Sara's PINK Bridal Shower

Someone, I won't name any names, who is less than 3 feet tall woke up extra early this morning.  I know I heard him stirring around 6:00 and when Matt left around 6:20 he shook me awake and said, "The baby's awake, want me to go get him?"  I wanted to reply with "Nooooooooo!" and turn off the monitor so I could snag another hour of sleep but I did get some good snuggles when Matt brought him in our room so I will say it's worth the extra early wakeup.  Funny how I used to bounce out of bed at 5:00 and now I'm struggling to drag myself up at 6:30 or 7:00.  At least I have some time to blog this morning!

I need a little cheer around here so today I'm choosing to remember the bridal shower we threw for my SIL, Sara, a few weeks ago.  Sara and Randy are getting married in just 22 days!! I'm so looking forward to a fun weekend next month with all of Matt's family and Sara and Randy's friends.  And I will definitely need to do a little shopping before then because the outfit I planned for Carter to wear is definitely too small already.  :)

Sara is most definitely the princess of her family, so it was very fitting for her to have her own princess bridal shower! We used as much PINK as we could in all the decor and just made it very girly for her...and she LOVED it!

The menu included all of Sara's favorite things: Cowboy Dip, Chick-fil-A nuggets, Ham & Cheese sliders, Pinwheels and Iced Tea.  I'm so glad we have the same taste in food because I was in complete heaven with everything! I don't think I moved too far away from the pinwheels all afternoon.  :)

I'm so fortunate to have married into such a loving, wonderful family.  I love these ladies like they are my own (because they are!)  Sara is entering into the same situation with wonderful in-laws and a new brother, sister and 2 new nephews.  Lucky girl!

We had a great turn-out and Sara left with some GREAT new stuff.  I always loved going home and opening up all the gifts after all of my bridal and baby showers.  It's just such a great feeling to know that your joy is shared by so many of your close family and friends.

Randy surprised Sara at the end of the shower with beautiful flowers! Such a catch! :)

And my littlest love <3 p="">

Congrats, Sara and Randy!  Can't wait to celebrate with y'all next month! Love you!! 

Calling All Mommies: Nap Help

Okay, I need some serious help.  Carter has never been a big napper.  We got to a point over Christmas break when Matt was home where he was going down easily and sleeping for 1+ hour at each nap, but since then his napping has been atrocious.  I can usually count on his first nap of the day to be about 45 minutes, but anything afterwards is hit or miss.  Some days he will snooze 20 or 30 minutes, but I very rarely get more than that.

Recently he has been waking up from his afternoon nap after about 15 minutes.  I try to let him cry and soothe himself back to sleep but some afternoons he just works himself up and cries so hard he starts to get sick.  I will go in there and rock him and he will instantly fall back asleep.  Then when I try to transition back to the crib he wakes up every.single.time.

I know he's not getting the proper amount of sleep because he is so fussy in the afternoons/early evenings.  What can I do to help him?  He sleeps really great at night so I hate to even complain, but I know he needs his daytime rest.

Anyone out there have any advice?  Thanks in advance. 

Picture update

I don't have it in me to do a full update post but wanted to include some of my favorite pictures as of late.  Most of these I already posted on Instagram but want to include on the blog.

First taste of blueberries...they were a hit!

Fun times at the park

Swinging

 Our first night leaving Carter overnight...we survived! 

Matt had both babies one day while we were at the hospital.  He sent me this picture with the caption "DOTY...Dad of the Year"

Bath time at Nana's

Figured out how to give himself his own bottle! 

Dinner at Pappa's Bros Steakhouse- best dinner of our lives

Meeting baby Nate!

First bite of peaches.  His face is deceiving but he loved them and kept going back for more!

Another deceiving face...this boy has RSV and a 103.7 fever but still is all smiles

First time in the grocery cart! 

Go Texan Day! 

I'm totally THAT mom who doesn't have pictures of anything but her kid.

Daddy

This post is so hard to write.  I've started and deleted many times.  I just feel like no matters the words nothing will ever fully explain my emotions right now.  There are so many things I want to say, but also so much I want to forget I'm torn about what to put down.  Ultimately, this blog is my family scrapbook and I've decided to include this period of sadness and grief.

Mama called the morning of February 7 to tell me Daddy collapsed on the golf course.  After several days in the hospital and numerous doctors we were basically told that it was likely a "cardiac event" that caused him to lose consciousness and the brain damage he sustained thereafter was too severe to recover from.  We were able to spend several days with Daddy in ICU and eventually moved him to hospice on February 12, where he took his last breath.

We held a memorial service in his honor on February 16 where I delivered a eulogy Mama wrote.  Not surprisingly the church was full of people who knew Daddy from all walks of life.

Right now I think the word to best describe my feelings is numb.  I'm floating through days taking care of Carter like nothing has changed, yet my whole world is different.  I'm not sure how to keep going yet I find myself doing everything my brain is telling me I should be doing.  I'm just in disbelief.  Shock.  I alternate from being completely fine to a complete wreck with ease.  I worry most about my mom.

I'm not sure where to go from here.

A Day in the Life: 8 Months

In the beginning I had planned to do a post like this for every month, but obviously that didn't pan out.  Never too late to start, right?  I know this will be good to look back on once we have another baby and I wonder what the heck we were doing each month and what our schedule was.  Here's what our schedule is like at 8 months:

5:00am- Monkey wakes up and fusses a little in his crib.  I give him a few minutes to see if he will go back to sleep and eventually go in his room and nurse him for a few minutes.  Put him back to bed and I go back to sleep after waking up Matt for work.

8:15am- Wake up to Carter babbling to himself over the monitor.  Grab him, change him and snuggle with him in bed for a few minutes.  He loves to play with my hands and chew on my fingers (ouch!) Usually on Fridays we go to bible study but we can't go today since he is coughing and congested.

8:30am- Get up, make coffee and nurse Monkey Man.  Catch a little of the Today Show and check my email while he is nursing.

8:50am- Put Monkey in the jumper and a Praise Baby DVD on while I get breakfast started and clean the living room up.  It's the only time he will sit still and not cry if I leave the room.

9:00am- Breakfast! Waffles for me and oatmeal and yogurt for him.  He plays in his high chair a little while before eating and eventually ends up throwing all his toys on the floor.  Future quarterback??

9:45am- He's coughing a congested so we do a breathing treatment and have the doctor call in a decongestant for us.

10:00am- Down for a nap after throwing a fit and singing "rock-a-bye baby" 95 times.  I answer a few emails and jump in the shower and get dressed praying he sleeps long enough for me to get ready.

11:15am- Awake and singing to himself! Diaper change, wardrobe change and we "attempt" his 8-month pictures.  Fail.

11:45am- Nurse and play in the living room.  He's loving his drum set and any sort of ball he can try to throw.

Onesie from Aunt Laura.  I promise to start the Harry Potter brainwashing ASAP. 

12:30pm- Lunch for both of us.  Turkey sandwich for me and prunes for him.  Playtime in the high chair and it in the living room afterwards, along with a little laundry.

I'm sorry, you don't want to eat your prunes?

Would you be happier with a Gatorade bottle?

1:30pm- Carter goes down for a nap and I spend some time finishing laundry, paying bills and setting up our February budget, and blogging while watching Grey's.

2:15pm- Carter wakes up and we rock for a little while in his room and he babbles to me about the nap he just took.  I nurse him and take him in the living room for more playtime.

3:00pm- Leave to run errands.  I usually try to do these earlier in the day before school gets out, but I was waiting for the cleaning lady to come.  Today's errands include a diet coke from Chick-fil-a, prescriptions from CVS, the bank and Hobby Lobby.  They also include a diaper change in the back of the car when we get to the bank.  Fun times.

5:00pm- Head home and Carter falls asleep in the car for 10 minutes.  I nurse him when we get home and spend the next 30 minutes trying to get him to go back to sleep to no avail.

5:45pm- Matt gets home and they have playtime together.

6:30pm- Dinner.  Sweet potatoes for Monkey and leftovers for me and Matty.  Matt feeds Carter and gets food everywhere.  After he was finished but before Matt takes Carter out of his high chair Carter lifts his leg and blows out his diaper.  Which leads to...

6:45pm- Bathtime! Matt is still really nervous to give Carter a bath so I still do this while Matt cleans the kitchen.

7:00pm- Breathing treatment, bible story, nurse and bed.  Sweet dreams, baby!