3 Months Old!

Liam turned 3 months old on October 9. I can't believe how fast this little guy is growing and how much he changes every day. New and exciting things happen every day around here...here's just a peek at what we've been up to:

Liam no longer hates tummy time, and will tolerate it for 5-10 minutes at a time, then we will take a break to do something else and come back and do a few more minutes.

And, now, most of the time I'm constantly flipping the little booger back over because he learned to roll from tummy to back last week! He's getting pretty good at it, so when he's decided he's had enough...over he goes! Sweet boy.

I finally made it through the huge stash of disposable diapers I had from my showers, so Liam is wearing his cloth diapers full-time now. I love my BumGenius diapers! I am happy to say that I have not bought a single diaper yet (except the cloth ones). And, is there anything cuter than this?

Liam can grab toys and bring them to his mouth, and he especially loves sweet Sophie the giraffe!

Also new, DROOL. So much drool.

...and chewing on his hands

 ...and blowing bubbles!

Overall, Liam is a good nighttime sleeper. During the day, he prefers to catnap. If a nap lasts longer than an hour, it's a miracle. Until recently he's been swaddled for naps and at night because he has wild-man hands that wake him up every 5 seconds. We are trying to phase out the swaddling, though, since little man has decided it's fun to scoot to the edge of his Rock and Play or Nap Nanny and try to do backflips. It looks like he will be rolling back to belly pretty soon! We are also working on getting him to sleep flat at nighttime to make the move to his crib easier. Right now, he is sleeping beside our bed in the Pack and Play wearing his Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit (he was sleeping in the Rock and Play, swaddled). My goal is to get him to the crib all night by 6 months. I still can't sleep if he's not close to me! We are getting there...

Our four month check-up is right around the corner! He will get more shots (boo!) and maybe the green light to start some solids. I can't wait to fire up the baby food maker!! 

Soaking wet bibs and bubbly grins...

Katie 

These days...

As I am sure you could guess, life at the Daniels' house has been super busy/ crazy/ sleepless/ amazing the past couple of months! There have been many changes and adjustments, but we are slowly figuring out life with a newborn (which Liam will no longer be in about 3 weeks!). Please, remember that Justin and I have been "just us two" for EIGHT years...enough said.

Here's a recap of the events of the past 9- ish weeks:

1. Three days prior to Liam's birth, our house was filled with boxes and a moving crew (not to mention a landlady that pointed out every detail of yardwork that had been neglected during my pregnancy). The couple that we lease the house from moved the furniture that they had kept here to their new home in Ohio. To put it mildly...this was stressful to a 38-week-pregnant mama!! To ensure that we wouldn't come home to an empty house, we went furniture shopping to get some basics and fill some space. My Mama also hooked us up with some antique pieces that my great-grandfather built. I posted a long time back about the house and showed y'all how it looked when we moved in....here is our "new" living room and dining room set up....MUCH more my style!

This table was made by Paw. It is gorgeous black walnut. The chairs are an Overstock.com find. And, little old me made the curtains and ruffled runner...thanks Pinterest!

New sofa, chair, coffee table and console for TV. Paw made the desk by the window. I made the (super classy) burlap curtains. :) 

2. We had a BABY!! A darn cute one at that. I have been using him as a little model to practice my "photography" skills. (I use the term loosely) I got a new lens and a reflector, so I'm pretty much a professional now. Kidding.

3. I resigned from my position as Weekend Coordinator for the Rehab department at St. Dominic. I'm still planning on working PRN, though, beginning in October...Just typing that gave me heart palpitations. Hopefully, I can ease into going back to work, leaving my baby, and remembering how to be a Physical Therapist. I am grateful beyond words to be able to spend my days with my sweet boy. I won't pretend like there aren't days where I feel cooped up and downright insane...but I'm pretty excited about my new job as Liam's Mama. See above pictured cuteness. :) And, in case I should forget, I have this little reminder from the sweetest niece of all time:

4. Justin started working on a possible job in Oxford, MS for after graduation. Basically, he and a few other residents are trying to form a group to staff the ER there. It's a complicated process, and  I am praying hard that it all works out. We LOVE Oxford, and think it would be an amazing place to raise our family.

5. We took our first road trip home with Liam when he was around 5 weeks old. Traveling with a baby is no joke, folks. Rude awakening. It was fine, really. Just totally different. Here he is, all ready to ride. He was a sweet, sleepy angel on the way there...going home...scary alien baby came out (see previous blog post)!

So, that's what we've been up to! I'll try to be a better blogger. Liam is growing and changing every. single. day. It's nice to have something to look back at and remember...

Little man is 6 Weeks old!

Let's just pretend it hasn't been like half a year since I updated this blog. :)

Tomorrow my sweet Liam will be 6 weeks old. I always heard that time changes somehow when you have a baby, flying by faster than ever. It is so, so true. I feel like I was still pregnant yesterday, but here I sit, listening to my 6 week old snore on the baby monitor.

The past 6 weeks have been the most wonderful and the hardest of my life. I mean, I knew that I would be sleep- deprived and hormonal and that "a baby changes everything" and all that. But, you really cannot prepare yourself for what it is to be a new parent. Suddenly there is this PERSON in the world that you helped create, and YOU are responsible for keeping it alive. I have a hard time keeping plants alive and remembering to feed the dogs (thank goodness for automatic dog- feeders)! Unfortunately, they don't make automatic baby feeders, or diaper-changers, either. Boo. This tiny little thing needs you, like, for everything. All the time. And it is so painfully adorable and terrifying all at the same time. Somehow, we all survived a whole month and a half. Here's what I've learned so far:

1. Back labor sucks. Especially when your epidural catheter moves out of place, or runs out of medicine, or just flat out isn't working...or all three! They say you forget the pain...still haven't.

2. Breastfeeding is HARD. And it hurts. And you feel like a failure when it hurts, because everyone tells you it "shouldn't" hurt if you're "doing it right". (You feel like a failure for pretty much the whole first month, but that's another story) You may even get bleeding, infected blisters on your nipples and dread feeding your baby when he's hungry. After all that hard work, you still may not make enough milk. I'm still trying to nurse as much as I can, but we had to supplement with formula. And, guess what. THAT'S OKAY! Which leads to my next point...

3. Do what works for you and your family. Don't get caught up in what's "right" or "wrong" according to this book or that person. Are you happy? Is your baby happy? Is your husband happy? If the answer is yes, carry on. If not, change something. Do not feel guilty about it, either. Everyone has an opinion and (usually uninvited) advice when you have a baby. Do what YOU feel is right for you. And breathe.

4. If you have a boy, be on guard at all times during diaper changes. And, point it down.

5. Justin and I make freaking cute babies!

6. Sometimes, babies just cry. For no reason at all.  It's okay to cry with them...you're both figuring it out! Liam looks like a scary, alien baby when he is really wound- up. It freaked me out at first. He got the "ugly cry" from his Mama.

7. A good, tight swaddle will usually help with #6. Throw in a little walk around the house or a swing on the porch, and the crying might even stop! :)

8. The following items are absolutely essential (to me): muslin swaddle blankets, a white noise machine (or iPhone app), the Fisher Price Rock and Play, a Boppy pillow, Dr. Brown's bottles, a good breast pump,  microwave sterilizer bags, the Angelcare monitor, 15 zillion burp cloths, gas drops, gripe water, and baby Zantac.

9. The following items are nice, but not really necessary (to me): a wipe warmer, a swing and a bouncy seat (so far he doesn't really like either one!), warm fleece-y sleepers (if you swaddle, all they need to wear is a onesie).

10. I could not do this without my husband. Or my Mama. They are the reason I'm not completely crazy right now.

I cannot believe that I am someone's mother. I am so thankful to have this little miracle in my arms. As hard as every day is, I love being Liam's Mama. I can't wait to see what he grows up to be...but not too fast!

25 Weeks

We made it to 25 weeks! 15 weeks left to go. I passed my 1 hour glucose test last week, thank goodness! I'm so glad to have that out of the way. Next up is the 3D ultrasound! I can't wait to see what Liam's sweet face looks like.
Next weekend, I have 2 showers in Meridian. One with my family and one with Justin's family. We haven't made much progress on the nursery. The crib and bedding have been ordered, but they won't be here until June! I'm trying not to panic about that, but I'm so ready to get everything put together.
I will update y'all next weekend with the shower details....I can't wait!

20 Weeks!

We have officially passed the halfway mark! Today, I am 20 weeks and 4 days to be exact. According to all my books, baby is about the size of a cantaloupe now and should weigh around 11 ounces. Yesterday we had our 20 week ultrasound to measure all baby's bones and look at every little organ. Everything looked great and we have a very active baby BOY who weighs about 15 ounces! Yep! almost a whole pound! He was moving around so much that we couldn't get a very clear profile picture. However, we were able to get a very clear shot of his "boy parts"...go figure. I won't post that, you can just take my word for it! :)

At our 16 week appointment, we were able to find out the gender. Since then, we have been happily buying adorable little boy clothes and fun stuff for the nursery. Justin picked out a giant stuffed giraffe that is almost as tall as I am! We have decided on Liam for baby's first name, but we are still debating middle names.

 I have been feeling pretty good most of the time. I am still very tired most days and my back has started to bother me a little, especially on the days I work. My bump is growing!! It is very obvious that I am pregnant now, and not just chubby (but, I'm a little chubby too, probably)...even strangers comment on my belly. I can feel Liam turning, kicking, punching, and jumping all the time. He gets super active right after I eat. I love feeling him move! He must be a strong little thing, because lately I've been able to see him kick on the outside of my belly...amazing!! I can't wait until Justin can feel him, too. It probably won't be too much longer.

 I can't wait to get his room all fixed up. We've decided on a "safari" theme for the nursery. (Justin would want me to clarify that this is not "pastel baby safari", but real "African safari") Justin and I are both working some extra shifts so we can get the crib we really want and have money to pay for all the crazy-expensive baby necessities. I will post pictures when we get it all together. Very exciting!!

Changing Directions...

Hi! Yep, I realize that I haven't posted in three months. Yep, I have a good excuse! We have had an exciting time in the Daniels house since I last posted about our ten year reunion. So exciting, in fact, that I'm changing the theme of my blog! Now, don't worry, I'm still going to post recipes from time to time...and I'm still going to share pictures and crafts and all that fun stuff, too. There's just one BIG, new thing that I'm adding in, since, as I mentioned, our life has gotten a little more exciting these days. So...let's pick up where I left off...(warning:this is long)

Right after our reunion, two days to be exact, something happened to Justin and me that completely changed our lives. For this to make sense, I need to back up a little bit, about a year...

October 2010: Justin and I are recovering from what was one of the saddest, most confusing, and scary things that had ever happened to us. In April of 2010, we lost a baby at about ten weeks. We were devastated. But to make things even more scary, we learned that I had what is called a "partial molar pregnancy". You can google it, but basically it means that there is a chromosomal problem where the baby begins to develop (we had a good ultrasound and saw that precious heart beating at seven weeks), but the fetus is not viable. There are also placental abnormalities. (This is where it gets scary.) If any tissue is left behind after a miscarriage of a molar pregnancy, it can grow into a form of cancer known as choriocarcinoma.

Not only had we lost our first baby, but I had to be closely monitored (weekly, then monthly blood draws for SEVEN months) to make sure all the tissue was gone and I didn't have signs of choriocarcinoma growing. To make it worse, we were told that we could not get pregnant for at least a year to be safe. It was a dark and heartbreaking time, but little did I know it was only the beginning of our bumpy road.

November 2010: Luckily, all my bloodwork was normal to this point. I decided to see a new doctor to get another opinion on when we could try again. So, I went to see Dr. Sims, armed with research articles, praying for good news. God answered my prayer! My new doctor cleared us to go ahead and start trying again.

June 2011: Sadly, no luck in the baby department! I was starting to get worried that something was wrong, so I made an appointment to start seeing a fertility specialist in Jackson, Dr. Isaacs. I went in for a consultation and he mapped out a treatment plan. This is where the real fun began...pills, accupuncture, utrasounds, books, needle sticks, weird yoga moves, "relaxing", more pills, more needle sticks...but, nothing was working. Ugly negative tests every month.

October 2011: A busy month! (FINALLY, we are back to the month leading up to our class reunion) I was keeping my mind busy by planning our reunion and trying not to think too much about the (almost) year of failure under my belt. We had a new plan with Dr. Isaacs, though. Two days after our reunion, we had a procedure called an IUI done. I'll save you the details, but if you're interested, google "intrauterine insemination"...

November 6, 2011:
This happened



I cannot begin to describe to you how it felt to finally see that sight. It took a few blood tests at the doctor for me to believe it was real. We were absolutely ecstatic, but scared to death something bad would happen again. I prayed constantly (as I had been for quite some time now) that God would let this be it.

Today: I am 15 weeks and 1 day pregnant! God is so good! I still pray constantly for this little miracle and for the person he or she will become. Justin and I are so, so excited to finally meet our little one in July.




I promise to update more often and look forward to sharing our little family's adventures! From now on, this will be more of a general Daniels family/ baby/ life blog...which will include recipes, because what is life without good food?

If you read all of that, you should get an award. :)

"Reunited and it feels so good..."

This past weekend was our 10 year high school reunion. (Most of you already know that Justin and I graduated high school together, and actually met way back in 5th grade!) It was so fun to see some of our old friends again and take a little trip back in time. I've been working hard for a while, with help from my friend Kristin, on planning the reunion and getting everything together for it. I was so happy to see everything go smoothly and everyone have a nice time.

The events began Saturday with a family picnic at Planet Playground in Meridian. This was a chance for everyone to bring their kids and show them off. We were the only couple there with no kids...which was slightly awkward, but we survived! Saturday night was dinner and drinks at Weidmann's in Downtown Meridian and I made the cupcakes for the event! (recipes coming right up!)We ate and mingled and drank and laughed and listened to corny old music (think "Ghetto Cowboy" and Destiny's Child)until midnight. It was a blast. The best part of the night (or morning, I should say) was our bonfire after the reunion! Our closest buddies from high school came out to our land to sit around like old times and catch up. We stayed out there until 4 AM! The next day was ROUGH...but totally worth every minute!

Good Times!

I made three different mini cupcakes for the dinner event. I wanted them to reflect our school colors (yes, I'm that dorky) so, I chose red velvet, dark chocolate, and raspberry sour cream. If you were at the reunion, you are probably thinking, "I didn't see any raspberries!". Well, turns out, the only berries to be found in Meridian were a few (sad looking) pints of strawberries at Piggly Wiggly. So, improvise I did! Here is a link to the recipes I used (cupcakes 4, 5, and 25):Mingmakescupcakes.com I made a few modifications, like: 1. I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder for a darker color and flavor in the red velvet and chocolate cupcakes. 2. I subbed in strawberries for the raspberries in the Raspberry Sour Cream cupcakes. 3. I thickened each icing recipe a bit with additional powdered sugar to get to the consistency I needed to ice them as shown. 4. I omitted the chocolate shavings on the chocolate cupcakes.
I forgot (!) to take a picture of my cupcakes displayed at the reunion, so the only photo I have is of the trial run I did last week (for which I was in Jackson...where they have raspberries...) So, here they are!:

They were a hit, especially the strawberry! Go figure! Haha.


What else have I been baking, you may ask....

How about a 12 layer chocolate cake?
Fun!




It was so good, but so time consuming!! Here is the recipe if you have some time on your hands! 12 layer Cake


I'm getting excited to start planning my Christmas baking soon! Hope everyone has a great day!