Snow Day

I was ecstatic to find out last night that I was out of school today.  Friday morning started out not looking hopeful for snow but then it started picking up around 9 am.  It’s been snowing all day long and it’s beautiful.  I was just glad I didn’t have to go anywhere.  Ben got off work early and worked some from home.  We made some fun pictures outside in the snow.  So far I would say we have about 3 inches of snow.  We haven’t done much in the snow. A baby doesn’t get much fun out of making snow angels or snowball fights.  We’ll have to do that when he gets older.  Here are some cute pics in the snow.  We’re staying warm and toasty inside and enjoying our family day together.

Daddy and Jake

Mommy and baby

baby bear

winter wonderland

chillin' baby

Jacob’s first four months

I was playing with iMovie today and put this together.  I’ll try to keep it up because I love seeing video.  This is from the first 4 months of Jacob’s life.  You can see how much he’s changed.  Click here for Jacob.

4 month old baby

On January 17th, at 10:29 am Jacob turned 4 months old.  We were at church for the occasion this time.  Jacob now goes to the nursery on most Sundays and he usually just eats and sleeps.  He went to the pediatrician Saturday and he is perfectly healthy.  In fact, his lungs are so healthy that he screamed like crazy after his shots.  Poor guy.  He was laughing and cooing and then all of a sudden he was shocked but the pricks.  His face got bright red and he had the “silent” cry for a second until it turned into the deafening cry.  All of you parents know what I mean by that I’m sure.

Height: 25 inches

Weight: 15 lbs 2 oz.

Percentiles are all in the 50th still.  He is growing right at the average right now.  He wears exactly the size that he is.  He is in 3-6 months clothes at the moment.  He’s getting much stronger and is wanting to stand up all the time. (with assistance of course)  We’re going to try and start some rice cereal soon.  He’s still a very hungry boy.  He eats quite a bit.  Now that I’m back to work he stays with LeAnne during the day.  He has been great for her so far.  I’m so blessed to have such a healthy and happy boy.

I was remembering today that it was about a year ago that I found out I was pregnant.  Ben said that I told him on the phone that I had a surprise for him and he just thought to himself, “I hope she didn’t buy anything because we don’t have any money.”  Little did he know, the surprise was the positive test!  How our lives have changed.  We love Jacob and love being parents.

Back to work

On Monday I had the dreaded task of going back to work for the first time since having Jacob.  It was  a little hard to leave my baby but it was so much easier knowing that I had a friend, LeAnne, who I trust completely that was watching him at my own house.  This is such a blessing from God.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much easier it made it for me.  Believe it or not , I didn’t cry at all because I knew he was in good hands.  I had many coworkers asking me if I was handling it ok and I would just say, “I was until you reminded me again.” The hard part wasn’t leaving Jacob, it was having to work again.  I came into a class where the teacher decided to retire early because she was having too much stress and I had to do their report cards first thing.  At first I couldn’t even find grades or the report cards but eventually we found them.  Then I had to find more papers to record grades.  I finally got all of that done only because we were out of school for two days due to snow.

The hardest part of going back to work as a new mommy is “pumping.”  AHHH!  I really do not enjoy this part of mommyhood at all.  In fact I despise it.  I tried to do it for the 3 days I was working but it took 30 minutes which was half of my planning time.  I can’t do that everyday or I’ll never get everything done and I’ll always be behind.  I may be trying to wean off the breastfeeding here soon.  Or at least drop to less feedings.  Jacob is already being fed formula two or three times a day so it’s not like I’m keeping him only on breastmilk.  I shouldn’t feel guilty for this, should I?  Any comments from those moms out there?  I would appreciate the advice.

New years resolutions

Last year I made a new year’s resolution to be more “green”. I bought recycling bags and started taking cardboard, metal, and plastic to my school’s recycling bin. I was pretty good about doing it but on occasion I would get lazy and just throw the items away. If we had a pickup service it would be much easier to recycle. They offered recycling service to our area just last month but it costs $10 a month which isn’t worth it to me. Another way I went “green” was by using a reusable water bottle instead of buying plastic water bottles. I bought a Brita pitcher and a Camelbak bottle with the message Reuse Recycle. I think I did well with last years resolution.
Now for 2010’s resolution. Ben mentioned watching less TV which I totally could go for. we want to limit ourselves to one show a day. I want to resolve to be a “hot” mom. Let me explain. Its very easy for new moms to slip into dressing like they just got out if bed and letting themselves go. when you are constantly being spit up on by your child, I understand not wanting to wear nice clothes. I believe that the way you dress/look makes you feel a certain way about yourself and gives off to others a message of “I don’t care about me or the way I look.” I always feel better about myself when I get dressed up and I normally have better days too. So I am going to be a “hot” mama for 2010 although I don’t have much to work with. As an acoountability to this you can tell me,”bre, you are really letting yourself go these days.” And if you have the guts to tell me this, then you may need to resolve to be less blunt this year!

Jacob’s first Christmas

Christmas 2009 was Jacob’s first Christmas. We had a very busy but fun time.  I went down to Huntsville with Jacob on the Monday before Christmas and Ben came down with Sadie on Tuesday night.  I spent a lot of time with family and friends.  We had Christmas eve and morning with my Mom, Brad, Atley, and Andrew.  Then we packed everything up and spent the rest of the day with my Dad, Selwyn, and Andrew.  Jacob got a lot of presents that he was oblivious to.  We left Huntsville on Saturday to only get ready for the third and final Christmas.  On Sunday, Ben’s family came to Nashville and we had Christmas at our house Monday morning.  We enjoyed a lazy morning with Hilda, Tom, Hilary, Chris, and Harrison opening gifts and eating breakfast.  We had a great time altogether.  It was the first time I got to host Christmas at my house too.  We are truly blessed to be a part of such wonderful families.  Pictures tell more than words sometimes so here is a slideshow of our Christmas.  I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy new year.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

He’s 3 months!

On Thursday, December 17th at 10:29 am Jacob turned 3 months old. Yes, we have all survived 3 months!  Being a new parent it’s almost a victory to get to this point.  Ben and I have had to learn from trial and error.  I think we’ve made it just fine so far.  Jacob has come a long way and is getting easier everyday.  We don’t go back to the pediatrician until 4 months so I’m not positive of what he weighs right now although I would guess around 13-14 lbs.  He’s almost 24 inches long.  I think his head has gotten much larger too because many clothes are hard to get over his head. Note to self: never buy shirts unless they have buttons or snaps at head hole.  Here are some of Jacob’s new accomplishments:

Jacob laughed for a long period of time when I bounced him on my knee.

Jacob slept through the night from 10 pm-7 am on 12/8/09.  Since then he sleeps at least 6 hours at a time which is wonderful for me!  I am much more rested these days.

Jacob rolled over on 12/16/09.  He was on his back playing with some toys while I washed dishes and Ben was on the computer.  He started fussing so I went to see what was wrong and he had flipped to his stomach.  What a big boy!

Jacob is much more stable with his upper body and likes to sit up much more.  He also likes to stand and bounce with his legs.

Jacob can grip some small toys but not for a long period of time.  He’s not quite sure how the hands work although he knows how to get them in his mouth.

Jacob isn’t a lover of pacifiers but loves his thumb and index finger to suck on.

That’s about all I can think of.  Jacob makes us smile and laugh everyday.  He is our best Christmas gift ever.  It’s exciting that he is 3 months old but that only reminds me that I will be returning to work soon.  I will start back to work on January 4th.  Please pray for me that I can deal with being away from him and deal with the added stress of school.

on tummy, lifting head

Go Wildcats!

gripping his rattle

big head

big boy

4 years today, I was…

…walking down the aisle to marry the man of my dreams, Ben Wilkins.  It was a great day to reminisce about to myself.  I think fondly of that day at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN.  It was a gorgeous venue with friends and family on a Sunday afternoon.  I remember how calm and relieved I was that this day had finally come.  I couldn’t have been more cool as a cucumber.  I wasn’t a bridezilla like some are.  I loved the way I looked and I loved how everything went.  I loved that my dad did my ceremony and walked me down the aisle.  Everything seemed to be perfect and did I mention that I married the most wonderful man there is?  Well, I did.  Today our lives are much different since we have a baby boy in our lives but I still love you even more today, honey.  You are a wonderful husband and a great dad.  To many more years together through the good times and the bad.  I love you, Ben!

He sleeps!

Last night, December 8th, Jacob slept through the night for the first time. We put him to bed at 10pm and he didn’t wake up until 7 am. What a good boy!

Now I have to learn to sleep through the night again. I woke up twice to check in on him sleeping just to make sure he was ok.

There’s no telling if this will be a new trend in his sleep but man I hope so! It was so nice not to have to get up. It will be especially nice when I start back to working in January.

Jacob’s first fall

Make a Smilebox slideshow