Our Aries Tiger...

We had a fun, action packed weekend! Friday night Courtney and Wally took us to dinner at CPK, and Leighton had a great time. She got lots of love and cuddle time with both of them! It's a good thing too, because they are expecting their first baby this November! We can't wait to find out if LG will have a little boyfriend or girl to run around with!

Saturday, Grandma and Grandpa Nail were so sweet to babysit Leighton and give mommy and daddy a much needed night out! We went to celebrate Jill's 30th birthday at a restaurant called The Original El Taco in Virginia Highlands. It was awesome food an atmosphere, and we will definitely go back! The Patron margarita was fabulous as well! Ever since LG was born, I typically stick to wine, but will have a good margarita every now and then (and trust me, 1 is ALL I need!!).

Sunday we celebrated Mary Katherine's 4th birthday, and Leighton experienced her first birthday party! She loved watching everyone and was completely wiped out by the time we got home yesterday evening.

Over the past few days, she has really taken to her Bumbo seat as you can see in the photos below. I stuck her in there for fun just to see how she would react, and she loves it! She is also trying to find her thumb to suck on, but so far has only figured out how to stick her entire fist into her mouth. She is also trying to roll over which TERRIFIES me! So far she's made it from her back to her side a few times, so we are planning to take the bumper out of her crib this week because she is getting so strong and active I worry she'll worm her way over to the edge soon.

On that note, I am not one who really believes in horoscopes or astrology, but LG is an Aries and was born in 2010 which is the year of the Tiger. I love to read sign descriptions just for fun, as I fit the Cancer profile and Jason fits the Sagittarius profile to a T! It is interesting because I find that most of my friends and family's astrological sign descriptions are very in line with their personalities. So far, LG is starting to fall into her description quite accurately. I copied and pasted this for fun, and as you see it looks like we are in for quite a ride!

Aries is the sign of the entrepreneur. Think of those traits that make up a successful entrepreneur… they are bright and hard working, most comfortable working as a one man show, love to be the first to discover and present things to the world, and rarely allow others to dominate them. Now imagine these traits in a child. Your Aries child will most likely be energetic, innovative, and will have a deep desire to be #1 in life. Self-esteem is seldom ever a problem for the Aries children. I think it was an Aries child who first said, “Look Ma, no hands!” It is not that they are daredevils but that they are quite comfortable taking risks and they have the self-confidence to do so. In general, Aries has the ability to set their own limits and will not do anything too crazy, so go ahead and cheer them on. They do not really need anyone else’s belief in them in order to succeed, but they really do enjoy the praise. Do not be surprised to find that your Aries child is incredibly innovative with one-of-a-kind brilliant insights. Whether they use it to build things, lead their friends on the playground, or to design a system for organizing their toys, you will know that your little Aries is quite clever and has no problem trying new things. They can work alone or in groups to test and study the various applications of their ideas. Aries children are quite capable of entertaining themselves when there are no friends around and they really do understand that Mom and Dad have work to do most days. They are also very good at socializing and in general are rather easy to get along with. Your Aries child may come across as very independent and they might not appear to be very needy on an emotional level. The truth is that it is very easy to hurt their feelings by not listening to them. They need someone to bounce ideas off, a cheerleader, a guide, and it needs to be someone who really understands them and believes in them and in their ideas.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...

It seems like so many of our close friends are pregnant with their first or second baby right now! It is such an exciting time, and we are thrilled that Leighton will have lots of little playmates in the very near future! A few of my first time preggers friends have asked me what my 'must haves' are. I thought about it, and came up with my own list of my favorite items I absolutely cannot live without!

1. Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets-http://www.adenandanais.com/shop/swaddles.aspx
I am obsessed with these amazing muslin blankets. For anyone with a spring or summer baby, these rock! They are super soft and lightweight, unlike many of the flannel material receiving blankets at Babies R Us. They are also enormous, so you can get a good swaddle with them. So far New Baby Products in Atlanta is the only place I can find them... I seriously want to order every item on this website, the fabric is heavenly!


2. Serena and Lily Market Sling-I am in love with all things Serena and Lily! However the love I have doesn't justify the insane prices of most of their items:( They have great sales from time to time, so while I was pregnant I ordered one of their beautiful slings hoping it would come in handy. I am so glad I purchased it, because it is one of the only things that calms LG down when she has massive breakdowns and all else fails! I am pretty sure it reminds her of being in the womb... whatever it is, it works and I highly recommend it!


3. BOB Revolution Stroller-This is worth every single penny hands down! When I bought my little Audi sportscar last year, I was naive to the fact that I would become pregnant several months later :) So it was a battle finding a carseat, stroller, etc that would fit into my tiny little vehicle! The BOB is awesome because the wheels pop on and off, so I can toss it in and out of the car quickly without having to jam it in with the wheels attached. I started running again about a week ago, and this stroller is amazing. We also used it at the beach and it was super easy to maneuver on the sand.


4. Mylicon Gas Drops-Like TUMS for babies! Not much explanation needed, but it's our little 'magic serum' for calming her fussy tummy!

5. Lansinoh Lanolin Cream & Gel Pads-Again not much explanation needed, but I strongly advise every breastfeeding mama to purchase in bulk! It's one of the only ways I was able to physically tolerate those first few weeks.

6. Dr. Browns Baby Bottles-The hype is well deserved! These really do cut down on gas and tummy issues. I will be honest and say they are time consuming to clean with their many parts and tiny crevices, but I would obviously MUCH rather deal with that than the pain of colic or gas troubles.



7. Baby Einstein Around The World Bouncer-This is one of those things that was probably one of the least expensive items we bought, but is worth it's value in gold! LG LOVES this chair so much and can sit forever staring at the panda bear (we call Mr Panda her boyfriend). It also plays music, and has flashing lights on top that she loves to stare at.

8. Bath Luve-This is one of those genius inventions that had me scratching my head saying "Why didn't I think of that? I could be a millionaire!". It's basically a washcloth shaped to cover baby's body while in the bathtub. You submerge it in waster and drape over baby to keep them warm so the part of their body exposed to air doesn't get cold. As adults we know how annoying it is to have part of ourselves exposed to the cold air while taking a bubble bath... I wish they made them in adult sizes:)



9. Baby Bjorn-We love this infant carrier. Everyone is talking about 'baby wearing', and how great it is for bonding but it's also very convenient for me. I have started to take Leighton into stores in the carrier because it's so much easier than lugging around her 2 ton carseat! It is also very useful when she is having a meltdown and wants to be held because I can still cook dinner, fold laundry, answer email, etc while keeping her content.

10. Baby Legs!-Okay, so these aren't so much a necessity as a fashion statement! They are super cute and I just adore them! They are basically stylish little mini leg warmers for babies that make diaper changing a breeze. They come in hundreds of colors and designs, and I just love em'!

Mama's Day!

We went down to Destin for Mother's Day weekend, and spent some time with Meme and Grampy! Leighton loved her first beach experience. We didn't want her out in the sun during peak daylight hours, but we did take her down to the ocean at sunset and she loved hearing the waves crash. We also set up a little baby pool in the backyard next to the big pool, and she had a great time splashing around! I know that innately all babies kick and squirm when introduced to water, but I like to imagine she was working on perfecting her backstroke, and will one day be an olympic swimmer... or receive an Ivy League athletic scholarship perhaps??!! ;)

My first Mother's Day was wonderful, and I was suprised at how much emotion I felt that day. We went to Harry T's on the water for lunch, then Jason and I went down and relaxed on beach for a few hours while Meme and Grampy babysat. Here are some photos of our first vacation!

The First Six Weeks

As I sit here and write this entry, I am amazed that six weeks have flown by. Six weeks of joy, tears, overwhelming emotion, abounding love, and so many life lessons taught by a tiny 9 pound baby girl. The journey we have just begun has been so amazing, and I never in my life imagined that being a mother could be so fulfilling. I never knew...

That the first smile from our precious miracle could surpass the pride I have felt from any sales award or accomplishment received at work.

That seeing the first flashes of her unique personality would create so much excitement within me.

That celebrating my first Mother's Day could be as awesome and fun a milestone as my 30th birthday weekend (well, almost:)).

That hearing her cry in pain or frustration could inflict so much pain upon my own heart.

That the love of a child could make our marriage so much stronger, our bond and love for each other tenfold.

I haven't been good about updating this blog as I knew I wouldn't, but I do plan to be more diligent as I want Leighton to have all of these entries and pictures as a memoir someday.

I have included some pictures of our first few weeks. We have been a very active little family considering the short amount of time LG has been in this world! I tell everyone Leighton is my little sidekick and goes everywhere with her mommy:) I will say springtime has been a fabulous time to have a newborn. The beauty of the outdoors and amazing weather has been ideal for lifting those baby blues and creating a backdrop to take Leighton out for her first strolls and activities.

Some of the unique things we have discovered are her love of the outdoors (whenever she's cranky or crying, just take her outside and she cheers right up!), her love of reggae music, her fascination with bright colors and patterns, her love of water, as well as her inherent love of fashon; I think she spits up on herself mulitple times throughout the day just so she gets a wardrobe change! After all, what six week old wants to be seen in the same outfit for 6 hours straight? I think not!

I included a random assortment of pics from the past few weeks. Stay tuned for more updates on our parenthood saga:)

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, a home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten and the future worth living for."