Daddy's lil CupKate

Jared has started calling our daughter CupKate...sweetest lil nickname ever (literally)!!!:)

The worries of motherhood...

Yet another amazing week...Kate saw the pediatrician yesterday, and he looked a tad amused as I pulled out my written list of questions. I start to tell him everything I've been keeping track of for this very special occasion. She twitches in her sleep, she has chronic hiccups every time she eats, she has these hives that pop up out of the blue, how do I get her situated into a routine that we can at least get a couple hours sleep each night, her umbilical cord still hasn't fallen off and it looks infected, she eats so fast that she chokes almost once every time she feeds, and how do I even know that she's getting enough to eat??? It's all perfectly normal he calmly says to me as we set her on the scale...9 lbs!!! And I take a deep breath.:)

Arkansas Razorbacks

Kate watched her first big game last Saturday!!! She was decked out in HOG apparrel and seemed very excited when the Razorbacks won 24-23 in double overtime!!! GO HOGS GO!

Daddy & Kate...

Definitely getting more sleep than mommy!!!:) Not fair!

First Days

Kate Virginia Marley

She's here!!! She's here!!! She's finally arrived!!! We are so excited--a beautiful little girl. We named her Kate Virginia Marley after some more debate.:) She was born at 7:36pm on Friday September 15th, 2006. She was 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long...just perfect.

Our doctor decided to begin induction on Thursday the 14th...after 13 hours and no progression, they took me off of the Pitocin and Jared and I slept for about 5 hours. Then we started it up again early on the 15th...we were at serious risk of a C-section and thank the Lord for answering our prayers for a natural birth. It was pretty scary and definitely a long two days but OH SO WORTH IT! Jared was an amazing coach and I know that had a lot to do with our success. And our sweet Doctor and nurse were both supposed to be gone by 7:00pm that evening and stayed to see us through--they were wonderful.

Jared and I are just in disbelief that we have a daughter. The Lord has just truly blessed us with her already, and we feel an awesome responsibility for this great gift. We know she belongs to Him but are so thrilled that we were blessed to be her parents.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next few weeks as we learn what it takes!:) We love you all!

Nine Months & Counting...

Some of you have wondered from across the country or state just how big I've gotten...so this pic is for all of you!:) This pic was taken a week ago...yup, I'm about ready to pop!:) But more anxious to meet our sweet baby...

Baby Dreamland

Well, it's official, two days post due date, our nursery is complete! Grandma and Grandpa Marley completely surprised me with my dream crib on Mother's Day back in May. It is wrought iron, antique bronze and completely perfect. In keeping with the style of this beautiful crib, my goal all along has been a vintage nursery full of antiques and character. With the help of Grandma Severns (who has had enough of fabrics and antiques for a lifetime), it has all come together exactly as hoped...an antique ladder to hang and display all of our beautiful blankets, a sweet bookshelf with the most perfect of curves, a perfect dresser that we are using as a changing table, a shadow box (quite a find by Aunt Kelsey) to hang above the dresser to store the essetials within arm's reach, a darling mission style side table to sit next to a perfectly re-upholstered Lane rocker/recliner we found at a little hold in the wall last weekend. The pictures, frankly, don't do the room justice...but when you all come and visit our little one...you'll have to experience it for yourself!:) We are just so excited, and I'm sure baby has just been waiting patiently for all of this to come together in order to make his or her grand entrance. Hopefully, tonight!



By the way, the names are................................. Boy: Hudson Reed Marley .................................. Girl: Kate Isabelle Marley. We are reserving the right to look this little one in the face before committing to a name, but the compromise has been reached! Yippee!