to get ready when I do.

And then I'm ready for another nap.

I have a new wardrobe.....Need to go to the store - yoga pants. Appointment to get my hair cut - grabbing the yoga pants. Time for church - let me find my yoga pants. Formal Christmas party - I think I'll wear my little black yoga pants.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

A baby truly changes everything.

For the better of course. :)

And speaking of A Baby Changing Everything. I was up feeding Amelia at who-knows-what-time-it-was and caught a concert on tv. Faith Hill performed several songs from her Christmas cd and she sang that song. Oh.my.word. Can you say, bawl your eyes out? Beautiful song. Must buy her new cd.

Love to all!

Her name...

There were a lot of people praying for our baby girl while she was in the NICU. Her name was put on several blogs and left in comments. At that point, neither myself nor Alex really cared - we were so thankful for the prayers and that in the end - our baby was okay. We talked about it then and Alex agreed that I could share her name on the blog. I love her name. I think every mother feels this way. I was planning on sharing her birth announcement on the blog, once I mailed them out. I don't think it's a coincidence that today is the day that I chose to share her name. I just read Katie's blog and it brought me to tears. She wrote about her sweet girl's name and how she loves to hear it or see it. I stopped and immediately lifted her up and thanked God once again for Amelia. Katie has been such an encouragement to me and during such a painful time for her as a mother and I think most of all as a believer. She always shares her heart and I admire her greatly. I ask you to lift her up right now, as well.

Love to all,

1 month old!

Our baby girl is one month old! Actually, yesterday was one month but I wanted yesterday to be all about my sweet man's birthday. :)

Here is how she and her Daddy spent the day. She loves to lay on her Daddy's chest.

Our sweet girl is growing and changing every day. Here's what she is up to these days.

-We're pretty sure she is over 7 lbs now. We put her on the scale with her Daddy and though it's probably not the most accurate way to tell, she has definitely gained some weight since her last doc appointment.

-She is out of preemie clothes and her newborn clothes are starting to fit a little better.

-She has a sweet little cry, but we rarely hear it.

-She loves to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed. At 4am, I love it too!


-She is eating every four hours. She is very patient...she will take her paci until I breastfeed her or we give her a bottle. She will go from breast to bottle, no problem.

-She smiles a lot in her sleep and is starting to smile even while awake. We love it!

-She seems to really like her car seat and her sling. Thank you, Lord!


-She's lifting her head (big time) and turning it the opposite direction of where she's faced.

-She kicks her legs really fast when we change her diaper...she looks like she's riding a bicycle. Makes us laugh every time.

-She can say her ABC's and count to 10. Just kidding. Her Daddy is working with her though. HA!

Time truly flies and we're cherishing every second. We love you, baby girl!!


And today is a special day too...A would like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to her Aunt Joy! :) We love you!!

HEY, HEY, HEY!!!

I've been going back through pictures from the hospital and this is one of my faves. It makes me laugh every time I see it. We would go see A in the NICU and they would have this giant hat on her. It would always slip over her eyes which she seemed to really like.



The first time my Mom saw her in it, she said, "she looks like that character off of Fat Albert!" I started laughing...she SO DID!


Come to find out, his name was Dumb Donald. HA!


We don't have to tell A that part. ;)

So in love...

We are so in love with this baby girl.



I took her to the doctor on Tuesday. She was up to 6 lbs - 8 oz! The doc was happy with her weight gain. I had taken her in because she seemed a little congested, but everything was okay. I'm a little paranoid. I'm trying very hard not to be that first time Mom that every pediatrician hates. :) Her pediatrician is great though. Told me that's what she's there for and to always come in if I'm worried. She told us that we can quit waking her every 3 hours to eat and let her wake us. That has been nice! She is going about 4 hours between feedings now. We're enjoying every minute with her. Alex can hardly wait to get home each day. It's so sweet.

I went to our local Holiday House yesterday...bought A's first Christmas present! This year is going to be so much fun for us. I'm ordering new stockings and can't wait to hang our baby girl's next to ours! I have accomplished quite a bit of my Christmas shopping over the past week and even better...I've found some great deals. I really want to put up our tree. Will have to work on Alex to get that done before Thanksgiving. We'll see. :) A and I listen to Christmas music all day long...love it!! This is my favorite time of year. I love all of the open houses, decor, music, food...how can you not love it??

I'm trying really hard to post more than once a week, but it's all I can do right now. I'll get better...I promise.

Love to all,

Out of the house...

After being in the hospital for over a week and then at home for a couple of days, it was nice to get out of the house...even if it was for a doctor's appointment. A had her first doc's appointment today. Our baby girl is 8 days old! I tried to do a one week post last night, but my computer wasn't cooperating. And I was tired. So I gave up. Here are a few pics from today.

Mommy & A at the doctor's office


We were happy that Grinny got to go with us! My sweet Momma has been driving back and forth from my house to my sister's house for the past few days. She has been taking care of everyone and I know she's exhausted...she has been the biggest help!! Pray for my sister, Joy. She had her tonsils out. That is a very hard surgery to have when you're above the age of 5. I know this because I had mine out at 4 years ago...it was bad.


Our baby girl is a little piglet. She has gained 3 1/2 ounces since being home from the hospital. And she now weighs half an ounce more than her birth weight...YAY!!


This is A's pediatrician. We really liked her and she was very happy with A's improvements since coming home. Her bilirubin is coming down as well!


I asked Momma if we could stop by the store to pick up a few things after leaving the doc's office. I was feeling pretty good and felt like walking around some. So A had her first trip to Wally-World.


She didn't see any of it though. She was snoozing and I kept her like this the entire time we were out. My blog friend, Mel sent me this cute blanket with A's name and date of birth. I love it! It came in very handy today while sitting in the pediatrician's office, watching everyone around us cough their heads off. Ick.


It was an all-around good day! A is so sweet. I could just sit and kiss her face all day long. I love being a Mommy. :)

Love to all,

A special day...

This day is very special for us. Alex and I had our very first date, 15 years ago tonight! I have a pretty fantastic husband. He sent me a sweet email this morning, reminding me of the day. How many husbands remember the date of their very first date? Most are good to remember their anniversary! (LOL) I am blessed.

Another reason that today is special...we brought our baby girl home!!

We arrived home around 10:30 this morning. A and I immediately went to bed and stayed there. She wakes up for her feeding every 3 hours...I change her, take her temp, feed her and then she goes back to sleep for another 3 hours. I'm not finding it hard to sleep while she sleeps. This is a new kind of tired for me. A good kind. :) I'm so happy to have her home with us.

Thank you all for your prayers. I'll post more soon, but need to get a little sleep before her next feeding.

Love to all,

Change of plans...

We've had a change of plans and did not go home today. A lost more weight, her bilirubin is up, and she was unable to hold her body temp overnight. They have us staying in a sleep room in the NICU, so that we don't have to leave her. Though we wanted to leave today, we don't want to take her home until she is ready. She is down to 4 lbs - 10 oz...tiny little thing. :) We're up'ing her feedings and I'm giving her breast milk as well as formula to help with the weight gain and jaundice. We're keeping our room nice and toasty and bundling her up to help with her body temp. The nursing staff has been awesome. They insisted that I go home today and take a nap and get a shower (the sleep rooms only have a half-bath). It's amazing how much better you feel with just a few hours of sleep. :) Alex went back to work today. I know he had to be exhausted...he got maybe 3 hours of sleep. He wants to stay here with his girls vs. sleeping at home and it was a LONG NIGHT, last night. Please continue to pray for our baby girl. I have no doubt that we will be bringing her home soon...she just needs a little more time.

Thought I would share a couple of pics of A with her Grinny & Nana. :)

A with her Grinny (My Mom)


A with her Nana (Alex's Mom)


Love to all,

Bringing home baby...

You may be wondering why A is smiling in the picture above. Well...it was because I was telling her the good news...she gets to go home with Daddy & Mommy tomorrow!! I have cried every day, since they told me that I would go home before her. They said she would be here for a week after I went home. I immediately started praying that she would be home by at least mid-week. I figured I could handle a few days better than a full week, but as always, God had better plans! Something seemed to happen each day that kept me here and A just continued to improve. I'm so happy that we will go home as a family of three!

I have been breastfeeding for a few days now and it is going very well. A has latched on from day one, but getting her to stay awake and continue to feed was a problem. By day three, she was nursing like a champ! I have to say that breastfeeding is a commitment and a lot of work. I can see why a lot of Mommas give up and just go to formula. I wasn't excited about breastfeeding when I first got pregnant...the thought of it...well...it grossed me out. The longer I was pregnant, I started opening up to the idea and once she was here, I WANTED to do it. I felt so helpless with her in the NICU, I felt as though it was the only thing I could do for her. Though it's tiring and sometimes painful, I'm really enjoying that time with her.

Many have said they want to hear A's birth story. I will be honest...I don't remember a whole lot of it. I will have Alex type that post because he was there and remembers everything. He will explain why I don't remember much of it. So when Alex can, he will post. :) And speaking of my husband, he has been THE BEST partner in all of this. He hasn't left my side, has slept on a terribly uncomfortable bed, has had little-to-no-sleep, and has taken wonderful care of me. He's the best. I love you, babe.

Tonight A will join us in our room...this will be our first night with her! I'm sure I will get very little sleep, but I'm excited to have my baby girl by my bedside.

Love to all,

Day 4 in NICU...

A continues to do well. I didn't end up going home today...will probably be tomorrow. Praying our little girl joins us at home SOON. Thank you for your prayers!

Love,

Day 3 in NICU...

I get to hold my baby girl for the first time today. 1 o'clock can't get here soon enough. Thank you all for your prayers and sweet comments. A is continuing to do well with each passing day. I promise to write more when we're home and things have settled down a bit. For now, pictures will have to do. :)

Love,

We'd like to introduce our daughter...

I've been away from the blog for a few days...the above picture is why. :) A is doing great. She's in the NICU - will more than likely be there for another week. I should go home on Sunday.

More details later...

Love,