Merry Christmas!

I figured I needed to get this post in before the new year.

We went to Greensboro and Charlotte for Christmas. We love spending time with our families, but it can certainly be exhausting! I really need to see that movie "Four Christmases"...

Adam made this stocking for me when we first got married. Arden fits perfectly!

Christmas Eve was "Becky's Christmas." She's my mom's sister. She put various makeup items on her Christmas list, so I got her this ridiculous makeup kit. Hehe!

A few pics of Jasmine. I still haven't gotten one of her with Arden. She refuses to pose!

Merry Christmas, Bryce!

Arden's gift from Adam and me...a take along swing...handy for long trips!

Arden's gift from my mom...a neato floor gym!

In the car on the way home.

Arden at 10 Weeks

Yesterday, Arden got to wear her Christmas dress to church. Isn't she the cutest?!

Mommy's Little Joy

Beary Christmas!

Aww...Aunt Catie

Gingerbread House Party 2008!

Every year, Adam and I love to make gingerbread houses with his family. His mom would make the gingerbread, cut it out, and then bake it. She also made the frosting. Since we weren't able to do it with them this year, we decided to make them ourselves and invite our family in New Bern over for some fun! We got the pre-made gingerbread that comes in rolls, and I found a gingerbread house blueprint online. Adam made the frosting using a recipe I found online...supposedly specifically for gingerbread houses. As soon as I baked the gingerbread, I could tell it was soft. I put the baked pieces in the freezer thinking that would harden them up. Well, it did...at first. Then the pieces thawed out, the frosting didn't harden, and the houses came tumbling down! Adam and I didn't even have a chance to put any candy on ours. Ah well...I guess homemade gingerbread is the way to go. We'll plan better next year!

Allen and his house...just moments before catastrophe struck!

Allen, Glenda, and Jessica...their house in pieces. At least they got to take home really big gingerbread cookies!

Great Uncle Gary with Arden

This is what became of our house...cute little gingerbread cookies!

At least it's a yummy mess!

She Seems Big to Me!

Arden had her two-month well baby checkup on Monday. I was both looking forward to it and not looking forward to it. I was excited to see her progress, but I knew she'd be getting shots. Here are her measurements: 8 pounds 15.25 ounces (10th percentile for her age), 22 inches long (50th percentile for her age), and her noggin is 14.5 inches (25th percentile for her age). The doctor is only slightly concerned about her weight. He said as long as she keeps gaining weight normally, then all is well. Now, to me, the fact that she's nearly 9 pounds is amazing! I mean, she was 5 pounds 10 ounces at birth. She seems big to me!

Then she got her shots. It was the most horrible thing ever! It took me at least 15 minutes to calm her down so I could dress her and put her in her car seat. I then had to rock her once I got her in. At least I have a couple more months before we have to go through that again.

You can see the bandaids on her thighs in the pics below. She looks content. Must be that infant Tylenol!

Two Months Old!

I can't believe little Arden is two months old today! I of course took tons of pics to commemorate the occasion. Isn't she the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen? I just can't get over those big beautiful eyes!

Is this MY baby?

It's starting to get easier! Yesterday evening was the best. I gave her a bath around 8:30 p.m. I normally do it around 10 p.m. since she hasn't been going to bed before 11:30 p.m. She doesn't usually mind her bath, but she enjoyed it more than usual. We splashed and played. I was hesitant to take her out of the bath, because that's when she lets it all loose...screaming and crying. I took her out, wrapped her in her towel, and was just waiting for it to happen. It didn't! She didn't cry at all! I then fed her and was hoping she'd fall asleep by 9:30 p.m. like the night before. She didn't...but she was out by 10:15 p.m. and didn't wake up until 5:45 a.m.!! I could definitely get used to this!

Maybe an earlier bath is the key.

Here she is in her swing at 8 weeks. The pic below is of her at around 2 weeks. She's getting so big! Adam weighed her today, and she's 8.8 pounds with her clothes on!

It'll be so exciting when she actually starts reacting to things like this!

It's Beginning to Feel a lot like Christmas!

It's so easy to get caught up with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Just remember Jesus Christ is the real reason for the season. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Apparently New Bern doesn't have any Christmas tree lots. We had to get ours at the Piggly Wiggly! I suppose it's kind of good, though, because we weren't overcharged. Plus, the tree looks pretty good!

Arden's First Christmas Photoshoot

I can't believe it's Christmastime already! It seems like just yesterday Arden was born. I know she won't remember her first Christmas, but I'll never forget it. What a wonderful Christmas this will be with our new little family!

I've already taken a million pics and a million more are yet to come.

Look at how precious she is!

It's Been a Long Time

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated my blog. We didn't have the internet until like 3 weeks after we moved to New Bern.

Arden is almost 8 weeks old and has changed so much. She's grown quite a bit, and it's hard to remember how small she was when she was born. Breastfeeding is going well now. I couldn't get her to latch at first, so I would have to pump and then feed her. All that changed when I discovered nipple shields. They're my new best friend! Now she feeds like a champ! I'm also starting to feel more comfortable with the whole mom/homemaker thing. I had a hard time the first couple of weeks while at my dad's house, but it's gotten easier since we've moved here. I'm able to eat more, which is good. I still don't get a shower everyday, but I'm getting close!

Arden no longer sleeps all the time. A week or so ago she started to acknowledge herself in the mirror of her swing. It's so cute to look at her staring up at herself! She's also started to smile some. This past Sunday morning was the best. I had just finished feeding her and was talking to her, and she just kept giving me these big grins. It was so wonderful I nearly cried! She doesn't smile a whole lot, but when she does it's magical! I've been trying to catch her smile on camera, and I finally succeeded today! The pic was taken with my phone, so it isn't the best...but at least I got it! Her smile is usually much bigger, too. I can't wait for her to smile and interact with me even more.

She's also begun sleeping more at night. I now let her wake me up instead of me having to wake her up. Sometimes she'll sleep up to 4-5 hours during the first part of the night, but that doesn't happen often enough. She doesn't seem to want to go to bed until after 11 p.m., either. Hopefully we can get her into more of a routine, and she'll go to bed sooner and sleep longer.

Well, that's it for now. I've posted a ton of things, so you'll have to keep scrolling to read about them and see all the new pics of Arden.

Enjoy!

Rough Start

We kind of had a rough time during the first few weeks of living in New Bern. There were a few not-fun things we discovered.

Not fun discovery number 1: black widow spiders in the garage

Not fun discovery number 2: our new washing machine and the replacement washer didn't work
Not fun discovery number3: no cable line in our new neighborhood=no cable tv or internet

Catie was able to get us a deal on an exterminator for the first discovery. She certainly has connections! We've since found many dead black widows around the perimeter of the house...oy! As far as the washing machine goes, we got a free upgrade. Since we originally bought the top-of-the line top loader, we got front loaders at no extra cost. Now that was definitely worth the inconvenience! I love doing laundry now! Not fun discovery number 3 took longer to solve. After getting the run around by SuddenLink, we went with Embarq. Unfortunately we had to get a home phone line and now get calls everyday from Viking Magazine. Oh well...at least the internet works! We also got satellite tv via Dish Network. We'll see if it's worth it.

Aren't they beautiful?!

Below are a few pics from moving day. Enjoy!

Hey, we both have to eat!