Updates on the Princess...

Grumpy baby! :)

• Lately Presley has been trying so hard to turn from her belly to her back but her arm seems to be in the way!  Still hasn't gone from belly to back or back to belly yet... probably because she just wants to be held all the time!
• She's found out she can put things in her mouth and loves to put her blanket, clothes, and hands/fingers in her mouth!

Here is video of her sucking on her hand!  So precious.

• We're still swaddling her at night.
• As part of her bedtime routine we're reading her two bedtime books each night (Goodnight Moon & Night Night Little Pookie)
• Has been a babbling machine ever since her baptism weekend ended.  It might have something to do with all the people talking to her that weekend... who knows!

Here is a video of her babbling!

• Of course she loves being held and doesn't like getting laid down for a nap during the day-- likes to sleep on mom instead.  I just have to remind myself that she'll only be a baby once and she won't always like me to hold her... so I'm going to soak it in while I can.  (It sure is hard to keep that outlook, though.)
• Still loving her changing table and is a happy baby on that thing.
• Loves to look at lights & ceiling fans!!!
• Recently started to dislike shower time whereas she used to love it.  Not sure if we'll give the bath tub another try or stick with showers.
• Now in size 2 diapers (too many blowouts in size 1) and in 3-6 month clothes.  Pampers swaddlers & luvs remain our favorite.  We finally tried Target's diapers and they aren't too shabby either!
• Plan to transition her to the crib after our Memorial Day weekend trip to St. Louis!  I'm excited and very nervous for that transition. I really love her being so close to us but will DEFINITELY enjoy the added personal space!
• Breast feeding is still going very well!  Just started pumping once a night before bedtime to save up milk.  During the day lately Presley wants to eat every two hours; not sure if it's a growth spurt, if it's normal, or a bad thing?  Hoping it's just a phase.  We have yet to introduce a bottle to her and I'd like to do that sometime soon if it works out.  It'll be sweet to see daddy get a chance to feed her and bond with her on that level.
• She's started sticking her bottom lip WAY out when she gets sad and it is the cutest and most heartbreaking thing ever!!!!  If I look directly at her doing it I can't help but tear up!

Fussy girl!

So that's what's new with Presley girl.  Last night she went to bed pretty early (7:45pm) as we are experimenting with her bedtime to see what works for her and she slept pretty soundly... until about 2:45am.  (Dumb mommy didn't go to bed until almost midnight.)  She usually will stir and go back to sleep for a while if she wakes up anytime from 3-5am but last night she was UP.  So I changed her and fed her and put her down thinking she'd sleep until around 9am... NOPE!  Up again right about 3 hours later.  Laid her back down and she was up 3 hours later again!  I am sure some of you parents are wondering what I'm complaining about but it's so hard for me to relax and go back to sleep each time so I feel like I got no sleep last night.  And no matter what amount of sleep I do or don't get the night before, I am almost ALWAYS up until midnight.  Being unproductive because I'm exhausted but my mind is still going.  Rrgh.... it's hard getting a sound 5-6 hours of sleep straight and then going to this!  Hope it doesn't last.

Great-Grampa Ron & Miss Presley!

So we got her down about 9pm tonight.  She was really upset and writhing around arching her back in her bassinet, which is not normal for her.  I don't know if she's uncomfortable in there or what but I hope once we get her to her crib she'll like it better.

My little sister Ashley, Me & Presley, & my pregnant sister, Amanda!

Alright, that's about all for tonight.  Time for me to hop in the shower!  Goodnight blogspot. :)

Mama's Day!

Happy mothers day, all! This is the first time for me blogging via text message so we'll just have to see how this goes. I wish it were still just as easy as before to find time to write, but time slips away from me everyday. I suppose that's a good thing and that it potentially means I'm living in the moment but that might be giving me too much credit. Things sure are easier now (12 weeks postpartum) than they were when we first brought baby Presley home but I continue to find myself just getting through each day. Between sleepiness (because I'm still a night owl) and feeling confined to the house all day (let's face it, it's easier than lugging her heavy carrier around and dealing with diaper blow outs in public), I'm always killing time before Tony gets home and praying for the weekends when we can spend time as a family. He's still working a hefty amount of overtime - which I'm
thankful for - but as usual, I just wish we lived in a society that valued our work and families more and paid a fair wage for a decent amount of hours per week so people weren't having to work 50-60+ hours and missing out on what's really important and valuable. But anyways... Back to mothers day....

It was a great day for me as Tony really pampered me :) He made me breakfast which is ultra sweet because we aren't chefs by any means, so it meant a LOT to me! He's also planning to cook steaks tomorrow night since we went out to dinner with my family tonight for mothers day. He's such a sweet man; took over caring for Presley all day (minus her feedings) and I really appreciated that so I could organize Presley's room now that she's officially in her 3-6 month clothes! It's wonderful that she's getting bigger - this is what I couldn't wait for, for her to get out of the baby stage - but now that it's happening it's really freaking me out how fast things are changing! She was just baptized a week ago and we aren't talking a little water on the forehead... She was fully dunked in the water!!! It was so awesome and she did so wonderfully and barely let out a peep! And in the last week
she's really started to babble... Tony and I just adore and marvel at her little baby voice. She is definitely spoiled and we are okay with that! 

I just love her sweet little face!

We had my sisters and brother-in-law in town for the baptism and it was so great to have them here. It really was so awesome for each of them to get to finally meet Presley. And two weeks from today Presley will get to meet her Great Papaw Gordon, her Great Granny, possibly some friends from Memphis, and she will get to see her Grandmommy Selena again :) We are all so excited and ready for a little getaway, I just hope it goes well taking Presley out of her normal atmosphere! May is definitely a month of creating new memories. And a week from today Tony and I will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary already! Seems like just yesterday we were saying "I do!"

I should get going so I can go to sleep, but not before letting all you mothers know how much I love you all! Especially my own mom for bringing me and my best friends (my two sisters) into this world, Selena for raising my husband to be the loving man he is, our grandmothers for being such amazing women in our lives and for always giving us the special kinda love only gramma's can give, my blog mommy friends who I am ultra thankful for as they provide me sanity and lots of support, to my sister and cousin who are both carrying sweet babes of their own, and to my baby girl for making me a mama! :) Hope you all had a special day because we deserve it!!! xxoo

TOMORROW!!! :)

Tomorrow is the day! My sisters, who both live in Tennessee, fly in tomorrow for several days for my sweet baby's baptism and for my big sister's baby shower!! It's like two worlds are getting ready to collide; a world that has always revolved around my sisters and a world run by this little princess. :) It's so strange/surreal/outrageous to me that Presley has existed for two and a half months without getting to see her aunts or for them to be able to hold her. It breaks my heart on all the little things they've missed out on. But I am so excited for them to get acquainted this weekend :) I look forward to seeing Presley's reaction to them and to see how she interacts with them! It'll also be so awesome to have some extra hands around here and more entertainment and interaction. It's gonna be awesome and that much more painful when they ultimately leave!

Anyways, my sister Amanda is 27/28 weeks pregnant and I haven't seen her since Christmastime when she was only a few weeks along so I'm sure this is going to be a huge difference! It's funny because the last time Amanda saw me was when I was about 30 weeks pregnant (I think?) so it'll be different being on the other side of that experience! Her shower is this weekend and I'm super excited to throw it; it'll be the first shower I've given to anyone. And my younger sister Ashley will be here too and she's staying with us! She's the first houseguest since Presley's debut so I hope she behaves for Ash. ;) Ashley is such a natural with kiddos (she's so sweet with her fiancé's niece and nephew!) and like I said before I can't wait to see her with Presley! It'll be so different to have visitors all the time with our daily schedule! I hope Presley sticks to her schedule despite all the wrenches that I'll be throwing into it this next week. And wouldn't you know, just before all the excitement she gets her first diaper rash! :( I feel so bad for her!! Hopefully I can figure out something to help it because I've tried so many things!

Alright, well I suppose I'm just rambling now! I hope I'll be too busy making memories to write in here but in the meantime just know I'm enjoying some good times with special people; hope you can do the same!

Happiness!

I'm so excited to get into blogging photo challenges again!  When I blogged on Xanga, I did the same thing but since being on Blogger, I hadn't found any.  Thanks to Erica over at Mi Todo, I found The Paper Mama!

This week's prompt is happiness and it doesn't get much happier than this...

My happy baby, Presley Rose, at two months of age!  She gives the best smiles and almost giggles to us these days and they just melt our hearts.

50 Questions (Part Four)

So, before having Presley, I had so much time to blog that I ran out of things to talk about!  So I embarked on this list of 50 Questions that will Free your Mind and planned to answer them all!  Unfortunately, now I have less time to read, reflect, and write.  The babe is sleeping right now so I'm going to attempt part four of the 50 questions!  If you have the will/time to do the same, I'd love to hear your answers.

16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?

I'm not sure.  I understand that everyone is made of different things; our brain compositions are different and we typically come from different pasts as well.  We all differ in our personality types as well -- some being more introverted and others more extroverted.  While I love being around people, I really love my alone time and time at home with my family, whereas other people could careless to be at home.

17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What's holding you back?

One very RANDOM thing is that I've always kinda wanted to bar tend in a busy city.  I think it'd be super fun and you'd get to know some really interesting people.  One reason I haven't done that is because I don't live in a busy city!  The other reason being it takes stepping outside your comfort zone to try something new like that.  And now, I've got a little baby, and I'd hardly enjoy being out late tending bar!

18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
Yes and no.  I'm sure there are tons of things.  The first thing that came to mind is I've always wanted to contact the people who were responsible for my father's death.  Whether it'd be visiting them in jail or writing them a letter, I really want to contact them to know that I exist and they altered my life forever.  I don't think I'd like to drag them through the mud, rather to just educate them on what my life was like and what it is like now.  I've also thought about sending them a care package... but then I feel crazy, like why in the hell would I want to do that?!  So who knows if it will ever be done or if I am in the right or wrong for wanting to contact them... I've got to do some more examining on this one.


19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
Oh, this is SO easy... DEFINITELY I would swiftly move to Tennessee at any moment to be closer to my sisters as well as my in-laws.  I'd also LOVE to move to Florida (Orlando, to be exact) so I could work at Disney World!  It would be an absolute dream.  Hey, maybe I can find a bar to work at inside Disney World and then I'd kill two birds with one stone! :)

20. Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
Yes, I usually do.  No, I don't think it makes it any faster but I just love how the button feels!  Of course if there are other people around, I typically stick to one push.

*part one*    *part two*    *part three*

These were pretty easy to breeze right through!  If I can do it, so can you... so what are you waiting for? :)

Happy TWO month old birthday, Presley Rose!

Wowie!  I didn't think I'd be one of "those" moms... but seriously, where has the time gone??  It feels like just yesterday we were completely clueless and terrified to bring this unknown baby home with us.  A lot has changed in this time, especially ourselves!  And as you can see, Presley has gone through the biggest changes over these past eight weeks....

Presley in her "SOMEBUNNY LOVES ME" outfit! :)

If you ask me, she looks like her mom in her face and her dad in her height!

Things about Miss Presley:

• She loves her velcro swaddle blanket!  Though when she's cranky and I lay her down in the blanket to wrap her up it seems like she's thinking, "Swaddle? Challenge accepted!" and squirms around to make it just a little bit more difficult to get her swaddled.
• If she's not swaddled (during her daytime naps), she kicks off the blanket every time!!!
• She sleeps with a fan, just like we do! :)
• She is not really a fan of socks.  She kicks them off at the first chance she gets.
• She's been getting a lot better without her pacifier at night.  She starts out with it but of course spits it out still throughout the night but now she's not crying every 5 minutes for us to put it back in.
• Presley doesn't seem to love burping, but she's getting so much better at it and it seems to hurt her less and less to try and get a burp out!
• Currently growing a mullet, it seems!  Her hair is falling out on top and still soft and beautiful in the back... it's got the cutest swirl in it!!! So she's got her Grampa Scott's chin as well as his hairline at the moment!!!

Bald up top but hair around the sides & back!  Totally what Presley has right now!!! :)
Didn't realize how much I miss him until looking at his picture!

•  She has surely started to LOVE to pull mommy's hair!  For a few days I debated cutting it into a pixie hair style (kinda like Ellen Degeneres) but then I realized I could never pull that off.

• She seems to enjoy showertime much better than she ever enjoyed bathtime!  But man, babies sure are slippery once you lather them up.  It'll be more difficult to shower her with me once she really gets bigger and moves even more.  She's so cute in the shower sometimes she'll open her mouth and try to drink the water!  Other times she just stares at the water with huge eyes!
• It seems like Presley is really trying to laugh.  Hasn't quite gotten it yet but she's getting there.
• Oh man, and lately, she LOVES getting her diaper changed!!!  She will just lay on her changing table and smile and coo!!!  Sweetest thing, ever.
• Oh and Presley loves when her daddy gets home.  She will look at him for a few seconds until it registers in her mind and then she will just grin so big!!!!  I'll have to record it soon and put it on here.
• Presley still sleeps great at night.  It amazes me that such a tiny person can begin to tell the difference from day and night and that her body is able to sleep seven hours straight without food.  I am afraid that once we move her to her own room that she won't be able to sleep as well, but we're not there yet!

I'm sure I could go on and on but instead I'll just end it here so I can get a few things done around here before I need to feed her again.  We're going to see her doctor at 4 PM today for her check-up and some of her shots.  Thank goodness Tony will be able to meet us there because I'm so nervous to have to watch her in pain and have no idea how she'll react.  I mean, I literally couldn't even watch them prick her heel every day and draw her blood when we had to get her bilirubin tested everyday.  We've also been going back and forth about getting her ears pierced... so if any of you mom's have opinions or feelings about it either way, feel free to share!  Thanks for reading :)  I appreciate all you guys who care so much about Tony and I and our little girl.  She is such a sweetheart and I'm so happy to share her with so many friends and family who we love so so much.

ps-- It's also your Aunt Amanda's birthday!!!  She's 27 years old today!

You will get to meet her in a short TWO WEEKS when she is up here celebrating for your baptism and her first baby shower for your soon-to-be cousin, Ann Marie!  I hope and pray that you and Ann Marie will be best friends just like Amanda and I!  (And you, too, Ashley!!)  You're already going to match Ann Marie like your Aunts and I matched... I've gotten a few matching items for you two to enjoy!  Wish we could all be there to celebrate your birthday dinner with cake and ice cream...  Happy Birthday, Amanda!

Currently...

Frustrating:

•  Having to go back to school to finish my degree for a measly 5 credit hours.  Reapplying and all kinds of stuff is just giving me a headache at the moment.  Not to mention, imagining myself going to school and doing school work with a needy little one and a husband who works lots of hours.
• Not fitting into my clothes.  And definitely upset at seeing my stomach post-baby.  I can't believe I was so excited to take a picture of my big belly each week without realizing how bad it'd look afterwards!!!
• Feeling guilty at the thought of spending time away from my family to work out.  That is an easy way to talk myself out of a work out.
• Being so far away from my sisters.  They won't get to know Presley at this stage or when she was so tiny.  I'm missing Amanda's whole pregnancy just about.  I don't get to hang out with either one of them.  I could go on and on.  It'd be one thing if they were "just" my sisters, but they are my best friends too so you could understand the reason I look forward to moving back to Tennessee.
• Feeling like my work has little to no merit.  It's hard to feel like my work every day is worth very much when I look in the mirror at myself in the same sweat pants and t-shirt that I've worn all week with crazy hair and I look like crap!

Fulfilling:

•  Seeing Presley smile at Tony (her daddy!) everyday after he gets home from being gone all day at work.  I definitely teared up seeing her do that! 
• Getting to spend time with my family and introduce them to Presley.  We went to Aunt Jill's for Easter to be with the family we don't get to see as often and she got to meet some of my cousins!
• Going on walks as a family on the weekends!  It's nice to be all together, to be active, and to be outside while it is so nice out.
• All the silly faces Presley makes.  She does the cutest things in her sleep and when she's awake, too.  She's also starting to respond to us more and following us with her eyes when we move around the room.
• Having such an easy going baby girl.  We have the occasional fussy day where she might be having gas, going through a growth spurt where she's hungrier/fussier than usual, or just weird days for whatever reason -- and it makes it so clear that we are so lucky that the majority of days with her are easy-peasy!

I could keep going on these lists (as we all have things that trouble us as well as lift us up), but I'll end the post with some recent pictures of Presley!  The little one is currently napping so I better get some stuff done around here other than blogging!!!

Our little Easter bunny!

Presley meeting the Easter bunny for the first time!

Can't get enough of these silly faces!!! I just can't give her enough kisses.

Our favorite place to walk -- down by the Mississippi River!

She's still got blue eyes -- which is shocking -- I always thought my kids would have brown eyes or at least green/hazel like their dad, but I am thinking she's got her Grampa Mike's blue eyes!