Natalie is 1 month today!

She smiled at me today on her one month birthday. A real smile. Not the "I just tooted or am having a good dream" smile. I was talking and playing with her after her bath and she smiled at me! So precious!
A few milestones:
-She holds her head up nicely when on her tummy. She even tries to lean forward when holding her on her back. Strong girl
-She eats 4 oz every 3-4 hours
-She sleeps 5-6 hours in the night! whoo hooo!
-She is content when awake (unless there is gas)
-Most of the time she enjoys her swing and play mat
-She loves to kick and karate chop with her arms when she is laying on her back.   She is a very wiggly baby girl. Loves to move... We could have an early crawler

Happy Thanksgiving to all! NJ is getting ready to meet my extended family.....could be scary!

Thanksgiving is here

Since I am off work for a week, I decided I needed to get my Christmas stuff out now so I can actually enjoy putting it up. I just like coming home after traveling from Thanksgiving, and enjoying the full Christmas season! I made Brian turn off his show so I could listen to SIRIUS Christmas radio on the TV.=)
Natalie had several visitors today including 2 friends from school, and some sweet friends from college who have supported us in a big way for her adoption.  We are so thankful for these friends and others who were so diligent to give monetarily and in prayer.

I have lots to do tomorrow to get ready for our trip to AR. Laundry ( I have put this off for days), packing, baking a pie, Wal-mart, and finish Christmas stuff if there is time. Tomorrow will be my first day with just me and NJ. Unfortunately I have to torture her with a trip to Wal-mart to get the stuff I need for my pie. That trip was supposed to happen today, but just didn't. I also have a few things to return from there so we will make the most of it.

One dog got a bath today. I think I will have to beg my mom to help us give the other a bath. They need to be groomed in the worst way, but we just don't have that money to spare at the time.  Living on one income is NOT fun. This is why I am selfish and need to work. I like having money to do things I want to do!=) The dirty dog is curled up with me right now. Trust me, he needs the bath!

Brian just finished feeding NJ, and she is about to get swaddled up and sent to bed. Then i can go to bed!
Good night

Free for a Week

Thanksgiving is upon us, and I am off for the entire week! Can I get a whoo hoo? Brian and I had a date night with Natalie Friday night and she was so good! Some sweet friends from Sunday School brought us our last dinner from Chiloso, and it was yummy.  We then loaded Natalie up and went to the downtown coffee shop. Super cute little place. It is Christian owned and operated. The folks were really nice, and the atmosphere was great. We enjoyed some hot chocolate and good conversation. The sad thing was how quickly I got sleepy while in there. I was nice and toasty and was literally fighting to keep my eyes from rolling back in my head. Brian was a bit annoyed but I reminded him I had been up since 4 that morning, and he had slept till 9! Anyway, we had fun!
Saturday was spent doing a bunch of nothing. Brian was helping a friend building his house, so Natalie and I went over to eat lunch with them.  We visited for a few hours then headed home. Our friend, Beth, has taken her newborn photos but she came back out to do a few more on Saturday. I cannot wait to see them because they will be beautiful!
Today has been equally as lazy. I went to church and left the other two here at home. I am the preschool officer for the 930 Sunday School hour so I have to be there. After church we had lunch, went on a walk, and I finished my thank you notes! Can I get another whoo hooo?!  I also completed our first scrapbook page for Natalie's first month! That's right......this week she will be 4 weeks old. I can't believe it!
We are off to see the family in LR on Wednesday so she will be good and spoiled when we come back. Happy Thanksgiving! I leave you with a bath time photo

Long time

Sorry about the length of time between posts, but I have been loving on my baby! Going back to school has been easier than I thought, but when I get home I can't wait to get my hands on her! I take her from Brian and hold her for the rest of the night=) Hence the reason I am scrambling for copies and plans once I get to school the next day. I never want to do anything related to school once I get home.
We have been so blessed by friends from church who have provided meals for us, and they continue again through this week. It has saved us money from buying groceries, and time from cooking when I get home. I am truly grateful. The Lord as been SO good to take care of us in so many ways.
Natalie is perfect. Not only is she beautiful, but she is incredibly content. The only time she fusses is if she is wet, hungry or being changed! And even at that, she calms down so quickly.  She is sleeping every 3 hours, sometimes 4.  Brian takes the late shift and lets me get to bed on time, then I take  the 2-3 am shift, and let him finish out the morning. This has really helped with the sleeping. I feel rested just enough to function nicely so far.
Mom was in town all week and she was SUCH a big help. She cleaned my tubs and showers, as well as finishing a lot of laundry. It was so nice to have her here. She also gave lots of caring for baby tips! Mom left this morning, and I knew it would be difficult for her. Thankfully, I had to go to church so I left before her. That helped us both from boo hooing like babies! I think it was also a good time for her to be forced to relax a little. I think she watched more TV this week than in her entire life! She needed the res though!
One more week and then we are off for a week, Brian and I and Natalie together. A family. Blessed times!

Oh, and her second doctor's visit went really well. She is now 21 inches long, and weighs 8 lbs 9 oz!

Murphy is finally getting close enough to snuggle with us! The dogs have been so good!

Time with daddy while mommy is at church

How sweet is this?!

Great weather, great weekend

Whooooooo Pig Soooooooiiieeeeee! Just watched the Hogs stomp S. Carolina so I had to throw that out!

Natalie is currently snuggled up on her tummy in her play mat, fast asleep. This means in about an hour she will be wide awake for a while! She still hasn't figured out that 10-12 pm is still sleeping time=)
At least tonight we get an extra hour of sleep. Or maybe that means we get an extra hour to stay awake with her. I did enjoy snuggling with her earlier tonight in the rocking chair and reading her some books. Fun times! I'm pretty sure she liked it because I got a couple of smiles.

Isn't that hat precious?!

Friday and today she got to go on a walk with us and the doggies around the neighborhood. She slept through both trips, but the fresh air was bound to be good for her. Brian and I enjoyed it!

Tomorrow mom is coming to spend the week with us. I am sure she will be a busy little bee, and will be a lot of help while I am at work. Looking forward to having her here for a bit. Just wish dad was coming too! So far we have had some super yummy dinners provided for us from our SS class. Thank you all! Looking forward to our meal tomorrow night. It will come at a good time because I have some school work to finish, visitors coming, mom coming, and a friend helping me with birth announcements. No time to make dinner! 

I will leave you with a few precious moments with daddy......

Just watching some Saturday afternoon football games

Back to Work

Wednesday I went back to work until Christmas. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated it would be. I was sad to miss holding her and seeing her all day, but I did just fine. I know lots of you were praying for me and I appreciate it. Brian is the best Mr. Mom. He has just taken over, and I love it. I don't worry about her at all when he is home. Plus, he has had the help of his mom.  Everyone is hounding me for more pictures so here they come!

Brian is putting together her play mat without the directions......I thought about letting him go all the way, but I finally announced that he was putting it on upside down!=)

Some good old tummy times!

I've got my mittens on

Loving my swing....thanks Connie!

Look at that sweet face...precious

First Dr. Visit

This morning was our first trip to the pediatrician with Miss Natalie. She did really well in the car because she slept the whole way. Of course, it was only 20 minutes but still!  The doc said she was a little jaundice but nothing to be concerned about. She weighed 8 lbs 1 oz so she is almost back to her birth weight already.  She has lots of boogies in her nose so the doc showed us how to mix salt and water to make a saline type solution to flush it out. She said Natalie's nose looked/sounded like wallpaper. We had this trouble in the hospital, too. Apparently, she has a skinny nose cavity as well as ear canal. The doc commented on how long her torso, feet, toes, and fingers were, and how broad her shoulders are, saying she was lanky. Sounds like she might be a little taller than we anticipated=)  We will go back in 2 weeks for a check up so mom and Brian will get to go on that little outing! I'm sure mom will be full of questions for the doc=)
She has slept most of the day so I fully anticipate a LONG night.  Last night she did SO well. Every 3 hours on the dot and back to sleep quickly after feeding.  Guess I can't get that lucky two nights in a row, huh? I will enjoy every minute of it though, and Brian has been amazing, too. I don't know how women do it without a helper. Whew!