Delainey's Baby Dedication

Luckily I wrote this right after it happened because I just got the pictures today. Here it finally is!

On Sunday Delainey, David, & I participated in our church's baby dedication ceremony. It is basically us publicly saying that we will raise our daughter to love the Lord, and provide a strong Christian foundation for her upbringing. They also ask the family members if they will help. It is a short and sweet ceremony. The difference between a baptism and dedication is that in our church we wait until Delainey is old enough to accept Jesus as her savior to do the baptism versus doing it while she is a baby and has no choice.

After Church we all went back to my mother's house for lunch. When I was growing up, we had a Sunday tradition of going to my grandpa's (Bumpa's) house for a spaghetti lunch after church. It is one of my favorite memories because all the cousins and kids could play while the parents got to hang out. Once we have more kids, we will hopefully carry this tradition on at my parent's house instead of going out to lunch. 

We decided to relive the tradition for her Dedication party. We had a feast for lunch that included salad from Buca di Peppo, spaghetti and meatballs, eggplant parmigiana, sausage peppers and onions, cake pops, and a pizookie (cookie cooked in a deep dish pan then topped with ice cream; it's heavenly!) Everything was delicious. After lunch we all just hung out and talked. People who were there included the Richie's, the Griffin's, the McLaughlin's, the O'Days, Kenty, & the Turbedsky's. It was an awesome day and we are thrilled to have such a supportive family to help us raise D to love the Lord.

Also, Aunt Kelli & Uncle Jeff bought D a jewelry box for her dedication present. I have been wanting a jewelry box for her for quite some time but couldn't find one. I used to have one with a ballerina that spun and I wanted the same for her. Kelli found the perfect one at Potterybarn Kids. Delainey loved it! She stared at the ballerina spinning forever. Thanks guys!!

Overall it was a fantastic day that we will remember forever!!

17 weeks

Delainey is almost to the 4 month mark! She is growing up so fast! Next Tuesday we have our 4 month appointment with our second round of vaccines. I am hoping she does just as well as she did last time. We have been hanging out this week trying to get my milk supply to increase. D is one skinny mini and I am worried she is not eating enough. She seems satisfied after each feeding but according to when I pump she is only getting 2 ounces and the average kid her age should get between 3 & 4 ounces. I started taking a vitamin called Fenugreek and it seems to be working so I am excited.

We love our MudPie outfit! Thanks Aunt Kel

Other than that we have just been trying to set up our health insurance since we had it through St. Johns County and I am clearly no longer employed there. We quickly found out insurance is EXPENSIVE! But I am not one to gamble, so we will just suck it up and pay the monthly amount for that "just in case if something happens" occasion.

Yesterday we went to watch the Bartram Trail Volleyball team play. Delainey was a little startled at how loud it was a first, but after a few minutes she loved it. She sat on Grammy's lap and watched contently for almost 2 hours. I definitely miss coaching volleyball, but it is just too time consuming to do with a young baby. I would definitely like to get back into it once D gets a little bit older. Who knows maybe I will be her coach someday because she has no choice but to love volleyball! :)

 

Anyways we don't have any big plans for the long weekend, but I am sure we will end up doing lots of fun stuff...maybe some boating, beach, who knows. I can't believe September is already here. We are so excited for all of the upcoming things that are starting this month. D starts My Gym class once a week, I start the mom to mom bible study weekly, I am starting a bible study with my girl friends, we are doing a girl's supper club once a month and I'm hosting this month, we are doing a couple's supper club with my sis and her friends, and I signed up to do a month of working out at a place called Timed Exercise with a personal trainer. It is going to be quite the busy month, but lots of fun things to blog about!! I hope you guys have a great Labor Day weekend!

Happy Bday to the Best Sis in the World!

Happy 25th Birthday Kelli!! I can't believe today marks my baby sisters 25th birthday. Not such a baby anymore. Kelli has grown into a beautiful young lady who I can truely call my very best friend. She is always there for me when I need her and could quite possibly be the best Aunt ever to Delainey. I could not have wished for a better sister. Yesterday Dad was asking what our favorite memory of Kelli was. There are too many to name, but some that popped into my mind are our wild times in Tallahassee at the bar, her always having my back no matter what the situation, and just watching her interact and loving D so much. I hope you have a great birthday Kel and I can't wait for many more together! We love you!!

Weekend Recap

This entire weekend was spent celebrating birthdays. On Friday night we went out to dinner at the Pier Cantina & Sandbar to celebrate Mom's birthday. It was our first time eating there and I was very impressed. The food was delicious and it had a great view! After dinner we went downstairs to the bar area where we met up with some friends and watched a friend of mine sing. His music has a reggae feel to it; he's awesome! We had a great night celebrating Terri and hanging out with great family and friends.

View from our table

 

On Saturday we woke up and went out to the beach for alittle while. It was a beautiful day despite the oncoming hurricane. The waves were huge, so we didn't go in the water but we did swim in the pool for a little while. Later that evening we went to Marcia's house to celebrate Elizabeth's (David's older sister) birthday. We had a delicious home cooked meal and just sat around the dinner table reminiscing about the old days.

 

 

Sunday we got up and went to church then ate lunch at Five Guys. Delainey went to the nursery for the second time. They said she did really well which is great because starting next week she is going to be in the nursery for 2 hours on Wednesdays while I do a Mom to Mom bible study. After lunch I came home and cleaned my house from top to bottom. I love having guests, but it is also nice to get everything back in order the way I like it. Can we say OCD? :) Then last night we went over to my parent's house to celebrate Kelli's birthday. We had a feast of steak, lobster, chicken, & ribs and ice cream cake for dessert. It was a great weekend, but definitely not good for the diet. Starting today I am getting back on track to healthy eating. This upcoming fall is PACKED with things to do so I figure I better diet while we have some down time.

 

Lucky for us the hurricane has turned more West so we are experiencing a little bit of rain but nothing too severe. Delainey and I are enjoying the day sitting inside being lazy in our pajamas. Sometimes it is nice to do absolutely nothing. Anyways, I hope everyone had a great weekend. Talk to you soon!

D & I after church

Delainey got some new toys to play with when we are at my parent's house. She was laying on the floor playing and Tiki would not leave her alone. She kept giving her kisses. It was cute!





Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to the greatest mom in the world! I really am blessed with a great mom and an even better Grammy for Delainey. She is always there to help with D, cook us a meal, or do our laundry if we are having a bad day :) and that is just the beginning of all the things she does for us. I hope you have a great day mom/Grammy! We love you!!!

We are going to celebrate with a Birthday dinner on Sunday so that the whole family including cousins can be there. I'll post some pics of the birthday dinner later but in the mean time here are some pics of my fantastic mother! :)

Mom, Kelli, & I at the Gender Reveal Party

 At my baby shower for D

D & Grammy in the Keys!

Happy Birthday Grammy!

16 weeks!

Delainey is 16 weeks old today! We ran some errands (ie. shopping) today and then had dinner at La Nop with the McLaughlin's. We have been stocking up on fall/winter clothes for D. For anyone that doesn't know me well, I love dressing for winter weather! The turleneck is my go-to item when it's cold. It has become the on going joke with all of my friends. When we have a party to go to, everyone always asks what each other is wearing. They always say well we know Jamie will be in a turtleneck! haha Anyways we purchased D some jeans, several long sleeve onesies, and lots of cardigans. We also got some long sleeve white onesies that I am going to have embroidered. I will show you guys those once they are finished.

David's sister Elizabeth, her daughter Paige, and her friend Joy are in town for the weekend visiting. Elizabeth has never met D so they are sight seeing around Jax while enjoying some time just hanging out with D. I think we may go to the beach tomorrow or Saturday to catch some rays before Tropical Storm Issac comes through. I think it's going to be West of us but I'm sure we will get plenty of rain. Anyways I am still trying to get the pictures from my cousin from D's dedication so I will do that post when I get them. Here are her pics from today!

 

 

She rolled!

It's official...Delainey can now roll from her back to her stomach! Last night I put her down for bed while she was still awake. She usually kicks her legs and whines alittle bit but falls asleep fairly quickly. I went into my bedroom and turned on the monitor and low and behold she was on her stomach! I was definitely worried about letting her sleep on her stomach but she slept great! She can turn her head from side to side so I thought she would be okay. I did pull the bumper up so there is space underneath so she doesn't suffocate if she rolls into it. Any advice on sleeping on the stomach? Should I force her to stay on her back? Anyways, this past week we started sleep training and putting her down to bed at 10 pm. She sleeps till 6ish and I feed her then she goes back to bed until 8 or 9 am. I have been sleeping great!

Today we are going to run some errands and have lunch at our favorite "The French Pantry" with my cousins Melissa and Kent. As soon as I get the pictures from Melissa's camera, I will do a baby dedication post. It was an awesome day! Talk to you guys soon!

How cute are these tights with the ruffle!?!?

15 weeks

Thursday marked the big 15 weeks for Delainey. We have had quite the week of changes for D. She can now stand on her tippy toes in her jumper, she has started sucking her bottom lip like her Daddy used to do, and she is sleeping between 8 to 9 hours a night!! The first night of sleep training her was rough, but the second night she slept like a champ from 10 pm to 6 am. I got up twice during the night to put her pacifier back in and she went right back to bed. Hopefully this pattern will continue. We will see how she does tonight!

Wednesday night some friends, (Matt, Sarah, and their 2 boys), came in town from North Carolina for the weekend. I grew up with Matt in Miami and have know him since birth I think. They have 2 boys ages 2 & 4 so D & I have been doing all types of fun things with them. Yesterday we went to the beach then out to dinner for the weekly Thursday mexican dinner. Today we went to the community pool where the boys played in the splash park and had a great time till we got rained out. It is great having them visit us and I can't wait till D gets a little older to play with them.

At the beach! Thanks for the precious bathingsuit Sara! :)

 How cute is this family! First time the boys have ever been to the beach.

At the pool today. No sunburn for this lady today, we have our 55 spf shirt on!

  Hanging out eating snacks since we got rained out

Tomorrow I will be busy making cake pops for Delainey's Baby Dedication at church on Sunday while David is out fishing. I will be back on Sunday to post pictures of the Dedication and lunch afterwards with the family! Have a great weekend!

"My Gym" Class

So school started back this week. For me that means, losing all my people to play with. Mom, Kelli, Marcia, and even my coworker friends have gone from hanging out during the day with us to unavailable until the weekends. So Delainey and I decided we would need to get some hobbies to keep us busy during the week. We have already signed up for a Mom-to-Mom class every Wednesday at our church, but that doesn't start until Septemeber. The two other things we are thinking about doing once a week are taking sign language classes (I want to do sign language with D before she can speak to communicate with us) and gymnastic classes to work on her motor skills.

We had a free trial today for gymnastics class at a place called My Gym. The class we took was for kids 6 weeks old up to 1 year. We really enjoyed the class. We sang songs that stretched them and got them familiar with their body parts, we went through a maze, we did flips off of our legs, rocked on a balance boat, swung on a swing, and rode in a zipline hot air ballon. D really seemed to enjoy the class. The class is kind of pricey and I am not sure how much she will benefit from it until she starts crawling or at least can sit up on her own. I think we are going to wait a little while to start the weekly classes, but it is definitely in the back of our mind when the time comes. Here are some pics from today's class.

Here's a pic of the kids getting a ride on the swing

D playing in the balls. She didn't know what to think of it.

The class definitely was a workout for her. She is knocked out on the playmat as we speak. Does anyone know of any other fun classes we could do to keep us busy during the week for a 3 month old?

New Orleans Weekend Recap

So today is Tuesday and we are just now getting back into the swing of things from the long weekend. On Thursday, we headed over to New Orleans with intentions of stopping in Pensacola and staying for the night to break up the trip. Delainey was doing so great we decided to just continue on and drive straight to NOLA. We got there around 9 pm, checked into our hotel and then headed to Bourbon street to grab some food and meet up with everyone else. Let me just say this was my first time to NOLA and I thought it would be okay if we brought D on Bourbon St. Boy was I wrong! We went one block in, found a place to eat, then sent the baby home with Marcia while we all partied it up.

D was trying to hold her bottle on the ride over. Such a big girl!

Bourbon Street

On Friday morning, we all met up to go have lunch and walk around the city. We had lunch in Jackson Square then walked around stopping occasionally at different bars to get drinks. After our stroll around the city, we headed home to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. It was at a restaurant called Drago's and it was AMAZING! I hate oysters and they were delicious. They were chargrilled with a herbed butter and breadcrumbs. All of the food was delicious and once again after dinner we headed to Bourbon street to bar hop while Marcia kept D at the hotel.

The gang in Jackson Square

 D's rehearsal dinner outfit. This pic doesn't do it justice. I never got a good one with her bow on. :(

Saturday morning we woke up and had a brunch buffet planned at the Court of Two Sisters. It was delicious, and we all know I can eat some food so buffets are right up David & I's alley. There was a Jazz band playing and mimosas were being served. It was a really nice place. After that Kel and I went to the reception site to help set up for the wedding. It turned out to be really nice. There were candles everywhere with lots of cool little touches like signs and lanterns. We then went home to get dressed for the wedding and headed over. It was extremely hot, but other than that everything turned out good. I think we had too much fun in the photobooth. All in all it was a great weekend spent with friends and family. Here are some pics from the wedding.

Please don't mind the naked baby. She was very hot in her dress so we let her hang out topless. :)

 She got some beads for taking her top off. HAHA

I'm still looking for a picture of Delainey in her dress if anyone has one please let me know. Can I just add one more thing? I just want to let everyone know that I have the BEST mother-in-law in the world! The entire weekend she watched Delainey while we were out. And I'm talking feeding her bottles at 2 and 3 am while we were still out at the bars. She took care of her during the wedding too. I can't thank her enough for making this weekend so great for us. You are the best Gammo!