1 month old- 4-23-10

Amelia turned one month old this past Friday.  I can't believe it's already been a month!  We go for her 1 month check-up  later this week. I will update the blog then with her current weight and things.  Each month I plan to take Amelia's picture with this same bear so I can see how much she grows and changes.  I stole this idea from my best friend Sabrina.  When her little girl Leah was a baby I looked forward each month to see the "month" picture with the bear.  Now I can do the same with my little girl. 

I'm officially all caught up with pictures now.  The plan is to update the blog once a week or so- hopefully, but don't hold me to it!  :)

I couldn't decide which of these pictures I liked best so I just posted them both!

Adorable baby

During the week I try to take the opportunity to get some pictures of Amelia in poses I have seen professional photographers use.  Even though I don't have the high quality camera or lighting- I have an adorable daughter that seems so photogenic no matter how I pose her!  These were all taken the past couple of weeks (when she was 3 and 4 weeks old).  I'm almost caught up with all the pictures now!  Enjoy :)

This one is my favorite!

Naps and snuggles

We are slowing adjusting to life around the house with a newborn.  Dan and I are very blessed though- at night Amelia will go 4 or 5 hours between feedings!  During the day is still about every 3 hours but I am grateful for those longer stretches at night.  I think before long she will be sleeping through the night. 

Nap time with Mommy- I've learned to sleep when she is sleeping :)

Snuggle time with Daddy on weekend mornings!

Hiking at Harrison Bay

We are very fortunate to live in a beautiful area with mountains, hiking trails, waterfalls, and beautiful Harrison Bay.  We used to love to hike or mountain bike a 4.5 mile trail around the edge of Harrison Bay.  We had not been hiking in awhile and both Dan and I were aching to get back to the hobby we love. At 2 1/2 weeks old- we put Amelia in the Bjorn and took off to see how far we could go.  We probably went about a mile or so and then turned around and came back.  It was so great to get out into the woods on such a beautiful spring day.

Proud Dad- trying out the Bjorn for the first time

Our famous "self-portrait"- Amelia fits in perfectly!

First Bath

Amelia had her first bath on April 6th. As you can see by the following pictures, she did not like it at all! She cried and screamed the whole time until we wrapped her up in a hooded towel.  Luckily for us, her second bath went over very well and now she enjoys the "spa treatment".

All warm and snug in her pj's after her first bath

Second bath- she really liked the warm water this time!

Grammy & PaPa's visit

A few days after Easter, Grammy and PaPa were able to come back for a few days.  Amelia loved being spoiled and held all the time!

Grammy loved taking pictures and got some great ones of our new family of 3 as well as some adorable ones of Amelia.

Amelia experienced several new "firsts" while Grammy and Papa visited.  We meet Dan for lunch at Olive Garden one day, took a short road trip, went to the mall, and had her first bath (pics of the first bath coming up).

Amelia at Olive Garden- Mommy's favorite!

Easter Fun

Amelia's first holiday of Easter came and what is a almost 2 week old baby to do . . . dye Easter eggs of course!  Amelia choose to color a pink egg- and they just take forever for a little sleepy baby.

Sunday morning was Amelia's first trip to church. She did amazing- slept in her seat through the whole service.  We had a pretty big gathering after church admiring our beautiful baby! Unfortunately we forgot to get someone to take a picture of us all together- so we just took some when we got home.

Later that day and the next couple of days- I was able to get some cute pics of Amelia with her Easter basket and the Easter eggs we had dyed.

Look closely at the egg- it has her name on it!

We were outside in the shade- but she still didn't like the brightness of that beautiful spring day!

Lots of Easter eggs - including one her Daddy made that said "First word- Daddy".  Dan is really hoping her first word is Daddy.

Our little bunny girl- almost 2 weeks old!

Catching Up- Amelia's 1st week

What a crazy and amazing first week!  I am slowly getting used to sleeping in 2 or 3 hour segments. We are very blessed though that Amelia started going about 4 hours in between feedings at night!  She is such a good baby and we can't wait until she starts to smile.  Dan had a difficult time going back to work but Amelia and I try to get in plenty of naps during the day so we don't miss Daddy too much.

At her first doctor visit at 4 days old- she weighed 7lb and 6ozs. The doctor was very impressed with her and said we make beautiful babies and recommended that we have 4 or 5 more! :)

Gotta have a silly picture with Daddy!

 On Sunday, March 28th we celebrated my 30th birthday!  I can honestly say that having a baby girl is the best present I will ever get and made this birthday so special.  My parents were still here helping us out and my Mom made my favorite meal- chicken and homemade noodles.  Dan surprised me with an ice-cream cake especially made for me from Marble Slab.  I received several nice gifts including a charm bracelet that you can add charms to. There are three charms now- one is a heart with little pink footprints, one is a barrel with the letter "A" on it and the third charm is Amelia and my birthstone.

Happy 30th Birthday Mommy . . . Love Amelia

Our dogs have all been introduced to Amelia.  Daisy, our blue merle that had hip surgery recently, just loves Amelia.  She will come up and gently lick her hand or just lay her head on the couch near Amelia.  The other dogs are outside all the time so they have not had as much exposure- but they are very curious about Amelia, especially when she is crying.

My parents were able to stay with us for about a week and it was such a blessing!  Dan and I were both spoiled and the new Grandparents just loved to hold Amelia.  This is their second granddaughter and they treasure the moments they can spend with us and their granddaughters. We do not live close together (my brother and his wife and little girl Kira live in California, we live just outside Chattanooga, TN and my parents live just outside Raleigh, NC).  They had a hard time leaving at the end of that week!

Our one week old sweetie!

"Look at me- I'm one week old!"