Nephew 2 is here!

My newest nephew is here!  He belongs to the bravest mother I know.  Amy, what a birth story you have.  Hip hip hooray to healthy boy!!

Welcome 

Asher Mark Kelley

8lb 4oz

20 1/2 in

January 19th, 2012

Nephew 1 is here!

So both of my sister in laws are expecting babies in January..  and well Baby Garrett is finally here!!

Welcome 

A.J. Garrett

6lb 3oz

19 in

January 8th, 2012

8 weeks, Charlie Bug

Little Charlie Ann is 8 weeks old today.  It goes so quickly!  I
 have already posted pictures of her first and second weeks... so here is the newest:

Week 3

My debut week in Springfield, Missouri. Everyone is wanting to come visit and hold me.  I definitely got passed around for 6 hours on Thanksgiving Day to every aunt, uncle, cousin and every great aunt, great uncle and second cousins, and of course passed to all the great grandparents too.  I was pretty much the hit of the party, although I don't remember a thing because I slept ALL day.  Also this week, I met my dad's side of the family, watched my grandma run a 5k, met my great-great grandma and did a lot of Christmas shopping in the mall.  I am really loved by everybody!
Grandma's house was super ready for me, I had a pack-n-play, a bassinet, a bouncer, a swing, diapers, wipes, a dresser, a boppy, a carseat, a stroller and new clothes.  A girl could get used to this kind of treatment!  But, I am a big fussypants at night and don't want to go to sleep before 11:30pm/12am.  But after I get walked and rocked and everyone knows I am here, I usually give in and go to sleep til around 3am.

  

Week 4

This week I started to make a few tiny, little sweet sounds if someone talks to me.  I am also going to bed closer to 10:30 and waking up at 5am for breakfast!  Mom is happy to get some extended sleep, and I am too.
This week I met a lot of Mom's friends and we went on some big shopping trips, but I dont mind cause I get to be carried in a sling!

Week 5

I am getting better and better at sleeping through the nite, and after my 5am breakfast, I go right back to sleep until second breakfast at 8am.  Everyone is happy about this!  I am also cracking tiny little grins to Mom and Grandma and Gabby and few lucky others.

Week 6

Dad came this week!  I have missed him the last month.  He doesn't let anyone else hold me, and that's okay... we have a lot of catching up to do.  I am celebrating Christmas and phew, another l-o-n-g day of being held and passed around to all of Mom's relatives.  So fun, but so exhausting!

Week 7

All I remember about this week is.. THE  CARSEAT!  We drove for three days from Missouri all the way to Southern California.  Where I slept in a drawer, a chair and a king sized bed, but I did not sleep in my carseat.

8 Weeks Today!

Hello again, SoCal.  I am so loving this warm weather here.  I get to wear dresses, take lots of walks outside and enjoy the sunshine.

Charlie Ann's First 13 Days

On the morning Charlie Ann joined our family, my parents met us in the recovery room.  It was 5am and they had been awake most of the night waiting for our phone call. What a sweet moment it was when my parents introduced themselves to their first grandchild.

Mom and Charlie Ann meeting for the first time.

Grandpa and Charlie Ann on her first day.

Charlie Ann is ready to go home from the hospital.

We stayed one night and headed home the following evening. My time at Fullerton Hospital was wonderful, the nurses were the best and I felt so taken care of.

Our first evening at home - 3 days old.

Tummy time - 4 days old.

Charlie Ann & Dad - 4 days old.

Grandma & CA.  Already holding that head up that first week!

Eyes and nose still swollen - 5 days old.

My mom got to stay with us until Charlie Ann was 6 days old.  It was so hard to see her go.  Those few days she was here after the hospital were so helpful!  I felt like I could actually do this Mom thing after all her help :)

My mom left in the afternoon of CA's 6th day and my mother-in-law arrived that night.     

Jarod puts Charlie Ann to sleep in the warm sheets fresh out of the dryer - 6 days old.

My mother-in-law stayed with us for Charlie Ann's second week.  What a great help she was cleaning and cooking some amazing meals (especially apple pie).

However, that second week was a tough one.  My new found confidence as a mother quickly vanished as soon as my mom left.  I felt I could no longer console my daughter's crying spells or soothe her to sleep.  I was extremely exhausted/delirious due to the marathon of child birth and from plummeting head first into an every 2-3 hour nursing schedule, both day and night.  Jarod was at the end of his semester and crunched by his own deadlines for papers and exams, and he was unable to be as much help as we both wanted.  So before I turned psychotic (I'm only halfway joking), I decided to join my mother-in-law on her flight back to Missouri in order to stay with my parents for some extra help.  I would stay until Christmas break, when Jarod would join us for the Holidays.  So, on 38 hours of no sleep, I scrambled  together all of Charlie Ann's newborn clothes and her blankets, and a few items for myself.  All else would be borrowed, given or bought for our 6 weeks in the Midwest.  

So bleary eyed and overwhelmed, I kissed Jarod goodbye and headed for the airport.

But what a good and perfect idea it was! With Judy's help, we managed a 6am flight Thanksgiving morning with a 13 day old baby from LA to Springfield, MO.  Phew! The moment I saw my Dad at baggage claim, I started crying.  It was a perfect moment knowing I had made the best decision for myself and little Charlie Ann.  And that was the start of the boost of confidence I needed to try to be a good mother to my baby girl.