Happy 3 Month Birthday Piper!

Happy 3 Months Piper!

What are you up to these days?

1) Trying really hard to sit up or stand on mommy's lap.

2) Eating about 40oz of breastmilk everyday.

3) You started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks.

4) You usually sleep from 10 pm until 7 am.

5) You prefer Pampers Swaddlers diaper because you wear them the longest.

6) You wear a size 2 in diapers.

7) You weigh a little over 13 lbs and are 23.5 inches long.

8) Your favorite things to play with are Lilly your lion and a burpcloth.

9) Your first crush is Baby Ezrah (I'll post a picture later).

10) You love your daddy, but you have seperation anxiety from me.

11) You've outgrown most of your clothes ranging from 0-12 months.

12) You pretty much wear 6 month clothing.

How do you like your Bumbo seat?

She really likes to look at dirtbike mags with daddy.

We had a great lunch today with GG and Va-va at Hog's Breath. I absolutely love their broccoli/cheddar baked potatoe. There are 4 generations here.


She was trying really hard to read my shirt.

Well, this in the end so I'll leave you with my 2 favorite people.

Assistance Programs and Budgeting

Well, I am just wanting to let people out there know that you should never be too proud for Assistance Programs. When I found out that we qualified for Piper to be on AR Kids and for us to be on WIC I will admit that I was too proud to join in. Oh how that has changed. These programs are there for a reason. As I now see it (well, my mom and sister gave me a swift kick in the rear) I have paid my taxes and my husband still does so lets use what we have been paying for since we were both 15 years old.

I am no longer too proud to ask for assistance if it will make life easier with our TIGHT budget. We are only on one income now and things are really tight. When I told Josh that I was going to stay home we had a few loans that we were paying on.....truck, computer, and dirtbike. We managed to pay them all off by the time Piper was 1 month old. It was so refreshing to get rid of those payments without getting rid of the item. The saying is that 1 year before having a child you should live off of 1 income (the one who will not be staying home) in order to see if you can make it. The other income should be put into a savings account. Josh and I were doing this without even realizing it. It has made all the difference because we used that to payoff loans.

Well, that's it for the technical stuff. I just felt like saying a little bit to let people know not to be afraid if your budget gets too small because if you qualify to get a little bit of help...use it.

11 weeks and counting.

Well, Piper is 11 weeks old today. The little stinker is growing so fast. She has been in 3-6 month clothes for about a week now. In Gerber she wears 12 month because she has a long torso and a chubby tummy. She is almost in size 2 diapers...another week and she will be. It's so crazy being a stay-at-home-mom. Whoever said to sleep when the baby sleeps obviously never stayed home with their children. You can't possibly do it. I can't sleep when the sun is out because that's when I like to get things done.

This is our recent family photo. It was from yesterday (1/10/10).

Piper definetly looks like both of us.

This is the only article of clothing that I have monogrammed with her name on it. I really need to get a few more things done for her. She is always so smiley and giggly when I change her diaper. This little girl sure does hate to be wet or poopy.

This is Piper and her (fake) Auntie Sara. Piper has really spoiled Sara into wanting children sooner rather than later. Her poor husband said not right now......I don't think he's ready for the mountain of laundry and diapers that come with a baby....haha.

This was our Christmas tree this past Christmas. This year we are going to do a traditional big green one because we now have a family to start our own traditions with. This one will be Piper's next year and her's will be going in the kitchen. Her's is a midnight blue so it'll match my kitchen perfectly.

She has her daddy's eyes. She is such a daddy's princess. She sure does know how to spend his money. She keeps growing out of her jammies it seems like we're buying a new pair weekly. She is only 2 months old and is already wearing 3-6 month jammies.

Well, that's all for now folks. We'll see ya later!

Life Has Happened and I haven't blogged since the 3rd trimester

Well, it has been a long time since I last posted. I was 29 weeks pregnant when I did and as you can tell from these pictures that I've had my daughter. She was born on October 26 at 5:11 pm. She weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. I am very happy to no longer be pregnant and to have my little girl in person with me everyday. So much has changed since that great day.

I am now a full time stay-at-home-mom while Josh works very hard outside of the home. He is an appliance repair technician. He typically works 10-12 hour days so that we can afford for me to stay home with Piper. Josh is such a great daddy to her. He has been wrapped around her little finger ever since she was born. When he first found out that I was pregnant he told me that he did not want to witness the birth because he tends to faint or get sick when he sees blood. He stayed for the birth (obviously) and was so amazed at the whole act of giving birth. He thought it was the greatest thing he has ever witnessed on Earth. I could've told him that....haha.

Anyways here are just a few pictures from the day before, the day of, and the day after.

Piper at home at 3 days old.

Me holding Piper for the first time.

Josh holding Piper that night.

Me the day before birth in active labor (I was not dialated at all).

Very first family portrait. (We look like highschoolers).

Well, that's it for now. I will be updating my blog more often (hopefully everyday). I have a lot to fill everyone in on so keep your fingers crossed that I can get it done.

That's all.....See ya!

Almost at 29 weeks.....

Well, I am into the 3rd trimester of my fisrt pregnancy. So far I have only gained 4 pounds and it sounds like I may only gain another 3 or 4 pounds. Right now Piper weighs in at 2 pounds and 9 ounces and the placenta they are estimating around 1 pound 5 ounces. So that is all of the weight accounted for. I know that these numbers sound scarey because technically I should have gained 15 pounds or so, but I along with my daughter are very healthy. Everyone (pregnant or wanting to become pregnant) has been asking me what my secret is.....here it is.

I am a vegetarian now (I eat hard cheeses, eggs, and butter still) and I exercise daily and keep my core muscles pulled in at all times.

Crazy.......I know that's how it sounds, but it is partially true.

The real secret is just the fact that I already had 20 extra pounds to spare....by doing the above items I have allowed my daughter to just take my fat supply instead of putting on extra. Hopefully by Thanksgiving I will be back down to a much healthier weight of 145. We shall see.

Stomach Virus

Well, on top of being 26 weeks pregnant today I also have developed the dreadful stomach virus that is going around NWA. Josh had it last week and now I have it this week. I feel terrible. I just wish the virus would end like RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!

Anyways....this Saturday my mom and I (and hopefull my sister, Julie) will be heading down to Ft. Smith to the A to Z store. We are going to try and find an unfinished dresser for the nursery along with checking out their flooring options. Josh and his dad are going to be ripping up the carpets in our house so we can put down wood laminate floors in the living room, hallway, and nursery. This will be done by the middle of August.

That's all for now!

Frazzled because time is running out!

Well, this is going to be a picture free post because my computer at home is not hooked up. We have moved it out of the nursery and into the living room, but haven't plugged it back in yet. I'm hoping I can get it figured out tonight.

On to the frazzled part of today's blog:

I have realized over the weekend that I don't have very much time left before Piper is born. It is the middle of July with October just around the corner. October sounds so far away but it's not. Am I really ready to become a mom? I don't really know for sure about that one. I'm the type of person who gets excited after the event has already happened. Am I a bad mother-to-be for not necessarily being overjoyed and filled with so much excitement that I'm actually pregnant? You tell me. I am 24 weeks and 6 days into this pregnancy and it just feels as if I've always been pregnant and that Piper has always been a part of me. I'm curious if any of you out there felt similar when you were pregnant.

Anyways, there is so much to be done at my house to get it ready because we also want to sell it. We still have to tear up all of the carpets to install new wood laminate floors in the living room, hallway, and nursery along with new carpet in the guest room and master bedroom. I have to paint 4 rooms along with their baseboards still. I need to get a new dinette set and fix our front porch. We have to put in a few new pieces of siding on the house along with a new window and back door. We have to repaint and resurface the garage floor (if you know my husband then you understand....he's a mechanic by trade and hobby). Plus, we also have to fix the backyard...I have two dogs that each weigh over 100lbs. They like to dig.....ALOT!!!

This week I am putting on a pom squad dance camp for the Lincoln Jr. High squad. This will be interesting. I have had alot of fun making up the dances because they are so different, here are the songs: Thriller by MJ, Candy Man by Christina Aguilera, Shawty Get Loose by Lil Mamma, She's Country by Jason Aldean, and 409 by the Beach Boys. I hope the girls really like the dances along with their coach of course. In August I get to do another camp for the Sr. High squad....they are wanting jazz so that will be fun.

Okay, I swear this is almost over....on to a little bit of pregnancy news.

I have gained a total of 5 pounds. My doctor says that's really good and that I should only gain about another 15lbs or so if I keep doing what I'm doing. All Piper is doing these days is practicing her kicks and punches. Over the weekend we went to a motocross race to watch Josh, Caleb, and Asa race. Piper loved it the most when Josh was racing. She got really active and flipped twice while he was racing. Anytime we talk about dirtbikes she gets active.....this should be a good sign that she'll want to race when she's 4. She is also a total daddy's girl already. If I think about Josh or even just mention his name she gets jumpy. If Josh is around and she can hear him she gets even more jumpy. The best is when he talks just to her....her movements are so strong that everyone is visible from the outside. I know that he is already her slave for life.

Well....that's all for now. I get to go home and mow the lawn and water my plants after work......oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention this. I get to be a stay-at-home-mom with Piper. YEAH ME!!!!!