Big week!

Well its been a very big week for us!

Many of you know Scott works at Chick-fil-a. He aspires to own one one day. Right now he is working part time while he is trying to finish up a history degree at UALR. Chick-Fil-A just requires thier operators to have a degree. So Scott has been working as a team member while finishing school. However, he really needed some sort of promotion within the company to further him on his road to being an owner. After 2 years of waiting, he was promoted to Team Leader! We are so very excited about this! Its just a bonus that he also got a raise.


Also, you may have heard that we were looking to move. We got notice when we brought Bryce home from the hospital that our rent was going up $50 a month. This may seem like no big deal to some of you, but $50 in our monthly budget is a lot to us. Not to mention that we just had a baby and will be spending a small fortune in diapers and childcare. We aspire to be homeowners one day. We also aspire to be a 2 car family. So we gave notice that we planned on moving out in June when our lease was up. I was not looking forward to moving at all. This would have been our 4th move in 3 years. The good news is, the aprtament complex told us that they decided that they were not going to raise the rent after all! I guess too many people said they were gonna move out! So now that monkey is off my back


Speaking of monkies...... I have the cutest little monkey you have seen!

Snowcones!

So I have a goal for this summer. Its just for me. Something to look forward to every week. I have decided that I will try every flavor of snow cone on the board at the Purple Penguin snow cone stand.

My entire pregnancy I CRAVED snow cones. Unfortunately, the snow cone stand was closed for most of the time I was pregnant. So, I have been very excited about the fact that the snow cone stand is now open. The flavor I craved the most? Pina Colada with cream. Last week, when they opened, I was there standing in line for my sacred pina colada. It was then, by suggestion of our friend Nancy, that I should try them all! And so I shall!

There are 55 flavors listed here, but there are more "regular" flavors and a few more cream flavors down there at the bottom. There is roughly 20 weeks until September. That means 2.75 snow cones a week! A pretty lofty goal! We shall see!

Oh and Sally, my mother in law, bought me this jiffy snow cone maker. I have yet to get it out of the box yet, but I can't wait to start making my own concoctions.

Little Moments of a Little Family

One morning this week, Bryce was awake and fussing. Mommy and Daddy were not ready to get up. So we laid Bryce between us in the bed where we could take turns popping his paci back in his mouth whenever it fell out and he began to fuss. In the early morning light, I looked across the bed at my little family. The man, who I fell in love with 6 years ago, who I still love today, and my precious little baby. I soaked it all up. This is what I had wanted all along. A family of my own. I couldn't help but think how more complete the picture would look if there was a little sister in the bed with us....but Bryce is more than enough joy for now. I feel so lucky, so blessed, so grateful to be happily married, have a healthy baby, and to have so much joy and happiness. Our life is far from perfect, but it sure is beautiful.


Scott and I have been coming up with nick names for Bryce. Bryce-a-roni, Bryce krispy, Bryce cake. I sometimes call him Rooty Tooty when he fills his diaper! :) Bryce got to meet our dear friend Dylan. Dylan thinks his nick name should be lemon! It was a precious moment.

Bryce is getting fatter and fatter everyday! I put his pajamas on last night and they barely fit. Time to retire the new born clothes :(  I've even noticed that he doesn't look near as tiny in his car seat anymore. Gosh they grow up too fast! I know I'll wake up tomorrow and he'll be asking for the keys to the car.


Did I mention he rolled over from his tummy to his back? It was by complete accident. He was mad about his paci falling out was really kicking around about it. When he rolled over it scared him to death and he cried. I'm not gonna give him credit for it until he does it again.

1 month old!

Bryce is 4 weeks old! He is such a big boy now!


Weight: 8 lbs 8 oz

Diaper size: I just graduated him to size 1 yesterday. The newborn size still fits, Im just too cheap to go buy more diapers when I literally have hundreds of size 1 diapers.

Clothing size: Still in Newborn clothes. 0-3 months fit him length wise but the neck, arm, and leg holes are monsterous on him.

Milestones:

•  He smiled yesterday!!! He has been smiling in sleep for a couple of weeks now, but this was his first awake smile. I can't describe to you the joy it filled my heart with. Probably second only the moment I first layed eyes on him.
•  He can roll on his side. I just know he is going to roll over any day now. Most times when I go into his room at night he is sleeping peacfully on his side.
• He can almost lift his head. He lifts his head all the time when I hold him against my chest to burp him, but if I lay him on his tummy he can't quite do it just yet. He can turn his head side to side while on his tummy.

Firsts: LOTS of first this month. First bath, first trip out of the house, first dr's visit, first Sonic Happy Hour, first Easter, first trip to church, first ride in the stroller, first trip to the Big Dam Bridge, first time heard and was scared by thunder,


Mommy's Favorite Moments:

• When he falls asleep in my arms, I love watching all his facial expressions. I wonder what he is dreaming about.Sometimes when he is making his faces I think "Oh you just looked like Uncle Harvey whe you did that". He looks just like my dad when he grins only on one side of his mouth. He looks like Grandma Sally to me when he puckers his mouth out and sometimes he even bats his eyelashes like Great Grandma Zela. Of course, his temperment and personality reminds me so much of Uncle Cody. Just a sweet, tenderhearted, easy-going, little boy. Never makes much a fuss about anything, unless he is hungry :)

Some things I've learned in my new adventure of Mommyhood

I can't believe Bryce is 3 weeks old!

Pee. The inevitable has happened. I can't even count the times Bryce has hosed us mid diaper change. We bought this plush basketball thingy made by Munchkin (its machine washable) to hold over him during diaper changes. It has saved me several times. It is a must have for baby boys. New mom experience: washing pee off the wall behind the dresser.

Poop. Scott and I have been lucky so far and dodged getting pooped on. Grandma Burrup hasn't escaped! I have, however, witnessed the powerful explosion of poop shooting 3 feet in all directions on the changing pad cover. Good thing we own more than 1! New mom experience: If the diaper isn't poopy and he scrunches up his legs and starts grunting, poop is on its way, and you better take cover.

Sleep. Haven't figured this one out yet. There are days he sleeps ALL day and I have to wake him to feed him. The past 2 days he's been awake 5-6 hours at a time. Some nights he wakes up every 2 hours to eat. Other nights, he might only wake up every 4. Some nights, he sleeps soundly in his crib with no problems. Still, there are those nights that he seems very intent on sleeping on my chest while I lay back in the recliner. I hoping that once I go back to work, we will get on a more dependable pattern. New mom experience: learning to sleep with a baby in your arms or on your boob.

Bath time: Bryce HATES his bath. It starts off as a cry. Then it turns into the purple in the face cry. Then, it turns into the silent, tongue quivering, you can see the back of his throat, please stop and take a breath before you pass out SCREAMING. 90% of the problem is getting the bath water just right. We seem to get it a little to warm or not warm enough. I think I just need to go buy a thermometer so we stop torturing him at bath time. We do have a rubber ducky that changes color when the water is too hot, but it doesn't tell you when its too cold or when its "just right". New mom experience: learning to laugh when your baby is screaming because it really just breaks your heart beyond belief.


Breastfeeding: I am really becoming an advocate for breastfeeding. I think I've had a really good experience so far. I've heard horror stories of sore, cracked, nipples but fortunatly I have dodged this. (Like you wanna hear all about my nipples). The only downside I can possibly come up with is that I have to be the one to get up in the middle of the night. Scott gets to sleep peacefully through the night, at least until I start pumping and get him started on a bottle. I plan to start that sometime next week. New mom experience: The wonderful bonding experience of breastfeeding!