First Trip to Rome!

This last weekend, we were able to make our first road trip to Rome, Georgia! We couldn't wait to take Andrew to visit his family there- his Papaw and Nana, Aunts, Uncles, cousins and great grandparents! David had the weekend off, so we headed to Rome on Saturday morning and returned on Sunday evening. Andrew did such a great job in the car!! He slept from Nashville to Chattanooga, fed him in Chattanooga, and then slept the rest of the way to Rome! I foresee many road trips in our future! :) In Rome, we got to meet Uncle Justin, Aunt Becca and cousin Ellie for the first time. Ellie absolutely LOVED Andrew! She wanted to hold him immediately! It was so sweet! We also got to surprise my grandparents, Pop and Mamaw, while we were there. They were thrilled to meet their newest great grandson! Andrew also got to make his debut at Oak Hill where his mom and dad's relationship began 7 years ago. It was so much fun to introduce him to our precious friends and family there. When we got back from church, we were able to celebrate Emily, Ellen, and Nana's birthday. It was so great to spend  time with our Rome family! We look forward to the next time we get to visit! 

 Our awesome traveler!!

       Papaw couldn't wait to get his hands on his grandson!!

 Cousin Ellie and Aunt Rebecca meeting Andrew for the first time!

 

We couldn't get over how much our sweet Ellie has grown!

Ellie LOVED hugging on little Andrew!

 Meeting Pop and Mamaw for the first time!

 One day Andrew will come to appreciate these precious people in his life!

Mamaw loving on Andrew.

 Rocking with Nana!

 Having fun with Aunt Ellen!

Happy Birthday Emily and Ellen!

3 Weeks Old!

        This last week, we had a lot to look forward to! PaPaw and Nana (Joe and Gloria) were planning on coming to visit their sweet grandson this last weekend. Unfortunately, both of them woke up with a head cold on Friday morning. :( Needless to say, they did not want to bring any germs to our newborn so they decided to postpone their trip to a further date. We were sad upon hearing the news, but look forward to the next time we get to see them!

       Along with the visit, we were also looking forward to taking Andrew to church for the first time. With being a new mommy, I was very hesitant to alter Andrew's schedule, but I am so glad we got to do this! Sometimes I can get so consumed with following a schedule and I am so glad we decided to go ahead with our decision. It only took us waking up 30 mins earlier than normal and Andrew was absolutely perfect! I cannot even describe the feelings I had walking into my church home with my son in my arms. I could not wait to introduce him to the loving people that have watched me grow up in the church. At the beginning of service, the elders asked our family and another sweet family that had just had a baby to join them up on stage. At this time, the elders prayed over our families. I look up to these men and are so proud of the way they shepard our congregation. Having them pray on our behalf was such a sweet moment for me. Also, having my dad as one of the elders just made it so much more special. Andrew did a great job throughout the service. We made it close to the end and then I had to take him out to eat. After eating, we joined our friends in the foyer to fellowship. It was so great to see the smiles on everyone's faces as they came to welcome Andrew. Since Andrew was doing so well, we were even able to join my parents for the traditional Sunday lunch at Blue Coast. It was so nice to be able to get out and feel like a normal person again! 

Ready for our first visit to church!

   

Andrew with his first Bible.

     

The elders praying over our families.

Can you see the pride in our faces?!

       In addition to our first church outing, we have also ventured out to other places this last week. Fortunately, Andrew loves his carseat, so it makes our outings much more pleasurable. We've been able to visit The Well- a non-profit coffee house started by many members of our church that give their proceeds to help bring water to other countries lacking this main need, Chick-fil-a with Kelsey and her sweet girls that she babysits, Bread & Co with mom and Jenna, and bible study Wednesday night. Andrew did such a great job during all those outings! Andrew's great grandmother, Rose Fox, was also able to visit this week. It was so much fun introducing her to her new great-grandson!

Four generations- Rose Fox, Jeff Fox, Jessie Fox Herren and Andrew Herren.

       Andrew's feedings have continued to go smoothly along with his bath time and night sleeping. We are still working on naps during the day, but pray that he picks up on this real soon! We head to the doctor next week for his 1 month check up. I can't wait to see how much he weighs! I know he's growing because my little newborn is no longer fitting in his newborn clothes! Wow! Time is flying by!

Snuggle time with mommy after his morning feeding!

Morning time gazing out the window! He loves this!

Look who is sleeping in his big boy crib for the first time! 

David is continuing to enjoy his job at Baptist. He is close to completing his first rotation. He has seen patients in the ER this month. Needless to say, he has come home with some pretty interesting stories. He really appreciates the kind attendings he has been working with and feels very blessed to have this placement. Fortunately, he has been able to get off of work around 6pm and runs home to see us. I love watching  him walk in the door and run over to Andrew and me with a big smile on his face. He looks so happy! :)

More to come next week....

2 Weeks Old and Our 4 Year Anniversary!

Our little man is already 2 weeks old!! He is quickly growing out of newborn clothes. I cannot believe how quickly he is growing! I really need to brag on my sweet son! He has done such a good job eating this past week! I have heard such horror stories about breastfeeding and I am so thankful Andrew is doing so well with it. We are trying to follow the Babywise routine of eating for about 20-30 mins, wake time and then nap. It is so fun to watch Andrew during his wake time. He is making such good progress with lifting his head, turning from side to side and making eye contact. This is one of our favorite times of the day. After some wake time, it is then time for some sleep. This is one area we are working on. Of course, he does great if we rock him to sleep in our rocker; however, we really want to help him learn how to go to sleep on his own. I'll admit, this is very hard for me. Hearing your own baby cry is not fun, but I know it is what's best for him. 

Becoming a parent has really given me a new appreciation of my heavenly Father. I am sure He does not enjoy watching his children cry, but if we never went through challenges, we would never grow in our faith. Listening to my sweet little boy cry breaks my heart, but I know this is helping him grow and learn how to cope in this world. I love my son so much and want only what is best for him. I love how God is continually teaching and stretching me. 

Even though naps have been a little challenging, Andrew is doing a great job sleeping at night. He eats at 10:00 p.m., goes straight to sleep afterwards, eats again at 3:00 a.m, goes right back to sleep and wakes up at 6:00 a.m. for his morning feeding. Yay for good night sleeping!! We look forward to our morning feedings because we get to see Daddy before he heads to work!

 Andrew enjoying his new play mat during his wake time!

 Andrew loves snuggling in Gran and Papa's bed in the mornings!

 He loves looking out the window in the mornings!

 Best bouncer!! Andrew sleeps so well in it!

Just being cute! :)

 Nap time with Daddy!

This last week, David and I also celebrated our 4 year anniversary! After Andrew's 7:00 feeding, we left him in the hands of Gran, Papa and Aunt Jenna and headed out to a quick dinner. It felt so great to get dressed up after 2 weeks of wearing pajamas and comfy clothes! :) It was also so refreshing to spend one-on-one time with my husband. Gran was great to send us pics of Andrew reassuring us that he was okay! As we sat and looked back on our last year of marriage, we realized we have so much to be thankful for. In this last year David matched at Baptist and Vanderbilt, I had one of the best years of work while receiving a great honor in my county, David graduated from medical school, we moved back to my hometown of Nashville and we were blessed with a healthy, little boy! Along with these sweet blessings, we were also faced with many challenges along the way, but are so thankful God continues to mold and strengthen us. I am so thankful to have spent 4 years with David and look forward to what God has in store for our family in this next year!

About to head out for our Anniversary date!

My sweet family of 3!!

Celebrating Andrew's First Week and 4th of July!

I love being a mommy!! I find myself thanking God constantly for blessing me with this angel. In just one week, he has brought so much happiness into our lives-a happiness I have never experienced before. During Andrew's first week, he has done such a great job eating and sleeping. Throughout the day, he eats just about every 3 hours. We are trying to maintain a routine of eating, wake-time and sleep time. At night, he eats about every 4-4.5 hours! His night feeding usually begins at 10 and he will then sleep until 2 or 2:30! He wakes up, eats again and then sleeps until 6! I hope this can continue! We love to listen to his sweet little noises that he makes in his sleep. We also find ourselves cracking up every time he sneezes. He sneezes about 3 times in a row and then makes the cutest sound when he is done. Oh it makes us smile every time! Daddy has done such great job being a daddy. He is quick to hold him, change his diaper or help in any way! Daddy starts work this coming Monday so he is quick to hold him any time he can get his hands on him! One of Daddy's favorite times is "tummy time" with Andrew. He loves watching Andrew move and coaches him to turn his head. We find ourselves cheering for him as he lifts his head! It is the sweetest thing! 

Daddy and Andrew enjoying some tummy time.

Andrew was ready for a diaper change. As you can see, he does not like having a dirty diaper! Even with him crying, I still love to watch him! 

During this last week, we were also fortunate enough to join some friends for a cook-out downtown for the fourth of July. This is a tradition that I have been apart of since I was born. It was so much fun to introduce my son to our special friends! Hopefully Andrew will be able to enjoy this tradition for years to come!

Willie, Linda, Gran, Susan and myself with Andrew!

As Aunt Jenna would say, "Welcome to America, Andrew!"

Our sweet family of three in downtown Nashville!

My little firecracker! 

Daddy rocking his son!

Once we got home from the cook-out, it was time to give Andrew his first bath! He did such a great job! He enjoyed the warm water and hardly made a sound. Once we got him out, he was so happy! He snuggled with mom and dad for a while! :)

Snugging with mommy.

One content little boy!

Since we are new parents, Andrew's pediatrician wanted to see him for a one week check-up just to make sure we were doing okay and to answer any questions that we had. We had such a great visit!! We found out that Andrew had already made it back to his birthweight, something that usually takes up to two weeks for the average baby. He weighed 7 lbs 10 oz at birth and weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz when we left the hospital. He is now 7 lbs. 11.5 oz! The pediatrician was so impressed with his weight gain, feeding habits and sleep routine. We can already see so much change in this sweet little boy! I can see now why everyone says to enjoy every minute because he has already changed so much just within the first week!

Andrew at 1 week old!

Ready to go to see the doctor!

One of the best feelings in the world!

One proud daddy!

Andrew being weighed at the doctor's office. As you can see, he does not enjoy being cold!

Andrew being checked out by the doctor. 

He did such a great job! 

Welcome Home Andrew!!

On July 1, 2012, we were given the okay to take our son home! We packed up all of our things, had a little photo shoot, and headed out the door. Papa, Gran and Aunt Jenna were there to help.... and love on him some more! :) 

His sweet blanket from the Parkeys!! 

 He is one content little boy!

 We are ready to go!

 Our sweet nurse, Ms. Kathy, who took such good care of us!

 He LOVES his carseat! Yay!

 Aunt Jenna making sure he is okay for the ride home.

 So happy to have all three of us home safe and sound!

 Daddy introducing Andrew to his new room!

 This what we do all day... sit and stare at one of God's greatest creations!

 He felt right at home in his new swing!

 Getting home was hard work! Mom and Andrew needed a quick nap! 

We wanted to take a minute to thank all of you who took a minute to pray on our behalf during this exciting/hard time for our family. We acknowledge the power of prayer and give thanks to God for keeping us safe and healthy through this time. We also want to thank our friends and family for the meals, calls and messages. We are so thankful to have so many loving people in our lives.