Date Night

Oh what a drab day it has been. We went to sleep last night to the rain and woke up this morning to dreary, cold weather. I am not a fan of being cold, but I am less of a fan of being cold Mid-April. I am ready for the temps to start climbing back up in the 80s. I will be whining in July because I am sweating and begging for fall, but as for right now.... I want to be outside and warm! Anyway, Scott and I woke up when Suzy got up this morning at 8:00 (she went to sleep at 7:30 last night). We fixed her bottle and fruit cereal (bananas were on the menu this morning) then Scott prepared breakfast for the adults. It was delish. The three of us spent the day being lazy together. The weather was the perfect opportunity for us to stay cooped up in the house. It was quite nice though. I did get some of Suzy's pictures organized on Shutterfly and finished her "2 Month" picture book. I will admit, I am a slacker when it comes to pictures. I will take a million of them and then never get them printed out. If I am lucky enough to print them out they stay piled in my car above my visor. It is just not something that I am very good at. Suzy was a pretty happy little lady today. She played, cooed, and watched Scooby Doo with Scott and I. After her 1 o'clock feeding she laid down for a nap..... this nap lasted three and a half hours. It was lovely. While she was asleep I talked to Mimi who agreed to watch the little stinker while Scott and I went to dinner. It was an unplanned "Date Night" at the Smith Residence. Mimi had no objections to the idea since she has not seen her much due to having her little procedure earlier in the week.

While Scott finished getting dressed for our date, I had a photoshoot with SZ. She doesn't look too thrilled does she?

Suzy on her way to see Mimi this afternoon. She doesn't go far without her "baby". Mrs. Jeana Tabor from SMS gave her this sweet little monster at my school shower. She is obsessed with it. She is loving that it is easy to hold onto and that she can get it to her mouth successfully!

After we dropped Suzy off with Mimi we headed to Como to eat the Como Steakhouse. As we were pulling up I said, "Scott we are here just in time to eat with all the old folk". I should really quit referring to the elderly so often. I guess I think that I am 18 or something? We arrived to dinner at 5:30. We, of course, planned to eat at 5:30 so that it didn't interfere with Suzy's 7:30 bath/bedtime. We always like to sit at the bar when we go to Como. Not for the drinks, but because it is always way quicker to sit up there than at a table. We had a sausage and cheese  plate, salads, and I ate a few bites of Scott's steak. We had filled our bellies and were walking to the car at 6:30. For those of you that know about the Como Steakhouse know that getting a table, eating, and paying your ticket within an hour is unheard of! We planned our little journey quite nicely if I do say so myself. We then headed to pick up our sweet Suze. Mom had carried her over to her neighbors' house, Jon and Lakay. When we got out the car Lakay commented on how nice we looked (we werent' dressed up, I guess she is just used to seeing us looking like complete death or something?) and then insisted that they take a family photo of us. We agreed. I am glad that we did. We have no pictures of the three of us. The random iPhone photograph taken was actually pretty decent. Thanks J&L Photography for the lovely photo op. :)

Too bad Suzy wasn't looking at the camera. She is too busy examining my shiny shoes.

We got home just in time to put SZ in the tub and get her bedtime bottle prepared. While she was in the tub Gigi and Pops came by to see her. Gigi usually has SZ on Saturdays, but she played in a golf tournament today. She apparently missed her baby so much that they had to swing by our house on their way home. Suzy got to see them before she went to Sleepytown. Her chunky self sucked down the 6 oz bottle with 2 scoops of oatmeal in it and hasn't made a peep since. Oh I am so blessed to have a baby that likes to sleep as much as I do!! I think I too will take the opportunity of an early bedtime tonight.

The Simple Things

Usually one day per weekend I have some time “away” from my real life duties. On these off days I tend to do a bunch of very off the wall things. I should be inside cleaning house, doing laundry, reorganizing cabinets and such, but I cannot seem to do anything very productive or meaningful. I have come to love the days that I can do things for myself. I never knew how much I actually did for myself until Suzy came along. I used to just hop in the car at the drop of a hat just to go to town for a Diet Coke, but that has all changed….. for the better, of course. Scott and I were talking the other day about money (the root of all evil) and how it seemed like I hoard it these days. Hoarding is not the word for it. Not having time to go do random things like I used to do is the reasoning behind the change in finances I believe? Finances are neither here nor there, the point I am trying to make in a round about way is that I have come to appreciate the smaller things in life. Shopping, Diet Coke runs, pedicures, etc. are all things of the past and I couldn’t be more thrilled about that! Now, don’t get me wrong… I do love all those things listed above, but they just don’t come as often as they used to. Suzy’s Gigi gets her a good bit on the weekends, so that I can have a breather and so that she can spend some extra time spoiling her. Instead of our old weekend habits, we do random things like clean out flower beds?

Scott made my flower beds wider so that they were not so jumbled up! We took every single plant out of the beds and totally started over! It looks 100 times better!

A glimpse from another angle!

Cleaning flower beds is just one of the off the wall projects that we have come up with to do. Scott usually spends his time away doing things like fishing, cooking out, and socializing. Me on the other hand, I pick things to do like clean out the upstairs room to make Suzy and I a place to hang out and recover chairs? Really??..... What has happened to me?! I should be spending this time in Southaven shopping, shouldn’t I? I finally took one of the days off that I was granted and did something that was actually all for me last Saturday. Lauren and I went to Mimi’s house around 12:00 and laid out for three hours. Three hours of uninterrupted time was outstanding and being in the sun with an amazing friend was just a cherry on top! Today, Kendal picked Suzy up from Memaw’s house so I could take care of a few things that I needed to scratch off my “to do” list. I had a hair appointment at 5:00, which is one of my very favorite things to do. Instead of arriving right on time to my hair appointment I ended up showing up 45 minutes early just to catch up with everyone had have some nice “gossip time”. It was fantastic. Scott and I have also signed up to be members of Back Acres Country Club so that he can teach me how to play golf. I am so super excited about this! I have wanted to learn to play for years and he has finally agreed to teach me. When Suzy gets a bit older we will take full advantage of that lovely kiddie pool too! I am so fortunate to have family close by that will gladly ask for Suzy on the weekends. I do not know what I would do without them. I am also extremely thankful that I have (somewhat) realized that I should do simple things with my time instead of trying to things like redo my whole yard in a day. Manual labor days just make you even more tired the next day. My laid back, easy weekend and week have made me a much happier lady.

When Suzy got home Sunday her Daddy had to steal back some loving!!

Time Flies

I should be so ashamed of myself for not blogging like I should be. The past 3 months have been a whirlwind and I haven’t found the “extra” time to blog OR the computer/internet access that would have made this so much easier. We have had a Mifi and it took forever for the pictures and blogs to load so I got a little frustrated and just totally abandoned the whole thing. I am going to do much better now that we have Wifi I hope. I even went and bought a new desktop computer so that I could have my own personal little place to write posts, pay bills, upload/print pictures, etc. I am glad to finally have a little “Amy Space”!

Let me catch you up on Suzy!!! She has grown so much. It is hard to believe that that wee little baby that we brought home from the hospital has grown into such a chunky little thing. She is 14 weeks old, weighs 14 lbs, and has fat rolls all over her. Memaw still keeps Suzy while I am at work and it seems like Gigi (Scott’s mom, Linda) has her at least one night per weekend. My mom (Mimi) always has little projects going on or is going to the Lake House and cannot get her much on the weekends. I know that as soon as her schedule slows down that she will be fighting Gigi for a weekend! Mimi does get to see Suzy a lot during the week though. If 3 days have passed and she hasn’t seen her she tends to get a little whiney!

Mimi and Suzy at the Lake House over Spring Break.

Gigi and Suzy the same week!

Suzy is an absolute joy. She has been sleeping all night since I went back to work when she was 6 weeks old. Thanks to Jill Lamar I read the book Babywise and it changed our lives!! I was venting to Jill one day about how rough things were going with her crying, sleeping, feedings, etc. and Jill recommended the book. I went to her house one afternoon and picked it up. I read it in one night and started the Babywise method the next day. It was a life changing experience I assure you. The first couple days were pretty stressful and very emotional. For those of you that are not familiar with the book I will fill you in quickly (I could talk about it for days). The book just recommends that you put your baby on a schedule, stick to the schedule, and teach the baby how to “self sooth”. Well, in other words it tells you to put the baby on a schedule and let them cry the problems out themselves. Needless to say, I cried about as much as Suzy did for 3 days or so. Babywise says to feed the baby, have “awake time”, then “rest time”. Suzy picked up on everything so quickly that within a couple days she was thriving. I am now a firm believer that babies thrive on schedules. After a week of using the methods Suzy was a brand new baby. There wasn’t nearly as much crying going on, she would swing or sit in her bouncy chair, and I didn’t have to hold her constantly. It had gotten to the point that she was falling asleep on my chest and I would slowly move her to her baby bed, but the book taught me how to make that change. I feed her at night, kiss her, tell her I love her, walk out of the room and she never makes a fuss!! It is ahhhhhmazing!! She was going to sleep at 9:00 PM, but has moved her bedtime up herself to 7:30 and sleeps until I pick her up in the mornings to take her to Memaw’s house. One area that I cannot complain about is the “bedtime routine”. I recommend this book to every person that I know that has babies or is fixing to have a baby. Naptime has been a struggle because we didn’t know that she should have a scheduled naptime everyday. I guess I was too enthused about bedtime to remember what the book told me about naps. I picked up the book again and reread the chapter on naps and that is getting much better now that I have some knowledge on how to implement them.

This is Suzy’s schedule as of right now (when she starts teething things may become a bit different, so I don’t want to get too attached to it):

6:30 AM- I wake Suzy up to change her diaper and we head to Memaw’s

7:00- Feeding 1

10:00- Feeding 2, naptime

1:00- Feeding 3, then they go outside to “play”

3:30- I pick Suzy up from Memaw’s

4:00- We are back home, Feeding 4, naptime

6-6:30’ish- Suzy gets a juice bottle (2 oz)  to help hold her over until “bedtime”

7:00- bath time and preparations for bedtime (if she can hold off until 7:30)

7:30- Feeding 5 and off to Sleepytown she goes, she is usually dead asleep by 8:00 at the latest

For those of you that read my blog posts from the early days of Suzy’s life know that she had so many problems in the bowel movement department. We tried everything that we could try with her being so young. She finally reached a point where the doctor suggested giving her juice to help the situation. She is allowed 1-2 oz, 1-2 times per day. It has helped tremendously. We no longer have those problems, thank goodness. When she went for her last check up he told me that we could start implementing cereal by spoon to her diet, so we have started doing that as well. She gets spoon fed cereal with her morning bottle and she is loving it. She also gets 2 tablespoons of cereal in her “bedtime bottle”.

Going back to work and getting back in the swing of things helped Suzy and I out tremendously. I don’t know if I could ever be a stay at home mom. I went stir crazy and it drove me nuts not having a routine/schedule for myself. I believe that I also thrive on a schedule J It is extremely hard being away from her, but it makes 3:30 so rewarding when I get to see her.

My sweet friends Betsy and Jennifer sent me flowers on my first day back to work!

Happy Suzy was still wearing newborn or 0-3 month clothes at 6 weeks.....

In Suzy’s first 14 weeks she has done a lot of things! She has been to the lake house several times, attended her first crawfish party, been to a baby shower, ventured on shopping trips, strolled many a mile, spent the night away from home at least once a week, and been in an Easter Pageant. She is already a very busy girl. 

Suzy was getting prepared for the Lake House over Spring Break in her sweet blue stripes... I will never buy blue stripes again. Even with the flowers on the collar everyone we saw said, "What a sweet baby boy".....UGH!

Suzy with Monica at Pop's birthday party.

Now Suzy is filling up her 3 month outfits :)

Thank you Uncle Casey and Melissa for the sweet little outfit!

She's all dolled up for the Easter Pageant.

Life's Adjustments

Suzy is now 6 weeks old... Time is flying by so quickly. I cannot believe that I have to go back to work Tuesday. I wish that I would "win big" and be able to stay at home with her. She is just now getting to where she has adjusted to life outside the womb. We finally got her on some formula that agrees with her tummy. The new formula seems to be helping with the gassiness and fussing. She was still having problems pooping so her pediatrician told me to start her on juice. She can have two ounces of apple or pear juice twice a day. She absolutely loves it and it is helping her bowel movements too! Wish they would have suggested that "fix" a long time ago. In the past 6 weeks she has been on 5 different formulas and tons of gas drops. We don't even have to use the gas drops anymore!!

Fun Facts about Suzy at 42 days old:

* She sleeps from about eleven every night to approximately five in the morning

* She loves to have "belly time"

* She is starting to hold her head up and look around at lights

* She drinks 5 oz every 3 hours

* She has the hiccups at least 5 times a day :)

* She loves to sleep on mine and Scott's chest

* The sound machine/projector is her favorite bedtime trinket

* Her best friends are Easten Mahan and Veazy Williams

* She likes her swing at Memaw's house ALL THE TIME, and ours at home SOMETIMES

* She has been on breast milk, Enfamil Newborn, Similac Alementum, Similac Advance, and most recently Similac Sensitive

* She likes everything about bath time except getting her hair washed

* She is now wearing some of her 0-3 month clothes

* Last week she weighed 9 lb, 7 oz (she gained 3lb, 2 oz in 3 weeks!!!!)

* We have tried every pacifier in Wal Mart and Target and she isn't a fan of any of them

Suzy loves the hippo that her Daddy got her!

Such a happy girl!

Suzy's first dinner date with Easten Mahan. She is 4 days older than him. You can't tell by looking at the can you?

We had to take this picture in her awesome outfit so she could be put on the list to be the "Model of the Week" for Special Daze. You will see it again!

Rebecca, Kendall, and Alison gave her these cool shade for Valentine's Day.

Suzy's First Valentine's Day!

Scott's Home Now!

I didn't just become a full time mommy the beginning of January; I also became a full time wife. Scott's company was given the Electrolux job in Memphis and they placed him there for up to a year. He has been away from home the whole time we have been married with the exception of last summer, so this news was a huge blessing. He has been home every night but 3 since Suzy was born. Having him home has been absolutely amazing, but a huge adjustment too. I went from just going and doing whatever I wanted to do, eating whatever I wanted, and tending house whenever I wanted to being confined to my house, cleaning up the kitchen after he cooks, and sharing my bathroom with him every morning. I wouldn't change any of it for anything in this world, but I have had to adjust my ways of doing things for sure. My house would stay clean all week until he came home on the weekends and now I can clean it and he has drug something else out to dirty it back up. I am just thankful that he is the cook around here. If I had to cook we would be eating Poppyseed Chicken and Chicken Rotel every night since those are the only 2 things that I can actually cook well. Scott has been such a huge help with Suzy. I don't know how I would have made it without his help. Since he has been working I have been taking 90% of the night time feedings and diaper changes, but when he gets home every night I do have a couple hours of me time. I start back working Tuesday, so he will has agreed to help me with "night duty" starting tomorrow night. I cannot believe that I am going back to work. It seems like I just had her a week ago. I just hope and pray that I have enough energy to function at work!

Major Mistake

Well, to start off our 3rd week as a family of three Sally and Veazy made a "Breakfast Visit" Sunday morning! It was the best visit by far. She brought pancakes and we got to hang out in our pajamas, catch up, and let Veazy meet "Suzy Baby" (that is what VZ calls her). It was such a fun morning. Veazy was so consumed with loving on Suzy and asking questions about her. It was the sweetest thing. He and Sally even sang to her. He is just a doll!

Veazy and Sally singing to Suzy.

Veazy was amazed that Suzy didn't have any teeth! Sally said that he talked about it all day Sunday. "Suzy Baby have no teeth"

Sally and I were outside, when we came back in we couldn't find the boys and Suzy.... Scott was showing Veazy how to hold Suzy. It was so sweet.

Suzy also got her first real bath Sunday. She loved it. We have been wishing her cord would fall off before we bathed her. It finally did, so we took full advance of the situation!

She is so relaxed!

This is where you can find Scott if Suzy has been sponge bathed or given a real bath.... He is in charge of her hair. Mommy always forgets to brush it :) I like it wild!

 My mom and best family friend suggested Rice Cereal for Suzy........ They said, "we gave it to you when you were 2 weeks old. It will help her sleep and fill her up better". Let me tell you something, DO NOT GIVE A 2 WEEK OLD BABY RICE CEREAL! We only gave her a tablespoon, but I can assure you that it was the worst idea EVER! I called my mom absolutely furious at 11 o'clock Monday night to come console my screaming child. Her belly was so full it was round and hard. She did not like the Cereal and she let us know it. We paid for that experiment all night long. Finally, around 4 AM she decided that she would quit fussing. Either she was tired of crying or she had given up. That was the worst experience that I have had as a Mama so far. I felt horrible for giving it to her and so dumb to listen to her Mimi and Teresa...... That was 26 years ago when she fed me, she must have been confused. We will wait until she is at least 6 weeks or older to experiment with that again! This was a major mistake that I can promise will never happen again.

We have had quite an exciting week. We got out of the house one day that was so pretty and went to Memaw's. We worked in the flower bed while Suzy relaxed her in stroller in the sun. She loved being outside. I wish that it would stay pretty so she could be out more!

We also went to The Hot Rod Shop to see her Papaw and Uncle Casey before they left to go to the lake house for the weekend. Suzy wore her Race Car outfit for the ocassion. After staring at her for twenty minutes Papaw decided that he wanted to hold her. This is a huge deal. He hasn't held her yet. He said she was too little... We were thrilled!

I dropped Suzy off at her Gigi and Pop's house this afternoon for her to spend the night. They wanted to show her off to all their friends, so I took them up on the offer. After I dropped her off I went to Southaven to do some nonmaternity clothes shopping!! It is so nice not to have to buy clothes that resemble potato sacks anymore. Scott and I are going to Como Steakhouse tonight with Zander and Steph and I cannot wait. I am going to miss my little stinker though. I cry every time I drop her off with her Mimi or Gigi. I hope after dinner I come home and crash for at least eight hours!! Sleep deprived!



I have noticed that a few things have changed around the Smith Household thanks to Baby Suzy. Here are some of the things that stick out to me at the moment-

1. I have to plan my outings (grocery store, visits with friends, etc.) around the time that she eats and sleeps. I have always been a "pick up and go" kind of gal... Not so much anymore. I have to precisely time our outings so that she is not hungry right in the middle of it, because when Suzy is hungry she is NOT happy. She will let everyone around her know that she wants some milk!

2. Scott is home now, so he has been cooking every night (for those of you that know me well, know that I do not like to touch raw foods so I don't cook or wash dishes, because I will have to touch the food after it has been picked through {I know... I am weird person}). When he gets supper finished we have to: A. eat in shifts or B. I have to hold her while I eat. For some reason every single night that supper is finished she decides that she will throw a screaming/crying tantrum. The past couple nights instead of eating at separate times I have just been holding her while I eat. I know it is a terrible habit to start, but I can assure you that I do not want to hear her be so upset while I am enjoying my dinner.

3. Trips to Wal-Wart, Sonic, and the tanning bed are heavenly experiences these days. When Scott comes home from work or when Memaw is watching Suzy I get to have a little "me" time. The best 12 minutes of my day (of alone time) is when I can sneak away and go to the tanning bed! It is ahhhhhmazing. The second best thing ever is if I can get to Sonic for "Happy Hour" during the tanning bed outing. Don't get me wrong, I love spending my time with Suzy!! I just need about 30 minutes a day to myself to keep me sane!

4. Mine and Scott's sleeping arrangements have changed. He sleeps in the bedroom and I sleep in the twin bed that is in Suzy's nursery. I thought that Suzy would sleep in her cradle in our room for a couple weeks then I would trust her digital monitors enough to put her in her baby bed, but that hasn't happened yet. She is in her baby bed now, but I am too paranoid to sleep away from her. She is a bit overprotected. I am literally 3 feet from her and still watch the monitors to make sure that she is still breathing and moving. I hope this soon will pass. I miss my bed.

5. I have always been a weirdo about poop and smells, but these days I do a "Poopy Pants Dance" when Suzy goes number two. I am absolutely thrilled over a dirty diaper. We are still having a few issues with her bowel movements, so poopy diapers are the best!!

6. I find myself holding my iPhone all the time so I can get a good picture of her. I can bet that I send at least 25 picture messages a day! I, of course, do not have my phone ALL the time, but whenever I think she may strike a pose I have it ready! I am obsessed with her!

7. I am a bath taker... I love a good bath. I take up to three a day! Now, instead of a quiet bath, Suzy is sitting next to the tub in her Nap Nanny. The whole bath tub experience is polluted with my baby talk and her babbling and it is absolutely precious. How did I survive without her?

8. I am a singer these days. I didn't say I was good at it, but I am at least trying. She was being fussy the other night so I started singing to her (I was desperate). She finally quit crying. It was either because she wanted me to stop or she enjoyed it. I told Scott about it and he ever so politely explained to me that she just wanted me to stop. I will admit... I cannot sing at all!!

I will leave you with a funny story- A couple nights ago I was outside in the garage and I heard Scott screaming to the top of his lungs. I ran inside and he was yelling, "I am gonna need some help in here". When I walked into Suzy's room I saw poop everywhere. This little 6lb baby shot poop all the way across the room and all over her changing table. She had some major pressure built up. It was so bad that I had to get our steam cleaner out to clean the carpets! Then, yesterday Sharon was visiting us while I was feeding her. When her feeding was over I decided I'd just change her diaper on the couch.... Me being lazy was NOT a good idea. She shot poop all over the couch and me! I had to change clothes and break out the upholstery cleaner. This little girl is bound and determined to ruin every stitch of fabric we have in our home I believe! But, "YAY for poop"!!

Lola loves Suzy.

She is 3 weeks old today!! Happy, happy girl.

First Two Weeks

Our first two weeks have been like a rollercoaster ride. We have had our ups and downs, good days and bad, and great nights and not so great nights. I would not trade one moment for anything in this world, though. Suzy is by far the greatest thing that has ever happened to Scott and I. Motherhood is a job that no one could have prepared me for. All the helpful hints that everyone shared with me before her arrival were great, but no one told me about things like: babies having problems pooping, switching formulas, nipple sizes for bottles, oh the list could go on and on.....

Week One

We got home Monday the 9^th around one o'clock. As soon as we walked in the door the whirlwind started. She started fussing because she was hungry and I was not prepared to feed her. I had bags to get out of the car, lunch waiting on me, and a shower calling my name. That is when it hit me.... My life is no longer about ME, it is all about HER. After that realization I strolled into the nursery with my bags still in my car, my lunch getting cold, and unshowered and prepared to feed her. I was breastfeeding, which took me a lot of preparation. Scott had to help me mound pillows and the boppy at just the right height and then get her situated. This process along with her feeding took a good hour. I produced plenty of milk for her, but the breastfeeding didn't last long for us. The time consuming process, the lack of sleep, and her feeling bad put a stop to the madness after 5 days of doing it. I gave it my best shot, but it just was not for us. She wasn't happy and I wasn't happy. The last day that we tried breastfeeding was a nightmare. Everything that Scott said to me, every time she cried, every time it was feeding time I bawled and squalled. I quit breastfeeding and she seemed much more satisfied and I was actually sane again. I think that breastfeeding is great, but it just didn't work out for us. The week went on with many sleepless nights due to her tummy being upset. I thought she may have a little colic after researching her symptoms, but I think now that it is just gas and pooping issues. Sunday we had newborn pictures, which was an absolute disaster. Rachel came to take her pictures during her normal "awake time". I should have known better. Rachel is great and handled it amazingly... Me on the other hand, I didn't. I think I cried or teared up as much as Suzy did. Suzy did not like having her picture taken... not one bit. After two hours of her screaming I finally called it quits and just hoped that we would get some good pictures out of the ones that Rachel had taken. I got our CD full of images back and they are great! I am very pleased. I hope that the three month pictures go a little better :)

Week Two

Suzy continued to be very fussy through the nights and afternoons, so I got a little paranoid and alarmed and started calling the pediatrician every day. I guess they got sick of me calling... The scheduled me an appointment to just come see the doctor. That made me happy. The doctor informed me that Suzy was just unaware that she controlled her bowel movements and that she would eventually learn. He told me to switch formulas and get some faster nipples so she got the feeling of being "full" better. He also told me to check her temperature rectally every other feeding to stimulate a movement. We have been doing that and things got a little better. It still isn't great, but it is better!

Scott had to go back to work this week. The news of that made me extremely sad. It is amazing how wonderful he has been throughout this transition. He is so attentive and helpful. I knew he would be a great daddy, but I had no idea how great of a daddy he would be. With him being gone I have been on night and day duty. I have been very tired, but have been working through it. I have been trying to nap when she naps, but it is pretty hard to do when I have a house that needs tending to as well. Suzy and I have gotten out a couple times. The first trip was to the pediatrician, which went great. We also went to my mom and Scott's mom's work to let everyone meet her. She did great then, too. Everyone loves her! How could they not? Of course, I try to get by Sonic a couple times a week to get a Route 44 Diet Coke :) She doesn't mind my dollar a day indulgence. She likes to ride!

My mom, Scott's mom, and my Memaw have been so much help. I am so grateful that they are so close. Gram (Scott's mom) stayed with us Saturday night so I could get some rest. It was absolutely wonderful!! I fell asleep at ten o'clock and didn't get up until nine the next morning. I slept so hard that I woke up sore.

Delivery Day

Everyone kept telling me that this weekend was 'the weekend'..... I guess they were right!!!! Suzy is here and she is absolutely perfect.

When I woke up yesterday morning I was very "crampy" and had my "bloody show" (is that too much information?). I texted a few girlfriends and asked them if losing it meant much or if it meant that I would go into labor soon. I got all sorts of responses, but my favorite one was Mandy Hartsfield's... She said, "it could be hours, it could be weeks" hahahahaha! Such a broad response with no definitive answer!! I was like, "gee thanks, Mandy"! Absolutely loved it. The "cramps" kept coming, but I assumed that it was from passing the 'show' so I didn't think much of it at first. I went outside with the pups and watched the rain and rocked in my rocking chair trying to make the tension stop... No luck. Got up from the rocking chair and a slow, wet, trickle ran down my pajamas. This was at about 7:30 AM. I wasn't sure if I had involuntarily peed my pants or my water had indeed broken. I texted Haley (the most amazing nurser ever) and Jill (because she said her water breaking wasn't a gushing sensation either). Out of all three of us none of us knew it was my water or just pee. After about 15 minutes I knew it had to have been my water, because the contractions started. Next question- Are they Braxton Hicks or the real deal? Haley told me to take a bath or shower and see if the contractions stopped. They didn't. Then I walked around the house trying to clean. Never stopped. When they were 10 minutes apart and coming fiercely I decided that I would get in the bath tub again and start getting ready for the hospital. The news of me taking another bath to "get ready" for the hospital didn't settle well with Scott. He was so aggravated with me for not getting my act together that he was starting to get snappy with me. I, of course, thought that he was being ugly.... He was not. He was being smart... I was not. After I had a bath, shaven legs, and straightened hair we headed to the hospital. By the time we got to Batesville I thought that she would make her arrival in the car. The pain was super intense. That was the longest drive to Oxford ever. We weren't there long before they gave me an epidural and made me start pushing because when we finally made it there I was 7cm dilated. Scott made a call to our family and a couple friends. My phone was dead, so if he didn't have someones number they just didn't know. Everyone made it just in time for delivery. It was a super quick experience (thank goodness). It was a whirlwind, actually. I was at the hospital for about 2 hours and Suzy made her appearance. She is absolutely amazing. She weighed 6lbs 5oz and was 20 inches long. She has a head full of dark hair and beautiful skin. I am overjoyed to have her here. I never knew you could love something so much. She is our world!!