4th Saturday in October

So much going on! I LOVE this time of year! This year has been a tad different for a few reasons. Obvious number 1 is that I have a daughter to love on! #2: I'm not teaching full time. And numero tres, it's 85 degrees outside! Don't get me wrong, I know that the longer it is warm outside, the longer I don't have to tackle the car seat with a jacketed Harper... but I do enjoy the cooler weather.

So the little girl is keeping us on our toes! She is definitely sitting up now and (almost) crawling. She gets around the floor to her toys pretty well, but I don't know if it would be classified as crawling...more like scooting/lunging? :) She is so much fun. She loves to say "Da-da-da-da..." over and over. I am still trying to coax her to say "MOMMA!" Her favorite foods are oatmeal w/banana, pears, and sweet potatoes. (Not) a fan of peaches. She's starting to drink more milk than I am producing, so we're delving into the freezer for what I've stored up. I'm thinking we'll probably start supplementing with formula before the end of the year. I'm hoping to at least continue to pump, so that she has my antibodies through the winter. (I always feel like a farmer or something when I talk about "getting her through the winter.") :) She doesn't have any teeth yet, but I don't think it will be much longer before we start that battle. In fact, I think we are in the beginning stages! She went for about 2 weeks of not sleeping well at night & being quite fussy. We've gotten three nights in a row of good sleep, so hopefully we're getting past that... I feel so bad for her when I can't tell exactly what's wrong. It can be a guessing game!

I can see her peeking through her bumper right now - one of her newest tricks. She is so funny! Time to go get her up & get ready for the day, but I will leave you with a couple pictures...

Happy Fall, Y'all! :)

PS The title of this post is in reference to the football game that will be played tonight at 6pm. TN vs AL. I think I know what the outcome will be, but it is always a (fun?) game for us to watch in our house! Determines the placing of the coffee table books for the year!

6 months 2 weeks.

Already. Another month has passed! Harper is growing. I really feel like she changes daily! She is LOVING Mother's Day Out and has only had one bad afternoon where she was just tired/fussy. Mrs. Holly & Mrs. Terri are so good with her! I never worry or doubt whether she's being loved on and taken care of. Harper got her shots yesterday...AND her first flu shot. Poor girl was so sad! We quickly pulled out the tylenol & bottle to soothe her...and her hurt feelings! She was a trooper! She dipped a little bit in her growth - didn't loose any weight, just dropped in the percentages a little bit. Dr. V said not to worry about it at all - that Harper was growing & healthy & active! Harper weighed 13 lbs 13 oz, was 25 1/4 in long, and head circumference was 16 3/4 in. Petite, sweet, healthy girl!

She is 100% interested in being mobile. She started rolling from her back to her belly on Wednesday. She has been trying to for a while, but would get stopped on her side. She finally made the plunge this week. She loves to spend time in her exersaucer & jumper. Propping her up in her boppy on the bed while I get ready in the mornings is a nice past time. :) She can sit up by herself for a few seconds...we're still working on that. I attempted to sit Harper in a buggy at Target...but she ended up lying down instead...then of course had me hold her shortly after.

She loves anything shiny or anything that makes noise. Her favorite video is Barney's Sing A Long songs, hands down. It's not uncommon to hear Bubba or I singing "Hey, Mr. Knickerbocker, Boppity Bop!" or "If all the raindrops were lemon drops or gum drops..." She loves it.

She loves making zerbert noises with her mouth & blowing spit bubbles (wahoo!)...especially fun when we're feeding her! She has grown an affection for oatmeal w/bananas and I think sweet potatoes are her favorite veggie. We've started feeding her some of the Gerber 2s too, just to give her more options. I offered a sippy cup to her yesterday with diluted pear juice. She very willingly drank from the cup, but wasn't a fan of the juice. I felt like I couldn't feed her enough last week!! Mark of a growth spurt, I think!

She's wearing size 2 diapers...and sometimes size 2-3. She wears mostly 6mo clothes but can definitely still fit in her 3/6mo outfits. She can wear most Carter's 6mo onesies, but the pants hang on her. :) Finding shoes for her tiny feet has been a feat, but Old Navy helped us out with some extremely cute gold, shiny slip ons!

I was just thinking this week how I have no idea how I had any time to work a full time job before! :) This little girl keeps us on our toes!! I wouldn't trade the last 6 months & 2 weeks of my life for anything in this world. I get so excited for my friends who are about to be first time moms - just knowing the brand new world that they're about to experience makes my heart jump! There really is nothing like it! I get sad when I think about how much Harper has grown & how quickly these 6 months have gone, but I am filled with joy when I realize that the Lord has protected and guided her every single second! We are more than grateful for His hand of protection over her and her health. I'm thankful for this journey of motherhood...especially now that I have such a sweet daughter to love on each day!

5 months 2 weeks

So I got an email with the subject line: "Your baby: 5 months 2 weeks" this week...and I almost cried. I know - crazy. I guess I just never thought time would really go this fast! Harper is growing and changing so much. I am so excited & thrilled to see her personality develop & watch her figure out her world, but my heart is a tad sad too - just knowing she is growing up so fast!

I always always always rock/pat Harper to sleep at night. Not the BW way to do things, but I am so thankful that I have gotten to do this each night. (and Bubba takes the honors if I'm not home at H's bedtime). But as I am doing this, I always take that time to pray over her & praise and thank the Lord for the blessing in my arms. I always pray that the Lord work in her heart - even now - to grow in Him and learn to love Him more. I pray for her day of salvation & that He give me the grace & mercy to help raise her in a Christian home. I am almost always moved to tears when I begin to just thank Him for letting me be her Mommy. I am so humbled that He has entrusted her to us! I sometimes pray for her future hubby (& his parents as they are probably rocking their sweet boy to sleep!), her future college roommates, her future best friends, her future teachers/coaches, etc, etc, etc. Then I always kiss her sweet cheek goodnight before I lay her down. I just don't think I will ever be able to thank God enough for giving us Harper! ....and to think He willingly gave His son for me...motivates this heart towards gratitude for sure.

This little girl is doing so much these days. I just started teaching 4yo at MDO at our church this week. Harper also started her first days of "school" in the baby room with Mrs. Holly & Mrs. Terri! We both enjoyed our week, but we were exhausted on Wed & Fri! I think Harper slept more on Wednesday than she ever did as a newborn! haha! She was wiped out from all the fun she had on Tuesday!

We give her rice cereal or oatmeal every night. I have begun to introduce foods to her this way too. I think she prefers the oatmeal over cereal... Her latest favorite is sweet potatoes + oatmeal, but I think her ultimate favorite combo is oatmeal with a spoon of apples, bananas, and pears. :) Dad LOVES to feed her each night, and Mom is thankful for a little break, of course! :)

She is pushing up - full extension - on her hands. She has started to scoot backwards some - which I know is the step before crawling! I have lots of friends with young babies, and I've been watching their little ones learn to crawl/pull up...and I know it's inevitably heading our way!! :) Again, such a great accomplishment to look forward to, but I know it's one step furthering her from being a baby. I know it sounds crazy, but you Moms understand the bittersweetness of it all! We love to give her tummy time, and she has really taken a great interest in her toys. Of course, everything (aggressively) goes to her mouth to chew on!! :) ...but no teeth yet!

One of my favorite times with her is when she starts to get sleepy. She has a "sleep talk" that is more than precious. She just uses her voice to sing - humm - "talk" - etc. I think it's so funny to watch her when she does it! Maybe I will be able to catch it on camera one day...

One of her favorite new-to-us toys is her Jenny Jump Up! She loves the freedom to stand/jump on her own. Bella doesn't know what to think about this whole set up! She barks at Harper and wags her tail - which in turn makes Harper laugh & jump - which makes Bella bark and wag her tail...you see the cycle! Keeps us laughing too!

She is still wearing size 2 diapers. Mostly 3 mo clothes. She can wear a few 3-6mo outfits. And amazingly...can still wear some NB outfits too. Everyone's first reaction after hearing that she is 5 months is, "She's so tiny!" And she is! But she's healthy & growing too. Her little bald head is starting to get some hair...I think it will be light brown? Her eyes have settled into being brown too, just like her Daddy's! There are 11 grandchildren now between mine & my siblings' families, and she's our only brown-eyed baby! I have a little brown hair/brown eyed/petite girl named Campbell in my MDO class, and the first day I met her I thought, "This is exactly what Harper will be like!" Campbell is mighty cute, so I'd be ok with that! :)

Harper's favorite songs are: I'm a Little Teapot and the theme song to Fresh Prince of Belair. She smiles so big every time we sing both of those songs! She loves to stand in your lap & see what's going on all around her, and we're working on getting her to sit up too.

I'm telling you...this season of blessing is really humbling me! I'm so thankful that the Lord has given us the opportunity to raise this little girl! And I know...people always quickly remind me to remember this when she's a teenager... :) I pray for those days some nights while I'm rocking her too... :)

These days

Well, my sweet little one is almost five months old. I am just floored at how quickly time goes by. Bubba & I are so blessed to be Harper girl's mom & pops. We just love our baby girl!

Here are some of the things she's up to these days...

- Dr apt Aug 6th - she weighed 12 lb 5 oz (20%), 24 in long (35%), and head was 16 in (20%). Doc said she was a healthy (petite) girl! Not sure where the petite-ness is from! :)

- We are fully into size two diapers. They're a little big around her waist, but we had to move up for the length. Wearing mostly 0-3 mo clothes - some 3-6mo too. She can still fit in a couple of her NB dresses, but I have packed them away since she has so many dresses in 3mo.

- She gabs & coos all the time these days. We love hearing her voice. Her newest voice is a GROWL. ha! I practice "ma-ma," "dad-dy," "bel-la," etc with her everyday. No words yet, but trust me, I'm not rushing her!

- She reaches for toys & will scoot herself to get what she wants. Not crawling - just a kick/scoot deal. :)

- She is letting people hold her a little more these days...although she gave my mother the world around Saturday night. Fussed almost the whole time we were gone. Poor grandmama!

- We have started rice cereal. I started it the Monday after our DR apt. She made the funniest faces the first time around! I tasted it just to see what it was like - NO WONDER the poor girl was scrunching her nose! It was horrible! I added bananas the next week - which played a number on the bm trail...so prunes were added last week. She LOVES the banana/prune/rice mix.

- I LOVE that she gets excited when she sees me or Bubba - ie. when we pick her up from nursery. She will grin as wide as she can & kick her little feet when she recognizes that it's us. Nothing like it. :)

- She is almost rolling from her back to her tummy... She gets over to her side, but hasn't rolled over all the way yet. She has mastered the tummy to back roll over. It is not uncommon for us to find her on her back in her crib almost every time she wakes up!

- She has found her feetsies! And just started yesterday putting them in her mouth. Too funny.

- She & her cousin Lyndsey Grace (born 2-12-10) had play time at Grandmama's earlier this month. It was funny to watch them play together! I'm hoping they will be best friends growing up!

- Still sleeping 9-10 hours at night, and she takes (usually) three naps during the day. Everything I'm reading says to get her on a consistent napping schedule, so we are going to work on that.

I am going to be working MDO at our church starting Sept 7th. It's just two days a week, but the closer I get to it the more I get anxious about it! Not really anxious about teaching - just really hope Harper adjusts ok. She doesn't nap well during church when she's in the nursery...so I'm hoping she is able to nap during MDO or we will have one fussy girl... I am excited that she will have a chance to "play" with friends though!

There's a little bit of our lives these days. Never a dull moment with a baby girl around! :)

(almost) 4 months!

Our sweet girl is growing so much! I can hardly believe she is almost 4 months old. She is comfortably in 0-3 mo clothes and some 3-6mo. She can still wear her NB dresses, but I have packed up all of her other NB clothes. I may or may not have cried while doing so...

~We are transitioning her to her crib; although, she is not convinced that it is her bed yet. She naps ok in it most of the time but not as well as in her bassinet. She did sleep in it from 10-6:30 last night though!

~She is still in size 1 diapers, but I don't think we're too far from trying to transition to 2s.

~She is doing ok in the nursery at church now. We've only had one (horrible) night. PS It's amazing to me what she'll do in there. Ie. hang out in a swing, play on the floor, etc. If I offered her $100, she still wouldn't do this at home! :)

~She is so funny about letting people hold her (besides me & Bubba). Sometimes she's fine, but other times, she has a cow! My dad labeled this stage as "Ninny baby," and my mom said I was the same exact way. Guess I'm paying for my raising!

~She's had a couple of "dates" with her friend Aiden (who was born 21 days after her) at Chik fil A. Aiden & Harper's dads always meet for lunch there on Tuesdays, so sometimes the moms & babies get to come too!

~She is ROLLING OVER like a big girl! She started this July 8th in her bassinet. I went in to check on her, and she was laying on her back just talking away! She smiled at me when she saw me - I guess as if to say "You caught me!" :) Now it's pretty much a norm for us to go in and find her laying on her back. She hasn't caught on to the idea of sleeping that way yet...we are actually working on that as I type!

~We go next Friday (Aug 6th) to the DR for her 4mo check up. I'm looking forward to seeing how much she's grown...but not looking forward to the shots... Bubba is going out of town Sun - Fri, so we will probably both be at our wits end by then. :( I don't know that Bubba will be back in time for our apt, so it may just be this fearless mom attacking shot day. One positive is that we will get to start rice cereal after that visit! I'm thinking she's ready for it! We may even try an Uncle Marcy Special soon too (minus formula... I'll prob try to mix it with breastmilk since that is what H is used to). Can it really be true that I am a mother to a 4 mo old baby girl?

~We have learned of about 10 more friends (just this month!!) that are expecting. I can honestly say this is one of the best stages in my life so far! I love to see pictures/meet all our friends' kids (and see my friends as moms and dads too)! Parenthood is truly a blessing; I thank the Lord every single night as I rock my sweet girl to sleep for that gift!

On the other hand, this time of year usually brings on the teacher side of me. I am a sucker for buying new school supplies, sharpening pencils (just because I can), hanging up bulletin boards, dusting off text books, etc etc etc! This year is quite different! It is honestly a bittersweet time for me. I am more than thankful to have the opportunity to stay at home with Harper and not miss anything with her! But I am going to miss my sweet coworkers at FA! I was very blessed with some great friends there, and I'm missing them already. Like brings-tears-to-my-eyes missing them... BUT I know I would be a basket case if I had to leave Harper everyday/all day, and we definitely didn't need to be making the hour drive back and forth either. FA was home for so long; I am thankful the Lord gave me that chapter in my life, and I'm also grateful it ended on a good note. I know I will be making some visits this year... and honestly, I don't think I'll miss grading papers (at all). :)

3 months!

And yet another month has passed since I last blogged. :)

Harper is growing like a weed! She weighs a little over 10 pounds and is about 22 in long. She's teeny tiny, but is definitely growing.

She loves to "talk" and smile.

She is sleeping around 10-11 hours each night & usually takes a big nap in the mornings too.

Her latest trick is pulling up on our hands to stand in our lap. She is definitely a strong girl - I think we'll have our hands full once she gets to moving!

She is still wearing mostly NB clothes, but has transitioned into 0-3 some too. She's wearing size 1 diapers, and we still have yet to find a pair of shoes to fit her tiny feet.

We just recently went back on Zantac for her reflux - seems to help her spitting up.

She has officially stayed in the nursery 3 times... They've only had to come get me twice out of the three times. :) She's getting a little better about letting other people hold her; she is just a momma/daddy's girl at heart. :)

Her tummy is doing better after bottles now, but I still am mostly nursing.

Her eyes are still turning brown...I think they'll be just like Bubba's. I really think the only thing that looks like me at all on this baby girl is her nose! She got alot of Bubba's features & coloring... everyone jokes about her having his hair right now too! Poor girl hardly has a few sprigs of hair on her head!

She's still sleeping in her bassinet in our room. I think she would probably sleep fine in her crib. This is more of a "mom's not ready for this yet" thing. I know...get over it, right? :) I said I would move her to her crib once she started sleeping through the night, so I'm sure I'll work on getting her there soon.

She has been to her first wedding, birthday party, and softball game. She also went to our farm for the first time too!

She is growing so fast and really changing over night. We are very blessed to call her our daughter!

2 months!!

Where oh where have the last 9 weeks gone?  Well let me tell you!  Our world has been rocked by a little girl!  She has overtaken our hearts, and I really could not be more blessed!  I laughed when I realized I had not blogged since March 31st - that was the day I went in to be induced!  Baby girl has taken up lots of time, and my preggo/now mommy brain had not even thought about blogging!  Don't fret though...I've been keeping my journal to Harper so that I (and she eventually) can keep up with all that has gone on.  Just thought I should chronicle some things on here now.

Well, we went in Wed, March 31st to be induced....after I had my hubby help me clean the ENTIRE house. (Nesting, much?) :)  Little did I know that I was already "in labor!"  At the dr's office that afternoon (apt was at 3:00), he said I had dilated to 2cm, but he was so surprised that I hadn't felt any contractions or BH!  He said, "You haven't felt any tightening in your tummy?"  And I thought - well sure, I have...is that a CONTRACTION?  And I think he read my mind at this point, because we both then realized I had been feeling these "tightenings" for about a month but didn't realize they were contractions.  Duh, stupid Whitney!  More like Duh, first-time-mom-Whitney!  I just equated contractions with pain, and I knew I hadn't been in pain!  Needless to say, he sent me on to Baptist "in labor."  Sure enough, once I was hooked up to the machines, I was having contractions every 7-8 minutes!  TIME OUT - this made me a tad nervous just because I had NO idea that I was in labor...I'll have to watch so closely next time...if there is a next time... :)

Getting checked into the hospital...  First of all, I was so nervous I was shaking.  I was holding back tears all the way from the Dr's office to the hospital.  I was scared to death of the unknown & (for some reason) didn't want Bubba to know I was so nervous!  Maybe because I knew he was a little nervous too. :)  I totally forgot to take the whole "last picture of the belly in front of the hospital" picture, but we had taken one at home before we left for the dr - so I was thankful for that.  We got up to the 2nd floor, and I checked in.  We had to wait a few minutes, then they just took me back.  They take only the mom back first for "security" reasons....I just wanted Bubba to be there to hold my hand!  I was still shaking & nervous.  I realized just how nervous I was when a nurse started to walk me down to my L&D room and asked if this was my first child.  I said "How can you tell?"  and smiled. :)  She handed me a robe & told me to get settled.  I walked into the bathroom with that robe in my hand & burst into tears.  God & I had a little talk time; I prayed for the rest of the afternoon/night knowing I had a full night ahead!  Then he gave me a peace & reminded me I could do it!  Then I got my little (well HUGE) self ready & layed on the bed.  I had a sweet student nurse evaluating my swelling (LORDY BE) and starting my iv; while another nurse was asking all the questions & putting on my monitors.  (Finally) after about 30 minutes, Bubba was able to come back.  I wanted to cry again. HA - emotional.  My pitocin was started & there we went!  On to getting ready for Ms. Harper's arrival!  Dr. Byrd came by throughout the evening to see me.  He was going out of town Thurs (Apr 1st) afternoon, so he really wanted to make sure I had the baby before then.  My Mom & Dad got there & just waited with us!  My sister was on her way too.  We called Bubba's Mom & let her know.  She jumped in the car & headed our way!

Around 3 cm - around 7pm (had been there since about 430)- my nurse offered me the epidural.  I hadn't really felt anything yet, but figured I could go ahead.  She was getting everything set up when Dr. Byrd came in to see me, and well, he decided that I needed to wait...He wanted to make sure I felt a "real" contraction so that when I got the epidural, I would know that it was working.  He broke my water and -WHAM BAM- contractions were almost immediate.  I was handling them like a champ at first!  Felt three or four to be sure, and then let my nurse know I was ready.  Dr. B came in again & confirmed I was good to go.  Then, of course, there were emergency c-sections on the hall, and the planned ones too, and of course other preggo mamas that needed their epidural....  So one of the ladies from anesthesiology let me know that it would be about 20 minutes, and I figured I could tough it out.  I was having contractions every 1.5-2 minutes & was dilated to 5cm.  After about an hour and a half, I finally got my epidural.  PS That's alot of contractions! :)  I was getting hot during this time & of course agitated.  My sweet dad just sat on the couch & smiled at me every once in a while and would talk & encourage me.  Bubba stood by my side the entire time.  My sister was rubbing my (huge) feet for me, because they were just getting bigger by the second with all the fluid pumping in me.  And my sweet mom was fanning me & running around making sure I was comfortable and had everything I needed.  At one point I decided I wanted my iPod - figured the music would calm me down & help keep my BP down.  Also thought it would help the time go by faster.  Bubba was a champ & somehow got my (not-charged) iPod going for me.  I requested Shane & Shane and was finally set to go.  I sat in the bed with tears rolling down my closed eyes breathing through "Your Mercy Reigns" over and over waiting on that epidural!  I was evaluated for my epi during this time and FINALLY a sweet old man & a student came in.  I was a tad nervous about this student being there, but she did great!  The man told me everything that was happening & wowee were those drugs awesome!  I was a totally different woman after that!  Chilled out & relaxed!  I could still feel the pressure...but NO more pain! wahoo!  I told my mother she was crazy for having us naturally. :)

Time kept ticking.  Nerves slowed down some.  Bubba's mom & her friend arrived, and Ginny Tibbels came around midnight too.  Finally a little after midnight, on April 1st, Dr. B said I was good to go!  So my sweet nurse got us ready for game time!  After pushing for about 30 minutes, my nurse had to tell me to STOP pushing because Dr. B wasn't there!  (Funny) he had warned me earlier that if he wasn't there, and the baby was ready, to whistle! HA!  He said there's no way I could push if I was whistling.  So my nurse sent for Dr. B - he hurried to get his gloves, gown, etc on - and I was whistling! HAHA 

Then at 1:06 am, our precious Harper was born!

That is a moment that will always get me!  I remember seeing her little feet first thing & hearing her cry.  I wanted nothing more than to hold her, which of course, is what came next! I looked in those sweet eyes and said, "Hey, Harper!  It's your momma!" And as I looked at her & Bubba, I realized life would absolutely never be the same again, and I was more than thankful! They whisked her over to her little bed to be cleaned up, etc.  Once our parents & family came in, Harper experienced her first photo shoot! :)  They were all so excited to see her - it seemed so surreal that she was finally here!

I was told I had to stay on L&D floor for an hour just to be observed.  By this point I was STARVING and more thirsty than you could imagine!  I waited until about 2:30 and finally got a sprite!  Best sprite on the planet at that moment.  Around 4:00 we were taken to our room, and the family got to sit in with us again.  I ate a turkey sandwich, and you would have thought I had filet mignon.  :)  We got settled, and everybody left around 5 am to go get some rest, and then it was just Daddy, Momma, and Harper. :)  They took her shortly after that for her bath.  I snoozed a little bit, and she was back around 5:30.  I couldn't have been more happy at that moment! (and tired and exhausted too!)  She had been wide-eyed from the moment she was born until then.  We finally all rested together in our little room!

We were so blessed to have lots of visitors all day Thursday!  Time really went by so fast.  We were discharged Friday (Good Friday), and sent home to take care of that teeny tiny bundle all by ourselves!  I probably could have stayed another night...I didn't know what to expect! :)  Nana (Bubba's mom) and her friend were at our house to meet us when we got home.  She even made sure we had a pretty, pink bow on our mail box!  They left to head back to Alabama, and then my mom came to stay with us for a little while.  What a blessing!  Both of our moms stocked our pantry & fridge.  We had friends lined up to come see us & bring dinner.  I was so thankful!

We took our first walk Saturday.  Had to take Harper to the doc Monday for jaundice...then again the next Friday (spitting up/throwing up).  Mom left that Wednesday to get back to work.  We balanced the week by all taking shifts with Harper.  I think we were just in survival mode the first couple weeks! :)  Could not be more thankful for our family & friends during that time!

Hard to believe that was 2 months ago already.  We've already gotten our first smile - 5 weeks and coo shortly after at 6 weeks.  Had lots of blow outs & spit ups. :)  Been to watch Daddy play softball & her cousins Brett & Jacob play baseball.  Been to church, the mall, Target, Grandmama and Grandaddy's house, Fayette Academy, etc.  Celebrated my first Mother's Day!  And last week she started recognizing our voices & turning her head to find us.  We've had an 11 hour night of sleep - and mostly doing GREAT with our nights.  Fighting through colic and gas issues - prob been through about 10 bottles of Mylicon. :)  Walked many laps in our house to soothe that sweet tummy & taken hundreds of pictures!  And you know what?  I would have it no other way.  There have been some tough days/nights, but I'm quickly reminded of how quickly time passes.  I'm determined to enjoy even those rough patches - makes the sweet times all the more sweeter! :)  I cannot imagine our lives without this sweet, precious girl.  I get overwhelmed at the thought of being her Mom & knowing that responsibility.  I am thankful for a merciful Saviour that has promised to provide everything we need and cover my first-time-Mom blurbs. :)  There really is nothing on this planet like being a Mom!  My Dad signed my Mother's Day card from him "Now you understand...  ILYM Dad."  And yep, Dad, I do...and I'm all the more grateful for yours & Mom's love and sacrifices along the way! ...and I don't know how you ever let me move away or date boys or get married! :) 

I'm sure I left out details here...again, thankful I have that journal to Harper! :)  I will attempt to blog a little more than every two months now that I've remembered I have a blog! :)  Know this is long & not any pictures - there are some posted on facebook though...which needs to be updated now too! :)  Just a little picture into our lives since our sweet baby girl's arrival!

and we made it....40 weeks!

Today I am 40 weeks pregnant!  I cannot believe how quickly they have gone by.  

I remember our first appointment like it was yesterday... I can even tell you what I was wearing (flip flops, kackis, yellow shirt)...  

I remember seeing my baby "Crowder Pea" on the screen for the first time & just knowing it was a boy (ha)!  

I remember hearing her heartbeat for the first time at 10 weeks and seeing her little hands and feet move around as if she were waving at us.  

I will not ever forget when the ultrasound tech let me look at the screen to see whether we were having boy or girl... I had been studying up that week with other ultrasound pictures on the internet to be able to have an educated guess when it came to my own!  GIRL it was!

I remember feeling her move for the first time during Sunday night church after drinking a hot chocolate from Starbucks.

I remember the first time she had the hiccups...and now each time I catch myself with the hiccups, hers are soon to follow.

I could really go on and on...  I was encouraged to keep a journal for her during my pregnancy, and I'm so glad I have.  What a special gift from the Lord these 40 weeks have been!  I got a little sentimental this morning when I realized that I wouldn't be feeling Harper move around in my tummy much longer...  but what a joy it will be to watch her move around in our home and be able to watch her grow into a beautiful little girl!  My heart really does skip a beat to think about meeting my sweet Harper girl so soon!

We are going to the doctor today at 2:45.  I decided to go ahead & start my maternity leave today, since we may be induced as early as this afternoon.  I may have an April Fool's baby after all!  My doctor is going out of town Fri-Sun, so if for some reason we're not sent in today, we will go in first thing Monday morning.  Of course I could go into labor too - but there haven't been many signs pointing towards that route. :)  (Still no Braxton Hicks at all! - guess that's a little bit of a blessing too).

I can't go without saying I'm a little anxious...  Who wouldn't be at this point! :)  First time mom - home today WAITING to go to the doctor to see if I will be induced into LABOR to get ready to meet my DAUGHTER! :)  I've been trying to occupy my mind this morning.  I'm thinking a fresh manicure may help too... I know the Lord is in control & has Harper's birthday all planned out!  Just praying for his guidance & protection over my body & little Harper's.  And of course praying for Bubba too.  He's so excited - he even decided to go work for a little while this morning to help keep his mind occupied! :) 

What a blessing this baby girl already has been to us. 

Thank you, Father, for entrusting this gift in our hands! May we always give You the glory for her life and trust You as we raise her in our home.  Praise the Lord!

PS....notice that as I was listing things I remembered from this pregnancy at the beginning of this post, I totally left out the morning/all day pregnancy sickness I had from week 6-16...  HOW do we Moms forget these things so easily? :) 

39 weeks tomorrow!

People, I don't know where the time has gone! I am almost finished with this pregnancy, and I feel like we just had our revealment party yesterday! I am getting very excited about meeting Harper Elizabeth though... I can't wait to see her little eyes & nose, see what color hair she has, see whose feet she inherited (please, Lord Jesus, not Bubba's), and learn her little personality! I can't wait to see her smile & learn her quirks. I am ready to be this baby girl's momma!

Bubba is getting so excited too. He has been so funny about it! The furniture finally came in last Thursday, so he & "Uncle" Ben put it all together. Before I knew it, those boys even had the bedding in the crib!

Understand...this is a big deal for me because no matter where I was going, my Mom always made sure she knew where I'd be sleeping. Example, each year that I went back to college, the lady would always come visit, and before she left, she would make sure my bed was made...just one of her things... So believe you me, making my baby girl's bed was a big deal for me just thinking about it.

Anyways, these boys did a great job, and "Momma" was happy with it. :) They even tied the bumper on...bows & all! We are now in the process of making it a real nursery...trying to go through all of our gifts & make sure it's all put away! Yes, I know it's last minute...that's how I do things apparently! :)

So last week, Doc wasn't happy about my BP (140/90) & the fact that Harper's heart rate was a little high (170)... He told me to take it easy this week & we'd check at the next apt to make sure everything was still ok. He asked if there was anything going on that would elevate my stress at all....I just laughed and said, Dr. Byrd, I'm a teacher! He laughed too... Overall, my kids have been good though. They are getting excited about Harper's arrival too! So pray with me that everything is good tomorrow & maybe we'll have some progress! Still no braxton hicks or any signs of labor here, so I'm not expecting to hear too much... Cannot believe we are nearing the end!

37 weeks - Almost there!

Well, little Ms. Harper Elizabeth has reached FULL TERM! We are at 37 weeks today! I have a DR apt this afternoon to see if we've progressed at all & to test for Strep B. I'm really hoping she waits (atleast) until after next week. I will be at home next week for Spring Break & plan on getting ALOT done...ie. washing her clothes, (hopefully) getting her furniture in, deep cleaning my house, etc. I know the Lord already has her little birthday planned, so I'm not going to stress, but I would love to have next week to work around the house and rest some.

I've been fighting a sinus infection/bronchitis. Of course I haven't had time to go to the DR, so that's just my self-diagnosis... I plan on asking my OB today if there is anything I can do/take so that I'm not sick when the baby is born. I'd hate to take the chance of passing whatever this is on to her as a newborn!

We've gotten some of our bags packed, the car seat is in the Jeep, and I'm wearing my Timex Ironman watch with the second counter everyday... We're ready to tackle any contractions/labor that comes our way! :) We attended a birthing class at Baptist Women's last Saturday. My poor husband was a trooper! I laugh thinking about it, but I'm so glad he was willing to go with me. He heard vocabulary & saw tools/pictures/videos he had never seen or heard before. He was cracking me up! Honestly, it made me so grateful for the blessing God's given me in a husband. I know I tend to worry/break into tears when things get stressful or scary, but Bubba is such a rock. Don't get me wrong...that big boy can shed a tear of his own, but he knows just what to do when he sees me start to crumble. I'm glad he'll be by my side the whole way!

Before I go, I have to give praise to our Heavenly Father for his provision over these last 37 weeks. I am reminded of that every single day, but this week I caught myself in tears over a friend's situation. A local pastor subs for us at school pretty often. He & his wife already have two children & were expecting their third. Last Tuesday they went for the BIG ultrasound, took their children in the room, got Mom all set up, and what they saw on the screen was less than exciting. The Dr asked for the Dad to step out of the room with the kids and then began to tell this anxious mother that her baby had passed away since her last visit. She was right at 20 wks, and they believe the baby died around 17 wks. Their explanation was that the umbilical cord was "kinked" and was not transporting enough nutrients to the baby. Of course this weighed so heavily on each heart of that sweet family...the expecting Mom & Dad, the exciting siblings... But they have been so good to praise the Lord for the blessing that their Baby Girl was - even if they weren't able to enjoy her here on earth. The mother had to be induced last Friday & deliver this sweet baby girl. They celebrated those 17 weeks with her in a memorial service with their family last weekend. Please pray for the Wells family as they continue to heal and seek the Lord's peace.

34.5 weeks...WOW

Well, we're at 34.5 weeks! Cannot believe how quickly these weeks are going by! Some have said that the last few weeks seem to drag - because you're uncomfortable, can't sleep, etc... BUT I think mine have started to go much more quickly! I have had some discomfort, but nothing out of control... Tuesday, on my drive home, I had to just hold my tummy with my left hand while driving with my right hand and crying with both eyes! :) I think (what's left of) my stomach muscles were a little unhappy about being stretched so much! I made it home, took some tylenol, checked facebook, took a H.O.T. bath, & watched American Idol in bed. The rest of the week has been much better!

Since the last post, I have gotten a new niece! My sister-in-law Amy went for her check up last Thursday and her DR was concerned about her level of fluid. She also developed gestational diabetes this pregnancy, so they decided to admit her Thursday night. They induced Friday morning because of the chance of the baby going into any kind of stress, and by 12:51 pm, Lyndsey Grace Culver was born! Amy got to hold her quickly, then they took her upstairs to the nursery to run tests. LG's sugar was a little high - then bottomed out - so they were worried about Type 1 Diabetes. After further tests, they realized she was just fine! She weighed 5 lb 11 oz and was 18-19 in long. She scored 8-9 on her Apgar, which was outstanding since she was a couple weeks early! We got to the hospital around 4:30 that afternoon, and Tim had still NOT gotten to hold her! They finally brought her in from the nursery around 5:30, and we were all there to see her meet her brother & sister, grandparents, proud aunts & uncles, etc!! :) Such a JOY!

As far as Harper's nursery, we have gotten her bedding in & Bubba is buying paint today! We went by Farrel Calhoun on one of our snow days to get a few samples. We decided on a very cute shade of green...(Bubba requested no PINK walls)... I think a few friends are coming over to help paint this weekend! Her furniture should be here in about 2-3 weeks... I cannot wait! I've had one shower with my family. My cousin, aunts, and grandmother did a spectacular job! We had so much fun, and Harper got some great stuff too! I have 3 showers next week - Starting Sunday at Warren Community - then Thursday at FA - then Sunday the 28th at Trinity! I've already thought about packing my bag...but just thinking about it is as far as I've gotten. :)

On a more serious note, I'm asking for prayer for our family for my job in the Fall... Whether that be at FA, DeSoto County, a school closer to home, MDO, etc etc! We're trying to leave the door open to whatever God has planned for us, so prayer for wisdom & guidance would be great!

love to ya! wrcc

32 weeks & a touching adoption story...

Well, we've officially entered our 8th month! Ms. Harper is doing great - growing like a weed & moving around like crazy! We had our 32 week check up yesterday, and she behaved just fine. She showed her little back, so that the DR could get her heartbeat; it was right at 140. I am doing fine too, just packing on the L-Bs. I have never in my life seen the numbers that show up on that scale, but I know my little baby girl is 100% worth it. I can already see that two of my new best friends after this will be Jillian Michaels & Billy Blanks. :) I may have to say 'So Long' to Mrs. Paula Dean & her fantastic recipes for a while...

DR warned me about Braxton-Hicks contractions & told me what to do if they come to visit. He said if I had more than 4 an hour to give him a call...could be the "real deal." I'm sorry - I don't think I'm ready for the "real deal" just yet! :) We are still waiting for bedding & furniture to come in. Bedding should be here next week...furniture probably won't be here until 2nd week of March... We're going to decide on a paint color as soon as the bedding comes in. My first shower is next Saturday (13th) with my family. I am too excited that the time for showers is already here!

I was also informed that airlines would not let me fly now... So there goes wishing for a last-minute trip to the Bahamas or Hawaii... HA! ...just kidding...if only...

Bubba is doing well too! He's been the absolute best support. He laughs when I fall asleep mid-sentence while we are watching tv... He's picked up my slack in washing dishes/laundry because I'm exhausted by the time I get home!! He's rubbed my back & feet more in the last few weeks than he has our whole marriage... I think I am more thankful for him everyday!! The Lord knew what I needed for sure! As far as sympathy weight gain/cravings...that little poot has LOST weight! He has had a few "cravings" for ice cream lately...I'm thinking it was just an excuse to go to The Dip (aka: Velvet Cream = incredible place for icecream in Hernando)!

Needless to say, I'm so thankful! And I'm ready to meet my sweet baby girl! Bought this and this for her from Baby Gap yesterday. Couldn't resist myself! :)

And for the touching adoption story - Check out this friend's blog. Beautiful, beautiful story that brought tears to my eyes this morning. We don't always understand God's ways, but we don't have to... Read & thank the Lord for his provisions.

31 weeks & counting!

This pregnancy is flying by... I really can't believe how fast little Harper's due date is approaching! We are down to DR visits every two weeks. We got our 4D done at 28/30 weeks. (We had to go back at 30 weeks because Harper was too tired to turn around at 28 weeks). These pictures are great! We enjoyed seeing her little face & chubby cheeks. We took another glance at her feet...this time, the 2nd toe appeared to be longer again...which would mean she has my feet! I think I've already admitted that I've honestly prayed she doesn't get her Daddy's feet! haha Guess we'll find out when she's born! We did see ten fingers & ten toes. Everything looked just perfect. Can't wait to see her in person!

We finally ordered nursery furniture too! Ed & Melissa Miles at Babytime in Cordova were a huge help. They go to our church, and some of our friends have used them for nursery furniture too. We ordered Sat, Jan 9th, and it can take up to 8 weeks to get here!! I really cut it close, but the timing was perfect - Munire went on sale the week we bought it, so I have no doubt God had that all in his hands! Here's a link to the furniture set we picked out: http://www.munirefurniture.com/essex_01.htm We chose Munire because of it's quality; the stain we picked is Sienna (like Cherry).

I finally picked out bedding too! I don't know why this was such a massive decision, but I definitely was indecisive when it came to this! We decided on "Penelope" from Pottery Barn... Here's a link to it too: http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/penelope-nursery-bedding-set/?pkey=bnursery-bedding-sets We will be picking out a paint color soon... We've already had a few friends offer to help us with that, since I am not supposed to be in the room with new, fresh paint! :) I'll also be looking for window treatments & a chair too... More decisions! :) (Atleast they're FUN ones to make!)

All else is well... Showers have been scheduled - I can't wait to celebrate sweet Harper with family & friends!! Tiredness has set back in. I am usually ready for bed around 8:00 each night! My tummy is growing by leaps & bounds each week! Harper's movements have just started to "stun" me at times. Before I could just feel her move or kick around, now I feel like she is turning summersaults/cartwheels when she moves! :) Bubba has really gotten a "kick" out of this too.

9 more weeks to go! I'm sure it will be here before we know it...