Thankful

As Thanksgiving approaches, I'm constantly being reminded of all that I have to be thankful for. While at times it is easy to complain about the things that I don't have and wish for more, I truly have been blessed this past year.

So, here is a list (not nearly complete) of the things I am thankful for...both serious and silly. :)

1. Jeremy, my wonderful husband who takes care of our little family.
2. My sweet little girl...need I say more? :)
**she sleeps through the night consistently!!**
3. My family -- mom, dad, Heike, Shannon (&Tom), Baeley, and Amber
4. Pacifiers
5. Having a job - despite its demanding hours and workload, I am so thankful to have a job during a time when so many do not.
6. My sweet little dog who has kept me company on many a night when Jeremy has been at work.
7. Starbucks and Biggby -- without their yummy coffee drinks, I would be so sad
8. Bouncy seats
9. Text messaging
10. Lower gas prices
11. Doctors who stepped in during a time of crisis and made sure Hannah would be okay.
12. Edy's peppermint ice cream (why is it only seasonal?)
13. Our DVR
14. Wonderful friends to work with -- I've missed them so much while on maternity leave
15. Great pastors who challenge me each week
16. The freedom to go to church anytime I want to
17. Being able to wear my wedding ring again (those swollen pregnancy fingers just made me miserable)
18. Google
19. Facebook (I have reconnected with so many "old" friends)
20. Target (could there be a better store?) :)

Okay -- so, not nearly all of the things I'm thankful for. This list is just a "smattering," if you will, of the things I'm thankful to have and the people I'm thankful to know. While Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday, I am glad that we have a holiday that is about reminding us to be appreciative of the things we have.

So, what are you thankful for?

Easy Gift Cards

As my friend Erin posted...I'm going to throw a little plug on here for two reasons.
#1. Who doesn't need/want gift cards?
#2. It's free and easy.

I was on moneysavingmom yesterday and read about something called Swagbucks. You can read her post here about it or you can see how one woman earned enough to do all her Christmas shopping here.

You register to use Swagbucks as your search engine and then you get Swagbucks when you do a search. Your swagbucks can be used toward gift cards. I installed the toolbar, started searching this morning and have already earned some bucks.

If you want to earn even more, then you can refer people and get extra swagbucks when they sign up. Hence, another reason I'm posting this on my blog. If you decide you want to look into and sign up for this, please use my referral code:
http://swagbucks.prodege.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=247453

I also like it because I use Google as my primary search engine and Swagbucks searches by Google and ask.com.

One Month (and a day)

I had hoped to post yesterday, in order to mark Hannah's one month birthday. However, Hannah had other plans, plans that involved being held all day due to extreme fussiness. Apparently she didn't receive the memo about the planned blogging. I'll have to work on that for next time. :)

It's hard to believe that Hannah is already a month old. I know everyone told me that the time would go quickly, but still I am surprised. Along with that comes the knowledge that in just two short weeks, I'll be returning to work. While I am anxious to get back to my students and co-workers, I also am sad to think of leaving Hannah each day. It is also sad to know that in just two short weeks I will have try and fit into my old work clothes. You know, that really isn't sad...it's scary!

But this isn't supposed to be about me, it's supposed to be about Hannah, so back to her. :) She has grown and changed so much in this first month. Again, something I know every new parent says, but not something you realize as truth until you experience it for yourself. At her first doctor's appointment, which was when she was only a week old, she had already gained 9.5 ounces, putting her at 7lbs, 15.5oz. I'm sure by now she is over that 8lb mark.


Her hair, which I had fully expected to fall out (mine did when I was a newborn), is still there. It's growing longer and has just the slightest bit of red to it. My sister, who is a redhead herself, finds this to be the most exciting thing ever. Her eyes, which are generally quite dark, do have a steely blue to them as well. They are just so dark, but so bright at the same time. They're beautiful, that's for sure.

Jeremy and I have come a long way in figuring out her cries and moods. When she starts to shake her fists angrily in the air, we know that she is probably hungry. We have also learned that she does not like to have her feeding interrupted in order to be burped. She cries and wails when the bottle is taken away, but since she is a gulper (and therefore takes in a lot of air), she has to be burped several times during each feeding. Sadly for her, we just tune out the cries and burp her anyway. I think we all feel better when each feeding is done.

When she was two weeks old, we took her to have her pictures taken. An experience that we have agreed was not positive for anyone. Hannah was tired and uncooperative, the girl taking the pictures was obnoxious, and the pictures just didn't turn out that great. We'll try again in a few months.

Hannah also celebrated her first Halloween this month. She celebrated the day by going to my school and visiting my students. We also made the rounds to the different teachers. It clearly wasn't very exciting, as Hannah slept the entire two hours we were there.

This month also brought with it a lot of visiting with family. It has been so much fun introducing our little girl to all of her family members. Its already clear that she and Baeley will have a special bond. He can't wait for her to get a little bit bigger, so that he can play with her and teach her all sorts of things. Hopefully, they won't get into too much trouble together. :)

I'm sure there are many more things I could write about, but someone is awake and requiring my attention. Duty calls!

Life

Things are going well here in the Blanchard house. We're adjusting to our new life, which includes adjusting to the new challenges we've been experiencing. Hannah is a lot of fun and we're so happy to have her in our life.

Jeremy returned to work last Friday, the 31st, so Hannah and I have been spending some quality time together. Honestly, I've felt a little stir crazy, but have tried to make sure we get out of the house at least once a day. We've been to school a couple of times and my students really love seeing Hannah. It was great for me to see them and my co-workers. I was really nervous going into my maternity leave, but being able to stop by school has really helped. Apparently, they can all survive without me. :)


Hannah and I participated in the democratic process this morning, hopefully you've all done the same. Thankfully, I picked the right time to head to the polls. I didn't have to wait in any sort of line, which was great. I happily took my "I Voted" sticker and went to Biggby, where I was given a discount on my latte. I know I could have gone to Starbucks and received free coffee, but since Biggby was on my way home, it made more sense.

Anyway, I'm sure I have more interesting things to share with you, but Hannah as decided she is done sleeping. I'll try to come up with a better post for next time.

I Was Tagged...

I'm also writing a real post today, but my friend, Treasure, tagged me to do this little survey. Since Hannah seems to be relatively entertained with her pacifier right now, I thought I'd get this out of the way. :)

One Word Tag:

1. Where is your cell phone? bed
   
2. Your significant other? Jeremy
   
3. Your hair? blah
   
4. Your mother? helpful
   
5. Your father? opinionated
   
6. Your favorite thing? sleep
   
7. Your dream last night? Palin
   
8. Your favorite drink? Pepsi
   
9. Your dream/goal? thin
10. The room you’re in? bedroom
    
11. Your ex? none
12. Your fear? snakes
    
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? house
    
14. Where were you last night? home
    
15. What you’re not? motivated
    
16. Muffins? poppyseed
    
17. Where you grew up? Oregon
18. The last thing you did? lunch
    
19. What are you wearing? jammies
20. Your favorite TV? Ellen
    
21. Your pets? Molly
    
22. Your computer? crummy
    
23. Your life? new
    
24. Your mood? crabby
    
25. Missing someone? Lisa
    
26. Your car? Sebring
    
27. Something you’re not wearing? socks
    
28. Favorite Store? Target
    
29. Your summer? busy
    
30. Like someone? love
31. Your favorite color? blue
    
32. When is the last time you laughed? today
    
33. Last time you cried? yesterday
    
34. Who will/would re-post this? Erin?
    
35. Bath or shower? shower
    
36. Holiday? Christmas
37. Writing utensil? pen
38. Vacation activity? relaxing
    
39. Bedding preference? warm
    
40. Pet peeves? mumbling
    
41. Cookies? chocolate
    
42. Eggs? yuck
    
43. Favorite thing to do on a rainy day? movie
    
44. Your biggest strength? organizing
45. Favorite thing about school? co-workers
    
46. Most awesome gift received? Hannah
    
47. Neighbors? noisy :)
    
48. What do you collect? shot
    
49. Oldest kept item from childhood? bear
    
50. Greatest indulgence? chocolate
    
51. Your house? rented
    
52. Fruits or vegetables? Fruit
53. Quiet or loud? Quiet

A Few Days Later...

Sorry for the "internet silence," but things have been pretty busy around the Blanchard house. Not that I'm complaining, it's a wonderful thing, having a baby, but it's a busy time for sure.

I was discharged from the hospital on Thursday night. I'm not really sure why they kept me for so long, but I do know that it was nice to be at the hospital and be so close to Hannah. Thursday night, Jeremy and I spent some time at home, making sure everything was ready for Hannah and just spending some time processing all that we had been through in the past few days.

We returned to the hospital on Friday morning, where we were able to give Hannah her first bath. There were a few rough moments, but overall the nurse said we did well, Hannah didn't cry too much, and Jeremy and I survived.

Hannah doesn't seem to really like being all exposed, which I can't say that I blame her. She was much happier when we wrapped her up in a blanket and held her close while we finished drying her and then dressing her.

We were able to give Hannah a few feedings while we waited to meet with her doctor to go over her discharge papers. We also (mainly Cassie) had to take an infant CPR class and go over what to do if an infant starts choking. Jeremy went to the class, more for moral support, since he really should know how to handle both of those situations.

After the class and meeting with her doctor, it was finally time to take Hannah off of all of the monitors. It was so good to finally hold our little girl without having to stand right next to the hospital monitor. We could move around all we wanted to. The nurse had us sign the final set of discharge papers and we were set to go.

Jeremy loaded Hannah up into her car seat. I was so surprised to see how small she looked. It was like looking at a doll or something like that. She just looked so tiny and so precious. We said good-bye to Hannah's nurse and finally headed home as a family.

Our first night at home went really well. Jeremy and I both were obsessed with just watching Hannah. Every little sound she made had us up and out of bed, making sure that she was still okay. Of course she was okay, but boy did it make us feel better just to check on her.

The biggest surprise has been how Molly (our beagle) has adjusted to this new little person living in our house. She has done such a great job and has become Hannah's little guard. She doesn't freak out when Hannah cries, which is what I had expected. She follows us when we take Hannah in to change her diaper or feed her a bottle. She sits right at the feet of whoever is holding Hannah at the time. We were concerned about her being aggressive, but we haven't seen any sign of that at all. Molly just shows constant love for this new person in her life. We've been doing our best to make sure to praise her when she is good and give her treats often too.

Yesterday, Sunday, was a big day of family.

My parents arrived in town, my sister Heike and my nephew Baeley, came to visit for the
day, and Jeremy's parents came for a little bit as well. Poor Hannah was passed around from person to person, but she handled it pretty well and only got fussy later in the day.