Her likes me!

Last night I was cooking dinner, and Wade was playing with Margaret on the kitchen table. I took a break and saw Wade placing his hat on Margaret's head. It was one of the sweetest moments I have ever seen! Usually, she hates hats, as you will see in the next photo, but she was so honored to have Daddy's hat on her head--Daddy's little girl!

We tried on the Bailey family pumpkin costume last week, because Miss Katherine is probably going to need it in about a month. The hat was a little snug, and Miss Moo didn't really know what to think about it. We could tell she was a little nervous.

This weekend we traveled up to the mountain house again to spend some time with my sister and her kids. It was the first time that we were all together since Katherine was born. She is now two months old and just adorable. She has a very calm personality so far and a great tolerance when it comes to her brothers kissing her and climbing on top of her.

Precious

Hudson just loves babies--especially his sister and Miss Margaret. He did a great job holding them, reading books to them, and keeping them entertained.

Margaret enjoyed showing off her new tricks and her variety of smiles.

Aunt Lolli just loves her!

Charlie is also a fabulous helper. When I finished changing Margaret's diaper, I would ask Charlie to please take the used diaper to the trash can. He would grab the diaper and say, "Thank you."I would then say to him, "You're welcome and thank you too!"

Charlie is also the one that keeps saying, "Her likes me!"--what a cutie pie!

Margaret and Katherine had many photo shoots this weekend. Margaret definitely has more fat rolls than Katherine, but they are almost the same size. It's going to be so much fun to see them grow up together and become best buddies.

Miss Moo was so proud of herself when she grabbed Katherine's hand.

Daddaddy and Mama Susie with all of their grandkids!

8 Months in the Highlands

8 months old and still teething . . . maybe we'll get those two front teeth in time for Christmas!

We took our first official vacation with Miss Moo last week. We were planning on a beach vacation to Ponte Vedra. However, at the last minute the weather looked bad, and we really didn't want to drive 10 hours with a baby. So we split the time in half and traveled to Highlands, North Carolina. What a beautiful place and so peaceful!

The weather was wonderful--70 during the day and 50 at night!

The spa (yes, we took our baby to an inn and spa) had a beautiful salt water pool that was heated, so Margaret went for a dip. She loved the flower float--thanks, Tricia!

At night, we enjoyed the rocking chairs . . .

and watching the sun set.

We even enjoyed a fancy dinner at an Italian restaurant (at 5:45).

The girls

Daddy kisses

I love this one--I finally captured her adorable smile!

Can't you just hear her laughter?

A little Frank Sinatra and dancing!!!

A little giggle time with Daddaddy!

We split the trip up both ways by staying at my parents' mountain house.

Margaret sat in a highchair for the first time this week--what a big girl!

Can she get any cuter?

Finally, did you know Margaret attracts the stars?

When she was only a few months old, she met Naomi Judd down in Franklin during a lunch in the square.

This week in the grocery store a certain country music singer married to Tim McGraw admired Margaret and even made her daughter look at Miss Moo.

Here's a shot of Miss Popular after her star encounter!

Special Week

Well . . . after two attempts, I think we finally captured Margaret in the family bowl. This beautiful bread bowl belonged to my beloved Grandmother Marie. When we (my siblings and I) were babies, we had our pictures taken in it in Grandmother's kitchen. We always joke that Laura looks like she is miserable, I look like Jabba the Hut, and Jonathan is so happy and joyful.

Now the bowl sits in my mother's kitchen, and her grandchildren are taking a dip in it for the traditional picture. I love this first one, even though it is not at the right angle, according to a particular family member. I think it sums up Margaret's personality!

Jabba the Hut Part 2???

I need to put my picture on here, because I look a lot like this.

The winner?

Last Sunday we celebrated Margaret's birth at the annual NICU Birthday Party at Baptist Hospital. I had been counting down the days until this event. It's hard to explain it, but the nurses and doctors feel like family now. There's something about Baptist Hospital. It will always be home to me. Every time I entered the building, throughout Margaret's pregnancy, I knew I was finally safe. Whatever was happening with my body, I knew the nurses and doctors could help me and take care of my little precious girl. Once Margaret was here, the NICU became a very special place to me, because that is where I first bonded with my little girl. Of course, I always loved her, but the first time I held her skin to skin I felt that amazing mother/daughter bond. I couldn't wait to visit the NICU.

Pictured below are a few of my favorite day nurses, Chris and Martha. All twenty-six days in ante-partum (that's the wing I was in, even after my surgery), the nurses took wonderful care of me. Checking my blood pressure every four hours, bringing my meds, monitoring Margaret, pulling up my support hose, wheeling me to ultrasounds, and reminding me countless times that my baby girl was going to be alright are just a few things they did for me. I can't thank them enough for their hard work. Chris and Martha were unable to attend the NICU party because they had a full house up in ante-partum. So we went to them.

Dr. P below was there for Wade and I during a very scary time. When Margaret was 72 hours old, Dr. P. woke us up in our hospital room with bad news. (We knew that if the neonatologist ever appeared in our room it wasn't a good thing.) They needed to intubate Margaret, because her lungs needed a little rest. Wade and I were so upset and scared that Margaret was going to continue to go downhill. A few hours later we were allowed to see her, and Dr. P. was right there. She took us around the corner, pulled up Margaret's x-rays of her lungs, and calmly explained the plan. Thanks to Dr. P. we were no longer scared; we knew the ventilator was a good thing and finally understood what to pray for!

Nurse Patty was a dear day nurse who cared for Margaret in the NICU. She was always available and ready to answer any questions, whether she was assigned to Margaret or not.

Nurse Rachel was one of Margaret's night nurses. We could call at any time during the night and talk to her. She would give updates on Margaret and ease our nerves. It was so hard to leave our baby girl every evening, but we knew she was in such good hands in the NICU.

Another wonderful treat was seeing our NICU friends. Chris (pictured below with his cutie John) and Brooke are a dear couple who we had the privilege of meeting in the NICU. They had twin boys, Adam and John, born just a few weeks before Margaret. Throughout our many weeks there, we enjoyed their friendship and comforting words. We continue to keep in touch with them through blogs.

We also met up with my good friend Danielle and her husband and son. I love how Crosby is patting Margaret on the head in this photo. Karen is another blog friend of mine. She grew up with Danielle and her twins, Max and Kate, stayed in the NICU last fall. One neat thing about us is that we all stayed in the same ante-partum room, the Predator's Suite, last fall and winter. Karen was first, then Danielle, and finally me. (I think I actually stayed in five rooms throughout my month long stay in the hospital and that's not even counting all the triage rooms!)

Family Photo

Finally--sorry this blog is so long--my mother, Margaret, and I ate lunch at Cheekwood this week. After lunch, we strolled down the path to visit James' tree and bench. We took some wonderful pictures of Margaret sitting on the bench. Yes--did I mention Margaret is almost sitting on her own? You have to stand by her, just in case she falls, but she is almost there. We are so proud of her!

Cutie-pie

Special Week--We are so blessed!