lucky gals

perry and i are pretty lucky. we are loved unconditionally by a precious, supportive husband and daddy


we are blessed by friends and family that are looking out for our best interests! while in town, mama jessica dropped off a few things to help get perry and i through the day:


we underestimated the importance of a vibrating chair. it keeps perry entertained which can be a task sometimes!

and she has already taken a few naps on this little gem:


it's a fabulous boppy pillow which i knew nothing about!

jess, thanks for the tools, advice, and support!

on monday, mommy hood rocked my world. perry is at a very special stage where she doesn't like to be put down. ever. i love it, but it makes getting things done very difficult! it probably won't be the only day that perry cries for hours on end. but it made me appreciate my husband, his parents, my mom, and kind words from our caring friends as we got out of the house for a fundraiser dinner.

i am so thankful for these relationships and am fortunate that we can lean on so many people!

the rest of the week turned out much better. perry has seemed very colicky over the past few weeks. we have (hopefully) found the culprit- my daily dose of caffeine! so for now, i'm taking a coffee break.

which is okay, i'll go without for this sweet little girl!






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

happy fall y'all

sip and see

during the acu homecoming weekend, some of our fabulous abilene girl friends hosted a sip-and-see for perry

of course this was the perfect excuse for perry to wear this precious smocked dress from her chelle:

before the party

the gorgeous food at the braaten home

 pretty little cupcakes 

some of perry's favorites: her chelle, gigi, aunt rebecca and cousin lillian

 let me also add here that perry was wearing socks but they fell off. her little feet are super long and super skinny :)  we wrapped her in a blanket shortly after!

 my sweet, beautiful friends and hostesses. 

tamara, abby, jessica, jenna, lucy and megan

afterwards, this little cutie pie stopped by

she was totally into the cupcakes. 

love her. 

so happy our little girls are going to be besties! 

exhausted from a long day but still precious as ever! love those big blue eyes!

thank you to our dear friends for hosting a fabulous sip and see for perry girl. we love you all! 

cloth diapering and other news

so when perry was just a couple of weeks old, mr. b informed me that he was having a hard time watching money go down the drain, or, rather perry's diaper pail.

i wasn't quite sure if i'd ever be interested in our other option - cloth diapering. 

my mother-in-law and sis-in-law are pros and have been making and using them for several months now. 

that's right, i said making. 

i was really afraid that i would be overwhelmed with mommyhood and adding another difficult task in the mix. 

but i've surprised myself. 

i'm actually obsessed with cloth diapering.  

i'm even making my own wipes, thanks to the advice of fellow cd-er katie (follow her blog here). they're so easy and i just throw them into the wash with the diapers. 

if you ask me about either, i could go on for days. they're my current favorite topics other than our daughter :)

this is part of my stash:

they are such cuties! we cut the patterns and put on the buttons and perry's gigi adds the elastic and stitches them up. 

we use all in ones with inserts (i bought a few pocket diapers which i like as well) and for the wipes i've been using inexpensive baby wash cloths and a solution of purified water, tea tree oil, lavender oil, vitamin E, and organic apple cider vinegar. easy breezy. 

the whole process is so beneficial for many reasons - perry's bottom, the environment, and not to mention a huge money saver which is super important these days 

because... 

i'm not going back to work.

it was a very, very hard decision for me. 

i love my job, the hospital, my amazing co-workers and volunteers. 

but i'm beyond thrilled to say i will be staying home with our little girl. i couldn't be happier. 

i mean, who wouldn't want to spend every day with this angel?!

birth announcements

i finished and mailed out perry's birth announcements week before last & 
i am so happy to share our beautiful baby girl: 

i am beyond thrilled with the results from kelly mann at kmann designs.
i love it and she is a doll to work with!
thank you kelly for your wonderful work!