Dear Arthur,

Arthur, you have brought us so much joy and love in these past four months. I look at you everyday and literally squeal at your preciousness. I give you hundreds of kisses and sing you silly songs all day long. Not a day has gone by when I have not prayed for you. Before you fall asleep, I lay my hands on you and pray that God will keep you safe, help you grow big and strong, and for you to love the Lord with your whole heart. We are so blessed that God gave you to us!

You are a curious and focussed baby. You love to sit in your sling close to me and observe the world around you. You study people and objects for an unusual amount of time. You love your jumperoo and anything you can stick in your mouth! You love your Daddy, and you give him the biggest grins when he comes home from work. Bath time is probably your favorite time of the day and you have learned to enjoy it to the fullest while soaking the kitchen. You talk to yourself in the car. You chat away with mommy and daddy for long periods of time. You are a terrible napper... you think 15 to 30 minutes is enough time to be asleep during the day. You make up for it by sleeping 11 to 12 hours at night! When you are tired you rub your face. When you are fussy you calm yourself by sucking your little fingers. At 4 months you weigh 14 lbs and you are 26 inches long. You need lots of love and attention because we have spoiled you with it from day one! You love your crib aquarium, aka Baby TV. You love the actual TV too, but Daddy doesn't like for you to watch it. You love to be around lots of people and find yourself content in anyone's arms.

When you rolled over (right at four months) I screamed with delight so loudly that you jumped. When you received your first shots I cried with you. When you jumped in your jumperoo for the first time I called everyone that loves you to share the exciting news. It's amazing to watch you grow and learn. You can reach for your toys and play with them now. You can grin and giggle.

Now I understand why moms believe their children are the greatest things since sliced bread! I am so in love with you. So, I hope you always know that you are one LOVED baby, and this is just the beginning!

Love,

Mommy

Baby Amnesia

Motherhood has consumed me in a wonderful, all-encompassing way. I'm loving my little "Arfy, muffin, pumpkin, lovey, boo boo, poopy loopy, sugar wugar... you get the picture" man more than I can express in a blog post... I'm not gifted enough.

In such a short time we have come so very far...

In the first two weeks while healing from a c-section and longing for just 3 consecutive hours of sleep, Flip and I looked at each other and shared the same sentiment: "WHAT DID WE JUST DO???" I was prepared for this; we both were. I knew it would get better, and believing that pulled me through the sleep depravation and nursing trials. Our emotions were raw. The experiences were surreal. My hormonal sensitivities... through the roof. I would cry when I saw a homeless man on the street and would pray for him incessantly. I would cry at the imagination of Arthur's heart hurting whether it be a girl or some bully at school.

But, now that I'm several months into this... "baby amnesia" has attacked... and I look back and think, "Oh that wasn't so bad." Now, don't get me wrong; I totally appreciate this baby amnesia because I seriously want to do this again and again, but at the same time I want to remember the reality of those "baby fog" days (a term borrowed from my sister-in-law) so these memories don't fizzle away.

1. Healing from the c-section was manageable, but took a few weeks before bouncing up the stairs.

2. I needed a nice long cry after realizing my labor experience was far from ideal. It took a few days to accept the fact that I needed to mourn the experience.

3. Note for all: Your epidural did not work if one leg is dead-numb while the other one feels like going for a run.

4. Post delivery: Getting ready involved nipple creams, nipple pads, pads of all sorts and lotions for scars and stretch marks encroaching on time that simply does not exist.

5. That precious new baby can make you the most vulnerable person in the world.

6. Nursing was and still is a B---- (even though I assumed I had it down)

7. The smallest of problems with your child will consume your every thought while thunder-clouding you.

8. Bedtime was especially difficult when you knew you weren't really going to bed.

9. I played Darius Rucker's, "It won't be like this for long" a hundred times a day.

10. Hours were well spent just staring in awe at the beauty of what God designed inside of me.

11. Family support was incredible. I wanted to share the experience with everyone.

12. I saw my husband cry for the first time.

13. The Pediatrician prayed before Arthur's circumcision.

14. I tested and strengthened my endurance by mastering the most unnatural natural process: nursing... after countless hours of crying, slow regaining of birth weight, 5 cases of mastitis, and an extremely slow, inefficient nurser, I can endure anything.

15. Using the hospital nursery and wonderful nurses to take your beloved child when you're totally exhausted from 30+ hours of labor and a c-section is nothing to be ashamed of.

16. Oh... my first glance reaction, "tears and... WOA... it's a mini version of my father-in-law!"

Wouldn't trade it for anything.

Twitter?

Recently I've had many topics come to mind for this blog, but shy away from posting because they seem too opinionated or narcissistic. However, I enjoy writing about myself and what I think so maybe it's a guilty pleasure... an outlet not offered through my addictive friend, Facebook. 

The one "new" thing I'm not quite sure about is twitter! I have to agree with Bill O'Reilly about twitter... it may very well lead to the dumbing of our nation (if abused-- which it is!). In fact, facebook's twitter/status update can be one's vain attempt to spark interest in daily activities such as lunch or taking a nap. A part of me wants to click the comment tab and write, "I don't caaaare!" Dumb and Dumber style while another part is slightly interested in the fact that you had a taco for lunch... which then leads me down the path of wasted time. Considering I update my status occasionally and have a blog, I'll digress from strong opinions for fear of being hypocritical :)

Topics I would twitter about today: 

1. My weight gain (too much? too little?)

2. Parenting advice

3. The View- wishing I could be Elizabeth's "helper" while maintaining a sense of humor

4. Historical fiction novels I love to read

5. Pregnancy

6. the 12 minute turtle mile I now run at 7 months

7. Every move and kick my baby makes

8. The constant planning and preparing for our move to Charleston/graduation/having a baby!

9. Parenting philosophies

10. Baby feeding/sleeping books

11. Why I'm a republican!

12. Why staying grounded in the Bible is so important when it comes to forming opinions about life. 

13. Food

14. Family

15. Annoyances

16. Love

17. Work

18. Money

19. Prayer

20. Needs/Wants 

I have thought about all of these topics today (plus dozens more) and find it unbelievable that our minds are constantly working through and thinking about something... whether it be an opinion, analysis, or to do list. It would be interesting to review every thought we have in a given day to determine what kind of people we really are, and appreciate how complex our minds are. 

Maybe people that twitter constantly have a better grasp :) 

It's a Boy!

Pregnancy Glow?

My complexion has certainly seen better days! Every morning I wake up to find a new "accent" on my face. Currently, I resemble the Joker with dry scabs highlighting the corners of my lips. Isn't this contrary to popular belief? Aren't pregnant women supposed to glow?

Some women may resign to mother nature during pregnancy, but I refuse! If diamonds are a girl's best friend, then makeup must be a girl's loyal sister because I can't dream of a better companion. One quote that I always love to recite came from Dolly Pardon in Steel Magnolias, "There is no such thing as natural beauty!" Of course, Dolly needed to keep her salon busy :) But, Makeup -whether used to accent or cover- is necessary, and I will "glow" regardless of what nature decides... My latest MAC purchase: full coverage foundation. The switch from concealer and powder to foundation, concealer and powder has added about 3 well-worth-it minutes to my makeup regime. The "glow" can then be fully accomplished with bronzer and a subtle blush :)

Can you tell I'm Southern? Too many Northern women would quickly dismiss my insistence on makeup. Hopefully the natural glow will come in time, but my makeup bag will remain instrumental!

Arthur one more time...

What do you think about my little new baby Arthur Gordon ?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

Little Arthur

What do you think about my little new baby Arthur Gordon ?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

Charlotte with different pictures of "Mom" and "Dad"

What do you think about my little new baby Charlotte Victoria?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

Little Charlotte

What do you think about my little new baby Charlotte Victoria ?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

Gummy Vites?

Everyone knows pregnant women are supposed to take prenatal vitamins. But, I really can't take them. They make me sick! And the iron clogs me right up. So... I substitute with children's Gummy Vites, B Vitamins with folic acid, and an Omega 3. Is this good enough? 

NFL and the Bachelor

It's Saturday night and I'm sitting next to my husband watching the Carolina Panthers (our hometown team) battle the Arizona Cardinals. It's a pretty pleasant evening as the snow is falling outside and hibernation is my natural inclination from December to March! However, spending a Saturday night watching football... with the constant stopping and whistle blowing... no thanks! Thankfully, the Bachelor is on and we are recording both programs... watch a little football, then switch it over for some comic relief with the Bachelor! 

I love the Bachelor because I find nothing more enjoyable on television than watching women who are beautiful, dumb, and overly confident. Women that have lost total touch with reality (though completely annoying in person... I know a few) can be ironically endearing and entertaining on television. I mean, who doesn't love the squealing, giggling, pageant smiling, and corny one-liners. One contestant was interviewed in her pageant attire... she had on her tiara, sash, and gown... I loved her for that. Another girl described and showed us her vision boards. These boards consisted of magazine word cut-outs describing her perfect man... and NO she is not 17. I can't wait to meet the rest...

Unfortunately, my interest in the Bachelor wanes once the most entertaining girls are left flowerless. Until then... I'm going to respect and enjoy this show's comedic value! 

Confidence Symptom

Well... Christmas is over, and we are several days into 2009. Thankfully, I was able to enjoy Christmas because the nausea subsided and we have zillions of family members allowing us to celebrate a dozen times. We had a great time in the Carolinas, but it was too crazy and busy to write about, so.... I want to share my latest pregnancy symptom:

I've never been really insecure. I mean, I have the "normal, healthy" insecurities; however, I've never been overly confident either. For instance, I care if someone doesn't like me, or I'll think "I hope no one is looking at my butt in these pants." BUT these days... I'm the slightly chubby (pooching) audacious pregnant woman. I could care less if you like me or not. I would feel comfortable showing up in a ball gown to a super-bowl party, and if you say something even slightly offensive to me I'll call you out on it. I'm enjoying this new confidence as long as I don't become a total sassy frass. I mean, a little sassy frass is OK (I'm using sassy frass figuratively... not literally). I haven't heard of this symptom yet... but I know it's pregnancy related... everything these days is pregnancy related :)  Also, I'm still a little crazy at moments and get especially crazy if I'm hungry.... wait, there is no such thing as being pregnant and hungry... I mean STARVING. 

Last Doctor's appointment we were unable to hear the heartbeat through the doppler so we had another US, and this one was much less intrusive. The baby was dancing, kicking, punching, spinning and oh so very cute! Wish we could have captured him/her a little better... 12-13 weeks in the picture.