wordless wednesday {little pigs}

Oh, sweet baby toes - you're definitely in the top 10 of why I'm glad to be starting over with a newborn.  :-)

be still my heart 

hadley fern {2 weeks old}

Hadley Fern, you are 2 weeks old!

On the evening before your 2nd week birthday you lost your umbilical stump and left a very adorable belly button in its place.  Daddy and I think this is a wonderful improvement!  You tried on your "little sister" onesie for the first time to celebrate this big milestone.

Just a few minutes after I took these photos you had a huge diaper explosion and not only needed a bath, but may have ruined this cute outfit.  Such is life with a baby.  :-)  Further proof towards my theory that if you want a certain picture - don't wait, act immediately.  You never know what could happen!  ha!

I'm sure this will become a tiring refrain, but I can't believe you are 2 weeks old already.  These past 14 days have been a bit of a blur between days and nights, but it seems like just yesterday Daddy and I were at  the hospital meeting you.

Your 2 week doctor appointment is tomorrow, so we'll see how much you weigh then!

At 2 weeks old you...

• eat every 2 hours during the day and 3-4 hours at night
• sleep most of the time between feedings
• have your most awake time between 8pm-1am
• love, love to suck on anything - your hands, the pacifier, mommy
• speaking of which, you are a champion nurser.  We haven't had any issues so far, yay!
• are very mild.  You cry when hungry, but that's about it.  I'm hoping we can avoid times of unconsolable crying like your brother had!
• have had lots of visitors, both family and new friends from our neighborhood and church
• lost your umbilical stump at 1 week, 6 days old
• wear newborn diapers and newborn clothes
• don't mind getting bathed at all.  I expected this to be a crying time, but you take the sponge bath with complete calm.  We'll see if you like the tub bath just as well.
• have eyes that go back and forth between looking brown and looking blue.  I think they will be brown like your Daddy's, but Asher tried to trick us with that so who knows...

We love you so much Hadley Fern!  I'm soaking up every minute of this sweet, snuggly newborn phase, but I'm also excited to see how you change and grow little girl.  Just not too fast, ok?  ;-) 

pancakes are good

Yesterday Grandma Linda made us all pancakes for breakfast.  As if that wasn't exciting enough, she upped the ante by making one little boy a very special Mickey Mouse pancake.  He was so thrilled he gave it a kiss - ha!

Hey, you.  :-)

{phone dump friday}

The iPhone cam was running hot again this week taking lots of photos of this sleeping beauty.

Hadley had her newborn photos taken last Saturday when she was 1 week old.  She did great - expect that she hated to be positioned and woke up every time the photographer tried to move her.  Stephanie was super patient and I know she got some good shots.

We got this sneak peek on Facebook - I can't wait to see the rest!

Asher and I had a special date this morning.  We went to the park to meet our play group - just the 2 of us.  Asher had so much fun playing with his friends and I had fun watching him.  :-)

It was a gorgeous day here so we went for a walk around the neighborhood.  Asher picked up 100 rocks and Hadley slept in the car seat.

They just started building a house right across the street from us and Asher couldn't be more excited!  Cement mixer entertainment?  Yes, please!

Happy weekend, friends.  We'll be celebrating a 2 week birthday around here!

daddy's little girl

They say little girls hold a special place in their Daddy's heart.  Well, I believe it.

wordless wednesday {baby ballerina}

Hadley's first hair bow!  :-)

day one

Hadley's birth day was 10 days ago.  It still feels like just yesterday.  Here's a few pics from our first hours together.  Hadley was born in a quick 2 hours of active labor and 2 pushes so when she was born everything felt like a whirlwind.

Sweet Hadley was welcomed in such a rush that she forgot to breathe for a few seconds.  After they rushed her over to the warming table she perked right up and let them know how she felt about being away from me!

After getting warmed up H came back and I got my first good look at her.  She has lots of black hair and is so, so gorgeous.

Miss H started nursing like a champ and didn't stop for an hour or so.  After that she got sleepy and relaxed on and off for the whole day - mostly in her Grammy's arms.  :-)

Once we got moved into the recovery room Hadley got a few visitors.  Her PopPop has excited to meet her!

Her big brother, not so much.  Asher was nervous around her and wanted nothing to do with sitting next to us on my bed.  I wonder if the hospital setting unsettled him a bit.  I was dressed and tried to look "normal" but it was obviously a weird scenario for him.  I expected this and didn't push him at all. We have lots of time to get these 2 together.  :-)

He did really love the present Hadley gave him, though!

After everyone left Drew, H, and I had some bonding time.  She was back awake and decided to eat all through the night!  We didn't get much rest, but that's ok.  I was dealing with some major bleeding issues and wasn't going to sleep anyway.

All in all an amazing and great first day.  Happy Birth Day Hadley Fern!

hadley's room {nursery tour}

Finally!  I've been waiting and waiting to share Hadley's finished nursery with you all!  Now that she's here and her name is out of the bag I can show all the details in the room that make it hers.

As you peek in the nursery from the hall...

Her crib with the skirt and quilt I made... 

I decided to hang the canvas I painted on the small bit of wall next to the window and above the tall dresser.  It fits there really well and helps break up the gray wall and pink explosion curtains.  ha!

Above the crib is a frame that I found at the Raleigh flea market and re-painted.  Inside the frame is her monogram that I bought here and painted white.  I love the way this simple project turned out!  

On the other side of the window is the glider and ottoman.  It's so comfortable and fits me perfectly!  The pink blanket on the back of the chair is a gorgeously soft cover that my Mom crocheted for Hadley.  I love that both she and Asher have special blankets from their Grammy.  

The ribbon mobile hangs above the chair - Hadley hasn't noticed it just yet, but I know soon she'll be riveted.  :-)

How cute is this little bird lamp?  I wanted something sweet, but small, for the nightstand and this birdie sang out to me in Home Goods one day {love that place!}.

Opposite the rocking chair is the long dresser with a changing pad on top.  This is what we did {and are still doing} for Asher and it works great.  The changing pad is attached to the back of the dresser so it's completely secure, but also removable when the days of diapers are behind us.

There will be a day when diapers are behind us, right?  Right?

Also on that side of the room is H's bow holder.  Can't wait to fill it up!

Above the dresser is a piece of art I bought from this store on Etsy.  Ashlie recommended them and now I do too!  I just love, love this piece.  It totally makes the room and is something I hope Hadley will use in her room for a long time to come.

In this world of "sassy" attitude t-shirts for little girls, I wanted to choose a Bible verse to display in Hadley's room that spoke of what God craves for her.

She {Hadley} is clothed in strength and dignity

and she laughs without fear of the future.

Proverbs 31:25

I love the word dignity - it's so absent in our culture of shallowness and insecurity {especially for women}.  I always want my daughter to think she's beautiful, but even more than that I want to fill her mind with the other wonderful and valuable things she brings to this world.

You are smart, Hadley.  You're a thoughtful friend and a caring sister.  You are funny and lovely and have a heart that yearns to serve others.  You are so important - have dignity, have self-respect in the wonderful person God made you to be!

I really can't think of anything that I want more for my daughter than for her to live a life of strength and dignity and to have laughter without worry about her future.  Hopefully this sign that we look at and talk about daily will help to instill some of this in her.

This room was so fun to put together and also a labor of love over the past few months.  Does Hadley know the difference?  Absolutely not - but I spend a lot of time in here and enjoy it immensely!

side by side

A lot of people have thrown out opinions on whether Asher and Hadley look alike.  I've heard both sides - and can't decide who is right.

I definitely don't think they look exactly the same, but there are similarities.

Asher on his birth day.

Hadley on her birth day.

Their face shapes are very different - Hadley has such a round face!  She also had really, really dark hair {just like her Daddy}.  Asher is my undisputed mini-me - perhaps Hadley will be Drew's??  Or maybe she'll just be a nice combo of the 2 of us.  Guess we'll see in time.

This is probably silly, but I think Hadley simply looks like a girl.  She has a feminine look to her that Asher just didn't have!

Who do you think she looks like?

phone dump friday {hadley edition}

Last week I was lamenting the fact that I still had no baby photos to post, not realizing that a few hours later she would be here!  This week - get ready - it's a baby pic explosion.  :-)

The phone camera really got a workout this week - especially at the hospital.  It was sort of impossible for me to use the big camera from my hospital bed, but the phone is so small and easy.  Love it!

Miss H is in love with her fingers.  She will suck, suck, suck on whatever is available.  When she found her thumb, though, I was a goner.  Is there anything cuter than a little baby sucking their thumb?  sigh

She's also in love with her Daddy

and her PopPop

Actually I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

She's just so perfect.  I feel overwhelmed at the way we've been blessed.

I'm out of words.  :-)

Happy weekend, friends.