Faith's 1st Priesthood Blessing!

My beautiful daughter received her very first Priesthood blessing this morning from her father as he gave her a baby blessing. We were both so excited for this day and to have our family surround us.

I had planned to have a get together afterwards as is the tradition on my side of the family and it turned out wonderful. I love to host events and have family get togethers. Its what I enjoy most and I love to be around others.

Faith woke up this morning at 6am and as I was nursing her and helping her to fall back asleep I all of a sudden became overwhelmed with emotion thinking that this was the first time that she would not only receive her first priesthood blessing but that it would be given by her Father.  

I never expected to feel emotional over this. It was just a blessing of her name and I couldn't help myself. I knew the spirit in my home was strong at this time and I couldn't hold back my tears. I want so much for her and I was anticipating this moment for so long.

 Jeff and I had our own prayer before we left for church and I felt that our family was strong and was so excited at the joy that she will bring into our lives.

 But I was mostly overcome with gratitude to my Father in Heaven for all the blessing and the trials he has given us that have helped us become who we are as a family and as individuals. The Lord has truly blessed my life with many things and even the trials have given me strength and has furthered my testimony that Jesus Christ, my brother and savior, loves each of us.

 Jeff and I have been through so much together that I sometimes wonder how we can still be together and love each other as much as we do. Our beautiful daughter was named Faith for the exact meaning of the word. Both of us have had to rely heavily on faith in the Lord to get us through our trials as a married couple. We have and are still relying on our faith that we will one day be sealed as an eternal family. It is a tough and trying time and has been going on for 2 years but we are continuing to push through it as nothing would give us greater joy than to have our family become eternal.

 Jeff constantly would tell me to have "faith" when we were trying to conceive a child and it took just that after a year to give us our beautiful baby girl. She is so wonderful and I know she will live up to her name and be an example to others as she was blessed in her blessing today.

 I am truly grateful each and every day to have the gospel in my life and the joy I have to feel of my Father's spirit and to know that he loves us. I await the day that we can return to him and to feel of his love in his presence. I am so overcome with joy and gratitude to him for entrusting us with one of his daughters who has now become our daughter as well.

 Families can be together forever and there is no greater blessing than that for our Father in Heaven to give us and what a joy it is to know that we will be.

 Faith,

 I want you to know how much I love you and your Dad loves you. We are so grateful to be your parents and to know that you bless our lives and bring joy into it each and every day.

 Waking up to you every morning is the greatest gift in the world and I love to see your beautiful face.

 Your Dad and I wish you the absolute best in life and want you to always live up to your name and to know that we will always be there for you. I know that being a mom and a wife were going to be my greatest joys just as my patriarchal blessing stated it would be and it most certainly is. Having your Father and you in my life is all that I need to continue to be happy.

 Motherhood is such a sweet and wonderful journey and I know that you will understand this when you grow older and become one yourself. There is such a love there that words can't express.

 I love you Faith, forever and always and thank you everyday for your sweet spirit which has entered our home.

I anxiously await each of your growing milestones and to be apart of every single one of them.

 Your Father and I love you so very much and await the day we will be sealed to you and to each other as an eternal family.

 Love,
Mom and Dad

 Faith's Baby Blessing (Notes from Ron Neilson)

Heavenly Father,
By the power of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood which we hold we present this baby to thee for a blessing. The name on the records of the Church which she shall be known as is Faith Elizabeth Hawkins.
We bless you with health and to be strong. You will be a blessing in our lives. As you progress to the age of eight you will know that the gospel is true and have the desire to be baptized. As you get older you'll be a leader in the Young Women's program and teach those around you. Later in your life as you progress you continue to help others and as you become a young woman you will find a young man worthy of the Priesthood and join him in the temple and raise a healthy family. You'll be a wonderful mother. Once again, I bless you with health, and to be strong living in this mortal existence. You'll have joy, health, and help those who are in need. I give these blessings and all others you are in need of in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thanksgiving with the Hawkins Family among other updates

Its been an wonderful last two weeks with Faith. She is getting so big and it makes me sad to think she is not as small as she once was. I love her so much its hard to think of my life before her. Jeff's family came out for Thanksgiving and she of course got to meet a lot of her relatives. Here she is with her Great Grandma Curtis on her 88th Birthday. Although neither one looks happy in this photo.

It was such a pleasure to have everyone get together. I was sad that Marcus and Jon and their families couldn't make it! But Thanksgiving dinner turned out really great. It wasn't stressful at all and I have officially had my first Thanksgiving where I hosted out of the way. I have to give credit to Mom and Dad Hawkins though because they really helped cook a lot. We were basically done with all the prep work by noon and then got to enjoy each other's company until we ate at 5pm.

We celebrated our nephew's birthday a month early so his birthday is seperated from Christmas since its a couple days before the holiday. I can't believe he is two years old now. Where does the time fly?

Faith is in love with her Aunt Christina. She spent a lot of time smiling at her and wouldn't stop. I loved it! What an adorable little girl! It was nice to have so much help from everyone although Faith's schedule was completely chaotic those few days as she was dragged everywhere and didn't seem to want to sleep with everything going on. Poor Christina was such a big help to me but I kept asking her to get me things as I was so tied down with Faith. I love that girl! Thanks Christina!

Jeff decided to feed Faith and she apparently decided she could do it on her own as she kept grabbing the bottle as though she was actually doing it herself. Too bad the color of her formula is a tannish brown with the prune juice I'm forced to give her for her constipation. Poor baby!

You have to love being mesmerized by Baby Einstein! Both Christina and Faith were watching it. Its amazing that such a young baby will watch these programs. And as an adult I must say I find it quite relaxing!

 I love the G Diapers we bought for Faith. Not only are they wonderful for the environment as we can flush them and they will biodegrade in 100 days but she looks so cute in them!!! Who wants a white disposable diaper when you have cute little pink bottoms!!! And doesn't my husband look so adorable in this photo? I think so!!

 Faith's first full day at church was wonderful. She slept through the whole thing so Mom and Dad could teach class. She has been such a good baby. She doesn't really cry a lot and does really well when I take her out places. She sleeps through the noise too and I love that about her!

Now I am watching Einstein with her!

Thanksgiving weekend with the Hawkins family was really nice. I'm a chatter bug and loved sitting around chit chatting with everyone. But Jeff on the other hand is not quite so chatty. This is all he did while his family was in town...
                                                   X-Box and Call of Duty-- how I hate you!

The Uncles and Daddy seem to really like Faith!

Faith seems to like the bouncer and the vibrations it gives. It really relaxes her!

 Her cousin Gavin and T-Bo are inspecting her. I hope she stays this small forever!!! How sad when they grow up even though its fun to watch all their progress. I was so proud of her when she held her head up on her own for a full minute at four weeks! It was the highlight of my week!

Faith loves taking her baths and we love to watch her "swim" at the end of it. She always seems so relaxed as she just floats there and we push her around in the water. I think its much more fun than just getting washed and have water splashed on you. Sometimes she will cry because she wants to be held and the moment we put her in the water to float around she instantly becomes quiet. This routine at night is followed by her baby rubs with lotion. She likes to have us apply the lotion on her arms.. but not so much the stomach or arms.

            

                This is Faith smiling at Christina!                        

After everyone had left and gone back home Jeff decided to put Faith on the couch with him so he could play with her there. She was swallowed up by our big couches however but looked so darn cute!

My Baby is a Month Old!

I can't believe its been exactly one month to the day that my beautiful baby girl was born. It seems like only yesterday I was having new mommy syndrome scares and was getting re-adjusted to our new life with her. Now I seem to know what she likes and her schedule is starting to come together. She has finally decided to allow her nights and days to correct themselves and I am now getting more sleep than before. At her 3 week appointment we discovered she was only 8 lbs 2 oz. She hadn't gained back her birth weight which was so scary for me. I knew that something was wrong when she would cry a bit and constantly want to eat all the time. I felt like I didn't have enough to give her but then thought maybe I was crazy and having another "new mommy scare". But after doing my own research and seeing a lactaion consultant we discovered that I do not produce enough milk for her mainly because of my breast reduction I had back in 2006. I was heartbroken but am now adjusting to being able to breast feed her at first and then just supplement with a bottle afterwards. At least I can give her some and I still get my "bonding" time.                                                        

 Bath time with Faith is a blast for all three of us. We let her "swim" after she is all clean. She seems to really love to float in the water as we hold her head up. Her faces are just so darn cute. A few days ago while Jeff was working late I undressed her to get her ready for her bath and we keep a heater going in the room. All of a sudden I thought... wow that is really warm and looked down to my daughter peeing all over my lap!! I busted out laughing. It was just perfect timing for her to "get" her mommy. However tonight had to be the funniest. Her dad had finished bathing her and I was just sitting on the side of the tub observing the fun. He had her wrapped up in a towel when all of a sudden he yelled "Whoa". I thought she had pooped on him from the prune juice we had to give her earlier. (Unfortunately, supplementing formula has caused some constipation in our little princess). So I asked him if she pooped and he said no, "She just peed on me!" I burst out laughing again and then Jeff started laughing. I guess Faith thinks it must be fun to do during our bath adventures.

 The other morning Jeff was laying down with her in bed and talking to her. She all of a sudden started smiling. I thought it must have been gas but she kept doing it... I had noticed a few smiles before but just brushed them off. Then one day after her bath, I was talking to her and told her I was a little sad and not having the best day but it would be better if she would smile at me. Of course I am speaking to her in the best baby voice I could muster and then about 10 or 15 seconds later... a smile appeared on her face with a little dimple on her right cheek. Oh I loved it! If it was just gas ... I don't care.. I will take the smile as something just for me!

 Faith's first whole day at church was spent today and she did so wonderful. I expected her to cry at some point but she didn't. She fell asleep shortly after sacrament began and stayed asleep the whole time. I was sitting with my class of 4 and 5 year olds when they began to sing very loudly "Popcorn Popping" and it was more yelling than singing. I began to laugh and looked at Jeff because Faith made this scrunched up face as if she wanted to say "Would u be quiet!" I am not sure how she continued to sleep through the rest of Primary and into the class time but she did. I loved it!

I have never had a greater joy in my life than being a mother. I love everything about my life right now and am enjoying every moment. I may have my sleep deprivation moments but they are sooo worth every moment. My beautiful daughter has been so wonderful and Jeff and I are enjoying everything about her. When she sleeps I don't swaddle her because I love to see her little hands tucked up under her chin or when they stretch out above her head especially when I take her out of the car seat. She always stretches both hands above her head, arches her back, and brings her feet up as if she is sitting Indian Style.

Faith, I want you to know your parents love you so very much and you are the greatest joy we have ever known. Live up to your name. We have had so much faith in our lives that has brought us joy through all the hardships and you are one more testament to that. We love you!

Grandpa comes to visit

My dad came to suprise me announcing a visit within a few days

of deciding to come. I was excited for him to come and meet Faith! It was a nice visit. We didn't do much of anything but hang out around the house but we were able to go out to eat twice! Thank goodness my baby is a good sleeper while we are out. Just have to make sure we go during her nap time!

      Friday came and we went to Faith's doctor's appointment. It was supposed to happen at 2 weeks but ours and the doctor's schedule didn't work so we went when she was three weeks old. But received some not so great news. She weighed at only 8.2lbs. She should have gained her birth weight back but didn't. She was still 7 ounces shy of that. So that was upsetting but now I have to see a lactation specialist next week however I believe that I am not producing enough milk... probably something to do with the breast reduction I had done. So I am supplementing formula after each feeding.

I have always been a big fan of Baby Einstein and they say to start it at 3 months but at 2 weeks she began watching a full episode. I was so greatful because when my dad was here I barely had time to do anything and even cook for him. So I put on baby einstein and was able to prepare dinner while she watched it! Thank goodness it gave me some "me" time to get things done!

And here she is watching it totally transfixed.

One afternoon Faith started to cry and I was nearly busy fixing dinner. I kept telling her I would be there in a minute hoping the sound of my voice would be comforting as sometimes that has worked but it didn't this time. All of a sudden the crying stopped and I went into the living room and found my dad had picked her up and was singing to her. She was fixated on him and loved every minute of it as the video proves below.

 

Have I mentioned how much I love the "fussy" pick me up cry. Its not the "cherry tomato" cry but this little one that basically says, "play with me Mommy". So cute!

We adjust to the new Joy in our life!

Life has been an absolute joy mixed with adjustments as well this last week. Faith is so cute. We gave her, her first bath and Jeff decided to take it with her. She seemed to think "what is going on" when we first placed her in the tub. But she adjusted well and seems to love her baths now except when I give them to her when she is still hungry. When she turned 2 weeks old, she seemed to not sleep as long as she used to and I became extremely tired so much so that on the third night I had a breakdown of crying and I swear Jeff thought I was psychotic and needed to be institutionalized.



      During the day we will sometimes take our naps with her. We both love it. Jeff and her are below. Isn't it cute? But I must say my photo is obviously staged while the other two are actually sleeping.

I went through "New Mommy Syndrome" along with my breakdowns this last week. I think I am starting to get over it but it was pretty bad for a while. The slightest change in her was like I thought she had something wrong with her. If her sleep patterns changed to, her skin looking chapped and dry, to her poop changing colors or consistency, to her eating habits... it didn't matter what it was, I thought something was wrong with her. Jeff kept telling me she was fine and I slowly had to trust him that it was. I have a new P.H.D. in Google as Jenny McCarthy says. I looked up every change.

One day when her sleep patters changed she seemed to always be hungry and eating and would never sleep. It would take me forever to get her to bed. This went on for another day and I remember talking to her telling her that she can't she be hungry because I have nothing left and she has completely drained me. Jeff made me get out the pump to see if I had any and sure enough I did to my amazement! Who knew someone so tiny could eat so much!

We have adjusted now and she is sleeping and eating more regularly. She is just our little angel and when she actually lets Mommy have some "me time" to clean the house or even take a shower and get a bite to eat then I ended up missing her and wanting her to wake up so I can hug her. Halloween came and we dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. Faith just wore a onsie that says, "I love my Mummy".  We went to the "Trunk or Treat" at the church building and handed out candy to all the kids. It was fun to get out and see everyone.

Faith did the most wonderfl thing for a mom to see at her age. She followed a rattle and moved her head from side to side. Ah, she is growing up so fast!!!