She's growing like a weed!

We took Gabriella to her "2 month" appointment today. At 10 weeks, Gabriella weighs in at 14 pounds, 1.5 ounces and is 24 3/8th inches long! Gabriella did very well, smiling and "talking" to her pediatrician, until..... she had her shots:( Not sure who fared worse though, Gabriella or mom and dad! After about ten minutes, she calmed right back down.

On another note, we had our first portrait session a few weeks back with J.Davis Photography. The session took place in the comfort of our home so Gabriella was very relaxed... at least for the first hour or so! (really, that's about as long as you can expect a baby to cooperate for anything!) She got sleepy and a bit fussy after that, but the photographer was so patient and easy to work with so we got some awesome shots! To view our proofs go to jdavisphotos.com, "view proofs". Our event name is "GabriellaD".

p.s. feel free to post comments at the bottom of our blog posts. We set this up so that anyone can view it without having to have a password or invitation so we have no idea who reads it! (or if anyone even does!) We'd love to hear from you!!!

Sara

2 months old and all smiles!

Sweet sleeping baby:

"Talking" to mommy:

Fascinated by her new toy:
Getting smarter and stronger every day:
Just look at that smile! That dimple (exact same as daddy's) melts my heart!

All worn out....it's tough being two months old!

Sara

I'm the worst blogger ever...it's been too long.

It's official. Gabriella will be a spaz like her dad. She's growing very fast but what has us talking is how energetic she is, just like her dad. In fact, I have some bruises on my stomach because when she gets excited those legs start kicking. I have come to the conclusion that she will not only be a runner, but she will be a swimmer and a cycler. Hello to my little triathlete! She has reached a couple of growth milestones too. She is becoming a pro at holding her little head up, especially when she's bored and fighting sleep (another trait from her dad), even though she is still a little wobbly. Also her alertness is growing exponentially, we get surprised by it more and more as each day goes on. Nothing melts a daddy's heart like when he walks into the room and his little girl locks eyes with him and starts waving those chubby, dimpled hands and kicking those chunky, froggy legs because she's excited. By the way, we have begun marking time by the outfits that she is growing out of (single tear).

I was very excited to be able to share these things with Ella's Nana and Granddad in person earlier in Feb. It had been too long since they were here back in December but we enjoyed the dinner at Mimi's the night they were in town. We're scheduled to go to Charlottesville in April for a marathon or something but Nana and Granddad may not be able to wait that long. (That's a really big hint, Mom and Dad)

Speaking of a marathon in Charlottesville...I am continuing to run and train so I will be able to complete the Charlottesville marathon on April 18th. It has been difficult knowing that while I'm out for sometimes 2-3 hrs at a time that Sara and Ella are waiting patiently at home for me. The time I've been out on the road has been useful as I use that time to meditate and sort through the attic that is my mind and remove all of the useless junk that gets stored up there during the course of a day or two. As a warmup to the twenty six point two, I will be running the Knoxville Half-Marathon on March 29th. It will be a challenge because the day before, I will be helping my good friends Ronnie Dove and Sam Bowen run a booth at the Marathon Expo for Sport Seasons for roughly, hmm, 14 or 15 hours. It has been great helping coordinate the event and I have been learning a lot from Sam that will be useful in many aspects of business.

A lot of good things have been happening with my work recently. Don't get me wrong, our business is driven by sales and when the economic forcast gets worse everyday the people who are doing okay financially get tighter and tighter with their dollar. But since December I've been working at our store in West Knoxville and the Lord's favor has been an evident answer to prayer. Numerous times I've been recognized for hardwork, leadership, and wonderful customer service. I even had a customer bring me a thank you gift at the store. I'm not sharing this with you to brag, (I like doing that in person) I just wanted to share an example of answered prayer. Sara and I have been praying about a change with my job for sometime now and just when I'm thankful to be employed at all, I've been blessed with a promotion. The details are still being hammered out but I will share them with you all in the next post. God is good!

Stephen

Bath Time:)

We're finally getting to the point where bath time isn't a traumatic event for Gabriella! She even seems to enjoy it a little!
Here are some pictures from tonight.

A baby changes everything.

It has been one month and one day since Gabriella Grace entered this world. Ella filled you in on the events of the big day and I, her father, am here to fill you in on the last 31 days or so. The ride home from the hospital that day was an emotional one. We pulled away from the awning of Parkwest Hospital and I was quickly overwhelmed knowing that the most precious thing in the world to me was dependent upon ME for her safety during her first ride home.
My parents, Jerry and Susan, and my brother Bryan were able to stick around for a few days after we left the hospital on Christmas day. I am so thankful for their visit and it was very hard to say goodbye to them on Saturday night. I'm thinking Ella may see her Nana and Granddad move back to the Knoxville area before too long. Also it was great seeing my oldest brother for the first time in a long time. Next up, Ella must meet her Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jamie...
The first few days of having Gabriella home were tiresome because of our altered sleep schedule but we loved every minute of it. It was not long though before we were tired from the stress of learning how to calm an upset baby. Sara and I laugh at ourselves now but we definitely experienced some desperate nights the first few weeks which included several three o'clock in the morning drives around Knoxville soothing Gabriella into a deep sleep

Ella has had a couple of dr. visits since her first week home. She is continuing to grow and get chubby like little babies are supposed to. Actually, I need to recount that statement. She is in the 85th percentile weight wise but she very long too and so she doesn't actually seem chubby. I know that the body types of babies are not indicative of what they'll be later in life, but Gabriella is her parents' daughter. Long. lean, and ready to compete in swimming and running events.
During the several weeks after we were home, Heather (Sara's sister) and her mom were a crucial help as I returned to work. Whether it was just helping out a new mom with grocery runs, staying caffienated, questions of the "how to" variety, and that's not mentioning the help of Sara's mom while she had mastitis a couple of weeks ago. It was a very hard five days and I don't know what Sara would have done without her mom by her side.

But things are smoothing out five weeks into it. Gabriella's sleeping habits are still unpredictable but they are regulating to a tolerable level. Also she is getting more responsive and we are learning how she likes to be soothed.
A list of things that I'm learning. It's harder than you'll ever expect. You can do more than you ever expect. You can train your body to function on six hours of sleep. You shouldn't train your body to function on six hours of sleep. It was possible to love my wife even more. It's hard to train for a marathon with a newborn around, but it is easy to run once you hit the road. God is good. Babies are funny.

Stephen