Nic, Matty, and Blakely: Southern Plantation Living

Saturday, September 14, 2013

School, appointments, meetings, and stuff.

School started back for our family. Everything's going well so far. I feel organized and am able to leave as soon as school is out each day. However, I never want to go back to work after a weekend. I have a feeling it will be an ongoing struggle for me.

Molly Caroline started daycare at Mrs. Pam's. We are loving it. She has little friends, and is spoiled. I'm not even going to post my first day pics because they are awful. I was a wreck. I was a mess all week. I stay so busy teaching so that's a plus, but every time Mrs. Pam sent me a picture of what she was doing I would cry all over again. I just miss her so much every day.

Here she is on her first day!

Aren't her and her sweet friends bags adorable?

We have been so busy the past month with our new routine and have had meetings and appointments too. I had another checkup with my Dr. on Wednesday. We took Molly Caroline so Dr. McCollum could love on her. I had a great, long appointment. We had so much to catch up on! Afterwards we ate brunch at Savannah Moon before I went back to work. It was such a great family morning. I definitely cherish the small moments together!

We took MC to her 2 month appointment back in mid-August. Shes a healthy baby! She weighed 12 pounds and was 22 inches long. We love several of the pediatricians at the ped center. Dr. Lehman said that Molly Caroline is one of the most social 2 month olds that she has ever seen. She also commented on how strong she is. Molly Caroline kicked and smiled throughout her appointment. It broke my heart when she got her shots. She cried so hard. I couldn't give her her paci after so I had to carry her out screaming. I heard someone call my name as I was leaving and realized it was Kacey, our labor and delivery nurse! I hadn't seen her since MC's birthday and it lifted my spirits to get to chat with her and show her how well our baby girl is doing. As soon as we got to the car, I gave MC her prize. A new raccoon. I set it in her lap and she instantly stopped crying and fell right to sleep. It was hard dropping her off at daycare so I could go back to work. She actually was all smiles when we picked her up. She was a little more sleepy though and woke up fussing around midnight...which she never does anymore. I fed her and gave her more Tylenol and she was fine. I'm thankful because shots scare me.

Molly Caroline had a urinary tract infection right before Labor Day weekend. We were in the ER from 9:30pm to 5:30am and it was terrible. She is cursed with her Mama's veins I think and they stuck her about 15 times. Her white blood cell count was really high so they were pretty close to admitting us. We were thankful for such great ER nursers, and also grateful that we knew the ER doctor and he ran every test imaginable....just to be sure. He really thought it was probably just a cold because she looked so good. One of our favorite nurses from Mother/Baby even came down to help with our sick girl! I am in love with our hospital and the nurses there. I never thought I'd say that.

So we had several unexpected visits with one of our amazing pediatricians over the next few days following her hospital visit. She had to get shots of antibiotics each time. We were so happy to hear the words that she was all better! Seeing your baby sick is the saddest thing ever! It was so hard!

I also became a Pinterest mom!

So in other random news...

I got my new planner in the mail. I decided to downsize this year and get a smaller and much less expensive version that I normally get. I love it...it is perfect for what I need!! And I feel organized again.

Matt got a new car! He got a Passat and we like it a lot!! It is safe, roomy, gets great gas mileage, has rear air, and all the bells and whistles. :)

Here's to more blogging in the near future.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

3 months old!

Molly Caroline turned 3 months old on September 4th!

She is so strong! She holds her head up very well!

She kicks her legs non-stop!

She smiles constantly too!

Molly Caroline laughed for the first time! It was the sweetest sound ever!!

She celebrated her first blue and gold Friday. Go jackets!

She listened to the best of the nest!!

We had several appointments this month due to her having a UTI and spent an entire night/early morning in the ER.

She went to the beach for the first time and loved St. Simons!

She napped in her crib for the first time too.

Molly Caroline is such a happy baby! She is sweet, smiley, and content most of the time. She is very scheduled... but can go with the flow too!! Mrs. Pam says we are lucky. We realize how blessed we are and are cherishing every second. It is going by so fast. She is changing like crazy and growing up before our eyes! Happy 3 month birthday baby girl! We love you more than anything!!!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

2 month favorites!

We still love our swaddle blankets. We use them as burpcloths and bibs too. We actually like the ones that are muslin better than bamboo for swaddling purposes. They stay better, and she can't break out of them...and our girl is STRONG.

Our snugabunny bouncer. She can see out which she loves, but it's cuddly and soft so she feels like she's being held I think. We keep it near the kitchen most of the time and it is where she sits while we eat. We've also started taking it outside a good bit.

Pampers swaddlers. We've tried lots of diapers thanks to all the ones that we were giftged and these are still the ones we like the best.

Rainforest melodies and lights deluxe activity mat/gym. She kicks her legs in time with the music. She loves the lights too. I love teaching her about colors, animals, counting, and textures while she hangs out on it. :)

Although the Blooming bath is my favorite, her fold up summer infant deluxe bathtub is mighty convenient. Perfect for travel because it folds up, and perfect for our small bathroom because we can easily store it under the sink.

We still love most everything from our 1 month favorites post as well.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

2 months!

Our sweet summer baby turned 2 months old on August 4th! This was the day before she started daycare at Mrs. Pam's house and the day before my first day of school. We also attended the first ever Encounter service at our church on this day!! Lots of exciting things happening around her 2 month birthday!

Molly Caroline starting smiling this month. She smiles all the time. She scrunches up her little nose and just grins! Sometimes she opens her mouth really wide too...which is adorable. Her eyes light up before she smiles...melts my heart!!!

She makes the sweetest sounds. When she smiles sometimes she has a little laugh that just brings joy to our souls!!

She loves to sit up. She really likes her bumbo seat.

She kicks her legs ALL the time. It looks like she is riding a bike....most of the day. So cute!!

I don't know where she gets them from, but Molly Caroline has the longest eye lashes ever!

Molly Caroline loves to ride in the car and actually went to Dublin for the first time this month. She slept almost the entire 3 hour trip both ways. When she wasn't sleeping, she was just wide eyed and content. Blakely sat crammed in next to her. :)

We took her to church for the first time this month and she stayed in the nursery. She did great! I am thankful that they love her. She will grow up here! :)

She met some of my college friends babies. She also met our new next door neighbor, Gary. He was born in the middle of July. They are going to be good friends!!

She LOVES music. And smiles to any song. Her favorites are the wheels on the bus...especially the swish, swish, swish part. :) And be still my heart...she loves For Your Splendor by Christy Nockels.

Bath time is one of her favorite times of the day. She loves sitting in her bathtub. We put warm washcloths over her body and she is so relaxed. We splash and play with her rubber ducky a little bit too.

She still loves her nursery...her changing pad, glider, and crib. We have precious memories in her room already.

Our nightly routine consists of a bath, then we sit in her glider and I feed her and we listen to worship music. Then I read to her...some of our current favorites are You are my Cupcake, Goodnight Moon, and Pajama Time. She usually falls asleep when I'm reading. :) Then we swaddle her and put her in her sleeper. She always wakes up and lays there wide eyed for a little while, then puts herself to sleep. She likes her paci most nights when going to sleep.

Molly Caroline sleeps from 9pm to 5am. She is a great sleeper. She still sleeps next to our bed. :)

She loves her bouncer, her swing, her rock n play, and the boppy. She is pretty conent wherever we have her. So far there isn't a baby item that I wish we wouldn't have purchased. We never use her pack n play however...but I'm sure we eventually will.

Molly Caroline loves footed pj's after bath time.

Loud noises don't bother her at all and she can sleep through almost anything.

She loves her bottles. We still use Dr. Brown's or Playtex Ventaire. Love both! Nuk paci's are still her top choice!

We are so blessed by our baby girl! She is such a treasure and we are cherishing every single second with her. Even though our lives have obviously changed, everything still feels the same. I think that's a great thing!! We want tume to stand still but llove watching her grow and reach new milestones. We never get tired of looking at our little miracle. Sometimes when she lays on my chest I feel like my heart will burst. Thank you, Lord. We are so grateful.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Christmas in July and August!

I'm not ready for Christmas...YET! But I get so excited thinking about Molly Caroline's first Christmas. Thomasville has so many neat traditions that I can't wait to start doing with her this year. The festivities will kick off with the annual parade downtown, going to look at the Flower's Christmas lights, South GA Ballet's nutcracker, The Troupe Show, Winter Family Fun Day/ Breakfast with Santa at my school, seeing Santa at Pebble Hill Plantation, maybe a Santa Breakfast at the Center for the Arts, of course Victorian Christmas, Carols by Candlelight at our church, and Mrs. Pam's big Christmas Party!!!

That being said, a few weeks ago I ordered Molly Caroline some Christmas PJ's from that group that finds amazing buys....the same one where I ordered her the bows. They are precious! My friend Jen wondered where I got them and decided to order Karlynn some matching ones. The funny thing is that we were conversing about the pjs in the middle of the night when we were up feeding our baby girls. :) We were both just giddy with excitement over the great deal and the thought of the girls wearing them. And it was July, y'all! Haha!

Then this week I was invited to a Travelin' Trunk show. I decided to check the clothes out. The fall line is precious and I got MC two little outfits for, you guessed it, Christmas. Well one can also be worn for Valentine's too...if it still fits her.

Can't wait!!!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Summer vacation comes to an end....and new things begin!

Our summer vacation flew by. I can't believe that I had a baby at the beginning of the summer and that she will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. 8 weeks ago at exactly this time I was sitting in room 339 on the third floor in Archbold....anticipating the labor and delivery of my precious baby girl. Wondering how our lives would change. It seems like yesterday, but it also seems like I've had her forever.

It is weird that last summer I went back to work not knowing that it was the year I'd become pregnant. I hoped it would be though! And now I am going back to work this year as a mom. I left school in May just being a wife and teacher, and now I'm a mother too. It blows my mind! I'm overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness.

My mom and dad are keeping Molly Caroline this week, so I'm grateful for that...I'm just going to miss her so much! You bet I'll be coming home for lunch though. It's going to be a busy week though...meetings, orientation, open house....and balancing my first week as a working mother!

Tonight kicked off my JSL year. I went to my first meeting as a member of the executive board. It was fun and I love being a part of such an outstanding organization. Here is the 2013-2014 board! This was taken in April at our last meeting of the year....crazy that Molly Caroline wasn't born and I wasn't on bed rest here. I love the ladies that make up our board this year!

And just like that a new school year begins, a new league year begins, we will start attending a new service at our church on Sunday, and I begin a new season of motherhood. That's a whole lot of new! I'm going to have to be really, really organized and balance my time extrememly well. I'm excited though!

Psalm 32:8
The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you."

Psalm 119:35 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Season fun and the Fourth!

Going way back to the 4th of July....yes I'm that behind on blogging. But I'm doing good now with 3 posts in one day. :)

We had a fun 4th of July Week. Nanny Beth came to visit! She spoiled Molly Caroline with treats and cooked supper for us too! We ate at a brand new Texas Roadhouse in Tallahassee and took Molly Caroline to Target for the first time.

Our college friend, Stacy, lives in Cairo and she came over to visit one night.

Jennifer and Karlynn came over one day too and we took the girls shopping downtown.

The fourth of July was rainy, so we didn't get to go swimming like we planned. However we ate a yummy meal at Jenn's house in Valdosta and watched the Wild Adventures fireworks from her church parking lot.