Luxuries These Days

I need to do a quick post to apologize to everyone that has tried to call or email me these past 5 weeks. If I have not gotten back to you yet, I am SOOOO SORRY!! I cannot believe what a crazy life change we have just gone through..and I cannot seem to stay on top of emails and phone calls these days. I promise I have not forgotten about anyone, and I REALLY do want to talk to YOU!!! It just seems like as soon as I go to pick up the phone to return a call, the little one decides to go a little nutty! HA!! :) Guess he does not like not having all of the attention! LOL! :) And sometimes I think I will call everyone back during his naps....but shoot, most of you work, and he naps during the day!! :) So I am out here..and we will talk very soon! :)

Oh...and sorry that the thank you notes from the past 5 weeks have not really gone out yet either. They are coming!! I promise! :)

I think the two biggest luxuries with a newborn these days are phone calls and showers. :) I never seem to be able to do either! LOL! :) I have learned to master the art of the 6 min shower..since that is about how long Braden's attention span is. :) At about 6 minutes he is bored of being in the bathroom with me and he starts "the wimper". :) So there you have it....those are two of things things that I miss the most at this stage. Oh..and then I just wish I had about 5 more hours in the day when he is sleeping...to get everything done! LOL! :)

Back Update

I wanted to thank so many of you for calling and emailing about my back. I really appreciate you all checking on me..THANK YOU! :) You are very sweet. :)

The back is MUCH better...praise the Lord!! :) I think the chiro visits 3 times per week have really helped a ton. And I am sure the fact that I am 5 weeks post partum has helped out as well. I am so excited to be able to walk more than 15 min at a time, go up and down stairs, and just be a pseudo normal person again. It has been a huge weight lifted, as caring for a newborn was very hard with major back issues.

So hopefully it will only continue to get better over the next couple of weeks. I just need to watch it and be careful. Sometimes when I feel better I get excited and like to overdo it...so I just need to remember that I am still healing. :)

I go next Friday for my 6 week check up with the OB, and hopefully she will say I am all good to go...and I will get released from the pregnancy care. :)

But thanks again for asking...things are getting much better! :)

Mr. Smiley

Mr. Smiley is what we are calling Braden these days. :) The smiling has started and is increasing every day...and it is just so cute!! :) We have been trying to capture it on the camera as much as possible...but of course we have missed a few really good grins. The pediatrician said it is going to increase like crazy over the next 2 weeks...so we are excited about that!! Maybe we can get some on video too this time around. :)

We also love how he is babbling and cooing up a storm. He just talks and talks and we just laugh. SO CUTE! :) I taught him the Aggie War Hymn this week among some other songs! LOL! :)

We went to the pediatrian for his one month check up on Friday the 25th, and he is growing like a weed!! YAY!! Up to 22 inches in length and 8 lbs 13 oz in weight. So fun! :) So being that he is almost 9 lbs...that means he gained 3 lbs this month. The pediatrician was super excited about that! YAY! :) We got a great report on everything..and she said he was doing great developmentally and physically. Huge praise!! :) She thinks he will be able to sleep through the night by his 2 month check up. YES!! :) Here's hoping! :) Although, I REALLY cannot complain at all b.c we have him down to about 1 feeding per night at this point. Go Braden! :)

Here are some pics of our little man in Week 5.....

The smiling we have been talking about... :)
Just hanging out... :)
Love the eye to eye contact....
Sweet yawns...
Hmmm....let me think about this..
The new lifesaver!! :) We can put him in the Baby Bjorn and actually get things done around the house!! YES!! :)

The Big 3-4!!!! WOW!

So I turned the big 3-4 today. WHAT? How am I that old? I feel like I should be like 28 or something...right? Seriously!! :)

I can definitely say that it feels different to have a birthday as a mom. Pre baby birthdays vs. post baby birthdays just feel a little different. :) I guess part of it might be b.c Chris and I are not able to run out to a fancy dinner with a 1 month old, and just be our crazy selves. :) HA!! And b.c we have another little person that we get to take care of now...and put his needs above our own. So let's just say that we have learned how to be really creative on the weekends now! HA! :)

Some of our friends, Cliff and Erin, offered to come and keep Braden so we could go out to dinner for my birthday. How sweet are they? They are the reason that I got to go out on a date with my hubby on my actual bday!! Thank you both so much!! You guys rock!! :) You have no idea how much we appreciate you taking care of our little man so we could spend an hour or so having dinner together. :) You guys did a great job, and Braden told us that he really liked having you both over here!! :) Sorry if he might have cried a lot since he was tired and overstimulated from the day. :) I hope that you won't stay away b.c of that in the future. HA! :) Seriously.....we GREATLY appreciate you both. :)

So it was a good 34th! My hubby took care of me like he always does..he is so amazingly thoughtful!! :) Bring on another good year!! I am ready!! :) WHOOP!! :)

Gorgeous roses from my hubby for my b-day.....awww.. :)
Sweet Cliff and Erin who helped us out IMMENSELY!! :) The best babysitters!! :)

YUMMY Hayashi!! :)
Fried Rice with Kobe Beef... :)
We love Blue Moon... :)But we might love sushi more!! :)
Go Frozen Custard!! :)

How did I end up holding all 4 treats? :)

One Month Birthday!! :)

Braden is one month old today....yay!! :) Happy Birthday Baby Braden! :) We love you...

I Am Growing Up!

Braden is growing like a weed and it is SOOOO fun to watch!! :) We are guessing he has to be at least 8 1/2 lbs at his 1 month pediatrician visit on Friday. If you remember, he was 5 lbs 14 oz at his first pediatrician appt at 4 days old. So he is growing, growing, growing! :) And we love that healthy little baby boy! :)

We are excited to see how much he weighs when he gets on that scale. :) More than anything he is getting long...and that is fun too! He went from 20 inches at birth to 21 inches at the 2 week visit. He MUST be more than that now b.c he is growing out of his newborn clothes from a length perspective. Sometimes I put them on and his legs are all squished up....and I am thinking "how the heck did you grow overnight? This fit earlier this week!" HA! :) So I am sure we will be moving into our 0-3 month clothing stash within the next few weeks. Yay for Carters who make their clothes bigger....as that might save us some money in the long run. LOL!! :)

Here are some updated pics of Braden. He is such a sweetheart!! :)

Oh and this is crazy...we found one of Chris's baby pics and Braden looks IDENTICAL to him as a baby!! Holy cow! Here is the pic of Chris's mom being wheeled to her post partum room after Chris was born. She honestly could be holding Braden in her arms. CRAZY!! :)

More Fun Visitors...

We have had LOTS of fun visitors coming by to meet Braden...and that has been so great!! We have loved having everyone over and introducing them to our new son! :) For the most part he has been very cooperative and allowed everyone to hold him without having a complete meltdown. :) Thank you Braden! :)

Once again, I have COMPLETELY forgotten to take pics with everyone that has come over. Sometimes I just get so wrapped up in coversations with them that I totally forget to take a picture. So now I am way behind on getting some of our good friends in those photos...boo!! You all MUST come back! :) Melissa, Michele, RaeLynn, Aunt Joyce, Paula, Matt and Alicia, etc.....you guys all know that you skipped out on the pics!! HA! :) Just to name a few of you! :)

Below are some more pics of our recent visitors..

Meredith and Drew came by to play..... :)

Sweet little Jan came by to hold him.. :)

The Bellville Fam hanging out with all of us... :)

And I have NO idea what Braden's face is doing in this picture! HA! :) It does not even look like him... Lance is all smiles....

Cass and Dana just cold kickin it with the little one... :)
Kristen came by to meet the little man... :) And she brought her cute galoshes with her.. :)

Chris May loving up on Braden....
Tyler and Elizabeth May wanted to take a peak at him.. :)
Tyler and Braden share the same birthday and same middle name..so fun! :)

Chris's mom was back in town to play for another weekend....and she was loving her time with her new grandson. :)

Newborn Photo Shoot

Fun times on Sunday afternoon as we did Braden's newborn photo shoot!! It was so fun and I know the pics will be so great!! :) Our good friend Courtney is an awesome photographer and she and her hubby Mike took great care of us, (and of Braden), on Sunday!! :) Our plan is to use these pics for our baby announcements....so you should see them in your mailbox sometime in the near future! :)

Courtney is very creative and had some fun ideas on things that we could do with him..and to him. HA! LOL! :) He was pretty cooperative overall, and luckily he did not have any bathroom accidents on her furniture while he was in the naked poses. LOL!! :)

I cannot wait to see these fun shots!! Especially the one where we put Braden in a cowboy hat..too fun!! HA! :)

Here are a couple of fun pics from the afternoon... :)

Yep...that's my little man in there. We were getting ready to start shooting. :)

Courtney and Mike looking like total naturals with Braden... :) They were soo good with him!

Schedule or Bust!

Oh yes...one super fun part of being a parent is trying to get your baby on a schedule!! Gotta love it!! Well I knew that scheduling was inevitable, and that I was too much of a planner NOT to have Braden on a schedule at some point. The sooner the better I thought!! :)

Some of the books that I read said that anytime after 2 weeks was fair game to start moving in some sort of scheduling direction. So at a little over 3 weeks we decided to give it a try. We thought we had nothing to lose, so why not just see how it goes with our little man. This past weekend we started somewhat of a schedule..and knock on wood, it is working relatively well. HA! :) We also moved him to his crib on Saturday night so that helped out a ton. Although, I am not going to lie...I sure did miss Braden when we moved him out of our room and to his crib that first night. I think I stared at the video monitor most of the night-ha! How crazy emotions are after the baby arrives! :)

So basically Braden goes down in his crib between 8-9 every night...and he gets up to start the day between 8-9 am the next morning. We usually feed him once before we finally go to bed at night, and then we wake up once or twice during the night to feed him again. He sleeps about 4-5 hours at a time which is so nice!! :) It helps Chris and I out a ton. :) He is such a good baby. :)

Then during the day he eats, plays for a little while, and then naps. He does pretty good with those naps during the day as well. So overall, it seems to be working as best as it can with a 1 month old. :) It helps me to plan out when Chris and I can have time together, and when I need to be up to get my things done, etc. So it is good for us....as well as for him. Let's hope that this continues!!! We are praying for it to only get better as he gets a little older. :)

Regarding our days at home as a twosome (now that Chris went back to work full time this week).....it is very different than my life pre-baby! HA! :) I spend a lot of time looking at these 4 walls and reminding myself that this is just a season, and in a few weeks Braden and I can get out and be more active. The pediatrician really wants us to keep him out of the general public for about 8 weeks due to flu season..so we are trying our best to do that. :)

This past weekend we decided to get out as a family so that I would not go completely stir crazy. :) Friday night we headed to Central Market and ate outside b.c the weather was amazing! We picked a table in the very far corner where no one would see or touch him, and we covered the car seat so he could just sleep. Chris and I enjoyed the live music and some good food for an hour or so. It was VERY good for me to join the land of the living for just a short time! :)

Then Saturday night we decided to go and get Chili's TO GO...and head out to Brushy Creek Park for the evening. So we sat outside and just enjoyed our time outside of our living room! HA!! :) Here are a couple of pics from our second family adventure.. :)

Go Chili's..YUM! :)
Go Corona...more YUM! :)
Of course Braden slept the entire time... :)
Chris took him on a little walk when dinner was over.. :)

More family adventures to come!! YAY! :)

Nap When The Baby Naps....

Oh yes...the ever popular saying "Just nap when the baby naps". Um...yeah, ok! I have no idea who made this idea up and thought it would actually work. I think what it really should say is "Nap when the baby naps, AS LONG AS your mother is in town to help with cooking, cleaning, and to watch the baby when he/she wakes up". I am not sure if some of these women's babies are napping for like 4 hours at a time or what. That would be the only way that I think it could actually happen. Honestly, they would have to be sleeping that long in order to get EVERYTHING done while they are asleep, and nap yourself. Is anyone else with me on this one?
I heard this numerous times BEFORE Braden arrived.....and it worked pretty well when my mom was here the first week and a 1/2. But now that I am at home by myself all day..that is one luxury that I just don't get to take part in. How I wish I did. :)

Maybe our house is the only household that cannot seem to get anything done when our baby is awake. :) Even though we would love to sleep....we still have to eat, clean the house up, pay bills, take care of our household type things, etc. You get the picture. :) So if anyone has any really good ideas on how to do this (other than hiring a daily maid, cook, accountant, etc)...PLEASE share! :)

Now don't get me wrong..Chris and I are VERY blessed. We have a pretty good little sleeper on our hands, and we get a "decent" amount of sleep at night. I know that it could be a lot harder if we were not sleeping at all. So no complaining from the Bugbee household..but I just think that saying is so funny and so impossible...all at the same time! :) Huge kudos to all who can do it..you are my heroes! :)

Top Ten Reasons Why.......

I just thought I would share the top ten reasons why I completely adore my son!!! :) We hit the three week mark yesterday and he has been so much fun! :) We are loving our little family of 3! :)

1) I love the way he nuzzles into my neck and wants to cuddle when I hold him.

2) I love the way he coos when you are talking to him...just like he knows exactly what you are saying and is trying to have a conversation. :)

3) I love the way he grunts and gets all aggressive when he eats...kinda of like he is saying "Don't you dare take any food source away from me!!" :)

4) I love how cute he looks in blue. :) Dressing him up is so much fun. :)

5) I love the fake cry that we can already recognize. Hysterical! :)

6) I love his little fingers and toes. How the heck is he that small? HA! :)

7) I love that he is already on his way to being on a schedule. What a joy for Chris and I! :)

8) I love watching him turn his head from side to side when he is having some good ole tummy time. :) What a strong little man! :)

9) I love that he loves to eat!! He fits into our family perfectly! HA! :)

10) I love that he sleeps well and that he takes naps. I know that I will love that even more as he gets older. Let's just hope it lasts and we don't have regression! :)

He's a keeper! We cannot believe that he have been picked to parent this little guy. We love you Braden! :)

3 Years Ago Today....

Three years ago today I was one VERY HAPPY lady!! :) It was the day that I got engaged to the most incredible man ever!!

I think most people know our story but the quick synposis is:
1997-Met at Texas A&M through mutual friends
1998-We both graduated and headed in separate directions
1998-2005-We both focused on our careers-Chris got his Masters in Public Administration and moved out to DC to work at the Dept of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the White House. I went to work at Dell and lived in Austin, Nashville, Dallas, and then back again to Austin. We kept in touch, traveled to visit one another, and were great friends during this time but it never turned into more than a good friendship.
2005-Chris and I reconnected and something was completely different. We started talking in July of that year...and decided to pursue our relationship further by Halloween. The rest is history!!! :)
Oct 2005-May 2006-Dating long distance between DC and Austin
May 2006-Sept 2006-Chris moved to Austin from DC, and we got engaged on Sept 17, 2006 in Savannah, GA
Sept 2006-May 2007-Engagement
May 2007-The best day of my life...my marriage to my best friend of almost 10 years!! :)
So now that you have the quick summary, I can get into the best part-the most amazing engagement story that I could have asked for!! Have I mentioned how creative my husband is? WOW! :)

We had been on a few trips leading up to our engagement. After each trip we would fly back and sadly not be engaged. I was so confused and wondered why it was taking so long-HA! :) Patience is not a virtue I possess by the way! :) So I struggled with the waiting piece of the whole engagement puzzle....and of course it was more than worth the wait. :)

Chris and I had planned to take a trip to Savannah, Charleston, and Hilton Head. I had wanted to go there for so long, and we decided to go to celebrate my birthday a week early (since my b-day is 9/25). We booked our flights, and I booked our hotel and car for while we were there. We were all ready to go and I was sooo excited!! :) We flew into Savannah on a Friday evening, and once we got into the rental car, Chris said to me "Um...there has been a slight change in plans." I was like "WHAT? Are we NOT going to Savannah?" He just laughed and said "No, we are going to Savannah but there are just some changes in the hotel plans. I booked some different places than what we had originally planned." I was so confused but I was along for the ride. And I am so glad that I trusted that sweet man b.c. I was in for a complete treat! :) Little did I know! :)

Come to find out, Chris had booked the most AMAZING and FANCY bed and breakfasts that I have ever seen. They were straight out of a movie!! :) We stayed Friday night and Sunday nights in Savannah at different places...and then Saturday night in Hilton Head. All of the places just blew my mind, and every time we checked in, there were gorgeous flowers waiting for me. I was so confused. :) I really was not sure what was going on at this point. :) When we did not get engaged the first night, I just assumed that this was another fun trip we would take but more than likely I would still have to wait for the engagement. So we enjoyed the most awesome weekend of sightseeing, being tourists, eating great food, and taking loads of pics!! We had a blast!! Chris had booked so many neat things for us to do, and so many great places to grub it up! :)

Then Sunday night came..and we checked into the Mansion at Forsyth Park. UNREAL!! Love that place! :) Chris was so excited to get out to Forsyth Park across the street from the hotel...and start taking some pics. It is like a mini central park and it is very pretty. I could not understand why he was so anxious to get out there, and I honestly just wanted to rest from all the craziness. But I gave in and we headed out to the park to take pics. I failed to mention that Chris had bought a fine new Nikon camera (I still did not catch on)...and he had brought a tripod with him on the trip (still not getting it). So we headed out there and found the perfect place to set up for lots of good pics. Chris wanted to get some of us in the park, hence the reason he had the tripod. So we proceeded to take MANY pictures over the course of the next 30 min or so. It was fun to be silly and get some good shots. Chris would set everything up, hit the button, and then run over to me and pose. After about 50 pics like that..he hit the button and ran over to me and got down on his knee. I FREAKED OUT!! The coolest part is that the camera was flashing like crazy and capturing all of this!! What a fun idea! :) So he said a million wonderful things and asked me to be his wife. I was ECSTATIC, and of course I said yes among a ton of tears and other blubbering. :) I was in so much shock and so very overwhlemed with emotion. WOW!! After being the best of friends for almost 10 years...we were finally engaged!! :)
We spent some more time out at the park taking pics and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. There were champagne and strawberries waiting, and of course we wanted to call everyone and share the great news. :) So after a scrumptous dinner, we called all family and close friends and shared our fun stories! :)

To this day, I could never have anticipated such an incredible engagement or a weekend that included so much time and preparation. I was so spoiled and I felt like a complete princess. :) Chris-you completely blew me away, and you have made me the happiest woman in the world since you got down on your knee 3 years ago today!! Thank you for all you have done for me, and for sharing life and so much love with me everyday!! :) I LOVE YOU!! :)

Here are some pics from our fun engagement weekend in the Southeast.. :)

Fun tours that we took...
Pretty Savannah...
Beach at Hilton Head....
Hanging out at the Salty Dog in Hilton Head.....

Good lunch at Paula Deen's restaurant....The Lady and Sons.. :)

Just hanging out waiting for our grub....YUM! :)


Chris posing for me... :)Loving up on the mint juleps in South Carolina..

More posing by my cute hubby....... :)

AWESOME B&B in Savannah-The Kehoe House (where Tom Hanks stayed when filming Forrest Gump).....
The rooms were just so pretty.........and so quaint! With the best big balconies out front..loved it!
First set of very pretty flowers that Chris had sent...

Gotta smell the roses.......

The Main Street Inn in Hilton Head...so cute!!

More pretty flowers at the 2nd hotel.....
Nothing better than relaxing with a glass of wine...
All smiles about this wonderful trip... :)
Our favorite hotel of the trip...WOW!! The Mansion On Forsyth Park...
And more gorgeous flowers.....champagne and strawberries.. :)
We love Forsyth Park!!! :) Where we got engaged...yay! :)
The actual place where we got engaged in the park....awwwww :)
Before the proposal....

I am in shock!!! YES, I will marry you! :)

Thumbs up!! The weekend plan worked! :)
Officially engaged!! :) WHOOP! 700 Drayton....where we had our wonderful engagment dinner!! But I think we were too excited to eat! :)
Dinner fun........

Champagne toasts and calling our families and friends....... :)