Five Weeks Old

Rachel had her one month check up this past Monday. She's growing like a weed! She weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces! She also got a Hepatitus B shot...eek! I think it hurt me more than it hurt her! I never understood it when my mom would say "this is going to hurt me more than you"...but now I understand. I can't stand to see her cry.

Cade and Laura also visited us this week. It was alot of fun, but kind of tiring! I still think Christy is a super mom! She's awesome with the kiddos and has so many tips for me! We can't wait for them to visit again! Besides, Rachel was so worn out that she slept for 5 hours and 15 minutes (the longest time ever) after they left. She was pooped after all the action!

Our goal for the coming week is to go to the grocery store! It may take a few different trips with small lists just in case there's a meltdown.

Also, Uncle Nate and Aunt Lauren's wedding is coming up next week on May 8...we are so excited for them and can't wait!

We had our second "play date" with Lilli today and went stroller riding for about an hour! We got a picture of both them happy this time!

We also took a trip to Opry Mills. Rachel took her first trip to the Gibson store with Adam and he found the perfect little guitar for her.

Rachel also went to church for the first time this past week. Adam missed half of Sunday School and both of us missed the first part of church to get her fed and calmed down to sleep...but at least we made an effort! We're going to keep trying until she can sit through the whole service!

She's started wearing some of her little dresses now that the weather has warmed up and we also bought her some baby legs for if she gets cold. She looks so big in the dresses with her little legs and arms showing!

Four Weeks Old

Rachel turned 4 weeks old this week! It was a week of "firsts" for us. We ventured out to Wal-Mart and to church for the first time. She did great! She slept during both adventures. We're going to try to go to either church or Sunday School this Sunday. Hopefully she'll do good and the following week we can attempt to attend both! She's also starting to be more attentive to the things around her. She's started noticing all the toys hanging on her play mat, etc.

After looking back through the many pictures we've taken, I realized there weren't many pictures of Rachel with me or Adam, so I attempted to take one of us this week. Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of yourself while holding a squirming baby...we've posted one that turned out ok:o)

Rachel is not a huge fan of tummy time yet, but I'm sure she will be before long. Sometimes she actually almost smiles during tummy time, but most of the time it is a crying struggle to get her to do it for even a few minutes. She's getting stronger though, so I'm sure she'll be a pro at lifting her head in no time at all.

Cade and Laura are coming to visit us next week, so we're really excited about that! Hopefully we'll get a first official picture of the cousins together!

First "Play" Date

Our friends Brent and Rachel brought over dinner last night. It was really yummy! It was Rachel's first chance to meet their little girl Lilli who was born at the end of January. Lilli was entertained by Rachel sitting in her swing for a little while (at least until Rachel started crying). Our goal was to get a picture of their first encounter, but it can be pretty difficult to get two babies to be happy at the same time. Then Rachel had the idea of getting a picture of the two of them crying together...by that time Rachel had calmed down and Lilli was crying. Oh well, maybe we'll get some pics of their next "play" date:o) I'm sure they will be best friends before long!

On another note, Rachel was able to fit into a new (bigger) outfit yesterday...so maybe in the coming days you'll see some pics of her in more than just the few outfits that had previously fit. We're going to try yet another new outfit today...exciting times!

Three Weeks Old

Rachel turned three weeks old yesterday and is right on schedule with her three week growth spurt. Monday and Tuesday were really rough as she wanted to eat constantly (like every 2 hours) and since it takes her almost 45 minutes to an hour to eat/diaper change/get back to sleep, that only left us with a very short time to sleep in between. We were completely wiped out last night, but thank goodness we're almost past it. She finally went back to the 3.5 and 4 hour feedings last night and hasn't been as "needy" today.

As we were going through this rough time, I was reminded of the passage in the Bible that instructs us to pray without ceasing. We were certainly doing ALOT of that! I was reminded that no situation is beyond God's control and that He will not give us more than we can bear, although it seems like he really tests us sometimes. God loves our small prayers that we may think are menial at times, but He sees them as ways to show his love to us by answering them. I know we've prayed alot of prayers like "God, please help Rachel eat, please help her go to sleep, please help her stop crying or screaming"...and I think God truly heard those prayers and answered them in time. May this remind us that we should praise God for the good days as well as request His help on the rough ones.

I hope you have all had a blessed week. We have seen many blessings this week as Rachel's Nana had a biopsy of a place on her nose and the results came back good. Donnie and Christy also closed on the property they were purchasing. So, we're really excited about that. Now we'll all have a place for bonfires and hot dog roasts as well as camping!

We're posting some Easter pics. Although Rachel and I had to miss out on Easter services at church, we still put her in a little Easter outfit that used to be mine when I was little to capture a few Easter pics. My mom saved the outfit and passed it down to us. There's also a pic of Rachel in her bouncer in a little outfit that her Mimi gave her. We'll post more updates next week. Enjoy!

Two Weeks Old

Rachel turned two weeks old this past Wednesday. It's hard to believe how quickly the time has passed! We have had lots of visitors and been blessed with many wonderful meals over the past two weeks as well. We are very appreciative of everyone who has helped out. Nana came to visit again yesterday due to having a doctor's appointment in Nashville. She stayed all night and gave me some extra sleep this morning....which was nice. Adam is planning on feeding Rachel for one overnight feeding tonight too so I can sleep longer, so I'm looking very forward to that!

We are excited about Easter coming up this weekend. Rachel has a couple of cute outfits, so we'll have to post some pics of her in them. Until then, here are some pics from this week. She is really enjoying her new Baby Einstein play mat!

Easter Bunnies

With Easter coming up this week, I think Rachel is well prepared. She has lots of stuffed Easter bunnies that her friends and family have given to her. The bunny in this picture was given to her by her Pa who came to visit yesterday.

She slept for 4 hours last night in between one of her feedings! It's amazing what that extra hour of sleep means for mommy and daddy...it was great! We're hoping this sleeping pattern continues to expand for the nighttime feedings. She also slept in her crib for the first time last night. Previously she's been sleeping in her pack n play in our room. We got the monitors set up they seem to work great!

Our friends from the Upper Room Sunday School class are taking care of our dinners this week. Individuals from the class are bringing us dinner on 4 different nights! We're going to get spoiled. We're excited and blessed by the outpouring support of our church family.

One Week Old

Rachel was one week old yesterday. It's been a while since we last posted but taking care of a newborn is very time consuming (those of you with little ones will understand)! Who knows where the day goes! We're on a three hour schedule right now. She eats every three hours from start to start of feedings, so that really only leaves about two hours in between (as feeding is still somewhat of a stuggle right now)...but it's getting much better day by day thankfully! My mom has been helping out ALOT! She was here last weekend and is back from Wed-Fri this week since Adam went back to work yesterday. Hopefully we'll be a little more self sufficient starting next week when I'll be home with her on my own for the first time. I have found the key is sleeping when she sleeps or taking naps at least a couple of times a day.

She went for her first stroller ride yesterday and loved it! It was an absolutely gorgeous day! Mr. Ed, Mrs. Cindy, and Jana stopped by last night and we enjoyed visiting with them for a while. They brought Rachel a stuffed Easter bunny that is so cute! I've attached pics of her stroller ride and first time in her swing, etc. Enjoy!

We'll try to post more later over the weekend if we get some free time.

Thanks for all the prayers that are continually going up for us. We are so blessed to have such a support group of family and friends.