Alabama Trip

Don't have much time tonight, but I thought I would post some pictures from Alabama this weekend. What a blessed family!!!

Grace LOVES her Uncle Greg!!!!

This is great Uncle Jerry and Great Grandma Ledbetter

This smile- priceless!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is Grandma Cheryl's good friend "Aunt" Marti and Grace!!!!

Growing and Glowing

Grace is really doing fantastic now. I can honestly say that she is pretty happy now. She is doing new things all the time. She is in her swing in these pictures and I was trying to get a picture of her smiling at her toys on the front of the swing. She looks at them and smiles! Now when she is in her swing she is entertained by all the sights/ toys on the swing and those that hang at the top of it. She smiles more all of the time!

We are going home to AL this weekend through till Tuesday morning to see all of our family and those that haven't seen Grace yet. Looking forward to this. It will be interesting to see how Grace does on our road trip and while we are there. I gotta go!-- Holly

Read 'Em and Weep!

I hate to boast about my grades (not really), but I NEVER thought with all we had going on this past semester that I would pull off an all A semester. God is GOOD! This school is way more challenging than Mid-America, so for me to do this here is awesome. But it is only possible due to the Lord's power and grace in my life. He has empowered me with a wonderful wife and great people around me to help me in every aspect of life. This thing is cutting off my GPA so, term is 3.85, career is 3.8. -Adam Undergraduate

Course Title Final Grade Repeat Attempted Credits Earned Credits GPA Credits Quality Points CE188 SME: SURVEY II A - 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.00 HS201 A CHURCH HISTORY I A - 3.00 3.00 3.00 12.00 HU422 A GREAT BOOKS SEMINAR II A- - 3.00 3.00 3.00 11.10 MS101 A INTRO TO CHRISTIAN MISSNS A - 3.00 3.00 3.00 12.00 PH112 B WORLDVIEWS II A- - 3.00 3.00 3.00 11.10 Term Totals: 12.50 12.50 12.50 48.20 Career Totals: 89.50 89.50 24.50 93.20

7 week transitions

Howdy Yall! Grace is in her 7th week now. She has made some baby progress this week. First, she has begun to notice us and SMILE AT us! Before she would smile but just randomly but now we can make her smile! She can also see a lot better and further. Today she was smiling at her toys on her swing. Yesterday I (Adam) noticed she was playing with her fingers and looking at them and later she was looking at her feet while moving them, limb discovery! She has also been sleeping in more consistent long stretches at night. Last night- 5 1/2, Sat night- 6 1/2. This is great and we are also going to work more on nap times during the day. Enjoy the pics! She has the prettiest smile we've ever seen! We have also noticed her eyes getting darker, she may end up with brown eyes like her daddy!
-Adam

Parenthood

I have had something on my mind that I wanted to post about but I just haven't had the chance! I want to talk about how I have a new outlook on parenthood and especially more thankful to my parents for raising me and my brother. I never really understood what a job it is physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I always thought in my mind that being a stay at home mom is work and it is like a full time job but I REALLY didn't grasp it. I used to think "yea, I know she is probably busy with her kid/ kids but what else does she do with her time?" Boy, do I know now!! LOL!! Now I look a parents of twins, triplets, or even parents with 2, 3,4,...7 children and I think MAN how do they do it? I imagine that your 1st child is your "rookie" child and everything is a learning experience and maybe next time wouldn't be quiet so hard just because of that. But I still could not imagine having MANY children. Most of all, I think about being a single Mom also and having to care for a baby by yourself or not really having any help, and especially when there are multiple kids involved. (This is not to say that we won't have anymore children if the Lord chooses to bless us one day with another child!)

What is funny is our neighbor is a stay at home Mom and she had a baby last year and she has got I think a 2 yr old. Last summer she bought some potted flowers for her front porch and has some shrubbery that was planted in the front of the house and it seemed like she never watered it and it would just die. Then she would buy another plant and the same thing would happen. I used to think " she stays home all the time, you would think she would at least have time for that?" Now, I know it is easy to put things like flowers on the back burner!!! LOL

In saying all this, I thank God every day for Grace and I know she is truly a blessing. We have had our trials and tribulations but we know it is only temporary!! And as someone has said, before we know it she won't even want to be held anymore. She'll be a "big girl"! All this makes me just admire other people more and especially my parents more and especially YOU MOM!!! It is amazing how you never know the stress and heartache you will have over your child, and most of all the love!!! I LOVE YOU MOM!!!

I also think what a responsibility Adam and I have to raise Grace up in the Lord. We pray all the time for her salvation and that she will most importantly love the Lord with all her heart and soul and live everyday trying to please God. Pray for us too that we will be a shining example of Jesus to Grace everyday as she grows!!! I better go now.... Holly

Random Pics

Howdy! Thought I (Adam) would post some pictures. We have Grace on her activity mat. She seems to like it when she's in a good mood. Also, Bud met a turtle from the pasture that he does NOT like! The next day I found the turtle in the back yard flipped on it's back! I scooped it up and took it across the street. Pretty flowers at the house, Daddy feeding Grace and of course Grace likes to sleep on her Daddy! She has some funny positions and faces. We went today for a weight check and she weighs in at 8 lbs. 4 oz., 20 1/2 inches (height check by me and a measuring tape). That makes 7 oz. in the past week, she's a growing! We have a baby scale a friend of ours from church let us borrow so we'll probably be checking it all the time now! She also slept 8 hrs. last night, PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CYA!! BTW, that last post about that Adam guy was pretty good. He must be a great guy! :)

Praise the Lord for Adam

I just want to take a moment to let everyone know what a wonderful husband I have and what a wonderful Daddy Grace has. Adam has been so wonderful! He has always been great but since we have had Grace he has given of himself time after time after time. He helps me tremendously with Grace!! When he is gone I sure know it!! He changes just about all of Grace's diapers when he is home and has from day 1 and dresses her, helps with her bath, calming her, giving her reflux medicine, etc. etc. He also takes care of me. He is always making sure I have something to eat and plenty of fluids. He brings me breakfast in bed every morning while I am feeding Grace. He gets up with me and Grace during the night to help any way he can. He has always helped around the house cleaning, laundry, dishes, etc. I also want to add that Grace loves her Daddy sooo much! He is always able to calm her better than me and she loves looking and listening to her Dad make his silly faces and sounds. He just doesn't get the praise enough and we have been so busy with Grace and stressed a lot of the time and I just want him to know and everyone to know that HE IS THE BEST! Thank you God for Adam! Amen!

Pics

We all went to Sears today as planned to get some pictures made of Grace and had decided to do some family photos also. We went thinking we would use their coupon and just get a cheaper package and this be it for now and do some "better" pictures later. We ended up getting most all of the pictures that they took and of course spent a lot more than we had anticipated but of course we couldn't resist when we saw the pictures of our precious little angel! Anyways, we got plenty of pictures coming so we can give you all some later if you would like. You can see the new picture of our family and the one of Grace on the right side bar on this blog.

Grace had a good night last night. Got real fussy yesterday evening but last night she slept 5 hours straight, then 3 hours, and another 2 this am. (The 5 hours is very good for her). We had a good day at church yesterday. She did great at church Sunday am. We were able to go to Sunday School and preaching and she pretty much slept the whole time. That night we went to a preschool training (to work in the nursery or preschool area) and then to preaching and she started crying about halfway through. She calmed down after I fed her and then fussed again towards the end of the service. In all, she did pretty good considering it was evening and the day she had. Gotta go!

One month old

Grace went for her 1 month checkup this past Tuesday. She weighed 7 lbs. 11 ounces. Her length is now 20 3/8 inch long. The Doctor said everything looks great. We ended up actually going up on the dosage a little on her acid reflux medicine. (We had went off of the medicine for a day because we thought it might not be helping her really but when we did we noticed a significant increase in her spitting up). He increased the dosage to match her weight now. This has helped her spitting up.

She still seems better on her crying/fussiness spells. I don't know if it is just because she is taking a pacifier much more now and with her being swaddled but when she has these spells she will sometimes take the pacifier and calm down. We also went out on tuesday and bought a sound machine because we have been reading about getting your baby to sleep and we have been trying different things to try to get her to sleep better and we are trying to develop routines so maybe she can get on more of a schedule. We are trying to at least sponge bathe her every night because we read that she will associate bath time with bedtime and that will help her develop routines and know that it is bed time. We were giving it to her any time of the day. The sound machine we are putting it on the white noise at night time and this does seem to calm her and she likes it. The main thing is that she has got to get used to putting herself off to sleep. We were holding her till she went off to sleep and then put her down due to all of the problems we have had with her crying at night we felt like we would do anything to get her to sleep and make sure she would stay asleep at night. Also, with her spitting up and possible reflux the Dr. has said to hold her up for at least 20 minutes after feeding to help with that so that also has contributed to her being dependent on us holding her while she goes off to sleep. We now have gotten her bassinet elevated on a angle to help with this. We also in the past have just placed her in her carrier at night to keep her up and help her sleep. She seems to not like to lie flat very much. Anyways, we don't want to run into problems with her being dependent on these things and want her to be able to make herself content and go off to sleep without us. So we have been trying these different things to try to work on those things. The Doctor had said you can not spoil a child in the first month and I have even read you can't in the first 3 months but I believe this may not be true. She already seems dependent on us to hold her sometimes. With her being colicky and having the terrible episodes it doesn't help because then you will do anything to get her calm and try to keep her calm and to sleep.

Sorry for all the rambling. I am posting some pics. As my brother said him and his girlfriend noticed that Grace is getting a red tint to her hair. Have you all noticed? Isn't it cute??!! There is a pic of her in her new night time garb. We have started using the swaddle me and it works well now with her. It has velcro so it will stay swaddled much better than some blankets have for us. Now we actually are avoiding giving her the paci in the bassinet if we can because the other night she kept dropping it out of her mouth and then she kept wimpering/crying when she dropped it because she couldn't get it and I kept getting up all night and giving it back to her. So I decided it would be best if she can sleep without it for this reason. Also, there is a picture of Grace where she is most content---cuddled up to her daddy!!! She rests better like this than any other way!!! (AWWWEEEE)

Grace says Roll Tide Roll!

Holly got these pictures of Grace with her Bama garb, isn't she a doll! Bud and Allie were not quite as taken aback by the event as we were though! The one picture wouldn't rotate on the blog so I'm sorry it is sideways.-Adam

More Mother's Day Pics

More pictures from Mother's Day and us before going to church!

Isn't she precious in her dress, shoes, socks and all!

Grace with Granny and Papa Brown

These two are funny to see all the positions she puts herself in! (LOL)

THANK YOU LORD!

The Lord has put a new sense of gratefulness, joy, contentment, and peace in my heart. My Mom bought me a book for Mother's Day called Changing Your World One Diaper at a Time by Marla Taviano. It is a great Christian book for new Moms. It talks about how being a Mother is not easy and it goes through her own journey and other women's journey when they had kids and goes through mostly the emotional and spiritual changes you go through. It is such an encouragement and she draws from God's Word to encourage also. As I was reading in Phillipians last night in the Bible the Lord really continued to speak to me and encourage me that he will give me everything I need (strength, peace, love, etc). We just have to give everything to Him and have FAITH.

There are so many "firsts" when you have a child. Sometimes I might sound corny but I think about all the little things that are a 1st for Grace. I want to be right there and not miss a thing! Adam's parents have been here to visit us in Louisville this weekend and we went out to eat yesterday at Smokey Bones restaurant for a late lunch. This was Grace's 1st time out to eat. She did great!! Slept the whole time in her carrier. Today was also of course my 1st Mother's Day! It was also Grace's 1st time to church with both Adam and I and the 1st time she has been to Sunday morning AM service. Once again, she did great!! She also slept the whole time. Adam and I had been worried about taking her out places, worried that she would start getting really fussy, or start screaming. But it went great! They had baby dedication at church today. Adam and I decided to wait to put Grace in it till next time due to we were afraid she might be fussy/ colicky and also Mom says she wants to be here for that. So we decided to do it the next time they have it in the Fall.

As for Grace, she seems to be better. I don't know if we are just getting use to it more now or if we have just had some good days. Friday night when Adam's parents got here late that night she was very fussy and she could be consoled for a few minutes and then she would start back. This lasted from about 9pm-1am. She wasn't screaming really though and she seemed to be consoled for brief periods more easily. The one thing is this weekend she has started to take a pacifier more now. This has been great! Sometimes, when she is fussy, or crying especially after she gets done eating, I can give her the pacifier and this satisfies her! Maybe, she does just have this need to suck??!! The whole rest of the weekend she has been great. The only times she was fussy was really when she was hungry. She also has been sleeping better. Going longer at night between feedings. Friday night she went 5 hrs. She has been going 4 hours a lot in the last few night. Last night she went 4 hrs and then 3 hrs. Adam also read that if you swaddle your baby real tight and decrease light and stimulation at night this will help them sleep. We have been trying to swaddle her but the receiving blankets we were using were not large enough to really swaddle her tight. So we used just a blanket last night and we made sure to wrap her arms up also. (We always thought she didn't like her arms wrapped up, but Adam read that when you first swaddle them up with their arms in they may not like it at 1st and then they will after a few minutes and this is suppose to help them sleep because babies have that natural startle reflex where there arms go up in the air and this will wake them up. So anyways, we did this last night as well as a pacifier at bedtime and she did great! We'll see! I've got many pics. So enjoy!

Granny (Debby) was able to get this really good smile from Grace. Isn't she Cute!!

Grace in her "Grandma spoils me" outfit.

Adam and I forgot to take the camera on her 1st trip out to a restaurant so we had to have something to show for her trip! We took this picture as soon as we got home from the restaurant with the Smokey Bones towelette in her carrier with her as a sovenier. (LOL)

Grace with Granny. Grace is so alert and cuddled up to her Granny! They feel so sweet when they cuddle up to you!!

(How many people does it take to dress Grace?) This is us getting Grace ready for church today after we gave her a bath. We were trying to button her dress!

Pics

Thought I would post some pictures (Adam). This is my sister with Bud. The lovely couple is Evan and Leah Smith who we have become friends with here (notice Evan's gangsta lean!) They brought their precious daughter Kendall who just turned 6 months old! We also have Grandpa and Grandma Brown at the Hospital with Grace. My sister Carey and nephew Kyle visited us recently and Kyle and I enjoyed a sandwich! CYA yall later!-Adam

Grace 3 and 1/2 weeks

Just thought I would post real quick while it is quiet and peaceful. (LOL). Grace and I just got back from a walk through the neighborhood and when we got back to the house in the garage she opened her eyes after falling asleep on our walk. I figured she would be awake the rest of the time and fussy because she has been today, but she has been asleep for over an hour now since we got home and she is still in the carrier. She will be waking up any time though for her feeding and when she sees she is in the carrier and it is sitting still she won't be happy! She doesn't really like the carrier unless she is in it and moving. Anyways, I am posting some pics from this morning during her happy wake time. As you can see, she does look like she is changing some! Look at that face!! Isn't it cute!!- She's waking up!-- Holly

Sorry

Holly brought it to my attention that I'm the one who started this blog and really haven't done anything with it since! SORRY. Geesh! Anyway Holly has explained (exactly right, isn't she a smart RN!) what is going on with Grace. So far today she has been great. We have realized we will have our good days and bad days. The doctor says colic usually peaks at 6 weeks old and Grace will be 4 weeks this Saturday so if she fusses more now, it is to be expected. This will all be over before you know it and Grace and me will be singing the Bama fight song together this fall (with Bud too of course). I'm doing fine (thanks for caring!), school is out now for the summer. It always feels funny when a semester ends and you have some free time on your hands, it almost makes you feel guilty. The A/C guy just left and we have air again! So, all is good here. I have now officially posted, so all of my fans have gotten their Adam update. Autographs are available by snail mail for $5.95/each (add 2.95 s/h).- Adam

Grace 3 weeks and Counting

Grace still has her crying/ fussiness spells about daily now. She was started last friday on a medicine for acid reflux. The doctor wanted to try this to see if acid reflux was the cause of her fussiness and crying. We started the medicine Friday afternoon and after 7:30 pm she had a good night and most of the day on Saturday was very good. We were beginning to think the medicine was helping and maybe this was the cause of her fussiness. But THEN it started again on Saturday night. Also, the change in my diet last week did not help either. It is obvious that she does have colic. Now we just pray it will go away quickly. We have been on many car rides with her to help calm her and do all the tricks people say may help with colic. Sometimes some work BRIEFLY. The car ride was working best for her but a lot of the time when we get home she is right back to were she was crying. It is really rough seeing her when she has her bouts of crying. Adam and I have just learned that this is something we are going to have to deal with. Continue to pray!!

I do have a PRAISE. Last weekend our air conditioning went out and praise the Lord we still have our 1 year home warranty through the middle of May that was purchased by the seller last year when we bought the house. We are getting a new air conditioning unit for little money out of pocket. The warranty covers the huge chunk of the costs!! If it would have went out just a little later in the season we would be out thousands of dollars. PRAISE THE LORD. What timing!

Grace and I went to church last night for the first time. I have been scared about taking her due to her crying and at first due to risk for her to get an infection from being around a crowd of people. Also, like yesterday morning before church we were just exhausted from the night before being up with her. Anyways, Adam had to work so it was just us two. Grace did really well. She slept the whole time until the very end of the service she started making a few noises like she was about to cry so I got up and went out with her. It was pretty much over though and I heard the rest of the sermon outside the door. It was nice though to go and here from God's word and to have the encouragement of other believers around me.

I am posting a picture in her casual summer dress she wore to church Sunday night. As you can see she has had some baby acne and we have been using cetaphil cleanser on it and it is helping. The other picture in the short outfit was from today. As you can see, a lot of her 0-3 month old clothes still swallow her and even some newborn things. Off to try and get some rest!!