Memorial Day Is For Swimming

We had a nice, long, relaxing (as much as we could with a 3 month old) Memorial Day Weekend. Elaine was in town from San Francisco, so we met up with she and some friends of her's that just moved to Austin at Mozart's. It was good catching up and seeing her, and obviously introducing Kennedy. She just hung out and eventually went to sleep. It was HOT!

Sunday was Allison's birthday, so we went to a little party Bino hosted to celebrate. They were so sweet and were sure to make dairy and soy-free treats for me :) Unfortunately, the only picture I got was of Jenni and Kennedy.

Since Nelson was off for Memorial Day, I had him get in the pool and swim with Kennedy! It was fun being outside of the pool for a change. But poor baby got really upset during the tummy time on the mat and had a hard time recovering, so they got out early.

This was the end of it:

Because it was the end of the "season", we got a t-shirt and ribbon! Our first athletic achievement :)

And lastly, because it was Memorial Day, we had to wear red, white, and blue.... except we only have a Texas onesie ;)

Hanging at Home

Now that I've gone back to work (part-time), my days home with Kennedy are spent well. We do lots of talking, snuggling, and errands when we absolutely have to.

Bino just gets a little warm holding Kennedy....

So happy even though I woke her up to take her to Mimi's!

She thinks I'm sooooo funny :)

Shopping at Target with mom!

Dad's pretty funny, too, but for different reasons ;)

Roadtripping

Nelson's childhood friend, Will, got married this past weekend in Galveston, so we had our first roadtrip to Houston! We played it by ear and left around 7:30am, and she slept the whole way - super impressive. When we first got to Clear Lake, we met my dad, Patty, and Valerie for lunch at Jason's Deli.

That night, Nelson and I went to the rehearsal dinner in Stafford while Nelson's parents babysat. His mom was SO excited, so I knew they would do a great job. And sure enough, everything went perfectly! I know Kennedy loved spending the night with them and being pampered :)

Nelson's mom had cleaned out some closets recently and found a bunch of pictures. How is this not the most precious picture of Nelson?!

Saturday morning, Nelson went down to Galveston early since he was a groomsman, and we all planned to head down there later in the afternoon. When going to lunch, I pointed out to Nelson's mom that she and Kennedy were matching with their pink shirts, and she told me she did it on purpose. Such a cute granddaughter and her Năi Nai :)

Do you think they're obsessed?

My sweet little family <3

Sharon, our wedding photographer and friend, was Will and Carol's wedding photographer, too! So she took our picture in front of the beautiful floral awning.

Kennedy got to meet so many people, and everyone thought she was so pretty and sweet. Unfortunately Ben, Stephen and Michelle's baby, wasn't super happy that she slept during their first face-to-face meeting.

Krishna actually asked to hold her, and it was pretty cute how excited he was.

Before passing her off to Nelson's mom and sister (who graciously stayed with us so they could put her to bed while we stayed out at the wedding), we had some photobooth fun!

The next morning, Kennedy was obviously in a great mood! Me? Considering I went to sleep at 2:00am and she was ready to eat at 5:00am, bleh. Luckily she went back to sleep for a couple more hours.

Again, these two could just stare at her all day.... but I honestly can't blame them!

The drive back was almost as successful as the drive there. Kennedy slept most of the way, waking up between Bastrop and the airport. And then she pretty much cried the rest of the way home. But we did it and it wasn't terrible, so we'll definitely be going back. Next time: Chinatown :)

Kennedy Anne {3 Months}

Dearest Kennedy,

These three months went by so quickly, but those first few weeks at home with our tiny baby seem far away. You're definitely growing (long!) and changing and are not our itty bitty baby girl anymore.

This past month has seem some developmental growths for you. You've found your hands and absolutely love to put them in your mouth and grab your tongue. You've also found your voice and love to "talk" to us. Dad likes to joke that you and I are going to compete on who talks the most :)

People still love to look at you in public. So many women (and some men) compliment on how cute you are and ask me your age. This is how I know you actually are adorable and it's not just us saying that because we're your parents.

You've become pretty regular sleeping at night and it is such a blessing! You go to bed anywhere between 7:30pm and 9:00pm, and won't wake up to eat until 4:00 - 5:00am. Woohoo! We don't have you at a schedule, but you have a "rhythm". I think forcing you to stick to certain times for things would stress everyone one, especially Dad, so we just go off of your mood. You only fuss when you're tired or hungry, so that's when we move on to the next thing. You usually eat, stay awake and "play" for about an hour or a little more, and then take a nap for about an hour or a little more. When you wake up, you're usually ready to eat, again, and the cycle repeats. I've learned how to stretch some of those time frames if necessary ;) I think once you get bigger, you'll automatically get into your own sort of schedule, so we're just enjoying going with the flow while we can.

You are definitely happiest in the mornings. I can tell when you're up for the day and not going back to sleep because you just smiiiiiiiiiile away at me. And it's so hard not to smile back, so then I end up talking to you and, next thing you know, we're both awake!

This was my first week back and I hated leaving you at Mimi's the first morning. I cried telling you goodbye :( But I have to admit, it was kind of nice getting back into my old routine at work. I'm only there 2 days / week, so I don't feel like I'm missing much. Plus it gives you and Mimi some special time to spend together. I'm pretty sure she holds you all day and you sleep because you are in the BEST mood when I pick you up.... but I like to tell myself you're just that happy to see me :)

We love you so much, baby girl, and are having the best time being your parents!

xoxo,
Your Mom

{3 Month Stats}

• Weight: 12lb, 8-ish oz (that was figured by me with you on the scale, and then without)
• Height: 24.5in (we did this on our own, so it's only sorta accurate)
• Head: unknown (but I think it's still rather large)
• Clothes: 3 months, solid
• Diapers: size 1
• Shoes: you can still wear your Easter shoes, and I've gotten a couple other size 0 shoes
• Likes: sucking on your hands, laying on your changing pad (we move it into the living room), and constantly kicking your legs and waving your arms
• Dislikes: sitting at red lights or in traffic

Tell me how you really feel about these pictures, Kennedy. Thumbs down?

Now that I'm a mother :)

I get to celebrate Mother's Day! It was a wonderful day spent with my beautiful family. Nelson got up with Kennedy early and let me sleep in, and when I did wake up, I got a wonderful breakfast. And I can't wait to get my massage Kennedy got me ;)

I've learned with Lindsay's boys to get pictures as early as possible before any spit-up / blow-out incidents. My mom got Kennedy this adorable little onesie, so we took some before heading to church.

My mom went with us, and then John joined us afterwards for lunch at Maudie's. Fun little side story: we saw our waiter from the day I went into labor. In true "becoming my mother" fashion, I had to go talk to him. He remembered it (and he wasn't just saying that because he pointed out where we were sitting and asked if Nelson's family was with us) and was so excited to hear we had left because I was having our baby!

After an afternoon of hanging out at home, we had dinner at my mom's. John wanted to hold Kennedy, and she loved sleeping on him until we were ready to eat :)

And we ended the night with some bathtime chats:

Followed by falling asleep in the living room:

I had such a wonderful first Mother's Day. Becoming a mom has never made me more thankful for everything my mom has done for me. All of the love and sacrifice has not gone unnoticed, and it's made me realize just how hard - and amazing - it really is. I'm so glad we could celebrate together :)