Christmas 2009

For Christmas this year Trey, Vivi and I packed up all of our warm clothes and traveled up to Seattle to visit my family. It was a much anticipated trip and we were so excited to introduce Vivi to all of her extended family. We left the Monday before Christmas and she did such a great job flying! We had a short layover in Orange County and continued on to Seattle. There was a little bit of fussiness during the first leg of the trip because she was tired but slept and ate the entire second flight. We were so impressed! It was really easy to travel with her in the Baby Bjorn. We plopped her in the carrier and I carried her around on my chest and put all of our luggage into the stroller and pushed it through the airport. It worked so well!

Unfortunately we had a late flight getting into Seattle but we were up bright and early the next day. We ventured into downtown Seattle to finish up our Christmas shopping and had every intention of walking around downtown and looking at all of the lights but that didn't work out so well. We did get to see a lot of the downtown REI, Pacific Place, and the big Nordstrom but with so many people it was hard to get a lot done! It was fun to see Seattle decorated for the holidays, I had not seen the big tree lit up in years! After our trip to Seattle we packed up some dinner and went over to Grandma and Granddads to introduce them to their Great-Granddaughter! It was such a fun visit! Vivi was being a happy little girl and was so excited to meet her Great-Grandparents.

Wednesday Jeff and Trey got up early and hiked Poo Poo Point while mom, Vivi and I went to Target. Trey was a little bit surprised at how steep the hike was up Tiger Mountain but got a great workout! Later that night we drove out to Carnation to visit with Mattie and Ross in their cute new house! We had a great time visiting and would have loved to stay longer but Vivi was just too tired!

Christmas Eve was a fun day for all of us! We went up to Snoqualmie Pass to show Trey around Hyak and where we used to have our cabin growing up. We saw where part of the mountain had washed away some houses and knocked down the ski lift! It looks so different now! Kathi and Ricky were kind enough to let us crash at their cabin while we took some family pictures out in the snow! This was the first time that Vivi had really seen snow since she was born besides the one morning when it was kind of snowing in Fort Worth. She didn't really think much of it, and was not too thrilled about the cold, even when she was all bundled up in her snowsuit! She sure did look cute! Later that night we continued on to Shanghai Gardens, our favorite Chinese food restaurant in downtown Issaquah. This is one of our Christmas traditions that we derived from the movie the Christmas Story. We have been going out for Chinese food for as long as I can remember, and it was so fun to introduce this tradition to Trey!

Christmas morning Trey, Vivi and I all woke up early so we could make the 8 am Mass at Mary Queen of Peace. It was such a gorgeous day! It was so cold outside that a beautiful frost formed all over. The sky was clear and blue and the sun glistened off all of the tiny ice crystals on the ground and in the trees! What a gorgeous day to celebrate Jesus' birth! Christmas morning Mass was beautiful and we made it back home just as everyone else was waking up for the day! Vivi fell asleep in her car seat on the drive back home so we decided to open our stockings while she was still asleep. She got lots of fun toys and cute clothes but at this age doesn't understand the concept. I can just imagine how fun next year will be!!! After opening all of our Christmas loot mom started breakfast of Dutch Babies and sausage. What a feast! I always love Christmas morning breakfast and am going to try to make Dutch Babies some other time this year.
Later in the afternoon on Christmas we got all dressed up and went over to Grandma and Granddads for Christmas dinner. Everyone was anticipating meeting Vivi and we all had so much fun playing with her and passing her around. It is a good thing that she is such a social girl because she was such a good sport visiting with all of those people!

Trey left on Saturday after we just hung out all morning. He had quite the stressful experience getting back to Fort Worth but eventually got on a flight home at midnight. His bags were not so lucky and got lost in transit. We received them a week later.

Sunday was my last full day in Seattle and Vivi and I took the opportunity to visit with friends around town. We had a great time visiting with Jaclyn, Brody, Johnny, and Stella. The kids were so excited to see baby Vivi and it was so good to see Jaclyn and Brody after so long! We also went down to Lake Sammamish to visit with Carmen and Mimi. It was a jam packed day, but it was so good to see some great friends!

Before we knew it Monday had arrived and I was not ready to head back to Fort Worth. I felt like we still had so much to do and so many people we wanted to see, but that is always the way I feel when I leave around the holidays. We spent the last part of our trip to Seattle over at Grandma and Granddad's taking pictures with everyone and spending time by the lake. It was such a fun morning and Jeff took some wonderful pictures of everyone! Here are some snapshots from our trip. Enjoy!!!

Vivi Talking

Vivi's First Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and having Vivi has allowed us to really reflect on the things that are so important in life. We have been blessed with so much this year; buying a house, getting married, and having our first child. This Thanksgiving we want to say thank you to everyone that has helped make this year a great one. 2009 is a year we will never forget.

We spent this week in Wichita Falls at Trey's parents. It was so much fun to share Vivi with the family and introduce her to family and friends she had yet to meet. Today was quite the affair! We had 21 people at Thanksgiving dinner, my favorite meal of the year. In addition to a lot of eating we were able to visit the build site of Stan and Karen's new house, take family pictures, watch the Cowboys game, and cheer on the Aggies. It was a full day, but full of fun!

Vivi's Second Month

Rah Rah TCU

Trey, Vivi and I had the opportunity to go to the TCU vs Utah game at Amon G. Carter stadium. Vivi came with us for the first 30 minutes of tailgating before we met up with Ann who was kind enough to A. provide us with tickets into the game and B. watch Vivi while we were at the game. What a fun time it was! It was the first game of the season that Trey and I were able to attend, and I was by far the best game that I have been to in all my time being a TCU fan! There were over 50,000 fans at the game, and we didn't even have a place to sit! But that didn't even matter, the energy in the stadium was incredible and our Frogs were playing awesome ball against Utah, getting revenge after last years heartbreaking loss. This has been such a fun and exciting year for Horned Frog football! We are looking forward to the Frogs making it to a BCS Bowl game, and if the Longhorns can manage to lose this weekend we could even be faced with the opportunity to play in Pasadena for the National Championship title!

Vivi's First Halloween

It has been a big weekend in our household. The Frogs killed UNLV at Amon Carter and most importantly, it was Vivi's first Halloween! We had so much fun dressing her up as a little Pumpkin and more fun taking pictures of her in her costume. Kelsey and Blaine were hosting a Halloween party at Blaine-Event following the TCU Homecoming game, so it presented us with the perfect opportunity to get Vivi all dressed up and show her off to our friends at the same time! We spent a couple hours at Blaine's visiting with everyone and little miss was so good. She spent a good hour entertaining a majority of the girls at the party and was then so pooped that she fell asleep on Cori's shoulder. I was so surprised that she slept through the ruckus that was happening at Blaines and that we were able to stay and socialize for so long. I am pretty sure that Vivi had the cutest costume of the night. She sure did make a cute little pumpkin.

Big Grins

I am sorry that I have not been keeping everyone updated lately. Things have gotten busy around here, although I am beginning to have a little more ME time, which is so nice. I recently started Vivi on a routine created by the Baby Whisperer, Tracy Hogg. A friend from my sorority who has a little girl recommended it to me shortly after Vivi was born, and I finally got around to picking up the book this week. Man I wish that I had the book sooner because we are making progress in just the first week. Vivi has gone from only sleeping in my arms and falling asleep while feeding to being on somewhat of a routine. We are still trying to get things more consistent, but the way things are going now I am getting a couple 45 min naps throughout the day, and one long nap in the afternoon! It is amazing. Now I have time to shower, make the bed, clean the kitchen, pick up around the house, pay the dogs some attention, make dinner, and surf the Internet. A couple of weeks ago I would have never thought this day would arrive! Surprisingly, having this me time is making me less sleepy! So right now I am a happy girl. This week we have been working on the routine and taking naps in Vivi's crib. I am proud to say that she is doing great at both. Right now she is sleeping and has been down for 45 minutes already, lets hope we can get over the hump!!

Miss V is also reaching her milestones on target. Right now she is all smiles! She is such a happy girl and will give almost anyone a big grin. Seeing her sweet smile is so fun and it is coming out more and more. On Saturday we went over to Sam and Mallon's to watch the TCU-BYU game (go Frogs!) and she had so much fun entertaining all of the girls there. After a little while she got a little cranky and worn out, but did so good since it was her first trip to someone's house and had never been around that many people.

This weekend we are excited for Halloween. Unfortunately I have not had any time to decorate the house, and whether or not we do pumpkin carving this year is still up in the air. But for right now we are super excited about our costume! We are going with a family theme this year and cannot wait to show everyone the pictures. Kelsey and Blaine will be having a party at their house which we are going to go to for a short while. Trey is going to go as a gardener, I am going as a garden hoe, and Vivi and the dogs are going as our pumpkin patch! It is going to be great. I will post pictures next week sometime. In the meantime here is a sweet picture of Vivi, all smiles, it must be because she thought she looked so cute in her Juicy Couture outfit!

Vivi's First Month

Time is Flying by!

The past two weeks have flown by. We have had a lot of activity in the our household. Here is a sweet picture of Vivs and a chronicle of what has been going on.

Nana Visits

On September 28 Vivi's Nana, my mom, came to visit for a week. It was so nice to have her here helping us out. We were able to get a lot done around the house, and managed to eat very, very well while she was here! My mom and I took Vivi out and about a couple of times while the weather was nice. Instead of walking around the neighborhood, we decided to venture out to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. The weather was absolutely perfect for walking through the beautiful grounds, and we ate lunch by the pond while Vivi slept in her stroller. Later in the week we made a trip up to Southlake. There we shopped around the Southlake Town Square and ate lunch at Mi Cocina. Vivi was so good! We stopped a couple of times to fill her belly and make a happy baby, but she slept in her stroller most of the time and didn't even make a peep during lunch! The week went by so quickly, and we can't wait for Nana to visit us again!

2 Week Doctor Visit

Last week Vivi went back to the doctor for her two week check up. The doctor said that she is a very healthy little girl and she has gained back all of the weight that she initially lost and then some. Vivi weighed in at 8 lbs 4 oz and I am sure by now she has put on more weight. It's no surprise that she gained back the weight so quickly, I am feeling like she is eating all the time! We go back to the doctor next week for her one month check up.

Rub a Dub Dub

I gave Vivi her first REAL bath last week and what a time it was! I put a hand towel down on the bottom of the baby tub to help prevent her from slipping around and filled the bottom of the tub up a couple of inches. She didn't seem to mind the water too much at first, but then the cries came as the water began to evaporate off of her skin. Thankfully her little body is so small that giving her a bath takes 5 minutes or less, because it is hard to see her crying and cold. Here is a sweet little picture of the little miss after her bath, all warm and snug in her towel.

Week One

Vivi is now officially one week old. I cannot believe how quickly this first week has gone by. She has already changed so much since she was born and I am actively trying to make sure every day is documented so we don't forget a single moment. She is such a treasure, we never imagined that being parents could be so rewarding.

Right now she is doing a whole lot of eating, sleeping, and crying. We are getting used to waking at all hours of the night to satisfy her needs, but it's not as difficult as I had imagined it would be. Somehow waking up multiple times in the middle of the night is easier when you know that it is for the health and benefit of your child. We have been very lucky. The first night at home was a difficult one. Vivi was getting used to being in a new place and we were getting used to having her in our home. We were up quite a lot making sure that she was well taken care of. I had the hardest time sleeping I was so worried that she was going to stop breathing in her sleep. It is amazing how your motherly instinct kicks in from day one. Somehow in my sleep I am able to anticipate her needs and find myself sometimes waking before she even begins to cry. Call it a mothers intuition or extra sensitive hearing, it may be the same thing.

Recently she has started smiling in her sleep. I saw it for the first time on Tuesday and thought it was just the coolest thing. I don't think that its fair to say that was the first time she smiled because it was unprompted, but I cherish each of those little glimpses I get at her toothless grin. I have yet to capture one of these moments on camera, but am hoping my timing will be right soon. Right now she is resting in her carrier after a little car ride. Never wake a sleeping baby!! Which means that it's my turn to rest as well.

Hospital Pictures

Vivienne Marie

Well the little princess is finally here. She was born on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 10:45 pm. She weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 22 inches long. A very healthy little girl!!

What a day that was! I checked into the hospital at 8 pm the day before to start the induction process. The next morning I was started on a Pitocin drip at 6:30. I began to finally start laboring around noon and over the next 10 hours only progressed to 3 cm dilated. At 10 pm we decided that a c-section would be the best route. 45 minutes later my daughter was here!

I am sure you are all wondering why the c-section was necessary, let me explain. Vivi was in what is called the posterior position, meaning that she was facing my abdomen as opposed to my back. Being in this position she was not able to apply enough pressure to help me dilate. To make matters worse, when we tried to change positions during labor her heart rate significantly dropped, causing much of the progress being made to come to a halt. To complicate matters further, it seems my pelvis was not separating enough to help accommodate her little body. It is most likely I would have had a c-section had we not chosen to induce on Wednesday. Ultimately, it seems she was just too darn comfortable to be willing to come into the world.

Regardless of how she was born, we are so happy to finally have her home. The past couple of nights have been pretty long. It is quite exhausting living with a newborn. Trey and I are trying to adjust to the life of the nocturnal and become familiar with her routine. It seems like such a guessing game! Right now Trey is taking a nap preparing for the cowboys game in a couple of hours. While he is down I will put up some pictures from the past 4 days. Hope y'all enjoy!!

The Nusery!

Finally, after months of hard work the nursery is nearly complete. We are waiting on the crib linens to arrive and to hang the chandelier. Don't worry we have a bassinet for her to sleep in during the early days.

I spent a lot of time researching nurseries and envisioned a sweet little girls haven. I was drawn to anything pink and white. After scouring the Internet for the perfect inspiration room, I found the one below, from housebeautiful.com. I love the pale pink walls combined with the crisp white furniture.

I converted the failed cowboy room into a room fit for a princess by painting the walls Sherwin Williams White Dogwood. The fresh coat of paint on the walls instantly elevated this room from the junk room to a nursery in the making. Kelsey and Cori came over for a night of painting, we finished painting the walls in less than 2 hours!

The rest of the room came together once the wall colors were up. I found the dresser and the wall shelf from an antique shop, and was able to get the changing table and the rocker off of craigslist for a steal. I painted the changing table and the wall shelf a soft white color to clean them up and they were ready to go. Finding crib linens proved to be a very difficult task. In my head I pictured a white crib with gauzy white linens, but I was unable to find anything remotely close to this without breaking the bank. In the back of my head I kept picturing the room with the linens from the Shabby Chic collection at Target, and after failing to find the white linens this is what I settled on. Going with my gut instinct payed off because I was able to find other items to incorporate the linens into the room.

Last weekend I put the finishing touches on the room by painting the frame above the crib and covering the letters with fancy paper. I also made the door hanger by painting a wooden frame, adding the letters, and painting the back of the frame with chalkboard paint. Now we can leave little messages on the door for our little one! I also made the bow hanger by painting on the background design, and adding her name and the ribbon for hanging her bows on.

Hope you all enjoy the nursery as much as I do, and I hope she will. It truly was a labor of love.

Here is the room before Kelsey, Cori and I worked some magic. How could anyone choose to paint a room like this?! UGH!

... after some late nights and a lot of hard work, the ugly room is transformed into a room fit for a princess!

A Quarter Century

Off to an early start this morning. What a beautiful day! Hopefully the temperatures stay low, and by low I mean in the 90s! I have a lot of projects planned for the day including making dog beds for the boys and making some decorations for Vivi's room. We get the crib today, I think that is what is giving me all this energy! Hope everyone enjoys the weekend. I promise to put some pictures of the nusery up soon.

2009 has been a big year with a wedding, a baby on the way, and now turning 25. A year of milestones! In addition to the baby shower last weekend, it also happened to be my birthday on Thursday, August 20th. Trey and I decided to keep things low key and went out for lunch on my birthday, saving the celebrations for the weekend. What a great birthday it was! On Wednesday, we went out to eat with Sam and Mallon at Piola (YUM!) and on our way out the door Trey found my lost Gucci sunglasses! Oh how I love these sunglasses. He could have just given me these for my birthday and I would have been perfectly happy! But no, he couldn't do that. He has a tendency to spoil me so in addition to the found sunglasses he bought me these wonderful David Yurman earrings!

The weekend only got better from there. Meredith came in town from NYC, it is always a treat to have a Friendtopia weekend! On Friday night we had a BBQ with burgers, salad(s), Cannon's awesome guac, and good friends. I get to look forward to a massage, mani and pedi at Perfect Touch Day Spa, courtesy of Kelsey, Cori, Meredith, and Lisa! I am going to hold onto that for after Vivi has arrived, I am sure I am REALLY going to need it then! Overall it was a wonderful birthday weekend, I really couldn't have asked for a better one, filled with good friends and family. Thank you to all of you that helped making turning 25 truly wonderful. Here are some pictures to enjoy! There's even a good baby bump picture for those of you that have been curious!

Shower Booty!

18 more days to go!!!

Vivi sure is one lucky baby. At the shower she was lucky enough to receive some wonderful gifts, covering everything from feeding, to clothing, to bathing and beyond.

Sarah, my sister in law, put together a beautiful basket full of goodies, including Pampers diapers, wipes, Kissy Kissy clothes, a Little Giraffe velvet blanket and much more! I wish I took a picture of it because it was so cute, you could tell she put a lot of time and love into making such a special gift for her niece. Luke and Elizabeth also sent down a gift for Vivi that included some Mustela products. I had already purchased a little bit of this product, but am so glad to have some more! It smells so good, and even better is hypoallergenic and specially formulated to be used by newborns. We can't wait for Vivi's first bath! Click the image for more information.

Meet Lila Mouse, a cute little gift from Vivi's Grandmary. Lila mouse is made by a French company call Moulin Roty that makes some of the most charming children's toys. This is sure to be one of Vivi's favorite stuffed toys for years to come.

Trumpette Mary Jane Socks have been a very popular gift. Vivi received both the pastel Mary Jane's as well as the glitter Mary Jane's. These socks are so cute on little girls because they look like shoes but are also functional with grippers on the bottom. Trumpette also makes the socks in other shoe styles ranging ballerina and a Texas favorite, cowgirl!

Another gift I am super excited about is the long sleeved kimono onesie by BabySoy and matching pants, a big thank you to Jana. I am all about helping out the environment and jumping on board with the Green Movement so why not add going green to the baby list as well. BabySoy makes their baby layettes using eco-friendly soybean fibers. Not only is the clothing made from a renewable resource it is also super soft and I can imagine it will only get softer after more washings. You can find BabySoy at Zoe + Jack in Fort Worth.

One of the most useful gifts that we received is the Chicco Coventry Travel System in Discovery. A huge thank you to Meredith, Lisa, Mallon, Kelsey and Cori!!! It was very difficult to pick out a system that meets multiple functions, the most important of all, my child's safety. I was recommended this product by Jaclyn (Thanks!) who was very satisfied after using it with two of her children. After looking at a couple of different options on the market I settled with this product because of the reviews it received and many of its different features. Now I can rest at night knowing that I actually have a car seat to take my little bundle of joy home in. Next stop, the fire station, to make sure it is securely installed!

Trey and I took the time Wednesday night to get out the new swing and put it together. It was a lot easier than I anticipated and is so cute! The seat is super soft, I wish I had one for me to snuggle in! I have heard from so many parents that having a swing is a huge help as it can help soothe a colicy baby, rock them to sleep, and provide entertainment. This is the first item to be added to the living room and provide evidence that there is in fact a baby on the way, apart from my growing belly. A big thank you to Debbie Lee!

Thank you to everyone else to attended the shower as well as those who could not make it but sent something special for Vivi. We are scheduled to receive Vivienne's crib tomorrow between 12 and 4 so keep a look out for a post showing off her beautiful nursery.