Valentines Day 2013

Happy Valentines Day!

Our little princess in her new tutu. The tutu is so precious. I am so glad we were able to make this purchase-thanks #teamtutu! I actually think she enjoyed wearing it. I see a girly girl in our future!

(I posted this on facebook and one of my friends said the warning label on the carseat was from her daddy to her future boyfriends-YES.)

(And yes-my child already has full length bangs. She may have the most hair of any 3 month old EVER! And I love it.)

Wednesday night we went to the Valentine banquet at our church which is always a fun event. Marcus and I were chosen to participate in the newlywed game and we won! We beat our pastor and his wife and two other "seasoned" couples. The question that sealed the deal was "What was the worst thing that happened to you on your wedding day?" If you know us very well, you understand. We have a honeymoon story like NONE other. But that's another day, another post.

They had a photo booth set up which was a big hit. Marcus and Brother Raymond had to get a picture together in their matching bow ties. We love Brother Raymond!

Sweet cousin Delaney took care of Georgia Grace while we played the newlywed game. I have always said that I hope Georgia's hair stays dark because I want it to look just like Delaney's! Love these two!

And Georgia with her "stalker" Rachel ha! Funny story-Rachel loves looking at Georgia's pictures and so her family called her out on it which prompted the nickname Georgia's stalker. We have fun with it! And let me tell you this girl has an AMAZING voice. I would not be surprised if we hear her on the radio someday. I could listen to her sing all day!

Having a conversation with friends :)

Oh, it's so funny!

Thursday I was home so we made red velvet cupcakes for Marcus' 3rd graders. I put Georgia in her moby and she was able to watch everything I did. She LOVED it! She was so content and would flail her hands in excitement. Marcus walked home on his lunch break to get the cupcakes so that was a nice Valentines treat getting to see him. 

We went and visited mamaw Carolyn and took her a few cupcakes too. Sweet girl was super clingy yesterday so the rest of the night we just chilled at home and played. Georgia got a new cradle swing for Valentines day along with her tutu. It's funny because this is the exact swing she uses at grams (and loves) but yet for some reason she has not taken to ours quite as well?! Babies are funny sometimes, especially ours.

I hope everyone had a good day full of love!

Sassy Tutu

We are getting excited for Valentines Day at our house! Our amazing friend Rhonda got her this little outfit and it is absolutely adorable! It is a 3-6 month and she is filling it out. I can't believe how much she has grown in the last 2-3 weeks. Oh, and I love that I can get her to smile for pictures now. She is the best!

See what I mean ha! She's striking a pose in this picture with some at-ti-tude. She looks so sassy!

Speaking of sassy-whoa! That's a strong-willed baby shaking her fist at her momma but looking mighty cute while she was doing it. I can't even remember the reason for the scowl, it probably is related to her lack of patience :). She is definitely my child-patience is not a virtue for us ha!

If you follow me on instagram, I posted this picture concerning a debate the husband and I had. I wanted to get her a tutu for Valentines Day and he didn't think she needed one. I let the people speak and #teamtutu won by a landslide! Sorry dad, majority rules! :) I can't wait to see her in it. Maybe she will be a dancer like I was for 7 years and have all kinds of tutus, leotards, ballet slippers, tap shoes, costumes, and all the other girly fun things. This momma can hope!

We hosted bible study last night at our house. We were good christians and tivoed the UK game so it wouldn't interfere. If I had known the outcome we wouldn't have wasted our time-blah. Praying Nerlens can make a full recovery and continue his basketball career.

Nathan gave an illustration that he heard from a pastor about sinning. The pastor stated that there were three times that he was more likely to sin. Those times were 1. when he was traveling, 2. when he was tired, and 3. when he was angry. I can definitely identify with 2. and 3. I am going to try to remember this during those times so I can remind myself of my sinful actions. "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it." Gen 4:7

Tonight is our Valentines banquet at church which is always a fun night. And tomorrow is Georgia's first Valentines day and I get to spend it at home with her-yay!! Pictures of the tutu coming soon :)

Rolling and Shopping

Watch out world---this girl is rolling over!

Georgia Grace rolled over for the first time this weekend! We were giddy with excitement! We had the video going and filmed for probably 15 minutes and she wouldn't do it. We put the camcorder up and there she goes ha! Isn't that the luck? Oh well, we will try to get footage of the next one. We are so proud of you, Georgia!

We went to one of our favorite restaurants the other night and Georgia Grace was such a good girl!

I love that she is easy to take places. We had a hard time eating with everyone oooing and ahhing over her :).  

Saturday I went to Bowling Green to do a little consignment shopping and pick up GGH's Valentines present. I hit the jackpot at one of my favorite stores! They had just marked all of their fall/winter clothes and shoes down to 75% off. I got all of this for $40!! I was thrilled! I mostly shopped for next season but I got a few pieces that we can wear this season to finish us out before spring arrives. And I have learned you always need a few more fall/winter pieces than you think you do because spring doesn't arrive near as quick as we would like ha! 

Georgia Grace had to model one of her new pieces. This little jacket is too much! I could just eat her up.

Yay for my big girl rolling over and bargains!

100 Days

Today marks 100 days since I became a mother. My husband read in the book Rules For My Unborn Son, "Make time for your mom on your birthday. It's her special day too." I can totally see where this author was coming from. It is probably the biggest and absolute best change you will ever go through. I take so much pride in being a mom and taking care of my family.

In the past 100 days I have learned:

• God's Grace. It is so unavoidably obvious throughout pregnancy and delivery. How anyone could doubt that there is a God after having a child is beyond me. His hand is on everything and was on me throughout this entire experience. I find peace in knowing that He was with me in the first 100 days and will be with me everyday here after.
• Enjoy EVERY moment. The good, the bad, the ugly. Despite the hardships we experience as moms, I wouldn't trade them. These are the best days and I cherish all aspects of this stage.
• My new name is "Georgia's mom" ha! But seriously it is. And I am 100% fine with that. I am now in the background as she takes center stage and I wouldn't have it any other way. That's what being a mommy is all about!
• Breastfeeding is HARD. Working in the healthcare industry and counseling breastfeeding mothers daily you would think I would have a decent grasp on how it would go. Wrong. I'm happy to say that we found what worked best for us and Georgia Grace continues to receive breastmilk exclusively-yay! And we probably have a 3 month supply frozen (I am a milk cow). I know for certain I am a better breastfeeding educator now after going through it. And it is all worth it.
• Pregnancy changes you. I am lucky that I have not suffered from a myriad of changes but I didn't escape without developing a few. The most recent change I have seen is my hair is now oily?! I have always had the driest hair on the planet which was GREAT because I would only wash my hair about every 3rd day! That has gone out the window (temporarily, I hope). And right now when my getting ready routine is being condensed with every time saver I can come up with, dry hair would be super nice to have. But there are much worse things than oily hair- I think I will live. :)
• Sleep when you get the chance. I have never been much of a napper but I have adapted. I am very lucky to have a baby that sleeps through the night so the sleep was more crucial in those first 4 weeks (aka the zombie stage). A well rested mommy is a better mommy!
• Plan, plan, plan. Every night I probably spend an hour getting things set for the next day. Clothes (for me and Georgia Grace) picked out, bags packed, bottles ready to go, breastpump ready to go, car seat in house...and the list goes on. The more I plan and have things ready, the smoother our morning/day goes. I guess I already knew this but having a baby definitely reemphasized this lesson.
• And the biggest and best-the love of a mother. I have always heard you will never know love like the love you have for your children. I know exactly what they are talking about now. It's indescribable until you experience it for yourself and I am so thankful God allowed me to experience it! 

And I have this little angel to thank for giving me the title "mommy". What a blessed 100 days it has been. I love my life and the lessons I have learned.

Georgia Grace Days

Even though I am not able to be with Georgia Grace some days, she is well taken care of by our grandmas. They email me at least one daily picture of her which is so wonderful! Along with the pictures, I get daily briefings on how she is doing, what activities she has done, how she has eaten, etc.

A typical day for her (and I say that very loosely because no two days are the same) starts between 7-8 after she has slept ALL night! :) She will eat and take a long morning nap. This is her best nap of the day typically.

She usually wakes up between 10-11 to eat again. This time she stays awake for a while. She likes to swing in her cradle swing, "talk" to everybody, visit with daddy when he comes over for his lunch break, and watch TV! 

Here she is "watching cartoons". Why does she look grown?!? She is getting too big for her britches!

Daddy picks her up after school around 3:30 and then they come home and wait for me. The best part of my day is being with her in the afternoons. We stay in most nights because we would both rather stay home and be with her than to do anything else.

So that's a typical day for Georgia Grace at the 3 month mark. She is a blessed baby to get to spend the days that I am not home with her great-grandmothers. And I am a blessed mommy to have such an easy and healthy baby.

Speaking of being blessed, our cousin Payton won homecoming queen for our high school! She is beautiful on the outside and inside. We were so thrilled! She is an amazing role model for Georgia Grace. Way to go Payt! We love you!

Snow & Super Bowl

We FINALLY got the snow we had all been waiting for on Sunday! Granted it was only 1-2 inches and was 90% melted by the time we left for church we will take it! I am hoping we can have one big snow before winter is over. It feels like a waste of a season without it ha!

So here's the story on this picture. She woke up at 7am to eat and went right back to sleep so we decided we would take her picture in the snow when she woke up. It was time for church so we had to wake her up and by that time the snow was quickly melting. So, when you mix a woke-up, sleepy, hungry baby---you get this picture! Isn't it hilarious? I thought about not posting it but I want this blog to be real and I want Georgia Grace to remember her first reaction to snow. I do take the blame for the crankiness since we woke her and rushed her outside to snap a picture in the last little bit of snow that had not melted. So daughter-of-mine if you are reading this 10 years down the road, I sure hope your feelings about snow have changed! :) 

Sunday we also attended the baptism of our best friends Nathan and Rachel. It was such a special service and I am so proud of their commitment to God and public profession of faith. I am so thankful for our christian friends!

And finally Sunday Night was SB XLVII. Neither of our teams made it so we weren't that into it but it's the American thing to do to watch it so we did. Our alma mater WKU was coached by Jack Harbaugh back in the day so it was neat to see the his sons coaching against each other. I wonder how Momma Harbaugh handled it?

Georgia Grace sported her football leggings that gammy bought her. Doesn't see look thrilled? So much cuteness I can't stand it! 

And Happy 23rd Birthday to Aunt Shanna! We love you very much!

This And That

I feel like ever so often I need to do a post that is a collection of random things. This would be considered one of those posts ha! I may even start a series of these-we'll see!

Over the holidays our cousins from Indianapolis brought Georgia Grace a jacuzzi tub that they were no longer using. We have been filling it up and using it in her nursery and she has the biggest time! She is starting to really kick her legs and splash the water. I think she would stay in the bath for as long as I would let her. We try to schedule bathtime before bedtime so she will be clean and relaxed. And I can't think of anything better than a squeaky clean naked baby with wet eyelashes and curly wet hair. Oh I could just eat her up!!

My cousin "Shelky" made me this out of my great-grandmother Embry's old dresses. She has never sewed before and this was her first project! I am so honored that she chose to give it to me.

I remember this dress so vividly! It brings back so many wonderful memories of my childhood when we would visit them in Aberdeen. They lived right by my grandparents so we would often walk across the yard and visit them too. She always wore a dress and he always wore overalls :)

Our five generations picture circa 1987

L to R: great-great grandfather Garrett Burden, great-grandmother ("old mamaw" as we called her ha!) Eva Embry, papaw Ernie Embry, my dad, and me! I will cherish this quilt piece forever.

Thursday our CEO retired after 35 years of service and commitment to our hospital. He hired me last July and I am so thankful for the opportunity he has given me. He will be greatly missed! He defines a leader in every aspect.

And Friday night was our first family movie night! We all curled up in bed and watched a movie together, including Owen (he couldn't fit in the picture). GGH enjoys TV so she was very cooperative. I look forward to many more nights just like this! :)