Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Big Foot



Kate is discovering her hands, feet, and all sorts of things...a couple of days ago, Jared got her talking. I mean literally they had a conversation of sounds for like 20 minutes. It was amazing, and it just makes me more anxious to get to know her and really see her personality come out. She used to hate her tummy time but is really enjoying it now. Just changing every day.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Tickled Pink


Aunt KeKe (Kelsey) and Uncle Jep (Jesse) watched Kate for an hour or so the other night and snapped this cute pic...this is the closest we have to a giggle yet! Kate loves her KeKe and Jep...and is so lucky to spend so much time with them.

Great time with Great Grandparents



Kate got to meet her Great Grandma Katie and Great Grandpa John yesterday for the very first time. Katie is short for Kathryn Virginia...we're hoping Baby Kate will be able to live up to her beautiful name. We think she will.

Katie & John live in Rockford, IL so it's a real treat to have them here for Thanksgiving. Aunt Ste-B is flying in tonight as well for the holiday and will see Baby Kate for the first time in 7 weeks--they have a lot of catching up to do. haha

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays...we get all the good eats without the huge to-do about gifts.:) Although I enjoy doing the Christmas shopping too.:)

What a fun time of year as the weather gets colder and Christmas lights are hung and cozy fires in the evenings, and puffy jackets, and snuggling on the couch, cruchy leaves on the sidewalk, Hog football games, getting the whole family together, God is just so good.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

My my my...

Our sweet Kate Virginia is 2 months old tomorrow!!! She is all over the place already! Rolling over (at 5 weeks), cooing, smiling, clasping her hands in delight. Her little personality is coming out and boy is it fun! We are loving every minute of parenting (except the middle of the night minutes haha).


Thursday, November 02, 2006

Happy Halloween


Happy Halloween from a serious milk-addict. :)

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Family Times




Baby Kate loves her time with daddy. She loves bathtime too, but when it comes time to get out of the bath she's not too happy (as you can see). :) Our time as a family is so precious to me.

Gummy Grins


Lazy Autumn Days


First Date Post Baby--The Dyer Wedding


October 2006

We've had quite a busy month!

Kate is changing so fast! We were at the pediatrician on October 17th and she is weighing in at 11 1/2 pounds--growing like a weed! She started rolling over last week (5 1/2 weeks old). Jared and I aren't quite sure what we're in for, but it's sure to be a ride.

We've spent quite a few days in Fort Smith lately as Jared's been out of town on business, and had some great nights sleep there. Two nights in a row she slept from 10:30pm-5:30am and then 6:00am-10:30am. Talk about a miracle. Kind of cruel though because it didn't last.:)

She's really smiling now and cooing a lot. We are just enjoying our sweet baby and the blessing that she is. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Time for her close-up!

Sip the moments...




It is so hard to believe that she is going to be three weeks old on Friday! As suggested by a dear friend, I'm trying my very best to sip these moments...you don't get them back.

Friday, September 29, 2006

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.:)

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

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!

Friday, September 22, 2006

Daddy & Kate...



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

First Days

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

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!

Monday, September 11, 2006

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!