Hannah Kate -Two Months

Baby girl has grown so much in the past month. While my parents were here, we attempted to take a few pictures for size comparison. I could kick myself for not doing this at one month, but we had literally just brought her home and it just wasn't at the top of my list (working on the mommy guilt).

 Timber!

This month you:

• Survived two eye exams. It is absolute torture for Mama to watch so I stay in the lobby and let Daddy be the strong one. They are monitoring the growth of the blood vessels in your eyes and hopefully they will be over soon!
• You are up to 7 lbs! That may not sound like much but it is more than double your birth weight. The doctor was amazed.
• You are still wearing preemie clothes and diapers.
• You are quite the grunter. It is crazy loud and you even do it in your sleep.
• You have smiled a few times intentionally. Melts my heart every time.
• You have an umbilical hernia. This scared Mama at first but the doctor says it should heal by the time you are two. 
• Pudginess is starting to show up on your little body. Sweet little fat rolls look good on you!
• The playmat is also a favorite. You don't do much on it, but like to look around.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very merry Christmas!

 

 (Her expression cracks me up)

I can't believe it's already Christmas Eve!

Hope Realized

Today I put Hannah Kate in an outfit I bought for her when I was pregnant. During HK's pregnancy my emotions oscillated from panicking about needing to buy things because it proved that I thought she would come home to worrying about having anything for her because they would just be boxed up with Ethan's things anyway. Buying this outfit was a way for me to hope. I had a hard time picturing her in it, but seeing it laying out in the guest bedroom was a reminder that she was coming. I want to remember the feeling I had yesterday when I put it on her. It's still too big but that doesn't matter. She's here. A tangible symbol of hope and His grace to me.

Pictures, pictures, pictures

I have a bad habit. I LOVE to take pictures but I am horrible about printing them! I share them on here and on facebook but it's rare that they make it beyond the internet or the picture folder on my computer. Since the birth of Hannah Kate, I've tried to be more intentional about printing pictures. More than once I was asked to see a picture and I didn't have one printed. I finally decided to try out shutterfly because they had a promotion for 50 free prints. I was impressed at how easy it was to use, and it was nice to have them shipped to the house since we can't take HK out.

After I got them and liked to quality, I looked at the christmas cards and baby announcements. I have been dreaming about sending out cards for awhile and its exciting to be at this point! Now to choose which ones I like the best...

I really like almost all their baby girl announcements, including this one and this one.  I have draft projects saved of a few until I decide. I've also peeked at the first birthday cards they have. Hopefully I can talk her Daddy into them next year :). And if we get our act together I'd love to have a picture taken to use on our Christmas card. This one catches my eye right now, but I'm sure I'll build a few before I decide.

And for you viewing pleasure, I'll leave you with outtakes from our first Christmas picture attempt.

Your welcome. I don't think the dogs will make the cut :)

Turkey day

Our Thanksgiving was quiet but wonderful with Hannah Kate home. It was nice to enjoy Thanksgiving with my Mom and Dad because we haven't celebrated it with family since we got married (I miss that). One of the things I was excited about was putting HK in a holiday outfit since we couldn't do that at the hospital. The only thing I'd found was newborn so it was way too big but it was still cute.

Don't ask me why, but I really wanted a picture of her with the turkey. It's crazy how much bigger than her it is (4 lbs 6 oz compared to 13 lbs), though you can't tell as well because she wrapped in two blankets. Bri deep fried a turkey and it was yummy. My parents have never had one before so it was nice to share a tradition we picked up in Texas.

This was the star of the show though. You can't get sweet tea up here and we make it at home but it just doesn't taste the same. Mom and Dad brought this up and it's a bit ridiculous how excited Brian and I were to drink it. We don't have a Chickfila up here but during football season we see lots of yummy commercials. 

Overall it was a holiday to be thankful for. We even skyped with our family back in Georgia so they could see Hannah Kate. Hopefully next year we will all be together again but until then we're grateful for technology.

She's Home!

This little miracle came home! It has been a whirlwind with the day she would get to leave changing several times (such is life with preemies), but we brought her home the day before Thanksgiving.  We were blessed because my parents were already scheduled to drive up that day and were an immense help. She is so little that even some of her preemie clothes didn't fit. Luckily the outfit Mrs. Pat sent up fit so she got to wear something special home. 

She looks so little in her carseat! She was not a fan, but luckily we don't live to far away. 

Daddy bringing her through the front door. It was really windy so we didn't have time for a photo op. I promise she's under the blanket.

So that's it in a nutshell. Since she has been home she's had two doctor's appointments, a head ultrasound, and her first eye exam. If things go well we won't go back for a few weeks. HK has acid reflux so we spend a lot of time trying to minimize how often she gets sick. But, I'm mastering the art of typing one-handed so I should be able to at least post pictures more often :). Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for our little girl! She has truly thrived so far and we feel blessed.

Psalm 126:3  The Lord has done GREAT things for us and we are filled with joy!