Spring Weekend

My good friend from high school was getting married the first weekend in April up in Georgia, so we decided it would be a great opportunity to visit family and friends with Annabelle for the first time. As such, we took Annabelle on her first plane flight! She was a perfect little travel buddy, didn't even make a peep the whole flight. I thought all was going well until we landed in Atlanta. We waited, and waited, and waited for her car seat bag to come up. After an hour of waiting and numerous texting back and forth with my brother, who patiently waited outside for us to come out, we decided the bag was never going to come up. We had to get a loaner and head home empty handed. We packed all her clothes in the bag, so we had a fun time wearing this little outfit for 24 hours until we FINALLY received our luggage/car seat.

Luckily, we were with good company, which helped keep our mind off the stress. They even shared some therapy food with us, aka Oreos and milk. 

Kayla taught me how to properly eat Oreos with milk. This is the classy form. A fork sure is the cleaner way to go. 

I also exercised the frustration out with Kayla and her bestie Sabrina. We loved getting our dance party on. :) Unfortunately, other people had to witness our shenanigans. They were good sports though and didn't laugh too much.

Speaking of girl fun, I got to see both of my best friends in one weekend. It was great timing! 

I first saw Kitty and her little boy Miles. I can't believe we both have babies now.  

This is our baby swap for the afternoon. 

Then I got to go see Ms. Jenny Shular and her family at the wedding. I loved catching up with the Shulars, we had a great time celebrating our friend Caty's wedding day. 

Sadly, I didn't snag a picture of me with the bride, but she looked beautiful!

Mr. & Mrs. Womack:

We had a great night enjoying all the wedding festivities and celebrating the wonderful couple. I'm glad we've stayed friends all these years.

Meanwhile, back in town, we spent the rest of the weekend with my brother's family. We went out to dinner with Jason and Lori to Ted's Montana Grill, then we came home and went bowling with the family. 

On our lane: 

1. Kayla 

2. Sabrina

3. Robert

4. JoAnna

It was my first time bowling since Annabelle and I almost beat Robert! It would have been my first time, but per my usual I choked at the very end! UGH! Such a disappointment.

However, these girls cheered me up.

Our last full day was spent enjoying the beautiful spring weather by riding bikes, playing croquet, and going on a golf cart ride through town. It was Annabelle's first golf cart ride. It moved, so naturally she liked it.

I'm not looking too hot here, but I did ride Kayla's bike for a few...not as easy as I thought it would be. It was a big hill and I was not dressed for bike riding. 

 We also played board games like Ticket to Ride, I Spy (with Kaden), and Life. However, we all decided to abandon the game of Life (ha!) when Robert happened to draw the $100,000 salary. He was not happy that we left him. He kept trying to play for everyone, but eventually gave up.

We like to call Kayla, Annabelle's unofficial Aunt. :) 

 We had a wonderful weekend and wish we could have had more time! We sure do miss Georgia. After all the fun, we headed out on an early flight home Monday morning. Again, she traveled so well and we were so thankful our car seat made it this time! 

March Madness!

Here's our March update!

We made it to 2 months and still have the harness on full time.

Annabelle is growing and eating well. She's a healthy and happy baby, who is sleeping well through the night and stays active (or spends time sleeping) while playing with her cat ZuZu.

She likes hanging out with Robert when he gets home from work.

I made it to 27! Among other things this month, I celebrated my good ol' birthday.

Robert arranged a babysitter and we headed out for a relaxing dinner at one of our new favorite restaurants, Steam. I was spoiled with cards from friends and family and some fun gifts! Robert surprised me with my new tennis racquet that I've had my eye on for over a year.

Last week I returned back to work! It was an extremely busy week, but "we" adjusted and made it work! I've enjoyed being back to a normal routine again, and Annabelle has been really helpful as you can tell. :) No really though, I've managed to keep up with work and her schedule so far. Let's hope it continues.

Isn't she a cute assistant? However, I think she needs a bit more training because she always seems to sleep or play on the job.

As usual during March, we've been enjoying the March Madness games, especially as I watch my bracket tank. However, Robert's still doing alright in his bracket. At least, Annabelle thought the games were entertaining.

The Easter Bunny visited early this year! Robert's parents came into town to spend the day with us and showered us with some treats!

Needless to say, I've been binging on eating some yummy candy lately.

 The weather has been strangely cold here for this time of year, so we're taking advantage of the nice days we get by going on walks with sunglasses because the Florida sun can be bright!

 Here's to hoping warmer weather will stay around!

Visitors

 Since Annabelle was born, we've been hosting and visiting family and friends to show her off.

Her first visitor was Grandma Fountain who rushed down from Jacksonville to be with us in the hospital shortly after her birth. She was a great help while we were away from home.

While still in the hospital, her great-grandparents and our friends Carlos and Jennifer, and Stephanie dropped in to hold her and say hello.

Once we made it home, my wonderful momma came to stay with me for ten days.

She loved spending time with miss Annabelle. 

We had a great time relaxing and enjoyed having her here with us.

 Unfortunately, we failed to snap photos of our visits from friends, but lots of people dropped in to say hello to Annabelle. We were so appreciative of all the love and support. 

Grandpa Fountain made it down and fell in love.

Other visitors from Jacksonville made it down for a visit:

Nick and Mrs. Momma-to-be Amanda Ferrer

It was such a great visit we all started crying (no, screaming). Here we are imitating miss Annabelle and her wonderful set of lungs.

Once a month old, we ventured out for our first road trip to Jacksonville to see Granny and friends.

It was a beautiful visit.

It was fun catching up with friends and seeing Austin and Mel who were recently engaged. Chris and Teri, Robert's parents, hosted a fun party where we celebrated these two wonderful events.

And this one can't get enough of Miss Annabelle, he's smitten. 

 I think she's going to be quite spoiled and have lots of people who love her.

New Year, New Beginnings

To begin, we bought a new car!

Our "Green Machine" (a/k/a the Explorer) has seen better days. So, with the baby coming, we decided to get a more dependable car for me to drive when home. We spent many hours at numerous car lots looking for a vehicle that fit our preferences and eventually found this 2004 Acura MDX. 

We haven't decided on a name yet for this car, any suggestions? 

A week later, we decided to add another addition to our family:

Annabelle Mary Fountain 

Born at 5:55 p.m. on January 13, 2013

She was suppose to be a planned c-section on Friday, January 18 because of her breech position. The weekend before that date, I told Robert we should go out with our friends for a last hurrah. That Saturday, January 12, we went shopping in the afternoon to pick up a few last items we needed for the nursery and then met up with our friends Shawnee, Brandon, Carlos, and Stephanie in Tampa for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Dinner was a lot of fun and we had a good time talking about babies, as Stephanie recently found out she is pregnant as well. When we arrived home, I helped Robert take our purchases from that day up to our condo. I walked in the door and immediately felt a "weird feeling." I didn't think much of it and went to bed. I didn't sleep well that night thinking maybe my water had broke, but since I didn't have any pain or contractions that went with it, I headed to church in the morning. Following church, as Robert and I were talking about our day, I mentioned my uneasiness last night while sleeping and he suggested I call the doctor. I did as he encouraged and telephoned the doctor who was on call that weekend. She told me to come into the hospital so they could run some tests to make sure my water did not break. I gave in and decided to do what the doctor suggested, so I quickly made sure I had a few things packed in case we didn't come back home.

Here I am outside waiting for the elevator with the new diaper bag I purchased the day before.

New car packed and ready to go.

Robert said, "Quick take my photo in case today is the day." Here he is driving me to the hospital.

We checked into Triage. Here I am waiting for the test results. The nurse who performed my examination said that she felt my bag of water still, so things were looking good. We just needed the other tests to come back negative for amniotic fluid.

So, we waited and watched the Falcons vs. Seahawks game before eventually taking a nap.

Well, the test didn't come back negative! It was true, my water was leaking and they were going to need to deliver me that day. 

COMMENCE breakdown. This was not according to plan. Who would have thought this would be my last belly photo? I still had four or five more days, today was not my day (or so I thought)! 

At 4:00 p.m. the nurse came into my room, told me my test was positive for fluid and said the doctor was on her way now. I had little time to prepare mentally and physically. Next thing I know, I was being hooked up with IVs and taking medicine. I had barely enough time to call my mom and tell her I was not going to make my Skype family baby shower that she had planned for me with my siblings. 

Robert gave me a blessing and then I was wheeled to the operating room. 

Speaking of Robert, he was quite proud of his look. May I introduce, Dr. Fountain:

Just a little nervous, but I think I'm ready...

Show time!

The procedure went better and faster than I thought. I was wheeled in and given my epidural. Within a short time my feet and lower half went warm.Robert then came in and kept me company while the doctor and staff went to work. Next thing I know, there's a screaming little one and she was here.

Born at 5:55 pm.

Robert cutting the cord:

Our first photo as three:

She was so little because they swaddled her feet by her head. She came out doing a toe touch, which explains why she never turned.

Recovery room and spending my first moments with her.

Proud daddy sending out text messages and emails announcing the good news.

My doctor and our happy Annabelle (not).

With a c-section you stay longer in the hospital, so Robert and I had many meals together like this. The hospital food was great and I enjoyed not having to worry where my next meal was coming from. (Note: That black strap was my best friend! It held my pain medication - nice and convenient for getting around).

In case I forget who I am and whom I belong to:

Robert was quickly initiated and changed most of the first diapers.

Other pictures from the hospital:

Snuggle time

I loved her little mittens.

Getting dressed, so we could go home:

Buckled up!

Here we go.

And since we've been home:

We've (well she has) slept a lot.

Played catch with Daddy:    

Tried out our crib:

Took our first bath:

Terrorized mommy at night:

well not all the time...

Adjusted to the harness we have to wear for 12 weeks.

 

Took a stroll on the beach.

Slept some more. 

 Practiced important ninja skills:

 Loved sleeping in the car seat:

Little monkey

Welcome to our new life!