Wonderful Wednesday!

Before I recap my day yesterday, let me begin by telling you how great today has been! Brandon and Timothy took me to lunch! YAYAYA!! This marks only the second time we have ever gotten to eat with each other while we both have been working. So, for us, this is a huge deal!! And having Timothy with us was such an added bonus! So today has been a great day!

Now let me rewind to yesterday and give you the highlights!

So Tuesday was crazy busy at work!! CRAZY!! So much so that I didn’t get home in time to cook! Brandon, Timothy and I went out to dinner and enjoyed the summer evening. Also, during my work day yesterday, Brandon sent me these pictures of Timothy in his bumbo! He is getting so big, this is the first time he fit in it and could sit up!!

Also, yesterday I learned another one of my dear high school friends is expecting her first baby!! Ms. Shelley Long Page and her husband Harry are having baby! It is really exciting to me, because I played matchmaker to them way back in high school, then they got married and now they are having a baby!! :)

Finally, tomorrow is a blogging day of silence for baby Cohen. I’ve posted the details below.

What: Moment of Silence for Cohen

When: Thursday July 1st from midnight to 11:59 pm.

How: Bloggers participating will post the Cohen banner or simply post Cohen’s name in large letters on their blog.

Why: July 1st Megan and Brent will be holding Cohen’s memorial service. The moment of silence is an opportunity for Megan’s blog community to stand behind her and support her on this difficult day. Linking up will give Megan a chance to see the support at a glance.

I am definitely participating in this, so you all will just have to miss me tomorrow! :) The Marshall family needs all of our support and prayers! So please think about them as you go through your day tomorrow!

Beefs, Sleeping in & Pool Party!!

For this weekend wrap-up the title of the post should give you some idea of what the highlights are! But first... Heth is keeping Timothy this morning so Brandon can do some work stuff, and here is the pic she sent me!!

Cutest Baby Ever!!

So, back to the wrap-up....

Friday night: We went to Beef 'o' Bradys with Ray, Heather and Joy. Timothy was his usual self--PERFECT in public. I don't know what it is about noisy restaurants, but he loves them!! After eating entirely too much food, we went back to Ray and Heathers and watched a disappointing baseball game. Well, I should say the boys watched a disappointing baseball game. Heth and I put on pajamas like we always do, and she held and played with Timothy, while I snoozed on the couch next to them! :) I guess the full belly and long week caught up with me! :) Brandon went ahead and changed Timothy into his sleeper before we left Ray and Heathers thinking (rightfully so,) that he would fall asleep before we got home. He did, but we only live like 10 minutes from each other! ha! And I am happy to report he made it to 6:30 again!! :) The boy is getting the hang of this sleeping at night thing!

Saturday: When Timothy woke up at 6:30 Brandon fed him and put him in bed with us and he slept again until like 9:30 and when he cried at 9:30 I picked him up and put on my knees with full intention of getting up and getting him a bottle after a minute or so to wake-up, but the kid went right back to sleep! I don't know if he had a bad a dream or what, but slept until 11:30 and so did the rest of family!! When we got up and starting milling around, we decided that we would grab lunch and head to Brandon's grandparents early so we could see Papa (who is home from the hospital!!) Brandon's dad said Papa has been asking for Timothy so we wanted to let the two of them have some time together. Papa was too weak to hold Timothy himself, so we didn't get any pictures of them, but we got one of Granny holding him! :) Sorry, it's an iPhone photo, not always the best, but still love the picture!Then we went to Brandon's parents house and dropped t-bird off with them for the evening, so we could go to dinner with my parents for their anniversary! My Parents are so amazing! And we had a blast at dinner with them and few close friends of theirs. We unfortunately had to leave by 11:00, so we could go pick Timothy up and let his parents go to bed. But my parents, being my parents, kept the party going until after midnight (their actual anniversary!).

Sunday: Brandon and I still have not braved taking Timothy to church with us, so unless his parents can keep him and us go to the 9:15, we are having to watch from the sideline. (Meaning: watching the web cast.) For me, its great, but Brandon has a hard time staying focused when he is at home. So again Timothy slept until 6:00!! We were a little worried how he would do Saturday night after being with Brandon's parents. They spoil him something rotten (which, we love) but then he never wants to be put down after being with them (which, we don't love). But he slept great! So Sunday we got up and put on bathing suits and took Timothy to my parents house to again celebrate their anniversary and go swimming! We had a really great time. Mom put out lots of snacks and we all just hung out. We put Timothy in the pool for the first time! He didn't take right to it, because it wasn't as warm as his bath water, but he liked it once he got used it. He was so funny though, he liked the sun so much he would throw his head back to let his face get in the sun! ha ha! And before you ask, or think we are terrible parents, he was slathered in 100 plus baby sunblock like a butterball turkey on thanksgiving!! So he did not get any sun, but he did get a bath last night when we got him home!

And finally Monday: I know I mentioned at the beginning of the post that Heth sent me a pic of Timothy, well she sent me another one after she changed his clothes! Here he is again!!

This is one my favorite newborn outfits we have. Plus, with it being sleeveless, it is perfect for this 90+ heat we are experiencing right now! After Brandon came and picked Timothy up, Heth sent me a text asking if I wanted to lunch, which of course I did! (BTW, we both love when Heth is off for the summer, it lets us do our lunches that we love so much!) So she met me at Sullivan's and went ahead and ordered for us, so we would have more time to talk, because while they are one of the best restaurants in Anderson, they can be slow from time to time, with lunch--and I only have an hour! So lunch was great and I had to then head back to work!!

Below is a random thought I had while writing this blog. I wasn't really sure where or how it would fit in the post, so I just put it at the end. Please excuse if it seems like rambling, because it was! But it is pure thought to finger to computer, and I definitely mean what it says! :)

Mornings where Brandon, Timothy, Henry, Harper and myself are in the bed all together are my favorites! And always make me stop and thank God for the blessings in my life. You know, its funny when the reminder of God's grace hits you. For me, I realize that God has given me a opportunity that as a sinner, I do not deserve. But when I look back at my life, and the mistakes I have made and when I have not followed God's plan for me, I shutter to myself and wonder "why me?" Why have I been so blessed? I mean, I am not knocking it! ha! And I really can't imagine my life any other way, but still. Does anyone else do this? I realize that God is the only one that knows what I have done and will do wrong, for that matter, but I sometimes feel guilty. Guilty for the life I have had, where others have nothing. And on top of all of that, I was fortunate enough to marry a very Godly man. He is the kind of Christian I strive to be. He makes me want to be a better Christian. Brandon takes his responsibilities as the Christian Head of House, so seriously and deliberate, I love him for this the most. We have watched some married friends marriages fall apart under the pressures of life and the fact they do not have relationships with the Lord, and it saddens us. I firmly believe a marriage without God will break under the pressures of life's storms. Where a marriage with God may bend, but will not break during life's storms.

Again, I do not know why I am so blessed, and I do not have perfect life, but its as perfect as I need. And sometimes the blessings just slap me in the face. They make me appreciate that much more what God has done for me. He sent Jesus to walk this earth and die for OUR sins so we could have ETERNAL life... Does anything get any better than that! And the fact that I know him as my Lord and Savior, is amazing! On top of that, I sometimes take for granted the fact that I work in a place where talking about God is commonplace! Where I can turn to a co-worker and ask them to lead me in prayer if I am having a terrible day. Most people can't do that! Even better than that, God has given me an amazing gift, he has allowed my profession to be my ministry to him. I come into work everyday and serve the Lord, and get paid to do it! How many people are that fortunate?!? I guess the long of the short is-- THANK YOU, Father God!! :)

Feeling Neglected??

This was my view this morning!! How sweet is this baby!! And how could you not love him!!

I have, for sure, neglected my blogging duties this week. I am not really sure where the week went, but now it is Friday and the week is over!!

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Wednesday: Crazy busy day at work. Trying to finalize everything and everyone for August is nuts! Plus, I had to stay late to meet with a family. But, on the bright side, I got to have lunch with Heather!! When I got home I made the never fail backup plan of manwich! We don’t have it too often, but sometimes in a pinch it is a great quick meal and I think it makes Brandon and I both think of being little kids! :) While we ate Timothy slept in his bouncer (he is getting really good at sleeping while we eat & we appreciate it!) After we finished dinner, Brandon and I just sat at the dining room table chatting. It was nice! We do that more in the summer since all of our shows are repeats and we aren’t on the same tight schedule we normally are. Heather called and she came over to visit Timothy since it had been like 20 days since she had seen him!! Which we all hope will never happen again, it was too long! So the three of us continued to chat and hang out while Heth got her Timothy fix. All in all, it was a pretty great night—minus having to work late.

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Thursday: was the last round of orientation(..yayaya!! )so I spent pretty much all day yesterday involved with that. And then had to stay until 7 with them eating dinner. Now I love the BBQ here, but eating it three times in eight days got to exhausting for me! So I just mingled and talked to families. Brandon ate a snack to hold him over and when I got home we went and got pizza and spaghetti! And again, Timothy slept right through dinner! :) he is a champ! When we got home we spent the rest of the evening picking out all of Timothy’s pictures for his album and buying the extra ones we wanted. All the while, watching Oklahoma and South Carolina battle it out. We then gave Timothy his usual Thursday night bath. He of course loved it and of course had that food hanging over the side! Ha! :) He did great like he always does. At one point Brandon had picked him up and was holding him with his back towards him so he could wash it, and Timothy started to try to hop or scoot or something! I am not sure what you would call it! But it was really cute!! :) Also, he slept until 6:30 this morning!!! That was amazing! We are so proud of him!

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Now today is Friday. And I am trying to navigate my way through the day. Heather is going to keep Timothy for Brandon for about thirty minutes. Long enough for him to go pick up the bushes we ordered at a local nursery. And then I think tonight we are going to dinner with Ray and Heather—possibly Joy if she doesn’t decide to cook at Heth’s house. All in all I think today is shaping up to be pretty great!!

Timothy is 12 Weeks Old!

Timothy 12 weeks ago!!

Timothy is 12 weeks old today!! I can’t believe it. I am so proud of my little fighter! I also cannot believe 12 weeks have gone by since I had him. He has grown and developed so much in these short three months. He went from 3 lbs. to almost 9 lbs. He’s got his mommy’s appetite!!

I also can’t believe it has been 12 weeks since our scary delivery. Again, I would never change anything about it, well maybe not having the seizures, but God brought Timothy into the world that way for a reason. Timothy’s name means “God’s Honor”so I feel compelled to think thatGod has big things in store for Timothy. I mean just look at the grand entrance he made into this world, he can only go bigger with his life! : )

He is also starting to laugh and coo a little! I am thrilled he isn’t so serious all the time! I am enjoying it, but I never get what he is laughing at! Maybe it’s me! He smiled really big last night when I got home from work and laughed at the same time, it was the best sound ever!! Well, first he was still asleep when I walked in the door and first I said, “Mommy’s home from work” and in his sleep – he smiled!! So, that was the first thing to melt my heart, but then to smile and laugh, wow what a great way to come home after a long day at work! : )

My parents are celebrating their wedding anniversary this weekend! They are such an amazing pair. They are a funny, caring and loving couple, who always put their family before themselves. That is the type of parent I want to be. I want my son to have a relationship with Brandon and me that I have my parents. B and I can talk to them about ANYTHING and they listen and give advice if we ask for it. My family is a “no holds bar” type of family so we talk about things freely—I don’t want that to end with our son. I am thinking not much will change since Brandon and I are pretty straight forward folks-- especially with one another. But Anyway, I just keep thinking of ways I want to be a good parent. And one of those is to be like my own! :)

Below is a picture that Brandon sent me today of little bear sleeping! Doesn't he do the cutest things with hands?!?!! :)

Weekend Rewind!

This weekend was amazing fun, but terribly tiring! We left Friday afternoon for Jaime’s wedding in Lake Toxaway, with Melissa and Asher. Timothy and Asher were great all the way up there and back yesterday—we lucked out! Friday night we went to Jaime and Warren’s rehearsal bash. Tons of fun!! : ) we got to meet lots of Jaime and Warren’s friends and family and they are great group.

Then Saturday morning Brandon went and played golf with the Jaime’s brother, his best friend and a guy named “Jake the Snake”. Brandon normally doesn’t like meeting new people—but he loved these guys! They had a blast!! And with a name like “Jake the Snake” how could you not have a good time?!?

Meanwhile, Melissa and I got to hang out with our boys and just talk. We had a really nice lunch at the Brown Trout, a super cute restaurant that was below our cabin. It was close enough that we could walk to it, so we did. I put Timothy in his “Weego” and slept the entire time! I think the walk down and back up the hill was really good for both boys. Because Asher was really good during lunch, then as soon as we got back from lunch--he crashed and took a long nap. Timothy also went back to sleep for a while when we got back, so Melissa and I got to talk and sleep ourselves!! : )

I know everyone always says this about their friends—but Jaime was seriously one of the most-most beautiful brides I have ever seen! She was gorgeous!! I cried when she came down the aisle! I can be very emotional—but not usually at weddings. I was beside myself. And I cried later when we were talking at the reception too!! Maybe the whole having a baby makes you appreciate someone getting married, or something? I don’t know?!? But, either way, I cried!

Jaime’s reception was beautiful! We had a cocktail hour and sit down dinner. The food was really amazing!! All of Jaime and Warrens friends were seated outside on the porch, and we sat with Warren’s crazy friends, our table was off the chain! Crazy! And we laughed all through dinner! They then did toasts, which made me really emotional again. Jaime’s sister, who was her maid of honor, has cerebral palsy—her toast successfully took off ALL my eye make-up! Jaime’s dad also gave a beautiful speech about the kind heart Jaime has. And that is the absolute truth. Jaime is seriously one of the most kind and down to earth people I know.

Sunday, Melissa very kindly let Brandon and I sleep in and she fed Timothy that morning for us. I still ended up getting up around 9:30, but it was nice to sleep in a bit. I let Brandon sleep until 10:30—since it was Father’s Day!! : ) He also opened his gifts from Timothy and loved them. I went to the paint your own pottery place in Clemson and Timothy and I painted Brandon a mug that said “DAD” written on one side and Timothy’s tiny feet on the other. Timothy also got him some of his favorite coffee, Starbucks Breakfast Blend. We finally got everything packed in the car and were back on the road by 12.

When we got home, we unloaded the car, put everything in Mel’s car that she brought, took all our stuff in, Brandon then crashed for another hour, while I ate some lunch and Timothy swung in his swing. We then went by the hospital for Brandon to give his Dad and Papa their Father’s Day gifts. Papa is doing a lot better! They have moved him out of ICU. They also took him off the oxygen and stopped his fluids because he is feeling so much better. It truthfully was touch and go there for a few days, and really scary for the entire family and Papa. We gave Brandon’s dad and Papa copies of the four generation picture they had taken about a month ago. I think the picture really brightened up Papa. We then drove to my parent’s house to spend the evening with them. My dad and Timothy are best buds. Timothy just stares at him! Everyone says they look alike. So it’s fun to see the two of them together. We had a great dinner and then watched Casino, because my dad had never seen it before.

We got home about 11:00, and I got ready for bed and Brandon got Timothy ready for bed. He was so good last night. He slept from about 11:00ish until 5:00!! I remember him crying this morning, but just assumed it was 2:30-3:00 because that would have been his three and a half- four hour time span, but when I was getting ready for work, Brandon told me he slept until 5, I was shocked! Maybe we need to go to the mountains and go nonstop more often!! : ) Brandon was very appreciative! He is also almost up to 5 ounces per feeding! I don’t know where the child is putting it!

To us, it feels like he is soo big, but to most people they think that he is about a month or so old. It is fun for Brandon and me to look at pictures from when he was first born until now. Those days in the NICU feel like years ago now! Like a distant dream or something. I am really thankful for our time there though. Brandon and I really learned how to be parents in the NICU. All the special attention we got from the doctors and nurses showing and teaching us how to do everything. In my opinion, every first time parent should get that kind of attention from staff at the hospital. Instead, most go home completely clueless! But not us! : ) God really blessed us!

I hugged my baby a little tighter Friday night when I learned that sweet baby Cohen did not make it. I have been following Cohen’s story for about 6 months or so. Right after the diagnosis and the plan of action was being investigated and created. I was also pregnant at the time, and couldn’t even begin to imagine what they were going through. So I have been following, and I have encouraged my friends to follow as well. Cohen’s life was so short, but God certainly had a reason for him to be here on earth and make a difference in people’s lives. That precious little baby brought together people from all walks of life, and together we all prayed. Some people’s lifetimes are long, and some are short—but few touch as many as little Cohen did! Please pray for the healing of the Marshall family.

In keeping with the power prayer, what amazing things it does! Papa is doing so much better, Cohen is in heaven and Timothy is really doing well. Thank you Jesus for all you do!! And we all say AMEN!!

The Picture of the Day is my sweet boy wide awake this morning when I left! Love him~~

Fantastic Friday!

I am so glad today is Friday!! I have a great day on tap--even with work. I am leaving at 3:30 today to go to my friend Jaime's wedding at Lake Toxaway!! So Excited! We got a cabin to stay in and it looks pretty nice from the pictures. We've asked Melissa and Asher to come with us and Mel is going to watch Timothy while we are at the wedding. Jaime is such a fun person I am tres excited about her wedding weekend!! Except one thing: I am still not packed and we are supposed to be leaving at 4:30 eeekk!! And I have a ton of errands to run to get ready for the weekend- including picking up Brandon's Father's Day gift. :) Timothy and I really hope he likes it!

So, back to the rest of my day--Tina and I are meeting at lunch too! I love that lady! She is an amazing friend, that I am so lucky to have in my life. And after we see each other, she and Brandon are going to meet so she can see Timothy.

Drum Roll.....Now for the picture of the day!

Here is a picture of what I had to leave this morning to come to work! :( I miss these guys everyday!!

Finally, please pray for Brandon's Papa. He is not doing well. He is the hospital and while all his vitals are getting better, it just seems like he isn't. So we need the power of prayer to get him through this and get home with Granny--where he belongs! :)

Tuesday and Wednesday Made Me Tired Thursday!

Well Tuesday night was an eventful night.

I came home and made an enchilada ring for dinner…Pretty great recipe! Then we were just hanging out, when my phone rang. A friend from work called to tell me that a tree had fallen on my office and that he was there and needed to shut my computer down so he could move it. Our office lost three big trees, like over 100 year old trees! Then the front lawn lost 4 more and then another landed on the post office. It was nuts!

So yesterday at work we had no power and a tree lying on our roof! We all came in our old clothes and worked the whole day trying to get the campus clean. I am so sore!! Plus, it was pretty hot outside too! Luckily, it wasn’t as humid as normal—but it was still pretty bad!

Here are some pictures from the damage done:

Pretty crazy, huh?!? This picture, that window is where my office is.. literally!

Then, when I got home last night, cooking was the last thing I wanted to do. So we went through a drive thru! Man, I don’t think I could do manual labor everyday like that! And I am glad I don’t have to!!

While I was at work, my MIL sent me these cute pictures of Timothy!! :) I have said before what a serious little man t-bird is, but Karen managed to snap a picture with him smiling!! He is soo stinkin’ cute! He also is eating a ton right now. He just wants to eat and sleep! Brandon thinks he is going through a growth sprut

Look at that smile!!

And this is another shot of Sloan.. He now weighs 13.6! I love that he looks like he is flexing muscles!! :)

Twice Tuesday night Timothy took his paci out of his mouth, looked at it--and stuck it back in!! B thinks this is very advanced! And I just smile at him. Speaking of which, we have a developmental appointment coming up on July 28th. They schedule preemie/NICU babies these appointments to make sure they are where they are supposed to be, and if they aren’t –they show the parents ways to catch the baby up. So I am interested to see what they are going to do to him to test him, and how he does. He seems to be doing pretty well based on the books I have read, but they obviously know far more than I do about what he can and cannot do right now.

Well, we are just now getting Internet back up at work!! yayaya!! So that is my update for the day! :)

Weekend Recap and a Manic Monday!

Timothy's first Big Boy Bath!!

Friday we took Melissa and Asher out to dinner at Sardis! I had the yummy ribs!! :) And when we got back to the house that night, we played in the backyard with Asher. He enjoyed our neighbors swing and slide and then he got to run and play in our backyard with Harper! Harp was so funny chasing Asher around the backyard, then Asher would chase him! haha!

Friday night was a little rough for us. Not because of Timothy, but because of a pit bull! Brandon had just given Timothy bath and he was getting his bottle, while I was washing a preparing new bottles. Brandon called for me in the kitchen to come let Henry and Harper out to use the bathroom. I let Henry go with incident. Then while Harper was out there I saw two white dogs shooting across the yard. I opened the door and yelled for Harper. He ran in the house, when he did, the pit bull showed his teeth and started to come after me! I screamed as loud as I could in hopes it would chase them off, but it didn't! Meanwhile, Brandon put Timothy down, rushed and got the gun, and ran outside. But by this point, the dogs were running across another neighbors yard. It was so scary! Brandon called animal control and they said they were aware of the dog, and that they were trying to located it. But that the owners had a court date. So I guess the dog had already attacked or attempted attack another family. Harper is doing ok. He was terrified to use the bathroom without Brandon for two days! :( He had one little place on his butt where the dog had just grazed him when I yelled for him. It was just soo scary! So Brandon and I were up until 2 or 3 in the morning, just trying to calm down!

Saturday morning Timothy and I got up and got Brandon's Father's Day gift. I really hope he likes it! I will post some pictures of the gift after Sunday. Timothy and I had a great time though. I told Brandon that I would like to start doing a Saturday morning date with Timothy, since we had such a good time! Plus, now that I am back work, it is nice to have some time with just him!

So after we finished his gift, we went and picked up Brandon and went to Bobby and Samanthas. Sam and I were pregger at the same time, and she was actually due a month before me-- but Timothy decided he needed to get here first-ha! But Sloan is B-I-G boy! He is almost 13 lbs. and clearly out of newborn clothes! Timothy is growing into newborn clothes, so Bobby and Sam have graciously passed down Sloans newborn clothes to Timothy! :) While we were there, we decided to grill. So the boys went and got meat, while Sam and I stayed with Braelyn (their 3 year old) and the boys. Brae got a new swimming pool that day and she loved the slide on it!

We also listen to the baseball game. But were very disappointed with the outcome! Brandon called it that night though. He said " tomorrow they will kill them and then Monday they will win a nail biter". And guess what? That's what happened! When you are Clemson Tiger fan, you know that the Tigers, in any sport, are going to shave 10 years off your life!!

On Sunday, Brandon's parents came to get Timothy so we could go to the 9:15 service at church. After church Brandon and I went to Tucker's for lunch like we used to do every Sunday! Hopefully we will start going again every Sunday, once we take Timothy with us to church. I never realized how many more errands you can run when you don't have a baby with you. But we got a ton done Sunday afternoon! And we still had time to come home and take a cat nap, before picking up T-bird!

Monday- UGH! My work day began at 7:30 and didn't end until 8:00 last night! I am exhausted!! We have orientation going on right now, and it is nuts! I did have a nice family bring me gift though! They got me the Robert McCloskey collection to read to Timothy. And they even wrote a nice note on the inside about being a mother! :) Things like that make all of the long hours and hard work worth it!!

So now its Tuesday and I am hoping to make something yummy for dinner. I can't decide what though. Brandon has been doing such an amazing job taking care of Timothy and the house for our family, I want to make nice dinners for him! I have been looking at various recipe blogs for some inspiration.

Finally, here are some more pics! :)

Brandon and Big Boy Sloan!


Sam and Timothy (She was talking in the pic, sorry Sam)

Brae loving her new pool, with a slide!!
Another picture of Timothy in his big boy Bathtub!!

I will have to post some pictures of him in his old bathtub, so you can see how big he has gotten! But, this one is funny because he has his leg hanging out. And that is funny because he used to do that in the hospital in his isolate! Our family and all the nurses would always just laugh at him with that leg hanging over the side!

Fun Friday!

Its Friday!! Yayaya!! What is it about Friday's? No matter what-- when my alarm goes off on Friday morning I am ok with the fact that I have to get up. Friday's even seem to go by quicker than Monday-Thursday. Well nonetheless, I am happy! :)

As I mentioned in yesterdays post, we were given a shower by my dear sweet co-workers! About half-way through the shower, I remembered my camera, so the pics aren't everything, but- you will get an idea! Timothy was so good! He let all the ladies and my student workers pass him around. The men from our office were not as into the baby, but that is to be expected.

It was really nice of everyone to do this for us! We really appreciated it!! :)

Timothy has been having some issues with reflux lately. We try putting him up on our shoulder, but sometimes as soon as you lay him down after his feedings.. blaahhh, up it comes! So, below I have posted some pictures of Timothy after one of his "episodes" and we had taken all his clothes off. He loves being naked! ha! It is really funny! So, Enjoy these pictures too!!

This last one is just funny to me. This is his "I-am-so-aggravated-with-you" face. It looks a lot like a face his dad makes on a daily basis to many, many people! ha! :)

So tonight Brandon, Timothy and I are going to Sardis in Clemson with Melissa and Asher! I love Sardis! And it is one of those places that if you aren't from the area, you probably wouldn't step foot in the door because you think you are about to get cut. But that is because there is a biker bar attached to it on the front of the building. Sardis is on the side. It is soo good! I am really looking forward to ribs tonight!! :) Also, the tigers have the super regional this weekend at home! ya! I found Timothy a newborn onesie and hat for the game, that I hope will fit ok! I will take pictures, have no fear!!

My Son, The Model!! :)

I took Timothy 3 weeks ago to get his, what I call- "adjusted newborn pictures". Because he was in the hospital during that official "new baby stage". We went to Tiffiney Photography in Westminster. I made my decision to use Tiffiney for a number of reasons:

1) She has a great name! ha! :)
2) I saw her work on the internet a couple years ago and told my husband: "that is who I want to do our maternity/baby pictures-- she is amazing"
3) She went to high school with my husband. They weren't close friends, but I am one of those people that likes personal connections, and I always feel better when there is some kind of connection.
4) I just knew our pictures would be amazing-- and they are!!

On her blog, shedocumented Timothy's session, so here is a link to see one of the cutest baby boys ever! This picture of him has been viewed by my entire family and all our friends, and on more than 5 occacions, someone has said, OMG, this should be an ad in a magazine! And yes, it should! My baby should be a model! haha!! :)

Also, my sweet co-workers are throwing us a belated shower today! I am so excited! And they are just so sweet to do that! Brandon is bringing Timothy up here too, so everyone can meet him! I just know they will love him!! I brought the camera, so hopefully, I will get some pictures!! Sometimes I am bad about that....

New Look, New Post!!

My Blog got a face lift today! Yayaya!! :) And I did the banner myself! Which, I am pretty proud of!

So, Here is the latest and greatest news in our life-- Timothy weighed 7 lbs. 13.8 ounces yesterday! wooo-hooo!! We are so proud of our little man! He is supposed be taking 18 ounces a day, and he is actually taking 24 ounces each day. So Dr. Hart is really pleased with his progress. And, we are six weeks ahead of schedule for his feeding timeline.

He is also actually starting to fit in some newborn stuff too!! So that gives us a ton more options when it comes to his clothes! :)

Finally-- I need to give a shout out to one of my BFF's Mrs. Amanda Allen Huggins--She is having a baby!! yaya! Soo excited for her, and love her! :) Below is a picture from her wonderful wedding day. I was lucky enough to be one of her bridesmaids that day! She and Jeff are going to make amazing parents.. I can't wait for Baby H to get here....

More Updates

Look at how adorable he is!! He loooovvvesss this chair. Because he loves sitting up and it vibrates! And he loves his lion, Sir Fidel!! :)

So when I finished the post yesterday, it was mainly because I was exhausted, and I figured anyone reading this, was tired of reading at that point. But I need to catch everything up to the present.

With preemies two big things are: feedings and weight.

Feedings because preemies sometimes like to sleep through their feedings because they aren't hungry. We used to have force Timothy to eat. Now he is a lot better. Although from time to time, he will fight us on the amount he takes.

Weight is an obvious issue. Timothy was born weighing 3 lbs 5 ounces and fell down to 3 lbs. two days after he was born. Then we had to work hard every day to get him to gain weight. When we brought him home from the hospital he weighed 4 lbs. 2 ounces. The old rule of being 5 lbs. before they will discharge you, isn't the case anymore. It is all about feedings. He had to be able to take all 8 bottles and be in a open crib and hold his temp for 48 hours before he could go home. The nurses told us that some babies learn how to eat really fast, but can't hold their temp at all. Then other babies are the opposite, they can hold their temp, but they just can't get their feedings down. THEN, there are a select few where everything just clicks simultaneously--that was Timothy!! :) An amazing occupational therapist worked with Timothy and I to get him to take the bottle from me. Because when his primary nurse Connie fed him, he took the whole thing! But when I would feed him, he would always fall asleep. So Cindy, our OT, sat with me day after day making sure he took it. She and I would sit for 30 minutes and count out 8 suck bursts then stop. Over and over again. We did this for a couple weeks. At this point, Timothy was taking about 15-20 milliliters (about half an ounce). Now he is up to 4 ounces!! We are so happy!! :)

While we were still at Anderson the hospital asked us to decide on a pediatrician, well Dr. Hearn gave us a few names that he recommended, but we hadn't made a decision yet, because we still had 7 weeks! So, when they told us we had to pick, we spoke with Dr. Hearn again, and he said we needed to go with Dr. Keith Hart. And we love Dr. Hart!! He has been amazing! The first appointment we had with him, Timothy was already famous! As soon as we walked in the door, the receptionist said, "are you Dr. Harts NICU baby? C'mon back" We have VIP status there! haha! We don't even wait in the waiting room.. We get to go straight back! Which I love! Because I think peds office are full of grossness!

Timothy has been doing really well. We now dress him for conditions, rather than for his temp, so that has been fun! He also is getting better about sleeping. They say NICU babies have a hard time adjusting to sleeping at night because in the NICU they are always checking in on them and running tests on them during the night and lights are always on and monitors are always going off. So when we first brought him home, I was getting anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and half of sleep a night. Not to mention, I had to feed him every 3 hours. So it was really rough! But Dr. Hart has since let us move the feeding to every 4 hours and I worked with him for 3 weeks making him learn the difference from day and night and getting him to sleep more at night than in the day time. So now he will usually sleep from 10-2:30ish- take a bottle and sleep again until about 7. So we are happy with that!

I went back to work yesterday. It has been really hard for me to leave him the last two days. I have of course cried my eyes out both days! :( BUT, right now, he is with Brandon at home! Since he is off for a few weeks, we get to wait a little bit longer before we have to put him in daycare. But we are really lucky, somehow-- we got into Boulevard Baptist! It has a year and half waiting list for all ages. The director told Brandon that people call everyday trying to get a spot. God just provided us, because it is two blocks from my work! :) I have already told them that I will be coming to see him during my lunch! hehe!!

Timothy has his 2 month check-up today. I can't wait for Brandon to tell me how much he weighs!! I am hoping for a 7 pounder!! :)

Well Hello Old Friend!

Ok, so I know its been a while since I have posted anything. But Once I have detailed the events of the last few months you will understand.

March 20: Baby Blackwell Barbecue Bash!! Our shower/party was amazing! We are so blessed to have that many friends and family in our lives, wanting to celebrate Timothy with us! I posted most of the pictures from the night on Facebook, but here is a snapshot I got of our living room when brought all the gifts in!

Also, that night Brandon snapped what would be my last maternity picture! :( I was scheduled to have maternity pictures taken April 3rd. You will learn in a bit, how that became impossible! Here is the photo, please remember grainy camera, 8 month preggo lady and the fact that it was 3 am, all play a role in how bad this picture is! But I love it, since it was the last! :)

March 26: Brandon and I met Heth for dinner at Outback after work. Which, shouldn't be that all that out of the ordinary, but I started feeling really sick half way through dinner and stopped eating. I had taken my Zofran earlier so I wasn't sure what the deal was. Brandon and I had driven separate, since we were both coming from work-anyway, on my way home, I projectile vomited all over myself, my steering wheel, the ceiling of car, the windshield, and my phone. My phone did not recover! Work had to get me a new one! And Brandon tried to clean my car the best he could in the dark, while I stripped down and got the shower. It was terrible.

March 29: I was serving as visit coordinator that day and just felt bad. No other explanation. Just bad. Once I got the visitors out the office, I headed over to get a new phone. By the time I got back, I felt so bad, I called Dr. Hearn's office to see what I needed to do. My back hurt, I felt sick and had a headache. My boss sent me home, because she said I needed to rest and not come in on Tuesday either. So around lunch time I was going home. I laid around the rest afternoon, just not feeling myself. Dr. Hearn's nurse called me back to tell me what I could take. That week also happened to be Brandon's spring break, so he was staying up late that night. When I got into bed, I told him, "I just don't feel right".

March 30: At 1:00 am I woke up and felt my body moving and I couldn't control it. Brandon yelled "Tiff" but all I could get out was, "I can't" I was trying to say to him " I can't control this" I went into a seizure. So next part of this story is complete 3rd party from Brandon, because I have no memory of it. He said I went into the first one and he called my dad. I came out of the first one and immediately went into a second one. My dad told Brandon to get me to the hospital now! Brandon pulled the car on the grass (which if you know Brandon, you know it was emergency, because no one is allowed on the grass. ) and he carried me down our steps and out the door, dead weight and pregnant! He said he was so scared he was going to drop me!

He then drove me to the emergency room, about half way there is where I can remember bits of what happened. We pulled up to the emergency room and the EMT ran outside with a wheelchair and grabbed me, while Brandon parked the car. The first thing I told them was "I am 8 months pregnant" and they started checking me and getting ready to transfer me to the Women's and Children's Hospital. Where luckily, Dr. Hearn was busy delivering another baby, so we didn't have to wait on him to get there.

Here is what I remember when Dr. Hearn got there: He first looked at all my levels and all that. They had started me on Mag sulfate to prevent me from going into another seizure. And he pulled up the ultrasound to see Timothy. He was fine, heartbeat good, and all that. But he was breach, and Dr. Hearn had to deliver me then, because I could have stroke and or go into coma. Brandon said "we are having him now!" and Dr. Hearn said in the next couple hours. Then Brandon said, I guess I need to call our parents, and Dr. Hearn said if you want them here, you better. So Brandon called both of our parents and told them to get the hospital ASAP!

While they were prepping me for surgery, the on-call pediatrician told us that he could have some serious lung issues since he wasn't 37 yet. And that it would be a wait see when he was born. They also told us that no one could be in the operating room because it was an emergency c-section. And I was also going to have to be knocked completely out.

When I woke up, my parents and Brandon were standing over me telling me how beautiful he was and how he was breathing on his own! I was so excited! Even though due to the massive amount of Morphine, it probably didn't appear that way!

I wasnt allowed to get up or move for 24 hours, so a really nice nurse brought Timothy to me, so I could see him for the first time! It was amazing. And while I was holding him, Dr. Hearn came in to check on me, so we got some pictures of the three of us! But I am sooo swollen and gross looking!

Dr. Hearn went back and examined my file from top to bottom trying to find an explaination for me going full blown ecclampsia without ever having preecclampsia. But there was no indication that anything was up. When I was there the week before, my blood was completely normal, I had no protein in my urine, nothing!! The working theory is that Timothy flipped himself breach, and by doing so, pushed down on some things that made my blood pressure sky rocket-then the rest just happened as a result.

March 31: Timothy had his first poop and we thought things were great, but he then started spit up greeen bile. So they were worried that he may have blockage, and we had him transfered to Greenville, because they have a level 3 NICU. Luckily, the Doctor in Greenville called us two hours after Timothy had been transfered to tell us that it wasn't a blockage! We just needed to work on putting some weight on him!! :) Sooo 27 days later, we were able to bring our sweet boy home! Here are some pictures of him in the NICU.

PapaCobus with Timothy


Papa Tim with Timothy

Me and my sweet boy!

In his isolate growing!!

When he was holding his temp well enough to be in a open crib!!


The day the feeding tube came out!! yaya!!


Grand-mere

Daddy and Timothy sleeping!

After a feeding

Another shot of him before he was in a open crib