It's our anniversary and I love our wedding song.

Baby I've been searching like everybody else
Can't say nothing different about myself
Sometimes I'm an angel
And sometimes I'm cruel
And when it comes to love
I'm just another fool
Yes, I'll climb a mountain
I'm gonna swim the sea
There ain't no act of God girl
Could keep you safe from me
My arms are reaching out
Out across this canyon
I'm asking you to be my true companion
True companion True companion

So don't you dare and try to walk away
I've got my heart set on our wedding day
I've got this vision of a girl in white
Made my decision that it's you allright
And when I take your hand
I'll watch my heart set sail
I'll take my trembling fingers
And I'll lift up your veil
Then I'll take you homeA
nd with wild abandon
Make love to you just like a true companion
You are my true companion
I got a true companion
True companion

When the years have done irreparable harm
I can see us walking slowly arm in arm
Just like the couple on the corner do
'Cause girl I will always be in love with you
And when I look in your eyes
I'll still see that spark
Until the shadows fall
Until the room grows dark
Then when I leave this Earth
I'll be with the angels standin'
I'll be out there waiting for my true companion
Just for my true companion
True companion True companion

My life in 8 minutes, LOST style, an anniversary, a baby that sleeps through the night, and a happy Mommy!

Tomorrow Wes and I will be married for 4 years! I think I grow to love him more each year. Although we've only been married for 4 years we have been together for a little over 7. My, how things change in 7 years. I feel like meeting Wes was such a lifetime ago. We have grown so much both individually and together as a couple during these last 7 years. We have accomplished a lot in 7 years. A rundown of those last seven years in 8 minutes, you know like that Lost trailer or like the spoof of it that PC 3 did. Here goes: Kristen lives with Karen, Karen is dating Derek, Derek is Wes's roomate from college. Wes comes to visit Derek, Derek and Karen introduce Wes to Kristen. Wes likes Kristen, Kristen likes Wes. Wes and Kristen start dating. Kristen talks Wes into moving to Erie, PA. Kristen tells Wes she wants to move from Erie, PA to the beach. Wes finds them an apartment in Wilmington, North Carolina. The couple has never been to Wilmington, North Carolina. They move anyway. They love Wilmington, North Carolina. They decide to stay. They get jobs. Kristen takes Wes to look at a puppy. They get a puppy. They name the puppy Eva. Wes asks Kristen to marry him. Kristen says yes. Wes says they should buy a house. They look for a house. They can't find a house they like. They decide to build a house. They get another puppy. The puppy's name is Brollie. Brolile is a crazy dog, but they love him anyway. They move into the new house. They get married. Kristen finds a church she likes. Wes is reluctant. Kristen talks Wes into going to church. Wes goes to church. Wes actually likes this church. Kristen is excited. They decide to try to have a baby. They try, one time, Kristen gets pregnant. They have a baby, Airlie Mae on May 12, 2009, life will never be the same. haha! Life is so amazing.

Things around us are definitely getting interesting lately! Airlie Mae is eating cereal, which is really fun. The pediatrician told me she was definitely ready at her 4 month check up so I went ahead and bought some boring rice cereal. She seems to like it and does really well with the spoon, most of the food actually makes it into her mouth. Impressive. She also slept through the night last night! Yay! Thank you Dr. Ferber! I remember when I started breastfeeding Airlie people telilng me that some day I would actually be thinking that I might miss feeding the babe and me thinking they were nuts because at first breastfeeding is very intimidating and overwhelming, or at least it was for me. Now that Airlie is getting older and I am not feeding her in the middle of the night I really look forward to feeding her in the early morning and in the evening at bed time. At those times it's just her and I in her cozy room cuddled up the rocker close to one another. It's an amazing feeling to have her so close to me and a great way to start and end my day. She is changing everyday and I miss her so much while I'm at work. This weekend Wes's parents are coming to visit and I am excited for them to see Airlie and her progress. They have not seen her since she was about 2 months old and a lot has changed since then. She is beginning to make more noises and recognizes her name. She also notices when you come in and out of the room and sure likes it more when you're in the room. She is now noticing the dogs much more and recently reached out to pet Eva. So sweet! She is all smiles! She is able to hold her head up well and if you prop her up she sits up very nicely. My baby girl is a happy girl, laughing and talking a lot! Fun times are definitely ahead!

In other news Wes finally got a long awaited position change and promotion at work! This is awesome. I am so proud of him for working hard and patiently waiting for this opportunity. It has been a long time in the making. His new schedule is less than preferable, but we will make it work. I believe God has a plan for us and I am just a part of that plan, so therefore I will not be upset with the schedule, but instead grateful for this new position for Wes.

Here are some pictures of the recent cereal adventure, my sleepy babe and Wes and Airlie together while Wes is decked out in his work attire.

Oops here's four months!

such a happy baby!

Happy 4 months Airlie Mae!!!

3 months old!


Two Months old!

One month old!

Three weeks old

Two weeks old

One week old

I can't believe it, Airlie Mae is 4 months old already! Where has the time gone? Here are some pictures of her progression! She is rolling over and getting two teeth, biting on everything in site and loves her changing table and mirrors the most. What fun this is!

Labor Daze

So it was labor day this past weekend which for me meant a three day weekend with no laboring!!!! Wahoo. My boss actually let us leave early on Friday so I got 3.5 days off! I was loving it. My Mom, Airlie and I went to the beach on Friday and because it was a bit overcast it was not half as packed as I expected it to be. I took the Baby Bjorn and took Airlie for a nice long walk in it. She fell asleep of course! We also had a couple of cook outs over the weekend to go to and we went to the Myrtle Beach outlets to hit up the sales. Oh my goodness, what a mad house it was. Airlie was a perfect angel and despite the overcast, rainy day, we had a fun time. It was a last minute decision to go and a bit of a whirlwind trip, but it was fun. We got Airlie a ton of clothes, both for now and for next summer. All the kids stores were 50% off! Can't beat that!!! I really enjoyed having the extra day with Airile and Wes and just hanging out. Here are some pics!

Proud

Wow, I can't believe I woke up this morning and it was actually a bit cool outside. Fall is on it's way to NC and I am actually looking forward to it. It has been a hot summer!!! So this morning as I embraced the chilly weather I was reflecting on summer. It was a whirlwind summer that is for sure. I remember in May being pregnant and thinking what fun the summer was going to be, I would be off for most of it on maternity leave and I would spend every day at the beach, soaking up the rays with my baby girl in her little beach tent and life would be perfect. Bahahahahah what a funny joke! We have just this month finally managed to get ourselves out to the beach multiple times, before that even getting out of the house was a joke, let alone getting down to the beach. At first I was irritated about this, I felt like I was wasting my whole summer be stuck in the house feeding a baby. I had cabin fever like you wouldn't believe and was getting really bitter. Then I took a long hard look at myself and realized just how selfish I was being. I have been on this planet for 29 years and hope to be on it for a lot more years, the least I can do for my child is sacrifice a summer to stay home and nurture her. Once I put everything into persepective life became a lot more enjoyable for us. So today the reason the title of my blog is proud is because I am proud. I'm proud that I am starting to feel confident in my role as a Mom and I'm starting to dwell less on what cannot get done and celebrate more how precious this little life that I'm in charge of is. I'm proud of the fact that after almost 4 months I am still breastfeeding my little girl. Yes some days it is trying and exhausting and yes pumping at work is a major pain in the butt, but I feel so proud everytime I do it that I have nourished her from day 1. I do pump at home as well and let Wes give her a bottle, but still that is milk from her Mommy. I feel so blessed that I have not had any issues with milk supply, latching on etc. My babe was a pro from the get go, but that does not mean that it didn't take a lot of practice to make our techniques perfect. I look back now at the sleepless nights where I was afraid I wasn't getting her enough milk or that I was holding her wrong or that I didn't hold her upright long enough and that caused her to erupt like a volcano when I laid her down and I laugh. I was so paranoid that I wasn't doing things exactly right. I've come to realize after almost 4 months that there really is no right way to care for a baby, everything is trial and error and that's ok. I think that we're doing a pretty good job at this whole parenting thing and I'm really PROUD of that. :)