Meeting Cousin Kate

Well . . . they haven't quite settled on what they are going to call her, but Cousin Kate sounds pretty cute! Her name is Katherine Mae, and she arrived on her due date, July 26. She weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. My sister, brother-in-law, and nephews are so excited to have her here and join the family.

Wade, Margaret, and I were very lucky, because we were actually traveling through North Carolina last weekend. We were on our first long road-trip with Miss Moo to Wilmington, NC to attend the wedding of Wade's fraternity brother, Chris. Therefore when we heard the wonderful news on Sunday morning, we headed straight to Morganton to meet Miss Katherine. Wade stayed for a few hours and then continued on the long journey home back to Nashville. Luckily, my dad was there and agreed to drive us home later in the week.

The new baby girl is precious and so tiny. You forget how small 7 pounds is! Wade and I could not believe Margaret actually came home 2 pounds lighter than Katherine. We know Margaret and Kate will have so much fun in the future. I am sure they will be the best of friends!

Our first niece

Charlie really missed Mommy!
He was so happy to see his parents and the new toys.

The New Family of Five

I see many more girly photo-shoots in our future!

Kate and Margaret

Wearing the same precious outfit---just in different sizes!

Holding the newest blessing

Hudson was thrilled to hold his new baby sister and love on her!

We both love babies!

You can really tell how much bigger Margaret is in this picture.

I think her hair might actually be turning lighter---we will see.

Daddy and Daughter at the Wedding

Girl Shot

Wonderful Family Photo

On the charts!

This is how I found Margaret this morning after sleeping an amazing 12 hours!

I think she had a great night!

Yippee-Margaret is actually on the charts for a six month old! We visited Dr. B. last week for Maggie Moo's six month check up, and she weighed in at 12 lbs. 14 oz. (5th percentile). She was 23 1/2 inches long (almost on the charts--she's grown 8 1/2 inches since birth-amazing)! One of the most impressive numbers was her head circumference, 43 cm (55th percentile), so I guess she has a pretty incredible brain in there (and a family history of large noggins).

What a beautiful child! She continues to impress us with her growth and development. She has wonderful head control, plays with and reaches for toys, knows her name, coos and sings for us, sucks on her toes (very impressive and limber), and most nights sleeps like a champ. We are so in love with her and honored to be her proud parents.

She loves her exersaucer---very busy girl!

And that smile--we could just eat it up!

Fresh out of the bath tub

Baby Bird

Last week was very exciting, because cousins Charlie and Hudson were here. We were going nonstop all week--- Adventure Science Center, the zoo, Ice Age 3D, and swimming at GG Ma's house. We also had delicious meals at Mama Susie and Daddaddy's house. The boys love Margaret and were so sweet to her all week. They are going to be good big brothers to their new baby sister coming later this month; we can't wait to meet her!

Hudson is swimming like a pro!

Charlie is a little fish too.

I caught Margaret smiling at herself in the exersaucer's mirror yesterday. It was precious and so much fun to watch her discover! Have a good week!

Happy 6 Months, Margaret!

Happy 4th of July!

We had a fun-filled week celebrating my brother's birthday (I need to get those pictures from my dad), relaxing by the pool, and gathering at G G Ma's pool house for a 4th of July BBQ! Here are some adorable photos from this week. I love this first one because Margaret is obsessed with her hands. She has been in love for quite some time, but this week she can't keep them out of her mouth!
We had our friends, the Wackerlins, over for a cookout one night, and they brought their precious Molly (2 1/2) and Cooper (10 weeks).
This picture cracks me up, because both daughters look a lot like their dads.

Pool-time

Don't you just love the hand pose?

I think Margaret was done with the photo-shoot at this point.

She looked like she was going to beat me up.

Precious--I love that bottom lip!

Have a great week-we will be 6 months on Thursday-wow!

Swimming, Father's Day, and NC Trip

Can she get any cuter?

Margaret's First Swim

Wearing her adorable Strawberry Swimsuit and Hat
Swimming at G G Ma's House with Daddy

Wade's wonderful Great Uncle Neil passed away a few weeks ago.

After a family graveside service, we gathered at G G Ma's House for a luncheon.

Margaret joined us for lunch and enjoyed sitting with Great Aunt Libby!

Almost every evening, Margaret and Daddy go for a walk outside.

She is usually a little bit fussy and in need of some attention and distractions,

so Wade enjoys walking her around the trees and flower beds.

She is going to know all of the scientific plant names by age 2!

Happy Father's Day 2009!

Here we are at the end of a long, special day.

Margaret and Daddy have fallen asleep.

Wade's favorite thing to do is smell Maggie Moo's head.

She has the best smell--I don't know how she gets it,

but Wade thinks that it is the best Father's Day gift of all!

We started out the day opening gifts from Margaret

and making Daddy a special Father's Day breakfast.

Then we headed over to Grandpa Rick's House

for a delicious lunch with Wade's favorite, lamb chops.

Great Grandpa Rick was even there!

We spent the afternoon out at Arrington Vineyards celebrating the birthday of our good friend, Linsay Ozier. It was hot out there but a good time to get together and celebrate!

Then we traveled back into town to eat dinner at Mama Susie's house and wish Daddaddy and Great Grandaddy Bob a Happy Father's Day!

Mama Susie even made a yummy cherry pie, another one of Wade's favorites!

A few days later my good friend, Marie Anderson, stopped by for a visit.

She is living in New York, acting and teaching drama.

We had such a fun visit; Margaret just loved her!

Driving to North Carolina to see Aunt Lolli, Uncle Michael, and the Cousins!

Cousin Charlie fed Margaret a bottle at Cousin Hudson's Baseball Game.

Cousin Hudson took good care of little Maggie Moo.

He loved to entertain her, and she loved all of the attention!

Cousins are so much fun--we love them!

(Charlie, otherwise known as Batman, wore his Batman PJs all week!)

Aunt Lolli loving on Margaret--we can't wait to meet the baby girl coming in July!

Kissy Time with Aunt Lolli

(Aunt Lolli is wearing the prayer necklace we made for her.)

Kissy Time with Mama Susie

Margaret was such a good baby on this long trip. We had to stop many times to feed her, but other than that she was pretty happy. Mom and I spent four days up in North Carolina. We enjoyed wonderful food, a day trip to Asheville, and spending time with Laura before she gives birth to her baby girl.

Over the past month, we collected beads and sweet notes from family and friends and made Laura a prayer necklace to wear during labor. We presented the necklace to her during this trip along with an album full of letters, poems, scriptures, and wishes. It was a very special trip, and the next time we see them they will be a family of five!

Margaret continues to grow and make the most incredible accomplishments. Lately she is reaching for objects and pulling everything close to her mouth, especially her hands. She likes to grab her ears and yesterday she almost had her toes! I caught this cute video on my phone last night---she loves to spit and make noises with her mouth, so Daddy and Maggie Moo were copying each other--what fun!

5 Months Old!!!

Margaret is 5 months old today! We have no idea her current weight or length, but she is definitely filling out her 3 month outfits. Hopefully, she will wear some more 3-6 month clothes before she actually turns 6 months. To be honest, I hate to see her grow too quickly, because I love this little infant stage.

She continues to battle reflux, but we haven't seen many eruptions in the last week or so. We just have to use all of our little tricks to keep the milk down. She still sleeps in her car-seat at night. We tried using a wedge again in her crib, but with all of the extra room she wakes herself up and doesn't know how to soothe herself back to sleep. We'll get there---it's just a process.

Margaret and one of her first boyfriends, Crosby, at the mall--what a cute couple!!!

One of the best discoveries of the week was Margaret's tongue. She found it, and it makes noises! At first, I thought she was hungry and offered her a few varieties of milk. She wasn't hungry at all; she just wanted to make some noise---so enjoy!

(Sorry about the picture--I used my phone to take this video.)

Photo Time

My favorite photo---so far!

SMILES

Love the bottom lip

She was pushing up on her arms.

(Alternative Tummy Time)

Margarita

The start of a great friendship

Sugar Pie

Bubbles

Beautiful Girl

These photos are some of my new favorites of Miss Margaret. I finally found a way to copy them from my phone!

We are all doing well. Margaret surprises us each day with new tricks: giggles, jibber-jabber, rolling over from stomach to back (I can't seem to catch it on camera!), batting at objects, taking naps, sleeping through the night, pushing up on her arms, and SMILES, SMILES, SMILES!!! I weighed her last week on a puppy scale at my friend's vet clinic (I was desperate to know), she was 10 pounds, 12.5 ounces---what a big girl!

Enjoy this adorable video of Margaret and her jibber-jabber taken the first week of May!