Pictures...

...just because she's so stinking cute!!!

Last Days

Today is Olivia's last day of day care...for a while at least.

Tomorrow is my last day of work...at least professional work.

For some reason I am full of emotion and I have a feeling that I will cry as I leave the day care with her, similar to the way I cried when I first walked in. I guess that I'm somewhat nervous about my new role of stay at home mom. I know that I really want to take this route, but I also know that it will take a lot work to be the kind of mom and home maker that I want to be.

I guess only time will tell...

So Much to Say

Almost a month has passed since last time I blogged so there is a lot to catch up on. Read on if you are interested...

Olivia is now 12 weeks old (Koby says she's already 3 months but I say she's not 3 months until December 16th). Anyway, she is really growing so quickly. At her 2 month checkup she weighted 12lbs 12oz and was over 23 inches long. She is babbling quite a bit and loves to sit in her bumbo chair that Rachel let us borrow. She smiles all the time, especially in the morning and when she wakes up from taking a nap. She's really starting to be curious about her surroundings and makes the cutest little faces. She has even mastered the pouty, stick out the bottom lip face! I'll have to take a picture of it sometime.

Thanksgiving was awesome!! We went home to Abilene, but before that we woke up in the wee hours of the morning to welcome the Campbell's back to Texas! It was so wonderful to see Irene, James, John and Rosemary...and I guess Philip too! ;) I missed them so much! Olivia loved spending time with her Tia Irene and getting to know her cousins.

Abilene was busy as always, but we got to hang out with the family, eat some tamales (at my parents house) and some turkey and dressing (at Koby's parents house). We even got to play in the snow! It was the nice fluffy snow too! We wrapped up the trip with a "Meet baby Olivia" baby shower at ACU, an Aggie win against t.u., and some Taco Bueno. What else could you ask for?

The latest news in the Weatherford household is quite possibly one of the biggest decisions that we have made in a long time. Today, I gave my two weeks notice at the office! My new job has the sweetest title ever... MOM. Before Olivia was even born, Koby and I decided that I would not be a stay at home mom and that I would continue to work full-time. Boy how things change. When Olivia was born my whole world came to a screeching halt, re-prioritized itself (without my conscience input) and then took off at a pace I can barely wrap my head around. I look in the mirror and see parts of new person that I never knew existed.

Olivia started day care last week and I started back to work. I'm only working 1/2 days right now so I get to pick her up at noon. She did okay, except that she refused to take her bottle every single day. We've been practicing for quite a while and some days she takes it just fine and other days she puts up a fight...but she always end up taking it. I feel terrible because she doesn't eat until we get home at about 12:45. Everybody has been saying, "She'll take the bottle when she gets hungry enough." Yeah, okay. But in the mean time it kills me to know that she's not eating.

Anyway, for so many reasons that I don't have the time to list right now, we decided that it was worth the sacrifice for me to stay at home. This choice feels right and leaves my heart at peace. However, I will need to find some way to make some money so if you have any suggestions, please share.

I'm excited to start the new year with a new baby, new goals, new challenges and my new job!

Koby & Irma plus One

So have any of you seen that show on TLC called Jon & Kate plus Eight? It is amazing! This couple has a set of 6 year old twin girls plus 3 year old sextuplets! EIGHT KIDS!!!! I can't even imagine what their lives were like when the sextuplets were infants. I'm sure it was chaotic beyond belief (as if it isn't right now). Anyway, whenever I feel like complaining about how crazy and complicated my life is now as a mother of a two month old, I try to remind myself that I have it pretty easy and my respect for mothers of multiples soars to an even higher level.

Speaking of my two month old, Olivia has made me so proud this week...

Yesterday, she took a bottle for the very first time (she even took it from me)! I was really nervous about trying one out for some reason and lots of people told (or warned) me that she might reject a bottle from me because she wants the "real thing". But, she did just fine and took a nice nap on her Daddy's chest afterward. We'll see how she does again today.

Last night she was a little bit fussy when I put her to bed so I was worried that she was going to wake up a lot during the night and I was particularly tired last night. Well, it was the complete opposite. I laid her in her bassinet at 10pm and the little angel didn't wake up until 4am to eat. AWESOME! Six whole hours of non-stop zzzz's for me! It gets better...after I fed her and changed her diaper she went back to sleep until 8am.

Today, for some strange reason (maybe the good night's rest) I decided to go to the grocery store with Olivia. No, I haven't been to the grocery store by myself with her since she was born. I've been to lots of other stores, but most of them have dressing rooms where I can feed her and I'm not having to shop for perishable goods. Anyway, she didn't make a peep the whole time I was there. It was a great trip all around. The store wasn't crowded, the shelves were fully stocked and Olivia snoozed the whole time.

Gold stars and smiley faces for this week!!!

Well, time flies when you're having fun! I absolutely can't believe that Olivia is almost 8 weeks old. It really seems like just the other day that we all came home from the hospital. By the way, I'm confused about something...maybe somebody can clarify. When would Olivia (or babies in general) officially turn 2 months old? Is it at her 8 week mark or two months from her birth date? Anyway, we are all doing great. Olivia generally sleeps and eats like a champ but she REALLY likes to have all the attention on her when she's awake, which is okay but cumbersome.

We recently finalized childcare arrangements for Olivia since I'll be heading back to work in about 4 weeks (tears pouring). We had originally gone daycare "shopping" back in the spring because everybody told us that places had waiting lists that could be several months long. Anyway, we made arrangements with a place and those arrangements ended up falling through. They switched directors sometime this summer and blah, blah, blah. So we were out the $50 deposit and left with 2 months to find childcare. We finally found somewhere this week and it turns out that another little boy that we know from church who is 3 weeks older than Olivia will be starting there too. I'm still not thrilled about the idea of her staying anywhere other than with me (or one of our family members, but none of them will drop everything they are doing, quit their jobs and move to College Station!!!) but I'm sure she will be just fine.

Well, she just woke up and is ready to eat...until next time!

Long time no post...

BIG, HUGE, apologies to those of you that regularly check this blog to keep up with us...

Olivia is growing so quickly! I'm not sure how much she weighs but I know she is growing at a pretty rapid pace. She is already outgrowing some clothes, which I did not expect to happen so soon and is wearing a size 1 diaper instead of the newborn size. Time has really flown by and I can't believe that she is already 6 weeks old. It has been a whirlwind of a journey so far.

She is a really good baby and for me to complain would be plain selfishness. For the first 3 or 4 weeks I didn't have the courage to get out of the house much. I basically stayed inside the house and only went out when Koby could come with us. Now, Olivia and I paint the town every day!! No, not really, but we do get out pretty much everyday. I've learned that dressing rooms make excellent places to nurse her and that she is quite fond of her stroller, so long as it is in motion!

Koby is head over heels in love with his little girl. When he comes home from work the first thing he does is rush right over to her to hold her close. She loves to look at him and rest on his chest. I'm really blessed that he is so helpful and patient and there's nothing more precious than seeing the two of them together!

I'm doing great. Recovery from labor was not as bad as I thought it would be. Except for the extra weight I'm still toting around (and the lack of sleep) I pretty much feel like my normal self. I will be able to stay at home with Olivia until December 3rd. I wish I could stay with her for a lot longer...she's growing, but she's still so little. For the month of December I am going to work 1/2 days and then I'll go back full time after the Christmas holidays.



She is just beginning to give us some "real" smiles and I happened to coax one out of her after she woke up from a nap. Her mouth is stained purple from the medicine she is taking right now... Thanks for all the phone calls, e-mails and prayers we've received over the last several weeks! We really appreciate everything! I will try much harder to update more often. I'll set a realistic goal...at least one post a week, WITH pictures!


What I'm ExCiTeD about...
THANKSGIVING!!! We will be going to Abilene to see our parents and to see Irene, Philip and the kids. It has been since late July since I've seen them and that is incredibly too long! We are also having a "meet baby Olivia" shower at ACU. I can't wait!!

3 Weeks of Olivia

We'd love for you to meet...

...baby Olivia Kate Weatherford!

Sunday, September 16th at 5:30pm

8lbs 5oz

20 inches long

Both Koby and I are madly in love with our little sweetie and still can't believe that she is ours to keep. Everything went well with labor and delivery. It was everything I expected it would be, but at the same time nothing like I expected it would be...if that makes any sense. Anyway, here are just a few pics as I don't have much time right now. But, I assure you, there will be many more to come!

No news is...no news

Well, our last doctors visit was today. Everything went well. Basically, I'm still not dilated any further, but I'm fully effaced. The official due date is this Saturday, September

15th. If I haven't gone into labor by Monday then I'm scheduled to go in for an ultrasound and something he called a low-stress test. He said this would let us check out what everything looked like in the womb (baby, placenta, amniotic fluid) and this information would help Koby and I decide if and when we want to schedule to be induced. I pray that we don't make it until Monday, for several reasons...some selfish, some not. In the meantime I suppose we'll all just have to hurry up and wait!

In my most recent (and very rare) bursts of energy I went to the mall and found this cute onesie at Gymboree. Koby's face lit up when he saw it...and then he saw the receipt! Haha, just kidding. It was on sale. I don't even look at the regular priced items in that store! :)

Ahhhh...Refreshing!!

So I leave work today at about noon and I walk outside to find...

That it is a b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l day! As I type this the temperature is 77 degrees with only 82% humidity. This is such a welcome change...it just makes everything nicer.

There's still no news on the baby front. I have another appointment (the last one) tomorrow afternoon so hopefully I've made some progress from last time. Here's a picture that Koby took of me on Sunday. I wear this shirt all the time because I'm running out of shirts that are long (and big) enough to cover my belly. As you can see it just sticks strait out. This, in addition to having a long torso makes finding maternity shirts hard at this stage. Oh well, hopefully I won't have to worry about that for much longer!

There are just a few minor details that need done in the nursery, but for the most part it is finished.

39 Weeks

I had my 39 week doctor's appointment yesterday and everything still looks good. I have effaced to about 70% and am still only about 1cm dilated. I'm hoping that next week will be "the week". It's really just a wating game now and I'll admit that I'm not the most patient person.


Last night I was finishing packing my bag for the hospital and the checklist I was using suggested packing some CD's or music that might help me relax or stay calm during labor. We keep all our music on the computer so I opened up Media Player to create a playlist. Anyway, I guess since my mind was focused on giving birth and all that good stuff quite a few song titles struck me as funny. Here are just few...

• "Push"- Matchbox 20
• "Take it to the Limit"- The Eagles
• "Vasoline"- Stone Temple Pilots
• "I Will Survive"- Cake
• "What's Your Mama's Name?"- Tanya Tucker
• "Hold My Hand"- Hootie and the Blowfish
• "Papa Don't Preach"- Madonna
• "Help!"- the Beatles
• "Don't Do Me Like That"- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• "Counting the Days"- Collective Soul
• "Harder to Breathe"- Maroon 5
• "Lay Your Hands on Me"- Bon Jovi
• "Something in the Way"- Nirvana
• "Man! I Feel Like a Woman"- Shania Twain
  

Catch up

Where to start...I guess the game. We made it to the A&M game on Saturday and had a really great time. The weather wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. We parked at my building and walked to Kyle field and when we got to our seats, they were already shaded over. So I didn't have to sit and bake in the sun! The only hard part was walking back to the truck. I was already really stiff and a little bit sore from the sitting/standing of the game that I was huffing and puffing at least the last part of the walk. I figured it was good for me though and since we had already seen the game, we were both just fine with labor starting! :)

(So I made a slide show to insert here and it is not working for whatever reason and I've lost my patience so I will try again later...)

I guess we had a pretty good weekend. I've been trying to rest up and take it easy. A&M didn't have Labor Day off, but I ended up not going in anyway. I had a really rough night on Sunday night so I slept in on Monday and then figured I might as well stay home for the rest of the day. Koby came home at lunch and we ate and went to the movies. We saw the Bourne Ultimatum with Matt Damon and some other people...pretty much I just remember Matt Damon! Haha, just kidding! Anyway, it was a pretty good movie, intense, but good.

Gig 'Em Aggies!!

Koby found out today that one of his hook-ups at his job was able to get us two tickets to the game this Saturday! We're not playing anybody "big", just Montana State, but it's the first game of the season so you know Kyle field is going to be rocking! I'm so glad that we're getting this chance to see a game...especially for free. How nice is that?! Too bad Olivia's not here yet so she can show off these little onesies that Angela made. :)

My last doctor's appointment was last Friday. He did an exam and said that I was 1 cm dilated and he predicted that I'd deliver early. Olivia is already in position and everything looked good.

I'd be perfectly happy if it happened today, to be honest. I'm ready to meet her and get the labor part out of the way, but selfishly, I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore.

It seems like lately people have been getting on my nerves with their comments. I mean, c'mon, pregnant ladies have feelings too. I'm sure this has been a gripe among expectant women for ages, but I can't tell you how annoying it is to hear the words, "Wow! You are really big!" Oh, and today, a professor that I work with told me that I looked like I should have had the baby yesterday and that I also looked like I hadn't slept in 3 weeks! Nice.

But all these annoyances are eased when I'm at home lounging around and randomly catch Koby staring at my belly or when he comes up and just lovingly rubs on it...its times like these that I feel like the most beautiful pregnant woman ever despite the 40+ pounds I've gained and my newly attached double chin!

Our Days are Numbered...

So I did the math today (applause please) and if Olivia arrives exactly when she is due then we only have 26 days left until we get to meet her in person! I can't believe that it is so close. Koby's been on me to pack my bag for the hospital, but of course, I haven't. I'm pretty sure I have all the things that I need...I'm just procrastinating.

I've got to say that I think I've had my fill of pregnancy. I really miss the second trimester. If you are reading this and just found out you are pregnant, trust me, the second trimester is HEAVENLY! I really shouldn't complain though. It's been fairly easy. It's just that lately it has been really hot outside and I'm starting to swell...big time. The only shoes I can wear are flip flops so I have a brown pair and a black pair that I wear with my work clothes! It's quite a sight!

Speaking of a sight, I've got some pictures of the bedding and some other cute stuff! The bedding came in last Thursday so I washed it and put it on crib over the weekend! It's just as pretty in person as it looked on the website. I love it! The picture on the left is a close up of the sheets. I just realized that I think I might have put the bumper pads on wrong...does the design part go facing the inside or the outside? Maybe I should switch it around. :)

I've also been meaning to post a picture of these cute onesies that our friend Angela made for Olivia. I think I might use the one on the bottom that says "Olivia" as her coming home outfit! I washed all the baby clothes this weekend and realized that I've got LOTS of cute, cute clothes, especially onesies. Good thing she'll probably need to be changed often!

4 more weeks!

The official due date that we are going by is September 15th. So, yesterday marked the one month countdown! While I'm ready to meet and hold baby Olivia, I'm also nervous about the new territory that we will be exploring. I probably haven't read as much material as I should have and I haven't been training for the "marathon" of labor like I wanted to, but regardless of what I have or have not done, she will be here before I know it!

Last Saturday, Koby and I attended a prepared childbirth class. It was very informative and not as dreadful as I'd pictured it. I think part of that had to do with the teacher. She is a labor and delivery nurse at the hospital we will be at and had a wonderful personality. She has four kids (all boys) and had more energy than everybody in the class...combined! I hope she's on shift when we go in!

Sunday we took a day trip to Houston to shop for...you guessed it, BABY STUFF! We needed to buy all the "big stuff" and didn't want to order online and wait for shipping (recall the headaches of the crib from walmart.com). Anyway, we left with a long shopping list for Babies R Us and our Target gift cards in tow. We bought the stroller, car seat, extra base for car seat, crib mattress, pack and play, changing table pad, storage drawers for the closet and some other random things. Good thing we have a big truck otherwise we might have had to rent a U-haul to make it back home!

I feel much better that we got this out of the way. There are still a few things that I need to take care of, but nothing needs to be ordered and as far as we know, all major purchases have been made. Oh, I almost forgot...I ordered the crib bedding on Monday and according to the Fed Ex shipment tracking it's on the truck to be delivered TODAY!! I am so excited about this bedding. I've had it on my wish list since April when we found out we were having a girl! It's the cutest ever.

What I'm ExCiTeD about...

Today is my Friday! Koby and I decided to take the day off tomorrow to sleep in and run errands. And I have a doctors appointment this afternoon. I feel Olivia move around alot but I still like to hear her little heartbeat!

New slideshow and update

Okay, so I've really been slacking on the blog lately which I have no excuse for. There has been so much going on that I could probably post at least a couple times a day and still not fit everything in, well...that might be a slight exaggeration.

In an attempt to catch up on the almost two weeks that I've been MIA I made another slide show of just a few pictures.
I think I mentioned that Koby's co-workers gave us a baby shower a couple of weeks ago. It was really nice and pretty relaxing as far as showers go. We sat around, ate burgers and cake and just had a good time.
For our anniversary Koby had Angela bake a cake and he also gave me a gift certificate to the Boardwalk Spa. The cake was really good and the gift certificate was heavenly. Caren and I went together and got manicures and hour-long massages. I was so incredibly relaxed for the rest of the day. If you are pregnant (or even if you are not) I highly recommend getting a message!
We've had a lot of company lately...my mom stayed with us for about a week after she got back from Delaware...my dad and Jason and Caren came in Friday night and Glenda (Koby's mom) and Stephanie (Koby's sister) came in on Sunday. They all came for the baby shower at the church on Sunday night. It was a lot of fun and baby Olivia got quite a few gifts. It was a huge blessing!
Last night we went to a breastfeeding class taught by St. Joseph's hospital. Even though I've been around breastfeeding on and off for the last 8 years of my life (thanks Irene!!) it was still really helpful to hear all about it. I'm not as intimidated as I was before and I'm looking forward to a pleasant experience. We go to our childbirth class ALL DAY on Saturday. We'll be there from 8:45am-5:30pm. There goes my only day to sleep in, but hopefully it will be worth the time. After this weekend we don't have any plans except to stay home, rest and prepare for Olivia's arrival. The nursery is not even close to being ready so I've got some work to do. I also need to get the baby book started and make sure I have all the things for the hospital bag. Yikes!! I can't believe I'm already close to that point.

Enjoy the slide show!

What I'm ExCiTeD about...
Every day that goes by means that I'm one day closer to meeting Olivia, AND one day closer to cooler weather!!

Happy Anniversary to Us!!

Today we celebrated 7 years of marriage!! The years have literally flown by and we have had such wonderful blessings come our way, especially within the past year. This might be a little bit cheesy but I decided to list 7 things that I love about Koby.

1. I love how Koby can fix just about anything. It doesn't matter if its his Jeep, the toilet, outdoor sensor lights or my curling iron. He doesn't shy away from anything and will always devote at least a couple of hours before even entertaining the thought that outside help might be needed!

2. He is just as much as an animal lover as I am. Plus, he's taught me to appreciate bugs and insects and I think it's super cute that he'll spend 10 minutes trying to "catch and rescue" a spider instead of killing it!

3. He'll watch "What Not to Wear" on TLC with me!

4. He is respectful towards my parents and family. This is something that I didn't realize was so important until I actually saw it happening. Anybody that is married and has in-laws knows that every family operates differently and just because you marry into that family doesn't mean you will agree with or easily adjust to their ways.
To put is simply, he loves my family, my family loves him and that makes me very happy.

5. He is a VERY hard worker and a VERY dependable person.

6. He doesn't hesitate to do things like laundry, dishes, cooking or cleaning. And the best part is that he really does a good job!

7. Last, but definitely not least...he is tall, dark and handsome! How could I resist?!

The Picture Post

I've got lots of pictures that I wanted to share so I'm just going to throw them all in one post. There's been so much going on lately...as you know if you've been following the blog. Enjoy and thanks for the responses on the yesterday's post. I love that I have other mommies to learn from! You gals are the best!

Koby assembled the crib not too long ago. I really like it and I'm so glad all the Walmart.com drama is over with. It didn't take him very long...especially since he had help from the dogs! Klowie was so curious that I decided to use her to "practice" putting a baby in the crib. She wasn't very happy about this.

These gifts are from the baby shower that my co-workers organized. It was very nice and I got all kinds of neat things. I can't believe how many things you need to take care of a little baby! Koby also put the matching dresser/changer together when it came in. This piece gave him a few more headaches, but he still finished it in a couple of hours. I'm anxious to get everything organized and put up where it belongs (which is the tough part because I have to figure out where exactly that will be).

A couple of Sunday's ago the church had a "Farewell to the Campbell's" reception after evening services. It was a great success and lots of people and kids came to the parlor for snacks and one "last" time to bid Irene, Philip and the kids farewell. Rosemary enjoyed playing with a cute little girl named Shelby while James did a great job being the photographer and John felt that it was his responsibility to "monitor" the cookie tray! Irene said that he was wired for hours that night...there's no telling how many cookies he ate!

And finally these pics are of the shower that Koby's work set up for us.
It was really nice that the people he works with (mainly guys)
were willing to join forces and throw us a baby shower! We had a great time and got some wonderful gifts. And the really nice part is that Koby volunteered to write the thank-you notes! How did I get so lucky?!

What I'm ExCiTeD about...
This is a little cheesy but I'm excited that I will be going to a wedding on Saturday and that means...WEDDING CAKE!! Yes, that makes me very excited and we are going to go to a Babies R' Us store. I've been online a million times but I want to visit one in person! :)