A little bit ambitious....

Ok, so maybe we jumped the gun just a little bit.  The other day we were up in the game room and Raleigh was feeling no love for being in her swing.  There is also her bouncy chair toy...that is waiting in the game room for her to grow into.  We had a feeling that she wouldn't fit, but we decided to give it a whirl.  She was not even close to fitting, (which was quite funny) but she loved it!!  It may have to wait a while, but it looks like we have a toy that she is going to love. 

Look at her legs and her arm hanging out...so funny!

The many faces of Raleigh

Since the beginning, Raleigh has shown many emotions.  Some might call her a "drama queen."  She has begun to smile, talk, laugh and coo.  She also is very good at sticking out her bottom lip and pouting.  Recently, we went in for her 2 month doctor's appointment, and we saw many of Raleigh's faces in a short amount of time.  I had finished feeding her and she and I were sitting waiting for the nurse to come in a give her 5 shots.  She was smiling and talking to me 

and the nurse.  The nurse began to give her shots...and her face quickly changed.  It was really hard to watch Raleigh turn that shade of purplish-red and scream, but it was over soon.  To the nurse's defense, she worked very quickly and did a great job.  To Raleigh's defense, as soon as the shots were over and I was able to pick her up, she stopped crying and she was asleep by the time I got her to the car.  In the pictures you can see how her precious legs were covered in band-aids and how extremely tired she was (with a little bit of help from a friend named tylenol).  It was a dramatic day for our sweet "drama queen."

Dallas Weekend and Wedding

This weekend we made a super quick trip to Dallas to see all of the great grandparents(Raleigh's first time) and to go to a family friend's wedding.  It was such a blast to see how excited Clint's grandparents (gran gran and granny) were to see Raleigh for the first time.  She took to them quite well and enjoyed spending time with them.  Although we live only about 3-4 hours away from most of Clint's family, it is very hard to get away and go see them.  While I have been on maternity leave, we have a little bit more freedom in our schedule to be able to go and see family.  We also went to a wedding while we were in Dallas.  It was quite interesting...too say the least.  We sat in the back just in case Raleigh decided to be a little noisy...which she was very well behaved.  There was also another couple with two children that sat behind us.  As the bride was entering from the back, the mother of the family behind us decided to go ahead and feed her infant.  Let's just say, that she didn't feed the baby with a bottle, and we got to see more of her than I am even comfortable talking about!  This weekend was one for the record books.  First time Raleigh met her great grandparents and the first time we saw a (partially) naked lady at a wedding.

Happy Easter!

This was Raleigh's first Easter and she, of course, was dressed very cute!  Clint had a bazillion services at Fellowship, so RaRa and I went to church with my mom, dad and Aunt Natalie.  I have decided that it doesn't really matter if I wear a brown paper bag over my head, as long as Raleigh looks cute, we are good.

Baby Houdini

Watch out folks, we might have a magician on our hands..known as baby Houdini!  If you are scratching your head wondering what in the world I am talking about, believe me, we have been scratching our heads a lot lately.  Recently, we have seen Raleigh break out of the tightest swaddling and shimmy across her bed on her back after getting out of her "wedge."  We took all of these incidents in stride assuming we have an active baby, (if have you met Clint...this would not be a surprise) until the other day.  We came home from an errand and brought RaRa inside in her car seat.  When we went to get her out, we were at a loss for words.  She had managed to push the button to the harness on her car seat and get half of her body out.  HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?!? She doesn't have the motor skills to be able to do this.  We may never find out...watch out world, here comes baby Houdini!

The most important people in my life

I love these two people!!  They are the source of encouragement, love, admiration, and companionship.  They are of course my family.  I can't imagine a day without these two!!

Big Brother

Many people have asked us how well Titus has adjusted to life with Raleigh.  For the most part, he has done pretty well not being the center of attention anymore.  There have been some things he has done that are just kind of weird.  For example, he would normally never eat anything in the house (unless it is chocolate), but lately he has eaten Raleigh's colic medicine and a WHOLE tube of lanolin.  It doesn't seem too bad...but for days we have had a dog who looks like he belongs in the movie Grease and doesn't have a problem getting rid of gas bubbles. He has also started hiding under Raleigh's bed whenever we are in her room....some may call it adjustments, I personally think it is a little bit quirky.  We love sweet Titus and would miss him in our lives....weird quirks and all.

   

Spring Break

We had a great time over spring break.  We got a chance to see lots of family...most of which Raleigh met for the first time!  She met her namesake Eva Lorea Schaffner (my mom's mom), as well as her other grandparents.  Towards the end of the week Clint's brother and family came in.  We had a great time with them as well.  We are definitely looking forward to things slowing down a bit.

Logan was so pumped to hold Raleigh.

Karly was such a sweet helper with her baby cousin!

Raleigh and her namesake find it hard to keep their eyes awake!

Grandpa Schaffner and Raleigh

Raleigh is here!!!

On February 24th at 5 o'clock in the morning, we anxiously called the hospital to see what time we would get to come in and be induced.  We could not wait to see our sweet baby girl...and I was already starving (from having to fast the night before).  At 7 a.m., we arrived at the hospital with way too much stuff nervous about our day.  Our precious friend Linda (her husband Jeff and Clint work together) was our nurse for the day....she was amazing!!  When we went in I was already having contractions on my own.  We were pretty sure she would be here by lunch and that she was going to be a pretty big baby.   Well, we should have planned for the unexpected.  After many hours of labor (which I did not think was bad at all), the doctors decided to deliver Raleigh via c-section.  The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and body and was causing stress on her and a concern for her lungs.  At 6:47 p.m., Raleigh Lorea Ivy was brought into this...a little bit longer of a day than what we had planned, but more than worth the wait.  She weighed 7 lbs and 3 oz and was 20 inches long.   Such a tiny thing than what we had planned!  She is truly precious and Clint and I are constantly excited and overwhelmed with a range of emotions.  We are still trying to get adjusted, but be ready for a huge amount of updates to be coming your way soon!!  Thank you to everyone for your love, support, and prayers through this major life change for us.  We love you dearly.

Already has daddy wrapped around her little finger.

Precious Girl!!

Isn't she sweet?!

Raleigh is coming...

Raleigh is coming TOMORROW!!!  Ready or not, here she comes.  The doctor decided last Tuesday, that she was getting quite big and it was time for her to come into the world.  I think she is quite happy where she is and would stay as long as she could.  So, tomorrow I will be induced and we will see our baby girl that we have been waiting patiently for.  The thought of that is a little bit overwhelming, actually, a lot overwhelming.  Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and we will let you know updates as they happen.