1 Month Old

I made it folks!  1 month old!  Sorry this is a little late, but we were in Kansas City, Missouri at Daddy's Yellow Ribbon Event to learn about his deployment this weekend and Mom wanted to wait for the official stats at my doctor's appointment today.

I weigh 8lbs 13oz and am 21 inches long.
I have just now outgrown newborn clothes and am moving up to the 0-3 month size.  I'll be finished with newborn diapers as soon as this last box is empty.

Things I've learned/can do this month...
   - I am a champ eater now and don't like to wait when I'm hungry.  I don't care if my diaper needs changed.  I wish they would do that later.
   - I am starting to figure out that I'm supposed to sleep when it's dark outside, but I really don't like the hours of 7 - 10pm.
   - I can see things clearer now and like to follow Mommy and Daddy's faces.
   - My favorite thing to look at is the picture on the wall above the couch.
   - I like tummy time for a little while and can lift my head about 45 degrees.
   - I can hold my head steady for short periods when I want to.
   - Mommy calls me Crazy Arms sometimes because I like to move them around all over.  I still need to work on my control though because I sometimes hit myself in the face.
   - Mommy also calls me Houdini Arms.  I can get them out of anything and I'm not sure why they still try to bundle them up at night.
   - I am a super pooper!  Who says the average is 2 - 3 a day... I can pump out 6 - 7 most days.
   - I like to smile and grin but I'm very careful not to do that when the cameras are around or when Mommy and Daddy try to get me to smile.  I have to keep them guessing for a little while.

E

Official Pictures

I was reminded by a friend that I didn't post Aubrey's official pictures.  We got some taken at the hospital when she was 2 days old and then some more a week later.  Thanks to Bella Photography and Mitchell Bennett Photography for such great pictures!

There are a ton of great pictures and I had trouble picking out only a few so here are my favorites...

 

 

 

 

E

Happy Birthday!!

I'm going to go ahead and document Aubrey's arrival before her 1 month birthday that way I'll have the complete year on here.

Aubrey Nicole arrived on December 12th, 2012, at 7:07pm.  She weighed 6lbs 15oz and was 20 3/4 inches long.  She came out yelling and had an Apgar score of 8.5!  She ended up arriving by C-Section in a semi-emergency after her heart rate started to drop during contractions.  She was turned sideways and looking at my hip instead of back.

A couple things we noticed right away...
   - Her head was really coned from getting stuck
   - She has huge feet and really long toes
   - Her fingers are really long
   - She is perfect!!

 Cone Head!!

Hi, Mom

Big feet and toes!

Cutting the cord

First family picture

All clean

Bundled up

Made it to our room

A little light to reduce bilirubin levels

Yea!  We're headed home!

1 week old - Play time with Daddy hide and seek

2 weeks old - Merry Christmas!

3 weeks old - "You want me to go to sleep now?!?"

E

2013

I can't believe it's 2013 already!  To be honest, I've been dreading this year for quite a while and didn't really want to "ring in the new year" a few nights ago.  There were so many exciting and fun events in 2012 that I was able to forget about Matt's upcoming deployment in 2013.  Now that's the only thing I can think about. 

Since I didn't blog at all in 2012 I think I'll list a few of the highlights just for my memory...
  - We found out we were expecting a Christmas bundle!
  - Tara graduated high school
  - Abby graduated with her Masters
  - Matt and I spent a week in the Bahamas at the Atlantis resort
  - Found out our Christmas bundle was going to be a girl!
  - Matt finally got to start flying again after almost 2 years
  - I got to go to a Patriots game
  - Abby got married!
  - I "celebrated" 5 years at Boeing.
  - Matt "celebrated" 1 year at Boeing.
  - I rotated to a slightly different position at Boeing.
  - Aubrey arrived!!!!

Now we're gearing up for deployment.  We have an event next weekend to find out more details but here's the schedule as we know it so far:
  - I am scheduled to go back to work Feb 6, but will take FMLA leave until Matt leaves for Texas
  - Matt goes to Boise, Idaho, Feb 2 - Mar 3 for high altitude and weapons training and Aubrey and I will practice how to do "this" on our own
  - Matt should have enough vacation time at Boeing to take off most of the 3 weeks he's home in March and we plan to spend as much time together as possible since I'll still be home from work.
  - March 23 is the scheduled deployment date, but there will be a couple days of ceremonies or something in Jeff City
  - April 1 he is scheduled to arrive at Fort Hood, Texas for 3 months of pre-mobilization training
  - Sometime around the first of July he should head over to Afghanistan for 9 months and the countdown will begin for his return

I promise that upcoming posts will have more pictures and less words!

E

Blogging Again

Hello again!  It's been a while but... I've decided to start blogging again.  I don't really want to put pictures and updates of Aubrey all over Facebook, I think I have a little more control over who can view this blog, and I plan to use this to keep Matt updated while he's deployed so this is my plan. 

You can submit your email on the right so you get notified when I update but my goal is once a week. 

E

Feb 15

... the day after Valentine's day
... the day after my grandpa and friend's birthday
... the middle of February
... 46th day of the year

February 15th doesn't seem like that significant of a day until this year.  Today would have been my due date.  Today was hard and emotional.  I can't believe this day has already come.  For the last several months I've wondered how I would feel on this day and it's about like I thought.  It was tough to concentrate on work, but I didn't have another option since my list of things to do at work is growing too fast for me to keep up. 

I also took some time to look around and really see how blessed I am.  I received a card from a good friend who remembered and knows better than anyone what this week would mean for me.  Thank you. 

In a way I'm glad this day has come and passed.  It's easier to look forward now.  I know that God's plan for my future is a perfect one.  There's no promise it'll be easy, but it will be perfect.

E