Happy Holidays!

Well, I have good news to report this morning, so I thought I better report it. Sadie has a place to go during the days beginning in January. She will be going to stay with a lady here in West Jeff. Her name is Amy and she is currently only watching two other children - an 8 month old boy named Blake and a 2 year old girl named Lily. Amy, Blake, and Lily all seemed very easy going and I felt very comfortable in Amy's house. Plus, Blake is a super cute little boy and if Sadie's going to have to have a boyfriend, I guess I'd be ok with it being him. :) Having this decision made has made me feel AMAZINGLY better and I'm quite glad to have Sadie be so close to me during the day. She's literally less than 5 minutes from my school. Amy is also not charging us an arm and a leg and will not be charging us if Sadie is not actually in her care for the day, which is a pretty unusual policy. So, I'm feeling pretty darn lucky at this point.

I'm also feeling really excited because my sister is flying in today. She doesn't get in until 10:30 tonight, so I won't actually get to see her until tomorrow, but just the thought that she'll be actually reachable in less than 24 hours is filling me with holiday giddiness. And, we're having our holiday potluck at school today and my mom is bringing Sadie out to school. So, I get to see my baby in only a few more hours!

Finally, our pictures are in from Penney's. I'm posting a few of my favorites, but you can follow the link below to see all the rest.

On another note, if you know Tiger and Megan, I talked to Tiger yesterday and they have learned the gender of their baby. Megan is due May 14. You'll have to talk to Tiger or Megan to find out, but they do know now. :)






Here's the link for the pictures:

Go to http://www.smilesbywire.com and enter the following:

Customer Name: KRYSTEN SMITH
Access Code: LTPP0741120209JCP

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Very Quick Update

Ok - this is my second time typing this.

Sadie was weighed on December 3, 1 day before her 3 month birthday. She weighed in at 15 lbs even.

I really don't enjoy being back at work. This year's crew is not particularly pleasant and that doesn't help motivate me to want to be here. Plus, it's super hard to work all day and come home to Sadie in the late afternoon. Like her mom, she's a morning person, and typically by the time I get home she's not in the greatest of moods. That just adds to the guilt.

We've also had a horrible time trying to find someone to watch her that I both like and can afford. I think we have this finally resolved, but I'll have to keep you all posted on that.

She's been staying with her Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa. I've been pumping like crazy and she's been happily eating from her bottles. She even likes to hold the bottle herself!

We spent Thanksgiving at Uncle Tim and Aunt Sarah's house. Sadie got to play with her cousins, Codey and Noah. They were GREAT with her, thanks to lots of practice playing with their little sister. We also got to see Grandma and Grandpa Brinkely, which is always a treat. We even got to see Grandma and Grandpa again this last weekend because they came down for a visit.

I'm very excited for Christmas. Aunt Rhian gets here on Thursday and then my cousins Megan and Amanda arrive on Tuesday. Pam is also coming into town, so Sadie will have many new friends to meet.

Well, I do actually need to get some work done this morning, so I have to run. We got pictures taken last week and I'll post that information as soon as I have it. Merry Christmas everyone!

2 Months and Facing the Inevitable

Well, it's been a while since I've had a post. I still haven't downloaded the latest round of pictures from my camera, so I have no new pictures to post. Since last I've written, Sadie dressed up as an adorably cute pea pod for Trick or Treat. We took her around my parents' neighborhood and told everyone we had a treat and did not need a treat in return. All of the neighbors were delighted to meet Sadie. And, she was absolutely the cutest baby ever! :)

Sadie is also two months old now! To celebrate her two month birthday, we went to Red Lobster. Sadie then enjoyed her shrimp flavored breast milk! :) Also, her two-month check-up was yesterday. She now weighs in at 13 pounds, 6 ounces and is 24 inches long. The nurse also measured her head as 14 inches in diameter, but that was smaller than at birth, so clearly she measured incorrectly. The doctor said that that particular nurse always seems to have trouble with measuring babies heads. Anyways, Sadie is the 95% for length and 90% for weight. She is such a cute girl! Her hair is starting to come back in. It's definitely going to be dark!

Now the inevitable - I have to go back to work on November 24th. I'm freaking out a little bit. I've left Sadie for about 5 hours, when Adam and I went on a date. But, that's about the longest I've been away from her and I'm not looking forward to being away from her for a longer period of time. I have a feeling I'm going to be a nervous wreck. I'm already feeling terribly guilt-ridden and have moments where I want to burst into tears. In other ways, I am looking forward to returning to a job that I do really like. Hopefully the good and bad moments will balance out and we will both be able to survive this rather difficult transition. I think I would feel a lot better if I knew a bit more about what to expect.

Well, it's time for Sadie to eat. She's currently dancing with Daddy. Daddy is holding her in the baby Bjorn. It's adorable! Take care all!

More New Pictures

We had a great weekend in Indianapolis! Sadie got to meet her friend Parker for the first time. Though I'm not really sure that either girl realized the others' existence, us parents sure had fun talking for them and making it seem like they were interacting. I will have pictures to post to show both girls, but I can't seem to locate my camera cord right now.

I did receive the link for our latest JC Penney's pictures. We had some taken when Aunt Rhian was here. Plus, we were hoping to get some better pictures in Sadie's halloween dress. But, not surprisingly, it was still ridiculously hot in the studio, so things didn't turn out so greatly as far as smiling in her dress. But, they were a little better than the first time. I'll post some of my favorite shots below and also the link for how to access everything. I'll have more to say later when Sadie is actually sleeping She's currently playing under her mobile in her crib! :)

We've got a pictures of Sadie in her dress, our family and mom's whole family. Enjoy!

Go to http://www.smilesbywire.com and enter the following:

Customer Name: Krysten Smith
Access Code: LTPP0741118363JCP

Quick Update and Paying it Forward

Quick Update:

I had my six week follow-up appointment with my ObGyn yesterday. I am well-healed and things are "back to normal". This is excellent news on many levels and I am very thankful.

Since my Ob is at the hospital, I took Sadie down to the women's center after my appointment. The women's center has a baby scale where you can drop by any time and weigh your baby. At six weeks and five days, my beautiful daughter now weighs 12 lbs 8 oz. That's right - she's not even 2 months old and she's already wearing 3-6 month clothes! (Truth be told, because she's not SUPER long, her 3 month clothes are fitting her just fine at this point, but I know it won't be long.)

Sadie has begun making the cutest little noises. Right now she's laying under her Baby Einstein play gym and making the happiest of noises. She grabs at her rattle toys and and LOVES to watch her flashing star. While she is doing this, she makes the most delightful coos and happy noises. It makes my heart melt. Every time she makes a happy noise I think it makes me love her even more (not that the sad noises make me feel the opposite, I just LOVE the happy noises!)

Aunt Rhian came in for the weekend. She got here on Thursday and left Monday night. She brought Mortimer with her. You may remember from previous posts that Mortimer is her miniature dachsund. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Sadie at first, but ended up wanting to be her protector. He did this with a lot of barking and much licking of Sadie's hands and arms. This was a bit nerve wracking to me, but in the end everything was just fine. As soon as I get a chance, I will upload my new pictures and get them posted. Aunt Rhian was delighted to meet Sadie and really seemed to enjoy her new "Aunt" role.

I got FANTASTIC news at dinner tonight. I'm still so excited I want to leap for joy. I am one of those people who has always been really close with her family. Any of you who know me well, know this is true. I only have 3 cousins, 2 of whom I grew up with living just a few blocks away. We went on vacations together every summer and we saw each other all of the time. However, since we've all grown up, I am the only one of the 4 girls (my sister and I and my two cousins) who have remained in town. Megan is the oldest of us (3 months older than me). She lives in Seattle. Amanda, her sister, now lives in New York. Rhian lives in Phoenix. Even though we don't see each other much, we do still e-mail and actually talk on the phone on occasion. Anyways, the last time I saw Megan was when I got married. Obviously that was more than 2 years ago. I saw Amanda last Christmas. But, my excellent news is that Megan and Amanda are both coming home for Christmas. I am so excited. My heart is bursting with excitement. They'll get to meet Sadie and better yet, I'll get to spend time with both of them. It's been at least 5 years - maybe more - since everyone's been home at Christmas, so this will REALLY be special. :)

Ok, now to the second part of this post.

Paying it Forward

Today I was driving back from the mall with my mom. My back right tire literally exploded off of my car. This happened as I was driving down the exit ramp from the freeway. I turned the corner with my blown off tire and a VERY nice man, who saw my "Baby on Board" sticker, pulled over and changed my tire for me. I have never had someone actually do this for me. I do have AAA and could have easily called them and waited for them to come and help, but this man just felt the need to help and had my tire changed out for the spare within 5 minutes. It was awesome. So, now I feel that I need to pay this amazing favor forward. If you know of anyone in need of an extra kind deed, please point me in their direction. Hopefully I'll stumble upon an opportunity before anyone else needs to point anything out, but keep your eyes peeled for opportunities for me.

Well, that's the update for now! I can't wait to see my Indy friends this weekend! Woohoo!!!!!

More Pictures

I finally got the link for the pictures we had taken at JC Penney's. As previously stated, they are ADORABLE! The pictures in her white dress are a little better because she wasn't fussy. She got fussy in her Halloween dress. I could hardly blame her since it was ridiculously hot in there, but it made for some very sad-face pictures. We're having them taken again tomorrow since Aunt Rhian is home and can be in the pictures with us. Hopefully Aunt Rhian's mere presence will bring out many happy Halloween smiles! :)

I promise that at some point, I will post the picture of me in a white dress at Sadie's age. The similarities are eerily scary. Clearly she will grow up to be one very attractive girl! :)

Anyways, here's what you need to do to view the pictures:

go to http://www.smilesbywire.com and enter the following:

Customer Name: Krysten Smith
Access Code: LTPP0741118134JCP

Enjoy!

An Update in Pictures (and a few words)

Ok, I have finally uploaded the pictures from my camera and have some adorable new shots to post.

First, here is our little sleeper:
















Here are Sadie and Great Grandma Winter. Remember, Sadie is Great Grandma's 28th great grandchild!
















Here are Sadie and Uncle Tim. She has the curious look - this guy looks kinda like my Dad, but I'm just not sure. :)
















Here are Sadie and Grandpa Brinkley. She was very amused with Grandpa.
















Here's the delicious cake that Aunt Sarah made for us. I wish we still had some!
















Here's a family shot when we visited the pumpkin patch last weekend:
















Now for the words:
Last Wednesday we had to visit the doctor. This is becauase Sadie's tear ducts have been blocked since she was born and her eyes are very gunky. Things seemed to be getting worse, not better, so we decided to go to the doctor. We now have an appointment for this Wednesday with a pediatric opthamologist at Children's Hospital here in Columbus. Hopefully they'll have some good suggestions and they won't have to do any procedures on Sadie, but we'll just have to wait and see.

While at the doctor, "the chunk" got weighed and measured. She weighed in at 11 pounds, 6 ounces. That is 2 lbs and 5 oz up from her birth weight. This girl can eat! She is also now measuring 22.5 inches, which is 2 inches up from birth. Additionally, her head now measures about 16.5 inches around which is 1.5 inches up from birth. She has a BIG brain too! My mom pulled out my baby book so that we could compare Sadie and myself. I was 9 lbs 12 oz at birth. At six weeks, I was 11 lbs. Sadie was 11 lbs 6 oz at five weeks. So, she may have been slightly smaller than her mom at birth, but she has more than caught up!

Last Monday we actually had our first Sadie photo session at JC Penney's. She did great for the first round of pics and then kind of lost it. It was ridiculously hot in the studio and, like her mom, she does not deal well with excessive heat. I don't have the link to post the pictures yet, but I will post the like as soon as I get it. I can't wait to post the picture of me at Sadie's age and then her picture. It's kind of scary how similar we look. I will say, though, that she has far chubbier cheeks! :)

One more "Hallelujah Moment" to mention - Sadie had been VERY resistent to a pacifier. Plus, the lactation consultant kept discouraging it because it can change the way she latches on the nurse and make nursing more painful for me. But, this basically means that I get to serve as her pacifier. (This is also perhaps why she has gained so much weight!) We had a break through this weekend though. I got my hair cut and my mom watched her while I was at the appointment. During the appointment, she got Sadie to take and keep the pacifier. Since then, she has spent many moments happily sucking away. This is great for while we are in the car as well as just calming her down so she can go to or go back to sleep. It's fantastic. God bless the pacifier! :)

Ok, because I can't resist, here are 3 more pictures. The first is a shot of her adorable feet.
















Here is a shot of Mommy's other baby. This is our little kitty, Beau. This is a relatively small basket that he has absolutely fallen in love with. He's so cute that I couldn't resist posting it.
















Finally, here's a great shot of Daddy and Sadie. We had a picnic lunch at Antrim Lake on Friday. Antrim Lake has very special meaning for Adam and I because it's where we met the first time. Adam can take an hour break for lunch, so he drove over to the park and met us for lunch. It was awesome!
















Ok, I feel like I've sufficiently flooded you all with pictures. Hope you're all off to a great week. Aunt Rhian is coming to visit on Thursday morning, so I'm sure we'll have more pictures and stories to post very soon! Take care!