Best Friend's Wedding

"Going to the Chapel"...for a THIRD time this summer!

This time it was my BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING!!!! (Dallas, TX) I've known Emily and Preston for about four years now. I met them both at Baylor. Emily and I are both Alpha Chi's and were roommates my senior year. It's been wonderful to watch her and Preston's friendship grow into a beautiful loving relationship. God truly made them for each other. Their wedding was just as expected - a PERFECT & elegant! Emily would have nothing less of course :) It was very fitting for her. I was a bridesmaid, which made for a very full weekend. Also Emily-style...there was an extremely detailed schedule of events. Right down to the minute! I love schedules/lists so I actually enjoyed it, haha. 

Friday, all the girls had pedicures by the pool, complimented with a wonderful light lunch and drinks. Saturday started off early at 10:30am @ Emily's parent's house. All the house and bridal party met to get their hair and make-up done, while enjoying amazing food and drinks! The food kept coming throughout the entire day - I loveddd it. It was quite a site to see nearly 20 girls and women getting all prepped and pretty for the big event. Finally around 3:30pm we were off in the limo to the church...for MORE prep time!

We had a few too many girls in the limo, but made it work :)

After getting dressed, dressing Emily and lots of photos...the Roush-Keith wedding began! Besides the fact that the bridesmaid shoes were hands-down the MOST uncomfortable shoes I've ever worn and I literally almost fell walking down the isle (sorry Em!), the wedding was just awesome. It was SO great to witness their big day. The reception was on the top floor of a building in Dallas and had amazing views of the entire city. We danced the night away with all of our college friends. Good food. Good hotel. Great wedding. Awesome friends. Amazing weekend! 

(But we missed our little "O" BUNCHES. We got up early and ran back to him ASAP Sunday. Haha)

Enjoy the pics.

PMB

(And YES my tan is fake, yay spray tan!)

Rehearsal dinner time (with a side of a few swirl margaritas!!!) 

P&B

Me and lovely Em :)

3 Bests.

BEEE-autiful.

Waving bye to family and friends - leaving her house and GOING TO THE CHAPEL!

Me and Beth with the bride! On the way to the church...

SUPER full limooo with house/bridal party.

"WOAH!"

Ok all dressed!

Reception time...party time.

We look the same in every pic! Still cute :)

Her wedding wouldn't be complete without the Alpha Chi song! It's tradition... Look how many AXO's were there, like 15, woooohoo!

Teething

Orien loves his teething ring that we put in the freezer. He can hold it himself but has a hard time getting it in his mouth since it's kind of heavy. Dad was helping him hold it. A baby with numb gums is a happy baby!! 

We had a great time at our friend's wedding in Dallas this weekend. I'll post photos soon. But after 2 1/2 days apart from Orien, we were VERY ready to get back home to him. All week we have 6 family visitors in town!! Woohoo! I'll be sure to post photos from this week as well later. We saw them for a little bit today and they loved little O. It's so fun having new people meet him. Ok - off to bed! I'm exhausted after traveling. 

Love,

Patricia

Thanks Dad for helping me!

Yummm.

Around the House in July

This week I am working from home since my mom is out of town. She usually watches Orien during the day while I'm at work. Aunt Glenda came by yesterday to spend some time with us!! Orien thought she was pretty comfy :) 

I took some photos of Orien in his sailor shirt for his Aunt Judy! He has been wearing the 9-12 month clothes she bought for him for several weeks! We love the little shirts on him; they're too cute.

Enjoy! 

Love yall,

Patricia

Drooler

Orien likes to drool a lot as you can tell below. Lots of time due to the heat and his constant drooling we keep him in his diaper :) Enjoy the photos!

FOUR MONTHS

BEST FOUR MONTHS OF OUR LIVES.

Newborn!

Three days old.

Four days old.

1 month

1 month

2 months

2 months

3 months

3 months

4 months

4 months

AIRPLANE

Spending some quality time with Momma...As you can tell, he lovesss his hands.
(I think he was 15 weeks here)

Look at those eyelashes and his beautiful expression. Love it!

Checking In

 I wanted to check in and give an update on Orien at nearly 4 months! Time has flown. I can barely remember life before our little guy.

Weight:  XXL!! Haha. He's probably about 16 lbs. He weighed in at 15 lbs two weeks ago.  The nurse just laughed!

Length:  Not sure. He's in the 50% still I think. 

Eating:  STILL eating every THREE hours!! Little piggy. He averages 6 oz/feeding. And averages 4 oz of spit up/feeding :) Doc said he'll probably be a spit up baby til about 9 mon. Lots of extra laundry for me!

Sleeping:  FINALLY...some progress. He usually goes down at 8pm, sleeps til 1-2:30am (woohoo!) and wakes up for a feeding, then wakes again around 4-4:30am ready to play! Haha. So we're still working on that last part. I remember the days when every hour he was waking up and feeding every TWO hours. So we've come a long long way. I can say LETTING HIM CRY was the key :) Next baby, we'll be pros!!

New milestones:  He's been talking for a while, but now he does it NON stop! He's a chatter box. The doc was impressed and said he's chatty for his age, which is great. I've read/talked to him a lot since day one - hopefully it's helped! He's starting to say "Da" a lot and "Hay!", but he has no idea what he's saying haha. When I say "I love you" over and over, he tries to copy. It's too cute. 

He's getting pretty coordinated with his hands. He chews on them nonstop (and drools). He hasn't actually reached out for anything yet, but if you put something near his hands he grasps on to it! And holds on with a death grip. He loves pulling mommy and daddy's hair. 

His neck and back muscles are getting super strong! Maqui has been working with him a lot on this. Whenever he's laying down or in his car seat or swing, he tries to sit up, but isn't quite there yet. But when you hold his hands he lifts himself ALL the way up to sitting position! Yay!! We sit him up as much as possible and he loves it. He loves watching Leah the most. 

Another fun milestone is seeing him laugh out loud!!! It's the best. We haven't heard any big belly laughs yet, only little giggles. It's the cutest sound ever.

Challenges:  The major challenge I would say right now is fighting his constant rashes. I swear he has the MOST sensitive skin in the world. He has heat rash on his head, face, (very badly) under neck and on his arms constantly. He has lots of cradle cap (dryness on head). Drool rash on chin and chest. Mystery rash below belly button. And severe diaper rash right now with little white bumps :( We're working with the Doctor now how to get rid of it. Good thing is none of them seem to bother him - mostly just upsets mommy. 

Status on Mom and Dad:  We are loving loving every moment! After four months of getting not much sleep I'd say we're doing fairly well. We've really gotten into a routine, especially in the evenings. We like putting him down around 8 or earlier so we get some quality time every day. Otherwise we'd have zero. To maintain a healthy, growing marriage it's a necessity. Orien has Brett wrapped around his little finger! And I have never been SO in love with someone! Life is great. 

Mom Survey

Only because I had some free time at work...

1. How old were you when your first child was born?
23

2. What month and year was your youngest child born?
March 2009

3. How did you feel when you first found out you were pregnant?
Shocked and overjoyed!

4. Who did you tell first?
my friend Emily Keith

5. How many pounds did you gain during your first pregnancy?
32ish

6. What did you crave while you were pregnant?
sleep - no food cravings

7. Did you find out the gender of your first child? Why or why not?
YES! Why not?

8. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?
Besides pain pain pain and bedrest, a few pre-term labor scares.

9. How much did your first child weigh?
6 lbs, 6 oz

10. Was your first child early, late, or on time?
induced early at 38 weeks!

11. What is the most difficult challenge or health issue that any of your children have faced?
nothing (THANK GOODNESS!)

12. What's your favorite part of being a mom?
That feeling you get when he smiles at me.

13. Do you think it's easier to be a mom or a dad?
Um. DAD!

14. What is the best piece of advice you could give to someone who is about to have their first child?
GET SLEEP NOW - before your child is born. And make friends with babies and kids. Surround yourself with loving (and helpful) family and friends. Don't be alone all day, every day. Get out some! ASK FOR HELP always!!!

15. Did you always think you'd have kids?
Yep.

16. What's been the biggest surprise about motherhood?
How much of a 24/7 demanding, challenging job it is. It's much harder than I thought, but also very rewarding.

17. Are there things you miss about life before kids?
Yep. Lots of things - doing whatever, whenever. Seeing my childless friends more. More quality time with my husband. More alone time. But I'd trade all of that for what we have now any day.

18. How many children do you have?
One - and that's ALL I can handle right now!

19. Do you plan to have any more children?
Yep, one more probably.

20. Who's the mom that you admire most?
MY MOM! She is so selfless. She has always put her kids first no matter what. She's also my best best friend.

New toys for Orien!

Orien got slightly spoiled this weekend with a new Bumbo chair and a jumper! He isn't as entertained anymore with just laying around. Plus, he's starting to get a lopped-sided head! lol. He needs to sit up more. Enjoy the pics. 

Love yall!