Catching up :)

Victoria turned ONE month old this past week.

  I can't believe how fast time flies!! We brought her home at day 3, and she's already 5 weeks old.  I took the below picture of her sweet smiling face at 4 weeks:

I wanted to document some of the sweet times we've had with Victoria and with friends and family who have helped us celebrate the arrival of our beautiful baby girl.

We have been thrown baby showers that have just been absolutely beautiful.  Below is at my best friend's house.  Don't you just LOVE that cake! And Victoria's name on that banner is just precious!

Meeting BB for the first time :)  Precious!

A few pictures of sweet friends who have been by - it was my "perfect" intention to capture all of Victoria's first visitors…well…it didn't happen.  I think some of those visits I was awake/asleep. Functioning, but like in a dream state :)  But here's a few we did capture:

Auntie Donna:

Frannie:

April and Lily Cate:
(by the way, April is like 28 weeks pregnant here…can't even hardly tell!!)

Karen:

John: 

(who by the way, gave us Victoria's crib, a bumbo seat, a car seat, a baby book, and several other  items! Amazing friend and colleague!)

The Crooms crew swung through town for a visit and we all got to go to lunch one day with the Ayers'!

                   Sam, Stevie, and baby Dylan                                           Sarah and baby Gracyn

                                                               Lyndsey, Ben, and Mamie

Said and Jennifer

Our sunday school class also hosted a shower for us:

 And Matt's work threw him a baby shower :)

The couple who leads us in bible study on Wednesday nights brought us a delicious pot roast/vege dinner last week.  The wife, Karen (pictured above), also brought this:

She said she saved it for me for a long time, hoping and praying for the day when I would become a mom and she could give it to me.  Such a thoughtful gift! You know, out of all the "names" on these cokes, diet cokes - I have never seen "mom" until now.  Sweet!

We've also had family come visit!  You already saw that my mom was here from day 1.  My sister and Tyler also came to visit:

My sister in law, Laura, and nephews came by also!

 Matt's parents, affectionately known as Nonna and Nonno, came to love on their sweet granddaughter:

And they bought us this AWESOME Ergo carrier.  Matt was trying it out that first night we got it, and modeling it for me :)  Victoria loves being carried in this when Matt is wearing it.  She loves her daddy!

 I also use a Katan baby carrier, and love the Ergo as well :) Let's get stuff done, people! However, I will tell you…she has her moments. And sometimes, baby just needs to be held.  Not even these things work. I tell Matt that the days of having all the laundry done, dinner cooked, me wearing pearl earrings, red lipstick, and wearing a pretty dress when he comes home from work are in our future…BUT NOT TODAY folks :)  And when I say "future"….:)

I'm feel like just being able to brush my teeth in a timely manner in the morning and drink a cup of coffee is a major victory!  Most days I've heated and reheated my coffee at least four times before it actually gets consumed in its entirety.  Let's keep it real.  

But, this little punkin' face is all worth it…

Hey there!  I call this her Dorothy dress.  This was given to Victoria by a dear sorority sister, Holly.  I say she just needs some little ruby socks, and we're all set…"Toto?"

Of course, the dogs have a love/hate relationship with her :)  They are still getting used to having a baby in the house, all the crying, lack of attention for themselves.  But they LOVE her.  This is our sweet Campbell "sacrificing" to be a pillow.  If I let her, she would lick this baby all day long! 

Some more of our newborn photo shoot:

Goodness, I could just stare at these pictures all day long!! She's so beautiful! What a precious gift from God to us!

Our first family "portrait" :)

This is from 3 days to 4 weeks old.  Same carrier, Same outfit. My how much she is "filling out", right?! :) 

                                      3 days                                                                       4 weeks

This has also been how most of my quiet times with the Lord look now.  On days when I don't get to do this, I really miss it. I love my Lord so much, and need Him on a daily basis.  This is one aspect I have to get figured out. I certainly can't live this life and be a good mom/wife without this time with Him.

The dogs look like this most days :) All tuckered out - they mostly wrestle with each other as their form of entertainment now :) We really do show them attention, but it's usually after Victoria has been put to bed at night…and then it's like dog explosion on us - immediate lap sitting and tons of petting. 

I call this the "Pet Me, Mommy" look.  I am usually answering it with, "Feeding baby. Can't pet right now. No. Get down. Down. DOWN. Ok, I'll pet you later. Love you sweet girl." :)

And last, but not least,

Victoria's birth announcement: (the front anyway)