Happy One Week Bday Vaughan

Vaughan's first week of life has gone by quickly. We have had many firsts this week I thought I would share a few of them.

Day 1

Vaughan is Born

Dad holds Vaughan for the first time in NICU

Vaughan's first (and hopefully only) stay in the NICU

Vaughan's first visitors ( Grandma and Grandpa Lovette and Grandma Hillery)

Dad's first feeding with Vaughan

Day 2

Vaughan meets Auntie Windsor for the first time

Dad's first lesson in bathing Vaughan

Day 3

Vaughan's first time getting in a car seat ( during private car seat lessons  :)  )

Day 4 

Vaughan meets Grandpa Hillery for the first time and Uncle Will

Vaughan's first goodbye, Grandpa Lovette has to go home

Vaughan gets to leave the hospital and wears her first outfit

Vaughan meets "the beast" a.k.a. Bryggen

Day 5

Vaughan meets the Gardners for the first time

and Alison too!

Vaughan's first tummy time... although a bit tired

Day 6

Vaughan's first bath at home

Vaughan's first exposure to UVA colors. Wahoo Wah!

Day 7

Vaughan is exhausted after her first trip to the pediatrician and Lucas Eilers.

Bryggen's first tummy time... and Vaughan learns to share.

Vaughan's first movie with Dad... "Soul Surfer"

Day 8

Vaughan's first cradle to cradle certified gdiaper.

Vaughan meets Grandma Lovette's friends the Prejeans.

Vaughan rolls over today for the very first time at 7.5 days old!

Happy One Week B-day Vaughan!
You have been such a good patient and a wonderful daughter. You were so at ease with all the tests the doctors ran on you and handled taking your blood like a pro.You have learned to eat every 3 hours graciously letting Mommy sleep some at night. You have gotten to visit with your Auntie Windsor and Grandma Lovette quite a bit and have even started to smile when they hold you. You have melted your dad's heart and he constantly tells you how perfect you are and calls you a princess. You are starting to hold your head up and even gained an ounce at your doctor appointment. On top of that you rolled over 3 times today  which makes me scared you are growing up too fast already. The doctors say you are in the 49th percentile in weight and 77th percentile in height. You have been our family's sweetest addition and we look forward to watching you grow in the future.

Baby makes Four

This was our family a week ago. Julian, Bryggen and myself ( plus 40 lbs) waiting for our lives to change for better or worse with the arrival of our baby girl.

Honestly, life had been so good up until now, I was a little apprehensive about the change. Would I still be able to go do all the things I enjoy?( eating out especially if it involves sushi, going to the ballet and opera, going for a run, lazy mornings, antiquing etc.)

These things, I still don't have the answers to but I do know that this baby was diagnosed with Shones Syndrome and needed someone to take good care of her and that Julian and I had been selected as her caretakers, no matter what it meant.

The induction was scheduled for Aug 2nd. While excited about the prospect of sleeping on my belly again and  not wearing prego clothes, the fear of pain like I have never felt before in the form of childbirth scared me a enough to keep me from running into L&D and begging to take the baby out.

As you can see here, I was very large...

So after waiting for the hospital to call and tell me to come in since 5 pm, at 9:30 I called and was told to come in as it must have been a full moon and the hospital was packed and running out of beds.

To St. Lukes we went with my Mom & Dad...

Apparently my body had been having regular contractions when I checked in so they started me on a very low dose of Pitocin at 2am. at 10:30 the doctor broke my water.  At 12:30 I tried to take a nap unfortunately the contractions got a bit more intense and by 1pm I was begging for an epidural a.k.a. my back cocktail.

At 1:40 it was go time.

And at 3:10 pm Sara Vaughan Hillery was officially on her own.

Vaughan weighed in at 7 lbs and 12 oz and 21" long.

After running lots of test in the cardio unit of the TCH NICU it was determined Vaughan could go home with additional monitoring via doctor appts and ecocardiograms. We have been so blessed and the doctors themselves were in disbelief as it seamed Vaughan's heart was progressively getting better and not worse as the PDA closed. The cardiologists still anticipate surgery will be needed in the first 6 months of her life but the later, the better, as it gives her time to grow.

After spending all of our time in the NICU  the first few days we got word that Vaughan could go home on Friday August 5th.

So our family of 3 is now a family 4. We are so blessed and thank everyone for their good wishes and prayers for little Vaughan.

Where The Wild Things Are

Happy Mothers Day!

This morning before hiding out in the kitchen to prep for a Mothers Day brunch the "Beast" and I took a few photos of the "wildlife" in our yard. It has been such a wonderful day here highs in the 70's and a cool breeze.

"Beast"

Birds in the Bath


Wish I knew what type of bird this is because they are always in our yard

Mr. Robin

One of MANY squirrels thanks to our pecan tree

And a little froggie from the other day to add to the mix.

Wishing all Moms a wonderful Mother's Day :)

Happy Monday.

This is truely my favorite time of year. The weather is wonderful and the flowers are blooming. Every morning the "Beast" and myself open the doors to the backyard to let the fresh morning air flow throughout the house. Then we can't resist a walk around the yard, coffee in hand, watching the birds fly from the bath and tree to tree. The main event for me however is checking on all the blooms and watching the growth in the gardens. There is something calming for me in this routine. I thought I would include our finds this morning for your viewing.

Wishing you a wonderful and relaxing week.

Have a great Monday!

Wishing everyone a sunshine filled day.

House

My first house.

Front Yard

Welcome

Great Room looking to Dining Room

A bad picture of my second favorite Bird

Great Room From Fireplace

View to Kitchen

Kitchen

Dining Room

Hallway

Hall Bath

Guest Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Junk Room/ 3rd Bedroom

And my Back Yard......

Back House ( Interior photos to come later)

In 2 years we have put a mark on almost every inch of the house, but of all the things we have done to this house nothing gives me as much joy as my yard. I have been working on taking photos of the plant life and will hopefully post those next. I am currently waiting for the cherry blossom tree and agapanthus to bloom....