9 Month Photos

9 Months Old!

Elah is now 9 months old, can you believe it? Its hard for me to. She is learning so much so fast.
Since my last post back in August, she has cut four teeth, learned to crawl, and can pull herself up on just about anything. But my favorite thing by far that she just started doing is when I get home from work and open the door, she looks at me with those big eyes, smiles real big, and goes "DA DA DA DA". My heart melts every time.
I started a new job and I get off now at 5:30 in the afternoon, so I have plenty of time to play with her, and to be with Sarah. I have a routine now, that I'm gonna call the Daddy Routine. Basically when I get home we eat supper and I play with her till about 7:30. Then I give her a bath which she loves. Pretty funny cause she hated bath time a few months ago.
Then after that I put her night time diaper on her and put her Pj's on and we sit in the glider rocker and I'll read her two books. Right now I think her two favorite books are "Goodnight Moon" and "Baby I Love You".
She just started to pucker her lips and give kisses, so last night while I was reading baby I love you I had to stop before I turned the page so she could kiss the picture of the baby. Then she would lean her head back and look at me with that toothy grin and I would say "aw sweet baby" Then  would read the next page.
As I said at the beginning of the post, she has learned to crawl, that's good, and bad all at the same time.
She can occupy herself more now that she can get around. But she also likes to get into EVERYTHING!
I think right now her favorite thing to get into is the entertainment center where we keep our old VHS tapes.
Elah is something else. Shes growing up way to fast, which is exciting cause I'm looking forward to all the times we have together when shes older, but its sad because I miss her being that little baby we brought home from the hospital.
God has truly blessed us more than we deserve, I love being a daddy, and this is only the beginning.

Saying Good Bye.

Its been a while since my last post, and well a lot have happened since then. Some good things, and some not so good things.
Elah is doing great, shes growing more, and more each day and it seems like over night she learns something new. Just recently Sarah and I was playing in the floor with Elah when she reached for Sarah, grab a hold of her pants, and pulled herself up to standing. We were both shocked lol. I swear she is just gonna skip crawling all together and go straight to walking.
She still hasn't got any teeth yet, but we can defiantly tell they are coming. At night she has been pretty fussy and we think that might be cause of it.
Now for the not so good things....
This past Sunday, my grandma passed away. My family knew that it was coming so we had, well at least tried to prepare ourselves for it the best that we could, but we didn't think it would be this soon.
The past few months she has been in and out of the hospital, and highland farms( retirement home) because she kept getting pneumonia. Well this last time she went to the hospital, it didn't look good, then like all the other times she perked up and was doing pretty good. so they moved her back to highland farms to stay awhile to build her strength back up before she came home. She was there for at least two weeks this time and we all thought she was doing really good. Then last Friday my dad told me her kidneys wasn't working.
I went to work last weekend like I always do, made it through Saturday and had went to bed early so I could go in Sunday. Only that night around 1:05am or so, my brother called. I knew something had to be wrong because, no one calls us in the middle of the night unless something is. He said that highland farms had just called and said she passed away sometime in her sleep that night. Like I said, we were prepared for it but no matter how much you prepare for it you still are not.
I went to my parents right after I got of the phone. The one thing I was worried about was how my dad was doing.
I ended up getting someone to work for me that day and the next so I could stay with my parents. Monday they had the family visitation at the funeral home and I went but when it came time to go in and see her, I just couldn't do it.
Tuesday we went to the funeral and the preacher did a great job, it was a really good service. I was hoping it was a closed casket service but it wasn't. I gotta say it was hard seeing her. It just wasn't her.
Later durning the service me and my brother was talking and he told me " you know it doesn't feel like that's her up there. I keep waiting for her to sit up and start talking to all of us like always". I told him I thought the same thing. Later that day after everything was over I went up to the cemetery where we buried her. It was then while I was standing over her grave that I realised she was really gone. I stayed there for a few minutes and then I said bye Maw Maw, I love you and left.
Since then it has gotten easier for me. But I worry about my dad when they get back from vacation( After the funeral they said they needed to get away for a while) I know she is in heaven with her loved ones that have already past and most of all she is with God. I know one day we will see her again though.

6 Months Old!

A lot has happened since my last post. We are letting Elah try real food now, she just turned 6 months, she watched her first firework show last Thursday, and I had my first official fathers day.

Yes you heard it right, my little sweet pea just turned 6 months old. Can you  believe it? I know, I say this in every post, but it still feels like we just brought her home from the hospital. Shes starting to sit up on her own now, and she loves to sit on the floor and in my lap and play. Shes so independent now its crazy. She don't like for you to do things for her, she has to do it herself, or atleast try.

We started giving her regular food now. I know I'll probably get the same reaction from ya'll that we get from everyone else, but we aren't giving her baby food. We are doing something called baby led wenning. Basically we give her veggies that are cooked enough for her to eat but still firm enough for her to hold. This teaches them to chew, and to grab it themselves. Elah is doing great with it. We have given her squash, zucinni, green beans, peas, water melon, and a bunch of fruits to.

Also, I had my first official fathers day. Sadly I had to work all day, but when I got home Elah made me(with the help of Sarah, and her mom) a card thing with her footprints on it, and a poem about being daddys little girl, and i got another card that has her picture and everything on it. I'll post them on here later.

Last Thursday we took Elah to see the fireworks at the Black Mountain Center. For those of you who don't know, they have a small fireworks show a few days before the 4th. Its sad they are usually a lot better than the big fireworks show that the town of Black Mountain puts on. Anyways, we always get there early so we can get a good spot. So we packed a pic nic lunch and just played with Elah on the blanket most of the time. Later my mom, brother, grandma, aunt, and cousin showed up. Elah was in a good mood the whole time.

We were afraid she would get fussy  but  she never did. She ended up falling asleep about 8:30 and slept till time for the fireworks to start. We were afraid they would scare her cause they are so loud( I screamed when I was little the first time I saw them) but she was in awe of them. A few made her jump but other than that she loved them. I got a picture of her watching them with my phone.

We are gonna go to see them again Monday with my inlaws, and I'm gonna try to get a bunch of picks.

                                           

Aggrivated, And Frustrated

Basically, in this post I just wanna get some things off my chest cause its been bothering me.
1.As you know, last February I started an online class to try and get my dietary managers certification.
Well, I had a REALLY, REALLY hard time in school and to think that it would be any better taking these classes was really stupid of me. I have such a hard time comprehending everything in the text book and when it comes to doing my assignments online its hard on me cause I don't understand the questions half the time.I don't want to ask Sarah to help me cause she usually has her hands full with Elah.
We paid quite a bit for me to take these classes, and I am afraid all that money is gonna go to waste. That's a LOT of pressure on me. AND I found out that even if I pass this coarse I have to pay 350 bucks to take the test that determines if I get my certification or not. So that has me worried that all that money will go to waste as well.

2. I love being the soul provider for my family, and I love the fact that Sarah wants to home school Elah and our other future children because I know what I went through in school with people picking on me, and I don't want to give anyone the chance to do that to Elah,  also if we home school her it could be in a Christ centered environment unlike it is in public schools. BUT, being the one provider puts more stress, and worry on me. Just knowing that if i mess up one time by calling into work cause I'm sick or having my hours cut for some reason, could possible keep us from paying our bills. Unlike having two people working  if one misses work, its still ok, cause your have another income coming in. Don't get me wrong we are fine paying bills with me just working my main job. But because I worry so much I ended up getting a second job.
I know that I should give God all my worries and everything, but that's a lot easier said than done. I know that having all this on my mind and all the stress is not good for me, but I don't what could make it better.
I'm at my whits end.....

Wow, What A Month

So there's a lot of stuff going on in my life right now, and its good stuff so don't worry. Elah will be five months old this coming Saturday and I am still trying to believe it. I know I say this in just about every post I make about her turning another month old, but I'm gonna say it again. It still feels like we just brought her home from the hospital. And when I think that in just a little over a month she will be half a year old, I'm like wow! Where has the time gone?
She is doing so much now. When you hold her she likes to touch your face, and rub your cheeks. But on the negative side of that she likes to grab my Dad, Brother, and my goatee, and trust me, when she gets ahold of it, it REALLY HURTS. But you can't help but laugh at her.
I also started my new work schedule, and I love it. I love being able to spend more time at home with Sarah and Elah. And I also started my second job which is pretty easy.
Every year when it starts to get warm, I like to start walking and hiking. So here lately me and Sarah have been walking around town, and in Montreat. I haven't hiked up to look out this year yet, but I sure am looking forward to it. I would love to start long distance walking and I have been thinking about starting a new blog to put my walks and hikes in. Now whether or not I will keep up with it, I don't know.
That's really about all that's going on right now, and I gotta say, life is good.

Has It Really Been A Year?

Well, I meant to post this on the 2nd of this month, but I kinda got side tracked. It was a year ago on may 2nd that I found out I was gonna be a daddy. Has it really been a year already? Its hard to believe isn't it?

As I look back to the day Sarah told me she was pregnant I can't seem to remember why I was so worried. Over the last four months I have had people ask me," Is it what you thought it would be?" And yes it has been everything I thought it would be and more. It has been one heck of an adventure, and its only beginning. The past year has been pretty crazy. I remember all the dr. visits, the baby shower, getting the nursery ready, the stupid child birth classes and the crazy perky lady, and then the grand fanally being the birth of my little girl.

Stressed But Blessed

Here lately I have been kinda stressed out. I still getting used to the changes at work though they are nothing major, I'm starting a second job for the summer though I AM NOT killing myself like I did last summer, my CDM class is kicking my butt, and I'm trying to help Sarah with Elah as much as I can.  On a brighter note, Elah is now four months old, no I'm not kidding. She is growing up so fast. She is starting to grab things now, and she loves to cuddle with her favorite stuffed animal Penny the pinguin.

I may be stressed, but I am blessed more than I deserve to be. I mean I have a great wife, a beautiful baby girl, a good job, a roof over my head, and food in the fridge. I AM BLESSED!

Wow......

Wow, where to begin....
Well, its been almost two months since my last post. Where has the time gone?
There is some much to tell you guys about, I don't know where to begin.
Lets start with Elahs echocardiagram appointment. I can't remember if I told you guys about this, so I'll just start from the beginning.
We took Elah to the doctor one afternoon cause she was coming down with a cold, and we wanted to see if there was anything we could do to help clear the congestion in her nose.
When the doctor listened to her heart beat, she heard a slight heart murmur. She told us it sounded innocent to her but would rather have it checked out just to make sure, so we scheduled and echo cardiogram for her.
We decided it was best if we not tell our parents, (especially my parents, sorry Momma) about it until we found out for sure what was going on. We didn't want them to worry.
She had the appointment,  and Elah did really well. and they told us they would call when the results came in.
Well we waited, and waited, and waited some more. We figured everything came back good since they never called us.
The on Sarahs birthday they called us and said they found something on the test. I hope I say this right but they said she had an atrial septum defect, which is a hole between the two valves of her heart.
She still said that it looked innocent, and that she was just gonna have the cardiologist talk to us just to reassure us.
We had been planning a vacation the first week in April and we were gonna leave on the 31st of March. Well they called us and the only time they could see us was the 31st. So we went back over there before we left for vacation and they did a few more test on her and then we talked to the cardiologist. He told us everything looked good, and that he thinks it will just close on its own. Whew, what a sigh of relief. We have to take her back when she turns two just to check up on it.
Now the vacation. We went to Pigeon Forge Tennessee for a week with some close friends of ours, the Flints. We rented a cabin up in the mountains, and it was amazing.
The only bad thing about it was a spiral staircase that led to the game room, and Nathan and Janelles room.
We went to Chattanooga, Gatlinburg, The Aquarium Of The Smokies, The Titanic Museum, and a bunch of other things. Now we are back home and things are starting to get back to normal. We're trying to get Elah back into her routine which is going ok. lol.
Elah is starting to laugh now, and its the most adorable thing ever. Shes also starting to teethe so that kinda sucks.
Shes growing up so fast, its hard to take it all in. She is almost four months old now, can you believe that? It doesn't seem like that long ago I started this blog, and that was when I found out Sarah was Pregnant.

Two Months Old!

Wow, my little girl is two months old today!
Its so hard to believe cause it still feels like we just brought her home. She is doing so well.
She is almost able to hold her head up by herself, shes trying her best to roll over, she smiles constantly, and she coos up a storm.
Today sadly was her two month check up. Everything is great, she is over ten pounds now,  and is healthy as can be. Then came the bad part.
She had to get her vaccinations today. She got one by mouth and three by injection.
I had been dreading that this whole month. I just can't stand to see her in pain.
The nurse came in and started to give her the shots and, I know she was only doing her job, but I wanted to smack her in the back of her head for hurting my little girl.
Elah made it through like a champ though, and we went home. Her little legs have been sore just about all day, and it just breaks my heart hearing her "hurting" cry.
 We have been giving her infant Tylenol to help with the soreness and it seems to be helping.
Sorry I haven't been posting as often as I used to, but as you can imagine I've been a little busy with work, helping take care of Elah, keeping the house clean, and I just started my CDM classes. So I don't have a lot of time for anything.
I'm not sure when my next post will be, but I am still gonna be blogging, even if its once a month.

Not My Normal Blog Post.

So i'm gonna fuss a gripe in this post because i can.
First off I am completely run down. Im so exhausted that i feel miserable and i end up being a dick to everyone. The days i work sarah lets me sleep all night, but i never get any rest. When i wake up i feel as bad and as tired as i did when i went to bed. From 4:30am to 9pm i am constantly going. i work all morning then i go home and end up cleaning cause im a clean freak. Or go to asheville all afternoon running errands.
On top of all that i did something to my knee and now it aches all the time. And i just found out that new management is taking over at work, so im worried about them coming in and changing everything.
All i want is some time to just relax is that so much to ask for?

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Crying, Crying, And More Crying.........

For some reason, the last couple days/nights, Elah has been getting these crying fits where no matter what you do she will not stop crying.
We have tried everything. We've burped her, fed her, changed her, cuddled with her, gave her gas drops, and yet she still will not stop crying.
I know all this is normal, but it makes me feel bad cause Sarah is the one that ends up getting her to stop, and I feel like I'm not doing my share.
Especially the nights before I have to work, cause Sarah is the one that stays up with her cause I have to get up so early in the morning.
It has been a rough couple days, and I know its probably worse for Sarah because shes the one that stays here all day and watches her.
On a brighter note, check out these two new pics I put together.

1 Month Old!!!!

Wow.... It is hard to believe that my little baby girl is one month old today.
This time last month Sarah had just got the epidural and was starting to relax, and I was stressed out beyond belief.
I have experience so much this past month like being pooped on, peed on, spit up on, sleepless nights, and constant crying(but not as bad as most babies)
Would I change anything you ask? Not one thing at all. I love this new life of mine, its never a dull moment.
I've grown up so much this past month, though I was already pretty grown up to begin with, I guess you could say I grew up in a different way ever since Elah arrived.
This little girl has me so wrapped around her finger it isn't even funny, and I love that little booger more and more.
                                        

 Elahs First Professional Photo



Times Flying.

Wow,  its hard to believe that my little girl is almost a month old....
It still feels like we just brought her home from the hospital, and yet she is 3 weeks old today.
Elah is doing great though, shes growing, and gaining weight really well. her cheeks are getting a little chunkier, and shes starting to fit better in her newborn outfits.
I just wish she would fatten up in the rear end so she can wear her pants lol.
She is big enough now that she can fit into some of her cloth diapers, so during the day she has been wearing the smaller cloth diapers we have, and at night she wears disposables.
She seams to like the cloth ones a lot better than the disposables, they don't seem to rub her butt as bad as the others. And best of all...... They hardly ever leak. She had a MAJOR blow out this morning and it didn't leak at all.
I was a little worried about the cloth diapers, but now I really like them.  They are easy to clean up and a lot easier to put on her. And it also makes me feel good knowing she will always have diapers even if we are short on cash for the month.
Elah is the most amazing daughter, shes beginning to focus more on objects, and people, and the faces she makes are priceless.
I can't wait till she starts to smile real smiles, right now shes only got sleepy smiles.

Major Breakthrough!

First off, I just want to let you know how Elah's two week check up went. It went really good, shes really healthy.  She grew a little over an inch and gained almost a full pound, which is awesome.
Ok, now the major breakthrough.
Ever since we got Elah home, the only way we could get her to sleep was to lay her on either mine or Sarah's chest. And we didn't want to give her a paci right off the bat cause we wanted her to get used to breast feeding.
We asked the pediatrician if it would be ok to give her one now, and she said it should be fine. So that's what we did. She seems to take to it pretty good, and it doesn't confuse her when she eats so that's good.
Now the one thing we have been hoping for. We finally got her to somewhat sleep in her bassinet. Which is awesome cause now we both can sleep in our nice, comfy bed instead of the couch, and the recliner.

2 Weeks Old!

As of 9:07 tonight my baby girl will be 2 weeks old! Its crazy, you know I always heard when I was growing up, my parents and everyone else saying,"They grow up so fast."
Yes I know its only two weeks, but they have FLEW by so fast its making my head spin.
In the last two weeks I have learned so much about caring for a child, and I think I'm getting pretty good at it. I've learned how to change diapers, to comfort her, to change her clothes and more. A lot of it Sarah has taught me, but also a lot of it is just instinct.
I try to think about what my life was like before she was born and no matter how hard I try, I can't. I do know that my life was pretty boring.
The one thing now that does kinda suck is that I am always tired, not because I stay up with her, and on my days off I do stay up with Sarah. But the days that I work, and she lets me sleep, I don't get any rest.
I don't get it, I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and don't wake up at all till my alarm clock goes off, and I am still tired.
I guess I am complaining a lot, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I love being with my wife and my little girl. And now that I am on vacation I get to spend a week and a half with them!
Tomorrow is Elah's two week check up. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Quality Time With My Daughter

I have to say that out of the whole day of changing diapers, getting Elah ready for Sarah to feed her, trying to to keep the house somewhat clean, and doing anything else I can to help Sarah out. My favorite time is when I let Sarah take a nap and rest for an hour or two.
That gives Me, and Elah some good father daughter time. Like this morning.
Sarah was pretty tired this morning cause we had both been up with Elah through the night. But she had also been up with her, by herself for the last three nights cause I've had to work, so she was pretty beat.
So I told her to go take a nap since she had just fed Elah.
Elah was wide awake, so I took her and layed her down on my chest(she won't sleep any other way).
She was still wide awake and every so often she would look up at me, and would just stare at me.
She was starting to get a little fussy so I put my pinky in her mouth to pacify her so she would settle down and go to sleep.
Within ten minutes she was out. I was getting a little tired my self and at one point dosed off for a bit.
When I woke up she was still asleep but was starting to wiggle alot. Shes a little wiggle worm.
She finally settled down and all I could do was stare at her cause she makes some pretty funny faces while shes asleep.
Then it happened........ She filled her diaper full. lol.
It was close to time to feed her again, so I went and cleaned her up and woke Sarah up.
That was my morning, and even though I was really freakin tired, I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

Changing My First Diaper.

Ok, so just by looking at the title to my post, most of you women out there on my friends list is probably laughing right now.
No I didn't gag, and no I didn't think it was gross.  I think I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself.
 And Elah hardly if ever cries when I change her diapers. And yes I am talking about poopie diapers.
I'm so tired of hearing," Oh wait till you have to change a dirty diaper".
Ha, shes also a little stinker. She gets the farts sometimes, and that little girl can clear a room with in minutes. She makes her Daddy proud. lol She puts Me, and my Dad to shame. lol
Stinky or not I love that little girl so much. I can"t even imagine the rest my life without her.