Firsts'

With your first baby everything that happens is a first. Our first night at home, first diaper change, first trip to Wal-Mart, first time to be spit up on, first time projectile poop shot out onto my hand (and Lord knows it has happened multiple times since then), first time she smiled… These are all huge moments in the eyes of a new mommy. Adam and I are running for the camera at every new face she makes! Last Friday night we gave Reese her first bottle. And yes, I took a picture.

I don’t want to bore you with too many breastfeeding details, BUT it is demanding! I am at her every beck and call 24/7. I am not complaining and I wouldn’t have it any other way, but let me tell you, breastfeeding is

W-O-R-K! When the hospital personnel are telling you how “breast is best” and “it is a great bonding experience” they don’t mention that you can possibly be feeding 20 out 24 hours a day! But really I am not complaining. It has been a great experience and I am so glad I chose to breastfeed. However, breastfeeding makes things like going out to eat and going to church near impossible in my opinion. For example…going out to eat. I just know as soon as my food is put in front of me she is going to demand to be fed. And yes, she demands to be fed! And for the record, she knows when I am going to eat, or take a shower, or dry my hair…because that is when she screams uncontrollably and demands milk. So then I have to go to the car and feed her. Now this might not seem like a big deal to you, but most of the time I am starving! Currently I would rather have a root canal than walk away from my food! But can I please take this time to publicly thank Steve Jobs for creating the iphone for without it I would have been bored to death on many occasions sitting in the car feeding her. I use that time to catch up on people’s blogs and the ever entertaining world of facebook. My dad says that he remembers growing up the women at church would breastfeed sitting right there on the pew! Yeah, well I think this is a prime example as to how much things have changed! I can only imagine sitting at First Baptist Church of Ashland and partaking in such activities. We would be asked to move our membership! All of this being said you would think that I would be excited to introduce Reese to Mr. Bottle. And I was excited until I saw Adam feeding her. I felt like I had been fired from my job and he was the new hire. I guess since I am pumping every 2 hours that I haven’t actually been fired. More like being demoted from full time to part time work. So anyway, since last Friday night she is getting pumped milk from a bottle and, for the most part, it has made life easier.

Punkin' Carvin'

After having our pumpkins for two weeks we finally carved them Tuesday night. Autie and Dixie had done this to our pumpkin with their evil little toenails...

Of course, it was raining and lightning so we were forced to carve them inside! It really takes away from the pumpkin carving experience when you don’t get to sit on the porch and enjoy the fall weather. Reese supervised from her seat…

Until she realized that no one was holding her and then she supervised from my lap.

Reese and I opted to paint her pumpkin this year instead of carving it. We spray painted it white and then painted the dots and initial…

Adam picked one of the hardest ideas from the book…

When Reese got fussy he talked me into finishing it and he held her which resulted in a short nap for both of them…

I was left to complete the small detailed cutting on his pumpkin and to clean up the mess!

Can you tell what it is?

When Reese and Daddy got up from there nap and Reese got her bath. And then she slept from 9 until 3!!! And then got herself back to sleep and didn't get up until 6! Yay for mommy and daddy!

3 years ago today...

Adam and I tied the knot! So can we all join in and sing one of my Rick and Bubba favorites...Happy Anniversary baby I got you on my mind! Have I ever mentioned on this blog that I love this man?? He is the best. Hands down. I knew long before we got married that he would make someone a very good husband...and I was right. Words cannot express how thankful I am that God's plan for my life included Adam. He turns ordinary moments into memorable ones with his infinite wisdom (or maybe it is his smart mouth. haha)...for example... Not long before we got engaged he kept talking about saving money for the big day... Finally I said, "What day are you talking about?" Because he was clearly hinting at placing the bling on my finger. He said,"The day I buy my boat." The man loves to fish and I will be glad when he actually buys one so I don't have to hear about it anymore:) One year at Christmas he got upset because I had used his Bass Pro Shop reward points to buy a few Christmas gifts. I ask him why it mattered that I used his rewards points..."Lee Lee, I was saving those to buy my boat!" In case you have never been to Bass Pro Shop...there isn't a place on Earth that has a higher price tag on a boat than they do.

I won't bore you with too many more details of our oh so exciting life (haha), but I will share a few wedding day pictures. Except for the birth of our sweet baby this day ranks high on my list of the best days of my life! I still love to look through our wedding album, and every beautiful fall day reminds me of our wedding day. It gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling!

Daddy's Home!

Adam left EARLY on Monday morning and didn't get home until Thursday night around 10:00. Reese missed her Daddy and insisted on staying up and waiting on him Thursday night...which is way past her bed time!

MeeMaw and D.D. took turns staying with us at night. And Reese gets lots of attention when they come. MeeMaw and D.D. say that I have spoiled her, but I am pretty sure they played a part too!

PeePaw also came to teach her the ways of the world...and to tell her momma how to raise a baby. Miraculously, the moment she was born he became a know all in the baby raising business:) It is either, "Elena, her feet are cold" or "Elena, she sure does sneeze a lot" or "Elena, it is cold in this house."

Keepin' My Eye on You!

When Reese sleeps during the day she keeps her eyes cracked just to make sure that somebody is still holding her! And, oh my goodness, if she opens her eyes and nobody is holding her there are consequences! I know, I know...we have created a monster!

One Month Ago

One month ago we met our sweet little Reese. In one way I feel like she has been with us forever and in another way I can't believe it has been a month already! I think the lack of sleep in the first two weeks contributes to it feeling like she has been here forever.

At one month old Reese:

• is 21 1/2 inches long




• weighs 9 pounds and 3 ounces...or so we think. I stood on the scale with her and without her so I am not sure how accurate it is.




• nurses every three hours. We will soon be giving her pumped milk from a bottle so that she is used to a bottle when I go back to work. Since our anniversary is next week Adam wanted me to go ahead and give her a bottle because he was planning a surprise trip for Saturday....until he realized that Alabama would be playing Tennessee and Auburn would be playing LSU that day. It is just fine with me if we sit home with our sweet baby for our anniversary because I am not ready to leave her yet.




• Slept best when being swaddled until a few days ago and she now seems to prefer her arms out of the blanket

• 
  Wakes up whenever the sound machine (the lamb in the top of the picture) is turned off. Adam and I like the sound machine too! Thanks to that little lamb it sounds like rain on a tin roof at our house every night!



• The first week or two she slept in her bouncy seat because she woke up everytime we layed her still in her craddle. Then she slept best swinging in her swing... due to the current cost of batteries we felt it would be best to not allow her to swing ALL night long in the swing. So she is now sleeping in the craddle with her arms slung out to the sides.

• Goes to sleep any time she is in the car riding.

• Only cries when she is hungry or has a wet diaper...and if we lay her down for a nap before she is asleep. But after her 3 a.m. feeding she gets herself back to sleep...so I don't understand. I think she knows that during the day I am trying to get things done around the house and doesn't like it!
  
  


• Loves to be cuddled. Which is currently my full time job:)



• until last week she got up every two hours during the night. Thank goodness she is now sleeping from about 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.!!
  


• sleeps in zipper sleepers because they make late night diaper changes SO much easier than having to button a onezie in the dark while half asleep!



• blows these sweet little bubbles when she naps



• tries to hold her head up when she is being held on someone's shoulder so we have to hold her down like this




• loves to lay in our lap like this when awake




• doesn't love or hate getting a bath although in this picture she looks a little sad
  



• will only listen to a story for a few seconds and then isn't all that impressed...maybe it is my reading skills:)

Lazy Saturday

On Saturday morning Adam got up and took Reese to her room to change her diaper...and she came out with this on... She hates it can't you tell? Last weekend when she had on her Auburn outfit she never made a face like this!

And these shoes Daddy...well they are WAY to big right now!

D.D. got the outfit for her so I guess I am obligated to let her wear it at least once.

They had to take a little nap to prepare for the Alabama game coming on so late

And my heart just melts when she holds his finger like this...

On Friday night Adam went to her room to change her diaper and after several minutes I ask if he needed any help...

"No, we are just playing dress up." Which is cause for concern in my opinion. She came out in these

They are 6-9 month old shoes! When she was in her carseat all you could see were the shoes

Friday night (actually Saturday morning) when she woke up at 3 a.m. Adam told her that if she would sleep until 8 he would buy her a pony:) hahah! She woke up at 6 and ruined any chances of getting that pony!

Is it possible?/Where did she come from?

Do you think it is possible that they come here spoiled? She is only three weeks old and this is what she does when I try to put her down... Is she spoiled already? And if you are wondering...yes, when she cries like this I absolutely pick her up!

We also question where she came from? HAHA. She doesn't seem to look like anybody at this point! On the left is my newborn picture and on the right is Adam's.

Since Reese Arrived

I have learned so much since Reese joined us three weeks ago!

I have learned that...

Nothing can prepare you for becoming a parent. I thought since I had witnessed my nieces and nephews growing up I was a step ahead...but oh no! There is no amount of babysitting that can prepare one for the task of motherhood!

It is all about her! It is no longer about Adam and I. For several days after she was born I felt like Adam and I had not even seen each other. We were both at home, but a newborn requires ALL of your attention. Of course when we got the chance to talk the conversation was all about baby stuff:) Which lead me to wonder...what did we do before her?

The house and its level of cleaniness doesn't even rate on the scale of importance anymore. My days are spent feeding her, washing her clothes, and opening new packs of diapers and wipes. Adam was sweet enough to clean while I was gone on Saturday. I guess it had gotten bad enough that he decided something must be done:)

That love at first sight doesn't exist until seeing your baby for the first time.

That there are a lot of material things I would be willing to go without just to stay home with her instead of going back to work.

That I can sit home and stare at her all day and be completely happy.

But mostly I have learned that life doesn't really begin until you get to see the love of your life and your new baby doing this...

To see her newborn pictures go to this website

http://www.blissphotographystudios.com/

Go to the Clients link.

Enter my email elena.robertson@hotmail.com and the password is robertson1

Weekend Fun

We had a great weekend and it got even better when she slept for 5 straight hours last night! Nothing gets a new mommy and daddy excited like more than two hours of sleep at the time! Friday night D.D. and Big Daddy took us out to eat. This is what the cupcake wore... I really have to get better with my pictures, but Adam is usually rushing me out the door so this was the best I could do. Dinner and a little shopping at Target was great while it lasted...BUT... she slept the entire time we were gone and then did not sleep good Friday night:(

On Saturday we went to LaRae's for lunch, and some much needed time to catch up with the girls. Of course, we were so busy talking that we forgot to get a group picture. I did get a few of Reese and Anna Kate.

Anna Kate was so quick with her hugs that we couldn't get a good picture.

I see trouble in LaRae's future if they ever decide to give Anna Kate a sibling!

After we got home Reese couldn't handle the fun any longer and crashed in her bouncy seat. It was the perfect time for a nap because her daddy acted out a little bit when Alabama got beat.

Sunday was Reese's first trip to church. Our church was having a county wide service at the football field so we decided we would go to D.D. and Big Daddy's to church. This was the best picture that I got and she doesn't even have on her headband! Adam set the alarm one hour before we needed to leave so I didn't get her picture in her dress before we left home.