sick days

Even when Joanna was sick for the first time, she was such a little bundle of joy.  Last week, she had her first viral infection and it just about broke my heart.  After a couple days of her not quite being herself, we decided to take her to the doctor where they confirmed her diagnosis.  They had to prick her big toe to get blood and oh my word...it is so true that parents can feel the pain of their children.  I mean my whole heart and body felt like it was shattering into a million pieces and there was nothing I could do to make it better.  Although we got less sleep and more cries during her sickness, she really was so sweet and such a good girl.  Thank goodness she is feeling much much better now!

Then it was my turn.  And oh wow....was it my turn.  I seriously don't think I have ever been so sick.  I woke up at about 11:30 Sunday night and proceeded to be up the rest of the night rushing to the bathroom every 5-10 minutes.  I either got food poisoning or some nasty stomach bug.  I eventually hid out in our closet so that I wouldn't wake up Joanna since she still sleeps in our room at night.  I am so thankful that I have such an amazing husband who is in the medical field, he took such good care of me and probably saved me a trip to the hospital.  It was that bad.  And thankfully my mom is close by because she came a helped me out with Jo all day Monday while Jason was at clinicals.  Seriously couldn't have survived without those two!

I would say I am not at about 75% and hoping to be much better by the end of the day.  Especially because tomorrow...I go back to work :(

family selfie

So this was our attempt at a self timer family photo the other evening.  

^Jason is trying to get Jack to stay and I am trying to tell everyone the camera is about to shoot. haha

We gave up on Jack, and Joanna just wasn't interested in looking at the camera.  There were a few other awkward shots in between these two, but overall I think it went pretty well!

happy father's day

Happy Father's Day to my amazing hubby!  In these last few months I have seen you become such a wonderful and loving and caring father.  You are a natural and Joanna is one blessed little lady to be able to call you daddy.  I can't wait to see your relationship with her grow!! 

We love you very much!!

st. augustine: part II

Another thing I love about St. Augustine is the historic downtown.  The buildings and the history is just beautiful.  We walked down St. George Street checking out the shops and grabbed a bite to eat.  For a sweet treat, my mom and I got chocolate covered bananas...talk about an awkward thing to eat.  It just can't be done gracefully.  Joanna pretty much slept the whole time, which was okay with me.  She is a baby that needs her sleep, just like her mama was in her pre-baby life ;)

We visited Castillo de San Marcos, which is always a neat place to check out.  I feel like I learn something new each time I go.  I think this place is a must see if you ever visit St. Augustine.  Just a note to mamas with strollers, there is no elevator to get upstairs so be prepared to carry it up or leave it downstairs.  Luckily I had two handy guys to help me out :)

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about traveling with a baby for the first time.  Especially having her in the car for such a long time on the drive down/up.  But she did so incredibly well on the entire trip, I was so proud of her!  I tried to stick to her schedule as much as possible, but she was so good about adapting when we needed to change things up.  I can't wait to take her on her next trip!

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part I here

st. augustine: part I

Last month we took a trip down to St. Augustine with my mom and brother.  This is by far our favorite beach to visit; I mean, who doesn't love a dog friendly beach that is never crowded?!  We could not wait to take Joanna to the beach for the first time either.  Baby in a floppy hat and bathing suit? Yes please ;)

We were so glad when the weather turned out perfect for Joanna's beach day...not too hot and a nice cool breeze.  She basically stayed in her little tent the whole time with the exception of our mini photo shoot.  We bought this tent and I am soooo glad we did, it was perfect!  It kept Jo out of the sun and allowed in the breeze, plus I was able to breastfeed her inside it.  I also used this trick I found on Pinterest to make her even more comfy so she could take her nap, worked like a charm.

three months

I've been taking a photo of Joanna every week since she's been born.  Today she is 13 weeks and one day or three months!  I decided not to post all 13 photos and instead just hit the hot spots ;)  It has been so fun to see how much she grows and changes each week.  She is such a petite baby, but I am super excited about her mini thigh rolls that are coming in!  And those chubby cheeks...oh my!  

Jo cracks me up because she just loves to smile and she has even started to do this adorable little giggle, but as soon as a camera or phone gets in sight, she gets all serious.  I try to be super quick and tricky, but this girl is always on to me.  So needless to say, I was super excited when I caught a precious grin for her three month photo.  Who knows, maybe she's starting to finally like the camera?  fingers crossed!

I think it's about time for an update.

Since it's been a while, let's do a quick catch up.  We'll call this round one since a lot has happened in the last three months!  Here are some of the highlights that have happened with us lately:

^We had a baby.  I ended up being induced since I went over my due date.

^Joanna quickly stole our hearts with her insane cuteness.  I mean, really?!

^Baby Jo and Jack became fast friends.  He loves giving her kisses and always comes around when she cries to make sure everything is okay.  Can't wait to see them grow up together!

^My mom has been an amazing help to me since day 1.  I am so appreciative of her and feel blessed to have her just a phone call away.  Joanna will call her Nana (no one wants to be called grandma these days...that would be like admitting you are getting older or something I guess)

^She is fan of bath time.  At least I think she is...she is always very serious during her baths, almost never cracking a smile.  It is like she is just trying to soak it all in (haha soak it in...get it..) before it is over. 

^They are pretty much two peas in a pod.

^This little lady and I have spent many many hours together the last few months.  Her precious smiles after she wakes up are so sweet.  

^We were so glad when the weather started getting nice.  It was finally time to begin venturing out of the house more. Yay!  Joanna is just too cool for school sometimes ;)

^She likes to keep track of how much she grows each day ;)

^It felt so special to experience my first Mother's Day as an actual mom.  It still sounds weird when I say it out loud.  I am a mom.  It feels quite surreal, how did I get so lucky?

^Jason had a birthday.

 ^We went on vacation to the beach! (more on this later)

^We met some friends for ice cream; Joanna was pretty excited :)

^Gosh I could just eat her up, I love her so.  

This little lady has filled my heart with so much joy.  Sometimes I can hardly believe she belongs to me; such a precious gift.  She has already grown and changed so much.  It took her 10 weeks to finally grow out of her newborn size clothes...that sure was bittersweet to pack away those tiny little outfits.  It is so neat to watch her discover the world around her and learn new things everyday.  I am just so thrilled to be in this new chapter of our lives!