Life Lately!

Well, it's July the 9th.  I just looked and my last blog was on February 17th!  I am a terrible blogger.  Honestly, I had to try three passwords before I could even log in to blog tonight.  I've been so tired each night, and after I put Ansley to sleep, the last thing I've wanted to do is blog.  The biggest reason is that my pictures are on my camera, iPhone, Facebook, Mitch's iPhone, and everywhere else.  It's a chore to get them all loaded, BUT I did it tonight! :)  So, here's a quick recap of our life happenings the past few months. 

First, our sweet neighbors and friends, Chris and Amy, had baby Kennedy. Ansley is in love with baby Kennedy.  We talk about her every.single.day!  "What's baby Kennedy doing?" is something I hear a lot!  Ansley was thrilled to get to hold sweet Kennedy.

 

 I think Easter was the next big thing to take place.  It was rainy and cold the day of the church Easter Egg Hunt, but that didn't stop this little one from having fun.  She definitely knew how to hunt eggs this year!

 

 

 We also had fun dying eggs.  Ansley loves doing anything with her daddy!

 The Easter Bunny came Sunday morning and brought a few goodies. 

Look at that perfect golfer's stance!  I think she's seen this done a few times in our living room!

 

 

 We did get a family picture at church, but I'm not really sure where it is right now.  :)

We've celebrated a few birthday parties with friends and had fun swimming and playing outside too.

We recently celebrated the 4th of July with our friends and neighbors.  A fun time was had by all.

 

Mitch and I celebrated 6 years of marriage with a little "babymoon" trip to Buckhead too.  We ate lots of yummy food and enjoyed relaxing for a change.

 

We've been really busy getting ready for our new addition, William (Will) Callison Greer.  We've been so very blessed to have three sweet showers for baby Will.  My awesome co-workers gave me a sweet shower on the last day of post-planning.  I had such a great time celebrating with them.  Sorry for the TERRIBLE picture.  Believe it or not, this was about the best one of me.  I'm not that photogenic, especially being pregnant.

Mitch's Aunt Brenda also gave us a really sweet shower.  Ansley was invited to this one and had a blast opening Will's gifts.

 

My sister and brother-in-law also gave us a Diapers and Wipes Party.  We decided to include family only and include the guys and children in this party.  The food was amazing and we are all stocked up on diapers and wipes now!  Sadly, we didn't do a good job of documenting anything from that party.  :(

I've also been busy getting the nursery ready.  Ansley was born at 33 weeks, and I was NOWHERE near ready on the nursery when she arrived.  Although we don't think Will will be coming early, I have been extra careful to get the nursery done early!  I think I put most of the finishing touches on this afternoon.  I'm sure I'll add a few more details, but it's pretty much ready! 

I have a to-do list of things I need to do before he actually arrives, so I would like for him to wait the rest of the 6 weeks until my C-section!  We are so blessed with how generous everyone has been, and we can't wait to meet him.

A quick update on Ansley before I end my post tonight.  Ansley is 2 1/2 and is so much fun.  She's in the 11% for weight and 88% for height!  She's definitely built like her daddy, long and lean. She's a typical 2 year old with LOTS of energy!  She wakes up ready to go each morning.  She started sleeping in a big girl bed in January, and she's finally consistently staying in there.  She is very excited about being a big sister to Baby Will.  She has a hard time saying her 'w' though, so she tells everyone that his name is Bill.  :)  It's been funny to watch everyone's reactions to the name Bill.  She talks nonstop and is VERY inquisitive.  I know her questions are a good thing, but they can be quite exhausting!  We are definitely in the "WHY?" stage.  She will continue to ask why until she gets an acceptable answer too!  :)  We are also potty trained which is a huge relief!  It was definitely a task, but she's doing wonderful with it!  We can't wait to see how she interacts with Will and how great of a big sister she will be.  I know there will be some adjustments, but we know she will fall in love with him so quickly!  Pray for us as we transition into this next phase pf our life.  I promise to try to blog more frequently.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

Ansley's BIG Announcement!

I've been so excited about sharing Ansley's BIG announcement with everyone.  We found out in December that she will be a BIG SISTER!  We are so excited about adding a new member to our family!  We're also a little nervous about this new journey with two kids so pray for us please! :)

My due date is August 27th, so it'll definitely be a hot summer for me!  :)  Ansley is holding steady to the idea that she's going to have a baby brother.  We will just have to see about that!  I'm sure she'll be happy with a sister or a brother, and we know she's going to make a great BIG SISTER!

Just a Jumpin'

This was too cute not to share.  Ansley loves jumping in her Jumparoo, but this day she was a little sleepy.  I was trying so hard not to laugh and wake her up.  Enjoy!

Project Linus

While Ansley was in the NICU, she received several hand crocheted blankets and hats. Every couple of days, she would have a new blanket at her station, and she would be sporting a new hat. Mitch especially loved her little hats. He also loved to switch out the hats to make sure she looked just right. (Ansley is sporting a Project Linus hat in the picture of her leaving the NICU.) The nurses told us that they were donated by the group Project Linus. As Linus was always comforted by his blanket in Charlie Brown, these handmade blankets are created to do the same thing to seriously ill, traumatized, or other children in need. Volunteers across the United States form regional chapters, and there are nearly 400 chapters across the U.S. All 50 states have chapters. The blankets and caps Ansley received were from the Bibb Chapter. So far, the organization has donated more than 4 million blankets to children in the United States! Project Linus donates blankets to hospitals, home shelters, social service agencies, and anywhere children need some additional comfort. Ansley received three precious blankets and hats during her stay at the NICU. These are such special keepsake gifts, and I can’t wait to share with her the story behind them. It was neat to see each baby’s station covered with their special blanket. It helped us identify where she was as well because they moved her to different locations within the NICU. If you have a free minute, visit their website. You can read stories about children who received blankets under the “Blanket Buzz” link. If you know how to crochet or make any type of blanket, think about finding the chapter nearest you and becoming a “blanketeer”. I would love to make some blankets and give back to a sweet organization that blessed us.

http://www.projectlinus.org/

My Essential Items....

After two months, I feel like we actually know what we’re doing…sometimes! People have asked me what the best/most used baby item is. My first response is always diapers. You can never have too many of those. If you only open the box when you need them, you can exchange diapers that are too small for bigger ones. There are so many baby products out there, and some of them are definitely not needed. However, there are many items that we wouldn’t have survived without. I have to thank my sister, Shana, for the help with many of them. She went with me to register and the day we found out Ansley was coming home to buy the essentials. Here are my top needed items:

1. Swaddle Me blankets – These are an absolute lifesaver. Babies love to be bundled up and restricted at least the first few weeks of life. It makes them feel like they are still in the womb. The NICU used blankets, and they called it the burrito wrap. We tried that, but we couldn’t get her to stay tucked inside. Houdini always found a way out. We received some of the Swaddle Me blankets as a shower gift, and we were so thankful for them. We still use them for nighttime sleep, and Ansley loves being bundled up. Our friends refer to it as a straight jacket, which it does resemble, but it does comfort them and help them sleep.

2. Bouncer/Swing – We registered for the Graco Bouncer/Swing combo. I like having both of these items in one package. I wanted less clutter around the house, so I thought that would be nice. The bouncer detaches from the swing, and you can place it on the floor. Ansley isn’t too fond of the swing, but she loves the bouncer. She will lay and sleep in it for at least an hour or so after each feeding…sometimes longer. It is nice to have something that will keep her upright after feedings too. I highly recommend a bouncer.

3. Whale Bathtub – This is a great bathtub because the baby can grow with it. It has several detachable parts that you can use as the baby gets bigger. At first, you put an infant block in the bottom of the tub that keeps the infant sitting up as you bathe them. The infant only uses the top half of the tub. As the baby grows, you can take that part out and use the entire tub. It also came with some cute toys.

4. Diaper Champ – I like the diaper champ because I think it blocks odors really nicely. You can also use regular trash bags, which saves a lot of money. The Diaper Genie requires you to purchase additional items…that adds up over time. I think the Champ holds a good amount of diapers too.

5. Soothie Pacifier – The NICU sent us home with a few of these, and they are great. Ansley will not take a regular paci. At first, they were a little big for her, but she’s grown into them now. I’m not sure what it is about this type of paci, but Ansley really loves them. They also make these cute animals you can attach to the paci that the baby can love on. The animals are called WubbaNubs.

6. Aspirator (the Hospital one) – Again, this was advice from my sister. She told me to take the aspirator the nurses used on Ansley in the hospital. They have to throw them away if you don’t take them because they can’t use items over (thankfully!). They are much better than the ones sold in stores. The NICU nurse gave us a brand new one, and a lesson on how to use it! Although Ansley HATES when we use it, it is useful in getting mucus out of her nostrils. (PS…Take anything they give you from the hospital. We came away with a lot of goodies – diapers, wipes, formula, alcohol wipes for the belly button, baby soap, small pink bath tub, etc.) I couldn't find a picture of the one we have from the hospital.

7. Video Monitor – We bought the Summer Infant Video Monitor. I really like being able to watch Ansley on the screen. It’s nice to see what position she’s in when she’s sleeping, and I can easily see that her face isn’t covered with anything. It also has a talkback feature where you can talk to the baby/child. That may be neat to use when she’s older. It has a color screen during the day and infrared nighttime vision. The screen is also a touch screen which Mitch insisted that we get. It is easy to zoom and scan though, and I really like it so far.

8. Disposable Changing Sheets – These are so handy. They are disposable paper sheets you place over the changing table. They aren’t the cutest, but they save us from having to wash the changing cover so often.
9. Pack-n-Play – This is great for on-the-go days. We take it to SueSue and Grandad’s house when we visit. It has the basinet and other features on top. We haven’t used that portion because we have a basinet, but those features are really handy. It’s easy to pack up and tote around too.

10. Little Tummies Gas Relief Drops – We used these quite frequently at first. I think Ansley really loves the berry taste. It is cute to see her suck her lips to get every last drop. Babies all have tummy issues, and these seemed to relieve some of the pain. We still use them every now and then, but we don’t have to use them quite as much. We probably went through three bottles the first 6 weeks.

11. Dishwasher Basket and Bottle Rack – These are such simple items, but they are definitely needed. I feel like all I do is clean bottles! The dishwasher basket is great for all of the small parts of the bottle. The bottle rack stores the bottles once they are cleaned and need to dry. Again, I don’t like clutter, so it’s nice to have something to put all of the bottle parts on. We feed so often that the bottles never make it to the cabinet.

12. Humidifier – We didn’t get this until after the first month. We noticed that Ansley was a little congested, so we asked the pediatrician about what to do. He suggested a humidifier. During the Winter months, the heater constantly running causes the air to become really dry. This can cause mild congestion. I had registered for one, but didn’t get it, so we purchased it. I haven’t noticed a huge difference in congestion, but it seems to make the air in the room a lot better to breathe. It also has a peaceful sound, which is nice at night.

13. Dr Brown’s Bottles – I really like these bottles. They are made to reduce colic. Ansley doesn’t have colic, but she seems to like the bottles a lot. She took to them really well early on, and we haven’t had to make any switches. She has minimal spit up, and she doesn’t seem to have a lot of excess air/gas. The only downside is the number of parts involved. There are several pieces to the bottle that have to be taken apart and assembled for cleaning and making bottles. This can be a pain, especially at 4:00am, but it’s worth it to not have serious tummy issues.

14. Dreft – Wow – I had no idea how much laundry a baby could produce. I do at least 1 load a day for Ansley. Between burp cloths, bibs, rags, towels, and outfits, I am always washing clothes. I love this mild detergent, and it smells so fresh. It doesn’t bother Ansley’s skin either. I would definitely recommend using Dreft.