An Old Friend

I've been spending time with an old friend this week and it has been much needed time! I have missed her terribly. I have had a hard time making time for her since the baby was born. She's the type of friend that I really need to spend time with by myself, just me and her without interruptions. Hannah Cate doesn't fit very well into that equation! I've scheduled a few times to get together and cancelled because I've been busy or tired or just lazy. But now I am remembering that I always leave my time with her feeling refreshed and empowered. She makes me feel better about myself, she's just that kind of friend. I'm glad to have her back! You may know her too and feel the same way about her.....her name is exercise!

Can your husband sew?

Mine can't, but Krista's can!

In Michael's defense, he did point out that he does this everyday....just in people's mouths. He is a fabulous dentist. He's starting a practice now (http://www.southerndentistry.com/) so if you are in the area check him out! Even if you are not in the area, he's worth traveling for! Hopefully he won't be too mad at me for outing his great sewing skills since I've given him free advertising for the new practice!

Krista used her fabulous talents to help me with the curtains in Hannah Cate's nursery. I took her my idea and fabric and she did all the work for me! Thank you Michael and Krista.....we absolutely love it!

First Trip to Church

We finally made it and here we are all dressed up to prove it!

Thanks so much to sweet Mrs. Judy for the pretty, handmade dress!

Two Months Old

Dear Hannah Cate,

Today you are two months old and time is just flying by. I keep trying to soak in the details of your little life, because I know before long you won't be so little anymore! This month you crossed the 10 pound mark and we were so proud of you. You are starting to get some chubby little cheeks and even have a roll or two on your arms and legs!

Over the last month you have really started to develop your own personality. You have found your voice and discovered that your arms and legs will really move! My favorite times of the day with you are right after you have eaten. You are so content and happy. I will lay you on a blanket on the floor and just watch you play. You kick your legs and flail your arms and we just "talk". You make the sweetest noises and it just makes me smile to watch you. Speaking of smiles, you gave us your first intentional smile this month. If I could get you to do it all day, I might not do anything else. I had no idea how much I would love that toothless grin! Your Daddy is really the best at getting you to smile, you love him so much!

We have also discovered that you love to be outside. Daddy discovered that when you are fussy he can take you outside and you are immediately quiet and content. You love our evening strolls around the neighborhood. We have also been slowly introducing you to Clive and Gabby. They sniff you in the stroller and like to lick your feet when I am holding you. When we go on walks, Clive stays close to your stroller and I know that he is being protective over you already. They are going to be your best friends and I can't wait until you are big enough to play with them.

You found your hands this month and you love them! You seem to favor your left hand, so maybe you will be a lefty like your Daddy. Your favorite thing to do with your hands is put them in your mouth, sometimes your whole fist at one time and other times just a finger or two. Though your hands are satisfying, nothing takes the place of your beloved paci! That thing is a miracle worker and one of your most prized possessions. We make sure never to leave the house without it. I made the mistake of taking you to Subway one day and left the paci at home on accident. You let me know that was not okay, and I promised all the way home that I would never do it again!

You continue to enjoy bath-time and laying on your changing table. You also love to be swaddled and nearly refuse to sleep without it. You are an angel when we ride in the car and usually sleep the entire time or watch your "friends" that hang down from your car seat. We have discovered that you love your bouncy seat and we'll often let you sit on the table (while we have a hand on the bouncy seat too, of course) with us while we eat dinner. It makes you feel like such a big girl and we get to spend that time as a family!

You went on your first road trip this month and also had your first stomach virus. You had your first official babysitter while Mama and Daddy went to Supper Club, we missed you while we were gone, but it was nice to have some adult time too! We took you to the beach for the first time this month and you finally got to meet your Aunt Emily and Uncle Mick. You went to your first baby shower and met your Great-Grandmother Barnes for the first time. It's been so fun to experience all of these first with you, it makes everything feel like new to me too!

This month most people have decided that you look like your Daddy. I think it's your dark hair and blue eyes that make people say that, but it's fine with me if you end up looking like him!

One of my greatest joys so far has been watching your grandparents love on you. I realize how much they love you, just as they love us, and it is overwhelming. They think the simplest noise you make is as great as we do. They all crave time with you and are always sad to see you leave. What a blessing to have so many people love you so much!

This month has been one of discovery for all of us! We are figuring things out one day at a time, together. There is no one else that we would rather take this journey with. Everyday hasn't been glorious and we've all had our moments, but there is no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't trade you for a year worth of nothing but glorious days! Even a crummy day is better with you in it. You have stolen our hearts, baby girl!

All my love,

Mama

Birmingham!

The baby girl is asleep, taking a nap in her crib. This is a big deal because she never does this....she never takes naps in her crib. She sleeps in there great at night (10:30 until 6:30 last night, that's the first 8 hours of uniterrrupted sleep I've had in almost 9 weeks!) but naps have been a different story. So, needless to say I'm soaking it up this morning. I've vaccumed, done laundry, organized my desk and have been catching up on my blog duties! Thank you Hannah Cate! Perfect timing considering it's back to work for me on Monday and we've got to get all of this figured out so that I can get some work done with a baby in the house...should be interesting, please pray for me!

Before I get on to our exciting and fun filled trip to Birmingham last week, I must mention the week we have had. The runny-poopy diaper filled week we have had. Yep, she had her first stomach virus at eight weeks old.....yikes! I must say it was much more uneventful than I expected, thank goodness! Just lots and lots of yucky diapers. No temperature, throw up, medicine and she was still very much her normal self. Just lots of terrible diapers (are you getting the picture about what I've been doing this week!) and a little less appetite and more sleep than normal. All of the diaper changes (at least 15 a day, sometimes 20) did result in a not so good case of the diaper rash, so we tried out our Arbonne diaper rash cream and it's amazing. It has my stamp of approval! She seems to be getting better today and hopefully we'll get a clean bill of health at the pediatrician on Monday (we have to go back anyway for our 2 month appointment).

So, on to a much more appealing topic....our trip to Birmingham! We had a great time introducing Hannah Cate to family and friends in our hometown. It feels strange to us that Birmingham is our hometown, but Fairhope is her hometown. We love Fairhope and we have certainly established a home here, but Birmingham will always feel like home too. I think Matt and I both thought we would raise a family in Birmingham, but the Lord obviously had a different plan for us. So, we'll settle for lots of visits and cherish every one!

Here's a summary of our week:

We spent lots of time at Granddaddy's house just visiting. I was so glad to have helpers around so that I could take nice, long showers and dry my hair without a constant interruption! Aunt Emily was able to get the sweetest smile out of Hannah Cate and I know it made her day!

Here's the close-up

Uncle Mick got lots of practicing in and I think we were all amazed at how good he was with Hannah Cate.(no offense Mick!) He was like the baby whisperer, everytime he held her she fell right to sleep! He's going to be a great Daddy come October!

We went to my office to introduce her to all of my work friends. Here she is with Suzie and Lynda

We went to meet Ginny and Caroline. Ginny was my saving grace during pregnancy and I am so thankful to have her as my sounding board! Caroline was so sweet to love on Hannah Cate.

We got to go see the Baxley's at their new home.

We sure do miss them in Fairhope!

We went out to eat....a lot! One night we went to Carraba's and Hannah Cate got lots of lovin' from Aunt Janet!

We snuck in naps where we could

One of the highlights of the trip was taking Hannah Cate to meet my Grandmother (my Dad's Mom).

She doesn't really know us anymore, but she loved seeing the baby

And she especially loved touching her tiny hands and feet. We love you Grandmother!

Mimi came into town from her house at the lake on Thursday and we were so glad to see her at Aunt Shashi's house!

Ginny was so great to have an open house of sorts for us so that we could see lots of friends at once! Me, Jami, Hannah Cate, Emily, Isabella, Christy, Laura, Claire

It was so fun to be pregnant at the same time with a good friend, Christy. Isabella was born just three weeks after Hannah Cate. This was our attempt at their first picture together....Hopefully they will like each other more as they get older!

Isn't she so cute!

Getting to meet the other "Aunt" Emily!

We had a family dinner at my Aunt Helen and Uncle Richard's house. Copeland (on left, my cousin Betsy's baby) is about a month older than Hannah Cate, which is fitting because Betsy and I are also the same age and only a few months apart.

Mary Caroline is such a pro!

We had a baby shower for Emily and baby AJ! He got lots of fun stuff!
Katherine came over for a visit and we were so glad to see her! She's having baby boy Echerd in November and we can't wait to meet him!

And this was our last day, so we were all sad to say goodbye But we can't wait for October when we will see them again....and baby AJ!

Saying bye-bye to Granddaddy. I'm thinking he was telling her that it was time for us to go home and she didn't like it......

because it sure does look like she's about to rare back and punch him in the face!

It was a great week and we loved seeing everyone. If we didn't get to see you on this trip, we hope to see you next time! In case you haven't seen enough pictures, click here for more (I took 200 while we were there!)

Aunt Emily and Uncle Mick's Visit

Emily and Mick flew into Birmingham on Friday (2 Friday's ago) and my Dad drove them down to Fairhope for a visit on Saturday. They stayed with us until Tuesday and then we headed back up to Birmingham for the rest of the week. It was so great to have them here and I know they were so glad to finally get to meet their niece! Before we know it, Hannah Cate and I will be making the trip up to Eugene to meet Aiden James (AJ) when he is born in October....we can hardly wait!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from their visit in Fairhope

While they were here we took them down to the beach. Hannah Cate had her first "meal" at her Daddy's favorite place, Tacky Jacks, and then we headed to the beach. She was quite the trooper and looked so cute in her little sun hat. We were glad Emily and Mick were here to experience her first trip to the beach!

This was Matt's way of protecting her face from the sun....not bad!

We got some great time with Granddaddy too, and as you can see by the smile on Hannah Cate's face, she already loves him and thinks he is so funny!

We loved having them here and looked forward to another visit....next time with AJ too!

Stay tuned for more on our trip to Birmingham....

We're Back!

Sorry I have been so quiet, but we have been busy! Aunt Emily (my sister) and Uncle Mick (her husband, my bro-in-law) came for a visit....all the way from Oregon! They came here for a few days and then we made the trek back up to Birmingham....Hannah Cate's first road trip. She did great both ways and was a wonderful baby in between! We are tired, but would not have traded our time with Emily and Mick, the rest of our family and the many friends that we visited.

I'll put up more pictures tomorrow, but for now I will leave you with how we felt when it was time to leave!