Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Week In Review

  This week being back home and not having to work in Austin has been amazingggg, to say the least.  Even though I had to work this past weekend at the nursing home, it gave Shane time to spend by himself with Brielle, which is always good!
  We have been battling nasal congestion, mild fevers, and runny noses in our household but I wouldn't change anything!  Whenever Brielle gets to not feeling like herself, she gets SUPER cuddly, which we love. So there was a lot of hugs and kisses this week and once or twice we actually fell asleep with her which hasn't happened in so long.
  We always knew Brielle loved being outside, but lately literally she wants to go outside everyday and play in the grass and pull weeds, play with dirt, try to eat grass, etc.  She was that baby that would calm down every single time you stepped outside with her, so we knew eventually she would love it as she got bigger and experienced new things, it's so cute!
  On Monday, I babysit my nephew so my niece can go to college, he is 3 1/2 and Brielle absolutely loves being around him and learning why he does what he does.  She is around a lot of kids in our family but having one on one time with him every Monday is special and I really hope they grow up and have a close relationship.
  Fishing has been a big part in our relationship since the beginning because it so happens to be one of Shane's favorite hobbies, so we couldn't wait until the perfect time to take Brielle out fishing with us.  Well today was the day, and she LOVED it, she even touched a small fish which is way more then I will still do we can't wait to get her a matching pink light up pole like mine! (yes, they do make adult light up poles and I love mine!)
Things we have coming up this week:
-Brielle's 9 month check-up tomorrow (thank goodness, NO shots this time!!)
-I have Corporate training
-Going to Seguin to go see my family
-The I heart Radio concert in Austin
-Family Gathering

Going to be a busy week, can't wait!
Here are some pictures from this week of our little cutie:

Loving to pull grass out!

Brielle touching Rae'Sean's head

Can't believe she touched a fish!

Maddie, Toby, Brielle

Daddy, daughter time!

Standing by herself, yay!!!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

To be or not to be...

  When Shane and I were pregnant with Brielle, we had started talking about what our future was going to look like and if I was going to be a stay at home mom or not.  I was almost done with RN school and that meant that better jobs would come my way.
   I knew that I would work up until her birth but I just didn't exactly know what would happen after. It was then that we decided that I would keep going to work every other weekend at the nursing home so that I could come home, or Shane could bring her up to my job so I could breast feed Brielle as much as possible.Good thing my job is only 5 minutes away from my house! :)
  I definitely wanted to be the stay -at-home mom that I had always dreamed of, but with my own bills from school and knowing that I could easily work a few days a month and that would pay the bills, it just seemed to work out best if I stayed working. Shane has been at his job for over 7 years and having him start all over somewhere else just so I could stay at home did not seem reasonable at all.  
  Not missing all the many "firsts," was my main concern.  I never wanted to be the parent who put their kid in daycare and then when I pick them up they say to me "she just crawled for the first time," or "she just got her first tooth," I knew that would hurt me so bad if someone else got to experience that rather than Shane or myself.  We decided to have family only watch Brielle anytime one of us is working, and let me you, best decision ever! (On a side note--I grew up in daycares with my brother while my mom worked full time and I loved it, so don't think I am bashing that idea, it just wasn't right for us.)
  We knew that my mom would be helping us out the first two weeks and that Shane would have off the first week before he had to go back to work, so we would have time to adjust with all the new changes that came with being new parents! (Thank goodness for all of her help, she ended up helping WAY longer than anticipated--thank.the.Lord)
  Being a part-time worker and Shane working full time is the best decision for us right now, and knowing that I spend more time at home with Brielle and that I have not missed an important moment yet, makes our decision feel so right. (Yes, I am going to miss some things--that's just life).  I love my career, but I love being at home and a mom more.  Who knows what our future consists of, maybe one day I will be working full-time when Brielle is in school!

  

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Brielle turns 9 months!!

 Wow, I can't believe baby girl is 9 months!! I swear, time is seriously flying by and I am loving every.single.moment.  Our baby girl is seriously into everything and we are LOVING how attentive she is, and how she is so into learning everything! I am going to do a little update on our precious baby!!

Height: 28 1/2 inches

Weight: 18 pounds 10 oz.

Likes:
-She still LOVES food, she has grown to love just about anything I put on her plate.  She is eating mostly ALL finger foods and very little baby food anymore.  Baby girl is growing up SO fast!! Her latest eats are organic mac and cheese, eggs, zucchini, mango.  She still loves her mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes (especially sweet potato bites with a little bit of cinnamon).
-Her wubbanub still takes top priority with her during her nap times and bed time.
-Playing with puzzles (taking every piece out).
-Peek-a-boo
-Animals (loves any animal--cats,dogs,horses,cows, etc. we live in the country so she definitely sees a variety!)
-Talking very loudly (she gets excited a LOT -so cute!)
-Dancing

Dislikes:
-Car rides are still not her favorite but she is getting so MUCH better at them!
-Taking things away
-Strangers (she still takes a while to get to open up to people she doesn't see often)
-Stopping her from getting something that she REALLY wants- (she still throws her back and head back which have not always been on carpet or somewhere safe)

Teeth: 2 glorious teeth but 3 coming in (two top middle and one to the right of her bottom tooth)-let's just say this weeks nap schedule has been a little thrown off due to teething.

Language:
Signing-More (she claps and I think she means more), All done (sometimes), Milk
Words- Mama, Dada, Baby, All done, Pa-Pa

She is definitely learning so much so quickly and going to take her first steps soon!! She can balance by herself for 10+ seconds.  I cannot wait to see what she will be like next month!
Here are some adorable pictures of our baby girl :







Wednesday, March 12, 2014

9 year anniversary

  Today, Shane and I celebrate being together for 9 years.  We met exactly this day 9 years ago at my best friends house (Krystle) which is Shane's cousin and now we are legally cousins by marriage! Crazy how it all worked out! The added bonus is me and my best friend are still closer then ever and I am so thankful that Shane and I both chose to spend our spring break with our family and friends that year.  I think eventually the two of us would have met being that I wanted to go to get-togethers all the time with Krystle and her family , it would have just been at a later time.  If you would have asked me at 16 and him at 17 would we still be together 9 years from then I guarantee both of us would of said yes.  We knew from early on that we would end up getting married and had the same values on many subjects especially on having children to share our love and happiness with.
  It is crazy to think that the first 5 years were spent long-distant.  And boy oh  boy was it a very hard and trying 5 years to be so far apart, especially when he went to Cisco junior college it was a good 4-5 hour drive from Austin.  I look back at those years and I am actually glad that we started that way because we value so much more differently together than other couples might.  Every opportunity we had to see each other, we took it and spent the most out of our little time we had together before one of us had to go back home.  
  The day we got engaged seemed utterly surreal.  I really did mess it ALL up and knew Shane was up to something all day (which happened to be my 21st birthday celebration), and I did not know why he seemed SO nervous about my party (so I thought.)    I kept asking all day while we were getting ready and checking to make sure we had all of our last minute things before we headed out to hotel if everything was ok, and if I could do anything to help.  He finally took a deep breath and proposed to me in my bedroom.  I knew something was going to happen, just not that and not in that way. He said he couldn't keep it in any longer, and since I kept asking what was wrong he finally just spilled the beans.  He told me his huge plan and that if I just would have waited an hour it would have been in front of all of our family and friends.  He did let me know that my mom approved of him taking my hand in marriage and that she gave us her blessing which meant the WORLD to me.  As I look back, yes it could have been better, but it was that much more special just being the two of us.
  Our wedding happened on 10-10-10 (easy to remember!) and it was in the first semester of my nursing school which was chaotic, but we definitely scaled it down to just being close family and friends and just made it happen in our tiny church St. James Baptist Church with Rev. Lemmons allowing us to join our hands together in marriage in front of God, and all of our loved ones.  We cannot wait to do our wedding vow renewal in 10-10-20 and have a huge celebration since we really didn't get to actually celebrate and enjoy everyone's company as much as we would have liked.  And maybe, just maybe we can afford to go on an amazing honeymoon in 6 years.  
  We can't wait to celebrate forever together, and continue to see our family flourish and grow more in faith and happiness! Now we are heading off to dinner just me and Shane.  Thanks to my sister-in-law for watching Brielle so we can enjoy a fun date night tonight!
Doing what we love --Fishing!

Celebrating yet another new years kiss together :)

Who knew we would end up being together? 

The first day we met!! Crazy how time flies!

Friday, March 7, 2014

Growth

  As I stare at my plant that my step-dad have given me to "always remember him by," I start to think this plant symbolizes so many things to me but most important is growth.  It seems that so many of us are just content where we are in life, with a certain amount of kids, with a certain job and forget to do something that challenges them and helps them grow.  I have grown so much in my 25 years of existence and would like to share a few examples with you.
  Faith-  I used to know a God existed, but I was like many others and just prayed when I wanted a good test grade, or prayed when I wanted something my mother said no to, but I didn't truly understand meaning of faith until I met Shane.  I was just 16 when we started dating and the more I wanted to go visit him at his home town (which I currently live in now), I was so in awe of the fact that no matter what we had on our agenda for Sunday, Church in the morning was always the most important thing.  After five years of dating and being engaged, we decided to move in together as I was attending nursing school just 40 minutes from where he lived. It wasn't until then that my rare Sunday visits were becoming more frequent and his Church welcomed me with open arms and I truly felt at home.  When I chose to give myself to God and get Baptized it was the most amazing and fulfilling thing I have ever done, it was exactly 3 years ago to the day and I have grown so much in faith and spirituality and so much closer to God since then.  It truly is amazing to have such a close relationship with Him and know that he is always just a prayer away!

Marriage-  To this day, Shane and I look at each other (as we celebrate being together 9 years next week), and just amazed that so much has happened between our marriage, all the ups and the downs and how much closer we have grown closer and still finding things all the time that we don't know about each other! I think once you choose to have children, it really does change everything--for the better.  I think since becoming parents we have grown so much in faith, honor, trust and dignity.  It truly does take an army to raise children, but having Shane by my side just makes everything better, and easier! I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us and our family.

Family- This is amazing because even though I always just figured once we all grew up, we would still get together every holiday, I really didn't know how much work it takes to stay in touch with all of my family who live in ALL different places.  I remember someone saying to me, "if it really is important you will make time for it", well this is completely true when it comes to my family.  I am getting better at it, and have to come to terms that if I want to get everyone together I am the one who has to set it all up and make it happen.  Even though it is so frustrating trying to coordinate everyone's work schedule, it is amazing when it works out perfectly and everyone gets to spend a few hours together in person- which is way better then on the phone or the internet. I am learning more and more each year on what works best for everyone!

Friendships-  It's funny because when I was in High School I could tell you who were my best friends and pretty much everything about each one of them.  Well when you graduate and go to college, friendships fade, especially the ones who move away to go a different city it just makes it that much more difficult.  As an adult, I completely value friendship differently-much more meaningful and deeper then ever before.  I only have a small circle of best friends and I am completely ok with that.  I know that these girls will have my back through thick and thin and I have grown to have such a better understanding of what it takes to be a good friend, my best friends are an amazing select few and I cannot wait to see them grow not only as individuals but grow with their families!

Career-  I have pretty done everything in the nursing home on the floor that I can do, and by all means I love that I started from the bottom.  I went from a CNA, Med-Aide, LVN, to an RN.  It was the best 3 year journey I could have ever asked for and I love being the weekend RN charge nurse/treatment nurse at the nursing home.  And I just got a call the other day from my boss, saying that she is sending me to some additional training for some great opportunities coming up which I can't wait for. I can't wait to grow in my career both mentally and physically. There is so much to learn!
This is the plant David got me, so amazing to see it just keep growing!


That is just a little about my life, I hope you might think of ways that you maybe could grow and expand in some areas of your life! :)

Monday, March 3, 2014

Crying It Out

  Let me first start off by stating that this is what worked for our baby and our family and by all means I am not saying this is something every child needs to do.
  Ok with that said, I can say this was probably the hardest thing Shane and I had to go through with Brielle.  I mean this broke.our.heart when we had to hear our baby girl crying it out.
  It was just after Brielle turned 4 months old, that Shane and I were looking at who was going to hold Brielle for the night and get less sleep.  (We definitely did the one thing that all my nursing books, all the doctors say not to do--yes she was a co-sleeper for the first 4 months of her life.  She was never a baby since birth who liked to be swaddled and put in the bed by herself.  She would maybe sleep for 15 minutes and then start searching around for me, Shane, or my Mom--who helped us with her practically the first 3 months, to pick her up.  I just couldn't comprehend letting my baby cry and cry when I knew all she wanted was to sleep with one of us holding her and that would make her happy. ) That just meant that whoever was holding her got less and less sleep.  I think we just realized that she was in control of the sleep that was going on in our house, and we had to get the control back.
  That was the moment that I did immense research on the crying-it-out method.  I found probably 10 different ways to slowly transition into it, and what it all came down was what was going to work for Brielle.  The first night I remember so vividly, it was so hard and painful for Shane and I to hear our baby crying but it was SO worth it.  We decided to conquer the night time and then gradually work our way into the naps during the day as well. What helped the most was getting a video monitor so we could see exactly what was going in when we closed the door. LOVE IT, to this day, that has been one of the best investments anyone could make in helping with this method.
Night 1: Once we put her to bed after a bath and books, every ten minutes one of us went in her room,  patted her back, put her paci back in her mouth and put her back in her crib.  We did this for ALMOST 2 hours until she finally gave in and went to bed.  (she slept until 7am that next morning so that was the most sleep we had gotten in forever!) She definitely was not trying to give in and she did not want to lose control!
Night 2: We did the same thing but probably went into 10-15 minute stretches in between.  It still took  1 1/2 hours to get to sleep, but we knew she would eventually be ok and go to sleep, and she did!
Night 3-7: The crying it out method was definitely working and getting down to about 15-30 minutes after we layed her down for bed and she would sleep about 10 hours throughout the night.
 (This is when we thought this was a success and accepted the time that it took her to wind down and go to sleep.)
  Then it was time to conquer the naps during the day.  These were definitely a LOT easier then night time and she only took about a week to adjust to being put down awake and would cry for about 10-15 minutes and then go to sleep for 1-2 hours.  At this time she was taking three naps during the day, which made it a LOT easier on everyone to get stuff done when she was napping instead of having to hold her the entire time, or trying to put her down on a flat surface without waking her up.
  Since then, she is now 8 months old and goes to sleep during the day and at night without crying at ALL! I love how happy she is when she wakes up and talks to herself after getting 12 hours of sleep or getting a good 2 hour nap during the day.  She still takes about a hour nap in the morning and a 2 hour nap in the afternoon.  We have been so thankful she responded so well to this method, and would definitely do this again at the right time for our future children!

What Brielle needed to make this successful:
*2 loveys (she had to have one on each side of her crib for the longest)
*2 pacifiers (One being her Wubbanub which is the paci with the stuffed animal attached to it and to this day is STILL her go-to paci for nap and bed time)
* A mybaby sound machine with the rain noise and the light display that goes on top of the ceiling while she sleeps
*A Pink mesh bumper pad that is breathable and just keeps her arms from getting stuck in the sides of the crib
*A summer video camera (mostly for Shane and I to feel comfortable and make sure she was safe)