Crazy Cowboy Wife

Two Months

 

She's her daddy's princess.

She's my sweet baby girl.

She's Tucker's Buttercup and Cade's "Sissy".

Today our little angel baby is two months old.

 

She has grown SO much since we first brought her home. She's officially in 0-3 month clothing.

Her little cheeks have plumped up and her double chin continues to crack us up.

She has inherited, from me, the misfortune of having thick thighs and skinny calves, fondly dubbed "chicken legs".

She's beginning to smile a lot and tries so very hard to talk to us.

Her most amazing feat so far...

Sleeping through the night!

Okay, so it's not on a regular basis, but it's happened at least a handful or two of times!

We are in awe of her beauty and know that God couldn't have given us a more perfect little girl.

We love and cherish you Ella Marie aka Punkie.

 

Peace, love and sweet cheeks!

All Is Right With the World

It's amazing what sleep deprivation will do to one's body and mind.

My world spiralled downhill rapidly after my post yesterday.

The craziness technically started at 5 am Saturday morning as I layed in bed with Ella trying to keep hr asleep. Grady was leaving for work informing me that I would have all three kids for the day. He couldn't wake Cade up to take him with him.

The tears immediately started to stream.

How was I going to do this? I hadn't had any sleep since 1:30. The prior nights hadn't been much better. Grady asked if I was crying and the only thing that would come out was, "I'm just so tired." I knew there was nothing he could do. It was his weekend to work. He sympathetically said, "But, you're doing such a good job."

I spent the whole day in a dull fog. I could barely keep my eyes open let alone referee two wrestling boys AND tend to a baby who wouldn't sleep anywhere ,but in my arms.

I felt like I had been drugged.

I was emotional.

I was irrational.

I was tempermental.

I cried all day at random moments, at everything and nothing at all.

When I stated in yesterday's post that I broke yesterday it was no joke. The lack of sleep literally broke me, broke my mind, broke my spirit, broke my sense of control.

I. Had. Lost. It.

I felt like the walls of this house were caving in on me. I needed out. As much as I adore, love and cherish my kids I needed a break. I needed to feel like a wife, friend, woman and adult again.

Grady called and suggested we go to our friend's wedding reception. I originally didn't want to go as I'm typically not one to enjoy such events, but this time I jumped on the opportunity. It was exactly what I needed.

The kids spent the evening with Mimi and we mingled, chatted, laughed and reconnected with our friends for two and a half hours. I was wiped out by the end of the night, but I felt like those few hours gave me exactly what I needed. Solace.

The icing on the cake was the fact that Punkie had just eaten when we picked the kids up. She was out for a while. I underestimated HER exhaustion from the week. She slept for FIVE straight hours! I SLEPT FOR FIVE STRAIGHT HOURS!

Grady took Tucker to work with him this morning, a wonderful treat for him and a break for me.

I feel like a brand new woman today.

Punkie is getting back on track.

I've gotten lots done around the house.

EVERYONE is happy today.

All is right with the world again.

Peace, love and harmony.

Growing

It's been almost four weeks since our little girl came into this world.  It just doesn't seem possible that a month has flown by already.

We've so dearly enjoyed every minute with her.

She's a voracious eater!  At 3½ weeks she already eats 6 ounces of formula in a sitting.

She's trying to hold her head up.

Her cheeks are filling out and are getting quite plump.

She's proven to be a wonderfully tempered baby.  She only wails when she wakes up, gets her diaper changed or gets lathered in lotion.  She REALLY hates getting the lotion!

Here are a few pictures of home life with Punkie.

 
 
 
 
 
 
We never know how our lives will change with the arrival of a new baby.  The anticipation is mind boggling sometimes.  I wasn't sure what to expect with the arrival of our second baby versus the first.  I know I was somewhat of a nervous wreck with Tucker, constantly worried about every noise and move he made.  I'm chalking all of that up to being a first time mother.

We're all more relaxed with Ella.

Life is calm.

We're enjoying LOVING this.

Life is beautiful.

The end.

 

Peace, love and new beginnings.

 

Meet the Family

 
Ella has a huge family that anxiously awaited her arrival. 

Grady and I were adament that her two brothers were to be the first ones to meet her.  Aside from Tucker's initial 
shock of the whole thing and slight "fear" of touching her or hugging Mommy (who was hooked up to all sorts of wires and machines and looking rather drugged) they boys were elated to finally get to hold her.

 
 

After the boys were introduced we sent them out to get Grady's parents that had brought the boys over.

 
 

 

My parents came later that evening with my grandparents.
 
 

Ella is a lucky girl that she still has two great-grandparents. 

 
 

I don't think this little girl will ever lack for attention and love!

What a great day!

 

Peace, love and grandparents galore!

 

***I apologize that this post is so late, but uploading all of these pictures proved to be somewhat time consuming.  Enjoy.

January 18, 2011

My life changed forever on Tuesday, January 18th.

I left my house that morning at 5:30 am a very pregnant, miserably uncomfortable mother of one. Grady and I drove in the dark the 17 miles to the hospital.

We chatted about nothing significant to remember.

Neither of us slept much the night before. Anticipation had gotten the best of us.

I was eerily calm.

We arrived and headed to the 4th floor. I felt like we were the only ones there although I knew there were other babies and their families there.

I was gowned, prepped, poked and informed of the procedure.

 

This was something I would NEVER forget.

At seven a.m. the nurses and I walked the 15 feet to the O.R./delivery room. I hopped up on the table and chatted with the nurse who is from our hometown about the local gossip. I kept thinking how odd this was. I'm getting ready to have a six inch incision made into my lower abdomen and I'm talking about who married who and why, like we're sitting at the kitchen table sharing a cup of coffee. It was as if what I was getting ready to experience was no big deal.

I'm telling you, this calm I had over myself was bizarre. I LOVED it. I was "enjoying" this process. I didn't want to forget it. I didn't want to smudge it all with crazy nerves.

The anesthitist gave me my spinal and my whole body got warm and tingly from my toes up. It was the most unnerving feeling ever. I couldn't feel anything in the sense of touch or pain, but I could sense pressure and the feeling of movement of my body and skin.

They brought Grady in and set up the curtain between my head and the rest of my body.

We all chatted some more.

The doctors came in...our family doctor who we go to for everything and who will see Ella and then the two OB's who were performing the c-section.

We were ready to start. Grady held my hand. I couldn't see anything except his face. He was duded up like a doctor.

 

I teased that it made him look really smart. (Tee hee hee)

The anesthitist told Grady that if he wanted to watch that now was the time to look. For anyone who knows my husband they know that he wasn't going to be able to resist seeing this. He stood up and was awe struck at what they were doing and how fast it was all happening.

Before I knew it, at 7:54 am, I heard the wail of my baby girl.

What lungs she has.

The warmer where they would work on her was placed so that Grady and I could see her and everything they were doing. They brought her over screaming and shivering.

 

I could see my little angel and the tears started. All the pain and agony my body endured in the final months of pregnancy were washed away.  It was instantly replaced with joy and elation.

Grady got to cut her cord. I laughed as the nurse fumbled with our complicated camera. I was so happy that someone was able to take the pictures.

 They cleaned her up, weighed, measured and wrapped her up.

She was handed to Grady.

 
Our little girl was in her daddy's arms.

We were awe struck. ALL THAT HAIR! ALL THAT DARK BROWN HAIR!

She was beautiful.

There was nothing else to say.

She was absolultely BEAUTIFUL!

She was the perfect blend of us both.

God couldn't have created a more perfect little girl.

Ella Marie Gibb had finally arrived.

 

Peace, love and little blessings.

It's Only Fair

It's only fair that I share this photo with you.

You have to know that I really don't want to.

There is NOTHING flattering or remotely "cute" about it.

But...

I've been sharing preggo pics with you from the start, so it's only right that you see me through the very end.

This was taken at the whim of my husband after I had shed the "cute" layers and replaced them with my worn out pink velour pants that I love and added the weight of the day to my face.

Please know that the ONLY people who get to see me like this are my family, my in-laws and my closest friends. (God bless them all and have pity on their poor eyes.)

Well...and now you.

But...

I'm a blogger and you have to know that my life isn't all cute hair and a done up face.

I have to be real as my blog friend Abbe always says. (I love that gal!)

So, without further delay, here it is.

 
Thirty-seven weeks pregnant and READY to be done.

Please don't hold the velour pants against me.

 

Peace, love and a big belly and a swollen face UGH!

In a Week

 
(Isn't this little pumpkin so precious!!!  I have no idea who she belongs to, but her mommy should be proud.)

The countdown is on and there is so much to look forward to in a week's time.

1. We finally get to see what our baby girl looks like.

2. Tucker gets to be a big brother.

3. Cade gets a sister.

4. I'll be able to eat more than three bites of food without getting full. That's not to say that I don't already eat WAY more than three bites and end up miserable.

5. I won't wake up 3 times a night to pee.

6. I'll get to wake up 3 times a night to feed my precious girl.

7. I won't have to constantly hitch up my britches because my belly is so low that my pants won't stay put.

8. I'll be able to tie my shoes again.

9. I won't be the only girl in the house anymore.

10. Ella's daddy will fall in love with a new girl and her mommy will be thrilled.

11. I get to see Grady be a daddy in a whole new way.

12. My hips won't ache anymore.

13. I'll get to sleep on my back again!!!

14. I get to spend at least 6 weeks bonding with a cuddly bundle of cuteness.

15. I won't loathe the Victoria's Secret models quite so much.

16. I'll get to blog about someone new!

17. I'll have an excuse to buy cute pink stuff.

18. The boys will have to start learning about tea parties and doll clothes.

19. My feet "should" fit back into my shoes.

20. My shirts WILL cover the bottom of my belly.

And last but not least... I'll be able to toast a drink with all of my friends to my beautiful baby girl!

 

Peace, love and big dreams!