Hip Ultrasound

We went to Vanderbilt Children's hospital today for the ultrasound on Annabelle's hips. This is the new recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics for all breech babies. It is a screening for hip dysplasia. Her pediatrician set up the appointment for us. The results were that her hips are great! She slept through the whole thing, even the diaper change that was required afterwards. As we were leaving, Denver and I both agreed that we hope we never have to go back to the Children's hospital again.

One Month Old

On June 12th Annabelle turned 1 month old. Our little girl is growing up so much. We celebrated by doing a photo shoot at home. As you can tell from the pictures, she wasn't entirely thrilled about it.

Father's Day

We celebrated Denver's first Father's Day by having a leisurely morning at home, watching a movie (Into the Wild), going to a cookout at Nanny and Pa's and then to another cookout at our neighbor's house, The Glandons. Here are some pictures from the day.

Sleepy time with Dad


We like to watch Sportscenter together


With my Mims on Nanny and Pa's back porch




Ready for the cookout at the Glandon's

First Pool Day

We went over to Mims and Big Daddy's to spend the night on Friday since Denver had a friend in town. Saturday morning he came to meet us and Annabelle enjoyed her first pool day. Amy and Lyla came to visit later in the afternoon. Lyla should give us a good idea of what Annabelle will be like next year since they were born on the same day, one year apart. We all loved Lyla's cute swimsuit and squeaky shoes. And she loved being in the water. She is such a little ham!

Visit with Gunner

One of my best friends from high school, Alison, came into town from Tulsa, OK with her son Gunner. He is 4 months old. They stopped by along with Alison's mom Linda and got to meet Annabelle and visit with us for a couple hours. It was so great seeing them and imagining how big Annabelle will be when she is Gunner's age. Here are a few pictures from our visit.

First Picnic

We took our first family picnic when Annabelle was a little over 2 weeks old. We went to Edwin Warner Park here in Nashville. It was a beautiful day and we found a nice private spot. Millie was allowed off her leash (against park rules.. shh!) and Annabelle loved to stretch out on the blanket.

First Bath

Here are some first bath pics. Annabelle didn't enjoy it too much! Maybe Mom needs to work on her technique...



Mills checking things out


All clean

Hanging with my big sis

We weren't really too worried about how Millie would react to us bringing home the new baby. She is such a sweet girl so we were pretty sure she would love the baby. She has been even greater than we could have imagined. She loves to lick Annabelle's toes and even her face if we let her! Annabelle doesn't mind too much, unless she is trying to sleep. We look forward to watching these two become best friends.

May 12, 2009

I had been put on bed rest due to 2 hospital visits the previous week. We were scheduled for a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, May 13th. I was really hopeful that I would get off of bed rest and be able to get lots of things done in preparation of your arrival. Apparently you had other plans! On May 11th, I decided to sleep on the couch because it was easier to get comfortable and it kept me from waking your Dad up all night with my frequent bathroom visits. Something must have been in the air that night because neither of us could sleep very well. Around 1:00 in the morning of May 12th, your Dad came out to get something to drink and we sat up talking for a few minutes. Then Dad went to bed and was reading his book for expectant fathers. He would randomly yell out quotes to me. Millie must have also known something was up because she insisted on cuddling right up to you in my belly on the couch. We were all drifting off to sleep, when at about 2:30 in the morning, I felt a gush. My water had broken! We all got up, started making calls and got ready to go to the hospital. Mom was perfectly calm and Dad was a nervous wreck that everything in the house and yard wasn't perfect for your arrival!! But we both knew that we would be meeting you soon (though we didn't have any idea how soon!) and were so excited.

We got to Centennial hospital around 4am and were taken to the labor and delivery triage area. I was checked out by the nurses and estimated to be dilated to 1 centimeter. They couldn't feel your head so asked about your position. I told them that we were told at our last 2 appointments that you were head down but were scheduled for an ultrasound the next day to find out for sure. The nurses told us that our doctor, Dr. Eileen Cassidy, would be doing her rounds about 8:15 and we would decide how to proceed. We were given a labor and delivery room and prepared to labor until the doctor got there. My contractions were 4-6 minutes apart but never felt too uncomfortable. By this time, your Mims, Big Daddy, Nanny and Aunt Kristy were all at the hospital and couldn't wait to meet you!

Dr. Cassidy finally arrived and felt my belly. She said again that she felt you were head down. She pulled out the ultrasound equipment and right away said she was wrong. You were breech and we would need to do a c-section to get you out. She left to talk to her office about her schedule and Mom and Dad got a minute to process the news. We were both a bit nervous, mainly because it was such a surprise. The good news was that we got to meet you right away! The nurses and anesthesia team came in to prep us for surgery. We were quickly whisked down to the Operating Room. Mom was scared because they didn't let Dad in the room until right before the surgery started. We were very lucky to have our friends Michelle (Auntie Hank) and Megan come into the OR and take lots of pictures so we could document your birth. They both work in the NICU at Centennial and used their badges to sneak in and we couldn't be more grateful for all the great pictures.

Once Dr. Cassidy got you out, Dad was able to announce that you were a girl. You gave us a little scare because we didn't hear you cry right away, but after just a couple seconds, you were screaming your little head off and getting taken care of by the nurses. It seemed like hours before they brought you over to me, but Dad was with you the whole time. When you were finally laid on my chest, you were still screaming but the minute you heard my voice, you instantly stopped and looked into my eyes and grabbed your Dad's finger. At that moment, the world around us stopped and we knew that our hearts were yours forever.

You weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces and were 20 3/4 inches long.

Dad was able to take you to the nursery.


He hated seeing them poke and prod at you and was worried about Mom as well.


The nurses finally brought you to me and I was so happy to be able to sit up and hold you.

Apparently you were a hungry little girl because I was given word from your Mims that you were rooting around looking for some milk while the nurses were working on you. When you got to me, you latched on right away.

It took Mom and Dad a couple hours to finally agree on your name (we had it narrowed down to 3 options). We decided on Annabelle Marie and it fits you perfectly.

First Entry

We have decided to create a blog to allow family and friends to keep up with Annabelle. We also think it will be a neat thing for her to look back on to serve as a sort of journal of her first years. Please be patient as I learn how to blog. I'm trying to find a cute design and figure out how to add pictures and all that fun stuff. I'm going to do some catch up posts of her birth story, pictures of her first 6 weeks and so on.