Napping...

Early on Caylee slept all the time, but never in her crib.  (I've mentioned that before).  At 4 weeks, when the doctor assured me that she could cry in her crib a while, he also suggested I start putting her in her crib for naps.  At the beginning, every time she'd fall asleep I'd move her to her crib.  Well, after a few days I realized that would never work.  At about 5 1/2 weeks I started putting her in her crib 2 times a day and let her stay as long as she could... she only ever made it 30 minutes and I wasn't consistent because I usually run errands in the mornings.  Finally, I decided to clear my afternoons (not like I have anything to do!) and make sure that we were home between 1 and 3 every day.  After the first 3 days of this I immediately noticed a change.  She wouldn't fall asleep, but she would lay in her crib content for about an hour.  Yea!  By day 4 she was falling asleep for at least 45 minutes and would sometimes be in her crib a little over an hour! Yea again!  This past week, she has been sleeping a solid 2 hours in her crib every afternoon.  When I lay her down now, it only takes about 10-20 minutes before she is asleep and she sleeps 2 hours after that.  I have time to take a nap, do laundry, wash dishes etc! (sometimes I choose just to nap though) :)  These naps have really helped her in the evenings, she is much happier!

I'm sure we will have some rough days, but for now she is happily asleep in the afternoons!

This is not an ultrasound pic... this is a pic on our tv from the camera above her crib.  She has always slept with her hands up, so funny!

She sleeps so well, sometimes I have to go in and start turning lights on to wake up for a bottle. 

Christmas 2011

We had a really great Christmas this year with lots of new friends!  Matt was on call this weekend (being the new guy, you get the holidays) so we had to stick around Lexington.  He did get called to a few places in the morning, but thankfully the day was slow and he didn't get called in after that.

My friend and I went to church early with Caylee because they asked Caylee to be there a little early to get wrapped in her swaddling clothes (see previous post).  Then both of our husbands had finished their calls and were able to make it and joined us.  After church Matt and I took Caylee out to a friend's house (also clients of Matt's) where they had lots of food!  We visited with them for a few hours and had a really great time.  They were so sweet to include us with the rest of their family.  After that, we came back and headed over to Ann and Gabe's place (friends we went to church with... they live on the farm with us and he works with Matt).  We visited and had more food there!  We had a really great time at both places and enjoyed the company so much! Oh.. and Ann made THE BEST Derby Pie (it was my first time eating it), but it was SO good and I can't wait to make it for us sometime... 

Yesterday, Caylee was also exactly 2 months old!  Time flies when you're having fun :)  She is doing so well.  She still gets up once during the night to eat, but our afternoon naptime has gotten SO much better.  She won't always sleep during naptime, but she'll hang out in her room and babble to herself.  She started smiling a few days ago and she'll smile when I tell her she's "so pretty and so smart".  :)  She is starting to get a little more coordinated and will lay on her mat and hit her rings around for a while if I am doing other things. 

Here are some pics of the weekend....

Family Christmas Picture 2011

New friends!  (This pic is really yellow bc of the light)

Look at that mad face!  She was tired of pictures I think, but I couldn't get a good one of just her in her Christmas dress!!!

Happier now on Daddy's lap with her WubbaNub :)

2 Months!

Caught a half smile... :) (the bow looks really cute in person, but not so cute in the picture)

Baby Jesus

Yesterday, was Christmas Day and it happened to fall on a Sunday this year.  Our church had one joint service at 10:30am.  It was pretty neat how they did it to...

There was no nursery care, no children's church and no sunday school.  This meant that families worshipped together.  They did this yesterday and will do it again this coming Sunday for January 1st.  They understood that kids can't sit through a service very quietly, but they still wanted families to be together for this holiday season.  I really enjoyed this!  Also, instead of a typical service yesterday, they had members of their staff stand up and give their testimony.  This was really neat too.  So many people go to church on Christmas and hear the same story over and over, but they never really connect the dots.... they never really make the connection that Jesus the Baby is also Jesus the Savior of everyone... hearing testimonies helps make the connection.  They had several baptisms as well- which was exciting!

My Sunday School teacher and her family were asked to light the last Advent candle yesterday.  She was going to do a small monologue about the baby Jesus as well and wanted to hold a baby to make her point a little stronger.  She asked Caylee to take on the role as Jesus!  We had not yet brought Caylee to church, so yesterday was her first day and she got to be in front of all the people!  She did scream... and though the whole thing lasted maybe 2 minutes at most, 2 minutes of crying seems like an eternity :)  Oh well.. she did great and it definitely left no question as to whether she was real or a doll :) 

Here are some pics... but it was so far away that you can't tell...

Here is a pic beforehand with Caylee wrapped in her swaddling clothes

New Age Dining

Maybe we haven't been out in a while....
Maybe this is just a new thing....

Either way, it was the coolest thing ever and as Matt said "It definitely added to my dining experience!"

Last night, we headed out to Chili's.  A sweet lady (who I have never met) couldn't bring us a meal back when meals were being delivered so she sent us a gift card instead... how sweet!  Anyways, we finally got around to using it last night.

After the meal, Matt always wants the check right away.  This thing was sitting on the table and you can pay for your entire meal through it... without waiting for the wait staff to bring a bill and then waiting again for them to bring back your credit card! 

**Sidenote: You can even play games on it while you are waiting for your meal!

When you are finished paying, the little green light comes on and the thing even prints your receipt!  This was very exciting for us and made getting in and out of the restaurant super easy!  We will definitely be going back to Chili's!!

Also...

Merry Christmas Eve from us!

Pictures

Caylee and I were bored yesterday when Matt ran out to a farm call.  So... I took more pictures :)  She is getting sooo big and she's starting to smile more.  (Although, it's not enough for the camera to really catch that).  She'll be 8 weeks tomorrow and Christmas Day will officially be 2 months! I love watching her grow and get older, it's so exciting :)


Almost got a smile...

Poor Diego just wants some attention too.. (this picture is not staged, he just gets as close as he can bc he is not allowed to be on the mat with her- he definitely pushes the limits!)

"I'm looking at you!"

This one is from a week or so ago, when we were playing around :)

These are a few of my favorite things...

It's that time of year when everyone begins reflecting on the past year.  They start running specials on the top 10 people, top 10 places to see, top 10 of just about everything!  So... I decided to make my own top 10 list of favorites this year... these are my top 10 favorite things of 2011.  Many, of course, are baby things, but some are not.  They are not in any order either because it was hard to narrow a whole year down to 10 things!

1. Degree- This is Matt's Vet degree... I was so proud of him this year for finishing up 4 years of hard work!  This degree meant that he could get a job doing what he loves, so even though we don't know where this degree will take us over the years it's nice to have :)

2. WubbaNubs- These are the BEST pacifiers ever!  From birth to now we have added a few to the collection.  They are just a basic pacifier attached to a stuffed animal... Caylee LOVES them and they stay in much better than a regular pacifier.  She is also getting to where she can grasp the animal itself and that is soothing too.

3. Stroller- I was so thankful at my shower when the ladies presented me with the stroller and carseat I had registered for.  I knew it would come in handy, but the stroller has been a lifesaver up here!  The farm is a quiet place and being able to get outside and walk around has been wonderful.  Caylee sleeps in the stroller and seems to enjoy our walks.  I love the exercise and just getting out of the house.  As it gets colder we will brave the mall to get our walking in... but I'm holding off on that for now :)



4. Zippered Jumpers- I don't have a picture of these, but they are soooo much better at night than the gowns or snaps.  Caylee is a kicker, so the gowns end up around her armpits and the snaps never get snapped correctly at night.  The zipper is one swipe and we're done!  I love them!

5. Jewelry- Jewelry makes everyone feel just a little better... especially when I am not feeling so great after having a baby!  But this jewelry is also special because 3 special people gave me the pieces and I get to think about them each time I wear it! 

6. Bouncy Seat- This is Caylee's bouncy seat, it also vibrates.  I swear, the first few weeks that is the only place she would fall asleep.  Luckily, we have since changed that, but she still loves this seat and I love that I can have her in it anywhere in the house.  I just move her around when I am in different rooms :)

7. iphone- I love my phone... not only have I been able to stay connected to friends and family this way, but it also takes pictures AND has a baby app to put in all the details of the day!  So when the doctor is asking me how many diapers she has, or how much and how often she eats I can actually tell him.  (Seriously, how am I supposed to remember every diaper when I feel like that's all I do some days!)

8. Baby Book- This book is awesome! It's super cute, but more importantly super easy to complete.  There are already spots for pictures and they even begin sentences for you (making sure you remember all the important things).  This will be a neat book to give Caylee one day for her to see everything that has happened this first year.  I really love this book!

9. Prayer Journal- I have kept a prayer journal for most of this year.  Ironically, the SS class I have started attending also chose to keep a prayer journal.  Two weeks ago they handed out an evaluation.  We were supposed to go back through the journal and see what God had done in our lives.  I was amazed when I looked back!  God had answered so many of my prayers, not always in ways I would have chosen, but it is neat to see how He works.  There were people I've prayed for over the year that I saw answered prayers for too.  I highly encourage everyone to keep a prayer journal next year and then look back and see where God has brought you.  You'll be surprised and it's a great way to remember God works even when we don't see Him in the moment. I will definitely continue doing this.

10. Massages- Thanks to 2 people this year, I was able to have 2 massages. (that is a lot for 1 year!!)  I LOVE being pampered like that and it doesn't happen often.  I love massages and they are stuch great stress relievers.

Well... it's probably not what people expected, but those are some of my favorite things from 2011.  :) 

Defeating Discouragement

"Defeating Discouragement" was the title of the Sunday School lesson yesterday.  Thanks to Matt and his off weekend, he stayed home with Caylee and I was able to attend SS.  The lesson yesterday was too good not to share...

So, our teacher is going to cover several points on what can cause discouragement, but yesterday's theme was Fatigue...how appropriate!  (Not just for tired new moms, but for everyone, especially this time of year)

The passage we studied was Numbers 11
*This first thing to note was that the Israelites were having to move again, this is part of their time in the wilderness for the 40 years.  They were complaining to God and He became angry with them. (vs 1-3)  God was angry because He had been showing the people over and over who He was, His power, etc... their complaining provoked God to anger. 
   God holds us accountable for what He reveals to us
So the first thing to consider, is what has God shown to you?  For me, this year in particular, it has been that He will provide.  Therefore, if I doubt His provisions I could very easily make Him mad, because time and time again He has shown me that He will provide what I need.  Looking back through the year I have seen God's provisions over and over again, from little things to big things.  Past behavior dictates future behavior.... so since I have seen God provide in the past, there is no reason for me to doubt His provisions in the future.

*The second thing to note in this passage is in vs 4-10.  My bible says 'the rabble'.  Our teacher explained that the rabble were the people who went with the Israelites, but who were not Israelites... they were the Egyptians (maybe others) who tagged along.  It says they began to complain about the food.  They were unhappy with God's provision of manna.  When they began to complain, the Israelites began to complain as well. (vs 10-"people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent") First of all, think how funny (or embarrassing) it would be to see people wailing at the front of their tent, not privately but in public.  These people were not hungry, they were just being selfish and childish. 
    Be careful who influences you.
So consider this.... are you rabble?  Are you the person who complains because they don't get what they want?  Are you the person that causes a stir because something happened that didn't go your way?  I hope I am not.  But I know there are areas in my life that I complain a lot.  It's important to find the people that are the rabble and stay away from them.  You do not want their influence on your life, and if you are that person, you need to take a look at what you're complaining about and try to see the blessings instead. 

*Now we get to the fatigue part.... Moses was fatigued.  He was exhausted of the people's complaining, so He even began to question God. (vs 11-15)  Instead of God being angry with Him though, God provided help for Moses.  (vs 16-17). 
    God is gentle with weary servants
    Fatigue can blind us to what we really need
When we get to the point that we are so exhausted by a certain problem, person, etc it can blind us to simple solutions (like finding help from others in Moses' case).  If we turn to God during our exhaustion instead of complaining and rejecting God then He can help.  The Israelites did not turn to God, they turned against Him.  Moses took his problems straight to God.  Do you see the difference? 

Fatigue can be one cause of discouragement.  Moses was discouraged with the Israelites and with God bc he was so worn out from all the complaining.  Who does your complaining affect?  Whose complaining is affecting you?  These were some great thoughts to ponder... especially as life gets crazy around this time of year, but really for any time of the year too!  These brief notes don't do the lesson justice, but I hope there are some points you can learn from!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Matt and I put up some Christmas decor last weekend... I love getting out the Christmas stuff!  Most of the ornaments on the tree are mine it seems like and they all have special memories.  My grandparents would send us an ornament every year since we were born. Usually the ornament had something to do with what we liked or something.  For instance, I have one that is a skydiving marshmellow man... that was from the year I went skydiving.  I have a baseball with a santa from one of the years I played softball.  I have a Christmas tree wih kitchen stuff on it from the year we first moved into our own place.  When Matt and I married he started getting ornaments too!   I just love looking through all the ornaments and memories!!  This year, we get to add a few to the tree for Caylee and it will be so fun to see her collection grow so that she can take them with her one day too!


Front Door

Living Room- since we can't put lights outside (no one would see them anyways) we had to have some lights inside!

Remember that fabric from a while back?  It turned into some cute pillows!

The stockings are hung by the window with care...  well, it's not a fireplace, but at least Santa can still get in a window right?

My very favorite angel topper that was given to me by my grandparents

Caylee with her first stocking!

Ya, she was a little tired of me taking pictures...

Checking out the tree....

Finally we are happy and content now that we have the horse again (technically called a WubbaNub- and I HIGHLY recommend them!!)

Christmas will be here before we know it!  Unfortunately, Matt is working/on-call, but so are some of the other vets so we will be doing Christmas dinner with them.  I can't wait! They are fun to hang out with and we'll have a great time.  We are also hoping that Matt gets off early enough Christmas Eve to attend our church's service...

Well, Merry Christmas from Kentucky!