first thanksgiving....

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jaelyn celebrated her first thanksgiving! it was a fun day full of family and of course food. next year she will actually be able to eat some of it!!

her first bottle...

i finally got the pieces to my breast pump and pumped some milk today. i love my new pump! it worked really well. it is a double breast pump/medela pump in style - one of my craig's list finds!! so that night, i had some quiet time. while i was "away" (aka - the bathtub!) jaelyn wasn't so quiet so daddy gave her a bottle and she took it really well! i was pleased but a little sad. she also started taking the pacifier a little better too.

seven weeks of her sweet cheeks...

jaelyn is seven weeks old!
isn't she the sweetest little thing?
she is the best baby.
she is sleeping and eating really well.
she is smiling and cooing.
my heart melts when she looks at me!
jaelyn is awake a little more but still spends most of the day sleeping.

six weeks old...

jaelyn is six weeks old!!!
she is smiling, cooing and sleeping really well.
she is very laid back and easy to please!
jaelyn is such a wonderful baby.

we are so in love with her.
everytime, i look at her beautiful face i am reminded of what a blessing i have been given.

undeserving of such a miracle - but God has given her to me even so.
it is physically and emotionally exhausting taking care of a new baby along with the rest of the family and all the other responsibilities. but when i look at her and my other kids i am reminded that it is so worth it! i am raising these children for Him. i feel blessed to be her mommy!

2 pounds, 2 ounces, 2 inches...

last week, jaelyn had her 1 month check up, even though she was almost six weeks old. jaelyn weighs 9lbs 3 ozs and is 21 inches long! she has grown by 2 pounds, 2 ozs and 2 inches! our pediatrician was very pleased with her progress, she is doing really well!! she will go back for a 2 month check on December 11.

our pediatrician did hear a murmur when she listened to her heart. she felt that it was the benign kind and nothing at all to worry about. apparently, these are very commonly heard in babies and kids. she did not hear it in her back - which is a good sign. our doctor will listen for it again at our next check up, if she hears it again, we will be referred to a pediatric cardiologist. we are praying that we will not hear it and that she is perfectly fine.

playdate with madison...

today, we went to the lineberger's house for a playdate!! heather and jeremiah bishop were there too! it was so much fun to have some adult conversation and watch the "big kids: jeremiah, kelly and jesiah" play together!! in between sleeping and nursing we were able to get a few pictures of jaelyn and madison together. my pics didn't turn out too good. i think autumn got some better shots. hopefully, i can get a hold of hers. below the pics of our baby girls is a little story of how they first met!!!!

here are two pictures of madison and jaelyn together for their first playdate...

their sweet story:

madison and jaelyn met on their birthdays five weeks ago! they were born on the same day, at the same hospital, delivered by the same midwife just a few hours apart. after being admitted to the hospital, i learned from my nurse that there was another mommy two doors down that was delivering her third and going natural too. we also found out that she was going to be delivered by our midwife. immediately, i thought of my friend, autumn. i told jamil i think i know who it is. our nurse couldn't directly confirm that it was her, because of the privacy act. but she was able to tell autumn it was me two doors down. once we figured out we were both in labor together, we visited and walked the halls together while we were in labor. madison grace was born mid morning and jaelyn aliyah arrived that evening! the next day, we were able to hang out together in the hospital. and the girls met for the first time!!! it was so much fun to have the lineberger's share in our special day and us share in theirs.

when i found out i was pregnant and told autumn, we planned for her to be our baby nurse at the cmc nursery, where she works. a short time later, we found out autumn was pregnant too. our due dates were just a few days apart. we figured she wouldn't be working by the time i went into labor. i was sad. but it turned out so wonderful that we were in labor on the same day!!!
who would have thought we would be there together delivering our sweet baby girls!! madison was three weeks early and jaelyn was two weeks early.

our baby girls have a lot of similarities at five weeks old! they share the same disposition, very sweet natured. both are very quiet and do not cry often. both girls are sleeping really good at night. and neither will take a pacifier!!! too cute!!!

what a blessing for our girls to grow up together being special friends!! God has already blessed jaelyn with a little friend and brought our families together in a special way.


i didn't plan on posting this picture ever, because i do not look as cute as autumn! but it is fitting for the story! this was when we were in labor and about to go out and walk the hallways!!!

here are the proud daddy's, greg and jamil, holding the girls!!!

five weeks old...

our sweet little baby girl is five weeks old!! she is growing so much. she is still pretty tiny, but is looking more like a baby than a newborn. we have her one month check up tomorrow and i can't wait to see how much she weighs! jaelyn has been doing six hour stretches for about the last week!! so i am only getting up once in the middle of the night. that is bittersweet to me. i am loving the extra sleep but it means she is getting older!!! jaelyn is starting to be awake more and more. she is smiling a little more and starting to coo!!!! our sweet girl is such a blessing! i am still amazed that she is here and how much i have fallen for her!!! there is enough love in a mommy's heart to go around to FOUR little blessings. being the fourth she is receiving no less than the rest!!!

3 photos, 3 outfits...

last week, we met our friends, the prevettes, at the mall. our first outing to the mall. so jaelyn wore a dress for the first time - she looks so stinking cute!!! chelsea (mommy prevette) gave her this dress - so appropriate for our shopping trip.

jaelyn's first dress!


there was no special occasion for this picture although she is wearing a handmade tiedye onesie that we received at my baby shower.

with our growing family, we renewed our costco membership last week. we took a trip to costco with my dad. here is a picture of jaelyn wearing a sweet hat and sweater set!! the set we are borrowing from the carr twins! it is a preemie size and so cute. jaelyn probably won't get to wear it for much longer!

4 weeks of being so sweet....

jaelyn is four weeks old! she has started to smile and make sweet little noises. i just love it!! jaelyn continues to eat and sleep well. she will have a "fussy" period usually at night, when she just can't get to sleep, usually because of a tummy ache or constant hiccups. she hardly cries during this time, just squirms and whines. she is usually easy to console. she rarely cries in general. we still are not on any kind of set schedule yet. she does pretty well through the night and will occasionally go 4 or 5 hours between feedings. jaelyn sleeps a lot with a few wake periods during the day, but not for long! she is a very cuddly baby, she loves to be held but does well sleeping in her bouncy seat or crib too. i spend a lot of time holding her and enjoy every second! i don't get much done but i am loving on my baby girl!

our little pumpkin...

isn't she the cutest little pumpkin??? jaelyn looks so sweet for her first halloween photo shoot!!