Labor Day weekend and visits with family

I'm not going to lie...I've had a wonderful time with my husband the past two weeks. It was so nice to have him home with me and Blake. We went to the movies, ate out, slept in, relaxed...it was honestly more like a mini-vacation! However, he had to leave us this morning to go back to work...if he remembered how to get there. He did inform me that he was really going to miss me and Blake and he wished he could take off another week to spend with us. He's such a good daddy and husband!

Last weekend, we went to Manchester to see my great-grandma, grandma, and great-aunt. It was funny to watch Mama, Ma, and Mom fight over who got to hold him. I loved the pictures that had Mama holding him...her pretty face lit up when he was in her arms. He did really good on that little road trip. He slept the entire time. Dad is trying to teach him to cry louder so it bothers us more, but so far, Blake isn't taking his grandpa's advice. Thank goodness! I told Dad that when he starts crying the entire way is when we'll meet them halfway and let them take him the rest of the way home:)

Labor Day weekend was spent with Raun's family on Saturday at the lake. I have lately had lots of trouble remembering things, so the camera did not go with me. I even had it out on the dresser to take, but it didn't make it into the diaper bag. We had a picnic lunch under the trees, which was really nice. Ruth, and Raun's aunt and cousin were all there so they got to spend some individual alone time with him. I wish I had some pictures, but next time! Labor Day was spent with my parents coming to Chattanooga. Mom and I even got to go shopping for a few hours, which was nice. We left the boys (including Blake) watching football. Our friends, Damon, Leigh Anne, and Liam came over to join us for our cookout foods. Since my camera was at home, I was able to get a few pictures. I think Mom took a lot more than me, though.

I have to say...Mom's friend, Susan, is WONDERFUL!!! She bought Blake his very first FSU clothes! Raun was not too enthused, but do I look like I care? No! I mean, I bought him a cute little Florida outfit to wear on game days, so he can support me and my team.

Blake is getting stronger with holding his head up. It's not quite as floppy anymore. It's kinda sad because I love his floppy head and his light little body....but I guess I have to let him grow up a little...but definitely not too fast!

Like I said, today was my first day alone with him. It was harder than I thought it would be to get a shower and to get something done. When he was sleeping or right after eating, I accomplished a little; when he woke up, he'd want to be held or rocked or just wanted to stare at me as I talked with him and played. I love those little eyes and his pouty lips, but I can already tell I'm going to have to balance my time between everything. How in the world are you supposed to get everything done in a day?! And where do all the hours go? I'm hoping I'm having normal new mommy feelings and am not completely going crazy! And I do hope my memory returns...I hate forgetting EVERYTHING!

Newborn photos!

One of my friends from Tech is beginning her photography business and she came on Monday to take pictures of us. It was so much fun! Blake stayed awake for almost 6 hours that day:) Incredible! She has some sneak pictures on her blog from the photo shoot. The rest should be added in a little bit to the website. Her website is: http://www.jmeyerphotography.com/. She is going to have it available to buy pictures from her, as well, so help her out! And post our son's picture everywhere:) Just kidding about posting Blake's picture everywhere!

feelings of a new mommy

We have such a wonderful Sunday school class. Last night, the guys from our class took Raun golfing at a course that one of them was members at. Raun had a blast! They all took off part of the afternoon to spend time together and hang out. In the meantime, the ladies spent some time eating appetizers and talking, waiting for the men to finish so we could eat the hamburgers and other food. It was so nice to spend some time with them outside of class. They each made us a dish to take home with us so we don't have to cook for the next few days, which was awesome! I was talking with one of the ladies last night about how different it is to become a mom. I had gotten a lot of advice from my friends telling me that it was okay if I didn't feel attached to him at first. I thought that was crazy because he's my son and I just knew that I'd want to be with him all the time when he was born. However, when he came, I experienced just what they had said. One of the ladies told me that somehow we imagine it will be so much more different than what it was and we expect to feel something completely different than what we do. It's true for me! I mean, I love him and adore him and love spending time holding and talking to him, but it still doesn't feel real that he's all ours and we're responsible for him. It's almost too good to be true. I have been warned, though, that in a few weeks it will be harder for me to leave him more because reality will begin to set in:)

Blake had his 2-week appointment yesterday and all was well. He is within an ounce of being back up to his birth weight. He's at 6 lbs. 5 ounces, so that means that my milk must be filling enough since we left the hospital at 5 lbs. 13 oz. His hips have stopped clicking, so he won't be needing a hip MRI or anything. That's a huge answer to prayer.

Our church is celebrating their 100th anniversary, so I'm picking up the bassoon to play again this Sunday. They had a piece commissioned to the church for their anniversary and the bassoonist has her own part! So....we're going back to Sunday School and I will play for both services and we'll leave after I play during the 2nd service. Raun gets to get Blake ready for church all by himself since I have to be there by 8! I wonder if he'll be there on time....good thing our class is mostly made of choir and orchestra people and we'll all be a little late from the service!

Raun has taken this week and next week off to be with me and Blake. I have loved it! Today is the first day that we have really stayed home, though. I'm not going to lie...I needed it! I slept like a baby last night and so did Blake. He slept a little over 7 hours without waking up. I did too....not meaning to....and woke up with milk all over my shirt:) Oops! Needless to say, after I fed him, I still had to pump and came up with 2 1/2 bottles full! Sheesh! I think I'll have to turn up the alarm tonight so I hear it to wake up.

Blake gets his baby pictures made on Monday. I have a friend from Tech that is going to do them for free since she is beginning her photography business and is working on her portfolio. I'm all about helping people begin their businesses...guess it's because I'm a small business girl myself.

Speaking of business, I get to go back to work 2 days a week in October. It'll be so incredibly hard to leave him, but I know Julie will be absolutely wonderful. Blake and Eli will have fun growing up together and I know Julie will teach him everything that I want to teach him, as well. However, I'm still enjoying my time with him and him getting my undivided attention. It's kinda nice to not have to worry about planning sessions at this point or sending out invoices!

Where did the week go?

Our week has gone by so fast. It was so weird to think back to what was happening a week ago on Wednesday. Blake is doing so well. He's still only getting up once during the night, so that's great. We still don't sleep too soundly because we're trying to listen out for him.

My mom stayed with us this past week, which was wonderful! She cooked and cleaned for us and babysat while we ran a few errands. She was able to take him for a few hours in the morning so I could sleep in or take a nap. When she left, it made it more real that this child is ours and we're not just babysitting. We love being parents. We like staring at him and talking and singing to him. We're definitely cherishing every moment. He is a miracle!

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4 day appointment

Blake is doing so well! We had our first pediatrician appointment yesterday and he's doing so well. He is within 1/2 ounce of being back up to 6 pounds. He is doing great with eating and so far we haven't had many problems. He sleeps between 5-8 hours at night most of the time, which is nice for me. He's a pretty content and happy baby and doesn't fuss too much unless he's hungry or has a dirty diaper. It's amazing how you can love a little one so much even though he hasn't been here for long. Although, I guess I have known him for long time, though. It's neat to watch him and remember how his feet used to feel the same way in my belly and his bottom was the same size that I thought. He loves having his bottom patted...I guess that's because I used to pat it all the time when he was in my belly. It's so hard not to hold him all the time because he's just so sweet and cute and feels as soft as a peach! I wonder if that's from all the peaches I used to eat during the last few months:)

Well, gotta go feed the munchkin so I'll post more later!

New update!

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36 weeks and a baby:)

Well...I'm sitting in my hospital bed and proud to announce that Blake Anthony Taylor arrived on Thursday afternoon (8-7-08) at 4:04 p.m. after 18 hours of labor, including a little over 2 hours of pushing. It was a very different experience...one I'm sure that many moms can relate to. It's one of those things that is just so hard to describe. He looks absolutely beautiful. We get to come home tomorrow. Due to some complications with me, we've had to stay an extra day. Apparently he wanted to break my water, but wasn't so enthused on coming out. On his way out, he broke a blood vessel so they had to work hard to get the bleeding stopped and I had to have some blood last night to help bring my platellets up since I kept passing out. But today has been a WONDERFUL day. I've gotten to walk around and move about. Blake is improving with his sucking. He's having to work on his sucking since he was a little early, but he's doing better with practice (as am I).

Here's some pictures and I'll update more later. Enjoy the pictures!

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