Why is everyone looking at me??....

Ok... I admit...I couldn't resist. Charlie was in town because Scott and Marcia had a wedding this weekend. I asked them to bring his Halloween costume so we could take pictures for Kay and Charlie's great grandma's birthday (she has a birthday on Halloween). We drew a pretty big crowd to the booth we used at the Farmers Market. Everyone kept saying " we want to see the cute little kids in their costumes". It was very entertaining and really hard to get both kids to sit still and look at the camera! Charlie kept looking at Kay and saying "baby". Kay just looked around probably thinking to herself "what are they doing to me!" A big thank you from Kay to her cousin Charlie for letting her borrow his outfit from last year!

Our Little Helper...

We have had a big week! My brother has been in the hospital with a blood clots in his shoulder and lungs. We are so thankful that he is now home and feeling much better.

We have purchased a new car (well, new to us). It took several over hour drives this week to look at it, test drive it, and then bring it home. We are ready to sell/donate the mobile and enjoy our new "family car" as our neighbor put it! Again, Kay was a trooper during the long car rides and behaved great. Kay hung out/napped with us outside while we cleaned all of the cars and got the mobile ready to sell.



Kay also had her first two days at daycare this week. The ladies said she slept and ate great. The noise from the other children did not seem to bother her. I have been working hard trying to make a lot of noise at home while she is sleeping to try to make the transition easier. I hope it continues!

Of course with her first two days of daycare comes her first cold. We were supposed to go to the mountains and visit with our friends at a camp where they work. We decided not to make the drive because it was her first cold and we thought we should be close to the doctor just in case. Plus, we were also not looking forward to a long drive with a baby that was uncomfortable. We will have to wait until spring for the trip next time. Here is a picture of Kay helping me with laundry trying to pack for the trip we didn't take.



Kay seems to be making a fast recovery. Kay went with us for a country breakfast at our church's fall festival. She also attended church for the first time. With the loud music it took her awhile to fall asleep, but she did and slept peacefully the entire service.

We have been taking a lot of walks in our neighborhood and to the grocery store. She really seems to be enjoying it.

Kay has also found her thumb. When I pulled it out she was sucking so hard it was bright red! We will see if she continues this habit..

3 Months Old...

Kay is three months old now. It is hard to believe. Time has flown by. We are still waiting for the day when she gives me more than a couple hours of sleep at night :)

Kay is great at giving us adorable smiles now. They are hard to catch on camera. My friend caught one of her smiling at Craig. It is a little blurry, but at least you can see her big smile!


Kay is also really starting to watch and observe. Kay was really fascinated by her aunt Robin.


Kay is about to outgrow the swaddling. I find her kicked out of it after most naps. It makes me a little sad because I love wrapping her up like a burrito all nice and cozy!


Here is a three month picture with her teddy bears. She is getting harder to sit still and get a picture. She always has a hand or foot moving. She is wearing one of my dresses from when I was a baby.


I took this picture to thank the ladies who quilted her NICU quilt. As I put Kay on the blanket I couldn't believe how much bigger she has gotten. It brought back a lot of memories from earlier this summer. I am so thankful she continues to grow and is so healthy. It reminded me once again how thankful we were for everyone's thoughts and prayers as we left our baby girl in the hands of the NICU staff. What a life changing experience for us!


Kay was able to meet her Pops last week. I think she enjoyed the snuggle as much as he did!


A funny story...I learned a valuable "motherhood" lesson yesterday. Mom and I both needed to go to the mall to run some errands. We took Kay to the mall where there was no covered area not thinking much of it. Of course, it started to POUR down rain right when she was starting to loose it and need to head home. I am sure anyone watching us was laughing uncontrollably as we tried to get the stroller in the car, get her in without getting wet and then get ourselves in. By the end of it, mom was so soaked her hair was plastered to her head and her outfit was so wet she left a wet print on the coach. While I was loading Kay in the car I had to stand in a huge puddle where my jeans must have soaked up the entire puddle because they would hardly stay up they were so wet by the end of it. So, for all you new mom's out there... stay inside when it is raining unless there is a covered area!! Why don't malls think of that?? We even commented when we first got the mall about how quiet it was, no one was out shopping. I guess they all were the smart ones!

Other Pictures...

Kay is starting to enjoy bath time more as she gets more used to it.


All tired out after her first football game. She cheered hard, but we still lost!


Grandma and Grandpa take the grandchildren on a walk around the lake.


Here are some more Labor Day Pictures...

A picture of our room or "closet". Believe it or not, this is a room on the side of the hall that actually has the larger rooms.


Kay is wearing a sweater that was hand knitted by one of Craig's family friends


Kay took naps under the table where she would be close by and we could keep an eye on her.


Kay is really starting to smile and do a little laugh at us now. We are loving trying to figure out what will make her react. She is really making her daddy's heart melt! She is starting to reach for toys that hang above her head. She hasn't fully figured out that when she flings her hand and hits the toy it is her that is controlling it. She continues to be a snuggle bug and really enjoys being held. I wonder how long that will last before she just wants to be on the move!

In loving memory...

Craig's Grandmother Laura Ellen (Kay's Great Grandmother who she was named after) passed away Saturday September 12th. We just returned from Kay's second road trip where we attended her visitation and funeral. We feel so fortunate that Kay was able to make the trip just five days before she passed away to meet her Great Grandmother. Grandmother was able to meet all five of her great-grandchildren (what a blessing!).

Craig and I were discussing during the trip some of our favorite memories of Grandmother. When we would ask how she was doing she would respond with "...I'm just plugging along..." (with the cutest heavy southern accent that no one in my family would ever be able to imitate!) If she ever talked to Craig and I was not able to be on the phone she would tell Craig "...send my love to Emily..." (again, with a wonderful heavy southern accent). She was so concerned about making everyone happy, comfortable, and knowing they were loved. The best was bending down to give her a big hug when we arrived. She truly was little lady full of love (she was just under five feet tall!) We love you Grandmother!

Kay did great on the three hour drive and during all the services. She slept at all the appropriate times. By late afternoon/evening each day she was wound up and incredibly fussy. We were just thankful that she behaved when she needed to. It is amazing how much joy a little baby can bring a retirement home. During the visitation for Grandmother all the grandmothers/great-grandmothers/grandfathers all wanted to peak in at the baby (I was wearing her in a sling). They all had love and well-wishes for Kay!

Kay's first road trip...

Kay took her first road trip to Spruce Pine over labor day weekend. Every year we rent out the "bunk house" and visit with family friends. On Saturday the guys went fishing while the ladies walked around downtown Spruce Pine. Overall it was a very relaxing weekend.



Kay did a great job the entire weekend. Because Kay is still not on any kind of organized sleep schedule it makes traveling easy. We however, are very tired. Craig and I joke that the beds there are so terrible we would be more comfortable pitching a tent. To give you an idea of what the "bunk house" is like... think of camp. There is a big building with an industrial kitchen. There are 16 rooms or "closets" that are only large enough for a bunk bed. One end of the hallway has a men's bathroom and the other a women's. You have to remember your room number or you might walk into someone else's room because they are all the same.

On the way home we decided to stop by and see Craig's grandmother. This was the first weekend we felt comfortable traveling with Kay and we wanted to make sure she got to meet her. Kay slept the entire time in the car despite the extra hours we added going to see Grandmother. Kay did not sleep much last night. I think it might have been the fact that she slept ALL day in the car on Monday.



I will post more pictures of the weekend when I get them from others on the trip...

Happy Kay is back...

Well, a week later after her shots and Kay is finally starting to act herself again. All last week and the early part of this week she was super fussy. She did not want to be put down and cried as if she was still hurting. I read on some of the vaccines and one said rarely the symptoms can last up to 7 days (usually after the later doses). I guess we were lucky enough to have the side effects on the first dosage. I just hope it doesn't get worse with more doses.

Kay had her first trip to Goodberry's. She went with her friend James who will be arriving in November. The man behind the counter asked if it was the first trip to Goodberry's. I told him it was her first "official" trip because she sampled it a lot while she was inside me :) Craig then promptly told the story about how he was such a nice husband and stood in the freezing cold weather late at night in January to get us Goodberry's to "share" which I promptly ate all of! Such a nice dad to take care of his laddies...



Kay has officially moved out of the bedroom! Although, I must admit, she did not make it far. She spent some time in the hallway right outside of our bedroom door and has now made it to the living room. I have been putting her some in her crib for naps. I am having a hard time wanting to move her to her nursery because it will mean walking up stairs when she wakes. It just does not sound fun to do that every two hours in the middle of the night. Maybe when she spreads out her feeds I will have more motivation. She still fits in her bassinet. She is starting to hit the sides when she spreads out her arms so that will probably be retired to the attic soon. I took this picture of Kay when she was napping the other day. I am not sure how that can be comfortable...