randomness

It takes about a week for me to process what's happening in my life, hence the delay of the Father's Day post...

So we'll go back to last Monday.. I had my "annual" lady appointment. I had a few concerns. Prior to Hartley's grand arrival, there was some friendliness.. I mean like less than 24 hours before her arrival. Marshall tried to convince me numerous times that I had nothing to worry about.. but I would feel flutters in my stomach every now and then. So for about 4 months I was 38% sure that I was pregnant.

Hey, Isaiah! His necklace is for teething!

After the exam, I jokingly asked, "I'm not pregnant, am I?" Maybe I should have been like, "DOCTAH! Check my urine, blood, and do an ultrasound because I- I mean, we- can NOT get pregnant any time soon."

I think he laughed.. and said no.

[He also did a simple procedure to remove a polyp. Ouch. Eh, it wasn't too bad.]

Anna twirling.

So that happened Monday. For two days my mind is at ease about the pregnancy thing.

Hello, Thursday, nice to see you again.

I got a call from my brother that morning. Random...

"Hey, are you pregnant!?"

No, why?

"Because I got morning sickness again."

Well, it's not me. I just went to the doctor Monday and he said I wasn't.

Or am I?!! Well, I kinda laughed it off. Thursday progressed. By lunch time I wasn't hungry. Marshall and I even went to Chick-fil-A and he finished most of my meal because I didn't have an appetite. And that afternoon my stomach started aching- just feeling different.

This continued Thursday evening and Friday I stayed in bed most of the day.

Oh.. and guess what else happened Thursday...

My doctor called. I wasn't able to get to the phone in time, but he left a message.

"Hey Amanda, it's Dr. ___. I was just calling to talk to you about the results from your exam and about your procedure. Everything looks fine, I just need to discuss somethings with you. I'll be out of the office Friday. I hope you have a good weekend and I'll talk to you Monday."

Stomach drops even more.

I waited all weekend to hear from him. It's like back in college and going on a date with a boy and he doesn't call. Oh wait, that never happened in college. Anyway.

Hello, Monday, you're finally here.

And my doctor called and I asked him about 3 times if I was pregnant. He said I wasn't. And my pap smear looked normal, actually he said it looked "great!" And my polyp wasn't cancerous. I thought you'd want to know all the details. :)

So, I had a little stomach bug. I barely ate anything Thursday or Friday. I'm still trying to get my appetite back. Unfortunately, it's hurt my milk supply. So, we're trying to nurse as often as we can, pump, eat lots of food, hydrate, and rest. And count wet diapers.

Father's Day pictures

I realized I never posted pictures from Marshall's (real) first Father's Day. I got him a card last year because we had just found out we were expecting. It was pretty awesome. It had a magnet that said, "There are 256 bones in the human body; I'd like to jump every one of yours." Or something like that.

This year he got a card that I can't remember what it said. I'm going to save it for next year, too. Oh yeah, it said something about me being a perfect wife.

I think Marshall had a good Father's Day. Hartley got him a hanging basket. Maddie got him a bird feeder. And Sassy got him an old man knee pad for when he's gardening. (Sassy is quite the gift giver, we had no idea!)

I gave Marshall approval to buy himself a new push lawnmower. Aren't I nice?

I made us coordinate and take family pictures. Hartley's dress is yellow with blue embroidered flowers.

Her look is completed with a matching hat. And Marshall and I wore blue shirts that go with her little flowers. And my top was less than $4 from Target! And my Momma bought it so it was FREE!!

I hope he enjoyed his first Father's Day. The next day we celebrated with the entire family and had steak, shrimp, and LOTS of corn. If I didn't make him happy, the corn did.

We're going to the beach in two weeks! I asked Marshall if we were going to take the classic white-outfit-beach pictures. He said he wanted us to wear pink. We might just have to do both, I guess!!

five months

Hartley Mo! You are 5 months old today!

What are you up to these days?

• We start our days around 8am. Sometimes you wake up early, around 7am like this morning, but we can usually get you to go back to sleep (not like this morning). Pacifiers are wonderful! And so are swings!
• Nursing has become much faster! You usually eat about 10 minutes per side! And burping is a lot easier, too.

• You're still easily distracted when you're nursing, especially when Daddy laughs. I've found that holding your hands helps keep you focused. That has become my favorite part of nursing, the hand-holding. You grasp my fingers and move them around or just hold on. It's sweet.
• You are down to 3 naps a day. Your schedule is so much easier now! If only you could sleep a solid hour and a half! You still prefer 45 minute naps, but we know the swing will extend it.

I need a good caption for this one!

• You are really good about going down for a nap! You were fussy last week, partly because I think you were teething. Instead of going straight to sleep, you "play" for about 20 minutes. You squeal and roll around. Sometimes it sounds like there's a bird in your room (like right now).
• As far as teething goes, you don't have any teeth. I check every morning and after every nap! You have days where you get really fussy. You also chew on everything! Drool is our new friend, and we'd much rather have that than spit up. Your diapers are also pretty runny from the excess drool.

• Toys are your favorite thing now! You've gotten so good at grabbing and holding them. This amazes me when I think just a few weeks ago, we would hand them to you and you'd easily drop them. But now you see what you want and go for it!
• You definitely know how to roll over from front to back, it's just getting you in a good mood to do it. And rolling from your back to side is the reason you scoot around so well! I love letting you lay on my chest though. Sometimes you squeal and bury your face in my neck. So sweet. :)

• You started this mmming sound recently. You make noises through your closed mouth, especially when you want something. Sometimes it sounds like you're trying to say mama. Oh please do!
• You love the dogs! They get in your face and give you a lick, and you reach for them and pull their fur.
• You are still exclusively breastfed, although I think you're ready to start some solids. You were reaching for my cup this morning as though you wanted a sip. And you get excited when I give you teething tablets (they dissolve in your mouth). I think I might try some rice cereal soon, even though your pediatrician wants us to wait until August.

• Around 5:30 you have your "dinner." We keep you up for about 2.5 hours. You help us make dinner (scoot around in your walker and get in the way.. Maddie must have taught you that). You play on your mat while we eat or sit on the couch with us. Every other night Daddy gives you a bath; sometimes I help. Then it's one last nursing and Daddy gets you in your crib around 8:30pm.. You usually don't make a peep after this.. but I know you squirm around before you finally fall asleep.

• You sleep so wonderfully through the night! There was a week that you kept waking up during the night, but I think it was teething related. After we gave you a paci and Emmie you went back to sleep.
• Everyday becomes more interesting as you learn more about your world. Today alone you surprised me by reaching for my cup, trying to grasp my face, and really working to get a certain toy. Who knows what you'll learn tomorrow!

thirty before thirty

Jumpin' on the bandwagon and striving to make my 30 before 30 list. I'm going to cheat a few and list tasks I've already accomplished.

1. Get Married.

2. Buy a House.

3. Have a Baby. One down, 2 more to go. And I think I might want to get 'em all out before I'm 30. Overachiever.

4. Eat Shrimp. Yeah- I live an hour away from the coast and I've never eaten shrimp or any seafood for that matter, besides canned tuna when I was young. Marshall thinks I would really enjoy it, especially the fried variety, but I just can't imagine eating anything that swims in the ocean with all our pollution and waste. And I think the texture is really strange. I'm the type of eater that gets weirded out by different textures.

5. Learn how to Sew. And actually make cute stuff. I'd love to make little bags, outfits, pillows, anything! I think that's my Grandmommie coming out, but I'd also really enjoy it and the many compliments I would receive. :)

6. Take a Photography Class. I've been wanting to do this for a while. This also includes actually purchasing a really nice photo editing program.

7. Take a Dance Class with Marshall. You'd be surprised with how much we (mainly me) dance around the house. I think it would be so much fun to do this in public, even more so with other couple-friends.

8. Avoid Eating Out for a Month. Of course, if you want to pay for my meal you can! I'm bad, especially now with a baby, about grabbing a meal through the drive-thru when I'm running errands. This would actually mean no Sonic for a whole month, too. This one's gonna be hard!

9. Make Homemade Ice Cream. I eat it every summer, but I've never made my own. This means Marshall and I have to purchase an ice cream maker. I would want to experiment with different flavors, too. We know a wonderful Wendy's Frosty recipe!

10. Make Homemade Baby Food. I've only got a few more weeks before this starts rolling! We have lots of squash and zucchini in our garden that Hartley will hopefully enjoy!

11. Lead Worship. I've done this in the past for small groups, but I've never lead an entire congregation. I'm constantly being encouraged to lead, but I hold myself back. I know I would enjoy it, but my nerves get me.

12. Buy a Car. Whenever I think about getting a new car, I imagine myself with a gameshow announcer's voice saying, "A BRAND NEW CAAAARRR!!" Applause, Applause! Marshall and I have never had to buy our own vehicles, thanks to hand-me-downs and a certain individual being ridiculously smart and driven (that would not be me..). I would like an SUV, gently used (1 or 2 years old), non-leather seats, CD player, and everything must work in it!

13. Save Money. Can I get a "What What!"

14. Create a Cleaning Schedule. For instance, laundry on Mondays. Clean certain rooms on certain days, etc. That way the house continuously stays clean. And a must- clean the kitchen before bed every night. It really bothers me waking up to a dirty kitchen.

15. Teach my Children Music. I want my babies to appreciate music. I'd like to teach them basics for piano and guitar. If they would like to pursue further lessons, then we'll provide for them. And if they want to play drums, violin, cello, etc.. that's alright with us!

16. Create Future House Portfolio. We plan on building our permanent house in the next 10 years, this being the house we live in for the rest of our lives. We need to gather samples of ideal materials, furniture, colors, accessories, etc. that we want to incorporate in our home. It will be compiled into a 3-ring binder. If we see something in a magazine that we just love, we can tear it out and put in the binder.

17. Stay Current with Appointments. This includes dental (twice/year), eye and lady (once/year).

18. Learn Tennis. I'm very athletic, but tennis has never worked for me.

19. Obtain a College Degree. Okay, I was getting lazy and wanted something I've already accomplished. GO DAWGS!!

20. Read a Book. Yeah. Just one. This has to be a non-childrearing book. It can be self-help, a devotional, or a sappy love story.

21. Run a Half-Marathon. This would involve training, which means I have to get in shape too.

22. Go on a Cruise! Marshall and I have never been on a cruise. We've actually never been to the gulf together either. Maybe before baby number two comes along we can knock this off the list.

23. Honor our Parents. And not just on their respective birthdays, mother's day, or father's day. I'd really like to send them on a weekend getaway. Or make a car payment for them. Our parents have helped us a lot with our wedding, school, and moving into our new house. We owe it to them all.

24. Fill Empty Picture Frames. I'm really bad about buying picture frames because they were a good deal, then not putting a picture in them. We've got 2 super nice frames in our dining room that have been empty for over a year.

25. Help Decorate my MIL's house. My mother-in-law always asks for decorating advice. In January she asked me to help decorate the playroom (and her bedroom, front porch). A few days later Hartley decided to arrive early; the playroom still looks the same. I seriously want to help her and this will take time.

26. Find my Hair Stylist. I haven't been to the same stylist to get the same hair cut in forever. I want to find that someone and see them every 6 weeks. Because I'm a mom now, and that's what moms do.

27. Be on Wheel of Fortune. What? You've never wanted to spin the big wheel and yell out letters? Marshall and I would make an amazing team. Just wait.

28. Win Something. Kinda similar to going on WOF, but I've only won few things in life. Lots of Mello Yello in 5th grade, Barbie trading cards when I was like 7, and a layette last year. I'd like to win something super nice- like a shopping spree!!

29. Create a Unique Recipe. I "create" new recipes all the time, or at least tweak ones that I find. But they're not special or different. I want to make something that I've never heard of before. And when I'm 75, my grandchildren can say that their Nana (or Grammy, Mandy, whatever) invented that, whatever that is. And my food invention will be a clue on Wheel of Fortune. Double Whammy!

30. Have a Surprise 30th Birthday Party! This is up to all you guys out there. Help me with my list!!

It's interesting looking over my goals and noticing 2 striking themes. Food! And Hobbies!

our home.

Our house was an eyesore before we bought it. I'm talkin' 'bout the ugliest house in the neighborhood. It had zero curb appeal!

It was also a foreclosed home and had been vacant for a year. Thankfully one of our neighbors cut the grass while it was familyless.

Click to see the bigger picture.

But now it's beautiful and is filled with a wonderful family, 2 crazy dogs, and lots of spit up and blowouts!

Marshall says when's he out working in the yard now, walkersby always comment on how good it looks. Yeah- it was that bad.

How did this transformation take place?

1. Bleached the exterior. (and unsuccessfully restored the shutters)
2. Moved the ginormous gardenias in front of the big (dining room) window. They are now elsewhere in our yard.
3. Moved around other bushes.. I have no idea what they're called.
4. Planted annuals, boxwoods, pencil holly, butterfly bush, and rosemary. And Marshall transplanted about 30 azaleas, only a few survived.
5. Extended the bed in the front and around the pine trees.
6. Laid sod!!!
7. Restored the shutters to their burgundy color.
8. Filled in the beds with pine straw.
9. Swept off walkway.

I helped with items 1, 6, 7, and 9. Oh and I took pictures. That's my job.

Have you tackled any projects lately?? Or taken pride in your husband's work?

debbie downer

I'm having a pity party today. Would you like to join me?

You can come sit at my house and listen to Hartley cry during her nap. While we're enjoying Hartley's sonata in C minor, we can wait for the craigslister to pick up our old blinds. Because they should have been here at least 3 hours ago.

If you get bored sitting, you can help me find the teething tablets. Because I lost them sometime over the weekend. They could potentially ease some crying. And not just Hartley's.

Or you can train the dogs to play outside and not scratch at the door.

And if Marshall gets called in tonight, you can go take care of the dog.

Any takers?

she is her father's daughter

Even in utero, I thought Hartley looked like Marshall. When Hartley was born, though, everyone had mixed opinions. Some people were dead serious when they said she looked like me. I didn't see it, still don't.

Marshall's daddy enjoys pulling out really old photo albums.. so this is what we looked at yesterday. This is from circa 1982. Actually June 1982. Marshall was 6 weeks old.

And this is Hartley at 6 weeks old. At least somewhere around that age.

Striking resemblances, huh? Check out Marshall with Grandmama Moore.. and Hartley.

I love how they have the same expression!

I really wanted to find a good one of Rebecca, Marshall's sister, and Marshall because our niece Anna looks sooo much like Rebecca (her mama). Those Moore genes are pretty strong!

Unfortunately, so are their personalities. We flipped through some albums and, even though I've seen most of the pictures before, I get worried with those mischievous expressions Marshall had. There were pictures of him climbing into and on to everything- the dishwasher, stairs, shower. This is what we supposedly get to look forward. Oh joy.

Austell.

I was telling Marshall that someone from Austell had been visiting my blog.

Me: "Someone googled my blog and hit it multiple times."

Marshall: "That sounds dirty." tehehe.

So- who are you from Austell??

Happy Weekend!

It's only Saturday, but we've had a restful weekend so far! For the first weekend in a while, we were all at home. We didn't go out of town, Marshall wasn't on call, we had NO plans!!

Can you believe Marshall let me sleep in? How does this happen, you ask. Well, I lay in bed and nurse Hartley. Once done, Marshall takes over. Then I fall back asleep. I got to sleep in until 10:30am. This doesn't happen often, but it was well needed since I've had the allergy crud this week.

As for Hartley's nap, something clicked this week. She's sleeping longer. Sometimes I hear her wake up in the middle of her nap, she might squeal or whimper.. or in today's case squeak like a bird, but she falls back asleep. It's not every nap (considering there are only 3 a day); yesterday she had 2 good ones! Today was only one, the last one.

I found her with Emmie covering her face. She does this a lot! Hartley has learned how to cover her face with Emmie or a burp cloth and then remove it. She usually squeals when her face is covered.

The camera was too loud and woke her up. That was the point, though. It was time to eat dinner! She's yawning and stretching.. and yes, her paci is still in her mouth. Oh, she's discovered how to pull her paci out, too. Sometimes she manages to put it back in (usually upside down).. or throw it. :)

And she's definitely happy when she wakes up! But I'm not quick enough when it comes to nursing. She gets so upset when we sit down to nurse and I'm not ready. Geesh. I always tell her she should be thankful that I don't have to heat up a bottle.. or she'd have to wait even longer!

Now that she's dropped her last nap, she enjoys some quality alone time on her playmat while Marshall and I eat dinner. We're in the same room and we'll say hey to one another, but she's usually fine playing and watching us.

Well, this evening we kept hearing her poot... some major poots. She's not bashful with them. This went on for a few minutes, we finished our meal, watched tv, and then I looked over and she was laying on her side..

She had, by far, the biggest blow out. Ever.

It went to her shoulders. It was sooo messy, we dare not lay her on the changing pad. Marshall did a mid-air wipe-down. You can see the very filled diaper in the background. This picture doesn't do justice.

Fortunately it was bath day. And the above picture is mid-squeal. She's really getting into her noises!

She's so much fun. When she gets really fussy, sometimes it sounds like she's trying to say mama. She also does a mmm sound. I promise I work on dada too!

Hartley is really loving her toys these days. During dinner, sometime around the blowout, I saw her eye a toy, reach for it, grab it and bring it her mouth. She also holds her toy with one hand, uses the other to bring it her mouth, and then snatches it away with the first hand. And she's still working on grabbing her feet.

Have a Happy Father's Day weekend! Marshall definitely will! He got himself a new lawnmower!

Facebook.

It really surprises me with some of the statuses I see on Facebook. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy reading about my "friends'" problems, joys, relationships, etc. But I think some people should limit what they put out there.

Have you heard about peoples' homes being burglarized because they let the whole world know they were on vacation via FB?

My favorite status updates involve a relationship dissolving, including comments from other friends asking what happened. Please don't ask how your friend broke up with her baby's daddy on the internet.

And all those people who are at work and updating their statuses about work?? How do you get stuff done?! Perhaps it's because everyone has internet on their phones these days (except me.. I just got a camera feature on mine), but the past jobs I've had involved ZERO access to Facebook, let alone the internet.

What crazy status updates/wall posts/comments have you seen? And what's TMI in your opinion??

And please don't invite me to a party that's all the way across the state.. or a concert that's at midnight. But go ahead and posts tons of pictures.. especially babies and new homes.

Re: Hartley's Name

I posted a month ago about how we decided on Hartley's name. Well, we learned some valuable information last week about Marshall's (and Hartley's) genealogy.

"So apparently" one of Marshall's great-great-great-great-great-grandmother's last name was Hartley! We're not positive to what extent of greats.. but somewhere down the line it's there on his dad's side.

AND! On his mother's side there is a great-great-great-great-grandmother (again not sure) whose first name was Caroline!

So there you have it. Hartley Caroline Moore is a family name.

Quote from this weekend by my mother (talking to Hartley): I thought your Momma was crazy naming you Hartley, but you are a Hartley.

Hmm. How sweet?

schedule progress

I'm beginning to think we've almost mastered Hartley's schedule. At least it's a lot better than 2 months ago. Hartley still prefers 45 minute naps. I tell her everyday Momma decides when she sleeps and when she wakes up. But she ignores me.

I've tried many different methods to get her to take longer naps. What doesn't work? Well, mostly everything. Shh-pat? Nope. Cry it out? Heck no. Pick her up? Nuh-uh.

Hartley is the type of baby that gets even more upset when she sees me.

Sometimes, mainly in the morning or middle of the night, we can just give her Emmie and her paci and she'll go back to sleep. This doesn't work much during the day. What works in the day.. the swing. The swing we spent so much time weaning her off. But she falls back asleep in it. It helps us get past the 3 hour mark (meaning she eats every 3 hours or more).

Hartley is becoming faster at nursing, too. We used to spend 45 minutes nursing. Now we're down to about 20 minutes. Sometimes it's less, especially when Daddy's home and she hears him laughing. It's kinda funny. She gets distracted very easily.

My baby sleeps through the night! I like to brag about this. There were a few days last week where she would cry in the middle of the night. I think it was teething related. Paci + Emmie = Sleep. An easy fix that Marshall can do!

Hartley eats her dinner (still mommy's milk) around 5:30 and we play, cook dinner, bathe, and hang out with Daddy until 7:30 or 8pm. She has successfully dropped her last nap! We nurse one last time before bed. Then Daddy gets her ready for bed. That's their time together. Even if he's sweaty from working in the yard, he still gets to hold her and put her to sleep. (We think it's funny to say that considering Marshall's occupational field)

There are rough days now and then. But for the most part I have a predictable schedule. I'm so glad that we're finally here. Of course, things are going to change when we have to drop another nap, extend time between feedings, start solids, blah blah blah. Yay.

Columbus and Swimming

Last Monday I realized it would be awhile before we'd be able to make a trip to Columbus. So we made some last minute plans, loaded up the T-rex with Hartley's essentials, and headed to my hometown to visit with family.

I knew there would be perfect pool weather, so I went shopping for Hartley's first poolside attire. We easily found a shaded float, but I could not find any bathing suits! TJ's only had 1.. and it was a 2T. She was given an 18 month size.. but she's only 4 months. You do the math.

While Hartley took her morning nap, my mother and I headed to Target. I'd heard they had some. But did they have 3-6 months?? No! Did they have 6-9 months? Well, yes.. but a very limited amount. We actually decided on a 9-12 month suit.. considering Hartley has her Daddy's long torso. And it fit! And she was a bathing beauty!

She wasn't sure about the water at first, considering an anonymous grandmother just plopped her into the float. Hartley must take after her momma.. slowly going into the water. Inch by inch. Little by little. And then she was fine!

As for my bathing suit (because I know you're curious), I found it at TJ's. I was wanting a tankini to cover my horrendous mom body. Pooches and diminishing linea negras aren't pretty.

I had so much fun! And Marshall was nice enough to take Hartley back inside for a nap. And he fed her when she woke up! And then came back to the pool for more swimming! Enough time for me to burn my white skin!

My brother and his family joined us, too! This is Brian with Emma. Do they not look alike or what?! When Emma was born, she looked just like me. But now she resembles her daddy much more!

Putting sunscreen on kids is quite a chore. They're wiggly and would much rather jump in the pool.. or eat goldfish.

But Emma and Jayden love the water! They're having their second birthday party in July. Can you believe that at their first birthday party we announced we're pregnant? Neither can I.

We're back home now and mostly settled in. Jim had pink eye and we took precautions. But the past two mornings I've woken up with a scratchy throat. And I just felt blah this morning. Oh, Marshall... please come home and take care of us girls!

And HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY, SASSY!!!

my little reader

Hartley has been enjoying tummy time lately, contrary to what Grandmommie and Daddy may see.

I have a feeling this is a glimpse into Hartley's elementary years..

Oh, hey Momma. I was just reading. And making my duck face.