Highlights From 2012

I love looking back on the year and remembering all the good times and special moments. Here is 2012!!

In January we went on a ski trip to West Virginia with friends from church. It was a great way to start off the new year.

We took our moms to see the Broadway musical The Lion King. It was such a good show!

On February 27th we found out we were expecting! Not only the biggest news for 2012, but probably in my whole life!

For our 3rd anniversary we took an amazing trip to Seattle and the Oregon Coast. 

This was definitely one of my favorite trips we've ever taken together. 

I started to grow............

We took our annual trip to Baltimore to visit dad and enjoy the inner harbor.

In June we found out we were having a girl. I was so happy!

I also took a trip to Myrtle Beach with family. It was really nice to see extended family and catch up!

That summer I continued to grow..............

I spent a lot of time working on the nursery. 

In early September we went to Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks with Clarke's family. It was a very relaxing and fun trip to one of our favorite vacation spots. 

That fall we were extremely blessed with many baby showers. Seriously, we got so spoiled!

I got to spend lots of time with Betty.

After spending most of that year pregnant...........

On November 9th Chloe was born and we became a family! One of the best days ever. 

She has been such a joy, I'm so lucky to be her mom. 

As you can see I couldn't stop taking her picture!

To end it off we had such a fun holiday season with Chloe.  

2012 has been one of the best years ever. Seriously, I feel so blessed to be a mommy now. I can't wait to see what 2013 brings, hopes it's as good as 2012 was! 

Christmas and My Birthday

I've had such a great time these past days celebrating Christmas and my birthday! 

Sunday we had our 8th annual girls Christmas dinner. I've been friends with these girls since middle school, some even longer, and every year we get together to celebrate Christmas. Clarke watched Chloe for me and it was really fun to go out.

This year we went to The Boathouse. It was right on the James River and was really nice.

Christmas eve we went to church and celebrated Christmas with my in laws. Chloe did great during the service, slept right through it. Snapped this super cute picture of her right before, she was in such a good mood!

Christmas morning we went over to my mom's. We ate lots of good food and opened more gifts. I even got to take a little nap too. Clarke took this picture of Chloe in all the gifts. Once again she had such a great day and I can't get over the cuteness!

Christmas was really fun with a baby, as always she got so spoiled!

The next day was my birthday. I met my mom and little brother, Clarke and his parents for lunch at P.F. Chang's. As always it was so good! Got to spend some time with friends after, then my dad came into town and we celebrated Christmas and my birthday again. I keep saying it feels weird to be 29 now. Not in a bad way, but just that it's my last year in my 20s. That's hard to believe! 

Overall it was a really great first Christmas for Chloe and a good birthday for me. 

Newborn Photos

I just realized I haven't posted Chloe's newborn pictures on here yet, so I thought I would.

These are the two that we ended up buying. I love how they turned out. I can't believe how much she has changed already!

Two Thoughts

I've had these thoughts in my mind for awhile and I'm just now putting them down here. Two different thoughts.......

1. Much like everyone else the recent shooting in Connecticut has made me aware of how thankful I am for the people in my life and that tomorrow is not a promise. I am blessed that my baby is safe and healthy. As an educator and parent I can't even imagine what that community is going through right now. I can't even imagine the pain of losing a child. 

I think also my recent birth experience has added to this feeling.  My entire pregnancy I thought I would have a "typical" birth with no complications. I never fathomed I would have such a hard time. But this has made me aware that nothing is guaranteed. I got lucky with how things turned out, and everyday I try to remember that. 

2. On a lighter note I go tomorrow for my six week postpartum check up. I am really hoping my dr. will clear me to start running again. It's been almost 10 months since my last run, and to say I've missed it is an understatement. Saw this on Facebook and thought it describes me perfectly!  

Visiting Santa

This past weekend we took Chloe to see The Legendary Santa at The Children's Museum. This is the same Santa that Clarke went to see when he was a little boy. The Legendary Santa of Richmond is definitely a big deal for his family, so we couldn't wait to take Chloe!

Both grandmas and Aunt Melanie came as well. 

I must say she did such a great job. I figured she would sleep through the whole picture, but she woke up right before. Then I got afraid she was gonna get fussy because it was almost time for her to eat, but she didn't. She looks so tiny compared to Santa, I love it!

Love this family photo we got right after. 

Clarke snapped this photo when we got home, everyone was tired from a fun day. This is definitely going to be a Christmas family tradition for us! 

One Month!

Dear Chloe,
Today you are one month old! In some ways it seems as if you have been apart of our family forever and in other ways it seems like just yesterday I was meeting you for the first time in the hospital. You have brought so much happiness into our lives, I just love being your mom.

You are definitely a verbal little girl! Whenever I am on the phone with someone they can hear all the cute noises you make. You are even loud when you sleep. I had to move you to the foot of the bed, you were besides me but all your little grunts and ahhhs and ehhhs kept me awake! You also get the hiccups a lot, sometimes they make you mad other times just confused.

You are so small and petite. You weigh 7 lbs 4.5 ounces and are 19.75 inches tall. Whenever we are out people come up and say how beautiful you are. Just like a  baby doll. You still wear size newborn clothes and diapers. We tried size 1 diapers but they were too big and they leaked everywhere.

You don't sleep very long, about 4 hours is the longest you will go between feedings. But I must say I am thankful that you are a very good eater and enjoy it. One thing you don't enjoy is taking a bath. You cry the entire time, but afterwards you seem to like being wrapped up in the towels. You love your pacifier too, it calms you down almost every time.

You also love playing with daddy. He'll bounce you up and down and your eyes get so big and just stare at him. You also love to stretch your arms up so high above your head. I think that is your favorite position to sleep in, also with your mouth open. You are also the best snuggler. One of my new favorite things is to cuddle up on the couch with you and a cozy blanket. Recently we've been watching Christmas movies on Netflix.

You are such a joy. I know I have already said that I love being your mom, but I do. Everyone else loves you too. Whenever we have visitors they say how precious and cute you are and just can't get enough of you! I can't wait to see how your personality comes out even more as you get older.

I love you baby girl. Happy one month!
Love,
 your proud mommy

Friday Randoms

A random post about life lately.....

Kidney stones are awful.

I woke up yesterday morning around 6 am to nurse Chloe, after I got this really bad pain in my lower stomach. I also felt as if I had to go to the bathroom but couldn't. After awhile the pain spread to my lower back and got even worse. I called my doctor and a little later that morning I went in. The pain was miserable, I also started throwing up. After they examined me they said it probably wasn't related to my c-section or labor. I then went over to the emergency room, they did more tests including a CT scan, which found I had a kidney stone. It was just miserable, but after they gave me pain meds I felt better. I still haven't passed it, but luckily it was small enough that I didn't have to be admitted to the hospital and could pass it at home. I can't say enough how thankful I am for pain medicine!

Life is good.

Besides yesterday life has been good recently. I am really started to get the hang of being a mom, Chloe is sleeping more in the night and we have started doing more "normal" things. I am loving the Christmas season as well. It's definitely different having an infant, but it also so much more fun and special. 

Chloe's Stocking!

Chloe's stocking just came in the mail, and I love it. 

I love how it looks with our stockings, all the white and reds are so pretty. 

Just Because.

Because every post is better with a picture of a cute baby..........

Last Weekend.......

This past weekend we were busy, lots of firsts for Chloe, and it felt so great to go out and do "normal" things again. 

Wednesday night (not this weekend, but still blogworthy) I went to the Bizzare Bazarre with my mom. It's a local craft show they have here in Richmond every year, and we have gone every year for the past 5 or 6 years. Clarke babysat Chloe and I left her for the first time. I was only gone for about 4 hours but it felt so weird to be away from her! I got this really cute hat for her there, and it was a nice little break. I must say I missed her so much though!

Saturday we went out to lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. This was Chloe's first time out at a restaurant, and my first time out to eat in over 3 weeks. It was so nice and she was really great, slept the whole time! 

Then we picked out our Christmas tree. 

Chloe really enjoyed decorating it with us! Ha! Her first Christmas tree, we need to take some more pictures of her with it.

Sunday morning we went to church with her for the first time. It was so great to see all our friends and show her off, but she didn't do so well during the actual service. She was great for the praise and worship part, but as soon as the singing was done she started crying. So we went upstairs where they have a live feed on a television where you can watch the service. 

The weather was so nice yesterday, so we went on a walk around the neighborhood. I must say I love our stroller, I can't wait to be able to run with it!

Definitely want to do this again if it doesn't get too cold. 

We had such a fun weekend with our little girl!!