Look How Far We've Come

5/25/2011 - Today would have been mine and Stephen's 7-year anniversay, prior to our marriage of course.  I can't believe it's been so long.  We've been through a lot, good and bad, and somehow have survived it all and become stronger and closer.  I am so thankful that we found each other.  We have a new anniversary date now, but I still like to remember this one... it was our first after all  :).  Who would have thought we would come so far? 

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Wedding

Honeymoon

Our Daughter

What a week!

This week has been super crazy.  Brianna has been a great little baby, and for the most part, her schedule has been pretty routine.  I can usually manage to squeeze in a nap during the day, eat lunch, and get a shower lol.  However, I'm still working on a cleaning schedule.  It seems like I just can't get it all done!  My main focus over the weekend is to get my closet/bedroom completely organized.  It has been driving me mad since some things have piled up while I was in the hospital.  I have already gone through my clothes once and given a lot to family and donated a ton of pieces to Goodwill.  BUT I gave it another onceover... turns out I hate everything in my closet!  I'm not sure it is due to this post-pregnancy body or because I am watching entirely too much of 'What Not to Wear' while on my maternity leave.  Either way, I see some sort of shopping spree in the future.  At this point, I don't even have anything to wear to my mom's boss's Memorial Day party next weekend.  So I have to find something I am happy with soon! 

On Wednesday I received an urgent message from the pediatrician that Brianna needed to be put on soy formula immediately.  I freaked out.  She's been eating only breastmilk since leaving the hospital.  Turns out, she passed her first newborn screening for galactosemia and failed the second one.  However,  because she is healthy and growing, she for sure does not have the rare and dangerous form of the disease.  The concern is that maybe she is digesting milk but having some issues.  However, after speaking with someone from the TX Health Department (they handle the test results), they have a lot of false positives during the summer because the test is affected by heat and humidity.  Given that this is Texas, how is any test ever supposed to be accurate LOL!  A/w, the lady I talked to was really nice and eased my concerns.  She said most likely everything is fine, especially since Brianna has been gaining weight and appears well.  We still have to have additional testing done to be sure everything is okay, but I'm not quite as worried anymore.  So I went Thursday to the Texas Children's Hospital for the tests, but it was a wasted trip.  Of course, nothing is ever just that easy for me. 

It was the first time I took Brianna out on a trip by myself.  She did really well for the most part, but it was definitely hard handling an infant out and about all by myself.  The worst part was if she started crying in the car, I couldn't do anything about it unless I pulled over.  It broke my heart.  A/w, after actually successfully getting me and Brianna out the door and finding the hospital and lab, I was not able to accomplish anything else once I got there.  Turns out my insurance company had a major screw up on their end.  They added Brianna on the day she was born, and then took her off the next day.  Seriously?!  So I could either cough up the $650 for lab fees and get reimbursed later or wait a day or two for them to fix their mistake.  I'm still waiting...  but next week we will definitely be getting this done, one way or another.  Which means I get to do this all over again.  Let's just say my trips out with just me and Bri will be limited.  It's a challenge!  I know it will get easier as she gets older, but for now, I will just enjoy her company at home as much as I can.  :)

P.S. - Check out Google if you get a chance.  In celebration of Pac-Man's 30th anniversary, their website allows you to play the game.  Enjoy!

5 weeks old!

5/20/2010

Today you are 5 weeks old!  Wow, the time has passed by so quickly.  I am SO enjoying being your mommy!  You are just a little doll. 

What have you been doing this week?

On May 14 you slept through your first thunderstorm!  It was a doozy, but it sure didn't seem to bother you.
 
On May 17th you sucked your thumb for the first time!  Super cute! 

You are already establishing your independence.  You held the bottle with both hands while I was feeding you and then pushed it away when you were done.  I can tell you are going to be a spunky little thing.

You played in your Kick 'n Crawl gym and really seemed to enjoy it.  I took video which I will show to the rest of the family.

We had a slight scare this week when we received the results of your second newborn screen so you will be getting a few more lab tests done.  We think it is a false alarm, but as a precaution you have started taking some soy formula.  You don't like it very much.  I took you to the hospital and strangers kept passing by and commenting on your cuteness.  You get that from me, haha! 

After your first trip to Texas Children's Hospital, I took you to Grandma's work and you met a few of her co-workers.  They thought you were adorable!  Memorial Day weekend you will be meeting even more people from her office. 

Also, here is your month old picture!

You are such a happy baby!

4 weeks old!

5/13/2010

Today you are 4 weeks old!  What have you been up to this week?

Your appetite has really picked up!  Mommy can hardly keep up with you! 

You have really started to enjoy having your Soothie pacifier and Boppy pillow.  You slept on the Boppy for almost 2.5 hours one afternoon!  And you love sleeping in your daddy's arms. :) 

You are still wearing newborn clothes, but just barely!

You are getting so strong.  You can almost roll on to your side and you are steadily working on holding your head up.  You are just growing so fast!

This week you responded to my voice.  You were laying in my lap and I would look at you and call your name and you would look at me.  If I moved outside of your vision, I would speak to you again and you would turn your head to look at me.  It was so sweet. 

This week we celebrated our first Mother's Day together.  It was so special to me.  You and your daddy picked out a cake for me, a beautiful Mother/Daughter necklace, and an adorable picture frame for my desk.  Your grandmother bought a handprint kit so I can create a piece of art to keep.  I am so blessed to have you in my life!  It was such a special day.

Catching Up: Week 3

5/6/2010

You went to the doctor twice in your third week!  You had your first check-up and you weighed 9 lbs and 8 oz and you had grown to 21.25 inches.  You went again later in the week to make sure you were still gaining weight.  This time you weighed 9 lbs and 11 oz.!  The doctor said you were a perfectly healthy little girl! 

After your second visit to the doctor, we went to meet my colleagues at Deloitte.  Everyone thought you were precious!  Of course, you slept the whole time.  Riding in the car makes you a very sleepy little girl!

Sometimes you make a loud smacking noise when you come off your bottle and it scares you LOL. It sounds like are blowing me kisses!

 

You started talking to mommy and daddy much more this week.  You make all sorts of little noises... my favorite is when you sound like a little tea pot.  So cute! :)

How adorable are you?!

You are sleeping in your napper in your Pack 'n Play... you even helped me pick it out at Target!  Looks like you made a good choice. 

If you can't tell, I am totally addicted to taking pictures of you...

Catching Up: Week 2

4/29/2010

On April 24th, 2010, your grandmother and I took you on your first stroll to the park.  You loved the stroller; it put you right to sleep!  But it was great to get you out in the fresh air.

You and Grandma!

You also had visitors this week!  Our friends, Mark and Grant, came to see you.  They thought you were adorable of course.  :)

Too cute!

You started to become more alert this week so we actually got pictures with your eyes opened!  :)  W also took you to your first photo shoot!  The pictures turned out just beautiful.  You were such a little doll.

This week you decided you didn't really like to be swaddled anymore.  You needed to stretch those arms!

Catching Up: Week 1

4-22-2010

Your first week was a whirlwind!  We were in the hospital for 5 days!  But finally we were able to leave healthy and happy.  Your daddy and I were so excited to finally get you to your home!

What did you do your first week?

You slept A LOT!  You slept every chance you got, missy!  We had to wake you up to feed you, LOL!  And your daddy had to put the 'cold hands' on you so would finish your bottle.  You even slept through the first bath we gave you!  And your hair is SUPER CURLY when it is wet!  Wonder where you get that from LOL?

You didn't like to be burped, but we had to do it!  You were thankful later. :)

You LOVED to be swaddled.  It was your favorite way to sleep!  At this time, we slept downstairs since I could not go up and down the stairs yet.  So, your bassinet was in the living room with us.

 

  

You liked to hang out in your bouncer when you weren't in your bassinet or in someone's arms.  Ha, it was hard to put you down though!  You were just too cute.   :)

Everyone kept saying you look just like your Daddy!  That's fine with me; he's a good-looking guy! 

You were born with 'angel kisses' - one between your eyes and one on your left eyelid.  You had a 'stork bite' on the right side of your neck, right under your hair! 

Your daddy kept stealing all your kisses!  But you saved me a few... :)

The first week was so exciting because we finally got to meet you.  It was so amazing to see you for the first time.  The first week was so much fun, but I knew the fun was just beginning!  Can't wait to watch you grow!

1st Mother's Day

To my dear Brianna,
Today we spent our first Mother's Day together! I am so blessed to have you in my life. You are just over 3 weeks old and I love watching you change and grow each day. I don't want to miss a moment... I am creating this blog so that I can record our life together and look back on these sweet memories one day. I hope you will enjoy reading this when you get older... I'm sure it will provide many laughs!

I am so thankful God sent you to us. Your daddy and I love you very, very much! We are grateful to have you as our daughter!

Love always,
Your Mommy

P.S. - Thank you so much for the beautiful Mother's Day necklace! You have such good taste and I will cherish it forever.