Happy Golden Birthday, Hubby!

HAPPY GOLDEN BIRTHDAY TO MY AWESOME, HANDSOME, SWEET HUBBY! 

Today K turns 29 on the 29th!! :) YAAAY!

K--

I love you so very much and do not know where I would be without you! You are such a blessing to me and RG!  You are the best hubby and daddy we could ever ask for!! I hope that today is your best birthday ever!! Looking forward to tons more memories and the rest of lives together.  

Happy Birthday! We love you sooo much!!

Allie and Raleigh Grace 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Link up with us here!

1. Sweet Morning Smiles!

2. My awesome NEW camera my sweet hubby gave me for xmas! 

{now if only I could learn how to use it realllly good}

3.My sweet FAMILY... and my extended family! What a great Christmas we had with everyone!

4. and since he's living with his g-ma these days, and I don't get to love on him too much anymore... I'll add sweet Yoda to the blog today :) I miss my furrrrbaby!

Merry Christmas 2011!

Merry Christmas!
Hope you all had a great day and were able to enjoy it with the ones you love!

Christmas came and went way too fast in my opinion but Raleigh Grace sure enjoyed it! She had a wonderful First Christmas and we have almost 300 pictures from the last 2 days to prove it!

{mommy got a brand new d3100 from Santa!!!! Sooo happy!!! Can you tell?!? Anyone have one and want to share their tips with me?}

Merry Christmas from our little angel to YOU!!

RG by the Week: 9 weeks!

RG turned 9 weeks old on the 19th (right after her 2 month birthday!)... Here is the way overdue update.
December 13-19th


Stats: 
Monday Dec 19th she had her 2 month check up...
10 lbs 1 oz - 25% (he said she was going to be petite like her mom...um, thanks for the compliment doc! ha)
22 1/2 in long- 50%
head circumference- 75% 


she looks great and is growing perfectly! He said that she still had a little cradle cap so he gave us a prescription for some shampoo as well as some lotion to put on it... we were instructed to put baby oil on her head and let it soak in for a little bit, then wash with the shampoo he prescribed and then to apply the lotion.  He said to do this twice a week.  He also looked at the back of her ears (that have been cracking and oozing) and gave me some cream to put on them three times a day.  He said in general she just has very sensitive skin and to not put baby lotion on her because her skin is dry and it really isn't that hydrating... he told us to use Eucerine cream (not lotion) all over her body for better hydration.  
She also had to get her 2 month shots... man was I a WRECK about these. I still want to do a full post about the shots if I ever get around to doing it.  Lets just say... my little girl is a TOUGH cookie! (the nurse even said so!) I was so proud of myself for holding it together- I came close to tears several times but held back :).  I never thought I would be one of "those moms" who worry to death about their baby and get all emotional and what not... even last week I was still singing that tune.  But when Sunday night rolled around, I couldnt sleep... all I could think about was how I was going to be "hurting" my sweet, innocent, baby girl. and WOW... it was a LOT tougher than I could have imagined.  Wheph.  Anyways- RG got stuck 3 times... the first time she didn't cry at ALL! I was shocked.  The second 2 she cried for maybe a total of 10 seconds and then was completly fine.  Thank heavens!  She slept the whole rest of the day except for when she was waking up to eat... and when she was awake those few minutes she was a zombie.When she did her little stretch (butt out, arch back, neck back, stretch) she got really upset and started crying... I'm pretty sure her leg was achy... :( She was so out of it though that my poor girl would just stare and not hardly move.  K said it reminded him of when she was a day old... she would fall asleep laying on his chest and now most of the time she is such a wiggle worm she just squirms off. But not after her shots. She laid completely still and slept all day.  That night she only slept about 3 hours but mommy was fine with that since I knew she wasn't feeling well.  She ate then went right back down and the next day she acted like nothing.  She was a little bruised and the right thigh had a bit of a knot but other than that nothing. :) We survived... thats all I can say- not looking forward to the next round at.all.!


Milestones:
I'm not proud to say this but little girl has found the TV and she LOVES it. If its on (and she realizes) and you put her back towards it she will work so hard to see it and when she gets tired of not seeing, she will actually start fussing until you turn her around. not. cool.  I don't even like tv but hubby loooves it! Girl gets it from her daddy. 
ALERT!  This girl is paying such close attention to everything. She likes to stare a lot more now and still loves looking around-- back and forth- left and right.  
She also is getting way better at entertaining herself. 
She's getting better at the Bumbo and holding her head up on her own!
Getting that fist/ fingers in her mouth- if the passy is gone boy does she work for her hand. :)
SMILING and talking ... tons!! Esp when she wakes up in the am!! LOVE this part of my day! ah! bliss!
HAIR- as of last week, her peach fuzz hair on the top of her head is starting to come back... when she had such horrible acne, she lost the hair on the top of her head but not on the sides or back... but its coming back finally... super fine and blonde :)
Her eyes are a really pretty blue these days! 

Feeding:
She's going a little longer between feedings during the day... she's strutting from 2 hours to 2 1/2 or 3 hour stretches sometimes.  
Everything else- about the same. :)


Sleep:
one word: AWESOME!! She loves to have her hands by her face when shes falling asleep and then during her deep sleep they usually end up over her head or by her ears. Too cute!
We are sleeping 7ish hours almost every night with a few exceptions! :)
naps: during the day, if I can get her down before she is too exhausted she can usually put herself to sleep pretty well.  She doesn't always stay down for long though... sometimes as little as 30 mins up to 3ish hours.
She also likes to sleep with her eyes open sometimes... haha look at that last pic :-P  

Behavior:
Such a happy, wonderful spirited, social girl! She will smile and coo at almost anyone! She loves being on the go with her mommy and daddy out and about, or is content staying at home.  She is the sweetest little cuddler too :) When she wakes up in the morning she is all smiles and loves talking!

Loves: 
Playing dress up with mommy in my christmas outfits :) 

Clothes: 
Borderline outgrowing Newborn clothes... nooooo :( 
diapers- we tried on a 1 and my oh my... those babies are HUGE on her! Seriously, I would be scared they would leak everywhere! I feel like they need a size 0 between newborns and 1's.  We are sticking to the newborns for awhile longer... just not fastening them as tight as usual because she is getting quite the cute little tummy and her legs are "filling out" too... I want to eat her up! She is filling out beautifully! 

Favorite Moments: 
All of them ;)
Meeting Santa. 
Watching her sleep with her fists in front of her face or her hands thrown up over her head. :)


Most Challenging: (for me this week!)
SHOTS. Yikes.. (but acne is gone!)


Looking forward to:
Our first Christmas with the three of us!! :)


Mommy Moments: 
?


Firsts: 
Friday 16th- Met Santa for the first time at CP mall. Read more about that here! 
Saturday 17th- Wrapping presents... HAPPY 2 months old !! :) 

Monday 19th- SHOTS... OUCH! :( you were such a trooper though! 

2 months old!

Happy 2 Months to my sweet sweet girlie! :) {December 17th- I am a little late on posting}
I can NOT believe how the time is just flyyying right along (do I say that overtime I update yet... because I sure feel it!)
I catch myself trying to soak in every moment... but obviously nothing can stop time!

Raleigh Grace,

I absolutely adore you with all of my heart.  Your daddy and I just stare and you in awe of how beautiful you are and how sweet you are! I love checking out all of your features from your beautiful eyes, to you cute little finger and toe nails.  I love every little piece of you from the hair on your head to the little wrinkles on your wrist!  We could have never imagined how much you would change our lives and how much more we would fall in love with you every day!  Many nights we lay in bed, holding you, and just talk about how blessed we are to have such a perfect little girl and how we can not believe that God has made us parents to you.  You really are the center of our world and everyday we love you more! Again, we are so blessed and thankful to be your parents! I thank God that he has given you to me, to take care of, while we are here on this earth!
I pray for you daily, I pray that Jesus Christ will make himself known to you at a very young age.  I pray that he will watch over and protect you because I know that he is the ultimate power in this world and that he can and will protect.  I pray for your health, I pray for your future husband.  The amount of love I have towards you gives me a small glimpse of God's love for us.  AMAZING.
Thank you for always reminding me how precious life is and how blessed I am to call you MINE!
I love you so much my sweet daughter and am sooo excited about watching you grow into a beautiful young girl and woman! Happy 2 month birthday sweet girl!

Love you so much!
Mommie

Christmas Survey?

I totally got super dooper excited when I saw this little survey floating along the blog world... I used to be obsessed with surveys (remember Myspace!? woah.) and I'll admit that I still kinda am. :) 

So here goes! A fun little Christmas one...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I prefer wrapping paper- I just think they are more fun to open and I feel like gift bags are sotra like gift cards... copout ha even though sometimes that is the only thing I can think of to get certain ppl.  Next year, I am requesting LISTS from anyone that wants a present from me! Its so much more fun to shop when you have an idea of what someone likes/wants! :) {consider yourself warned ;) } 

2. Real tree or Artificial? Reallll all the way! It is a MUST for me and always has been.  There is NOTHING like the smell of a fresh tree- not even a good candle can completely mimic that smell although some come close. 

3. When do you put up the tree? Never before Thanksgiving but it honestly just depends on when I have time to a)buy it and b)put it up. I think 2 years ago we didn't get it up until about a week before Christmas so I left it up until Valentines Day... oh and my mom was coming in town that year and I wanted her to see it too ha! The sooner its up the sooner its down, the later its up, the later it comes down... you get the picture! 

4. When do you take the tree down? see previous question

5. Do you like eggnog? I don't think so but honestly I don't even know what it tastes like and can't remember the last time I had it ha! 

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My first bike!! and a little ballerina doll- I think she was called My Ballerina? (she stood on a stand and could point her toes and move like a dancer!)

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes! Its my favorite thing I brought back from Guatemala! 

8. Hardest person to buy for? This year almost everyone who we drew names for... plus I didn't feel like I had a lot of time or energy this year to be creative. :(

9. Easiest person to buy for? RG! I could get her a million and one things if I had all the money in the world! 

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? MAIL!! (although, this year they will be more like New Years Cards...oops!) 

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't consider any gift bad.  I really love watching people open gifts that I have given them more than I like getting things

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Movie... um, probably Lampoons Christmas vacation! I just saw it for the first time this year! Also, Four Christmas's (totally my life) ha!, the Grinch and Love Actually... the oldies are all goldies too in my book- think Home Alone, Miracle... etc... (wow, for a person who doesn't watch movies a lot I sure listed a bunch.)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? The most enjoyable time I had shopping for Christmas was when I started after New Years and worked on it a little all year long.  I hate last minute shopping. Its not nearly as enjoyable! (esp with a newborn! sigh)

14. Ever recycled a Christmas present? Oh White Elephant parties! :)

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Um... like candy? or food? I love the cranberry jello stuff we have.   and oh! The Little Debbie Cakes that are Christmas trees that I posted about! 

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Well... Growing up we always had colored and a tree full of homemade ornaments and sentimental ones. I loved our tree but always thought the plain white lights and ornaments were so elegant.  When K and I got married we didn't have any ornaments so we used a gift card we got for our wedding and bought things to make an "elegant tree".  We now have received our childhood ornaments from each of our parents and put up a small "Charlie Brown" tree with colored lights and our "sentimentals" :) so...

my answer is BOTH! ha! :-P

17. Favorite Christmas song? Not sure... I heard something today by Toby Mac that I loved but now I forget what it was (it was a classic song he did a cover of)... It used to be Christmas Shoes but HELLO OVERPLAYED--ugh! 

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I think I could if I sang the song and you told me how many there were total ha!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I think angel. But we don't have one so our's is ...bare. ha!

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Well K's family does Christmas Eve but I have always done Christmas morning with my family.  We (as kids) always tried to talk my parents into letting us open JUST ONE on C.Eve but rarely did that actually happen :) 

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The traffic and crowed malls... oh and the Scrooge's!

23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color? ornament: my birth ornament-- has birth date, time, weight and length. :) 

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? to be honest... I already have her :) 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! :)

ps-- if you want to see something fun go to google and search Let it Snow :) 

What is Christmas All About?

With Christmas only 5 days away are you ready!? I mean really ready!? Not for all the chaos and presents and family... no no, what Christmas is REALLY about!  


I have always loved this clip and thought I would share ...





and another fun one... might seem silly but it gets you thinking! 





REJOICE!!!



ahhh I am obsessed with this version of a GREAT Christmas song! :) If you haven't heard it yet ... its a MUST!!


NOEL! Christ our Savior is to be born !!! :) Prepare your heart! :)

Just Sayin...

Time for a random post, yah ready?


-Hay, hay hay!! I just realized that I have a TON of new followers! {jumping for joy!} Welcome, welcome! I'm sure you could care less about me but love my sweet new little one who is now TWO MONTHS OLD!! {oh,my,word!}!
Anyways, I'm so glad you are here and following now! Please say hi sometime :) 


-have you tried these?! they are the bomb-diggity... and yes I just said bomb-diggity! Every year I look for these around Christmas time... Seriously, I love these babies and hubs brought home 2 packs home the other night! mmm love them but love HIM more :) 

google images

-and something else I could just eat up: this little one! 

-speaking of this cute little one... we survived her 2 month shots that I was so frantic about the past couple days! yay! my lil girl is such a trooper! and a tough cookie too! 


HAPPY 5 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!
 (let the chaos begin...) We haven't finished our shopping yet-no surprise there, we might not finish either- sorry if you were on the bottom of our list this year... totally kidding {but not lol}!! 

Raleigh Grace & Santa Claus 2011

This past weekend K and I took RG to see Santa for the first time! K got off work super early on Friday- Praise God!- and we packed up and headed to the mall.  Around 4:00pm we went to the booth where Santa's chair was but there was no Santa. :(  There was a young man sitting there and I asked where Santa was and when he was going to be back. The man explained that he was on a break and should be back soon but that we had to get a pager. Pager!? To see Santa? What ever happened to waiting in line? I agreed and then asked when I should expect to be paged to see him.  The man said that there were several others in front of us and his guess was around 6pm. WOW!! Very thankful for the pager and the fact that I wouldn't be standing in line for 2+ hours we took it and went on our way.  By the time our pager finally went off Miss RG was getting a little fussy, and quite honestly I don't blame her haha- poor thing has been lugged around the mall for countless hours this year and she is always SO well behaved.  She was really just hungry so we quickly prepared a bottle as we waited in line (oh yea, after you bring the pager back- you still have to wait in line- its just your ticket to get in line! whatever, we had a hungry baby girl and it gave her time to finish her bottle)...


Here are a few of the images I snapped on my phone before meeting the big white haired man ... the last picture is the "professional" one... I'm not real happy with the quality of the picture or the fact that the teenagers running the booth were rude it cost nearly $25 bucks but alas, it was her first Christmas so we had to do it according to Daddy :) {of course I couldn't agree more!}!! I guess I could get another one taken, and maybe I will at a different mall but lets be honest... is it really worth the money? ha! A sweet man actually was creeping on us took some pics of RG with his dslr camera (without us knowing) and then got our attention as we were walking away and told us that he had taken some pics (showed them to us) and asked if we would like him to email them to us.  I thought it was the sweetest thing ever and gave him my email but I haven't received them :( I'm hoping he didn't save my email wrong and that maybe I will still get them bc they were much cuter than the one we bought... 


Anyways, longest post ever about nothing... 2 month dr. apt tomorrow (I'm not thrilled, bc RG is supposed to be getting her shots-- actually I'm freaking out quite a bit-- more on that later).  Hope yall had a good weekend! :) 

only bc I seriously have NO pictures of the 2 of us... see, told you, she wasn't thrilled about Santa -- I don't blame you little girl!

and a bottle will do the trick :) Look at how sweet she is holding K's hand :)

close up of holding his hand :) 

my cute girl with Mr. Claus

RG by the week: 8 Weeks!

Happy 8 weeks baby girl! :) 

 Stats:

Not sure, Dr for 2 month apt next week!

Milestones:
Getting much better at holding her head up on her own, smiling when you smile at her, mimicking facial expressions, putting herself to seep
She "fusses" at mommy and daddy more than crying or screaming at us. Turning neck 180 degrees.
Better at getting fist/thumb to mouth and keeping it there
Holds on to the animal attached to her passy.
Pulling mommies hair (this started about 2 weeks ago)

Feeding:
Same as last week. Still spitting up a little after nearly every feeding.

Sleep:
Much better! Sill about 5-7 hrs at night. Gas is better during the day but it seems to bother her when she's going down at night.
Napping good in the mornings (2-4 hrs until noon when she gets up) and usually once in afternoon (around 3) and once at night (around 6 or 7). Those last anywhere from 10 mins-2 hrs but usually around 30 mins avg.

Behavior:
So happy and great spirited 99.9 % of the time!

Loves:
She still loves bath time/ shower time (she splashed mommy good this week but I'm not sure if it was on purpose or just bc she was excited and shoves her legs and arms when excited)
She loves when daddy whispers in her ears.
Cuddling with mommy after eating.
Her swing (she loves staring at the birds and talking to them).
Shopping (even though she sleeps most of the time!) -- when we were in nordstroms this weekend as soon as we started walking around the children's clothing with sonja she got really excited, it was so cute!

Clothes:
I think the newborn clothes are getting a little snug but 0-3 is still too big; I think it's only a matter of a week or two. :(
Newborn diapers might be getting snug too :(

Favorite Moments:
Thursday- mommy complaining at dinner that you hadn't had a dirty diaper in over a week then after we got home you had a major blowout while sitting on daddy's lap (he was playing football on his xbox360)... He had it covering his pants!! He said a stream of it shot out the side of the diaper! :)
Monday you fell asleep in ggdads arms while he was rocking you and singing (I have a short clip of this on video, it was such a sweet moment- he didn't know I was filming)- you were out- mouth open and all
Wednesday- You fighting sleep while ggdaddy was trying to rock you to sleep- the louder you cried the louder he sang... Ha! (away in a manger and twinkle twinkle)
When she's falling asleep she grins slightly
When she stretches after waking up and you're holding her she stretches her neck backwards, her arms up and sticks her little butt out-- she's been doing this awhile and I think it the cutest thing ever!!
Her "gummy" smile-she squints up her nose and eyes then grins so big her gums show. Love!

Most Challenging:
This has been relatively easy week :) minus the roofers!!! Omg they almost made me lose my mind- next time we are having a new roof put on, I'll make sure I'm 100's of mile away on a relaxing vacation bc omg ... It's the most annoying thing for ppl walking around and hammering on the roof!!! Rg did great after she got used to it. At first she was scared and kept staring at the ceiling.  After a few hours she even tried to take a nap while they were banging ha. What a great girl!
Her poor little head is still super dry and flaky... When I put lotion on it one day it looked better but the next day it looked a little irritated. Going to ask dr about this next week. Behind Ears are getting better.

Looking Forward To:
Her being Hayden's age (almost 2) and being able to run around  & play with Hayden carts and Charlotte (daddy answered this one)

Mommy moments-
I'm feeling great. I'd say 100% normal finally! It's nice to be able to be a little more intimate with my hubby again!

Firsts:
Tuesday at Lunch she was playing with her toy on her car seat that makes noise and I'm pretty sure she was hitting it on purpose so that it would make noise! She played and stared at it for probably 10 minutes!!
First shower! Sunday night
Met first dog- max at Shane's Sunday. She also got get first Christmas present (from Justice family) -2 cute outfits :)

Monday (dec 12) was her first time smiling at herself in the mirror

Monday was her first trip to the airport to pick up aunt donna n.

Monday was her first time to sit in her bumbo seat- she did a great job but her head is still a little wobbley

this picture melts my heart... I see this on a canvas for christmas for GGdaddy!? 

another 8 week for fun 

that super cute little butt... unfortunately I caught her at the end of her stretch so its not even the best she can do ha! 

RG by the Week- 7 weeks!!

Obviously I am totally a week behind... but here is her 7 week update (last Monday she was seven weeks old)
{and I made a b00-boo when I first posted her pics... that pic was technically a 6 weeks pic... so I have corrected and wah-lah! enjoy! :) }

Stats:
According to our home scale you seem to be just about 9lbs!!! Maybe a tad more :) WOW!! growing so fast!

Milestones:
wow! She can move her neck the full 180 degrees around! It amazes me how VERY alert she has been this week- she wants to check EVERYTHING out and boy does she just look all around!! She is working on mastering holding her head up independently and I think in a couple more weeks she we won't be supporting it anymore (exciting! but makes me sad how big she is getting!). She's also been way more talkative and spends more time awake. She's really good following objects and people with her eyes!


Feeding:
Pretty much the same as last week although I did pump 3 days in a row and was quite proud of myself... And yup we have used all that milk but one days worth ha. Oh well...

Sleep:
I am so happy to report: No complaints here!! She has been a great sleeper at night! She's sleeping anywhere from 4-6 hours at night (avg about 5 usually). I have not started any sort of schedule with her during the day- we sorta just go with the flow (I hope that's ok?!). She fights sleep like a mad woman though... She never wants to miss out on the action- even when there isn't any action to miss haha. I joke that she's like me- a social butterfly already. When she's fighting sleep she often dozes off with one or both eyes still open like little slits. She's too funny! Her naps are anywhere from 10 mins (ha!) to 3 hours but usually are around an hour.
She loves her swing and 9 times out of 10 if she's sleepy it will do the trick ;)

Behavior:
She is seriously the sweetest most easygoing baby!! I am filled with joy over having her as my daughter!! She has definitely become more social and smiles a ton more this week!

Clothes:
Still newborn and newborn diapers. She's still spitting up often- changing clothes a lot. We actually had to buy her some new winter newborn outfits this week bc literally she didn't have but a couple of outfits for the cold weather. I put her in a 0-3 onesie just to see and well... Yup, still too big but I can tell she's working on growing into it!


Favorite Moments:
Her smiling when I smile and talk to her. Watching her turn her head back and forth being soo alert! Being at granddaddy's and her laying on the floor in the living room with he and aunt Weezie and uncle Luke while I was in the kitchen and me hearing her squealing and talking to them all the way in there! How cute she was in her first Christmas outfit when we went to dinner Friday with Jessica. Then Saturday in another Christmas outfit to get her first Christmas tree. (and the people oo-ing and ah-ing over her!)
Baylor beating Texas haha (believe me RG was excited too... ;) )

Most Challenging:
Her fighting sleep. Still some trouble with her gassy tummy but it's been better. Her scalp has been super dry, peeling and flaky... She had a mild case of cradle cap so k's mom told us we should scrub it with the baby brush, soap and water daily- we did and it's gone (yay!) but her skin is soo dry! Also right behind her ears has been cracking (from dry skin? Idk) and oozing then scabbing over. It looks so painful... She also sounded like she was getting a little cold- her nose was somewhat stuffed up and we got a couple big boogers out but she seems fine now. :)


Looking Forward To:
My mom is coming in town in a week. As far ad rg goes... More sleep, but really I'm enjoying every moment.

Mommy moments-
Feeling pretty good, I'm starting to feel like myself again and getting maybe a tad more energy? I love when r naps good and I can get some things done around the house. This weekend I was able to do 4 loads of laundry and pick up the house some. This was the first laundry I have done on my own since rg was born ha. My mom did some before.

Firsts:
First time watching BU win on tv
Picked out her first Christmas tree/wire first Christmas outfit
Meeting Jessica
Meeting aunt Weezie and uncle Luke
Splashed in the bath (it's obvious she loves bath time but we aren't sure if she's splashing on purpose or just excited and it happens ha)

Aunt Weezie, GGDaddy, and Uncle Luke with RG 

Aunt Weezie with RG