Back to Work

Today was my first day back to work! I shouldn't really call it a day of work, because I was only there for 3 and a half hours. A co-worker needed a few hours off during the day, so I worked for her. It was over lunch time so Andy didn't get a lot of sleep, but it was good for him to get to hang out with Hallee. Andy doesn't always do things the exactly way I would, and it's hard for me to not criticize him. I think it was good for him to get to parent his way for a few hours!

Wordless Wednesday

A Walk in the Park

Andy rotated his schedule at work last week. Now he is working overnights. We've enjoyed spending time together as a family in the afternoons and evenings as he worked during those hours all summer. Earlier in the week, we took Hallee for a walk on the bike path in town. It was beautiful and Hallee really enjoyed looking at everything. Yesterday, we walked around the path at the Outdoor Campus. It was a lot of fun! Hallee really likes being outside!

Bottle Battle

Finally!! After 3 long weeks of struggling to get Hallee to take a bottle, we have finally made progress. After she started her bottle strike, I walked down the shopping aisle of three (!) stores buying every bottle and nipple in stock. After she refused all of them, I was at my wits end. I was feeling a little claustrophobic thinking about not being able to leave Hallee...ever. Yesterday, we kind of turned a corner. We went back to the third bottle we tried, the Breastflow. It is a little odd looking, but it is working. She has to sit in her bouncy seat, with the seat vibrating, bottle and nipple both warmed, facing South. Okay, she doesn't care which way she's facing, but she is pretty picky about the rest!

3 Months Old

Need I say more?

Sleeping Machine!

Hallee slept from Midnight until 9:35 this morning! That's the longest stretch she's ever slept. She still fights to stay awake until midnight every night, but we have time to fix that!

A Night Out

Andy and I went out to a movie tonight. We saw The Proposal (highly recommended!) We decided that I needed some practice being without Hallee. My parents were planning a trip to visit us anyways, so they babysat. They said Hallee did very well, except that she didn't want to take a bottle. We started giving her a bottle at 3 weeks old, so she could get used to it. But she did so well, that we hadn't thought to do it in a few weeks. I guess she forgot how! At least we know that we need to work on it, before I go back to work.

Prayers

A good family friend of ours was critically injured in a car accident yesterday. A semi attempted to stop at a red light, but couldn't, and ran into her on the driver's side door. She is very lucky to be alive. She has a LONG road to recovery, but is expected to fully recover. She is still on the ventilator and is looking at plastic surgery tomorrow to repair her facial lacerations. She has two beautiful children. Please send up a prayer for her and her family.

Pink

A new outfit from her dad!

Finished!

Hallee's room is officially decorated! We finally found curtains that we both liked which completed her room. We painted Hallee's room before we knew if she was going to be a boy or a girl. We painted it green, with stripes on 2 walls. Her furniture is a dark chocolate brown and we added pink textiles after we brought her home. I used my Cricut to cut her name out of vinyl to put on the wall, which turned out adorable! Hallee is enrolled in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library so she gets a free book every month until she turns 5. I think we might end up putting a book shelf in her room for all of her new books. So, other than a book shelf, her room is complete!

A Tree for Hallee

It's tradition in my family to plant a tree in honor of each new family member. Yesterday we planted a tree for Hallee. Andy wanted a cute girly tree for his daughter but I didn't want anything that had berries or fruit. So we settled on a Greenspire Linden. It has heart-shaped leaves and pretty yellow flowers in the spring. It will be fun watching Hallee and her tree grow!

Changes in Employment

The last couple weeks, Andy and I had been discussing whether or not I should go back to work full time. We both agreed that keeping Hallee out of daycare would be best for her. Andy's schedule rotates hours and days off every 12 weeks. I work days, nights, weekends and holidays as well. In order for us to both go back to work, we needed to find someone willing to work with our crazy hours, which means extra expense. Andy doesn't really have a part time option with his job at the penitentiary. At the hospital, full time is three 12 hour days (or nights) per week. It's fairly easy to drop shifts, but I'd still be responsible to work certain weekends and holidays. So as of yesterday afternoon, I'm a PRN employee. Basically that means I work when I'm needed. I can work as little or as much as I want. When the hospital is not busy, I'll be the first one told to stay home. I am never obligated to work nights, weekends or holidays. I plan on signing up for one or two shifts each week, on the days Andy has off. We will be saving the expense of daycare, so things will almost even out. It's a little scary to give up my secure job for something much less stable, but it will be best for Hallee in the long run.

Hallee's baptism

With the Grandparents

Hallee with her Great-Grandparents

What a wonderful weekend we had! We spent the weekend in Madison, for Hallee's baptism. One fun thing about the Presbyterian Church that I grew up going to, is that they baptise kids during the Sunday morning service. They make a big deal out of it and walk the baby up and down the aisle, so everyone can see her. It was great. Hallee was wide awake looking around. She looked absolutley adorable in the baptismal gown that her Grandma Darla made for her! After the baptism, we had lunch at my parents cabin on Lake Madison. We had a fun day with friends and family!

Two Months Old!

Our little angel is two months old today! With that came a visit to the pediatrician. Hallee weighs 13 pounds, 4 1/2 ounces and was 23 3/4 inches long. She is in the 95 percentile for everything. Hallee got her first set of shots today. She also got an oral immunization, which she hated almost as bad as the shots! She calmed down pretty quickly and went on to have a pretty good day. She wanted to be held and nursed a lot, but I was happy to oblige her! Hallee spent her first night in her crib last night. She did really well, sleeping for 7 1/2 hours straight!

Welcome to the world Elizabeth!

Jenna and I have been best friends since kindergarten. I was maid of honor at her wedding, and she was maid of honor at my wedding, just six weeks later. Yesterday, Jenna gave birth to her second beautiful daughter. Elizabeth Renee was born at 10:01 pm. She weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces and was 22 inches long. She's a cutie! She makes my 2 month old look huge! Seeing a newborn really makes me realize just how much Hallee has changed!

A Real Start

I started this blog when we found out we were having a baby. That was quite a while ago, and I haven't updated anything since. I hadn't even spread the word that I started a blog. Now that I'm watching our beautiful Hallee grow up so fast, I decided it was time to make use of this space and share her changes with everyone that cares. Hallee is now almost 2 months old. She smiles, coo's and makes the cutest faces. She is still completely breastfed, so she eats about every hour and a half or two hours. At night she sleeps about 6 hours, eats and goes back to sleep for 3 or 4 hours. Hallee is determined to stay awake until well after midnight, but she does sleep until 9 or 10:00am. After a short bout with colic, Hallee is a wonderful baby. She loves to be held and snuggled. She is amazing.

Hallee at two weeks old

Hallee now

Welcome!