'Tis the Season

So before Christmas rolls around I thought I'd better get some Thanksgiving pictures up.  We've actually had a pretty low key holiday season so far . . . It has been wonderful!  We had a picnic at Grapevine Lake for Nick's family Thanksgiving and a lovely dinner at my parents' house for the Stallings' Thanksgiving.  Since my parents were in Little Rock meeting my sweet niece on Thanksgiving, my older brother came over and hung out with us.  My Aunt Christi and cousin Jay also stopped by.  All in all, it was a really great week with family.  Here's a little sampling of the family fun:

Hannah and her Uncle Nate on Thanksgiving 

 
Our little family at my parents' house.  Notice Hannah's Thanksgiving tutu.  Her shirt says "thankful for Mommy and Daddy."

 

Sweet Hannah's a little spent from all of the holiday fun.

I'm a little behind on my Christmas decorations this year, but at least the tree is up and lit.  That always puts me in the holiday spirit :)  I hope everyone is having a blessed Christmas so far!

Hannah has a new cousin!

Welcome Charlie Jane Monroe Stallings:

She was born to my brother and his wife at 6:15 a.m. on November 24, 2010.  She weighed in at 8 lbs. and measured 21 inches.  I think it took Hannah about a month or more to get those stats :)  She was 6 lbs. 4 oz. and 18.5 inches at birth.  Consequently, she is suspicious of Monroe's stats:

She always looks at me like I'm crazy just like she's doing in this picture.  Smart girl!  I can't wait for her to meet her new cousin.  They're only 3 months apart, so I'm sure they'll be close growing up.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Catch up!

Since I waited until Hannah was three months old to start this blog, I thought I would post some pictures  of her from the last three months to show how she has changed and grown.  Think of it as an evolution in cuteness in semi-chronological order.  


First things first, below are a couple of pictures from Hannah's very first day on earth:

And her first couple of weeks:

Already realizing her daddy's a weirdo -- her face says "help me, Mommy!":

Exactly one month old (I took the same pic of her in her bouncer at 2 months to show how she's grown):

On the beach with Daddy in mid-October:

Two months -- she may be a tiny baby, but she's getting there :)

On top of an observation tower with Mommy in Hot Springs at the end of October:

Happy Halloween!  I couldn't resist the pumpkin tutu outfit, and Nick couldn't resist dressing her as a banana :)

Playing with her Grandma Judy (official name still to be decided) who keeps her on Wednesdays:

To sum it up, yes, she is a smiley, happy baby:

I think I'll keep her!

I had no idea . . .

I had no idea that I would be so excited to wake up on Saturday morning at 7 a.m. because it's been well over 8 hours since I held this beautiful girl and gazed upon this happy little face.  I had no idea Nick and I would enjoy sitting quietly for hours watching her smile and stretch in her sleep.  I had no idea one child would make me look at the world so differently.  People told me things would change once I became a parent, but like a lot of things in life, you have to live it to understand it.  So I decided to start a blog chronicling our many "adventures" as parents.  I use the word "adventures" loosely because well, let's face it, Nick and I have never been known for being terribly exciting people, but we love each other, we love our friends, we love our family, and oh man, we sure love our little girl.  And to me, that's exciting.

Anyways, back to sweet Hannah :)  She was born August 19, 2010 after what some would call a "rough pregnancy" that had me on bedrest for 9 weeks, and in the hospital for four of those.  But luckily, I was never in pain -- she just kept trying to come a little too early (as in I started showing signs of labor around 29 weeks).  After I "failed in home management" (despite the fact I never deviated from my doctor's orders), a high-risk specialist put me in the hospital at the end of June where I stayed for pretty much the entire month of July.  Good times.  But I survived.  And I seriously came to realize just how blessed I am -- my sweet husband stayed with me almost every night and I had family and friends visiting pretty much everyday.  I was seriously floored by how supportive everyone was.  I'll spare you the details of what happened between my discharge and Hannah's birth, but long story short, I was induced (much to my and Nick's surprise) the evening of August 18, and a mere 15 hours later Hannah Leigh was born at 12:42 p.m. on the 19th.  I was heavily medicated and apparently slept through much of my labor.  Ha! 

Since Hannah's birth I have once again been floored by the support of our friends and family.  I am so grateful for the people in my life.  More than anything, though, I am so grateful to God for this amazing child.  I have a new appreciation for my life and life in general because I now realize more than ever that children are little miracles.  I cherish mine and look at other children differently now, too, because I know how much their parents must love them and how precious they are.  I could go on and on about my love for Hannah, but I will close this inaugural post with a line from "In My Daugher's Eyes" by Martina McBride that pretty much sums up what I feel for my little girl:

This miracle God gave to me

gives me strength when I am weak

I find reason to believe

In my daughter's eyes.