The Easley's: 2011

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Christmas Eve at the Easley's

Christmas Eve is always at the Easley house but I have never been because the past 2 years Brent and I have been in West Virginia for Christmas Eve/Christmas with my family. I definitely missed being in West Virginia this year but the Nashville Christmas was fun. Brent's great grandma wasn't going to make it to Christmas Eve b/c she had a sinus infection so we stopped by to see her before we went to Brent's grandparents house. I totally forgot to take a picture of us with mawmaw Ellis! She was soooo excited to see baby Rowen! When we got to where she lives( a very very nice assisted living place in Murfreesboro ) she was playing Bingo :) She saw us outside and immediately got her Bingo bucks and darted towards the baby! We went up to her room and visited. She didn't want to hold Rowen since she was feeling under the weather so we just left him in his carrier. We got mawmaw a snowflake pin and an angel pin which she put on her sweater that she had on. I'm glad she liked them. While we were saying goodbye I noticed that her glasses she was wearing were Dior!! She is so stylish! When we left there we headed over to Nana and Papa Mack's where the rest of the family was. Everyone brought finger foods and boy we had quite the spread of food. We took baked ravioli's and white cheddar cranberry cheese. I love the cranberry cheddar cheese from Whole Foods!! It's only available during the holidays...unfortunately.

Rowen in the outfit Nana Easley bought for him

Nana and Papa Mack

Before opening the "real" presents we all played Dirty Santa. Brent and I took a dvd of The Truman Show and 2 paintings that go together for our Dirty Santa gifts. I ended up with a John Derre toy tractor...Rowen will love that in a year or two AND Brent ended up a pack of golf balls!

Dirty Santa gifts

Rowen got great gifts from his family members! He got diapers, clothes, books, and toys! Lots of wonderful items! Brent got a great shirt for work/church, giftcards, money, and books. I got a gift set from Bath & Body Works, giftcards, a sweater, and money as well!

We had a great time eating yummy food, playing fun games, and hanging out with family!

April was helping Jesse loosen up his bike helmet

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Rowen, you are 2 months old!!

I have some catching up to do with my posts! Christmas will be later this week but today will be about our sweet baby turning 2 months old. :) Rowen turned 2 months old on December 24...Christmas Eve. We had his 2 month check up this morning...oh the shots! Brent and I were eager to see how much he weighed because we can definitely tell he is getting heavier! I notice especially when I am nursing him!! Whichever arm his head is resting on while he is eating has to be propped up on a pillow. If it isn't, then my bicep starts to ache from the weight of his head. haha!

I love this picture!

His 2 month check up went well this morning. It was great to hear Dr. Brady letting us know that we are doing a great job with Rowen! The reassurance is always nice :) Brent and I have gotten the hang of this baby thing( at least for now )and just love being around our sweet sweet baby. Here are his stats from today:

Head Circumference: 16.5 inches - 90th percentile

Height/Length: 24 inches - 85th percentile

Weight: 12 pounds 12 ounces - 85th percentile

Rowen can hold his head up by himself when held or seated with support. In these pictures, I propped him up with the pillows on our couch and he only fell forward towards me once! His neck is getting so much stronger. We can tell a big difference from when he turned one month old. We are still doing tummy time...he still hates it! He doesn't like being on his stomach. We only have him on his stomach during tummy time. He is really good at focusing on objects that are held in front of him( rattle, toy, book, etc...)and he follows them with his eyes as well as turning his head when you move the object from one side of his head to the other. We are amazed at how quickly he is learning new things!

He LOVES when Brent and I talk to him! He definitely recognizes our faces and our voices. He just laughs and coos every time that I talk to him. He is one happy baby that's for sure. We feel so blessed that he is so happy all-of-the-time!! He especially loves when I say his name to him...I know he doesn't know his name yet but he sure likes the sound of it when I say it to him :) He is still smiling all of the time too. When we read books, he smiles. When we talk to him, he smiles. When he plays with his bug rattle(his favorite toy at the moment), he smiles. I love soaking up his excitement!! Brent thinks he is going to be an early talker since he coos so much. We will see! He also loves the sound of running water. I am guessing it is because it soothes him but if he is crying or fighting sleep, we can put him up on the kitchen counter(standing right beside him of course!)and turn on the sink and he automatically becomes very still and quiet. If he is tired, he will quickly go to sleep when he is listening to the running water.

He is sacked out right now and I think he is sleeping like a rock because he got 3 shots today...it was awful for ME! I had heard all about this appointment and how hard it might be to hear him cry. I didn't know if I would cry or not...I did! Well, I guess I technically didn't because the tears didn't fall down my cheeks but my eyes filled up with tons of tears. It's sad to hear your baby scream when he is in pain. Someone had to hold his hands while the nurse gave the shots and I immediately said "Brent, that is all you". After the shots, the nurse turned around to me and asked if I was okay! I guess she is use to the mothers getting upset. I immediately nursed him and he stopped crying and seemed alright. He has been sleeping a little more than usual since we got back from the appointment and the doctor said that might happen and is definitely normal.

He fell asleep in the car on the way home

Like I mentioned before, Brent and I love how happy he is and love that he is our baby!! We love having him and can't imagine life without him!! *I forgot to mention that he is sleeping an average of 6 hours a night!!* Last night he slept 8 hours! We started to get him on a regular routine around 2 weeks old and it is definitely paying off!! Here are some more pics of Rowen at 2 months old!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Christmas Part 1

My mom, dad, and I ( and Brent the past 2 years ) go to WV every year for Christmas. That's where my grandparents live. So my mom's side of the family all travel to my grandparents to spend Christmas together. This year is our year to spend Christmas with Brent's family so no WV this year. I'm a bit sad b/c this is my first year not to be there but I am excited to be with Brent's family.

Since my parents left yesterday morning, we had Christmas with them on Wednesday evening. Nana and Popi(my parents) definitely spoiled baby Rowen!! He got lots of toys and clothes.

Before opening gifts, he needed to fill up his tummy :)

His first set of keys...to chew on!

He already loves this bug rattle

lots of clothes...

Rowen with all of his goodies :)

Brent got books, giftcards, yummy smelling cologne, and some other things!

My silly dad with his jingle jammies

My mom got some jewelry from Brent and I along with some other things

I got some great gifts!!! Make-up from Sephora, gift cards to Starbucks and Forever 21( I spent that today!! ), a new clutch, a candle, and a few other great things!!

We had a great time at Nana and Popi's. My mom even recited the Night Before Christmas to Rowen and she knew all of the words by memory...I was impressed. We have that book so maybe Brent and I will make it a tradition to read it to Rowen every Christmas eve!

Worn out from playing with all of his new toys!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Peacefulness

Peacefulness is:

a calm babbling brook

laying out under the stars

walking in a coffee shop and smelling delicious coffee( maybe that's just me! )

looking at flowers in a flower garden

looking at Christmas lights

singing songs at church on Sunday morning

sitting on the beach and looking out into the ocean

Peacefulness is:

looking at a sleeping baby :)....especially this one!

love his cute grin!

There is nothing in the world like looking over your baby as he or she is sleeping.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Rowen is a Growin!

Rowen is 7 weeks old today! He has changed so much in just 7 weeks. He is 12 pounds...not sure of the ounces since our scale at home doesn't measure those. Yes I weighed him on our bathroom scale. Our next doctor visit is not until his 2 month check up at the end of December but Brent and I were super curious to know his weight since he is getting heavier and heavier by the day...it seems like!

He is getting quite a little personality :) He loves to grin when Brent and I talk to him. He giggles when he plays on his play gym and also giggles when we tickle his face! It's just the cutest thing I have ever seen. He is ticklish on his neck, on his legs, and on the bottom of his feet.

Rowen can almost hold his head up by himself...almost. He can hold it up for a few seconds before it starts to get wobbley. By 2 months, I know he will be able to hold it up! We still are doing tummy time. He still hates it! haha. Side note, our sweet baby just laughed in his sleep :) Brent and I think it is so funny! We just wonder what he could possibly be laughing about?! He really likes to sit up on the couch...propped up against the pillows of course. He also loves loves loves to lay on the floor and kick his legs. His legs are already very strong.

baby feet :)

Brent and I love every second with our little man. He is the sweetest baby in the world!!

-Brent and Rachel-

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Christmas Is In The Air!

Brent and I went to pick out a Christmas tree two weekends ago. It was my first time on a Christmas tree lot! :0 And this is my first year to have a REAL tree!! When I was growing up we had a fake tree because we would always go out of town a week for Christmas and my parents were afraid the tree would catch on fire since we wouldn't be there to water it. I loved walking around with Brent through the tree lot. It was so much fun looking at all the trees. Brent told me to pick out one and after looking through the smaller ones, I found a good one!

the tree we picked

pre-decorations

We had fun putting all the lights and decorations on the tree. While we decorated the tree, we watched The Holiday :) We have that movie and I could watch it over and over and over!

Rowen likes to lay by the tree and look at the lights.

Christmas at the Capitol was last Monday and we went and joined in the festivities. There was a tree lighting, mingling with the governor, hot chocolate, and Santa was even there. We took Rowen so Brent's co workers and bosses could see him! They all thought he was a cutie :) He wore his sweater onesie with cute polar bears on it that his Nana bought for him. We got our picture with the governor and his wife and Santa held Rowen for a picture or two! I was just going to hold Rowen and sit beside Santa but he wanted to hold him...haha!

The Easley's and the Haslam's

Santa and sleeping Rowen

A drive by of the Capitol tree with the Capitol in the background

Capitol tree

This past Sunday we had a Christmas festival after our second service at church and Rowen got to meet Santa again...

This time he wanted to be awake so he could see who this Santa guy was! I just love how he is holding on to Santa's finger! We love the pictures that we have gotten of him with Santa for his very first Christmas.

And here are just some random pictures of our little man:

Love this look...he is thinking "oh come on mom, another picture?"!

He loves his play gym!