last weekend

If you can't tell I'm trying to catch myself up on blogs from the past few weeks, which includes an update from last weekend.

We had planned on buying some new furniture for this house once we got moved in and wanted to attempt to buy it all in one place all at one time. So, we took advantage of my parents heading to Des Moines for the weekend to stay at my sister's place and tagged along so that we could leave Lily behind while furniture shopping. So Friday night we headed down to Ankeny, stayed with my sister and brother in law then Jimmy and I hit the road bright and early on Saturday morning to Nebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha, NE in attempt of making a big purchase. Our plan was to buy a couch and 2 chairs for our upstairs living room to replace some furniture that my parents gave me 5+ years ago because they were updating their own furniture, find a BIG sectional for the basement where we plan to do most of our TV watching and movie viewing, and then some excercise equipment as well. We weren't completely sure what we wanted to get for exercise equipment but figured we'd decide when we got. Well, after spending 4+ hours at the store we successfully purchased everything we set out for. We went with a trendy/modern red leather set for the upstairs space, a dark brown modular sectional for the basement that allowed us to customize the size and pieces we wanted, and a treadmill, elliptical, and upright bike for our excercise space - so we are set!

I am so excited for the red furniture to arrive - I think it's going to add a lot of character to the space and will just be really fun. I also can't wait for our excercise equipment as that will allow me to get some additional workout time in while she's napping! I will definitely post some pictures once everything's complete - can't wait for all the pictures to be hung, furniture in place, and to resume some normalcy around here:)

Here's some pictures off the website of what we purchased for furniture!

So that was our day on Saturday and I must say after leaving Lily with my mom and sister for the entire day on Saturday I know I made the right choice in not going back to work full time. There is no way I could be away from her every day and drop her off at a daycare. These are 2 of the people I'm closest to and trust the most and I couldn't stop thinking about her!

Once we got back Saturday night we hungout for a bit before heading to bed early in prep for an early start to watch my sister do her first triathlon! It was the first one I've seen and it was really cool to watch. She did great - finishing about 18 minutes ahead of her goal and she said she plans on doing more. I'm not sure I have a desire to try them since I hate swimming and biking but we will see:) Then after her race we had lunch and then hit the road back home to continue on house projects, organizing, etc. and it feels like we've been doing it ever since. Soon it wil slow down - I just keep telling myself that!:)

So that was our weekend and we are looking forward to a long weekend with Jimmy this weekend and doing some boating with my family as well - I can't believe it's already July!

newborn pics

I think I mentioned in a previous post that one of my best friends from high school, Bailey, has a photographer business and takes great pictures. So once we had Lily I knew I wanted her to take her newborn pictures. Because of all the craziness with the move and such we weren't able to take them until she was 4 weeks old or so but they turned out so good - I'm having a hard time picking which ones I want to put up! Here's a peak at some of my little babe - enjoy!

And if you want to check out Bailey's website it's baileykingphotography.com - thanks again for capturing Lily's personality so well Bailey!

such a classic lily face

my fav outfit:)

just checking out daddy

bailey captured lily's first smiles!

my sweet sweet baby - she is such a miracle

the first mile

Well folks I did it - I completed my first post pregnancy run and it consisted of 1 whole mile! Wahoo (stated with slight saracasm)!


I was cleared to resume exercise at my 6 week check up last week and I am beyond thrilled. I have been counting down the days to when I could start back running in preparation to begin my half marathon training program in a few weeks. So today I hit the trails with Lily in tow and it felt great - even though I only made it a mile:) It so crazy when I think about the fact that just a short while ago I could go easily run 5-6 miles and how a mile would have seemed like nothing but as I've run each time this past week it's seemed like a huge accomplishment.  My plan is slow and steady. My official training starts at the end of July so I have 3-4 weeks to get to the point where I can run 3 miles - which is what's required to actually start the training - fingers crossed and lots of prayers that I will get there!


So you may see several posts regarding my journey back to fitness in the comings months. I have dropped almost all my pregnancy weight simply by breast feeding but I'd like to lose the last bit plus some! Jimmy and I invested in some workout equipment for the new house so I'm excited for that to get here and have it right in our own home - then there's no excuse not to do it, right?! We also bought P90X a couple months back that I'd like to do as well however, that may be an after the 1/2 marathon thing as it may be a bit much to do with the running.


Anyways - just a short post to remind myself in the future of how motivated I was to start back working out in full swing post baby!

new house

Once again its been awhile but I have another good excuse - we are officially in our new house!


Last week Jimmy traveled to Springfield for a few days to meet the packing crew as they packed and loaded our house, while Lily and I stayed in Iowa to avoid the long drive and prepare for the arrival of our stuff in Iowa. We closed on our house on Wednesday night and we had the cleaning and paint crew waiting to get started! Wednesday night my mom, mother-in-law, and I got the whole house cleaned while Jimmy, my dad, and father-in-law painted the only room we plan to paint (for now) - Lily's room. Luckily we were painting pink over purple so it only took one coat. 


Our stuff from Springfield arrived on Thursday bright and early and everything was completely unloaded by 3 or so. My mother-in-law came over to help watch Lily and help get started unpacking while Jimmy and I helped "direct" the movers where to bring things. Both my parents came over after work and helped with more unpacking and watching Lily.  Yesterday was more of the same - it was just Jimmy and I but we got a lot of organizing done in the important rooms (kitchen, our room and bath, Lily's room) and completed one, of our sure to be many, Target runs.


I am quickly realizing that it's awesome having the extra help (family) so close and willing to dig in! 


The plan for today is to decorate. My mom is an awesome decorator and has helped me decorate every place I've lived so why stop now?! Jimmy and I got up bright and early to finish unpacking and get everything set out in terms of decor and my mom should be over shortly to get started. I've got lots of fun ideas for the space - a lot of it will mimic things we did in Springfield since I liked our place so much there but this is definitely a bigger house so we will get to do some new things too. 


So that's what we've been up to this past week. Lily has been awesome in terms of sleeping lots (so we can get lots done) and being content just laying around on her play mat or in her bouncy seat - I am so glad she is a good baby or this could have been much more difficult of a process!


That's all for now - have a great weekend!

1 month

Lily May is 1 month old today which seems totally impossible. It's amazing to watch her literally grow before your eyes.

She is such a content baby. She is incredibly observant, looks much more like her daddy than me at this point, sleeps essentially through the night (9 or 10pm to 5 or 6am), has shown us her first smile, has begun to coo and respond when we talk to her, loves to be outside, loves to have her hands up by her face or behind her head, peaks at us with one eye when it's bright out or she's just waking up, loves to snuggle, and so much more.

I do think she will have my round face (sorry Lily) and my big eyes - although they are looking as if they will be blue like dad's instead of brown like mine. Her nose shape is still undetermined in terms of who it resembles but she definitely has Jimmy's mouth. She has grown out of her newborn clothes, for the most part and is now wearing primarily 0-3 months.

 

Her last doctor's appointment was her 2 week appointment and she weighed in at 9lbs 2oz, which is almost 2 lbs more than her birth weight! and she measured 20.75 inches long, which was the same as at the hospital but they told us they measure it different ways so most times that doesn't mean she hasn't grown it's just a different method of measuring. And I definitely think she's grown length wise as many of her pants and dresses are too short! We had a bit of a scare at her 2 week appointment as well. Our doctor heard a heart murmur and told us she'd like to have an echo done with a pediatric cardiologist just to be safe. Since we were planning on hitting the road to Iowa directly after her appointment she said she'd like us to go to the cardiologist immediately that same day. So, from the doctor's office we headed over to another office and had an echo done. The cardiologist found a 4-5mm hole in her heart, which all babies actually have it's just that most close by the time of their birth or shortly after, and hers had not. In short, it's nothing serious - more than likely it will close on its own. We will have to bring her back to a cardiologist when she's 6 months for another check up and hopeful it will have begun to close up by then. I was surprisingly calm throughout this whole ordeal as my close friend had just experienced the same thing with her daughter that was born a few months before Lily. So for now we will pray that she will continue to grow healthy and her little heart will close up on its own, as it should.

Lily is so much more than I ever expected or dreamed. How you can love someone so instantly is so unbelievable and something you just have to experience on your own to comprehend. My love for her was stronger than any love I've ever felt before from the moment they laid her on my belly in the hospital and it continues to grow every single day. It's crazy how much your life can change in a single moment and how quickly you can't imagine life without someone else. When I fell in love and married Jimmy it was a love I had never experienced before - to love someone with every bit of your heart and know that you'd give your very life for their safety is something incredible. And now with Lily I've experienced the same sort of feelings but in a different sense. That deep unconditional life was so instant and something I don't think you can experience until you are a parent. What a miracle and blessing a child is and what an amazing thing God lets us experience!

My favorite time with Lily is in the morning when its just her and I. I love to watch her sleep, then wake up slowly as she snuggles into my arms. She curls her feet up tight against me and I can feel her little breathe against my chest - so precious! Another favorite is when I look down at her and watch her as I'm feeding her and she looks up at me with her big eyes - that is one of the only times I see alot of myself in her.

Baby girl - your daddy and I love you more than you will ever know or understand until you have a child of your own! You have changed our lives in so many ways and we truly cannot imagine our life without you. This last month has been a whirlwind as we have so many other things going on in our life as well but we have paused so many times to simply look at you, thank God for the incredible gift He gave us with you, and love you to pieces. May you always always know how much we love you and how we pray for you every single day! Our hope is that you will be healthy, strong, kind, and love Jesus with all your heart! We love you baby girl!

attempting to sit her up:)

this is one of her large and in charge bows:)

overdue

I know this post is about 4 weeks overdue but I am quickly learning that life with an infant is much more hectic than without. On top of having a new baby put moving states and being in between houses and there’s my excuse for not blogging lately!

Life with our babe is going wonderfully. She is settling into having us as her parents and we are getting used to having her as our babe!:) She was 4 weeks old yesterday – where does the time go! She is a very content little one, loves to look around at people and things, and is an awesome sleeper. I plan to write a one month post tomorrow so I won’t go on and on about her but we think she’s pretty special!

On the moving front we are officially back in Iowa and homeless. For the last 2 weeks we've been in limbo moving between my parents and the in-laws as we anxiously await the closing of our new home in Cedar Falls, which happens 1 week from today! We are incredibly thankful to have both parents close, willing, and able to let us crash with them for a few weeks until we get possession.

Our home in Springfield has also sold and we are waiting closing on it too - which happens next Friday. So lots of changes and lots of juggling between things currently - making sure paper work on all places is signed and ready, finances secured, packing and unpacking plans made, etc. The nice thing about moving with John Deere (and most large companies) is that they take care of physically packing and moving your stuff for you as well as unloading it at your new location. Believe me, if this weren’t the case I’d be a lot more stressed out! I am still unsure of how smoothly and quickly the whole unpacking process will go with a 1 month old but luckily we have lots of volunteer help that I’m sure we will be utilizing.

What else?


I am thoroughly enjoying my maternity leave and can’t believe it’s already a third over – I thought 12 weeks seemed like forever. But, I am so thankful I decided to go back only part time, I know that will be a great balance for me between being home and working full time and I’m looking forward to those flexible hours. 


My friend Bailey has a photography business, baileykingphotography.com, and she took Lily’s “newborn” pictures on Monday. She showed me some as she went and they were so good – can’t wait to see, and post, some of the final products! I know for sure I want to do a large canvas in her room but not sure what other prints we will utilize in our new home.


New house - I can't wait to get in and start decorating and organizing our new home. Our new place is quite a bit larger than our home in Springfield so we will do some different things with the decor I have and probably need some new things too. Luckily my mom is great at decorating and is more than willing to help me out with our new place. I'm starting to brainstorm about paint colors, what we need where, what we will need to buy, and how I will organize things - is it crazy that I enjoy moving and setting up new places?!:)


I think that's all for now. I'll post Lily pictures tomorrow with her 1 month post and try and get some of our new place too, and I promise I won't take so long between posts next time!