Back to Work

So I started back to work this week.
I have mixed feelings about it.

While part of me is sad to leave my little girl, the other part of me rejoices in the fact that I have such a great workplace to go to, and that the people there talk back! For the most part, over the past 13 weeks, I have only had the company of my infant daughter, my dog, and my two cats. So it is nice to broaden my horizons and interact with living creatures that do more than eat, sleep, poo, and drool. (I could add bark and meow, but you get the idea.)

Haley's 12 week picture

Haley is now 13 weeks old, and officially 3 months! She has gotten so big. I finally understand why my parents' friends would always say "You've grown so much" when I was little. Kids really grow like weeds; but are much more welcome than weeds :). She's started to roll over now. Not all the time, but definitely more than once. She's also been blowing bubbles quite a bit. Dan isn't a fan of saliva, so he's not so keen on the idea, but I'm excited to see her do anything on purpose. She accidentally grabs her pacifier and throws it across the room; but to see her purposely grab my finger, or to see her watch me walk across the room.....that's progress!

Proof that Haley can roll over

Haley blowing bubbles

My gorgeous little girl

So now that I've been home for a while and H doesn't need to be held every single minute of every day, I've started cooking and baking more. For those of you who haven't discovered Pinterest...it's only a matter of time. It's a website where you can "pin" things of interest on your site and other people can check it out. For example, I have a "board" of recipes that I've taken from other people's sites. It's a great way to share ideas and things you like. In the past 2 weeks I've made banana bread, mini ricotta cakes (which are more like a cookie than they actually sound), blueberry scones, strawberry lemonade bars, homemade sloppy joes, and shish kabobs. I think Dan looks forward to coming home a little bit more than usual!

So now that we've survived the tornado, earthquake, and hurricane of August...I'm ready for September to arrive. I'm ready for cooler weather; jeans, a long sleeve T, and flip flops. Bonfires with friends. And the new cute fall outfits I got H at Carter's the other day (50% off the entire store!). I'm ready to have the humidity go away and to have the next season roll in. 

On that note, I'm going to leave you witha few pictures of my sunshine.

New beginnings

Two months later....
We have Haley Jane Coleman!!! I'll try to take a long story and make it more concise.

I had my ultrasound on Tuesday, May 24, to see how big she was going to be. Based on the ultrasound, they estimated about 8 lbs. 3 oz. I figured women have much bigger babies, so I should be able to handle that, right? My water broke early Saturday, May 28, around 2 am. Without any progression, the Dr. wanted me to head into the hospital (about 8am) to be given a dose of potocin to get things going.
Haley Jane Coleman was born at 6:39 pm, weighing 8 lbs. 12 oz., and measuring 21 inches long. (they were a bit off with their estimation of her weight!) There were a few concerns at her birth. I was so busy, that I wasn't really aware until afterwards. Haley's shoulders got stuck, and the cord was around her neck. Her clavicle broke because of it. They rushed her to a side room where a pack of pediatricians checked her out. We didn't hear her cry or make a sound; we actually had to ask, "is she breathing?" YES, she was, the Drs. were checking out her arm to see how her clavicle was. I finally got to hold her about a half-hour later. She was a bit bruised because if the battle to get her out, but she was so beautiful.

Dan was a proud daddy! Haleywas the first baby under six months old that he'd ever held! We were visited by some family and friends. Of course the proud grandparents were there. On Dan's side Haley is the first grandchild. On my side she is the first girl. Needless to say, we'll have to be careful about not spoiling her too badly!

Dan holding Haley for the first time!

Dan bouncing her to sleep on the exercise ball.

Nana Coleman holding her first grandchild

Memaw and Pap Croom with their first granddaughter

Haley is now 9 weeks old. I can't believe how fast the time has gone, regardless of how cliche it sounds. 7 weeks ago I thought we'd never get here, and although I am excited to watch her grow and to get to know my daughter, I don't want to wish away the days we are in. Haley is now smiling and cooing. She has great eye contact and is pretty good at holding up her head. She even tries to stand up when you hold her on your lap! She's a strong little girl. She has slept through the night for a few weeks now, although it's not every night. Some nights it's 4 hours, and some nights it's 8!!! So I can't complain.

Haley and Bailey

Haley's first smile

I am so thankful for my little girl. When you start trying to have kids there is that thought in your head, "What if we can't? What if this won't happen for us?". It took 2 years, but God gave us a beautiful, sweet spirited little baby girl in His timing. We are prayerful that we will be good parents to Haley, not perfect by any means. But that she will see Christ in us daily, that we might be earthly examples of what He has done for us. We pray Haley will come to know Him as we do, even closer than we do.

Changes are a'comin!

 Well at this point my due date is still 2 weeks away. My doctor doesn't think we'll have to wait that long to meet little girl Coleman. I am already starting to progress and my dr. is concerned about the size of this little one. I don't think I'll end up being induced unless I go past my due date. Tomorrow morning I will have an ultrasound to determine just how large and in charge this child is. We shall see what is decided depending on what the results are.
 Things I've learned during this pregnancy:
       ~ It's hard to sleep on your side when you don't have the choice to sleep on your stomach or back.
       ~ Your priorities change once another life is dependent on you
       ~ I really miss my daily Diet Coke
       ~ Always buy shower gifts off of the registry!
       ~ God is in control : Nothing I do, or don't do; nothing I worry about, or don't worry about changes           that fact!

So.....with that said, little girl Coleman could make her appearance any day now. We will trust God for a safe and quick delivery. And we will trust Him with the future as well.

It's been a while

It's been a while since I've posted anything. It's been a while since I've uploaded any photos. It's been a while since I've been able to see my toes......

That's right, I'm pregnant. 36 weeks along, with a due date somewhere between June 1 and June 6th. They can't seem to make up their minds.

In the past 6 months or so our little family has been through some big changes. I've noticed that as I pray for God to move in our lives, I don't look back to see how He's answered our prayers as often as I should. When I stop to really take the past year in, I am amazed at how God has not only provided for Dan and myself, but exceeded our expectations and given us good gifts that we don't deserve.

Over a year ago I started a new job as a receptionist in a Drs. office about 10 minutes from home. Not only do I work 25-30 hours a week compared to the 50-60 I used to work as a store manager, I feel appreciated and loved at my new job. God has given this job to me and I am thankful for it. In October Dan and I found out we were expecting a little one!!! We had been trying for some time, and while we did not have fertility problems, we were wondering if it was something God had for us. Praise the Lord, we are expecting a little girl at the beginning of June. (At least, she'd better be a girl, or else I have a ton of pink and white clothes that are going to go to waste!)

In February we realized we had an office, but no nursery, so Dan took on the big task of planning to renovate our basement into a nice family room/office area. That way our upstairs office could become the nursery, which is now pink and brown. (Pictures to come once the office downstairs is completed and our desktop computer can be set up again....) God has given us so many friends who take such good care of us. One Saturday in March I went to the grocery store and came home to about 14 men working in my basement, helping Dan demolish what was already there, and plan out what would be. Since then we have made some good headway in the basement, although it will not be completed before the baby arrives. Last week Dan was offered a new position at the University of Delaware. It's a promotion and a change of pace.  He will still be working with computers, but with the Development program. What's funny is that he'll be working for an old highschool buddy of mine! Isn't it funny how God works?!?

So yes, we have a lot of transition in a small period of time, but it's been amazing and such a blessing to see how God works. We are so thankful for our friends and family who have supported us, helped with the basement, thrown wonderful and beautiful baby showers, and helped us paint! The next few weeks will be full of finishing touches, getting ready for baby girl Coleman to come (no, we haven't decided on a name yet....we really aren't holding out, I promise!) While we're nervous, it's an excited nervous. I'm excited to see how God uses this little miracle to teach us more about His character and His love for us.