Just a few days old. My long and lean girl.
Don't you love this HUGE bear?! It is 4 1/2 feet tall. Brad's cousin had one growing up so they sent MV one. I know she will love it when she gets older. As you can see, it will be our point of reference for growth photos. And, yes, it is wearing a pink velour, hooded track suit with MV's name on it. Ha.
One week old. She isn't a fan of the bear yet.
Two weeks
Three weeks
Here's how the photo sessions usually go. Calm with pacifier in mouth....
Squirmy once we remove the pacifier
And then a meltdown shortly thereafter
4 weeks
5 weeks/one month
(we actually missed the exact date of both of these thanks to winter storm pax. see below.)
this past sunday (feb 23), she was 6 weeks
MV has had a ton of visitors...
BB and Pap
We had brunch with the VanSant side at Mary Van's one week birthday
Family of three
Steve and Michelle
Eric
Matt and Mandy
Allen, Campbell and Gail
Uncle Levi and Jennifer
They had to leave the hospital before she arrived so this is their first meeting!
Martha
Melanie
Michele and Trey
Papa and Nana
Uncle Adi and Aunt Megan
And, here is what we have been up to. I take a lot of pictures since we share so
much time together each day!
first real bath after cord fell off. she still isn't a fan...
with daddy in her frog hooded towel
in her ducky robe and booties
all clean and warm - much better
little nugget
first sponge bath. not happy.
pretty girl
ditto
ditto
i am a little biased. :)
snuggling to warm up
sleeping in martha's arms
our little papoose
she does not like being swaddled! now she sleeps with her arms out.
we had to go to the pediatrician on a really cold day. this thing is huge and she reminds me of patrick (the pink starfish) from Spongebob here.
each morning she plays on her playmat while i eat my breakfast
MV's first selfie
all smiles
getting ready for a walk
one of her newborn photos
announcements are coming out soon and i love them!
just had to share these cute m&m's my aunt sent
they say 'mary van shingler' ' thank heaven' 'baby girl shingler' and 'welcome mary van'
they didn't last long!
she looks so big here but it was taken weeks ago. i also think she looks like my baby pics here.
we have been able to get out a little over the last few weeks...
we enjoyed our third anniversary bottle of wine last night. june 5th was 8 1/2 months ago but this was not happening then. ha.
oh. i have been cooking more lately (when sweet friends haven't brought dinner). yay.
mostly tried and true recipes but here is a new one.
bubble up pizza
canned biscuits
pizza sauce
pepperoni (or other toppings)
mozzarella
cut the biscuits into quarters. i used 10 i think. mix with sauce, cheese and your choice of pizza toppings. i would recommend a little olive oil on the biscuit pieces before you add the rest. otherwise, all the dough sticks together. mix thoroughly and spread into an oven-safe dish drizzled with oil to avoid sticking (i used cast iron). bake according to biscuit can until done through and bubbly! delish.
two weeks after mary van arrived, we were able to go to a party at bill and debbie's house for lauren and john's engagement. bb and pap were kind enough to babysit. it was nice to get out and see everyone!
this last friday, we went to mexican for eric's birthday with the crew. the restaurant was a mad house but mv was an angel. b was very excited to introduce her to his favorite cuisine!
oh, the finished picture of bubble up pizza. ha...
this last saturday, b and i had our first date night in 9+ months! aunt megan and uncle adi babysat this time and did great. we went to finch and fifth in surrey. it was really good and a cool place.
unfortunately, we have also experienced winter storm pax. mv and i went to thomson on tuesday. that way, if we lost power, their wood stove would keep us warm. b stayed in augusta. sure enough, power went out tuesday night. wednesday, brad was trapped at home and later that night, all the limbs started falling. it was horrible in our neighborhood - a ton of old, fragile pines.
here is a bartlett employee cutting down some loose limbs the next monday in our front yard. look way up!
bb and pap loved having mary van at the house all week.
mv's feet stayed warm in the boots (with da fur) from aunt megan
we bundled up the first night before the stove was cranking. the next day, daddy had the house at 70 degrees and it stayed that way until sunday when we came home. brad came to thomson on friday because he didn't know when our power would come back. of course, it was restored on saturday. thomson didn't get power again until monday.
one reason brad came to thomson was because it was cold in our house! this tree came through the window early thursday morning. b was sleeping in there because a limb was dangling over our bedroom. thank goodness he and the dogs were ok. waking up to broken glass in the face was no fun for him.
our front yard
every house in our part of town had piles like this in the yard
the limb that was dangling over our bedroom. bartlett got that one down and we could move back into our bedroom. we slept on couches for two nights after i returned.
we had some friends with numerous holes in the ceilings caused by pine tree spears. one in their's children's nursery! again, so lucky no one got hurt.
in thomson, we read and worked on this puzzle. darn missing piece.
our house is now for sale! but it will have a new window and repaired fence and siding now!
we love this house and will miss it. but we are excited to be moving into this...
the pool and granite should be finished this week. hoping to move in shortly! stay tuned for another post about this with more pictures....
