April 28, 2011

HG loves to smile!

Allow me to brighten your day...




It's hard to catch that toothless grin on camera, but it sure is worth it when we do!

April 26, 2011

Our First Big Holiday!

Our first Easter as a family of three can be best summed up in two words.... absolutely wonderful! It was a day that lived up to the anticipation we had as we planned HG's outfits, awaited the Easter bunny, and scheduled our day of fun visits and yummy meals.


To start the day, we went downstairs in our pajamas and saw that the Easter bunny filled Hannah Grace's Easter basket with fun prizes... and her reaction was priceless!
Easter bib, "some-bunny's sleepy" pajamas, sunglasses, and $1 for her 1st Easter!


Lots of smiles as we check out the basket of goodies!


"Miss too cool" in her new sunglasses!
Then we got all dressed up in our Sunday best for a day with family! HG donned a beautiful white cotton dress with pink embroidered flowers, lacy socks, white eyelet shoes, pink ruffled bloomers, a pink bow (of course!), and her pearl bracelet. 


Easter Day was very memorable.. and lots of pictures were taken with our families to document the day. Check them out on the Photo Gallery page!

April 20, 2011

Diaper Surprise!

Our new schedule consists of mommy staying home with Hannah Grace on M/W/F and daddy staying home with her on T/Th... which we love!! Daddy especially is enjoying this time to bond with HG one-on-one, and he is learning quite a bit.


When mommy came home from a long day of work yesterday, daddy had a funny look on his face and very seriously asked...
"Did you know that she now goes #2 without making any noise??"
Haha!! Seems that daddy smelled something a little funky, and was surprised to find a very (silently) filled diaper! :)


Other random milestones:
1. We experimented with formula feeding, and she didn't mind it wasn't mommy's milk.
2. HG sits up (strapped in) in her stroller for walks now, so she can really see the sights!
3. Scooting around in the crib, which freaked us out at first, occurs nightly. She does not end up where she started!
4. HG is noticing her hands... and they often end up in her increasingly drooly mouth.
5. It's time to ditch the newborn insert of the car seat!


We are looking forward to hitting the 10 week mark on Friday and Easter on Sunday! HG will say good-bye to single digit weeks and get her first visit from the easter bunny!
This is how I found her in the crib during her morning nap... one sock on, one sock off

April 17, 2011

2 Month Check-up

As I begin to relay these stats, I'm realizing that this would have been the perfect poll to have up before the 2-month check-up
How much do you think HG will weigh? (She was 8 lbs 1 oz at her 2-week check-up.)
A)  9-10 lbs
B)10-11 lbs
C)11-12 lbs
D) 12 lbs + 


Well, if you guessed B, you are correct... HG weighed in at 10.5 pounds and measured 22.5 inches in height! That puts her in the 40th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height, and the doc said she looked great on all other accounts too!


Then we got 8 vaccines in 4 shots (1 given orally and 3 injected in her thigh). She cried instantly, but was soothed within a few minutes after it was all over. Thankfully they did not cause her to run a fever, but she was very sleepy and weary for the remainder of the day. By the next day, she was back to her spunky lil self!


Since then, we've had a few small adventures... take a look:
We participated in the March of Dimes walk and met the triplets! What a rewarding day to be part of something so spectacular... many community members filled the streets as we walked for 3 miles! Yay for babies!!

When mommy and daddy are in the middle of a shopping trip, diaper changes happen in the back seat of the car. :) haha! She was such a trooper... slept right through it all!

We found a nice nature trail about 30 minutes outside of town and spent the morning breathing in the fresh air and exploring the natural beauty of the Lowcountry!!

April 15, 2011

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

It's official. There are a gazillion books on parenting. How on earth do you know which ones you need? Well, here are the top three that have helped us.

American Academy of Pediatrics: Caring for your Baby and Young Child ...You can get this 892 page book for FREE by signing up for Publix's Baby Club online. This is a straight-forward, reference-type book that will pretty much answer the question "What would my pediatrician say/recommend?"

          












Dana Wood: Mom-over  ...New moms, this one's for you! Yes, if you can make time to do one thing, read this book because it will inspire you to create more time to keeping YOU happy and healthy. We all know how the saying goes, "if mama ain't happy (and healthy), ain't nobody happy!"




















Marc Weissbluth, MD: Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Child ...Sleep is one of the most important topics when it comes to raising a baby because it affects everyone's health and happiness. We found this to be very helpful and reassuring that we were doing our best to get as much sleep as possible (Dare I say "enough" sleep!).

April 13, 2011

DIY: Hair bow holder

HG has a lot of pretty hair bows and headbands. I had them all clipped to a hanger in the closet, but this was far from functional and even further from cute. Here's how I created a custom display that hangs right next to the dresser and changing table. Now if only she would grow some hair!! :)


1. Find an old frame. (I had one  at home, but you could also shop for one at a thrift/vintage store.) 



2. Remove any hardware that will interfere with the aesthetics and/or hanging.

3. Paint in desired color scheme (I chose purple, of course!) and attach ribbon in strips to the back of the frame with hot glue. (You could also try a criss-cross ribbon pattern.)



4. Hang in desired area and add bows! Ta-da!!



Perfect for your daughter/niece/granddaughter/friend and easy to do!! 
Other application: a cardholder for birthdays, Christmas, etc. 


Do you have a FUNctional craft to share?...Please do!

April 11, 2011

Fly, fly little butterfly

HG has been quite the social butterfly lately!
First, we spent the day with Grayson at our house! Mommy got a glimpse into life with twins!! It wasn't too bad except for one hour in the afternoon when they did a good job of teaming up on me with the feedings, dirty diapers, and spit ups. All in all, it was a lot of fun, and I can say that I had "twins for a day." I have a lot of respect for moms of multiples who do this everyday!





Then we went to Jackson's FIRST birthday party. Here's HG meeting Jackson for the first time... (unfortunately, it was also time for her to eat, so she wasn't in a good mood). I know what the birthday boy is thinking... 


"It's MY party, I can cry if I want to.... but why is she??"
The party had me daydreaming about plans for HG's 1st birthday in 9 months...  and I am thankful that I learned a valuable lesson that day. Do not order a whole sheet cake... it feeds 80 people. Thanks to Jackson's mom for learning the hard way so we didn't have to! ;) That was a LOT of very yummy cake!





Finally, she met her newest friend, Olivia, who is only 3 weeks old!! Welcome to the world sweet girl!  

The cookout at Olivia's house was another opportunity to see Mason too... and the event was dubbed the "3M" party since all of our last names start with "M." :) 



Now my favorite new pic...
Pretty girl matches her bouncy seat!






April 4, 2011

Pretty in BLUE!

First, I must share HG's 7 week pictures. To give credit where it's due, here's a link to learn more about the person responsible for the incredibly beautiful gown:  http://www.forgetmenotdresses.blogspot.com/






Secondly, these pictures in her blue dress remind me of something I MUST vent about... a little girl does NOT have to wear pink all the time! There are other feminine details... like flowers, ruffles, and bows... that should make it very clear that a little baby is a girl!! Believe it or not, strangers (though they mean well) actually asked if she was a girl or boy in this and other similar outfits. Seriously?!?!

Okay, I feel better now that I have that off my chest. 


And third.... Of course, we are still loving life with our Hannah Grace. She's getting more and more fun everyday as she takes in her surroundings. It melts our hearts when she follows our voices and movements!!


It especially melts our hearts when she looks at us and smiles that adorable, toothless grin!! Yes, the grin is now making frequent appearances :) 


We are enjoying this week since the next brings about a couple of changes. Mommy will be going back to work (part-time) and HG has her 2 month check-up (aka the appointment with terrible, horrible, no good shots in her little thighs).


At this very moment however, I must get to bed because HG is (slowly, but surely) settling into her nightly routine and is currently sleeping soundly. She's reached that magical age/weight/lunar phase? that allows her to have a good 5-6 hour stretch of sleep most nights. :)  And while that may not "melt our hearts" it sure makes us pretty darn happy parents!