2 months old

Austin is officially 2 months old! I can't believe how fast time is going, we waited so long for him to get here and now the days are just zooming by. As we were approaching this milestone, I started thinking back at all we have done over these past 2 months. I estimated that we have changed over 450 diapers, fed and washed almost 200 bottles, been to chick-fil-a at least 15 times, been to a doctor's office 17 times, changed/washed more clothes than I could even come close to counting and taken nearly 600 pictures of adorable little Austin. Austin has almost completely outgrown every newborn outfit; there are still 2 that fit at this moment but give it another week and those too will be too small. I have had to pull out his 0-3 month clothes and I have put them all in the rotation. Austin now smiles and coos everyday, which just melts my heart every single time. And perhaps our biggest accomplishment is that he has slept through the night twice now!!!! For the very first time on Tuesday night he slept in his crib from midnight until 6am. I was so happy and proud I could have cried. And then, to top even himself, the next night he slept from 10:30pm until 7:30am; a whopping 9 hours in his crib!!! It was an absolute blessing for a very tired mommy who had to return to work this week. Austin also had his very first day with the babysitters this week. On Tuesday daddy took him to Barbara and Larry's for his first day. (I thought it was better for Brent to take him so I wouldn't cry.) Since birth Austin has gained 2.8 pounds and grown 2 inches. It is truly amazing just how much he has changed in such a short time. We are madly in love with our baby boy and enjoy each and every moment with him.

3 days old

2 months old... same outfit & same couch

what a difference!!

Each month I try to take an "official" photo in his nursery rocking chair. This month he was more expressive so I included a few of the out-takes as well.

just too funny of a face not to include

can't sit up just yet

the official 2 month photo

getting upset......

and photo shoot over!

2 month Check-up

Austin is now 2 months old and that meant time for another check-up! We went to the doctor Friday for Austin's 2 month check up & shots. Here are the stats on our growing baby boy....

Weight-11lbs (50th percentile)

Length 23.5 inches (75th percentile)

Head Circumference- 15.5 inches (50th percentile)

Weight check and head measuring

Austin hated having his clothes taken off to be weighed and measured. He screamed the whole time Aunt Lindsay and Grandma Mary tried to check him in at the doctor's office. He calmed down a little when we got the room but was still pretty fussy while Dr. Wilcox was trying to check him out. I had to hold him for almost all of it and even had to help the doctor get a good look at his eyes. Austin checked out great and is growing and developing wonderfully. He even got tons of compliments on how cute he is from all the nurses. Now they might be a little biased since Grandma Mary and Aunt Lindsay work there, but we can't argue that is super cute! Since it was his 2 month check-up, it did mean Austin had to get his vaccines. Dr. Wilcox decided that she would only give 3 on Friday and then he could come back next week to get the other 2 so that he wouldn't be a overwhelmed and too upset by 5 shots at once. The second the nurses laid him down on the bed to give him his shots, Austin screamed like crazy. One of the nurses felt so bad at how much he was crying that she started to tear up herself. Even though it was hard to hear him cry that much, he quieted down just as soon as I held him. After we left the doctor's office, Austin slept for a couple of hours but unfortunately he was still pretty fussy for the rest of the day. It was such an exhausting day for Austin that we were able to lay him in his own crib Friday night and he slept there for 4 hours!!!!

Grandma Mary loving on that sweet baby boy

Aunt Lindsay being sad with Austin

Dr. Wilcox checking him out

Getting those awful shots

Look at those baby legs with all those band-aids!

Daddy makes it all better!!

A-town & Sip-N-See

This past weekend we packed up the family for Austin's first visit to Abilene. This was our first road trip where we had to pack up Austin & Elliott and it was a lot of stuff. We were headed to Abilene because my mom was hosting a Sip-N-See on Saturday for us to show off our little bundle of joy. I was smart enough to pack almost everything the night before so that the morning would be a little bit less stressful. For those of you that know my family, we run on "bonham time" and always leave at least an hour after our projected time. Well this was no different, we planned to leave at 9am but ended up pulling out of the driveway at 10am. I was impressed though that adding a baby really didn't make us take any longer getting ready. Austin did surprisingly well in the car, he slept almost the entire trip only waking up as we were about 10 minutes outside of Abilene. Elliott however, was a wild man the whole time. He was constantly climbing over every seat in the car and going from lap to lap and occasionally peeking in the car seat to check on Austin. We got to Abilene in just enough time to feed Austin, change clothes and head to the church for the Sip-N-See. The sip-n-see was such a great way for us to show all of our Abilene friends Austin. Many of my mom's work friends came as well as quite a few of the ladies from my home church. One of my all time best friends Julia, who I have known since elementary school, also came to meet Austin. It was so wonderful to get to talk to everyone and to show off Austin. He did really well at the shower and only spit up on one person! Austin was held by many different ladies and even laid in the famous "brass bed" for a few minutes. A big THANKS goes to my mom for hosting it for us and to all the people that came to share this special time with us.

Austin & Elliott in the car.

Guests: Trina Fink, Grandma Karen (Gigi) & Jacinda Dieken

More guests: Connie Keaton & Aunt Jenna

The Coatney family.

Austin in the brass bed.

Mommy and Austin.

One of my dearest friends, Julia!

On Sunday morning we all headed to church at my hometown church, First Baptist Abilene. It was so great for me to get to show Austin to all the people who played such a large role in my growing up years. One really special moment for me was getting to introduce my first grade teacher, Mrs. Cross to my son. It is just amazing to me how many truly wonderful people were so thrilled to meet Austin and congratulate us. Austin sat in the service with us until about 10 minutes before it was over. At that point we had to take him to the nursery so he could be placed in the brass bed for everyone to come by and see him. (My church as a large picture window in the nursery where babies get to lay in the special brass cradle on their first Sunday at church. They even make an announcement in the service for everyone to know and then make their way down to see him.) We dropped him off, took quite a few pictures, and barely were able to leave him in there so we could go back to the service to hear the announcement. Many of the church members came down to the nursery to see him. Austin got lots and lots of compliments on just how cute he is! It was very surreal to have many of the kids I spent my high school years baby-sitting come by and see my own baby. I don't feel like I have gotten any older or changed at all and yet all of those kids are in middle and high school now and are nothing like the kids I spent so much time with all those years ago. Anyway, I digress....Austin was such a cutie, he just kicked, flailed and smiled the whole time he was in the bed and never once screamed or cried. Brent and I were both so proud and loved getting to show him off.

Headed into church and inside.

Austin in the brass bed.

Outside the picture window looking in at Austin.

Family pictures after church.

The other big highlight of our Abilene trip was dinner at my absolute favorite restaurant, Dos Amigos. We never have a trip to Abilene without it! We also went to the Episcopal church to take some family photos of Austin in his name onesie before he outgrew it. We able to get some really great shots of our family at a beautiful stone church. We then packed up and headed back home to Waco. The trip back was not quite a smooth as the one down there. We only made it to Eastland before we had to pull over and feed a very unhappy baby. After a bottle and some cuddling, Austin was able to go back in his seat and we could get back on the road to Waco. We finally made it back home and were all very tired from our short little get-away. I would say it was a successful first road trip and visit to Abilene.

family pictures (you can't tell but Austin is wearing his "austin" oneisie that he has now outgrown)

Week 7 and beyond

Now that Austin is 6 weeks old we finally ventured to church. Last Sunday we barely got up and got everyone ready for the service but we made it. We were a few minutes late but I was still pretty proud that we only missed 1 song, not too bad for our first outing to church. Austin did really well during the service, he attentively looked around during the music and only fussed a tiny bit when the sermon started. Once he fussed I took him out to hold him and he quickly fell asleep for the remainder of the service. It was great to feel back in the loop at church and get to see some of our friends who also have their own babies or babies on the way. (Now I had the camera with me but the batteries were dead so we didn't get any pictures of his first Sunday at church...we will try again next week)

Of course this week also included my weekly visit to the wound care center. Unfortunately this week did not hold such great news, Dr. Haus decided that I was not making the progress she wanted to see and she re-ordered the wound vac. I think I was so shocked by this that I didn't even respond, I just walked out in a daze. By the time I processed what was going on, KCI was calling to give me delivery instructions for my wound vac. I wasn't given instructions on when to return for it to be put on so I will have to wait until Monday for my next appointment.

To boost my spirits after my doctor's appointment Brent decided I needed a dose of chick-fil-a and a new cell phone. So we went to lunch and then headed to Sprint. It took a few weeks of mental preparation for me to finally commit to changing my phone number to a Waco number, but I did it. I now officially am a full fledged Waco resident (sad I know!) To ease the blow, I did get the coolest phone available...the Samsung Instinct s30. It is a super cool touch screen phone and so far I am loving it!

In Austin news this week, he went on his first out of town mini-road trip! On Wednesday I decided that I was tired of sitting around and that we were getting out. I packed up Austin and the stroller, grabbed my friend Clarissa, and headed down I-35 to Round Rock. Austin did great in the car, he slept the entire time. The reason for the Round Rock trip was to go to IKEA in order to pick up a few things for my classroom. Austin did pretty well while shopping, we stopped to sit in the cafe for a quick bottle and diaper change once. Austin then refused to go back in his carrier so I had to hold him for the remainder of the time in IKEA. And of course if you are in Round Rock you have to stop by the outlet mall. I was very proud of myself, I only bought the things I needed for my classroom and nothing else!!

Getting read to head to out on his first road trip!

Shopping at IKEA

On Thursday Lindsay, Austin and I headed back up to school to finish my classroom. We dropped everything off before grabbing a quick bite to eat with some dear friends before they move to Russia. After lunch we returned to school and got to work. We worked on organizing tons of books, putting out all of the tubs and baskets, and putting up all of the wall decorations. While we worked Austin slept so peacefully on the floor in his boppy pillow. I could not believe he slept for almost 4 hours without being held. Everyone that walked by thought I had a baby doll laying on the floor because he was all bundled up and being so quiet. It was my miracle for the day which enable us to get everything up and put away. The room looks great and ready for kids, now if only I could say the same thing about me.

Austin sleeping on the floor of my classroom for almost 4 hours!

Now that my classroom is all set up I officially have 1 more week of summer to enjoy being home with Austin. I can't believe that this summer has gone by so quickly. It will be so hard to not be with Austin all day and to get to enjoy all his little moments.

what a cutie!

6 weeks

This week started with mommy and daddy actually getting to get out and going to the movies!! My mom came into town Sunday and offered to keep Austin so Brent and I could go see Harry Potter 6. (I had really been wanting to see it and it was getting harder and harder to keep my friends from sharing about it.) It was so nice to get to spend some time together and I did my best not to check up on him too many times but it was a long movie! Of course he did fine and I know his grandma enjoyed playing with him.

This week I finally made some progress in my wound care and was discharged from home health care! Monday was my last visit from my home health care nurse and although they were very sweet, I was glad to be free of the tri-weekly visits. Now my wound is still not completely healed but it is looking much better and getting closer little by little. I still have once weekly appointments at the wound care center but hopefully not for too much longer.

Life is slowly settling into more of a routine with our little guy. We still working on the sleeping issue but we have had a couple more nights of sleep this week. Austin continues to grow like a weed! We went on Wednesday to get a weight check on him and he is already 9 lbs. 10 oz. He has gained 1 whole pound in just 2 weeks. You can tell for sure that this boy does not miss a meal. We had to put away two more newborn outfits this week but we did get to break out his little sandals for the first time. Unfortunately Austin developed a pretty bad case of diaper rash this week that came on pretty suddenly. We tried all the creams we had at home but they just didn't cut it, so Grandma Mary called him in a prescription for some Happy Hiney. Hopefully that will do the trick.

Goodbye giggle-saurus, you were super cute.

Look at those little shoes!!

On Thursday Lindsay offered to come to school and help me set up my classroom since I am still not supposed to do much physical activity. Austin joined us for this outing and got to spend his first of many hours I am sure in my classroom. He was not much of a helper and only took a short nap while we were there so Lindsay and I had to take turns working and then holding the baby. We got all the big furniture back into place as well as all the computers set up. A GIANT thank you goes to Lindsay who so patiently set up all the Dells with all their million cords in a very neat fashion to accommodate my OCD tendencies. We didn't get all the little stuff done but luckily Lindsay offered to come help again next week.

On Friday I had my 6 weeks post-partum doctor's appointment with Dr. Manning. I finally got a chance to tell her about all the drama that has occurred with my c-section incision and wound. Of course there isn't anything she can do but it was nice to get it off my chest and let her know about all that has happened and my very bad experiences with a few staffers at her office. At this appointment we also got to get a picture of Austin with Dr. Manning since she was the one who brought our little guy into the world. Everything checked out good and I am done with those appointments for quite a while. It will actually be weird not to go to the doctor every month. I very vaguely remember life without constant doctor's appointments.

Friday was also my first night out with the girls. Me and a few of the ladies I teach with all got to go to crop night and get some much needed scrapbooking done. (I am super behind...like still working on the wedding-YIKES!) It was so nice to get to relax and just enjoy some quiet work time. While I was gone Aunt Lindsay stayed with Austin. She was super baby-sitter that night doing laundry, giving Austin a bath, and keeping him entertained all while letting Brent catch up on some much needed rest. I was able to get 5 pages completed and then got to come home to my sweet baby boy. Thank you again Aunt Lindsay!

This is what happens when daddy dresses Austin ;)

It is crazy that it has already been 6 weeks since Austin was born. He is such a cutie and we are both loving every minute! Here are some other fun pictures of Austin from this week...

Austin's idea of floor time....

Elliott's idea of floor time.

My two boys passed out in our bed.