Merry Christmas...

From our most precious gift!

Hope you all have a very merry & blessed Christmas!!

xoxo - The Barnett's

Pictures with Santa

Some sweet, sweet friends of ours have a Christmas party every year that Santa comes to! Santa is so kind to let everyone take all of their family photos with him & talk to the kids about their Christmas wishes!

Here is Sawyer with Santa for his first Christmas pictures...

Just 10 days after Sawyer was born, our friends Amber & Franco welcomed another sweet baby girl into the world, Miss Bailey, so Sawyer got to meet her too!

I am so excited these two are going to get to grow up together & hopefully be great friends!!

Thank you "B" family for being such great friends!
A BIG thanks to you too Santa ;)
We love you all!!

Merry Christmas!!
xoxo - The Barnett's

What I'm loving...

...on this rainy morning...

 Have a great day!!



Blessing Rings

I borrowed the idea from another blog,Katie's Keepers, to make what she called a "blessing ring". It's a creative & cute way to keep up with all the cards & blessings you receive for different occasions - birthdays, weddings, babies, Christmas & such!

Here is what you need to make your blessing ring:

- a 5 inch neck ring which can be found @ Hobby Lobby or Michael's

-assorted ribbon

-scissors

-single hole punch

Punch a hole in the corner of your cards & slide them on to the neck ring.Then, tie a piece of ribbon onto the neck ring in between every 2-3 cards. That's it! Such a simple & inexpensive way to keep up with all your "blessings" & it makes it so easy to go back & look through them whenever you like with out digging them out of some shoe box you stashed in the top of your closet like me.

Here is the one I made with all the cards I received at my baby showers & when Sawyer was born...

I bought some blue ribbon & black ribbon to use on his so it would match his room, but I also used some of the ribbon from different gifts we received! This one is hanging on his closet door.

Our Christmas cards we've received this year...

I love having this hung on the front of our Christmas tree to look at whenever I want! The cards with family photos are my favorite & we have gotten some super cute ones this year!!

1 month

Sawyer is 1 month old today!! He was bright eyed for his mini photo shoot this morning :)

Now let's recap what has been happening during your first month...

You came home from the hospital on Tuesday November 22nd

Your first Thanksgiving when you were 4 days old

You watched your first Razorback game on your 5th day....it was a terrible game that we lost :(

Your first snow when you were 2 1/2 weeks old!

Daddy was able to stay home with us for the first 3 weeks which we really enjoyed! He was such a big help & took great care of you & mommy! Breastfeeding was not going well for us & your weight dropped down to 7lbs during the first 2 weeks, so we made lots of trips to the pediatrician for weight checks. At your check-up last Wednesday, you weighed 8lbs 4oz (1oz above your birth weight). You are taking a 3-4oz bottle of formula every 3 hours & doing well!

You love to be held & talked to, you will make the cutest faces like you really know what we are talking about & you love to sit in your bouncy seat & listen to music on our iPod :)

 You are not a fan of getting a bath or having your diaper changed. You usually get the hiccups once or twice a day & they make you really angry...gripe water is our friend :)

 You've spent the afternoon at the mall with your Aunt Jamie & I, & you've gone on several trips to Target & Kohl's with me & your daddy. You even went to dinner with us at Red Lobster after a long day of Christmas shopping! (the waiter loved you of course!)

Other things about you this month:

-You are still wearing newborn size diapers, we like Pampers the best

-When we first brought you home your sisters licked and sniffed all over you but you didn't fuss at all. We have this on video for you to watch later ;)

-Size 0-3month clothes didn't fit you at first so your dad & I & Jamie & Nana have had to buy you some Newborn size outfits to get you through. You are starting to wear some 0-3mo. outfits now that you are gaining weight.

-We started giving you the paci the day we left the hospital. You don't use it too much & when we do give it to you, you only suck on it for a few minutes before you pull it out of your mouth or spit it across the room.

-You are acting like such a strong baby! You really hold your head up well when we are burping you & during tummy time. You have been rolling yourself up onto your side when you're sleeping & this week you have really been stretching your legs & putting all your weight on them when we hold you up.

-You love to have your hands on your face. You keep them curled up around your chin when you sleep...so cute!!

-You also like to suck on your fingers alot, especially when we are trying to feed you a bottle.

-You have really long fingers & big feet.

-Your eyes have turned from bright blue when you were born to a more dark blue, almost gray, color.

-Your hair is very light colored & thin on top but its a little darker & thicker on the back. Mommy LOVES your hair!

-You sleep next to our bed in the bassinet part of your play yard. You have taken a couple naps in your crib with me watching on the baby monitor.

-Some nicknames you've picked up : Papaw Pete calls you "Strawberry" , daddy calls you "baby boy", you've been called "pretty boy" alot, & I usually just call you "momma's boy/baby" or "sweet boy/baby" 

 Happy 1 month sweet boy!! It is amazing to see how much you change & grow almost overnight! This month has gone by way too quickly!! We love you soooooo much!!!

Sawyer Blake...

Our sweet boy arrived at 4:50pm on November 20th! He weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and measured 21 inches long. He is absolutely perfect!!

We arrived at the hospital at 6am that day to be induced. Pitocin was started about 7:30am, my doctor came at 9:30am to break my water, my epidural was started at 10:30am & from there my labor slowly progressed.

 my parents & I

 what would we do without our phones to keep us entertained?!

 At 3:30pm, I was dilated to 5-6 according to my nurse. Blake asked her at that point how much longer she thought it would be and she told him probably a couple of hours, so my sisters left to go get something to eat & Blake's Papaw left to come home & take care of our dogs. Soon after that, I started having a lot of pain in my back that wasn't relieved by changing positions or by pressing my epidural button so I asked the nurse to have anesthesia come & give me more meds. Before she called the anesthesiologist, she checked me again & to every one's surprise I was fully dilated & effaced & ready to start pushing!

At 4:18pm we started pushing.

After about 3 pushes with my nurses, Sawyer was crowning & my doctor had not yet arrived! We had to hold off on pushing any more until he got there, but once he arrived I pushed probably another 2-3 times & Sawyer was here!

 I am so grateful to have had such an easy & pretty much pain free labor & delivery & even more grateful to finally have this perfectly healthy, beautiful baby boy here!

Sawyer, your daddy & I love you more than anyone could ever imagine! You are perfect in every way & have made our hearts so happy! I am so glad God chose us to be your parents!

The last month...

I could go into great detail about what's been going on for the last month or so, but I'll spare you! One word will sum it all up WORK! It got crazy busy at the end of October/first of November as we prepared for & survived our VAD program's Joint Comission survey. The past 2 weeks I've spent trying to catch up & prepare for being off for the next 12 weeks.

At home, in between eating & sleeping, I've tried to stay ahead on housework expecting that Sawyer could make an appearance at any time. Blake has been so great helping out with laundry & cleaning out closets. When I was really sick with a sinus infection a few weeks ago, he & his mom & mema spent the day deep cleaning the house & shampooing the carpet. During this time we've also finished up with the nursery, which you've seen, washed all of the baby clothes & blankets & then of course spent every Saturday watching the Razorbacks!

Speaking of Razorbacks...during the months of September & October, my hair salon East of Eden, entered all of their clients who came in for a cut & color into a drawing for a Razorback gift set & guess who won?!!? ME!! I never win anything so I was soooo excited when my stylist Jessica called & told me I had won!

The gift included 2 tickets to last weeks football game against Tennessee. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to the game since it was too close to my due date. Blake gave the tickets to a friend at work.

The last month of being pregnant has definitely been the most uncomfortable! Hip pain, groin pain, reflux/heartburn, back pain & just overall exhaustion have not been fun. The anticipation of wanting him here so badly but at the same time stressing out that I may go into labor & things would be left undone at work have worn me out!! So glad to know that there is an end in sight & all of the pain & stress will be worth it very, very soon!

Just for my own memory's sake, the progression during the last month's weekly doctor appts...
36 weeks: Dilated 1cm, 1/3 of the way effaced, baby's head down & fully engaged
37 weeks: Still just 1cm dilated, 50% effaced
38 weeks: Dilated 2 cm, still only 50% effaced. At this visit, he estimated that Sawyer weighed approx. 7 lbs & would gain 1/2 lb each week until delivery
39 weeks: 3 cm dilated & 70% effaced.
At this week's check up he went ahead & scheduled me to be induced THIS SUNDAY so that we could for sure have our sweet boy here & be home for Thanksgiving!!

Our pregnancy journey will be turning into our parenting journey in roughly 48 hours.....!!!!!!!

Sawyer's Nursery

Blake couldn't wait any longer for me to blog about the nursery & he posted a picture on Facebook last night. So now I feel like I should share with everyone...

I never really had an idea of a "theme" for the nursery but I knew what color scheme I wanted & I knew I wanted a clean & modern look. My sister found a picture online of a nursery with the argyle wall & when she showed me I had to have it re-created for Sawyer's nursery! I did all the shopping & supervising & my mom & sister did an AMAZING job painting!!

There are a few things left to do to complete the nursery but I need my baby here to do so!

I plan on putting some of his newborn pics on canvas & hanging next to the mirror above the dresser.

The outfit we bring him home in will be put in the shadow box to hang on the wall in the picture above.

My Nana is working on making a cover for the changing pad to sit on the dresser as well as a couple more pillows for the crib.  

Sawyer's daddy is kind of the inspiration for the room. Blake gets 99% of his clothes from Express, he wears a different colored polo shirt from there everyday & in the winter he has several of their argyle sweaters that he wears. Almost all of the clothes from Express have this Lion embroidered on them that I was able to transfer over to this pillow...

Sawyer's homecoming outfit is a white polo onesie with his monogram & blue jeans so he & his daddy are going to match! So cute! I can't wait :)

Sawyer, your bag is packed for the hospital. We are so excited to have you here with us so hurry up already!! 

Work Baby Shower & other gifts...

We're still here & not so patiently awaiting Sawyer's arrival!!

Way back in October, my friends a work hosted a baby shower for us. I have to declare that I have the best co-workers on the planet! I'm not a fan of gift opening pictures so here's a picture of the delicious & adorable cake & before/after pics of the gifts...

We received some very thoughtful & amazing gifts! If Sawyer would hurry up & get here, he's got some super cute Razorback gear to wear during these last couple of football games ;)

We have also received some other sweet gifts over the past couple of weeks. One of my patients had these made for us...

I LOVE seeing his name printed on things =)

Blake's good friend from work & his wife had these made for us...



How precious are those!!!!

Some other items I've received from people around the hospital...



We are so appreciative of every one's thoughtfulness for the gifts we've received!

Sawyer is such a rotten lucky boy to have so many great people thinking of him!

35 weeks

Today is exactly 1 month till our due date! I still can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by! This, however, has been a looong week. I mentioned in my last post that Blake & I have both had a sinus infection...and it's not getting any better. I hate to complain, but I have just been miserable! I could handle the headache, congestion & sore throat, but 3 days ago, the coughing started & it is awful! I can't seem to get rid of that annoying itch in the back of my throat from the sinus drainage. I bought some Robitussin DM yesterday since it's on the "pregnancy safe" list, but it hasn't helped. I have been drinking tons more water thinking that would help, but that just results in more trips to the bathroom.  I haven't slept for more than 4 hours the past 2 nights due to this crap. Also, to add to the misery, my pelvis is widening & my hips have been killing me. It seriously feels like I've been bedridden for months every time I get up....OK enough griping, bless your heart if you are still reading this :)

Best parts of the week: I got 2 packages yesterday, a personalized newborn gown I ordered  for Sawyer & also the chair I ordered for the nursery. Can't wait to share with y'all!!  My friends @ work did a 3d ultrasound on me today, but Sawyer is head down & face down so we didn't get any good pictures. We did get a glimpse of his profile for a couple minutes :) He was sucking his thumb & I think he has my nose ;) The doctor I work for has started a pool in the office & everyone is betting on when my little man will be here...the dates so far range from October 31st to November 20th!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I'm on call... praying it's quite one & it's the Razorbacks bye week, so I will just be taking it easy around the house, hoping to catch up on some sleep & laundry! Exciting huh!?!

Wednesday Randoms...

The past couple of weeks have been pretty crazy!

About a week & a half ago on a Thursday night, I had a real emotional/panicky/dramatic pregnancy moment that ended with Blake taking me to the labor & deliver unit @ Baptist. I came home from work that day and started doing some housework & cooking dinner like usual when I realized I had not felt the baby move since lunch that day. I didn't think too much about it, I figured that after I ate and sat still for awhile I would feel him. Well, 45 minutes after eating dinner & relaxing on the couch, I still hadn't felt any movement...cue the freak out. I was thinking the worst possible thoughts & crying so hard! It was like 9 o'clock at night but we drove up to the hospital and they got us right in & placed a fetal heart monitor on me. As soon as the nurse had the monitor strapped on we heard that sweet little heartbeat and felt so much better! We were there for about an hour & everything was fine. I have brought home a doppler from work so that I can listen to the heartbeat whenever I want to without having to make a trip to the hospital, I haven't had to use it thought because I don't think the little stinker has stopped moving since that night =) I love his little kicks & punches though!

The next night, on Friday, we got to spend even more time at Baptist...I feel like I live at that place sometimes...but anyways, Blake's dad had a scare & stayed overnight to make sure he hadn't had a heart attack. Thankfully everything was perfectly fine and he is feeling much better now! We love Sawyer's J-Pa!!

This past weekend was kinda busy. Saturday morning I had a hair appointment, then went to a friends baby shower, had lunch with my baby daddy, did some shopping, then came home, cleaned house & got ready to watch the Razorback game with some friends. Here are some pics from Saturday night...

Lindsey brought her pup Harley over to play, & Tess got lots of love from my friend Katie's husband Kent! 

 We had s'mores for dessert! Yummy!!

This little cutie kept us entertained =)

Sunday, Blake & I had breakfast @ Cracker Barrel...it has kind of become our routine, I just love their breakfast! After that, we went & picked up the dresser for Sawyer's nursery then came home and rested and watched a little tv. Around noon, I met my mom, sister & nana & we all went to the Hot Springs Arts & Craft fair. We didn't buy any crafts but we saw some cute stuff that we may try to create on our own :) The real reason we go there every year is for the food! My mom & I shared a chunk of homemade fudge while walking around looking at stuff, Nana had a funnel cake, I bought a bag of bbq pork rinds to bring home to Blake, & before we left all of us bought a large bag of this...

Kettle Corn! It is seriously the best stuff ever!! I may or may not have eaten half the bag on the way home from Hot Springs...

When I got home, Blake had started putting the dresser together. He ended up calling in some back-up to help get it done...

I'll show a picture of the finished product when I do Sawyer's Nursery post, which will hopefully be in the next couple of weeks! While J-Pa & Chris were here helping Blake, I had them help hang the curtain rod in the nursery so here is a tiny sneak peek...



In other random news...

• I had a baby shower @ work earlier this week. We got some super cute stuff. I'll do a full post soon!
• Blake & I have both been dealing with sinus/allergy issues this week...cough, sore throat, congestion, sinus headaches. We have both just been miserable. We busted out the humidifier in our room.
• Loved the rain today even though it just made me want to come home & crawl in the bed!
• I posted this on FB earlier, but the Google homepage was fantastic today! It was interactive balls of clay that turned into Gumby & Friends in honor of Art Clokey's 90th birthday. It pretty much made my day :)