Our First Grocery Shopping Trip

 We finally REALLY got out of the house today! :) Well, last night we visited "Papaw" (my dad) at a health expo he was working at (and he LOVED it... he walked around showing Tayler off, haha!) But today, we actually went to Gigi's work (my mom), Burger King, and Walmart to grocery shop! And Tayler loved it... (well, minus the whole throwing up in the car part...) She had a snotty nose this morning and I sucked some things out, but she gagged in the car (I think because I broke some of that icky-ness up) and then threw up because of it :( I felt terrible, poor thing. But she doesn't have a fever or anything! So, goodness knows! She LOVES car rides and she LOVED grocery shopping. By LOVED I mean she slept most of the time (until it was feeding time.. and believe me, her lungs will let you know that it's time to eat, haha!) Fortunately, I'd warmed up a bottle prior to going in the store (thanks to the amazing invetion of a car bottle warmer!) And so she enjoyed a bottle while we browsed the aisles. Here's a shot of her first grocery shopping trip: 

We finally got groceries so this momma can cook some dinners this week!

I'm nervous-- Monday will be the first day since Tayler was born where I'm doing this whole "Mom" thing all on my own! I've had Ethan here one week and my mom was here this week... so Monday will be an entire day of just Tayler and me! Today, I managed to clean the whole house during her first nap, so lets cross our fingers that our other days go just as smoothly, hehe! Either way, I know how much I love spending time with my sweet baby girl, so we should have a lot of fun in our upcoming weeks :)

And let me just say how wrong I was about American Idol last night! Okay, so I predicted 2/3 right in the bottom 3, but the person I didn't pick got eliminated. I really liked Paul too, dang it!

 

Happy Nappy and a Walk (2 Weeks Old Today!)

After Tayler's doctor's appointment yesterday, she was pretty worn out (and so was her momma!) So, we cuddled up on the couch and took a nap. And Gigi must have thought we were sleeping rather cute-ly because she took our picture :) 

 She sleeps like such an adult hehe :) Isn't it precious? 

We were laughing hysterically over that sleeping position, hehe! :) I just LOVE our cuddle times! I cannot imagine not having this little girl in my life.

Oh and check out this sleeping position. Whereever her hands land when she stretches... are where they stay, haha!

And she had nap time today with mommy too and she just kept smiling! I don't know what the angels were talking to her about, but it must have been pretty funny, hehe!

And we took a walk today! It wasn't her first walk. We went on a walk one day last week with Carrie, Matt, and Jaylee, but today we went for a walk with Gigi! We had so much fun! Tayler LOVES walks and car rides!!

We walked up to the local ice cream shop and got some sandwiches and milkshakes! It was GORGEOUS out today!

Here's what Tayler sported for the lovely spring day (she's 2 weeks old today!!)

We had a great day today! I love being a mommy!

 

American Idol Recap

Last night was a pretty great night on American Idol. I have to say I was pretty impressed with EVERY contestant (which has rarely happened this season.) Yes, even Stefano impressed me and I really don't like his style of singing. (His voice impressed me, not his outfit, haha.... oh... neither did Paul's!)  

 But anyways... Who is safe and who is going home?? Scotty- Of course he's safe! Have you heard that voice? My oh my. And I'm sure every 13-16 year old female in the United States calls about a billion times for him!  Casey- Now, I thought he tore it up last night (as did the judges) HOWEVER, it might hurt him that the producer made the statement that Casey did not take their advice and did his own thing.... but personally, I still think he's safe! Lauren- Beautiful, beautiful song! She did amazing. She's safe. James- Safe. Seriously, is there any doubt from anyone out there about this man? Paul- I think there's something about him that America loves (but it's not his wardrobe!)  Bottom 3- Haley- She's good, but she's been in the bottom 3 so frequently that I think she's undeniably going to be there again. Stefano- It's just about time for him to go home, you know? I know, I'm terrible! Jacob- I think we've seen all we can see from him.  Going home? Stefano. Please?  

2-Week Well Baby Check Up

Tayler will be 2 weeks old tomorrow, April 14th at 2:22AM. I know I keep saying this, but seriously-- time flies. I can't believe how quickly 2 weeks has flown by. It's so bittersweet. I love seeing her milestones and witnessing all of the amazing things she is doing, but boy oh boy, does she HAVE to grow up?  So, today we had our 2 week well baby check up. Of course, since it was our first official doctor's appointment for Tayler, I had to fill out tonsssssssssssssss of paper work. And let me tell you-- it's difficult to switch over your mind-set from that of a patient to that of the mommy of a patient. For 39 weeks, I was filling out things about me-- my name, my birthday, how I'm feeling, etc. Today, I started doing the same thing on her paper work til it hit me. "Alyssa- DUH! The patient's name is TAYLER." *smacks head* So, I had to go through and edit a few things (including the box where I checked 'drinks caffiene at least 1x a week...' I'm pretty sure I'd be locked up if Tayler were doing that already, haha!)  Tayler was a little fussy during her appointment, but I'm pretty sure she had an upset tummy :( Made this mommy sad. Tayler rarely cries and she was just so upset and 'stinkering' rather frequently. But once she got a few burpies and stinkers out of the way, she seemed to be doing MUCH better. They weighed her and guess what? She was 6lbs 3oz at birth.
She was 5lbs 12oz when she left the hospital. And she now weights a whopping 6lbs 13oz. They were impressed. She's gained 1lb 1oz since she left the hospital on April 3rd, 2011. That's my big girl! Here she is getting ready to leave for the doctor: 

And here she is on mommy's lap at the doctor:

One thing is for sure: The girl does not like not having clothes on! She pitched a fit when we had to strip her down to her diaper, haha! :) And she hated that darn scale! Too cold!

She's still only 20" long, but can you believe how much weight she's gained? The doctor also said he was impressed with how her jaundice has 'cleared up.' Even the whites of her eyes are better! We are so happy-- Gigi thinks the time in the sun Sunday really helped out! I think so too! :)

We don't have another appintment for 6 more weeks... then it's shot time. We're not happy about that, but we know we gotta do what we gotta do, right?

 

Our First Tummy Time!

The gift of motherhood is a 'good and perfect' gift from the Lord. Unwrap it and you will discover a depth of love and commitment surpassed only by the cross. [Blessings for Mothers devotional book]
We had a home health visit yesterday and the RN told us that it would be good to start Tayler on some tummy time. (Where you take a blanket, lay it on the ground, put her on her tummy, and allow her to move her neck around and what not...) I didn't know how early to start this, so I was thankful she told us it was okay!! :) So last night (April 12th, 2011) was the first time we tried it... she didn't really enjoy it at first haha! She pitched a little fit, but once she realized she had a little bit of independence and was able to move her head back and forth... she LOVED it :) We did it for about 10 minutes and OF COURSE, I took pictures! I love documenting all of her little milestones... sue me, haha! 

Tayler's daddy was so proud! :)

And here she was getting ready to lift up her head:

 AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 

She did tummy time for a good 10 minutes and loved it! :) I can't wait to see her keep growing and learning how to use her hands, feet, legs, head, etc. I am so proud of her already! She had the little booty in the air.... I swear if her arms and neck were a little stronger, she'd be ready to crawl, haha!

Tummy time wore her out though, so she cuddled up next to mommy in her boppy pillow and watched a movie :)

A Week With Gigi

 My mom came to visit Monday morning and is planning on spending the week :) We were SO excited to see her! She's here helping me get into a routine, helping with some cooking and house cleaning, and just getting me prepared for life without help during the day. (I know, that probably doesn't make sense... here helping me get prepared for some one not being here? LOL) But I appreciate it so much!  Anyways... what have I learned since Gigi has been here? 

I have a light above the stove! Who would have guessed? I've lived here for almost 7 months and didn't know that all I needed to purchase was a light bulb and I'd be able to see while cooking! Amazing what you find out when someone else is here, haha! :)

Gigi has been here cooking for us (which we love... she cooked my favorite-- sweet and sour chicken! yummy!) and she's been spending LOTS of time with Tayler! (The main reason she's visiting, I'm sure ;)) Here's a snap shot of her and Tayler having some singing/playing time:

 But when Gigi is here... she wears us out! We are ready for bed at about 8PM.... see..... 

She wasn't even out of her clothes yet! LOL Bless her heart, haha!

Our Daddy's Birthday!

 Today is Ethan's birthday. That's right folks-- let him know he's loved, hehe! He turned 21 years old today... such an old man... and I decided to plan a little something for him. It wasn't really anything big, but I was super excited! It's hilarious because when I first met him, he was a complete party guy. Now? He is SUCH a family man :) I planned.... with a little help from my family because, well, I've been house-bound for a week or so, haha.. a picnic for my sweetheart. We had these amazing turkey sandwiches on croissants, chips, veggies and dip, and my mom's AMAZING ho-ho cake. (It's Ethan's favorite!) This is the first day the weather has been over 75 degrees (it was 81)... and we were soaking every single bit of it up!  And of course, our day wouldn't be complete if I didn't take pictures! I'm back in to the groove of this thing, haha! :) I told y'all I'd get the hang of it eventually :) 

Our set-up ^ Pretty awesome huh? hehe! It was so relaxing!! [From left to right, we had lunch with my brother, dad, the birthday boy, mom, and Marie.. of course Tayler was there, but she was being held at the moment, hehe!]

And there's the birthday boy! :) We love you, Ethan!

Tayler was basking in the beautiful weather! It was our first day out of this house (other than trips to the doctor!) We were SO excited! And doesn't she look just adorable?? :) I had the jacket on her because of the breeze, but this is what she was wearing under it!

I have the cutest daughter... EVER! I know, I know... Alyssa, there are tons of little girls out there, but seriously! haha! :) I'm biased. I can't help it :) Her Gigi bought her that and we HAD to wear it today :)

It was a gorgeous day and I'm so happy we got to spend time with family!

Prepare yourself for tons of update this week because my mom is coming to stay!! :)

Preggo Pals

You all remember how I had 2 preggo pals? If not, I'll show you a picture real quick of them! 

This was taken about 2 months ago. And guess what?

We ALL finally have our babies!! And they all met last night :)

 There they are :) FINALLY. Bentley was born March 1st (yep, that's right-- he started off the month.) He's about 10 pounds now and has such a personality already haha! We watched him pitch a fit last night because he had to burp and we saw a deadly diaper blow out, haha! :) Jaylee was born March 15th (yep--- right smack dab in the middle of the month!) She's between 7 and 8 pounds and is a sleeper! lol We were joking last night that I've never seen her awake, haha! And our sweet Tayler was born March 31st (yep-- she ended the month!) She's 6 pounds 6 ounces and is the little one of the group :) She has such a personality already! We are all so thankful that our babies are finally here!!