For Darcie.

I LOVE the little hat you made for my sweet Jane. I have had so many compliments on it!

Winter Wonderland

Wal-Mart

Last week was Jane's first trip to Wal-Mart. We went with my dear friend Kristen and her sweet daughter Abbey. Of course we had to document the event with pictures. What a big day! Her first of MANY trips to Wal-Mart in her lifetime!

The backseat of the car was cozy with two car seats!

Jane's "Happy Squeal"

You make me smile!

Jane just started really smiling last week. She reserves most of her smiles for her Daddy... even though I'm the one home with her all day!

Unfortunately, the grin caught on camera this time turned into a fuss... we were out most of the day today so she was tired and I had to work hard to coax her into smiling for me....

Date Night!

Last night was our first time venturing out on a date since Jane was born. We left her with our sweet neighbors, Rocky and Suzanne. The plan was for me to feed her, then we'd bring her over to their house for her evening nap. I must confess, like most new moms leaving their babies for the first time, I did fret a little bit while we were away, hoping that she was not crying and being unpleasant for them. Aaron reminded me over and over that she'd be fine, (and he said that if she did cry the whole time it would just be a dose of impending reality for them as they are expecting their first baby to be born any day now!) and I was able to relax and enjoy the evening with just the two of us! It was wonderful. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory... one of our favorite restaurants!

Oh... and Jane did wonderfully... she slept as if she was in her own bed and only fussed a little as she was falling asleep, which we expected. We were so proud of her!

gdiapers

I just started using a cloth diaper called gdiapers they are soft, and come in fun colors and they are easy to get on and off. I chose to use them because of how expensive disposable diapers are... it's ridiculous! Yes, I do have to take the time to wash them, but it really isn't all that much work. I have a system down where I just rinse them out and then soak them in a box of soapy water until I'm ready to throw them in the washing machine. Cloth diapers have a come a long way since I was a kid and my mom used them on me! No sharp pins or scratchy, crackly plastic liners!

My new toy

For my birthday in November, Mom Montgomery got me this new scrapbooking tool called a "cricut"... which is basically a computerized tool to cut out shapes and letters from paper. The way it works, is you load the paper of your choice, type in the word(s) you want cut out of the paper, choose the size, press the "cut" button... and then...viola! It hums along and cuts it out for you! There are also different cartrigages you can load into the cricut for a variety of fonts, and shapes... it's amazing. A scrapbooker's dream machine!!

Too Cold!!

One Month

binky bandit

Daddy time

reality

So I think reality has finally sunk in. Jane is ours and we don't have to give her back to someone else. We can hardly believe she is three weeks old. Time has flown by... but somehow it also feels like it's been an eternity. We are also amazed how such a little person can completely change our lives. We are thoroughly in love with her; we just stare at her and are astounded at God's goodness to give us such a beautiful gift. We love looking into her bright wide eyes, wondering what she's thinking, watching her endless cute facial expressions, hearing her sweet little baby noises and smelling her precious skin and hair. God has taught us a good deal of patience over the last three weeks as well.... from changing endless poopie diapers, to feeling like a cow, nursing around the clock, and waking up multiple times during the night to hear her mournful little cry from the bassinet. We used to think that getting five or six hours of sleep was a "bad night".... but now that Jane is a part of our family, we think that getting five or six hours of straight sleep would be pure bliss! How perspective changes... I was struck with the reality of how drastically our lives have changed while I was doing laundry, of all things. As I looked at the clean laundry I had just washed and folded, I realized that it was mostly pink... little onesies, tiny socks, burp cloths and hats and bibs... can this really be OUR laundry??

tasty treat

My latest kitchen experiment..... Mini Grand Marnier Cakes. I've had a recipe for a Grand Marnier Cake for a long time, but have shied away from making it simply because Aaron and I could never eat a whole cake, and I've been afraid of having the leftovers go bad. So today I decided to half the recipe and turn it into cupcakes. Mmm... it worked well! Just add a dollop of creamy Grand Marnier sauce and we have a delicious dessert!

No fear of any of these little cakes sitting around long enough to go bad!

Fresh and clean!