Hannah's Baptism

Hannah was baptized on August 21st into God's family. It was a wonderful experience and Travis & I were looking forward to it for weeks. We had even begun planning it before she was born because we knew it was going to be very special for our family. 

The weekend was definitely a whirlwind! We had Jace (the Godfather), Jana, and Krista staying with us for a few days, the house was cleaned from top to bottom, we hosted a PreBaptism BBQ the night before with our friends & family, got everything set up (favors, centerpieces, tables), and also prepared for our vacation to North Carolina because we were leaving the Monday after the Baptism. I was stressed beyond belief especially since we were having a big amount of people at our house. Lucky enough we were having it catered, so cooking was out of the question for me.

All in all it ended up being a great day with a lot of good memories made! The most special was witnessing Travis baptize our daughter. I know this was something that meant so much to him as a father and a pastor. It was an emotional experience for him as well as for me. Church service was packed! It will be a dear memory we will never forget. Once that was finished we moved on to the party!

After all the stress of preparing for it the party went out without a hitch. Brian, who is the Head Elder at our church and is also a chef catered the party for us. Travis and him came up with the bright idea of smoking a 45 lb. pig! I was disgusted by the idea for the most part especially when I saw it on my deck at 7am in the morning before it was BBQed.

When I tasted I finally gathered up the courage to taste it, it was so delicious! All the dishes were so good, we had a feast! I couldn't of been more happier with the food, everyone was complimenting how good everything tasted.

Hannah was passed around all day! She definitely had a wonderful time seeing everyone, she will never remember it but it was a great experience for her. She was pooped by the end of the night and went to bed easily. I'm so glad we decided to have the party at our house. Even though it was so much work, I would do it again in a heartbeat. We are thinking about having her 1st Birthday Party here, and I'm already brainstorming themes, especially since she was born on the 4th of July!

Here are a few other pictures from the day!

Pooped beyond belief!

Chrissy(Godmother), The Yee's, and Jace(Godfather)

The pig getting cut!

Hannah's beautiful cake! God Bless Hannah Grace!

What I've Learned About Motherhood

Being a mother is the most rewarding and incredible feeling I will ever have. There is no feeling to describe how much you love your little bundle of joy. But let's face it, motherhood isn't easy and peachy-keen all the time. Some days are downright tough and you feel like you aren't cut out for it. But in the end you learn new things day by day and as long as Hannah is growing and happy that's the most important thing to me!

Here is what I've learned about motherhood in the past month:

1. Waking up to see Hannah and watch her smile in her sleep makes my heart fill with joy.
2. Pee and poop become a part of your every day vocabulary with your husband.
3. Hearing your baby cry and not being able to figure out how to comfort them is so exhausting and frustrating after you go through the diaper change, feeding, and burping them for gas.
4. Pacifiers are my new best friend!
5. Cutting Hannah's nails freak me out beyond belief and I only try to do it when she starts scratching her face because I'm nervous I'm going to cut her skin open.
6. Not every child loves their swing!!
7. The "witching hour" or Hannah's fussy time is from 7-10pm, so tv is usually off limits and our shows are always DVRed.
8. Your clothes are never clean once you have a baby, they either pee, poop or spit up on you!
9. Hannah has more laundry than Travis and I combined. I'm doing her laundry at least 3-4 times a week, shoot me!!
10. You check on your baby throughout the night to see if they are breathing. Travis thinks I'm paranoid but I do it almost every night when I go to bed and if I wake up throughout the night.
11. Leaving the house is now a huge process, and it's hard not to be late anywhere.
12. Hearing your child laugh for the first time is so wonderful, it's worth getting up at 4am to feed and change her!
13. Breastfeeding is not easy and is not for everyone.
14. When your baby naps you get more done in your house than you ever did in a day before you were pregnant.
15. Through all the ups and downs I wouldn't trade being Hannah's mommy for anything! She is the light of our lives and makes everything worth while!

Baby Girl You Are One Month Old!

Dearest Hannah,

You have blessed our life beyond belief! We love every second with you including when you are super fussy. I don't remember what my life was like before we had you. It is rewarding and incredible to be your parents! You are getting so big right before our eyes!

We love you to pieces!

Love, 

Mommy & Daddy 

The First Month of Hannah's Life:

Height & Weight: As of July 27th you were 7 lbs. 10 oz. so I'm sure you are almost 8 lbs now! You are also 20 inches long!

Sleeping: It varies! But for the most part you are sleeping through the night. We are sure lucky parents! We put you to bed around 11:30pm and you usually wake up around 6:00-7:30am. You love falling asleep on Daddy's chest! You are still sleeping in your Fisher Price Rocker and refuse to sleep in the bassinet. We have those few nights where you wake up around 4am to eat but it's very rare.  Napping is a different story! You usually take 1-2 naps a day for around 3 hours each. You don't want to be put down to nap yet which makes things a little rough, but hopefully you will adjust soon. But when you nap you are usually out for a while which makes Mommy happy!

Eating: You are eating around 7-8 times a day and go 3 hours between feedings. Eating about a 4 oz. bottle of breast milk mixed with formula! We are looking to increase to 5-6 oz. within the next 2 weeks.

Your Hair: You have a ton of it! None of it has fallen out since birth, and we absolutely love it! It looks black, but if you look closely it's a dark brown color. Mommy loves putting bows in your hair!

Your Eyes: They are pretty dark, sometimes they look blue in the light but I think they are either brown or dark hazel.

Clothes: You are still so tiny and fitting into newborn clothes. But this week we are finally starting to wear our 0-3 month clothing!

Diapers: Wearing newborn diapers still, but may move you into size 1 today! Planning on starting to cloth diaper around the end of August.

Favorite Toys: You are finally starting to enjoy your your Luv U Zoo mobile gym! You get so excited when you see the toys that are hanging on it, and love staring at the bright lights. Other than that you are interested in your other toys yet. 

Your Favorite Songs: Mommy started singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to you last night and you just stared! So hopefully that will help right now when you are fussy!

Nicknames: Daddy calls you princess and Mommy calls you Lovey or Hannah Banana!

Milestones: You are finally starting to smile!! Also today was the first time you didn't scream and yelp during Bath Time, so Mommy definitely considers that a milestone! Gaining weight was also a huge milestone for you because you were having trouble doing so. You are also becoming much more aware of your hands and feet and noticing that they are attached to your body. You are also starting to focus on people & objects especially Mommy and Daddy!

Happy 1 Month Hannah Grace!!!!