sisters.

we can't forget cotton and barley!  the dogs were fairly indifferent about mary and still are to a degree.  they do, however, check on her from time to time during the day and will sniff her and/or lick her (ahem, cotton) if they feel she needs it.  one, or both of them, will follow me into her room for diaper changes or feedings- or for anything, really.  she got a really good sniffing when we first came home and it took the dogs a little while to adjust to where she came from and that whoever is holding her will not be giving them as much love and attention.  but they seem to have adjusted well and will check on her if she's crying. i cannot wait until mary is bigger and she can interact more with them... or maybe i can.  :)

cotton and barley meet mary for the first time!

cotton was the first to sniff...

... then it was barley's turn.

monitoring pops' babysitting duties.

keeping us company in the kitchen during her first bath.

swing time.  cotton keeps a close eye...

... and when she's in her bouncy seat.

sweet sisterly love.

play time.

love from barley!

cotton wasn't so sure she was ready for a rider!

one month.

Mary,

You are one month old today.  Time surely has flown by since you were born!  You have grown and changed so much in the last month.

You have outgrown almost all your newborn clothes and you are out of your newborn diapers.  You are now in size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes.  At your 2 week appointment with Dr. Love, you weighed 7 lbs. 4.5 oz. and measured 20 1/4 inches long.  I measured you this week and you are now about 21 inches long and I estimate somewhere in the 8 lbs. range.  I may take you back to the doctor's office to have your weight checked just because I am curious.

this is a huge smile!  (no, you aren't crying...)

You are a great eater and feed about every 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours during the day and at night you take one long stretch of 4-5 hours after your last feeding (anywhere from 10-11:30pm) and then you are back on your day schedule.  Mama appreciates the long stretch.  It also makes me go to bed earlier!  You usually take at least one good nap a day, sometimes two, and at least a few cat naps.  Today you put yourself to sleep (with very little crying) and you slept over 2 hours in your crib!  (At night you are in the Dennis family bassinet next to our bed.)

(this is a smile, too!)

You have been giving us the sweetest smiles and I know they are not all gas related.  :)  You even started smiling as soon as I pulled out the camera today for your pictures.  If you could laugh already I think you would have been laughing a deep laugh from your gut.  In some pictures you look like you are crying but you were truly smiling with your entire sweet face.

You look so much like your Daddy but you have my hands and fingers, feet and toes, and my lips and ears.  Maybe my nose.  Even as you keep changing you still look mostly like your dad.

I love you so much and cannot imagine what life was like without you.

still smiling

Mama

bath time.

mary is still not so sure she likes her baths.  she is still getting sponge baths but hopefully can soon have a "real" bath.  but there is nothing like the smell of a clean, freshly washed baby.  it's one of my favorite smells.  most likely that stems from me washing babies for 7 years as part of my career!  i can't think of a better job.  we use burt's baby bees shampoo and wash.  i love it because it is all natural.  and it smells  heavenly.   anyway, i know you're all ready for pictures.  here are a few from her bathing adventures. 

first bath!

the next week... still not a huge fan!

m.i.a.

my hard drive crashed!  i just got my computer back and fixed up- well, except for putting all my pictures back on it.  (thankfully, i never hardly delete my memory card... at least i haven't since my well before mary was born.)

i'll be back to blogging soon.  i promise!

meeting family.

we are blessed to have such a wonderful family and mary has already met so many of them!  she has met both sets of grandparents, her great-mamaw stella, aunt erin, great aunt regina and (second) cousins, lindsey and haley.  (and yes, she's had lots of time with her mimi, but she is usually the one behind the camera.  we do have pictures, though!)  she has also had facetime with her great uncle steve, and her other great-grandparents.  she is one loved baby girl!

 trying out the carrier with daddy

 mommy time!

 meeting papaw (?) paul

 hanging out with pops

 spending time with her gigi (mamaw, grandma?)

 getting some love from her great mamaw stella

 meeting lindsey

 getting some love from haley

adored by her great aunt regina

introducing Mary Isabelle...

it is about time for me to introduce you all to our sweet mary.  i've been a little busy taking care of my sweet girl to get on the computer and put together a proper post so now, almost 2 weeks later, here it is. she is a pretty amazing little girl and we are absolutely smitten with her.  she looks a lot like jay's baby pictures but she has a few of my features too.  she has my eyelashes, fingers, nose, and maybe my lips.  she is growing and changing so much already!  hopefully, we'll have more long napping moments so i can keep the blog updated on a more frequent basis.  until then, bear with us!

mary isabelle

born june 26, 2012 @ 4:23pm

7 lbs. 0.5 oz    19 1/2 inches

skin to skin right after she was born- she barely cried and was wide awake, checking out the world.

getting her first set of vital signs and head to toe exam, including her foot prints.

meeting daddy!

so blessed to be taken care of my by friends at mission (if you will remember, i worked on the post partum floor up until last july).  they all took such great care of us!

first nap in her crib at home.

first sponge bath at home- she doesn't mind the shampooing...

having some awake time with daddy.

happy and full after eating!

naptime with daddy.