"Babies love the prune juice"

I think I finally found a solution to Chapp's frequent constipation. Yesterday I gave her a bottle of apple-prune juice, and also mixed it with her evening cereal. So when I changed her diaper a few moments ago, to find a giant blob of brown mush... it led me to write the highly acclaimed song, "Babies love the prune juice." I didn't even realize I'd come up with such genius until about 5 or 6 lines in.
It's amazing what happens when you're on your own with a baby all day long! Especially when you had a little too much wine the night before...

Bed...

Although I consider myself to be pretty low-maintenance (some of you are laughing right now) kind of girl, there are some things that I feel strongly about splurging on. Those of you who are currently laughing/smirking are probably picturing the Holland who used to be on her father's tab... not the new and improved thrifty H.

To me, you cannot/should not scrimp on:

1) makeup & shampoo

2) seafood/meat (never frozen, always go fresh & don't eat steak unless it's a fillet).

3) toilet paper and diapers - nuff said

4) wine... I'm not a huge snob here, but there's no way I'm drinking a bottle under $15 anymore... that's just asking for a headache.

5) which brings me to my last item: towels and bed linens

I come from a household where sheets and linens are kind of a big deal. It's always talk about thread counts, Italian sheets, brands, etc., etc. I'd say my mom's a huge bedding snob... so I'm feeling a little insecure about my most resent purchase for the house. I've always been a big fan of Shabby Chic, but usually the higher end one... not the version for Target. For a while now I've been eyeing catalogs both online and in print and I still hadn't found anything for our new bed... so when I saw a cute duvet at Target a couple of weeks ago I became interested. I mean, it's a recession... it's trendy to be economical, right?

I got the bedding today and I just hope it's not too scratchy. Otherwise, I think it's cute (and simple, which I like) and will look great once our curtains are hung and I get a few throw pillows.

I feel a little better because I just sent a picture message to my mom and she said, "It's cute- and when you don't like it anymore, just pitch it." You can't pitch handmade, Italian linens!

So, before you judge-- once again... picture with curtains and some throw pillows...

Feedback welcome on this one.

Uh Oh...

Chappell rolled from her back to her stomach yesterday afternoon... I'm kind of hoping it was a fluke rollover and she won't do it again for quite some time.
I've been dreading this milestone for a while... naps on our bed will soon be a thing of the past!

A few that I stole from Allison

Stroller parade at Red Bar

Allison, I hope you don't mind that I poached your pictures. I couldn't resist, yours are so much better than mine!

First Annual "Family Friendly" Weekend

This weekend Chappell finally got to meet baby Eleanor Terry. It was so good to see Marlee and William, who were down here for a wedding. I can't believe they just met this weekend, but they seemed to get along great. They immediately locked hands (my picture's a little blurry so didn't add) - all of our friends say they will be UA KD pledge class 2027!

Marla pulled pacis for a face shot. I don't think they're too happy about this.

Chappell about to chow down on some cereal...

Charlie Hill and Chappell on the love seat. I don't have any pictures with all three babies (Riley Godwin is the 3rd) because I was taking video. I'm going to steal some from Allison's blog and will put them up later. We took these pics when Michael (Godwin) realized that all of the babies were awake and happy at the same time-- so we plopped them on the couch. It was adorable. Lots of talking, some swatting... so hilarious. Hopefully I can figure out how to post my video.

Ready to get off the couch...

Boys on the beach for sunset. No success w/ the pompano fishing... but a great photo opp! *Reed wanted everyone to know he is shirtless because Riley was cold.

L to R: Michael and Riley Godwin, Reed and Chapps, Trey and Charlie Hill
Daddy and Chappelldoodle

Unsuccessful family pic. Thought it was a nice shot of Reed's chest hair. Nice.

I can't forget to mention perhaps one of the coolest moments of my life-- YES, life. We went to Hurricane Oyster bar to eat some oysters and drink some beer... and to my surprise I found a PEARL in my oyster! I thought it was a piece of shell...

They say it brings good luck :)

Today...

We drove over to Pensacola this morning to view the rest of the Cook Image pictures of Miss Chappell. They did such a great job. For all of you in (or from) Pcola, they are incredible and I highly recommend them! Now I'm just overwhelmed and confused about what to order. They should be sending me a link tomorrow to the rest of the pictures. My mom told me today that she should just give Cook Images the deed to her house because she's going to buy so many. Similar situation at our casa... Reed is scared our house is going to turn into a Chappell shrine, and reminds me that eventually we will have other children. HA! How is another child going to feel about our Chappell obsession?



BTW... I've decided I don't want her to get any older or bigger. This is the perfect age. I'm loving it!
OH, and this is hilarious... Check out Allison's post, "Riley and Chappell sitting in a tree."

http://thegodwinhoot.blogspot.com/2009/04/riley-chappell-sitting-in-tree.html

Shapin' Up

When Chappell was 6 weeks old, I joined the gym at Watercolor and started making an effort to get back into shape. My efforts were hindered, however, because the gym closed at 8:00pm. Since Reed didn't get home until 7:00pm (in the beginning), this proved to be a problem... Tack on sleepless nights... just a recipe for failure!
SO, I started anew this week. I've realized it's really hard without a partner! In college, when I had this problem I figured out a good way to keep myself going. This sounds really nerdy (or neurotic), but I make charts! I started a spreadsheet where I write down the days of the week, what I do in the gym, and last but not least... my weight. So far, I've gone all week. It's still really hard to find the time, but it has to be done! I've gotta get back to normal or I'm afraid I'm gonna have to get used to this spare tire. Gross. I wonder how long it's going to take.
PS, I know this was a really boring post - and I'm sorry.

Counter

I just added a counter... now I can see if anyone's actually reading!

Cousins came to town!

Danielle brought Brody and Mary Parker to spend the night last night. I wish I had my real camera... but someone needs to charge it. Oops. Anyways, I took these on my phone. Mary Parker is 3 months old now, and is catching up w/ cousin Chapps in size. They look like they're about the same in length. Chapps has her beat in the chub department.
At one point they were holding hands on the bed... but I missed it!

Operation Feet: Found

Who knows if I missed this in the past few days (I've been so busy w/ MC's wedding), but last night Reed and I noticed that Chappell found her feet! She was grabbing them and trying to put them in her mouth. She hasn't been quite able to do this just yet, but she's trying. She usually just loses the foot when she gets close to her mouth and slams her hands into her face. Sad... but really cute!
She's been doing really well for the past week and a half with her new schedule. Waking up at 8 and eating her first bottle, then 11, 2, 5, (6:30 cereal), 8:15 bottle and then bed immediately after. So, not to jinx myself, but everything's running rather smoothly right now. Formula and stomach problems solved... as well as sleep. Now I have no excuses to start working out and losing the rest of my poundage!
This weekend we have Allison, Michael & Riley and the Hicks family coming to visit. It's going to be so much fun! We are all looking forward to playing w/ each other's babies... and hanging out w/ each other after they go to bed. Ha.
Pictures of MC's wedding coming soon - after I hack some off of Facebook!

Cook Image Proofs!

Pcola

Yo.  

Chappell and I are in Pcola for the entire week.  Chappell is doing so well with her schedule, and I really think it is helping her to have some stability.  She's still sleeping about 12 hours, plus or minus a few minutes here and there.  We are putting her down between 8:15 and 8:30, and get her between 7:45 and 8:00.  

Today I took her with me to the Pear to get a manicure and pedicure and she just sat in my lap the entire time.  She talked to everyone and was in a great mood.  I'm enjoying this age.  She's still little and cute, but she is so much more interactive.

Yesterday Auntie Magda (who is in town) went with us to have her 4 month photo shoot.  I got the idea from Allison Godwin, who took her 4 month old, Riley, in for his a couple weeks ago.  Cook Images took pictures for both of our weddings, and it was so much fun to go back with Chappell.  I think they got a lot of good shots and I can't wait to see them!  Riley's were adorable, so hopefully her's will be half as good!

ML's in town for the week from Florence, Italy, where she is spending the semester.  Mom and Dad went back to visit her last week and got Chappell some adorable Italian shoes and a dress.  You will see the outfit in her pictures!  She also wore a dress that her Grandmother (Emmy) made for her.  Ughhh I can't wait to see them.  

I'm running around getting ready for MC's wedding this weekend.  I know I will have lots of pictures from that coming soon!

First Family Easter

We had a great Easter weekend! Friday night we cooked "Dave's Fave Pizza" with Auntie Smith and watched a movie. Saturday, we headed over to Baytowne Wharf for Chappell to meet the Easter Bunny! There were so many cute kids there. However, Chaps didn't really seem to care either way about the giant bunny. It's not like Chappell is old enough to know what's going on... so we were a little confused when the Easter Bunny wouldn't respond when we spoke to "her." Yes, this was a lady Easter Bunny, as many were quick to point out. Easter Bunnies, college mascots and Disney characters are just plain creepy-- sort of like clowns.

Chappell wasn't in the best of moods as you can probably tell from the pictures!

Saturday night, Lauren, Matt and Avery came over for dinner. We had a great time, and Avery got Chappell to laugh! It was Reed's first time to hear it... I don't think I've ever seen him so excited. Maybe when she was born??

Sunday we were heathens. I'm embarrassed to say that we haven't found a church yet. To celebrate, we went to a lovely afternoon Easter meal at Alys Beach. It is such a cool place - they were serving brunch all day.

A great weekend!

12 hours

Last night Chappell slept from 8:30 until 8:30 this morning.
We are so pumped!

Rice Cereal

Is amazing! Baby Chaps slept from 8:30 pm until 8:00 am this morning. She fussed a little at 5:30 am, but went back to sleep.
Back to the cereal, she loved it - and ate a TON! In the beginning she didn't know what was going on... and just let the cereal linger in her mouth. However, by the end of the feeding, she was opening her mouth wide waiting on the spoon! It was one of my (and I'm sure OUR) favorite moments thus far. We took 10 minutes of video... I can't believe I didn't take any still shots. This motivates me to figure out how to upload videos on this thing. I will do it later today. Auntie Smith is here and we plan to shop around today and go for a stroll later with C.
I am thrilled... I'm certain the rice cereal helped her from getting hungry in the middle of the night. BTW, I tasted it, and it tastes like Cream of Wheat - just a little sweeter.
Oh, sleep, how I have missed you... and I am so glad we're getting reacquainted!

4 Month Appointment

We just got back from Chappell's 4 month appointment. I'm glad to report that she's doing just fine! Chaps is right on time w/ her milestones and development, gaining weight (75th percentile at 14.2 pounds), and said to be a very "strong baby!" She's 24.5 inches long. She seems to be turning into a long and lean baby. It's so funny... opposite of my body type! Based on our heights, she will most likely be 5' 7 or 5'8.
She had 2 shots and one oral vaccine. So far she seems to be doing fine. I gave her some Tylenol as we were leaving to prevent any fever or aches and pains. So sad. This time I let her daddy hold her because I absolutely HATED it at her 2 month appointment. She cried initially but calmed down right after it ended. We are so proud of her!
Sooooo... last night we attempted to let her cry it out. We put her down at 8:30 and she slept until about 3:30 am. We let her cry for an hour (longest hour of my life)... and then finally gave in and fed her a few ounces. My doctor thinks 4 months is the perfect age to let her cry it out, but told me today that last night does NOT count since I ended up feeding her. BTW, everyone's opinion on this is different... whatever works for you. She said it will probably take 3 nights... and she could cry up to 4 hours. This sounds like my personal version of Hell, by the way. Ugh... it was/will be so sad. I hated watching/hearing my baby cry on the monitor... hoping that I would come to help. It's the worst, but I hear from many moms (and now our doctor) that it is the right thing to do. It is, however, excruciating. She seems fine today. Once we got her back down she was slept until about 7:10 am. Dr. Sprenkle told me I should turn off the monitor (as did my sister-in-law), but I know I can't do it. I was scared Chaps was going to hate me today, but it seems as though she's forgiven me. She's acting like her ole' self... even with the shots!
I will let you know how tonight goes... ha-- I'm sure everyone cares!!
I'm so tired, every word on here looks like it's spelled wrong. Reed and I got about 3 hours of sleep last night.

For Auntie Smith

Smith bought matching outfits for her and Chaps. They wore them last Saturday evening and looked quite stunning together. She looked like one of those cheesy moms who buys matching clothes for the whole family. Amusing.

My sister is so pretty and tan. It's so funny how sisters (and ultimately neices, nephew, etc.) can look so different!

When shall I sleep again?

After three nights of no sleep... I'm lookin'/feelin' rather rough. I'm definitely sporting mismatched sweats. I don't understand - one night, she'll sleep from 9 to 7, and then there's a night like last night. We put Chappell down at 9, watched a movie, went to bed at 11 - thinking I'd have at least until 3/4ish (on a bad night). Oh no. She was up at 1. I fed her, put her back to bed, and she was up again at 5. From then on, I had to put Reed on duty. Life in general is just much harder when you're so sleep deprived. Reed doesn't get home till 6:30 or sometimes 7 with the new job... that's a long day if you're running on empty!
I'm struggling... when I went to Publix to exchange some formula (Reed bought the wrong kind), I was talking to the checkout lady (like a deranged fool) about rice cereal, formulas, etc. - she was like "go home, feed your baby some cereal, and go to sleep." I love laid back country moms. They're so different from neurotic, by-the-book moms like me. She said, "I started my baby on rice cereal at three weeks - Never listen to the pediatrician."
Ha!
Tomorrow is our 4 month appointment with the pediatrician. I'm dying for her insight. I'm thinking it's teething and possibly a growth spurt (causing her to eat in the middle of the night). BUT, this baby's 4 months old... officially 17 weeks yesterday... and I thought I'd (we'd) be sleeping consistently by now! Tips from moms welcomed...

One last cold day...

means we can finally wear our golf cart sweater!

I've always wanted my children to have blue eyes... but since there are no blue eyes in my family, I was never quite sure how I would get them...

Luckily, I married into an entire family of blue eyes... thank you Reed!

They have the same exact eyes. I love Reed's eyes and I'm so glad Chaps got them. Light blue on the inside with a dark blue border. Love them!

See??

Hah. Great pic.

Very Sad News

I've been weighing in my mind whether or not it is appropriate to blog about this, but, I couldn't just keep writing like nothing has happened. Dr. Ian Rogers - a dear friend to me, my parents and many others passed away this Saturday evening. Ian and Colleen have been like second parents to me for a very long time - and my heart is breaking for their family. I could spend hours writing about all of the good he has done for people here, and across the globe (literally). Ian, we all loved you very much and know you are in a much better place.

Here is a picture from Chappell's christening just a few weeks ago.

Auntie Smith's in town!

Auntie Smith is here to visit with some of her friends. We went over to the pool with gals for a bit, but had to come back so Chaps could take her nap. She's currently napping now, by the way... and our schedule is WORKING! Last night she slept from 9 pm to 7 am. Anyways, it was our first time to visit the neighborhood pool!
Clint, Kaci, Bill & Schuyler are on there way down for the weekend, also. Tonight's Hurricane Oyster bar and Flip Cup Challenge - and tomorrow we're cooking out with the fish from Reed and Clint's fishing trip. Here are a few from the pool:

Just to document

Last night around 6 o'clock I got Chaps to break into a 5 minute gigglefest. It was hilarious. Reed was still at work, and I tried calling him probably 5 times so he could hear it. Of course, the one time I need him to answer, he doesn't. When he called back it was over. SO sad.
Mom got her to do it last weekend, but it was the first time she did it for me! She's laughed single laughs many times... and tons of smiles... but it was her first time to get the giggles. So cheesey, but it was the best thing I've ever heard!
Oh... and new formula seems to be working... if you get what I mean.

Dollface!