Time Flies

Our girl is 1 month now. I guess I should throw away all of my hopes of posting regular updates; we seem to love keeping ourselves too busy to just sit and reflect. As I type, bottles are in the sink ready to be washed, and Philip is hanging sheetrock in the pantry he is building off our kitchen into the garage. This past week, I felt like I looked at Hallie and didn't recognize her because she's changing and growing so fast. I don't want to stay so busy that I miss things as she gets older!


We went and took pictures on Friday since Hallie turned one month. She got hungry and had to eat while we were taking pictures. Our girl will not get on a schedule. She never drinks the same amount of milk, and it's never the same amount of time in between feedings. When I try to make her wait to eat (because I think it hasn't been long enough), she screams! I don't know if this is why I haven't figured out a daily schedule or if she's not on a schedule because I'm not on a schedule? We'll get there-soon I hope!! Here are a couple more 1 month pictures.

Like her Dad!

This evening after getting home from Hallie's doctor appointment, I had planned to be productive and get some work done since my office hours have been pretty skimpy as of late.  BUT...I ended up having an awesome night hanging out with Lacey and with my baby girl sleeping on my chest (I love it when she does that).  We just laid around, and it was great...she is so precious...I can't help but stare at her.  And now Hallie and I are up late.  Well, she just fell asleep.  It's probably not a good thing, but she is already like me in that her days and nights are a little mixed up.  She stays up late, likes to sleep alot, and likes to eat a whole lot...sounds like her dad to me.  The only difference is that she is so cute while she does it all.  I am so proud to be her daddy!  "God, help me to love Hallie the way you call me to love her.  Help me to love her sacrificially.  Thank you for her.  She is a beautiful gift from you.  I give her back over to you--She is yours."  Although she seems to be like me now, I pray that Hallie becomes more like her heavenly Dad everyday of her life.

The Last 10 Days

Hallie's now been a part of our lives for 10 days! I will try to do a quick review of the past week and a half (with pictures of course).

Day 1
I went in at 7:30 to have labor induced. Everything (except the very end) went really smoothly, and at 10:13 miss Hallie Grace was born. She weighed 6 lb 3 oz and was 19 in long. Perfect!
Day 2
We had lots of visitors at the hospital. Hallie was dressed for her debut in a cute little outfit with a big pink bow, and in our defense, the bow didn't look as big in person as it does in the pictures.
Day 3
After a lazy morning at the hospital, we were both discharged. The outfit that we had picked out for Hallie to wear home was a little (or a lot) too big so we had to improvise. She still looked precious in her little green outfit. I rode in the back seat with her on our way home because I may have been a tad nervous.

Day 4

The first night at home was a little rough, and we had to ask guests not to stop by until late afternoon so we could get rest. When we finally got moving, Philip put Hallie in her swing to test it out. She's got a little growing to do.

Day 5

We made a trip to the doctor's office on Saturday because Hallie's bilirubin levels were high when we left the hospital. She had a great golden complexion, but it turns out that it was jaundice so the doctor prescribed the biliblanket. So we had our very own little glowworm for a few days.

Day 6

Sunday was our church vision-casting day. Tim, Wes, Codi, and Philip all spoke; I really wanted to be there, but it was a little more difficult than I expected to get out without Philip being there to help. Philip's parents, sister, nephews and my mom, grandparents, and aunt all came over as well as the Gregorys. So, needless to say, we had a busy day without making it to church. You can really tell how orange Hallie was next to Caleb and Faith.

Day 7

We had another doctor's appointment that was pretty uneventful. Then, we took Hallie to the church to see the people Daddy works with. Even though the day wasn't extremely busy, miss priss decided she wanted to sleep for about 6 hours (we couldn't wake her up at all). To bad it wasn't at night! This is how we end up by the middle of the night.

Day 8

Hallie is 1 week old! We had our first day at home with no visitors and nowhere to go. It was a nice break. At 11:30 P.M. when Hallie is always wide awake, we took some pictures to commemorate the occasion.

Day 9

We had another lazy day. Yay!! My mom came and spent the day with us. Then, some of the students stopped by after Encounter to meet the newest member of the student ministry. That night, we finally got a picture of me giving Hallie a bath. Turns out sponge-bathing a baby is a pretty quick process, and we couldn't seem to coordinate Philip getting the camera before I finished.

Day 10

The Mataks came by to visit during the day. Philip is the GCM football chaplain again this year, and the first football game of the year was tonight. It's just the little one and me, and it's hard to believe how great she is. She sleeps a lot during the day, but when she's awake, she is so content. I find myself not wanting to put her down; she's so wonderful.