Six week update

With Charlie and Paula on the trail

Landry's first trip to the mall with mom and Mimi

Working her skinny jeans at Nana's house! 

Snuggling with Mimi

Finding time for posting to the blog has been a little tough lately.  Last weekend, I had my quarterly flea market and I've been writing a lot of freelance in addition.  Oh yeah, I have a newborn, too!

Needless to say, I've had my hands full but it's been such a fun time.

The flea was a huge success.  It was my second largest show ever!  The vendors were really fabulous and of course I took home a couple of finds (a cool geode necklace, breezy high-waisted pants, a huge metal letter "C" for the outdoor cabana...). My friend Ariana did the public relations for the show and hit it out of the park!  We we featured on the radio, publications all over town, and I even did a television segment for Good Morning Texas.

On Monday, Landry will be seven weeks old.  I can't believe it!  She's already ten-plus pounds and growing every day.  Last Monday, my mom was still in town from helping with the flea and we took Landry to get an ultrasound on her hips.  My pediatrician ordered the test to make sure everything developed properly with her being breech in my tummy for so long.  I should have the results in a week or so and will be sure to report back.

Even though she's only six weeks old right now, I've really been taking her out and about to get her socialized and used to buzzing around town with me.  This week we had our second play date with Paula and the twins.  We met for breakfast on the Katy Trail (a long outdoor walking trail in town) and then took the kiddos on a stroll.  We meet Ariana usually once a week for a date; yesterday we took her to lunch to thank her for all of her help with the flea and then hit a fun estate sale to shop for some treasures (starting the peanut early!).  Yesterday, I also took Landry to a job Morgan and I have in a cool high rise (Mo wanted me to look at a few things and it was just down the street from my house) so Landry's also getting the hang of joining mom on jobs.

I'm planning on going back to work full-time the first of June but I'm still writing a lot and working on the September flea.  Morgan and I are in the midst of figuring out Farrow & Cobb post maternity leave so it can work for my schedule and new lifestyle.  Our nanny starts on Tuesday and will be with us two days a week to start off with.  My mother-in-law takes Landry on Wednesdays so those three days should really help me get work done as well as normal life stuff like groceries, errands, etc.  Oh, I can't wait to have time to buy some new clothes and shoes!

Before I get back to work full time, Landry and I are flying out to California to visit family.  I'm so excited to see my parent's new digs at the beach and take Landry to the water and put her tiny little toes in the sand.  We'll be home for five days so we can see friends and family and just chill for a while.  Hoping the weather is great to get a little sun, too.  Although I'm not quite bikini ready, I just have seven more pounds to go!  My doctor is asking that I don't lose it for a while though so I can keep my milk supply as it has really gone down.  I'm still feeding Landry lots of milk, but we've had to add in about two formula bottles a day to keep up with her growing appetite!

As far as her development, she's really alert.  My mom got her to follow a toy last week from side to side for a while.  She's always making hilarious expressions and smiles all the time.  She's starting to coo and make lots of noises, too.  Her hair is starting to fill in and is still dirty blonde and straight.  Eyes are still blue, too. She's already out of her newborn clothes and filling 0-3 month outfits nicely.  It makes me so sad to retire those cute, little, doll baby, newborn clothes...

She's starting to sleep longer at night.  It's funny how life works sometimes: The night before the flea, she went to bed with me at 10 p.m. and slept through the night for the first time waking up with me and my alarm at 5 a.m.  She did the same thing the next night but then went back to a three hour sleep schedule the third night.  Now we're sleeping on average about four or so hours between feedings but I'll take it!  I told my vendors at the show that the morning of the flea is usually hard because I get so little sleep but this show I was a new woman as it was the most sleep I'd had in six weeks!

This weekend we plan to just lay low as last weekend was a long one with the flea -- plus, Michael just got back in town from a long business trip last night.  Tomorrow we plan to have a play date with Kyle and Lindsey and let the kiddos meet for the first time.  Should be a great time!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

P.S. -- Landry's announcements are here!  I finally found a time during a nap to address and stamp them.  Putting them in the mail today so expect them soon (sorry for any swirly scribble; wrote them one-handed while holding the babe).

Picture perfect

Here are a few of my favorite shots from Landry's newborn shoot.  

Sleepy time

A few shots of the snuggle bug sleeping.  One of her favorite past times when not eating or making magic!

With Uncle Jon after dinner at the house.  We love when he visits!

Sleeping with Daddy after her morning feeding -- a daily ritual.

Snug on Mommy's chest during some loud Texas storms

Scenes from the newborn shoot

Here's a little taste of Landry's newborn shoot from a couple weeks ago with Uncle Pappy (aka Evans, the shutterbug).  Will post the real images when I get them soon.

Happy Easter!

Sorry for the long pause in posts!  Needless to say, we've been very busy these days.

I can't believe on Monday Landry will be four weeks old.  We've really found our stride with parenthood.  Although she's far from sleeping through the night, we've learned her commands and have found a nice schedule that works for the family.

She is such a good baby our job is far from hard.  Other than that darn 3 a.m. feeding, she is just perfect.  She hardly cries unless she's going potty (or "making magic," as my friend Kim told me they call it at their house -- isn't that cute?!) or hungry.

Over the past few weeks we've had a few outings and they've all gone really well.  It's important to us to get her out and about when there's a safe and appropriate environment.  So far, she's had lunch and dinner on a couple patios (thank goodness for this gorgeous spring weather), The Arboretum with my mom to check out all of the pretty spring flowers, and even the mall for a quick lunch with Ariana and errand.

Several times a week I take her on a walk around the neighborhood, which she just loves.  (I credit my walks and pumping milk to loosing 20 pounds so far.  Just ten more to go!) If not sleeping, she loves to look around and just gaze into the sky.  Yesterday my friend Kari came over and we took her on a walk to the local Starbucks where she was a big hit!

Today we had our first major outing to Kari's family's ranch about an hour north of Dallas.   They hosted probably about 200 people out for an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos.  It was a beautiful day and just darling to watch all of the colorfully dressed kids run around and play, fetch eggs, and listen to holiday stories read aloud.  Although Landry wasn't able to participate in the festivities, we made sure to get her photo with the Easter bunny and watch all of the fun.

She's definitely growing every day. Outfits that didn't fit just last week are already a little snugger.  Her personality is blooming, too.  This week she giggled for the first time.  It was the cutest sound ever!  She's really moving her head and staying awake longer during the day.

Michael is getting closer and closer to her everyday.  He's really helpful with feedings (we typically feed her my pumped milk from a bottle) and diaper duty.  He loves to lay her on her tummy on his chest while she naps.  They are just adorable together.

I still can't really tell who she looks like.  She's pretty identical to my baby photo but when I look at her I don't see the exact resemblance.  Her eyes are still blue; her hair is dirty blonde and straight.  She has the most perfect coloring but we can't tell if she's fair like Michael or more olive like me.  Michael and I both see a lot of my dad in her at times, especially her eyes and eyebrows.

Two weeks ago we had my dear friend Evans over for her newborn shoot while my family was in town.  Pat and Jerry (Landry's Nana and Grandpa) also came over for the shoot, which was a ball.  I had four looks pulled and we plopped, pushed, and wiggled the bean into cute poses around the house.  Evans just sent the link to the photos yesterday and I plan to sift through them tomorrow to pick my favorite for her announcement.

It was so fun having my dad and Ryan in town.  We went on walks, ate on patios around town, potted plants in the backyard, and had a killer meal in the cabana one night.  We really just relaxed, caught up, and enjoyed each other's company.  It was perfect.  I already miss them so much and can't wait for this summer to be together again at the beach in California!

Mom my left last Sunday so it's been about a week watching her on my own during the day.  In late May  we will have a nanny so I can get back to work but for the time being I really want to enjoy her as much as possible during this quick baby stage.  Michael went out of town one night this week and my first 40-plus hour stint was trying but wonderful.  I've never once been frustrated by Landry (yet) because I know this newborn time is so short and a simple glance at her makes me just beam with happiness.

She's just precious and we are totally obsessed with this new addition to our family!