Finally back home!

We are finally back home, and will hopefully jump back into our routine. We traveled the whole state of Alabama last week. Ellie did great (most of the time) and seems to not mind being in the car. She visited with so many family and friends, and can't wait to see everyone again during Christmas!

Best Big Sister!


Turner checking out Ellie


Visiting with Holly and Bo




With Cousin Millie


With MiMi

Oh SO Thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving! Wow - what a year! We have so much to be thankful for this year! We've had a quite a week traveling around Alabama. We were in Andalusia the first part of the week meeting many of MeMe and Pap's side of the family and many of MeMe and Pap's friends! Ellie has done great on her traveling in the car, but sleeping has been some what of an adjustment. We will post more pictures after we visit with family and friends in Auburn and Birmingham.

I am excited to introduce Ellie to her future college choice, and hope to have some pictures on campus. She will not be going to the game tomorrow, but possibly will make it to a few tailgates!

We will be meeting Ellie's boyfriend later today Flash Flood from the Hudson Storm! We hope you all have a great weekend and WAR EAGLE!!!

3 Weeks Old... and a road trip!

We are a couple days late on our 3 week post... I guess that happens when a 3 week old rules your world! We are actually on our first of many road trips. Ellie is visiting with her MeMe and Pap in Andalusia for a few days. Jay had to do some work in south Alabama so we loaded up and headed down with him. We will be traveling a lot as a family, so why not introduce Ellie early to extended time in her car seat.

Ellie is growing and now weighs 8 pounds 4 ounces. She is starting to settle into some sort of a routine (hope this doesn't jinx us) with just an early morning feeding around 5 a.m. She is sleeping for about 5 hours during the night which works for us! We'll be excited when she drops the 5 a.m. feeding - but it works for now! She is so much more awake and has given us a few smiles. She definitely has her Daddy's temper (smile) and will let you know when she is not happy. She has a set of lungs that drives Sophie crazy.

Going to Dinner

Bath Time

Napping in my Moses Basket



Back to the road trip - We over packed and barely had enough room for us to sit. I never thought we'd pack the Tahoe full of baby stuff with a 3 week old. I figured the over packing would start when she was older and needed toys to entertain her. Oh, I was wrong!

The typical 4 hour trip to Andalusia ended up being a 7 1/2 hour trip from hell. We headed out Sunday afternoon in the hopes to stop off in Auburn (visit with Aunt Kelly and Uncle Jonathan), feed Ellie, grab dinner at one of the many places we crave while in Atlanta, and then get back on the road. We were set back a little late on leaving, and unfortunately had a blow out in Newnan (we were pulling trailer for Jay's business). We decided to drop the trailer and head to Walmart for a new tire. The Walmart trip took much longer than expected and Ellie ended up eating in the Walmart Tire and Lube drive-thru... Hey - when a crying baby is hungry and you are the food source, you do what you have to do! The 2-hour set back caused us to skip the Auburn stop. We were back on the road and made it to Montgomery before Ellie decided she was hungry again. We were not in the best part of Montgomery at this time and decided the McDonald's parking lot seemed safe. When we were finished feeding, we were changing her diaper when she decided to have a BLOW OUT across the back seat and ALL OVER me! Yes, baby poop all over me from Montgomery to Andalusia = not fun. Sophie was not amused with our humor, and got to sit in the front seat the rest of the way.






Ellie had a fun-filled day on Monday with visiting with family. We were excited to have these few days with family we typically only see for Christmas (not Thanksgiving). We are heading to Auburn for Thanksgiving and the AU/AL game, and then heading to Birmingham for the weekend for Thanksgiving with my family! Ellie seems to have adjusted just fine with her new sleeping arrangements (Moses Basket).

Visiting with MeMe's family at Harold's Furniture





We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for our little miracle and can't wait for family and friends to meet her this week!

Ellie's Newborn Pictures - Slideshow

We are so excited about Ellie's newborn pictures. Alisha Robertson is an amazing photographer. How will we ever decide which ones to buy... This may be our Christmas present from Ellie :-) If you live in the Atlanta area and need a photographer, please check out AGR Photography.

Press play (and there is music in case you are at work)!

http://agrgallery.com/slideshows/ellie/

Let us know which one is your favorite! That may help us narrow down are favorites.

2 weeks old!

I can't believe Ellie is already 2 weeks old. It's strange to think her due date was last week (November 11th). She has changed so much over the last week. She is definitely waking up and has been out on a few errands. She is still eating and sleeping most of the day, but we try to keep her awake after each feeding for a little while. She is up to 7 lbs 8 oz, so we are trying to skip a feeding in the wee hours. It worked for the first few days, but she is back to her every 3 hours as of the last two nights. Just when I think we have a routine down, she surprises us!

(pictures are not in any order)

visiting with Reagan and Clay

Ready for the AU/UGA Game - not a fun night

playing on my mat - I love music


visiting with Jon and Ashley (my brother and his girlfriend)

hanging out with MiMi


Visiting with Kelly Durham

Visiting with Katie and Jeff

My Daddy's favorite hat - ready for a show!

Napping in my crib for the first time

We also painted our house the week Ellie came home from the hospital. We had been planning to do this for a while and scheduled it for the week before Ellie was due. We love the new color!

I completed my first crafty project... We covered a lampshade for Ellie's room. It's not perfect, but works for now!

Ellie's Newborn Pictures

Here is a sample of Ellie's newborn pictures! We can't wait to see all of them. Please check out Alisha's work. She is AMAZING!!!

http://www.agrgallery.com/blog/
Pumpkin Surprise

Week One

LONG POST!!!

Hello blogging world! We have survived week one of parenthood!!! After our first night of only about an hour of sleep, little Miss Ellie has been an angel baby. We are in some form of a routine now with eating and sleeping. She is eating every 3 hours and we have to wake her up to eat. I really think she'd go 4 - 5 hours if we let her. Until she reaches her birth weight, we will continue with the every 3 hour feedings. Here is a recap of our first week -

Pediatrician Visit - we went to the pediatrician on Thursday and had a great visit. We visited with many pediatricians and feel great about our choice. Dr. Royal said Ellie looked fabulous and we'll go back in one month. Funny story - Ellie is a poop factory. In the first few days, she would poop before and after every feeding. We warned the nurse checking her temp (rectum), but Ellie surprised her with an explosion not once, but twice. The nurse had a great attitude about it, and said "as long as Ellie feels better"!



First Bath - Ellie's had a couple of baths (wash cloth wipe down). Since she's a poop factory, I knew she'd feel better clean. She lost her mind during the first bath, but did great with her second.


First Walk - the weather has been beautiful all week and I was dying to get out and get some sort of exercise so we ventured out for a quick walk around the neighborhood. Sophie really enjoyed this and tried to stay ahead of the stroller instead of beside the stroller... something we'll continue to work on.



Visitors - Ellie has been meeting lots of special people this week. The only visitor we missed a picture with was Jana. We get that during our December lunch! Thank you all for visiting with us, and the delicious goodies.








Newborn Pictures - Ellie had her newborn pictures taken on Friday, and slept the entire time. I can't wait to see the proofs. I was amazed at the photographer's creativity, patience, and love towards Ellie. I felt like I had found a new friend by the end of the session. She shared more than her talent with us on Friday.

Jay - I have to take a minute and brag on what an amazing dad Jay is. He has always loved children so I didn't doubt he'd be great, but great doesn't do him justice. From the minute we found out we were pregnant, he was with me every step of the way. He only missed 2 appointments during the pregnancy due to out of town work (and this included my bi-weekly appts from 28 weeks on). He attended every class including a breastfeeding class. He was Ellie's main caregiver during the first few days due to me being stuck in a hospital bed. I didn't change a single diaper until the day before we left the hospital only because I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing. His love for Ellie floors me. He is up during every feeding helping with diaper changes, burping, rocking, etc...







Date Night - Jay's mom watched Ellie last Thursday and we ventured out to grab a few things and dinner! Jay surprised me with my beautiful "push" present, and sushi (something I didn't eat a lot of during pregnancy). We didn't rush home, and enjoyed every minute of our time. We hope to do that again this week while my parents are in town. Our relationship is stronger than it's ever been. God is so good!

Jay's mom went back on Saturday, and my mom and dad are here for a few days this week and next week. We have loved having the help! I don't see how new moms and dads do this without the help. They are miracle workers with laundry, cooking, dishes, rocking, changing diapers, etc. We found the best part being able to take naps while they entertained Ellie.

I can't believe our miracle has been with us for a week... Our lives have been changed for the better and I really can't imagine life without her. I have always heard there is an instant love, and it is so true.