Catching Up

Visit from Gran Gran, Lollie and Aunt Jessica

We recently (2-3 weeks ago...I'm way behind on posts!) had a visit from Gran Gran, Lollie, and Aunt Jess. This was Gran Gran's (Reese's great grandmother) first time meeting Reese. I'm so glad that we were able to capture some really great moments. They all loved to take Reese into her room and rock her in her rocking chair. I have a CD that I play (thanks to Taylor for sharing) in Reese's room that is so calming. It almost feels like you're in a spa. They loved to rock Reese in her rocking chair and fall asleep to the music.

Gran Gran

Lollie

Aunt Jessica

I think they're in love!

It was SO nice having family here that could help me with Reese. I'm not real into sharing her with just anybody, but I know that Reese is in perfect hands when she's with her Gran Gran, Lollie and Jess. More pictures...

Justin was MIA during the time that they were here (thanks Law School!), but we did manage to get a picture with him and Reese and her brand new mobile. She LOVES looking at the little lambs above her crib. Sometimes she even dances to the music...it plays "Mary had a little lamb."

A few random snapshots...

While Reese was sleeping, I took the opportunity to practice using my new camera. I took about 200 pictures (seriously), but I'll just post a few.

Reese is 8 weeks!

I can't believe that Reese is 8 weeks (yesterday)! She is starting to have so much personality. She smiles and tries to laugh. This is such a fun time! She's not just eating, sleeping, and pooping all the time...she's alert and interested in things. I've started giving her toys (rattles) to see if she can focus on them and track them as I move them. She does a great job. She will be 2 months old next week. I can't believe how fast time goes by. Today she has a doctor's appointment and will be getting an ultrasound. Because she was breached, they have to do an ultrasound to make sure that her hips are not dislocated. Hopefully she will do well and we will get only good news.

I need to upload more recent pictures to the computer. Once I do that, I'll post more pics...

4 weeks old!

Yesterday, Reese was exactly one month old! I can't believe how time flies! Before I know it, we'll be celebrating her first birthday!

She is still growing so fast! I LOVE every minute of it! She is a lot more alert during her awake times and she is starting to be interested in more things. She is finally on a good schedule where she goes to sleep around 11 and wakes up around 6! I have the best baby ever! I know everyone says that you don't want them to grow too fast, but I can't wait for the next stages when she will start smiling and laughing in response to things. It's so fun to watch her grow!

Since Reese is now at the 4 week mark, we are finally allowed to take her outside. I have been so excited to take her on a walk (mostly to help with my own sanity...I've had just a little bit of cabin fever!) and have not been able to until she turned 4 weeks old. So, this past Thursday I got her all ready for her stroller, put her in it and took her out. She cried the entire time! I was so sad. I wanted her to like her walks as much as I do...maybe it will come with time. I do have a Baby Bjorn and I'm trying to get her more used to that. Hopefully, she will like going on walks in that instead of her stroller, especially since it's getting colder outside. We still aren't taking Reese out in public (restaurants, malls, etc) until she is 6 weeks old. So that will be our next big milestone to reach. That will give me a lot more freedom once I can get out and take her with me...but I think it's going to be a lot harder than I can even imagine. I might just prefer staying home! :)

Another thing that has been new (and a learning experience for me) is dealing with her fingernails. I am so scared I'm going to hurt her when I try to cut/tear/file her nails...so I don't do it very often. However, she ends up scratching herself because her nails get too long. So, finally we tried to file them...

Can you believe how little her hands are?! I had to do it while she was asleep...otherwise she just moves around too much.

I also wanted to post a few of my maternity pictures. I had a maternity photo session done. The day that we went to have the pictures taken I really didn't want to go. I didn't know what to wear and I really didn't think that I would want to remember the way I looked at 37 weeks pregnant. But off we went (plus, it was only $25 more to do the maternity pictures since we were already going to get newborn baby pictures with the same photographer...so I figured, why not). After the fact, I am SO glad that we had maternity pictures taken. Our photographer was excellent and it's something I can remember for years to come. I would definitely recommend it!

This letter "R" is in her room and I love that we were able to incorporate it into the pictures.

My sweet husband!

Happy Monday!

3 weeks old!

(The picture above was taken when Reese was "watching" football with her dad and "frustrated" at the way the team was playing!)

Reese turned 3 weeks old yesterday! I am so proud of my little girl who is growing so fast. Did I mention yet that we went back to the pediatrician on November 1st (Monday) and she had gained all of her birth weight back and more?! She weighed 7lbs. 13 oz.! She is starting to get chubby cheeks and chubby thighs...and I LOVE it!! She is also outgrowing her newborn size clothes. I can't believe that the clothes that used to fall off of her are now getting to be too tight. However, the problem is that she also doesn't really fit into her "0-3 months" clothes. Why is it that those clothes are better suited for 3 month olds and there is no in between?

I can finally say that I am loving being a mom. I say that because last week at this time, I don't know if those words could sincerely come out of my mouth. Seriously. I had NO idea how many changes would happen to me all at once and in the midst of that I was also trying to recover from a c-section. If you know me at all, you know that I am a very organized and "plan-ahead" type of person. I was NOT prepared for motherhood...even though I thought I was. I had no idea how little sleep I would get or how often I would have to feed. Feedings were easily taking one hour each and I was feeding every three hours. That meant that I only had 2 hours to rest, sleep, clean, or breathe, in between feedings. I also don't do well on little sleep, so I was extremely sleep-deprived and trying to balance life as a new mom. I think I am finally seeing a light at the end of this crazy tunnel. Why is it that no one prepares you for how hard the first 3-6 weeks are? I guess even if you had told me that they would be hard, I would have thought that I had it figured out and it would be different for me. Now I know.

So, needless to say, things have been a little crazy around here. But I think things are getting better. :) Reese is finally starting to get on a schedule of sleeping and eating. I'm starting to get my feet back under me and beginning to get a rhythm to this whole thing. Any other advice that moms may want to give me along the way is greatly appreciated!

Happy 3 weeks to my precious baby girl!

7lbs. and almost 3oz.

Reese's First Visit to the Pediatrician

When Reese was born, she weighed in at 7lbs, 10oz. and by the time that we left the hospital to head home she had lost about 10% of her body weight; she was down to 6lbs, 13oz. The doctor said that this is normal, but didn't want her to continue losing weight, so he recommended that we supplement with formula. So, for the past two days I have been nursing and then offering her formula. Today we went to the doctor to weigh in and hopefully hear good news that Reese is gaining weight. She weighed 7lbs and almost 3 oz.! We were so excited! It's funny to me what things I get excited about now that I'm a new mom. Wet and poopy diapers are now one of the most exciting things, because it tells me that she's getting what she needs.

Reese was very good at the doctor. She didn't even cry while Dr. Harris was examining her. There is a mirror right next to the exam table and Reese was fascinated with looking at herself. She is just all smiles.

Funny side story from today...

As we were dressing Reese and getting her in her car seat, it wasn't 2 seconds before I had her buckled in that she pooped all over herself. I have babysat kids before (even infants), but I've never had my own. It must have just escaped my mind that infants are constantly going to the bathroom and needing changing, because this I was not prepared for today! I rushed to get her out of her car seat and clean her up and then she started to pee all over the exam table. I had to laugh because this was our first time out of the house (and of course I dressed her in her cutest outfit) and now I am caught with a dirty child, dirty diapers, and no change of clothes in my diaper bag! Thank goodness that I was more concerned with filling Justin's "Diaper Dude" diaper bag than my own or we would have been up a creek! Justin had a change of clothes, diapers, wipes, blankets, etc. ready to go and I had none of this in my diaper bag. This has taught me a valuable lesson about being prepared for anything. Overall, Reese had a wonderful first doctor's appointment and is gaining weight like she should.

It's just crazy to me how many things change once you become a new mom or dad. You don't even think about a lot of things, until you are caught without something you need or faced with a new challenge. Thankfully there's a lot of room for trial and error...and I have a lot of amazing friends who are ready to help in any way that they can. Most of all, I love being a new mom and can't wait to see what new challenges and adventures lie ahead.

Reese Parker Lowery

Reese's Birthday Celebration

Reese Parker Lowery is finally here! I couldn't be more excited! I had a c-section at Piedmont Hospital early on October 14th. Reese weighed 7lbs, 10 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. She is beautiful, healthy and a complete gift from God.

We are completely in love with her. She already has so much personality. She is very affectionate and loves to snuggle up right under your chin. She smiles a lot and seems to recognize our voices when we talk to her. She is very alert and already very strong. She can almost hold her head up on her own. She is the most perfect gift that God could have ever blessed us with. We are so thankful for her.

Birthday Fun

I've had a birthday since I haven't been in "blog world." My parents took me and Justin to The Fox Theater to see "Jersey Boys." Jersey Boys is about the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. You might remember some of their songs: Ragdoll, O What a Night, Big Girls Don't Cry and Sherry. It was a lot of fun and we were on the third row! Then we went to Dogwood Restaurant to enjoy a fancy southern dinner. Here are some pictures...

At my parents before the play

The Fox Theater in Atlanta

We didn't get to take a picture before the show, so we drove back around the front after the show, jumped out and took a quick picture...and this is what we got!

Dinner at Dogwood Restaurant. This was the best "fancy" southern dinner. They have a grits bar (which you will see soon), fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens. It was delicious!

This was the "grits bar." From the left: grits with pimento cheese and ham, grits with "frogmore" (shrimp gumbo), and grits with braised short ribs. yum!! It makes me want some right now! I will definitely go back.

My birthday dessert! It was perfect!! This is Chocolate Lava Cake. It couldn't get better than this!

The whole crew outside Dogwood Restaurant. Me, Justin, my mom, and dad. Thanks Justin, mom and dad for a wonderful birthday! It was very special and something I won't forget. This will be the last birthday that I actually count...so it was a good one to end on!

Convicted...

Thank you to those of you who have been praying. Michael Ledford was found guilty, convicted, and given the death penalty. This is a huge answer to prayer! Justice was served on earth and i know that God will be the final Judge in this matter. Please continue to lift up the Ewing Family as they continue to heal and try to gain some sense of peace during this time. They are a strong Christian family and hopefully this will just bring them closer together. To see more information on the trial you can go to this link. It's pretty gruesome so you may not want to read it...but if you are interested, here is the link.

This has really taught me to be much more aware of my surroundings and has also motivated me to take a self-defense class. I know that on my own physical strength I would not be able to do much, but I would like to have more confidence that I would somewhat know what to do if I was ever attacked. Please be very cautious of your surroundings and don't go to unlit, less populated or dangerous settings by yourself. You just never know who may be around the corner. And as a therapist, I know first hand that there are a lot of really "unstable" people out there. Sorry to be so negative and such a downer, but it's what seems to be on my mind a lot lately.

i guess i am blogging more than i have in the past 3 months (which is a good thing)...and I know it's not on the most pleasant topic...but I just wanted to ask for continued prayers for the Ewing family and to please take extra-precaution when going running, biking, walking, etc. It may seem safe...but it can never hurt to be too cautious.

Hope everyone has a pleasant and restful Memorial Day weekend! All of our plans are centered around food. Justin's parents and sister are coming in town and we plan to go to take them to Taqueria del Sol, The Melting Pot, the Country Club for brunch, and finally end the weekend with Flip Burger Boutique. I will probably gain 10lbs after all of that, but it will be worth it! I will try to take pictures throughout the weekend and post them. I've realized lately that i don't take enough pictures, which means that all of my picture frames are filled with old pictures from years ago. It's about time to update a few of those!

it's been too long...

well, i realize that i never "blog" anymore so sometimes i wonder if i should just delete my blog...but something keeps me wanting to hang on to it and just keep trying.

I do have a prayer request for those of you that might read this blog. a friend of mine and his family, 3 years ago in july, lost their sweet mom on the Silver Comet Trail. the trial to prosecute the guy that killed her was just held and the man was found guilty on all counts. now they will be having another trial to determine if this man will have the death penalty, life in prison without parole, or life in prison with a chance of parole. this man did a horrible, horrible thing (that's even an understatement) and i just want to ask that you pray that justice is served. if you're interested you can read more about it here: the Ewings. thank you for your prayers and i will keep you posted on the outcome.

again...don't give up on me yet...i will try again to keep up with my blog and give you a "sneek peak" into what's going on with us. i love reading other blogs and seeing what's going on...so i feel it's only right to share with you what's going on with me! plus, it's a good outlet to think through things, vent, ask questions, ask for prayer, and keep up with others.

have a good night!

If I only had TiVo...

For some reason, the only reason I look forward to the week is for the shows: The Bachelor, American Idol, Criminal Minds, LOST, and The Office. If only I had Tivo it would make getting sleep a lot easier during the week and it would make the weekend TV watching much more enjoyable. I would always have something to watch. I try to relax on the weekends so that I am well rested for the next week, but I can't ever seem to relax...and TiVo might just provide that for me. (You would think as a therapist I would know how to relax, but I guess I am just so used to always being on the go that I can't slow down. I'm working on it though.)

Cooking is becoming more of a way for me to relax. It used to stress me out (and it still can) but I am trying to learn to enjoy it instead of being perfectionistic about it. I have enjoyed trying new recipes this week: Buffalo Chicken Casserole from Taylor and homemade chicken salad. They were fairly easy but very delicious! If anyone has some really delicious recipes that are maybe even super easy I would love to know them. I am trying to expand my weekly menu so that Justin and I have some variation. Justin works most of the time on law school stuff reading and reading, until he can't read anymore and so I like to have healthy, hearty meals for him to keep him going. Please pray for him if you think about it because he goes nights in a row without sleeping and it's not good. I tell him he will eventually crash and burn...but he just fixes his Dunkin Donuts coffee and keeps going. Poor guy...at least one day it will pay off. So, back to the recipes, please send me links to your favorite recipes.

Off to watch American Idol...

Answer to Prayer

(Annabelle, Yen Ling, Billy, and Savannah)

Just an update for anyone that was aware and praying...

My brother's wife is pregnant and they were told at the 9 week ultrasound (just 3 weeks ago) that the baby had fluid around his or her head. This could have meant that the child would have Down Syndrome or be mentally retarded or who knows what. Today, they went for the 12 week ultrasound to see if anything had changed. They were surprised to find out that there was no fluid and everything checked out ok! Praise God! They are still going to do a blood test to make sure everything else is fine. I will keep you posted about that. It's times like these when God gives us yet another chance to trust Him and remember that He is in control.

I know that they would appreciate your prayers as they continue to trust God. Pray that the baby (he or she) is strong and healthy (and also for Yen Ling's health as she carries the little one). God proves to us over and over that He is bigger than our circumstances! He is the ultimate Healer and can do more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He just asks us to trust.

Have a good night...

Morgana

On my Google home page, i have a new picture every day of a puppy. usually the pictures are of people's dogs that they think are cute. but now "The Daily Puppy" has started posting puppies on the page that are adoptable. This was the adoptable puppy for today.

She's an Australian Shepherd and i think she is so cute. I told Justin that she would be a great friend to our dog that we have now, Huxley. Our current dog is so bored while we are gone during the day that he has licked a hot spot on his leg. We have tried everything to make it heal: benadryl, steroid shot, antibiotics, wrapping it, spraying it with bitter apple spray, etc. and nothing works. So i thought that we just need to get Huxley a friend to play with. So when i saw this dog and saw that she was adoptable, i thought it would be the perfect solution! But...Justin didn't agree. So, if anyone is looking to adopt a really cute dog, you can go to this website to find out more information on her. Her name is Morgana.

Aliens and UFO's

this morning, i don't know about you, but i didn't want to get out of bed. justin had to come check on me several times after he had already said, "it's 6:20, do you want to get up?" the answer is always no. but today, it was dark and the sheets felt kind of cool and i just wanted to stay curled up all day. then, after i finally drug myself out of bed, got ready, and headed off to work, i realized that i might not have turned off the flat iron. i had to call Taylor and thankfully she was able to go check on it so that our house wouldn't burn down...but it turns out it was not on and everything (including the pets) was okay. So this is how my morning started off.

Then, much to my surprise, while i was driving to work i heard on the radio that there are supposed to be aliens (UFO's) hovering over the state of Alabama for the next 72 hours. Apparently a lady that lives in Australia named Blossom Goodchild has predicted that on October 14, 2008 aliens would come... and everyone believes her. Instead of thinking, "hmm, maybe this lady is not altogether there?!" We instead believe that this is going to happen. I was not in Alabama today so i don't know if anything bizarre happened...but my guess is this lady is probably "responding to internal stimuli" (that's what we call it in the hospital). So if anyone knows anything about this i would love to know. there is a YouTube video about this prediction that i will try to link over to. She says it took her a great deal of courage to talk about it...probably because most people will agree that she's crazy. so, if you have any thoughts on the matter, i would be interested to know if anything happened. also, it is a full moon tonight and this is often when things get a little bit weird.

So that was the excitement of my day. everything else was pretty humdrum, in comparison. hope everyone has a good and safe night, with no alien invasions!

Happy Birthday, Mamma!

This is me with my grandmother Mamma(my mom's mom) and mom. Mamma is still looking good and going strong! Mamma's birthday is this Saturday. Happy Birthday, Mama!

A Night Out

This is an old picture from me and justin after we ate at Chops. We went to Chops with my parents to celebrate justin starting law school. I guess i have a lot of catching up to do with pictures...but i did finally find my camera and it actually didn't need to be charged. I realize, though, that i need to take a lot more pictures than i do. so i might need to start carrying my camera around with me in my purse so that i can get more updated, candid shots.

Auburn Football

well, it's been a long time since i have posted anything. so i'm going to try again. hopefully this time i can try to post something more like once a week instead of once every 6 months.

the last post says that we were still waiting to find out where Justin would go to school. Justin did get accepted to several schools, but chose to go to Emory so that we wouldn't have to move (which now proves to be a really good decision considering how well the real estate market is doing!). Justin is a couple of months into Law school and is finding that there is not a lot of free time. He is contstantly reading and rarely has time to do anything else. It's definitely been an adjustment with us and finding time to spend together. But, we do love where we're at right now and wouldn't change a thing.

we went to the Auburn vs. Arkansas game last night. We have awesome friends, Elizabeth and Nathan Dewberry, that let us sit with them in the scholarship seats. It was free food and drinks all night! that was super nice. it would have topped it off to win the game, but it was still fun. I love going back to Auburn. it's the greatest town.

well, this is just the perfect lazy day for a good movie and a nap. I will try to post some recent pictures, since i haven't posted in a while. I just have to find my camera, charge it and then download. i need a camera that doesn't always have to be charged. it seems like you take one or two pictures and then it dies. so i guess i need to take it to Wolf Camera and have them tell me what the problem is. so anyways, as soon as i get all of that worked out...i will post a few pictures.

have a restful, relaxing day!

No News...

Still no new news. We are very anxious to find out the decisions of the last four schools. Either Justin or I rush to the mailbox when we get home to check to see if there might be a big white envelope with an acceptance letter inside. Justin also checks a website that lets him know who has already been accepted. It gets complicated and i know there is such a strong nervous excitement that we just want to figure it all out on our own...rather than trust. It can be so easy to read into the fact that a decision hasn't been made (both for the good and bad). Its making it even harder when it's starting to look like a decision might not arrive until May or June at the rate we are going. But I know that God is in control and we are just continuing to pray that God gives us direction and peace as we continue to trust Him. It's a fun journey to be on...but I am also looking forward to having a decision made and knowing whether or not i am going to have to pack up my home (which I am dreading to say the least) and move or stay and allow myself to feel settled and at peace. This is has been more stressful than i thought it would be...but it should all be over (the uncertainty) very soon. So all that to say...still no news!

Nashville

This past weekend we went to Nashville to see Vanderbilt. Justin was at the Law School the majority of Friday and then we went to Rosepepper Cantina, a favorite of the natives, for some down home mexican. Saturday we got up and went to breakfast at another local favorite, the Pancake Pantry. Taylor recommended that we go there since it's a local hot spot and has excellent food. There always seemed to be a line out the door(whenever we drove by on our excursions to check out the town)...and when we got there it was raining and everyone was huddled under their little bitty roof. But it was delicious and well worth the wait! I got the pecan pancakes and cheesy scrambled eggs and Justin got potato pancakes with hash browns. It was definitely a place I will return to often if we end up moving to Nashville. So here are a few pictures from our trip. It was rainy and gross most of the time, but it was still fun. Saturday we walked around the campus a little bit so I could take a few pictures.

The line outside the Pancake Pantry...

A random building on campus that I thought was pretty.

Justin walking around on the campus.

A sub shop downtown that I thought was cool...

And this is a tribute to Taylor's mom, aka Gigi. I thought it was cute and tried to get a picture before the light turned green!


Oh!! This was hilarious! Justin and I saw this squirrel that was dining on something and we had to get a picture. I guess he found some left over ketchup and it was his treat! The squirrels on campus would get really close to you -it was strange...but i guess campus was the only place they could go...because everything else around the campus is urban.

Lastly, thanks SO much to Nathan, Taylor and Dylan for keeping Huxley for us. While he was with them he didn't want to eat or sleep because he was having so much fun. Taylor has 3 dogs and Huxley loves to play with others...so when we got him home he just completely crashed!! Here is a picture of him wiped out after the weekend. Thank you again Nathan and Taylor for keeping him. That was such a HUGE help for us and I know he had such a good time!

Thanks for checking in on our blog. Keep praying for us. No decisions have been made yet. We are still waiting to hear from Duke, UVA, University of Chicago and Harvard. I will keep you updated. Hope everyone had a good Monday!