February Snow!

Wow, have we had a ton of snow this February.  We have had 2 consecutive 12 inch snowfalls (February 21 and February 25).  It is absolutely crazy.  Maybe the drought of 2012 will officially be over.  The snow has been absolutely beautiful, and I have LOVED having Aaron work from home, since the roads are so terrible.  For the first snow, we burned a fire in our fireplace for 2 days straight.  It was awesome.  However, for the next one, our firewood stock was pretty well depleted or buried in snow still.  Several people lost power for the second snowfall.  Fortunately, we only lost our cable and Internet.  I do have to admit, Aaron and I weren't sure what to do without these two conveniences.  What on earth did people do before these technologies were invented!

Here is a picture of Aaron scooping the massive snow.

 

 

 

We were very fortunate that Amy's friend Mark had a Bobcat!  He made cleaning the drive off both times so easy.  While Mark was plowing the driveway, Amy was snuggling up with Miss Whitney.  We have been keeping her indoors to avoid any winter flu.  Oh how excited we will be for Spring to come!

Happy 1 Month!

Hip Hip Hooray!  Whitney is 1 month old today!

Aaron and I can barely believe that our baby girl has already reached her one month milestone.  She is becoming much more animated with her smiles and eye contact.  We just can't get enough of Whitney.

Her first month has been filled with many new lessons and adventures for us as first time parents.  It is crazy to see how fast each day goes.  Aaron and I have been learning a ton.  We really are very lucky to have each other to share in this journey.

During Whitney's first month, she experienced many firsts including:

• 1st car ride
• 1st pediatrician visit
• 1st walk in the park
• 1st photo shoot
• 1st bath
• 1st mommy and me outing
• 1st smile
• 1st tummy time
• 1st and 2nd snow
• 1st blowout in her diaper
• 1st grand baby loving from Grammy and Grandpa Dix and Aunt Amy
• 1st Valentine's Day and mail
• 1st President's Day
• 1st visit with her cousins, Aunt Marcy, Grandma and Grandpa Pennington
• 1st Daddy and me babysitting
• 1st Grammy and me babysitting

We cannot wait to see what adventures are yet to come in month 2.  Hold on tight Whitney!  We are going to take you on your first road trips!

1:53 am...so worth it!

My baby girl gave me the best present of all at 1:53 am this morning!  How can anyone hate early morning feedings, when this beautiful face is staring back up at you.  I love this girl!

Whitney meets her Aunt Marcy and Cousins!

This past weekend Aaron's Sister Marcy, three children (Vincent, Samuel, and Laura), and Grandma Pennington came to KC to meet their new cousin, Whitney.  It was so nice to see our nephews and niece.  It is quite the trek from Meade to Kansas City, so we were glad they took the time to come and visit. 

We had a great time catching up with everyone.  The boys, Vincent and Samuel, were completely enthralled with the iPads and who can blame them?  They are 7 and 5.  Uncle Aaron even loaded some new games on the iPads for them.  I think they could have played the iPads all weekend and been totally fine. 






Laura was so cute around Whitney.  She was giving Whitney kisses and hugs the entire time.  While I was nursing, she would pat Whitney's head and just love on her her.  It was so priceless.  I really think Laura and Whitney are going to have so much fun growing up together. 





Saturday, Aaron let me escape with Marcy and his Mom for a couple hours.  Marcy's birthday is February 20th, so we needed to check out some birthday shopping for her.  Aaron was great, signing up to watch 4 kiddos, while the women headed out for a few hours.  I was super impressed.  I texted him while we were out, to just check in on how he was doing and he texted, "Babysitter of the year over here.  Take your time!"  Aaron is such a great father and uncle.  Whitney and I are so lucky. 



Sunday afternoon, the crew headed back to Western Kansas.  Aaron and I did a little picking up of the house and then just crashed.  It is so nice to have visitors, but it is also so nice to just relax with the three of us.  We look forward to heading out West with Whitney for her first trip to Meade over Easter.  This will be the biggest adventure yet, for our baby girl.  Get ready for 6 hours in a car with a newborn!

Happy 1st Valentine's Day Whitney!

Today we celebrated Valentine's Day.  It was extra special, because it was Whitney's very first Valentine's Day.  For only being 3 weeks old, she is already a popular little lady.  She has a mantle full of Valentine's cards and presents to boot.  We have to say thank you to Grandma Pennington for the super cute Valentine's outfit.  Also, a big thanks to Grammy Paula for her cute red booties and book!  We had a fabulous day enjoying all the love and chocolates.  Well, Mama enjoyed the chocolates!   

Aaron did a great job making me feel extra special this Valentine's Day too.  He brought me a soy chai tea latte from Starbucks and a cinnamon roll from Dolce Bakery.  I had been telling him how much I was craving a Starbucks, and how they needed to really consider delivering.  It is quite the process to take a newborn out for just a craving.  Basically, you can cross those off my list of to dos these days.  It was such a wonderful delivery this Valentine's Day after being up with Whitney during the night.  He knows me oh so well.  He also surprised me with flowers and chocolates.  I do have the very best husband ever!

I treated myself today to a haircut for Valentine's Day.  Grammy Paula came over and watched Whitney all by herself.  It was a little weird to leave Whitney.  I felt like I was missing something the entire time, but it also felt great to get out of the house and get a little pampering.  I have been a bit of a slacker lately on this whole getting ready thing.  I was glad I could get dolled up for Aaron, when he came home from work.  I had dinner and chocolates waiting for him.  It was so great!








Aaron and I have so much love this Valentine's Day.  Not that we didn't have it last year, but this year, Whitney has given us even more love to share with each other.

Mommy & Whitney Hit the Town!

Okay, so I did it!  I officially went out with Whitney all by myself.  We headed towards Shawnee Mission Medical Center for a breast feeding support group.  I got all of Whitney's belongings packed in her diaper bag and loaded Whitney into her car seat.  I was so pumped telling myself, I can do this.  It felt AWESOME to get out of the house for awhile.  Let's be clear, the car seat process was not without tears for Whitney, but she eventually settled as the car got rolling. 

I really enjoyed the breast feeding support group.  It was great to share my experiences with other mom's and hear their stories.  It reassured me that I was on the right track.  The bonus of the support group too is that I get to weigh Whitney.  According to their scale, she was 7lbs 15 oz.  That was almost right back to her birth weight.  I was so excited.  I really look forward to going to these classes until I return to work.  I would highly recommend these groups to any new moms. 

Tonight, the Hickman's also came to visit.  Whitney was able to meet Michael, Tarryn, Coen, and Clay.  So fun to have so many friends already and just be a few weeks old!  It was great to catch up Hickmans!  Thanks for coming down to Kansas!

Sleep Daddy...Sleep!

Today marks Aaron's first full week back to work.  Happy Monday, Daddy!  We tried a new sleep schedule last night, which did wonders for Aaron, but was definitely a challenge for me.  I felt like I was pulling a night shift at a Cerner conversion, except this conversion didn't end and allow for sleep during the day.  Aaron was able to get a full night sleep, while I got up with Whitney and went through the normal routine.  It was definitely tough, but I was so glad that I was able to help Aaron get a full nights sleep.  Even if it meant, I only got a couple hours.  I mean, who wouldn't want to spend some quality time with this cutie pie. 
 

Nights have definitely been a learning experience for Aaron and I.  We are a great team, and I am so lucky to have such a supportive husband that will get in there and help me out during the night.  It makes a huge difference.  For all you husbands and dad's to be, if you can do this one small gesture for your wives, trust me, they will be so appreciative.  Thank you, Aaron!  I couldn't do this without you!

Nursing at night has not been the easiest, but my little lady is definitely doing much better.  I continue to call upon my patience as she figures out that my breasts are filled to the brim with milk.  I really have to thank the last three years, while Aaron and I were trying to conceive, to appreciate the lessons of patience.  I could wait all day for my cutie pie, if I had to.  However, last night Whitney was such a rock star about getting down to business...FINALLY!  In the past she has been slow to wake up and she is quite the "grazer", as I call it with her nursing.  But last night she woke up, nursed, and went to bed pretty fairly easy.  I was like YES! YES! YES!

I am so loving being a mom.  I have the most wonderful baby girl that I could ever ask for.  Whitney and I have had a great time bonding during our early morning hours.  I know that I will treasure these moments forever.  I really couldn't imagine spending this time with anyone else.  I love you so much, Whitney!