Happy Thanksgiving!

Matt and I decided to try our hand at cooking Thanksgiving this year. Because Sarabeth is so little, we didn't want to travel far so we decided to stay close to home and visit with friends. Matt fried the best turkey ever! Here he is with his masterpiece:

I made homemade dressing, Paula Deen style, giblet gravy, and a few sides. I also made Paula's Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding. Notice the small hole in the pudding...there was a crooked cookie so I tried to fix it and it broke-poor cookie met it's end and it was sooo good!

Here's the rest of the spread:

Matt and I were so excited to have our first real Thanksgiving together as a family. Just the 3 of us. Neither of us had ever tried to cook Thanksgiving before and it turned out wonderful. It took all day to make and about 20 mintues to eat! It was well worth all the effort.

Sarabeth just sat in her swing and slept while we ate.

For dinner we went to visit Bonnie and Brandon and ate again. Matt watched the Dallas game and then we went home and Erin and Mike came over with the girls...and we ate again! It was a great day to relax with friends and family and think about all the things we are thankful for.

Happy Turkey Day!

My Baby Girl!

More Pictures

Her First Bath

Leaving the hospital

Matt calls her his "opening day" baby. He thinks her birthdays from now on will be trips to the deer lease...

No One Told Me

That motherhood would be this hard.

That 12 days after giving birth I would look down and still not see my feet.

That right about the time I closed my eyes, she would open hers.

That I would be tempted to scroll through my phone to find someone to call to watch her while I went to the bathroom.

That the thought of a pedicure and manicure seemed so far away.

That such a tiny little being could have such explosive diapers!

That the lady at Walmart would ask me when my baby was due...5 days post partum.

No one ever told me what it would be like to be a mom. Yet, despite these things no one could have told me the joy that motherhood brings. Even in the middle of the night when I'm switching her from the cradle to the swing to the bouncy seat, just to get a few more minutes sleep, all I have to do is look at her sweet little face, and it all goes away.

I hear all of these things in my head "wait as long as you can to have kids, they change your life forever" "Your life will never be the same" " just wait, you'll never sleep right again".

The truth hurts.

Matt and I are trying hard to settle in, but it hasn't been easy. Sarabeth is such a great baby, rarely cries, but we are still up every 2-3 hours feeding, burping, entertaining, pumping milk (well me, not Matt :) The days and nights start to run together and soon your forget what day it is altogether. I know this time is temporary and I am enjoying her infancy. It's just hard adjusting, knowing that your comfy, soft bed is calling your name and you have to ignore it for the time being. Maybe one day, I'll sleep. Until then, I'll just keep depending on my daughters sweet face and uncontrollable smiles in the middle of the night to keep my mind off the rest.

More Pictures of Sarabeth

We have the most beautiful baby girl! We've all enjoyed taking pictures of her sweet little face! Here are some my dad took today.

She's Finally Here!

Sarabeth Rose Landes was born Thursday, Nov.1 at 3:50 pm. It was a very looooong day and after several hours of pushing, she came via C-section. We both had some minor complications so we'll be here for a few days but all in all, she is healthy and beautiful. Here are a few pictures and we'll blog more when we get home. We are all going to try to get some sleep tonight. Enjoy!

Sarabeth and Daddy.

7lbs, 15oz 20 1/2 inches long

My little baby girl. She has a splint on her arm that is holding her IV straight. Poor thing!

I'll have a lot more pictures to post tomorrow. Look for some updates later this weekend. We'll be home on Sunday. Thank you to all that have come to visit and check on us. We appreciate it!

We Made It!

We arrived at Memorial Hermann last night about 7:30 pm. Matt left and went to Chili's to get me my "last meal". I had chicken crispers...my favorite! The doctor started me on something to start softening my cervix. I also have an IV with glucose since I'm not allowed to eat after 12. I have a fetal monitor, contraction monitor, and a blood pressure cuff! It is an act of congress to go to the ladies room which is only 4 steps from my bed. It was a very long night. Neither Matt nor I slept at all. OF course I started contractions right away and the medicine didn't help. I had the sweetest nurse on call last night, Kristi! She gave me 2 different kinds of sleeping medicine, neither of which worked. The contractions were getting stronger and closer together so she called the doc and had the medicine stopped for an hour while I could get some rest. At 6:45 Nurse Kristi started to Pitocin and informed me that I was 2cm dilated and 100% effaced, finally! Progress! I ordered for my epidural right away, the contractions were making me physically ill, I was throwing up! They made Matt leave for this part :( The anesthesiologist had to poke me 2 times to get the needle in and then once he threaded the tube, I could here it pop between my spine!! It was much better than the pain of the 18 gauge needle that is in my arm however!

So now I am completely numb from the waist down and loving every minute of it! I don't know how I ever thought I could be super woman and go without. Kudos to those of you that can! So we are are playing the waiting game again. She should be delivered sometime around 3pm we are guessing. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted. Time for a nap before the real work gets here!