a few more...

I need to catch you up!

Brady is 10 months now! He is a healthy, smiley, smart little man! He says "mama", "dada", and "uh oh". He does this weird crawl thing, pulls up, and dances. He hasn't braved any steps just yet, but we expect it everyday. He has no teeth yet, but the pediatrician doesn't seemed worried. He has learned to smile for the camera and copy cats your laugh. He still sleeps from 8pm to 7am. He is eating stage 2 baby food and loves puffs. We are testing grown-up food very slowly. I'll proudly tell you he shares my love of pickles! He loves exploring the house in his walker. He makes us laugh every day and wears us out...his energy is amazing. He loves bath time and gets rocked to sleep by mama or daddy every night. We love him so much! This lucky boy gets a cousin from Aunt Leanne in February and a cousin from Aunt Julie in March. I'm working on a "Brady's Favorite Things" bag for their showers.

Stay tuned! I'll do more catch up pics of Brady-Man. :)

3 Month Old Brady + Working Mommy

While we were pregnant and as soon as Brady was born we heard "Enjoy them while they are young, they grow so fast." That couldn't be so true! Brady is already 3 months and growing every day. He smiles & giggles and moves constantly. He kicks, squirms, and is playing with small toys (with his left hand!). His favorite toy? His toes! As soon as he wakes up, he checks to make sure they are still there! One of the biggest blessings: he sleeps ALL night! We usually start his bedtime routine around 8:00 or 8:30. He gets his jammers on, gets all swaddled up, then enjoys a warm bottle in his dark room. He'll sleep anywhere from 7am to 8am. He loves sleep just as much as Mommy! :) All my former roommates understand...

I started back to work on May 24. It was honestly bittersweet. I LOVE my job and the people I work with and I was really missing it. But leaving Brady was brutal. Thank the Lord for Mrs. Sarah! God has blessed us with a wonderful sitter for Brady. She previously worked for one of my Agents and is now a stay-at-home Mommy to 2.5 year old James. When we were praying for a sitter for Brady I told God I was jealous, but He told me not to be jealous, but to be thankful. So, I'm extremely thankful for Mrs. Sarah! I have learned that if I leave with Brady in his car seat it's a 1000 times easier. If I get him out, hold him, then pass him to her, it breaks my heart. I know it's silly, but I had to find a way to stop the tears!

Below is a picture of Brady's first trip to the beach! We went to Hilton Head Island and he did great!

Brady's 1 Month!!!

Our little boy is 1 month old!

A very good day! I'm thankful to be back in my "pre-Brady" clothes and feeling more comfortable about getting out and about. After his 1 month appointment on Monday, I plan to start taking Brady to the park and planning some lunch dates. I really want Brady to be a people person and easy going. Therefore, we can't stay in the house all the time.

We plan to cook out Easter Sunday with Mark's family and then we'll be visiting my family in Cedartown for Joey & Elyse's Bridal Shower next Sunday. He'll meet more of his family so I'm very excited about that trip! Lots of photo opportunities!

Happy Easter to everyone! And, remember what we're celebrating!

Brady's Arrival!!!

Our life has completely changed---for the better! Brady William Whitworth arrived on March 1, 2010 at 12:59am. He was 8 lbs and 8 oz, 21.25 inches long. He has blue-gray eyes and dark brown hair. Above was my last belly shot at 40 weeks. Here is his story:

Saturday, February 27 was Brady's due date. After listening to several wive's tales that are supposed to put you into labor, I asked Markus to make spicy chili and then he dropped me off for a pedicure. That evening we were going to walk at the Mall of GA, but I was having some contractions so we ate dinner at the Chick-Fil-A near our house and then went to walk at Best Buy in Snellville (where the hospital is). After a call to the doctor, she said I needed to call back when the contractions were closer than 5 minutes and more painful. After 2 hours of walking, the contractions stopped and I pouted all the way home. I really wanted him to come on his due date. We went to bed, but I woke up at 4am and again at 5am to use the bathroom. When I woke up at 6am, it wasn't to go to the bathroom, it was 7 minute contractions! At 7am they were 6 minutes and at 8am they were 5 minutes and pretty serious. I kept trying to fall back asleep. All the books tell you that you'll be in early labor for a while so try to rest and stay at home as long as you can. Finally at 9am I couldn't take it any longer. The contractions were taking my breath at times and sometimes as close as 4 minutes apart. We called the doctor, took showers, and got to the hospital at 10:15. I was already at 3 centimeters and 100% effaced. At 12pm, they officially admitted us. At 2:45pm, the doctor broke my water (bizarre!) and I quickly moved to 4 centimeters. At 3pm we called our families to let them in on the good news. At 4pm they gave me the epidural (heaven!). At 4:30pm I was at 6 centimeters. From 6:30-8pm, Markus and I watched the Olympics, visited with my Mama and Debbie, and tried to rest. Around 7pm, they gave me some pitocin because my dilation was slowing. That made the contractions pick up again. At 9pm I was at 8 centimeters. By this point I was getting tired of being at the hospital and realized we probably weren't having a February Baby. At 10:30pm, we started pushing. Definitely the hardest part of the entire day, but only because you can't practice that part. I was weak, hungry, and so anxious. My nurse said we would definitely have a baby by 1am and that excited me! After 19 jours of labor, at 12:59am the doctor held the Baby up so Markus could tell me that we had a little boy! As they placed Brady on my chest, all I could think about was how it felt like a dream. He was beautiful and squirmy! Not at all like the scrunched up newborns you see on TLC's baby story. Markus ran to the lobby to tell the family the Baby was here and announced his name. We spent the next several hours staring at our Beautiful Baby Brady!

Today starts Week 38 - Crazy!

Here are 2 views of the nursery and a belly pic from week 35. This week we went for our 37.5 week appointment. Baby is head down and we are 1 centimeter. We asked the doctor to "guess-timate" the delivery weight and he said 7lbs, 8oz. We'll see very soon! Our bags are packed, the nursery is complete, and now we're just waiting for the big moment!

Flying by!

We finally decided on our Nursery furniture! The pieces arrived Christmas Eve and we managed to wait until December 26 to put it all together. It took all day, but Markus and I were so excited. I love the furniture and the bedding! The nursery furniture, my big belly, and Baby Whitworth wanting to play at night is making all this feel real!

The picture in the gray dress is 29 weeks and the picture in the pink shirt is 30 weeks! I passed my glucose test and now visiting the doctor every 2 weeks.