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Friday, June 28, 2013

Harper Grace

On June 18th, I got to add a new title to my name: AUNT.
 
I'm officially Aunt Kris!
 
My brother K.L. and his wife, Stacey, were expecting a baby girl on July 12th. As you can see, Harper Grace was not due to make her appearance for almost 4 more weeks.
 
June 16th
When I saw my brother's cell phone number pop up on my phone around 2:20pm last Tuesday, I thought to myself... "Maybe this is it!!!" I answered the phone quickly (and rather enthusiastically - I thought good news was coming), only to find my brother on the other end of the phone with a tone of panic in his voice. He explained that Stacey was on the way to the hospital, that she might be in labor. As soon as I got off the phone with my brother, I dropped to my knees and started praying. Without going into a lot of detail, Stacey was only 36 weeks and was experiencing some dangerous complications. I don't know if my brother knew the severity of the situation, but when he explained some of her symptoms, I knew that she needed to get to the hospital... FAST. I don't know if I've ever prayed so hard, so intensely in all my life. I prayed for Stacey, I prayed for Harper... Couldn't stop crying, couldn't stop praying.
 
My mom called me with an update a short amount of time later saying that they were going to do an emergency C-section on Stacey. She explained that Harper was okay, but that they needed to take her as soon as possible. Less than an hour after my brother called me, Harper Grace was born. She weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce. That's all we knew at that point.
 
Another phone call came after mom got an update from the doctor. Stacey was okay, and Harper was taken to the special nursery to have some routine interventions for babies that are born early. The prognosis for momma and baby was good - and all the thanks be to God for that!
 
The next day, Jesse *ahem* sent flowers to Harper saying he couldn't wait to meet his cousin. :-)
 
My mother-in-law came to stay with Jesse while I went to visit my brand new niece in the hospital that day. Holding Harper was such a surreal experience. I didn't think I was going to be holding her until July... and after praying so hard for her life only 24 hours before, I realized that I was holding a living, breathing testimony to God's faithfulness in answering my prayers.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Welcome to the world, beautiful baby girl. I can't wait to spoil you!
 
 
 

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Jesiah's Dedication to the Lord

Father's Day 2013
Sunday June 16th
 
For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord. And he worshiped the Lord there.
1 Samuel 1:27-28
 
 
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old
he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22: 6
 

 
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
 
 
 
 
 
After Jesse's baby dedication at church, we had a picnic at our house to celebrate his big day, as well as to honor the father's in our lives. It was a wonderful afternoon spent with family! Jesse is so blessed to have all of these people in his life.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Daddy's Boy

Jesse has been in our lives for 53 glorious days. Every day since he was born, I have lived and breathed this baby boy. For nine months before Jesse made his grand entrance, I bonded with our sweet baby boy. I felt him move, kick, and hiccup. While his daddy could feel him moving in my belly towards the end, I don't think he really got to bond with our baby until he held him in his arms when he was born. It's been fun watching their relationship develop and grow over the last 7.5 weeks. Granted, most of their time consists of snuggling after I get finished with feeding him, they seem to really enjoy each others' company :-)
 


 
 






 
 
 
 
 
These two boys are my life! Love them so much.
 

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Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Momma Babble V002

Perspective.
 
It can change in a lickety-split instant.
 
When you become a mother, your whole world changes. The moment they place that newborn baby on your belly, you get a new set of eyes. You view life completely differently. You no longer think of yourself first, you think of your baby. You no longer worry about superficial things, like the fact that you have spit-up in your hair, or that you're not always wearing cute and stylish outfits (because let's be honest - some days it's a God-given miracle that you even make it out of your pajamas by lunchtime!). You no longer speed up at yellow lights; you slow down... because you have precious living, breathing cargo in the backseat of the car. Life changes. Your perspective changes.
 
Having a baby has completely altered my perspective, especially in regards to some pretty important relationships in my life: my relationship with my mom, and my relationship with Christ.
 
My Momma and I on Mother's Day this year
 
My mom and I have always been close... but becoming a mother has elevated my relationship with her to a whole new level. She's been my rock, my go-to-girl when I need an encouraging word or advice. She's reassured me when I needed a pep-talk, let me cry on her shoulder (figuring out mommyhood can be tough!), and reminds me that in the end, everything will be okay. Having a baby of my own, I now understand my parents' love for me. And I feel really badly about the times I broke their hearts... those times in the teenage years when we didn't always get along, they were just trying to protect my heart. Because that's what parents do - from the moment you hold your baby, you realize that you will do ANYTHING to keep them from harm.
 
Having a child has also changed my perspective in my personal relationship with Christ. Growing up, I heard the Bible stories about God sending his Son to die for us. In church on Sunday mornings, we sing songs about God's love for us. But honestly, I'm not sure that the depth of God's love for me really sank in until I became a mother. Because now I know how it feels to love my own child. I know the heart-swelling, mind-blowing love that comes from just a glance at my little boy. How much more does the Father in Heaven love us!? We are HIS children. He feels that way about me. (And you, for that matter.) And the fact that He sent his Son to Earth, knowing fully well that Jesus would be hung on a cross to die for our sins before joining Him again in heaven... that just overwhelms me. He loves me so much that He sent His Son to die for me and my sins?!?  WOW. Having a son of my own has helped me to better understand God's love for me, and that greater understanding of His love has drawn my heart even closer to Him.
 
Lots of things change when you have a baby... that's for sure! :-) I'm loving my view through the lens of motherhood.
 
 
 

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Monday, June 17, 2013

One Month Mini Photo Shoot

Well... sorry it's been a while since I posted!
 
For those of you who don't know, my laptop decided to crap out on me last week. Unfortunately, the virus got into the start-up recovery so even restoring it to factory conditions proved to be a major hassle. HOWEVER - we are back in business now, baby. I have a running list of blog posts that I want to get caught up on this week - let's see if my little man's schedule will allow me to complete my list ;-)
 
Jesse turned one month old on June 1st. (Side note, how in the WORLD is it June 17th already?! SERIOUSLY. Crazyness.) One afternoon around the beginning of the month, I was changing Jesse's diaper in the afternoon, and the light coming in through the window in his bedroom was AMAZING. He was looking extra adorable (like always ;-) so I stripped him down to his onesie and grabbed the camera... and voila! PHOTOSHOOT!
 
Enjoy these pics.
 
Brace yourself for the cuteness. He really is adorable; I'm not biased AT ALL...
 
Ha.

One Month Old
 
Busy Hands!
 
The Super Hero Pose :-)  ...He's MY super hero.
 
I warned you the cuteness would be too much to handle!
 
...and some out-takes :-)
 
I'm pretty sure he was "snorting" here... ha!
I have no words... LOL
 
And... it wouldn't be a complete photo shoot without a shot of his precious baby feet!
 
 
 
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Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Weeks 3 & 4

Guess who is ONE MONTH OLD already?! You guessed it. Baby Jesse turned a month old on Saturday. The past two weeks have brought many 'firsts', and I am allowed to drive now so Jesse and I have been busy venturing out of the house. I have lots to update you on, and following this update, we will start monthly updates instead of weekly posts. I plan to write about our adventures with Jesse on a regular basis, though :-)
 
I took this picture on Sunday as we were getting ready for church:
 

...And only one month ago:
 

 
My sweet little baby is growing up!!!
 
Loves: Eating, sleeping on Momma and Daddy's chest, hearing people talk or sing to him, looking at bright lights or colorful objects, 'tummy time', sitting in his bouncy seat with the calming vibrations turned on, bath time, and sleeping.
 

 

 
 
Eating: Jesse is still doing great in the breastfeeding department! He eats every 2.5 - 3 hours during the day, and roughly every 3 hours at night. Sometimes he will "cluster feed" in the evenings and want to nurse in short spurts over several hours. He was 6 pounds 10 ounces when he was born, and I took him to the doctor's when he was a little over 3 weeks old to get checked out for some congestion... and he weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces that day. He's definitely growing!!! :-) I am so grateful that the breastfeeding has gone well - I cannot get enough of that sweet bonding time with my baby boy. We did introduce a bottle in Jesse's third week and he did great with it! His daddy usually gives him a bottle when he gets finished with his bath time.
 
 
 
 
Sleeping: Jesse's naps are getting less and less predictable. He was an AWESOME napper in the first two weeks... and then he started changing things up on me ;-) Some days he will nap after he eats... others he will be wide awake! When he's awake, I find it really hard to try to get stuff done around the house... not because he's fussing to be held, but because he's SO DARN CUTE and I feel like I should be entertaining/engaging him when he's awake. Maybe it's the teacher in me? In terms of night time sleeping, Jesse usually sleeps from about 10pm - midnight, 12:30 - 3:00, and 3:30 - 5:30/6:30.   He's started doing this loud grunting thing when he sleeps at night. From what I've read, it's normal for babies to make these grunting noises when they sleep... but it makes it hard for Momma to fall asleep, that's for sure!
 
 
Fun Facts: ***In week 4, Jesse officially moved out of newborn sized clothes and diapers. We are now wearing 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers. So far, Pampers seem to be working the best for us. Jesse constantly leaks (both pee & poop) out of Huggies :-(  ***Jesse absolutely loves having his hands by his face. Even when I swaddle him, he finds a way to work his hands out so that they can be by his face. I've started just swaddling him so his hands are already by his face to save him the trouble of trying to wiggle out - LOL. Some nights I will swaddle him, other nights he sleeps in a sleep sack. ***Jesse is so strong!!! He's already lifting his head, and he tries to pull himself up into a sitting position when you hold him by his hands. He also kicks really hard with his legs. When I lay him on his belly for tummy time, he can scoot himself across the play mat if I put my hands down under his feet to give him something to push off of. It just amazes me how strong he is!!! ***Jesse's eyes are still blue! In fact, when he was born they were dark blue. Now, they are starting to lighten right around the pupil and they're a beautiful electric blue color. I'm secretly hoping they stay this color... ;-)
 
 
 
Mommy Moments: Jesse has had some congestion over the past couple of weeks and it has been driving me crazy! I wish my baby boy just felt better already. We've been doing saline nasal drops, running a humidifier, sitting in a steamy bathroom, suctioning out his nose... we're doing it all. He's not stuffed up; he just has a lot of mucous draining from his sinuses to his throat. Sometimes he coughs/gags on it. :-( When he first started becoming congested, I called the triage nurse at the pediatrician's office and she told me to do all of those things I listed above. She said if he didn't get better within a few days, to call back and make an appointment. After a few days, the 'gunk' I was suctioning out of his nose turned yellow/green, so I called and made an appointment. The doctor basically told me to keep doing what I've been doing... there's just not a lot you can do for babies aside from what I'm already doing. He's not running any fever and the doctor said his lungs sound clear... so it's one of those things that we just have to let it run its course. Unfortunately, baby colds can last twice as long as adult colds... so it could be another week or so till he feels better. It just breaks my heart hearing him so congested. I've prayed and prayed over him... even told God to take the sickness out of him and give it to me! I'd much rather deal with it than see/hear my baby struggle with it. There have been a few nights of laying awake and listening to him breathe... sleeping with my hand stretched out across his back to feel him breathe... spending the night on the recliner with the baby sleeping on my chest because that position seems to be the best for him to breathe well. I definitely have a new appreciation for my Momma and all of those nights when she laid awake with me when I was sick growing up.

 
Firsts: Trip to the grocery store, stroller ride, trip to the mountain, trip to church, feeding with a bottle, lifting his head, reaching for toys hanging on play mat, riding in a baby carrier/sling, going to a birthday party (his distant cousin Lane), big boy bath in the baby tub (hated it then, loves it now).
 
Here's a picture from his first bath experience:
 
 
 My sweet, sweet baby boy.
 
 
 
 
And yes, I'm obsessed with his feet.
 
 
 
 
Other favorites from his last couple of weeks:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Special moments with grandparents :-)
 
 
 
 
 
Five Generations!
 
 
Love our little family :-)
 
 
 

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