Prayer Request

Friends,
Please say a special prayer for my grandmother Meme. She had a massive stroke on Friday night and is in the ICU in Birmingham. My mom, my brothers and I were able to visit and talk to her yesterday, but at this point no one is sure how the treatment of the blood clot in her brain will go. We're leaning on hope and prayer.  

Two Months!

It's hard to believe that Laney is two months old (9 weeks to be exact). Since last month's photo, she has really changed from a newborn to a baby. She has found her hands and loves to suck on them, she can push back on her activity mat and changing pad with her feet, and is now smiling and cooing all the time. We try to capture it on video, but as soon as the camera is in her face she stops what she's doing and stares at it. 

In the last month this girl has been on the go. We've been to Birmingham twice, Atlanta, Aberdeen, MS, and (don't get mad Nashville friends) Nashville. We went for a last minute, one-night visit to see a few of Donald's friends so I didn't tell anyone. I will see you Nashville girls in a few weeks when Laney and I come back! So far Laney has been great in the car, sleeping 90% of the time.

Here are some recent photos...

This one cracks me up

Self Portrait

 First time wearing shoes

Coolin' off with daddy. Check out all the cute rolls! 

One Month Pic

First 3 Weeks with Laney

I really planned to pick up the pace on blogging after Laney was born because babies "sleep so much" and I just knew I would have time and be really motivated to post lots of pics. Ha! I hardly have time to check my email without her waking up or getting hungry again. I think she can sense when I'm not giving her my full attention. I do have lots of pics to post, but I've been putting off sorting through them for the blog. I will get better once we start getting on more of a schedule and start venturing out of the house. 

Labor and delivery went very smoothly, but it was not how I envisioned it. I thought I would go into labor at home and stay at home for as long as possible before heading to the hospital. I was actually going to attempt a non-medicated birth. But with Laney approaching 10 days late, we went ahead a scheduled an induction for Sunday, June 20th while my doctor was on call. What a great Father's Day gift for Donald and the grandfathers! We arrived at Baptist Medical Center East in Montgomery at 5:00 am and was in a hospital gown with IVs hooked up by 5:30. I had actually started having mild contractions earlier that morning and they were five minutes apart by the time I got hooked up, so the nurse said it was more of an augmented labor rather than induced labor. My doctor broke my water at 8:30 am, and I wasn't allowed to get out of bed after that. Contractions got really painful about an hour later and I got an epidural around 10:30 am. The day went by really quickly after that with visitors and nurses coming and going. I wasn't completely pain free the whole time though. At one point I had a lot of pain on my left side and got nauseous right before it was time to push. But then pushing was the easiest part! I started at 3:45 and she was born at 4:24 pm. The doctor and nurses said she looked big, probably 8 pounds, but we didn't find out her official weight until she got her bath and stats done in nursery. I couldn't believe she was 8 pounds 11 ounces! She must have really packed it on in the 10 extra days. The family was so excited that when she went to the nursery everyone crowded ran down there and forgot about me! :) 

Mom and me in the early stage of labor

Big girl! 

I think Donald felt like a celebrity with all the cameras pointed at him and Laney through the nursery window

My twin brother Russell checks out Laney Russell

Laney and her cousins Miller, Peyton and Laura Brittain

Proud parents. We were amazed at what we created. 

We were smiling but we were nervous about taking Laney home. Thankfully my mom stayed with us that first night. And my pediatrician brother Wes was just a phone call away! 

Millie met Laney a week after we came home. She had a vacation with Donald's parents. She still doesn't know what the baby is doing here. 

We've played dress up and had photo shoots a few times.  Our plans to bring Laney home in her Feltman dress got squashed when our hospital discharge was delayed and she was sleeping soundly after being upset from her heel stick. First of many plan deviations I'm sure! 

First bath!

Laney's favorite way to sleep. So much for swaddling. 

As all mothers know, having a newborn is all-consuming and sometimes overwhelming. We're still learning how to calm her when she screams (and the girl can scream) and how to interact with her. But really she is a good baby and we are so blessed that she is healthy and normal. I heard a good quote this morning...you can never be truly "ready" to have a baby. You just do it and get through the best you can when the time comes. You take it day by day! 

Fireplace and Chairs

While waiting on baby (now on day 4 past due date!), I thought I would share pictures of the finished fireplace and Donald's chair painting skills.

The fireplace had been "undone" since we moved in and I was tired of looking at it. We had two square mirrors made out of old wood with chippy blue and green paint, so the idea was to get a few more mirrors and do a collage. I couldn't find the right thing to go with with square mirrors until a couple weeks ago when we visited a flea market here in Montgomery. Among the junk - and I do mean junk - I saw this cute twiggy mirror.

It was the right size and shape to balance out the square mirrors and the price was unbelievable....$12! It's no dinky mirror either, it weighs about 15 pounds. Even though we used a 25 pound picture hanger I had fears of it crashing down on top of the hurricane candle holder (and Millie's dog bed) below it. I ended up switching the glass to the other side to ease my mind and after a few days I was reassured that it was secure!

I forgot to take a pic before we started but to get an idea, the square mirrors were sitting on the mantle propped against the wall, the candle and books were on the right side of the mantle, and the wooden balls were on the left. I took the basket with starfruit off the top of the armoire to fill in the mantle. We weren't sure about hanging the fleur de lis at first but decided to go ahead and hang it to add even more visual height. I like how it turned out and love that's it's finally "done."

I discovered Donald's skill for painting/distressing furniture a couple months ago when we found a $17 desk chair at a local antique mall. We had been using one of the dining room chairs after we moved and were keeping an eye out for the right chair. The chair we bought was black so we had the idea of spray painting it the same turquoise blue as our outdoor side table since we had some of that paint left over.

Donald did a great job of painting it and then using sand paper to let some of the black peek through. I love how it turned out!

Next up were the bar stools. They used to be a beige color and they blended in too much with the wall. We talked about color options (navy blue, green, white) and then one day it dawned on me that we should use the leftover gray from the dining room.

Again, no before picture but here is how they turned out...

Now, back to waiting!

Finishing Touches

The nursery is finally done! Pillows are in place, chandelier is hung, and a few family mementos are displayed.

I love the fabric on the glider, it's an Annie Selke design. I blogged about Annie Selke in one of my first blog posts.

The mirror above the twin bed was a steal at $40 from Hobby Lobby. All wall decor was 50% off the day we went.

The photo below is of my maternal great-grandmother, Minnie Lee Laney (Jenkins). The brooch on the book belonged to her mother, Ola Laney. The silver brushes were mine and the diaper pins were Donald's.

My mom and I found the iron hook piece at Hobby Lobby and hung my point shoes (used briefly before I quit ballet at age 13), dried flowers from my family shower, and a sweet little dress that my sister-in-law's mom and sister got us. 

Speaking of dresses, here is the dress that Laney will wear home from the hospital. It's a family tradition to bring babies home in a Feltman (or similar) outfit. 

I have to include this adorable card that my nieces Laura Brittain and Peyton made and is now on the cork board in the nursery. The "I hope she's cute!" part is so funny. Love it. 

Nursery Art

I wanted to share photos of the antique plates and other art we've hung in Laney's room.

I love the transferware dishes we found on etsy.com. Thanks Mom for buying them for Laney! They are considered red, but they have faded to pink with age. They look great with all the fabrics and furniture in the room. And I'm proud that I managed to hang them by myself!

Next to the window is this Degas print that I've owned for years and finally found the perfect place for it.

And between the door and the closet is a bulletin board and small rabbit painting. I like how the gold frames pull in the gold from the drapes.

Mom is finishing up the pillow for the gilder and pillowcase and throw pillow for the twin bed. Then we'll hang something over the twin bed - either the framed dress I wore as a baby or possibly a mirror. Can't believe only 5 weeks to go and she will be here.