1 Month Old

Can you believe it? Today Kirksey is 1 month old! It is hard to see our lives without her even though it really hasn't been all that long in the big picture.

Kirksey, what are you up to?

You are definitely growing. At your last pediatrician appointment you were 20 inches and you still fit into your preemie pj's just fine. Today I tried to put one on you and you were too long for them! I'm guessing you are close to 21 inches now and maybe 8 pounds. You have moved up from newborn diapers to size 1 diapers, even though they are still a little big on you (the newborn diapers were starting to get tight on you thighs and belly).

You nurse right about every 3 hours...around the clock. There was one night when you went about 6 hours between feedings at 2 weeks old, but that was the only time it happened. Maybe we can work on that and sleep a little longer at night, what do you say?

You HATE having a wet/dirty diaper, so we go through lots of diapers.

You have had your first diaper rash come and go. Oh boy, that was not fun. Both you and I cried over it. Your daddy told you that you could have anything you wanted if you would just let him know (you might want to bring that up in the future!). I can't imagine how hard it will be on us when you are older and something happens to you that we can't fix or take from you to make it better.

You like to be moving rather than sitting in one place. You also really like to be moved up and down, almost as if we are lifting you up in the air and are about to drop you, or "curl" you like you are a weight. Your daddy thinks you are going to be a thrill seeker.

Your neck is so strong and you hold your head up so well.

You smile a lot. I absolutely love your gummy smiles!

We have taken you to parties, Sunday school, a nice dinner, and even toured a historic home downtown. You were so good at all!

When you do fuss it is almost always because you need something done...a new diaper, or you are hungry, or you need to burp. You really are a good baby.

You are starting to focus on objects now. You even were "really" looking at me the other day and smiled! ( I know it was probably a coincidence, but I am going to count it).

Your dad and I are completely in love with you. We can't give you enough kisses and cuddles. You have brought us so much joy.

Here is the monthly picture with your panda to see how you have grown.



 We got you a cupcake for your one month birthday. Sorry though, daddy ate yours. You can have one in 11 months!

Merry Christmas!

We have had a great week! Lots of family has been in town and Kirksey has definitely been spoiled (as she should be). Monday through Friday we all rented a house on Folly Beach to all stay together, and it worked out perfectly! Of course, we also had great food all week long (I need the extra calories for nursing, right?).
Sunday night Aunt Heather and Taylor came in town to start the week off. (Sorry Taylor, I didn't have a picture of you).

On Monday, Kirksey got to meet her Aunt Libby, Uncle Neel, Neely and great-grandparents-Annie B. and Big Tiny.

On Tuesday, Kirksey turned 3 weeks old and got her first bottle from daddy! And let me tell you, she is a genius and didn't have any problem figuring it out. She made it much easier on daddy than I was expecting.

Richard was then able to give her a bottle one time during the night and let me sleep longer...it was so nice! Mimi and Emmy were also able to give her a bottle and I was able to get away for a litte bit.

Unfortunately, this sweet girl has gotten a bad diaper rash. We spent ALL day on Thursday letting her little booty air out. It has gotten a little better, but it is going to take a while to really heal. We have both cried over her rash :(

Thank you all for coming to Charleston for Kirksey's first Christmas! We loved seeing everyone!

All the family at the beach house

First cousins

I'm everyone's Christmas gift

This is the stocking Annie B made for Kirksey

I love all the attention!

What's this about a Santa?

We wanted to get Kirksey something very special for her first Christmas that she could have forever...

What did Santa bring me?

It's my birthstone!

Merry Christmas to all!

It Must Be Love

Staying up late,

waking at any and all hours,

pacing back and forth to calm a crying baby,

changing your sheets at 3 am because of spit-up and urine "incidents",

getting pooped on and at,

AND we are happy to do it all over again and again....IT DEFINITELY IS LOVE!

Can't you see why?

We also enjoyed Aunt Heather's quick visit and can't wait for her and lots more family to come in a few days!!!

Christmas Cards/Birth Announcements from Shutterfly

Today is December 9 already..can you believe it? That means it is time to get Christmas cards (which will also double as our birth announcement for Kirksey) ordered and sent out. I have used Snapfish in the past, but after ordering cards from them last year, I was not satisfied. I did not even send out what I ordered. So, this year I was planning on checking out Shutterfly. I've seen super cute cards over the past couple of years from them, and couldn't imagine that I would be disappointed this year. Plus, when I found out about Shutterfly's 50 Free Holiday Card Promotion, I decided to definitely go with them! I am really liking the flat cards on the premium card stock. Of course they have the cards on regular photo paper too. Here are some of my favorites: 

Simple and love the initial!

 Now, I just have to make a decision. There are so many cute choices, and if you are as decisive as I am then it could take a while. Obviously, our beautiful baby girl will be our picture this year. So after picking a card I have to pick a picture or maybe multiple pictures! I didn't put some of the frontrunners on here, so you will be surprised when you receive your card in the mail!

Check out the great selection of holiday cards HERE, and if you're a blogger and want to take advantage of this fabulous promotion, click HERE! You could even make a calendar of your favorite pics to send out, check these out HERE!

One Week Old

This week has been exhausting, but I wouldn't change a thing about it. Having Kirksey here with us is wonderful. We find ourselves loving her more and more every day!
Over the past week we had both sets of grandparents here to visit and help us out (Thank y'all!).
Kirksey had her first pediatrician's appointment. She had only lost 4 oz. We go back again next Monday and I can't wait to see how her weight has changed. Part of me wants to take her up to work so I can go ahead and weigh her to see how she is doing with gaining weight.



Kirskey also had her first social event and attended the Christmas pajama party at the Yoe's! We went early and only stayed for about 30 min, but it was good to get out and make our appearance.

Maci is starting to warm up to Kirksey.

Waker came by with his mom, Megan, to meet Kirksey. They are exactly one week apart.



Last night, we decided to get out of the house to go get ice cream. I sat in the front seat for the first time, instead of beside Kirksey. We hadn't even left our neighborhood before I started to cry because I couldn't see her. I know it is ridiculous, and it is the hormones, but I just can't imagine something happening to her.
Today Richard had to go back to work, so it was just Kirksey and me today. Ashley was very sweet to pick up lunch for us. Nicole and Mills came over too! So, we had a good first day! I am definitely looking forward to Richard being off again starting on the 16th though!



Kirksey's Debut

As I had said in my last post, I had been having contractions for a couple of days. Well, about 2:30 am on Tuesday, November 30, they started getting really painful. I woke Richard up (he almost jumped out of bed because I startled him so badly) and we decided to wait a little while to make sure the contractions didn't stop. We started timing them and they were about 5 minutes apart on average. So, we started to get the last minute things together. We left our house about 4:00 am and after being placed in the exam room at the hospital for a little bit, I was admitted to the L&D unit about 5:00 am (I was about 4 cm). The contractions kept getting stronger (a.k.a. more painful) and closer together. We were told around 6:30 am that I would get an epidural in about 45 min. Between this time and when I actually got the epidural (close to 8:00 am and still 4 cm), I was "hurting" Richard's hand and trying to not completely jump off the bed with each contraction. Finally, the anesthesiologist came to my room and I got the best pain relief ever. For anyone out there who doesn't know, epidurals are WONDERFUL! I was having contraction after contraction and had NO IDEA! Right after I got the epidural, the resident broke my water. This is when Richard said that it all got real to him...we were really about to have a baby. The resident came back in about 11:20 am to check me and told us it was time to push. He told us that since this was my first baby we could expect that I could push for about 3 hours. So, the pushing began. Kirksey started to drop her heartrate a little during this time, so the nurse put an oxygen mask on me. My nurse told us that I was not going to have to push too long since so much progress was being made and they were letting my doctor know. Well, my doctor was stuck in clinic and it looked like she was not going to be able to make it before Kirksey made her grand entrance. The on-call attending came in and decided to put a scalp electrode (to measure the heartrate internally) on Kirksey's head. Two sets of pushes later Kirksey was born at 11:46 am...so much for 3 hours pushing!! She was perfect and even gave us a smile for her first picture.

Richard took this picture inbetween contractions, before I got the epidural

After the epidural

She's here!

She already has daddy wrapped around her finger

Dr. Villers got to our room as soon as she could

This is Olivia, my labor nurse--she was great

Isn't she just PERFECT!

Mimi (we think that will be her name) holding Kirksey for the first time

Papa's first time holding Kirksey

First diaper change

We loved sharing this with our friends

I think she will be able to get whatever she wants!

More friends

Coming home for the first time

Proud daddy!

Kirksey at 1 day old with Panda

Emmy holding Kirksey for the first time

Big Daddy holding Kirksey for the first time

Oh, we just love her so much already!

First bath

Now that wasn't so bad