Atlanta Family Visit

A few weeks ago we went to Atlanta for a long weekend to visit my family. We had not been there since Christmas, so everyone was ready to see how much Brylee had changed. For the last three years, my mom and I have made it a tradition of doing the Atlanta 1/2 Marathon. Having to walk 13.1 miles 4 months after having a baby was motivating to get most of my baby weight off. We had a great time, and finished in just over 3 hours, which was a record for the two of us!

Although we didn't get any pictures of race day, we sure did get a lot of pictures of this cute baby and her grandparents & uncles.

Meme and Brylee having some good floor play time Have I mentioned she loves her Sophie the giraffe!?

She has also mastered the art of grabbing her feet, and can almost get them to her mouth

She was fascinated by our dog Abby

Not quite sure who looks funnier... a startled baby or a cheesy uncle

She is also learning how to roll from side to side

Although this picture doesn't show it, David's girlfriend Emily & Brylee had a great weekend together

And there was a very proud Gramps

She looks like such a big girl here!

We had such a great time with my family! To make an even better ending to a great trip, we wound up with 4 free round-trip tickets on Airtran becasue we volunteered to get bumped from our flight! An extra night with my family, an extra day off work, and 4 FREE plane tickets...Priceless!

Can't wait to see y'all in May!

Let's Go Rangers!...First of Many

So last year Brylee was 1 week away from being a "World-Series" baby. And although the Rangers did not end up winning the world series (nor did Brylee arrive on time like anticipated), she is now the proud record-holder of an undefeated Rangers season in her entire lifetime (as her dad likes to remind her daily so far).

Friday, April 1st was the Texas Rangers Opening Day of baseball. Brylee and I stayed home to let Bryan enjoy that first game on his own, but we sure dressed the part to support our favorite team! Sunday, April 3rd we joined Bryan for Brylee's first baseball game. She loved looking around at all the buzz of people. I would be lieing if I said I wasn't nervous about taking a four month old to a sold-out baseball game. Things like changing wet diapers and figuring out how to feed her, how to keep her out of the Texas sun, and what to do about nap-time were all the topics on my mind. Overall, it was a great experience and there will be many more games in her future. When we first arrived, Brylee immediately got scared by all the noise. And I don't blame her... it was LOUD! Ranger fans mean business this year!

It was hard not to laugh at this cute, angry girl!

Overall, the noise, sun, and wind were all a bit overwhelming for this girl, but after a quick nap, she perked-up and enjoyed the rest of the game.

We went with some good friends, the Shivers, who decided their two-month old son would wait a few more months until his Rangers debute.

Rangers Family

Baby Dedication

We just LOVE our church family, and realize now how important it is to have supportive Christian people in our lives to help us along as new parents. Our goal is to raise our family in a way that will honor Christ, and it is so encouraging to belong to a church who supports us in that effort.

Greenville Oaks held a Baby Dedication Sunday last week, and all the new babies born since last fall were invited to be a part of this day. In the past, I usually get emotional during days like these, thinking about what an important committment it is to declare you are trying to raise your child in a Christ-like manor. But as a new parent, all you are really worried about is how your baby will behave on stage and trying to keep her happy and not screaming! Truthfully, it was still emotional, and as we recited our committment to honor God with our children and strive for a Christ-centered home, I choked back a tear or two.

Brylee was pretty happy when we first walked on stage We joined the other families in reciting a pledge committing ourselves to raise our children knowing God Sweet Brylee required a paci by the end of our stage presence!

We were actually saying a prayer here, and although it looks like I am playing with Brylee, we were really holding hands as a family

I am honored to be a part of a church who takes these committments so seriously, and who, as a church family, is also committed to helping us raise our children to know the Lord. Now I just pray we can live out our committment and teach Brylee the most important relationship she will have in her life - one with her Jesus!

Daily Happenings

It was Bryan's 28th birthday a few weeks ago. We celebrated with a simple evening out to eat as a family. Bryan's parents came to stay with us that week, so they joined in the festivities. Bryan picked Cheesecake Factory as our dinner spot, and we enjoyed good food and even better cheesecake. After we ate, we came home and Brylee gave her dad his birthday present. The week of spring break, Brylee enjoyed 3 days of Nanny & Papa time. Bryan's parents came to stay with us and were able to watch Brylee during the day while we worked.

She is getting so much more interactive, and now loves reaching for toys & trying to hold them while bringing them to her mouth. It is so fun to watch her play.

Just the other night, Bryan and I went on our first official "date night" without Brylee. I have left her during the day before, but this was the first night I wouldn't be home to put her to bed. She did great, and we had a lot of fun at a fundraiser banquet.

We also just got back from a trip to Altanta, and I will share pictures of that trip soon!

Four Months

How can it be that my new little baby is already four months old? Everyone tells you the time goes by so fast, and now I believe them. I have mixed emotions as my baby grows up...On one hand, the older she gets the more fun she gets. But on the other, I hate to lose my sweet precious newborn baby. It's amazing how each day I can love her more and more. I am so happy right now, and thank God for such a great family!

Brylee went to the doctor today for her four month well-visit, and for the most part everything looks great. She weighs 13lb 3oz, which is (25-50%), and 24 3/4 inches (50-75%). For as big as she seemed to start her life (almost 9 lb), she now is very petite. She still wears some of her 0-3 month clothes, although we are trying her in more and more of her 3-6 month clothes (although they fit in length, they fall off her tiny belly & shoulders). The doctor recommended an allergy blood test because we are still dealing with some skin exzema issues along with occasional belly gas. She is also getting an xray on her skull to check its shape and make sure the sutures are not fused yet. She still has a little mishape to the left side of her head remaining from her (or should I say my) traumatic birth. There's a small chance she may have to wear a shaping helmit for a while.

Life so far with Brylee:

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  She sleeps from about 8:30 pm until 6:30 am


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  She takes about 3-4 naps a day, anywhere from 30 min to 2 hours


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  She still sleeps wrapped in her Swaddle, but we are currently working on weaning her from needing it to sleep


• 
  
  She takes her paci well, and usually likes to fall asleep with it, and spits it out sometime in the middle of the night


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  She takes her bottle well while I'm at work, and is still 100% on breast milk


• 
  
  She laughs and smiles often, and recognizes us compared to strangers


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  She loves her Sophie giraffe, and can now hold little toys like that for short periods of time & bring them to her mouth


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  She still doesn't love tummy time, but can prop on her elbows for about 10 min, looking around, and eventually rolling over to her back


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  She likes sitting in her bumbo seat, laying on her floor playmat, swinging when she's tired, and she just got a new jumber/exersaucer, which she seems to like (thanks Jake!)


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  She loves laying on her back playing with her feet and sucking on her fingers

We plan on starting rice cereal in the next few weeks, and then eventually start adding baby foods in the next month or two. She loves watching her pup, Pasiley, and Paisley continues to gradually warm up to Brylee. She's my sweet, pleasent, fairly well natured girl, who can go from 0 to 60 from happy to screaming mad in about half a second. My cute little babe has great vocals, letting us loudly know when she wants something

Four Months - March 23, 2011

Three Months

Three months ago I met the prettiest girl in the world. And boy, time flies!

We couldn't be happier with our little angel. She is growing up too fast! Part of me is slightly sad that I am losing my newborn baby. But the more she grows, the more fun she gets. She is so curious about everything around her, and loves to be held up high to take in all the world.

My transition back to work and Brylee to "daycare" has been great. Although I wish I could stay home with Brylee AND still have enough time to work, I am so thankful for the childcare scenario we have. She is going to our friend's house just down the road from us who stays home with her 3 year old daughter. So Brylee gets great attention and some "big sister" lovin'. On Tuesdays & Thursdays she even gets to go up to our church preschool and play with two other baby girls in the nursery. We are very blessed by these people.

Every night we spend about an hour of "family time" on our bed. We started this about a month ago when we realized Brylee LOVED being naked during the time we changed her from day clothes to pajamas. So a little before her bedtime, we all go hang out on our bed, Brylee naked, and giggle & make faces at each other.

Here's some fun facts:

• She weighs about 13 lbs according to me holding her on our adult scale
• She fits into her 3 months clothes perfectly, and we've started trying some of our 3-6 month clothes as well
• She eats about 3-4 oz a feeding, about every 3 hours, and is doing better with the bottle during daycare time than when we initially started practicing with the bottle
• She goes to bed about 8:30 pm - I feed her right before I go to bed about 10-11pm without her really waking up - then she usually still wakes up once between 3-5 am for a quick feeding (the good thing is I'm back in bed within 30 min) - and sleeps until 7 am
• We have had about 4 nights where she has slept all the way from 10pm until 7am! We're hoping this gets more consistent
• I'm still nursing, and thankfully I have a really good eater (although she has gone through phases of not wanting to eat)
• She really has some lungs! When she's upset, she has a pretty good scream and lets us know she is NOT happy!
• She has found her hands and LOVES sticking them in her mouth
• She enjoys tummy time more and more (although only for short periods of time) and can roll from tummy to back if she gets mad enough
• She still sleeps in our room at night (mostly to make it easier on me to feed her), but takes naps during the day in her crib in her room
• She still has to be swaddled to sleep, and hopefully will grow out of that soon
• She likes sitting in her Bumbo seat already because it's easy for her to look around

Three Months - February 23, 2011

We look forward to watching her grow more and more...but don't do this too quickly, Baby girl!

"Hmmm....Frogs?

Today Tara took this great picture of Brylee reading...what a smart girl I have! Three months old today! Happy "One-month-older" Birthday, baby girl!