Lucy is 4 months!

Oh, I love this child!  Each day, week, and month gets sweeter and sweeter with Tallulah Elizabeth Rouse!  You are such a gift, the greatest gift I have ever received other than the grace Jesus daily gives me.  This month has been my FAVORITE!  

Oh the new things you have done: 

-You role over from your back to your belly like a pro!

-You laugh and smile and talk (especially after you eat)

-Speaking of eating, you are no longer having your late night meal.  So, you are just eating 5 time a day, about 25 ounces a day!  Which means now you are sleeping 10-11 hours at night!

-People in public now comment on how healthy and chunky you look!

-You LOVE your toes!  I love your double heal stretches that you do on the reg.

-You are a drooooollllling queen!  Those teeth will be here soon!

Things you love:

-Your Paci!

-Your Swaddle!

-Your swing!

-Your sling carrier!

-Having a bow in your dark curly hair!

-You love being held by your daddy!

-Any attention people give you

-You love your hands, hence why you still sleep in your swaddle at night because your hands keep you awake!

Things you hate:

-loosing your paci

-making wet diapers

-not being able to fall asleep, you fight it SO hard! 

-an hour after each bottle you have a mini melt down because you realize how tired you are!

-being stuck on your belly and not being able to role back over.

New places you have been this month:

-You have celebrated your moms birthday!

-You went to your first NCSU game.

-Freshmen Young Life trip at the Refuge

-Ocean Isle Beach

-Coffee Shop in Kinston (mama loves this place!)

-Mama and Daddy left you for the first extended amount of time (the longest 8 hours of my life!) to go to a wedding in Wilmington!

-You met daddy's best friend David Hook

 Here she is modeling one of her mama's outfits from when she was a little girl!

 Oh I wish these pictures had volume so you could here this laugh!  It is the sweetest noise to my ears

 Her big brother Reynolds still loves her and followers her around wherever she goes, truly precious!

 "Love God and follow Him.  Really, nothing else matters.  If you are ever unsure what to do, remember how Jesus loved people.  He was the best at it.  You can trust Him because anywhere he asks you to go, He has been there too.  This is not an easy path, Lovies.  Jesus went to hard places and did hard things; He loved folks everyone else hated or despised.  But if you trust us at all, believe me: this is the life you want, this Jesus life." -Jen Haymaker

 "So these are my dreams for you:

Be kind.

Be you.

Love Jesus."

-Jen Hatmaker

Lucy is 3 months!

Okay... I will join the train... TIME SLOW DOWN! Lucy is getting so big and grown. She has really developed from a new born infant to a little girl. It has been an eventful month! We have spent a week at the beach with Lucy and she has had her first cold. As we speak (or type) she is still getting over an Upper Respiratory Infection. Sweet little girl has the loudest cough, but it is still amazing how the Lord created Lucy to be able to sneeze and to cough when she is sick. So, pray with me  her lungs and chest stay healthy! Other new things this week:

-lucy can role over from her stomach to her back!

-she recognizes and smiles really big when she sees her mom or dad!

-she is sleeping about 7-8 hours a night!

-she is on her way out of wearing newborn clothes!

-Lucy is chatting more and more each day! And it's so cute to hear her hit new octives!

-we are leaving her for the first time this weekend for more than 2 hours! Pray for us!

-lucy is now wearing size 1 diapers!

-she is on a great little schedule (minus a few weeks of growth spurts, but for the most part...) she wakes up about 7am, has a bottle, plays for an hour, and then sleeps for an hour and a half. Then we just repeat this until 10:30pm every 3 hours and that is our day!

Here are a few pictures of our precious little girl! Bring on month 3! 

Oh sweet Lucy! Not so Little anymore! You are so loved! My prayer for you always is that you will be strong, courageous, and kind!! May the Lord continue to reveal himself to us through you and may he continue to bless you Tallulah Elizabeth Rouse!

Little Lucy Rouse Month Two Photo Shoot

So, it has been my goal to take pictures of Lucy each month with my new camera in the Manual setting.  Yes, MANUAL.. very scary and uncharted territory! This has been SO fun to play with my camera and to capture some sweet pictures of our Little Lady!  So, enjoy these pictures starring Tallulah Elizabeth Rouse with a special appearance from her furry 4-legged brother Reynolds Rouse.

                        

I love that in these pictures it was just my goal to take them of Lucy, but this is proof that Reynolds can't stand to not be by his sisters side.  Reynolds, oh our sweet Reynolds.  It is hard to even write these words... Just as of yesterday we found out the sad news that Reynolds has hip dysplasia.  This is a common thing in Golden Retrievers to get, but it is so sad to see our precious 3 year old walk loving, ocean swimming, ball fetching furry friend not be able to do these things he loves.  The past 8 months we have been investigating his weak legs and knees.  We have rested, we have medicated, we have been taking joint vitamins, but things just kept getting worse.  So, we did x-rays yesterday and Dr. Brad confirmed our fear that he has weak hips with hip dysplasia.  I haven't been this sad in a long time.  No, he isn't going to die, but it is just as painful to watch our 101 pound son struggling to stand from sitting or laying down.  So, here is to our new favorite past time with Reynolds being snuggling, petting, and laying down with him to prevent his hips getting worse.  Let us pray that these precious joints won't get any worse and they will plateu right where they are.  Praying that medicine and joint supplements make him strong and to not have any pain.  Reynolds, you have a good 15 years of life ahead of you to grow old and gray with your Mom, Dad, and little sister Lucy!

Lucy is 2 months!

What the heck! People always told me that it goes fast, so enjoy it now! And wow, I truly cannot believe that Lucy was born 2 months ago! What a blur! The best and hardest blur of my life, but wow.. What a blur!

Today we celebrate you Lucy! The tiniest little human that I have such a HUGE love for! Everything about you is precious! The way you sneeze, yawn, hic-up, burp, snore, poop...and new this month the way you babble, laugh, and smile! Oh there has been nothing else so sweet that melts my heart and brings me to my knees in adoration of our Creator for how he created you so uniquely! 

Things Lucy loves:

-To be held tight on her side against your mom or dads chest!

-you LOVE your paci! I already dread the day of when we will have to take it away...

-you love your changing table! This is where you laugh and smile the most!

-you love to have your diaper changed!

-you love your car seat... Whether it is in the car or your stroller! As soon as it clicks in you are out for the count!

-you love being outside!

-your daddy makes you laugh and smile the most!

-you love the beach! A combination of the warmth, the sound of the ocean, and the breeze makes you snooze!

-you love the boat! 

-you love the bath! But, unfortunately your new favorite thing is pooping in your tub! 

Things Lucy hates:

-being hungry! You now eat 3 oz ever 2.5 hours! And now weighing 9 lbs!! Almost as big as your daddy when he was born... Pray for me yall when our next child is being created in me...

-still hates wet diapers! And you make atleast 10 a day!! So, we are flying through your newborn diapers!

-you hate not being able to fall asleep! And hate being woken up! I think you get this from your mama...

Places and new things Lucy has done this month:

-you saw your first movie... Jurassic World!

-you went to your first funeral. Mr. Finan will be so missed and you will hear stories about him for the rest of your life!

-you went to your first wedding! Cameron and Malissa! Your mom cried the whole time thinking about your daddy walking you down the aisle!

-you have been to the beach 4 times in the 2 months of your life! 

-you had your first trip to Raleigh! And went to your first birdal shower for Casey!

-YOU SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! (My favorite milestone!) you slept 6 straight hours at 5 weeks and your record to date is 7.5 hours straight!

-you are able to track faces and toys back and forth!

-you make different noises than just crying and silence!

-celebrated 4th of July with a cook out and watching fireworks! You slept through them!

-loves the sunshine and any kind of light!

-you take a bottle like a PRO! 

Oh Tallulah Elizabeth Rouse you are such a gift and such a joy! Happy 2 months of life Little Lucy! Or other little nicknames we've called you like Lu, LuLu, Tulu, Tullaru, Darlin'...

Little Lucy Rouse One Month Photo Shoot

I mean... I know I am a little bit biased...but, isn't she SO beautiful!  I am overwhelmed by the Lord's creativity and design in this sweet little baby!  You are SO loved Lucy Rouse!

(Real life y'all!)

Lucy is 1 month!

Lucy is 1 month old! 

Wow! Lucy is 1 month! What a month! Becoming parents, learning your personality, becoming sleep deprived, and loving Lucy daily! You are so precious Lucy! 

A few things about you Lucy I don't want to forget and want to remind you of one day:

-You love being outside, if nothing will soothe you then we walk outside and you become so content!

-You love your hands! They are always so delicately placed on your face! I love those long fingers!

-You hate! I mean HATE! Wet diapers! It's as if the world is coming to an end as soon as you have a dribble of TT in your diaper!

-Your favorite way to be held is upright on your daddy's shoulder! 

-You could eat every hour on the hour! (Takes a lot out of your mama!) but, these are some of my favorite moments with you!

-You have already been to your Mom and  dad's favorite place and seen where we got married in Beaufort!

-Mom and Dad had their first date night while your "Grammy" and "Pops" babysat!

-you have been to church, Young Life Club, on daddy dates, on a boat ride, many many walks, out to eat at the Boiler Room and Chick-fil-A! 

-you are in the 5% for weight and 60% for height!

-You have a bow in your hair every day, you don't seem to mind them! So, get used to them!

-you have been sleeping about 3.5-4.5 hour stretches at night time! Your record has been 5.5 hours (Mom would LOVE if this became a habit!)

-you have already watched 3 seasons of Friends with your mom! Joey makes you laugh the hardest!

-you have met countless amount of people who love you!!! And so many more to meet!!!

Little Lucy Rouse, thank you for making me a Mom! We have our good days and our hard days, but I am thankful for each one! I will cherish these early little days that seem like "ground hog day." We do the same thing every day together, but I wouldn't want to share them with anyone else! I love you so much little daughter of mine!

Happy 1 month birthday!!!!

It's a GIRL!

Meet Tallulah Elizabeth Rouse! Born Thursday, June 4th at 1:58pm weighing 6 lbs 11oz and 20 inches long! 

She is precious! She is dainty! She is fearfully and wonderfully made!!

It is hard to believe that she grew inside of me for 9 months and now we get to hold her, rock her, kiss her, feed her! This was the last picture we took while I was pregnant. 

Reynolds and I walked many many miles leading up to her being born! Little did we know she would come 8 days early! 

So here is the quick run down of how she came into this world! It was a normal Wednesday... I went to work at Chick-fil-A, I grocery shopped after work, went to the Woodmen to exercise, Clint and I had supper, went to House Church, came home went to bed around 11:30, and then BAM... My water broke!!!! We were so shocked and kind of in denial it was all happening! I was in labor! But, no contractions...yet! We called the doctor and she said to not rush in, but to come on in by 3am or so! So, Clint packed his bag (mine had been packed for 4 weeks... Haha). We loaded the car! I decided I need to vacuum before we left.. Of course right? We took a selfie as a family of 3 before we headed to Greenville...

ITS HAPPENING!

So, we check in at the hospital. And we are in a room by 3:30! We see the doctor not long after that and she gives us the hard news that it is going to be a long labor, I haven't progressed at all (aka zero cm). So, they start me on pitosin and tell me to rest. Ok, who can rest while their body is being forced to have contractions? I'd like to meet the person that can do that! So, here I am! 

Fast forward 6 hours and WOW! Contractions are in full effect! Ouch! So, this is labor!? And I'm asking, "where is that epidural?!" So... They check me again and I have progressed 90%... 9 CM! So for those who don't know, your goal is to get to 10cm and then you can push, so everyone was shocked I had progressed that much! Again, I am asking a little bit more firm... "WHERE IS THAT EPIDURAL!?" 

Then enters Dr. Dalonzo, oh sweet Dr. Dalonzo! Because it was so far a long they got me as numb as possible!! Praise! I had the same amount of numbness as they give to a C section! Again, praise for Dr. Dalonzo! 

After this I can really rest. Clint goes to eat a cheeseburger, they tell us it could still be a couple of hours. Until, I feel an urge to push.... Clint comes back in, doctor is in place.... And BOOM! Lucy is born! We pushed for 25 minutes and out came the most beautiful little GIRL! I have never been more surprised and excited in my life! I was 90% confident it was a boy for the entire pregnancy! (Sorry Lucy!) 

Lucy is such a gift! We are so thankful for her! Being a mother has been the greatest and most humbling experience.  Today marks 2 weeks of life for Lucy, and it has been the sweetest 14 days of my life! Alongside of becoming a mother, I have LOVED having a front row seat of Clint becoming a Father! And he is the best daddy! He has loved and served me so well in every aspect of labor, delivery, transitioning into coming home! He is the best! And the best diaper changer!!

Lucy, our hope for you is to come to know Jesus at a young age and begin to trust him in all you do! We pray you have a heart for others to come to know Him as well! We hope that you are as girly as your mama, but as strong and outdoorsy as your daddy! I can just imagine you with a big bow in your dark hair, a bright monogram on your shirt and holding a fishing pole with your daddy rocking some cow boy boots! Oh, be still my heart!

Lucy, you are SO loved! May you never doubt that one day of your life!