Waverly takes Florida 2010

Saturday night we returned from our first family vacation with Waverly to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. A friend of Caroline's was getting married and Trent was asked to officiate the ceremony. The bride's family was so kind to have Chandler, Waverly, and I come down as well; as it turned out, I was to replace the original wedding singer, so we earned our keep.
I was super nervous about traveling with a three-month-old and began planning for the trip a few weeks in advance. We left Lexington at 5:00 am on Tuesday morning and arrived in Florida at 5:30 pm central time. Waverly was an AMAZING traveller. By leaving at 5:00 am, we got three traveling hours out of the way while she slept. We stopped for breakfast at 8:00 am, fed Waverly and hit the road again. She slept again until we stopped at noon for lunch. It wasn't until the last 45 minutes of the trip, after this pit stop to change a dirty diaper, that she got the least bit fussy.

Waverly's great demeanor kept us all from killing each other; however, we were so relieved to arrive at our destination: a beautiful, three-story, lavender beach house with a private pool in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, next to Destin. We relaxed for a bit, then headed out to dinner.

The next morning we took Waverly out to experience the beach and pool for the first time..

She was NOT happy.

The beach didn't go quite as expected and I should have realized she was ready for a nap (just look at that face!), but wanted her to experience the pool and hoped she would like it a bit better...

but she didn't, so we took her inside, laid her in the bed and she fell asleep almost immediately.

Aside from our rocky first day, Waverly had a great time. She liked the pool MUCH better the next few days.

My baby also turned 3 months old on our vacation!

(in the spirit of fun pictures, this month we took three flowers to represent three months)

On Friday evening, we attended the main event, Cara and Aaron's beach wedding! It was so beautiful, even though it was scorching outside. I was originally supposed to sing during the sand ceremony but due to technical difficulties, i.e., a complete lack of any kind of sound system on the beach, I ended up singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" during the cake cutting. It was nothing I had ever done before, singing at the reception, but I think it turned out really nice.

Chandler and I met some of the nicest people this week in Florida and felt so comfortable at the wedding and reception; we decided it was one of the most fun weddings we had ever attended. We wanted to stay for the whole reception to enjoy the company, but having a baby changes things and you don't always get to stay out as late as you want. While we were there, though, Waverly had a blast dancing a slow dance with Daddy and dancing the cha-cha!

It was a GREAT week, but we were happy to be home on Saturday.

Here are other pictures from the week that I just love.

She strikes again

Fenway, that is. She has perfected her jail break skills and I am convinced she now busts out of her kennel simply because she can. The first few times I chalked it up to poor lock-up on my part; you know, you think you lock the bottom latch, but you really didn't, Fenway sees the flaw and picks the most perfect moment to slip her 60 pound body through the half closed door. Who knew. At first, she would get anxious and scratch at the bottom of the door frame, but now, I think she just hangs out, listens to tunes, writes to her pen pal, checks up on the neighborhood activity, normal things a dog would do. Then when she hears the front door or garage door, she plants herself in front of the office door, just waiting to greet who ever came home. We're still not sure exactly how she breaks out; however, we do know that she uses her mouth (duh) to unlatch the bottom latch. What remains a mystery is the fact that her whole kennel is scooted a few inches from where it started; when does this happen in the process? I was told by a friend that we should put a camera in the office to tape the action, then send it to America's Funniest Videos. Anyway, it's hard to be upset with Fenway because she's such a genius about it all. And I guess I don't care so long as she doesn't destroy the office and she hasn't thus far.. besides, what in the heck are we going to do to keep her in that kennel anyway?

Things I've learned and can't forget when the next one comes along...

ASK QUESTIONS during the hospital stay... Having siblings so much younger than me, I was fine with changing diapers and how to handle a newborn, but I should've asked many many questions about breast feeding. Once you're discharged it is much more difficult to get help and advice without paying an arm and a leg.

You don't get much sleep, even when the baby stays in the nursery at night, and you can forget getting any rest during the day because of all the visitors.

Chandler and I are Waverly's advocates. This lesson was hard for me to learn because I wasn't used to claiming a person as "mine". Being with her most of the time, Chandler and I know how she operates, we know what is best for her and we are the ones who stand up for her and make sure that her needs are being met. I appreciate my mom bringing this to my attention because honestly, I had never thought of it.

Girls pee mid-diaper change, just like boys... who knew?

A feeding schedule is the best thing we could've done for our family. Waverly is going to be 11 weeks old on Tuesday and has been consistently sleeping through the night since she was 7 1/2 weeks old. We started on a 2 1/2 hour feeding schedule (feed, wake, sleep), then stretched her to a 3 hour schedule. That was a difficult transition, but two days ago we stretched her again to a 3 1/2 hour schedule and she's been doing awesome, sleeping 8-10 hours straight every night. I couldn't ask for anything better, especially since the lack of sleep didn't really hit us until a month after she was born.

Let the dog be involved.. not like changing diapers and giving the baby a bath, but we were careful to not scold her for simply being around Waverly's stuff or being close to Waverly. Don't get me wrong, Fenway won't be carrying Waverly off in her mouth any time, but she likes to lick her feet and her head. She even carries some of Waverly's things when Chandler and I are too lazy to carry it up or down stairs ourselves. I think they're going to be the best of friends :)

Always, always, always make sure you have more than enough diapers and wipes. Nothing ruins an outing like having to go back home to change a poopy diaper.

Oh, and have an extra onesie and outfit. Yes, we've been out (in the boondocks, mind you) when Waverly has had an explosive diaper and ended up wearing nothing but a diaper and blanket.

There are a lot of "firsts" in a baby's first year; get a calendar and write it all down.

There's no possible way to store up sleep before the baby is born. You're just gonna be tired.

Child-rearing is a continuous lesson in patience. It extends your boundaries like you've never known. (This one courtesy of Chandler)

Around month two and three, baby outgrows those newborn clothes.

Take advantage of nap times. I was told to always sleep when the baby sleeps and sometimes I do, but more often than not, I use that time to get stuff done around the house... or indulge in a few minutes of pleasure reading.

It takes time to lose the baby weight. I was very unpleasantly surprised when I still looked 6 months pregnant after Waverly was born. Nobody told me! Thankfully, within a couple of days my belly shrunk to a more manageable size. And I've been fortunate to lose most of the weight fairly quickly; however, there are still those few pounds and that undesirable belly pooch that have taken longer to shed. Bathing suit season is too close for comfort!

Savor every minute. You don't believe it until you have a child of your own, but time flies faster than you could believe. I like to watch Waverly a lot and thankfully, she doesn't find it uncomfortable because she just stares right back, minute for minute. But I've learned a lot about her just by watching her and I've been witness to her little nuances, like, when I change her diaper, she holds my arms with her feet and she likes to lay with her hands clasped across her belly.

I read this on a friend's Facebook page: "Trying to remember that the days are long, but the years are short."