Week 1 Recap

Until March 31st, I never realized that our life was truly incomplete. We are enjoying the gift of parenthood more than I could possibly imagine. Addison is such a joy! We were released from the hospital exactly 24 hours after her birth. Monty and I were ready to give life a try outside of the walls of the hospital as quickly as possible. It is true that you get no rest or privacy in there. We had a fantastic experience in Weatherford, but we were ready to introduce her to our home as quickly as possible. My parents and Lisa made dinner for us at our home and then left us to give us a shot at our first night alone.




Thursday night, our first night, was a bit rough. Addison did not feel the need to sleep very much. This is understandable as she slept virtually all day. We made it through our first night with some serious teamwork and her wonderful father secretly enjoyed holding her and talking to her all night. He is so wonderful with her!



Friday we stayed around the house attempting to get everything back in order (laundry, etc.) and ventured to my parent's house for dinner on Friday night. It is crazy how I just forget to eat sometimes. I am so focused on making sure that she is eating, happy, etc. that I will look at the clock and realize that meal time has passed. I hope this will help in my weight loss journey. Monty's dad and grandmother both came for a visit on Friday as well as my mom; they just can't seem to get enough time with her. My mom spent Friday night with Addison to allow us to recover from the limited sleep in the hospital and the prior night. What a lifesaver she is!



We woke up on Saturday morning relaxed and ready to tackle another day. To be honest, by this point I was ready to take her out into the world. Lisa and I took Addison to Target to buy a wedding gift on her third day of life. She did so well, and I am convinced she is going to be a fabulous shopper! Everyone that stopped us could not believe that she was out at three days, but I had to beat my mom's record. She took me to the mall at four days. Monty was glad when we returned; he missed his baby girl!



On Easter Sunday we were not quite brave enough to venture to church quite yet. Truth be told, I was not really sure I could get everyone out of the house in time for the service! We went to Easter lunch at my parent's house which was delicious. We arrived around 12:30 which was a bit of a stretch. I had no idea how much work it is to get ready; I am going to have to speed my routine up.



Monday Addison had her first appointment with her pediatrician, Dr. Ramsey. We had to be in Weatherford at 8:00 and made it without any problems. I only had to wake up at 5:45 to make that happen! She got an excellent report and weighed 7lbs, a loss of 10 oz. from her birth weight. At this point, she had not pooped so we were instructed to come back on Tuesday morning if things had not changed. From there, we went to Monty's grandparent's house for a quick visit then returned to Mineral Wells for an afternoon at home.



We slept in on Tuesday which was really great, but had to return to Weatherford as Addison had not made any progress. In what I am sure will become a trend in our life, she waited until we were in Dr. Ramsey's office to poop. I guess she just wanted an excuse to ride in the car again. We returned to Mineral Wells to eat lunch with our friend Heather. We eat at Taco Casa every Tuesday and wanted to include Addison in our weekly routine. This was Heather's first time to see Addison since she was in the nursery when Heather came to the hospital to visit.



We made our way to Weatherford for our last appointment with our OB/GYN before he moves. It was a sad visit because we really enjoyed getting to know Dr. Miller over the last year, but are thankful that he was our doctor through my pregnancy/delivery with Addison. I got a great report and we were thrilled to introduce Addison to everyone in his office. Following our appointment with Dr. Miller, we met with a lactation specialist because Addison has shown limited interest in eating. Again, during our consultation, she ate like she had never eaten before. If nothing else, the visit reassured me that we are making the right decision to nurse. She has been eating like a champ ever since then. She is a bit lazy when it comes to eating and you have to wake her up to eat, but once she gets going there is no stopping her.



What a blessed first week we have had. God has truly given us both a great gift and an awesome responsibility. I know that our lives are going to continue to fly by and we look forward to the experiences that Addison will bring to our lives.

  

Addison is Here!

Hi, everyone! This is Lauren's sister, Lisa, "guest-posting" for the new mom :) Let me give the baby's info:

Addison Blair Mitchell

March 31, 2010

3:18 PM

7 lbs. 10 oz.

20.25 in.

Addison is perfect and beautiful. She is doing well, along with Lauren. Monty is a bit tired from sleeping in less-than-luxurious hospital mini-beds, but is great - all things considered ;) The family arrived home today. I'm sure Lauren will post eventually and tell you more about Addison's grand entry into the world but for now, I'll give the public what they want most:

New Parents!

Addison, just 30 minutes old

all cleaned up with a nice hairdo :)

She loves to sleep and is VERY talented at it!

Lauren is looking great, as usual :)

Addison's super-sweet going home outfit

About to go home...

Addison is oficially ready to roll :)

Home at last!

Snow, Snow, Snow

We have had a winter to remember! On Chirstmas Eve, this area receieved what we considered to be a great deal of snow, but that was before we knew what was to come in January and February. We received almost 11 inches of snow on February 12th and 13th. It was breaktaking, but Monty was very quickly ready for more favorable temperatures to return. He enjoys Texas weather 95% of the time, but this is not one of those. I wish Addison was here to play in the snow, but I will never forget the timing of this uncharacterisitc winter as it corresponds with pregnancy. I hear I will gauge a lot of memories in this fashion. I can only hope we will have this much excitement to share with her next winter. I have a sneaking suspicion that Monty will like snow a lot more when he has a new audience to share it with!

San Antonio Shower

On the 16th of January the Wiebes graciously hosted a couples shower for us at their home. We enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with all of our San Antonio friends and remembered how very special each of them are. We receieved a ton of wonderful gifts that got our nursery off to a fantastic start. We are so very blessed to have such fantastic friends and loved the opportunity to visit. We can't wait to bring Addison to San Antonio to meet everyone. Thanks to Zach and Kelli for hosting and for everyone who came!

What a Difference a Year Can Make

Last year around this time we were settling in to our new home making sure everything was situated just perfectly. Since then, we have torn what used to be the "guest" side of our home apart in order to prepare for the birth of our daughter. I had no idea that a person so small would impact our home so greatly prior to her arrival; I cannot imagine what her presence will impact following her arrival. Monty and I (along with help from my mom and sister) are enjoying putting her room together to attain a different sort of look than we have ever known, but will be blessed to enjoy. I will post pictures once the room is complete which I am hoping is by next weekend.

I am right around 26/27 weeks pregnant (we are waiting for an updated arrival date) and could not feel better. I love my active little girl already so much! I don't think I could have ever accurately imagined how special it feels to know that a tiny little life is beginning in my stomach. I treasure every movement and look forward to the next active moments now that she has really developed a "personality" and a "schedule". I now understand why some women love being pregnant and experiencing all of this wonder. I am sure I will less than enthused as she continues to grow and movements become more uncomfortable, but for now they are the highlights of my day.

Our Christmas was delightful filled with time for each of our families which is fantastic. We love that we are so close to our parents and that sharing the holidays is done with such ease compared to our previous voyages from San Antonio. I was shocked at how generous the new grandparents were, but I must admit I am not surprised. I really believe they are equally as excited as Monty and I are for her arrival. We had a ton of snow for this part of Texas with 60 mph winds which created a "blizzard" for this part of the world. We hope each of you had a joyous holiday with your families and that you will be blessed in 2010.

Rodeo - Mineral Wells Fashion

I know it has been forever since our last post, and I promise I will put pictures of our completed home up here some day, but that will have to wait a bit longer. Since tax season is mainly behind us (not-for-profit and Texas franchise are due Friday) we have had a bit more time to spend doing a few things in our area. Last Tuesday, my friend Heather won our firm's box seats at the Palo Pinto County Rodeo and invited us to share the 'box' with her and her husband. Naturally I welcomed the invitation because let's be honest, the food at those events can't be beat and the rodeo in a 'box' seat had to be entertaining! Unlike 'box' seats at other venues, we learned upon our arrival that 'box' seats meant folding chairs on the first two rows of the arena. In other words, not the bleachers. It turned out, these seats were really great, but a bit scary at times. During the bronc and bull rides, we got dirt all over us (I prefer to say dirt and not think of other things that I am sure were mixed with it) and got to see the animals/cowboys up close as our seats were right next to the chutes. We had a great time and got to share in Dax's first rodeo experience (Heather and Adam's 9 month old son). Following the Wednesday rodeo, I headed to San Antonio on Thursday to meet up with my friend Kelli for a great time of wedding dress shopping followed by a wonderful dinner at Pappasito's. During the weekend, I was also able to enjoy some quality time and shopping with my mom, grandmother and sister. It was so much fun and it made my return to work today all the more difficult. I miss San Antonio and all of our old friends, but life in Mineral Wells is pretty great! The last picture is from trip Monty and I took in April; I had to put my biggest catch on to share. Monty is so proud :)

So here are some new pictures of the house as of Sunday. We hope to be in over the Thanksgiving holiday, so keep your fingers crossed. It still has a way to go, but Monty and I (ok so more Monty) have been working a lot on getting it to the finish line. I will try to put more up as soon as we get the bathrooms and flooring all squared away. Other than the house, not much is going on in our little world. Once someone shows me how to rotate and change color, I will have many more to add.