Diaper Diaries

Carley's Turning Point

2010-07-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

Carley is an incredible little being! She operates on her own free will according to God's plan for her! So far, she hit some major milestones during her 6th month literally in two week intervels like crawling was one week (June 8th), then exactly 2wks later she pulled up on the side of the table (June 22nd), then two weeks later she said her first words "Dada" (this was in her 7th month, July 6th). We have high expectations for her based on this pattern! Ha! It has been crazy and I feel like all of this is happening so fast before our eyes! If you blink too long, you may miss something with her! She's a riot! She's always keeping us on our toes and we are now busy chasing her quick ability to crawl through a room or chase after a kitty kitty or get into something that she is not suppose to like daddy's PS3 cords which are her fav's! Everyday she does something new or has some new noice to share with us!

God is so good! He knew exactly what he was doing when he gave us our baby girl! Sometimes we are definitely challenged by her and she is so small and so young even now! We are in store for something really wonderful and even more challenging with this baby Carley Lowery! If you have been around Carley for any length of time, you will discover that she is definitely is a very determined, persistant and observant little girl. I wonder who she takes after? Ha!

I really wish that I could post videos of her during these milestones, however for some reason everytime I try to upload the videos, they are unable to load. It is very frustrating. I think maybe they are too large to load! You will have to check them out on fb bc they are there!

Here are some of C's 6 month pics:

I am a little behind in posting recently, so I am just going to post C's 7 month pics here too.

Oh, Happy Day

2010-05-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

Carley will be 6 months on May 24th. She is getting dedicated at our baptist church on the 23rd. Our interim pastor, Dr. Paul Powell is going to do the service for us. It is going to be a very special day for us for a lot of reasons. Paul Powell married my aunt Marcia, performed my grandfather, George Truett Mason's funeral and also did my grandmother, Bessie Lou Mason's funeral two weeks after Carley was born! My g'mom took trips to Japan with Paul Powell & her church in the 80's. We feel honored & privileged that he can celebrate both deaths and births and dedicate our baby girl for us.

During my grandmother's service, Paul Powell so eloquently talked about how Maw Maw encouraged others through the passage of Philippians 4:13, which states, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me", but she would personalize it to others by substituting "you" for "I" and "you" for "me". She always had a way about her that could open the eyes of others to see from a new prospective.

This is going to be an exciting day for our wonderful families and friends to come together with us to share her with our church family. Margaret & Tommy (MiMi & Papa T), Pam & David (LaLa & PaPa), Shannon (Aunt Sha Sha), Aunt Marcia, Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, John Hardy Jr., Kate & Dave Iglesias (Aunt Kates & Uncle Dave-o) are all going to be present for Carley on the day of her dedication.

May flowers

2010-05-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

Carley is FIVE months! As both Sean and I agree, Carley is at a fun age! We are understanding her needs more. Does she need this, this or that? She def recognizes both of us and that helps too. She is def her daddy's little angel! Everyday after he gets home from work, she laughs at his funny faces, his scratchy beard and his finger claws! I treasure their precious relationship and it makes my heart smile!

During this month, she has learned to sit up and use her core muscles to balance! As you know, babies change everyday. One day she was like a teeter totter and the next day or so she could sit up longer for a few minutes at a time! You can really tell she is proud of herself when she does something new for the first time. She also loves to stand with assist & hold on to the side of a table. She makes new cooing noises as she pats the table. Precious baby girl. She loves reading books and patting at the pages. MiMi and I are working on her numbers and she is counting to 4. She is army crawling, wiggling or sorta crawling forward (sometimes backwards), but mostly forward. She was doing a lot of rolling, but now it more she prefers squirming on her stomach as her mode of transportation.

This has been a very EXHILARATING month for Carley and forus too! Carley had her first cereal about a week before her 6 month bday! This was a remarkable day on a whole lot of levels bc things will never be the same as we know them to be before this day. Our baby girl is growing up and was ready for some real food. It was so cute to watch her take her first bites of runny rice cereal. We think that she ready before her mommy and daddy were ready. After the first funny, confused faces, she decided she really liked being fed with a spoon. She started opening her mouth like a little bird and leaning her head back as if she was anticipating more to be fed to her. She took it like a little pro! The next cereal a few days later was oatmeal, however she prefers the rice stuff. We are anxious to start fruits and veggies next!

Pic taken before Sean's cousin Amanda's wedding in Arkansas

We had a busy month with 2 weddings and Daniel's graduation! Woo hoo! No more school for Dan Dan, that we know of! Congrats Daniel!

Spring Forward with Carley

2010-04-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

Carley was 4 months toward the end of March! At her 4 month appt with her pedi MD, she weighted 15 lbs (even) and 25.2 in long! Big girl! She is def on the higher end for both height & weight! MD said most 1 y/o are about 20 lb. She is well on her way! We love our chunky monkey & glad she has a good appetite! Everyone always comments on her healthy cheeks! We think it's super cute! The MD suggested to introduce cereal when Carley seemed interested in food or grabbing for food. So far, we think she is content nursing every 2-3hr during the day & we plan on waiting for the cereal closer to her 6 mo bday if no teeth by then. It makes sense that God intended for teeth to eat food!

Easter Lilly

Eggstravaganza Carley

Cadbury Egg

Bon voyage Carley

Easter Joy

Unleash the Fun

Twinkies Stick Together

After all the snowy and cold, little Carley and I are certainly enjoying our daily walks in the BOB stroller when the weather is nice! We def love the April spring days in T-town!

Rolley Polley Carley

Somebunny loves you

Story time with MiMi

Paper verus Carley. The paper won!

4 Month Progress:
Sticking everything that she can get her hands on in her mouth
Had several freak out moments in public. ie, restaurant and friends house
Very observant. Notices pictures on walls, ect
Maybe teething, small bump on lower gums
Drooling more
Started rolling to her left side from back to tummy position

Check out a short video clip of Carley:

4 days later, she rolled to her right side like a champ
Grabbing her toes, first her left toes, then her right toes
Squealing more
Def laughing daily, esp at Da Da & when you kiss her tummy
Loves to suck on her baby keys
Loves to shake rattles
Started to have a more predictable napping schedule
Started going to sleep at 9:30p instead of 10-10:30! Yeah!
Sleep more through the night. Occasionally gets up once!
Loves seeing MiMi daily!
Loves her baths
Enjoys being in her two jumperoos. Her feet reach the ground now.
Loves looking in the mirror
First golf cart ride with MiMi
Loves to smile at momma first thing in the AM's
Making motorboat sound & blowing bubbles! So precious!

Lucky Ladybug

License to Drool

Lil' bunny Foo Foo

Jumping beans

Hopping Easter feet

He has Risen for Carley

Fiesta before Siesta

March Madness with Carley

2010-03-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

Carley is 3 months and changing so much everyday! I love to watch her discover new things and do new "tricks!" I tell Sean that she just mastered a new developmental skill & he laughs! During this month, Carley def recongnizes her momma & da da! She loves to smile & laugh at her Da Da when he gets home from work! I think she loves his deep voice, big blue eyes, funny faces he makes with his eyebrows & she likes to feel his whiskers on his face! It is probably just nice to see a fresh face besides her momma in her face all the time! Ha! Carley def recognizes her momma's voice and laugh across the room and tracks to find me! I love this! Carley also enjoys playing & dancing with her MiMi nearly everyday! Carley might be on Dancing with the Stars someday!

Flowerama Carley

Tulp Princess

Sweet Daddy time

Pink Pretty Princess

Pick-a-boo

BF Andrew (6 mo) & Carley sitting in a tree, G'moms have opposite babies! Ha!

Papa T loves Pookie

Sweet baby girl

Carley is also spontaneously laughing at times! Her whole face lights up & it is absolutely the most precious thing we have ever seen! You find yourself doing everything possible for her to do it again & again! It's so fun! Car Car enjoys being in her rainforest mat more where she is noticing dangling toys & is swatting at them more! Her attention span is a little longer during this playtime! With this increased attention span, we enjoy reading books off & on during the day!

Lunch playdate with Kim Labbe in Dallas

Hippity hoppity

Mommy & Car Car

Bumble bee Carley

We do Carley's tummy time neck exercises 2-3 times/day even though she does not particularly like them that well. She is doing mini pushups whether she likes it or not! I am so proud of her! Sweet girl is sleeping through the night for the most part. We put her down in her crib bt 10-10:30 & she will wake to eat maybe once or not until 6 or 7a! Praise God for sleep!

Lucky Leprechaun

Happy St. Patty's Day

Cute Leopard twins

Babbling brook Carley

Our Gerber baby

La La (Sean's mom) & Daniel (bro) came for a visit to Tyler at the beginning of the month. We had fun seeing them and went for a nice dinner at Bernard Mediterranean restaurant while they were here! Thank you Mr. Farris! Carley slept the whole time in her carseat which was an added bonus! MiMi was holding the princess at Dad's bank & heard Carley say "Da Da!" Momma is just glad that she said Da Da! La La was playing with Carley on the ground and she laughed at La La too! Great memories!

Admiring the Fishtank at PaPa T's bank with MiMi & LaLa

LaLa's playtime

LaLa's QT

I think it snowed 3 times bt Feb & March here! It had not snowed like that since the 80's! A new record for the global warming! Crazy Texas weather! I guess the ground hog guessed it right this year! Ha!

Growing Pains

2010-02-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

There is never a dull moment at the Lowery house, as with all families! Sean came home this evening to tell me that there is another job opportunity for him to consider! It is an out of town traveling hearing aid sales job position and it really would be a wonderful opportunity for him and his career! I am trying to think big picture here! It of course comes with some not so wonderful things & require him to be gone as much as 3 nights a week from me and Carley Poo! BOO, hiss!! This exact topic has come up for him several other times in the recent past, during my preganacy...and everytime it did, I was immediately an emotional crying basket case at the thought of having that conversation! The answer was obviously NO then! Pregnancy did weird and unusal things to me! The conversation tonight was much different and I was a little excited with no tears about what God may have in store for our future! I want what is best for Sean, his career, his happiness & sanity and our family's future! I support him fully since he is our bread winner now! Ha! I love you Sean, honey! Please keep our family in your prayers!

Happy 2.5 Month B-day

2010-02-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

At Carley's 9 week appt, she weighed 12.5 lb & 23 in! She was in the 76th & 80th percentile for height & weight & 90th percentile for her head measurement! At this appt, she got 3 of her 2 month immunizations! POOR baby doll! She had no idea what was coming! Momma even teared up! Boo!

Bless Her Pumpkin Heart Carley

We can't believe that Carley is growing so fast! I know that I mentioned in an earlier post that I hoped that Carley's sleeping would get better and it definitely has improved! She slept 8 consecutive hours for the 1st time flat in her crib on Friday night and it happened again last night! It is like a whole new world! I was a bit panicky at first, but it is reassuring to know she can do it! We hope it continues and will keep our fingers crossed! This is BIG time for us! It was like a light switch turned on when she turned 2.5 months and POOF the baby sleeps all night! God is good!

Snow Bunny Carley

Valentine Cutie Carley

Nothing But Sugar Carley

PaPa T & Carley Smiles

Carley is an inch away from being able to jump until her heart is content in her jumper! She repeatly played with the beads on the jumper! I could not believe it and made daddy look at her a million times!

She is definitely smiling more when she sees mommy & daddy! When I tell her to sing, she makes a sweet ahh sound, along with some other sounds too! Carley is such a sweet princess and starting to pick up her feet and actually puts one foot in front of the other as if she is walking while we hold her under her arms! We are practing her neck and back exercises 2-3 times a day and she is improving! She likes it when I clap and praise her mini pushups! Everything is going straight to her mouth, especially both of her hands! She tries to see if she can fit both hands in at the same time!

High Above the Ground Carley

Kissable Carley

All Naturale Mommy & Carley

Honey Bunny Carley

Oh, by the way, one of my worst pet peves is when people immediately want to touch, hold and even sometimes kiss Carley's hands when they see her! MiMi's nail lady kissed Carley's hand multiply times and I witnessed it and let me tell you I was dying inside! This is not okay with momma at this point bc they are going straight to her mouth! I may be a bit controlling, but I am trying to protect my baby girl during these winter months! There was even a random waitress that asked to touch her and I said NO! Opps! I need to get better at my come backs and just let people know that she has not had all of her shots yet! Ha!!

MiMi & Carley

I Heart Carley

Telling Secrets Carley

CNL is 8 weeks

2010-01-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

It is no cliche to say that time flies when you are having fun! I honestly can say that time has been spent staring at our baby girl... all day long and loving every minute of it! It's official, I will now be a full time stay at home mommy! I will be getting to do alot more of that QT with Carley! Yippy! We are super excited and I am pumped that we can make it work so I do not miss out on anything! It is absolutely the BEST gift that my loving husband could ever give me!! We have certainly prayed and prayed about it and think that it is the best thing for our growing family!

Things happening with Carley:
Watches and follows mommy & daddy with her eyes & other objects
Smiling more, especially in the mornings and after bath time and spontaneously
Opening her hands more
Makes some funny faces
Throws her arms in the air when she is startled (it's cute)
Eye lashes getting darker (light light brown) (fun to watch)
Eyes are lighter blue, still really deep blue
Hair thining in spots, still has mohawk
Great head/neck strength & leg strength
Napping without being held
Grunts and hiccups alot
Sleeping 2-6 hours (much improved)
Size 1 diapers (such a big girl)
Wearing 0-3, 3 month old clothes (this started at 6 wks)
Eats from 10-45 minutes

Carley LOVES:
Loves to eat frequently
Love to make that sweet, little coo or hum noise when she eats & swallows (we love this too)
Loves for daddy to hold her
Loves music and to be sung to
Loves bathtime
Loves daily visits from MiMi, especially when they rumba dance
Loves putting on clean, cute clothes
Loves to be upright and standing on her feet and pushing off (all the time)
Loves when PaPa T babysits
Love, love loves her face and hair washed daily
Loves car rides
Loves going to eat at restuarants and the background noise

Carley Likes:
Likes daddy prickley bearded kisses
Likes her music mat for short periods of time
Liking her swing more
Really likes being in her new Baby Bjorn carrier around the house
Likes mommy to read her books for short periods of time
Likes to stretch real big
Likes being in her carseat (sometimes)
Likes looking in the mirror
Likes for other people to hold her (our social butterfly)

Not so much a fan of:
Being still...ever
Bedtime (hope this is not a sign of th
ings to come)
Being messed with
Being held close when alert (really sad faces :( here)
Being on her stomach for very long (we are working on this)
Sunlight in her face
Socks
Big hair bows of any kind (BOO!)

Carley's Glamour Shots

2010-01-01T20:23:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy New Year to all!! This is going to be the BEST year for us Lowerys! We are excited to share it with little Carley & to watch her grow up!

Carley's first FIVE weeks!

2009-12-29T20:27:00.000-08:00

Where do I start? You don't have to tell us that Carley is beautiful, we already know that!! Ha! Carley is an absolute JOY, with a little gas! Now I know why my parents used to say that about me! Ha! We already have that unconditional love for our new baby girl that you cannot describe until you become a parent! We had no idea what GOD had in store for us Lowerys and she is every million or zillion one of those things! She makes us laugh, cry and smile in ways that we never thought were possible! It's those little moments that you have by yourself with her that make you realize that you are the luckiest parent in the world and she is perfect in every way. Sometimes those moments come with a smile and a tear or two! She is a breath of fresh air even when she explodes, which is pretty often! She has every bit of me and Sean in her and we are anxiously waiting to see who Carley will become and look like for herself!

I realize that I am way behind on posting new pictures of precious Carley, ok like 5 weeks behind! Give me a little slack because being a new mommy is definitely a full time job with little time to do other stuff. Here are some of our favorite pictures of little Carley!

Thanksgiving Morning, 2 days old

Sleeping Beauty

Everyone has been asking what color hair does Carley have? We are not sure yet and even her pediatrician, Dr. Barret said he was not making any bets. It is a cross between light brown with golden tips, with some darker casts swirls in the back with a faint strawberry blonde tent all over and even has a more auburn glow in the sunlight. It was a surprise for mommy & daddy too!

Snuggle bunny

Yes, Carley has a mohawk!

Saturday Princess in leggings

It has really been an experience to see her everyday change a little or alot. She is surely full of surprises and everyday is a bit different! We strive to love and care for her in the best Christian home that we know is right for our new baby girl! She deserves the best! We are debating if she is going to be a momma's girl or a daddy's little girl! It's a close tie! She is already a strong willed child and I am afraid that she will have to decide that for herself.

Rambo Carley

Sean & his baby girls

Carley was born a night owl and likes to make that known to all in the house. She is already fighting her future bedtime. Her craziness and fussiness starts like clock work around 9-9:30 and will continue for hours! We soon discovered the pacifier and even that seemed to be a bit short lived, but it is worth a shot! Carley and I had a rough start with the sleeping habits. Since she eats every hour in a half to two hours, that does not leave room for much sleep! This can take a toll on any new mommy! I keep holding on to what all other moms say, "it does get better." And it will get better, I am sure!

We have so much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day

PaPa T & MiMi

LaLa & Daniel

Maw Maw Mason is a great Grandmother! Maw Maw got to meet Carley for the first time! She was so happy!

We love you dearly Maw Maw & we are going to miss you greatly!

At about 2-3 weeks, Carley was already holding her head upright for the most part. She has really strong neck muscles. Her leg muscles are incredible too. She likes to push off with her legs and she likes to stand on one foot. That is the gymnast in her, I think! Around week 4 Carley started to focus more with her eyes and could follow an object in front of her face. She loves her new rainforest music melody mat with lights and can stretch out her little legs and kick to the sounds of frogs, birds chirping and the beat bopping. Around week 3-4, we saw an occasional smile and she makes laughing noises in her sleep! At week 5 now, she can clasp her hands and she sat in her bumbo for the first time successfully! Carley is such a sweet, smart, big girl! We tried putting Carley in her carseat in her crib and she actually will sleep 3 hours at one time which allows about 5-6 hours of sleep per night. Way to go Carley! Now momma will not go nuts!

Mommy & Carley

Let's Dance Little Pookie

Aunt Sha Sha QT

Love this pic!

Elf Carley

Christmas Eve in Arkansas

Angelic Carley

Santa's Helper, Ho Ho Ho

Love Bug Carley, 5 weeks

Week 38-40 & Carley's Birthday

2009-12-20T18:45:00.000-08:00

Week 38

Week 39

Fun belly pics

Wearing Sean's shirt

Week 40

My due date, the 22nd came & went & still no Carley! Sad faces! Contractions started around 10:30 pm on the 23rd & at 3:30 am on the 24th I woke Sean & told him it was time to go!! Sean said, "time to go where?" The hospital!

Last pic before heading to the hospital

We get to the hospital at 3:45 am to find out that they were going to admit me, but did not have a room available. Sean & I walked the hallways (in baby steps, I was in a bit of pain) for one hour! Things were progressing really quickly according to the nurses. Contractions started getting stronger at 7 am & we finally got a room. My water broke around 10:30 when Sean went down to the car to get the baby book! Imagine that! Contractions came on really strong & I wanted to know where the anethesiologist was immediately! 20 minutes later, it was smooth sailing!

Thank God for pain medications! At 3:00, it was GO time! I pushed for 28 minutes with lots of coaching from my sweet husband & 10 other people in the room, or at least it seemed like it! Sean said it was an amazing sight to be seen! MiMi was in the room too! At approximately 3:28 pm on Nov. 24th, Carley Nora Lowery was born unto this earth, weighing in at 7.9 lbs & 18.5 in. Hallelujah, a healthy baby girl is born & she is absolutely perfect!! PRAISE GOD! Little girls are like angels from above!! Carley is truly a beautiful MIRACLE!!

1st pic of lil' angel Carley with Dr. Carl

Meet the newest Lowery! Carley Lowery! Isn't she beautiful?!

It was love at 1st sight for mommy!

And daddy!

PaPa T came to the hospital the day after to see Carley & he actually has a real smile! Go Horns!

Paw Paw Lowery loves Carley!

Exactly 24 hours after Carley was born (not a minute before), we got to go home!

Home sweet home!

Parents In Waiting, Week 34-37

2009-11-06T07:37:00.001-08:00

Week 34
Our really good friends Kate & Dave hosted a couples gift card shower at their house for us (& Carley) along with our other close friends Julie & Colin, Ashley & Wade, Laurie & Drew, Melinda & Matt. We certainly have some really wonderful friends that we cannot thank enough for their love & support! We really had a great time filled with wonderful foods & decorative petits fours, beautiful flowers & a fabulous table presentation, adorable diaper cake (made by Melinda) & "L" napkins and great guests came to celebrate the night. God has truly blessed us in soo many ways!

Kimbo & Kates & cute diaper bag for Carley from the hostesses!

Love my girls, the hostesses!
Mama Laurie, Kates, Ashley, Mama Kim, Melinda, & Julie

The food was excellent ladies & the Ashley did the fab job on the flowers!

What would we do without Willie?

Three mama ducks in a row! Ha! Laurie & Melissa are too cute!

Sunday school girls & Mike!

Week 35 Vegas Vacation
Sean, Alan & Adam took a five day trip to Las Vegas for a "last" get-a-way guys trip! Vegas, Vegas, Vegas...baby! They got an upgrade & stayed at the Treasure Island hotel where they wined & dined all week long on the strip! They went to see the Criss Angel, Believe, Mind Freak magic show at the Luxor Theater. Sean thought it was definitely not worth $100+ for the ticket. That is now money taken out of Carley's college fund. The boys checked out a lot of the hotel casino's while they were there & they all came back with more $$ than they put in! Cha-ching! Who would have thought those good baptist boys were gambling men? The boys had a celeb sighting of Jesse Jackson at the airport! Sean also got stopped at baggage check for having hairspray & a pocket knife! Sean, suspicious? Nah! Glad Sean is back! It is just not the same without him here! Mazie & Polly kitties missed him terribly!

The usual pose. They are BFF's!

Mazie May

Polly Esther

Week 35

Week 36
We had a packed full, fun weekend! Sean's work audiology department (Lesley, Laurie, Mary Kay, Janice, Martha, Marilyn, Shannon & Fred) gave us a "Bear Necessities" baby shower for Carley on Friday night! The shower was very, very nice & it was at Janice & Daniel's house! We ate lots of yummy hors d'oeuvres & chili made especially by Janice & Laurie's husband, Tracy! We feasted on a delicious cake too! It was most enjoyable to hang out with Sean's work friends & get to spend some QT with them outside of work! Sean's department is mostly a talkative, energetic group comprised of lots of women...& Sean & Fred! Sean is definitely out numbered by the "X" chromosome!

Marilyn gave Sean a book titled, Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters, 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know!

Yay for diapers & wipes & much more!

Lara & Marilyn

The group

Thank you Lesley for writing down of all our gifts!

Resound Hearing Aid Team gave us flowers! Awe!

Soon to be parents!

BOO!!! AGAIN! We celebrated the 2nd Annual Hallowen Costume Party at the Lowery's house again this year filled with ghosts & goblins, spiders & spirits! We had a great party of about 12ish & ate lots of ham potatoe sandwiches,
Mrs. Hardy's famous zesty corn dip (Thanks to Kate), artichoke dip & pinwheels (Thanks Papa T), veggie tray & cheeses, punch with the smoking dryed ice(Ewww, scary) & finished off with Marcia's "to die for cookies!" Thanks for everyone's help this year! It would not have happened unless some people had not requested it again this year!

Emily & Austin are Elliot & ET!

Disco, groovy Julie & Colin!

Michele & Jason are the Dentist & the Tooth Fairy!

Preggo Pumpkin Mama Kim & Pink Camo Marcia

Garth (Papa T), Vampiress (Shannon)(She wants to suck your blood, or already did!)& Jolly Pumpkin

The Stewart-Lowery clan

What a cute dancin' pair!

They look like they are straight out of the horror flicks that Sean & Kim watch! Better watch your necks!!

The Oversized Cowboy Papa Sean & Preggers Pumpkin Oversized Mama Kimberly. Happy Halloween!

Week 37

Update on lil' Carley this week: MD said that she is "maybe a one" (dialation). Good report on everything else! I guess we have to play the waiting game for Carley & when she is ready to be a "ten", we too hope to be ready! We are getting excited, anxious & nervous, but bottom line, it will be wonderful to finally get to meet our precious angel Carley!

6 weeks...only 42 days left to go!

2009-10-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

We cannot believe that there are only six weeks left! Where has the time gone? I have not done a very good job these last weeks keeping you all updated on the progress of the Lowerys! It seems as if everything is moving in fast forward! Little Carley has really been hitting some growth spurts & she is definitely a mover & a shaker! I have really enjoyed Sean & mine tummy time with her! Sean talks to her and feels her many motions, especially when she does the wave! If you were wondering about our MD appts over the last 8 weeks, everything seems to be on target for Carley! I have gained a total of 19 pounds...& more to pack on as we approach the big day! We wanted to briefly share a little about what has transpired over the weeks leading up to this point!

Week 27

Week 28

Week 28 Arkansas Weekend, trival pursuit fun with Sean's cousin Kenny & friend Adam

Week 29
I had the most incredible baby shower that some of my amazing friends helped host for Carley & me (& Sean)! We are really grateful for all of their hard work, dedication & support for Carley! Just a few things that were at this PHENEMONIAL baby shower: yummy foods including chocolate covered strawberries, cute bennie babies & cabbage patch dolls for decorations ;) , beautiful flower arrangements & roses, personalized Carley chocolates & pink Carley napkins & thank you notes, well wishes/advise notes for friends to fill out, a precious diaper cake, & adorable hand painted wall letter especially painted by the talented Lauren! Take a look at some memories that were captured at the baby shower! I had the most lovely time with all of my friends & family...if you can tell!

My BFF Lauren who made all this possible!

Shannon (my sister) & lil' blonde Kimberly (roommate from Texas Tech)

Look at all of those pink gifts!

Umm...

Pam, "La La" (Sean's mom)

Mrs. Hardy made me a stylish gown & pillow case for the hospital, not to mention a fabulous quilt for Carley!

LOVE all of you girls!

The hosteses gave us a wonderful carseat & stroller! WOW!

Week 30
Sean & I are participating in a somewhat intense 10 week financial bible study through our church called Crown Financial. The Bible addresses more than 2,350 verses that deal with how God handles money & possessions. Over the course of the class, we are learning how we can better serve God because all of our money & things ultimately belong to Him & not us. This class will also help prepare us to have a financial plan for our family & Carley's future. We are staying busy!

Week 31
We had a busy week with the installation of laminate wood flooring put in our 3 bedrooms/hallway & ceramic tile in 2 baths in our house this week! It was a giant, dusty mess & I am completely glad we did it before Carley came into this world! No more dirty men with dirty shoes & sawing wood in the garage with the door open anymore! Yuck! We are very satisified with the end results of our floors! Praise the Lord it's over!

Week 31, Kimberly's work baby shower

Week 31, Kimberly's work baby shower with "Maggie"

Week 32
This week was a busy week too! My placement for Junior League this year is Girl Power Summit. It is a one day retreat for 6th grade girls with motivational speakers, educational programs, & team-building activities held at the Boys & Girls Club. The keynote speaker was Dominique Dawes, a gold medal winning Olympic gymnast (a huge idol of mine in hs) She was apart of the Magnificant Seven in the 90's & she was MAGNIFICANT! My responsiblites for this placement were to line up her transportation from Dallas, make a welcome basket for her hotel room, set-up at club on Friday night before event & to coordinate & schedule 60 junior league members & sustainers hour by hour! It was a stressful, yet successful event & all 250 girls seemed to have a great day! I got to meet Dominique & she was very personable, nice & even liked my preggers belly! I got some video footage of her talking to the girls! Check out her calves, they look like rocks! I am not her stalker, it was just for giggles & fun!! ;)

Week 33 with Mazie kitty cat & Polly Esther kitty cat

Carley's bedding arrived!! We are very PLEASED with how her bedding turned out!

It is still a work in progress! Still waiting for the drawer part!!!

We Finally Have a Name!!

2009-08-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

We named our precious baby angel, CARLEY NORA LOWERY! We love her name & are thrilled to share our news with you!

It was definitely harder than I would ever have imagined to come up with the PERFECT name! Nearly everyday a new name would come to the table & it was either taken into consideration or shot down immediately. We wanted to include a family name in the mix which makes things complicated & fun at the same time. As Sean so eloquently stated, if you don't like it, you don't have to pretend you do!

I had another MD appointment today that Maggie went with me to at 8AM for Week 26. It was the lovely glucose tolerance test. This is where you fast for at least 2 hours prior, then you drink this sugar 10 oz drink & they draw lab work one hour after the drink to test for gestational diabetes. Fun, fun! The MD said that I had gained another 4 lbs (in 4 weeks), a total of 12 lbs. I may not continue to give you this information if that number gets abundantly higher and higher! ;) We got a good report...MD said that Carley was very active! I believe that because I can actually see Carley move in my belly! It almost takes my breath away, in a very good way!

Week 23

Week 24

Week 25

During this week, I picked out the 2nd fabric swatches for Carley's bedding! The 1st bedding I ordered came in & it was neon green & brown paisley! It hurt my eyes the green was so bright! It was not what I anticipated one bit for Carley's nursery & the store I ordered it from was nice enough to let me pick something else out! Yay!

This is a brown & cream twall with a green stripe pattern & brown trim! Hopefully this will not be as bright as the other bedding! I think that it will be PERFECT!! We added pink bows & pink ruffles!!

Sean is such a wonderful husband, once again! I got to pick out a Best Chair glidder chair & ottoman that is suppose to be the "best chair", as recommended by my sister-in-law, Rebekah! The green swirl is the fabric I picked out for the chair & ottoman! So excited!

Week 26

Sean painted Carley's room, a beautiful, neutral blonde color all by himself because the pregnant woman is no help with the paint fumes! Sean also put together Carley's crib! I picked quite the best HANDYMAN husband! The furniture is dark chocolate brown although it looks black in the pictures! We also added cream blinds to the windows.

Okay, the story with this hutch is that we ordered it as a combination hutch, thinking that the combo included the bottom drawer part too, obviously not the case! It is now on order & backorder! We are patiently waiting for it to arrive! :)

Girls Getaway Trip!

2009-07-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

At the end of Week 20, my BFF, Lauren & I took a girls trip to Charleston & Kiawah Island, South Carolina to attend Beth & Jake's wedding! The red heads unite again, finally! 1st thing at 5:30AM at the airport on Friday, "are you girls sisters?" It took almost 12 hours of travel to get to our hotel room in Charleston to take a "disco nap", as Lauren calls it! Ha ha! We were fortunate enough that we got to go to the rehearsal dinner on Kiawah Island, where we reconnected with Beth's siblings & got to know Jake & his family a little better! We got to sight-see & browse around the island to observe the beautiful ocean-view mansions! It was like HEAVEN on a golf course slash island!

Amazing homes on the island.

Don't you think it looks like a postcard?

A beautiful family of deer crossing the street in the neighbor hood.

This is the closest that we have ever been to a deer. Definitely not scared of people!

Our buddy Lindsey that played tennis with Beth in hs.

Lauren & I did some more investigating on culture of Charleston on Saturday & went down to the attractions at Market St to experience some fine dining at the Original Charleston Crab House. We ordered a seafood sampler & neither of knew how to eat the steamed snow crab legs...I needed some scissors! We bought some souvenirs from the vendors & enjoyed the no humidity weather of SC! Boy, we had a GREAT time! We made it to the wedding back on the island & it was truly a dreamy site! The 3 course meal was a highlight & danced the night away with the rocking band...Lauren even broke out her MJ Beat It moves! I just LOVE me some Lauren...she is the life of the party!! It could not have been a better weekend spent with my best red headed gal!

Cute Charleston homes in front of pond.

Beth & Jake's reception site! Love the moss hanging in the trees!

Love Beth's gown!

Half-way there...Week 19-22

2009-07-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here are the lastest preggo pics:

Week 19

Week 20

Week 21, this is the week Sean 1st felt our baby move! She is getting so BIG & strong, it's AMAZING!!

Week 22, Maggie went with me to a MD appt on July 22nd & everything looks normal & great! Her heartbeat was 160! Definitely a little girl! =) I have gained 8 lbs total!

We have been busy around the Lowery house thinking about little girl things such as the nursery..cribs, paint colors, bedding & everything else! We need to make some important decisions in the next few weeks due to we do not have that much more time before she gets here! We are over half way there & we can't believe how time has flown by these last couple of weeks! Sean said that I am getting ready for the "nesting" phase! It maybe early, but I am trying to get prepared!!

We also have been trying to come up with our little girl's name! We have not decided on a name yet for our little girl, but we have narrowed it down to 3 names: Hayden, Audrey (my grandmother Stewart's middle name) & Nora (Sean's grandmother Roussel's 1st name)! It maybe a combo of some of these names! Let us know what you think!

The Best is Yet to Come!

2009-06-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

Before the baby Lowery news video clip:

On June 24th, we had the "BIG sonogram" appointment to determine if our baby Lowery is a little boy or a little girl! It was the most AWESOME experience to see our actual baby and all of its parts from the tiny hands, 10 fingers (we even saw the thumbs),10 toes, skin, all the correct bones, 4 lobes of the brain, the cute little nose & much more! We actually got 68 different pictures taken of our baby! This was definitely a defining, real moment for us both! God really knew what he was doing when he made each one of us!

The Breaking baby Lowery news!

See video clip below:

It's a GIRL!! We are ecstatic and jumping for joy that our baby is a healthy little GIRL! The MD reviewed our pics & said that everything looked normal & on target for the anticipated due date! Her heartbeat was 144! It is GOOD to finally be able to say our baby is a GIRL!! Sean says that we need to start saving for her wedding! We ask that you send money in our direction now!

IT'S A LOWERY GIRL!!! We can't believe it!

This is a profile picture of our precious little girl! She is a beautiful gift!

Wedding Extravaganza!

2009-06-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

We took an extra long weekend to attend Adam and Sarah’s wedding in Fayetteville, Arkansas! It was a packed full, crazy weekend with lots of twists & turns; therefore Sean ended up being the chauffeur most of the time. Good thing we now have a family car! No one really knew where or when things were taking place, with no maps included!
It was a real quality guy time & a reunion for the “I Witness” quartet, Sean, Adam, Alan, Mark & with the addition of Marty! We spent one complete day at the lake, kind of scary when you think about Sean and me (Kimberly) in the sun all day long! Thank goodness for SPF 50 and a boat with a canopy. We captured some pictures of the boys skiing and tubing & they were looking HOT & it wasn’t just the sun! We did it all…good home cooked meals, rehearsal dinner at the lake, bachelor & bachelorette parties, and the wedding!
Adam had a brilliant idea that he wanted his groomsmen to wear a long sleeve Melon colored button down shirt, white linen pants & a beige sweater vest for an outside wedding in June at 7 PM! It was BLAZING hot! The wedding took place a beautiful three story historic home with spiral stair cases & lots of LOVELY pictures taking opportunities! The wedding ended up being a great SUCCESS & was finished off with sparklers!! Happy Honeymoon to Mr. & Mrs. Adam Burnett!
!

Strike a pose! Week 16, 17, & 18!

2009-06-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

More preggo pics for those of you who care to see the progress of baby Lowery! These weeks have been by far the best pregnancy weeks that I can document! I have truly enjoyed every minute of it good and not so good! We are BLESSED!

Week 16

Week 17 In front of Pam & David's front door in Arkansas

Week 18 Will baby Lowery reveal him/herself this week?
I felt baby Lowery kick for the very 1st time this week..I was driving down the road (of course)! It felt like a little head nod or a thump! I might have felt it before this point, but I had not yet confirmed that is what it was! HALLELUIAH!

15 weeks & Counting...

2009-06-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

During the 1st trimester I was experiencing gagging, nausea, and hunger all at the same time during weeks 7-12, not to mention extreme fatigue! I would gag at the silliest things while driving down the road, for example, a pile of dirt, a funeral home and the sight of dirty trucks! Thank goodness all of that is over and done with for now!! I am definitely feeling better in the 2nd trimester, not that the 1st was too horrible! I have more energy and a better appetite! Bring on the blueberries, strawberries, mint Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches and donuts!!

My mom, "Maggie" (her grandmother name) went with me to the doctor appointment on May 27th to hear the baby's heartbeat! No sonogram this time. I thought it would be special if Maggie came with me since Sean has to earn a living at work! The baby's heartbeat was ever so magnificent to hear, 150 beats/minute! We got another good report and the MD would like see us back in three weeks! On June 24th, we will find out if our baby is a little BOY or a little GIRL! How EXCITING!! We are patiently waiting for this day to come!! Are we going to be decked out in BLUE or PINK for this baby Lowery?!

We just started taking pictures of the first baby bump during the 2nd trimester!

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

There is just ONE baby Lowery!

2009-05-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

Sean and I went to our very first baby sonogram appointment on April 27th! Sean rubbed my shoulders and back during the 30 minutes of anxiety waiting for the MD! Sean is such a wonderfully sweet husband! This is our first picture of baby Lowery! We got to see the baby move around and he/she had a heartbeat of 160! We were very pleased that we got a good report! The MD said I was 10 weeks and have anticipated due date of Nov 22nd! It was a surreal miracle to experience this day!! PRAISE GOD!

Dr. Sean Lowery Party! Surprise!!

2009-05-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

We are going to back track again to bring you up to speed on the events that occurred at the Lowery house. Sean graduated with his doctorate in audiology and the Stewarts threw him a celebration party for friends and family members on March 28th. I am very proud of Sean and his many endeavors throughout the years of his education! GOD is GOOD and Sean is now finished with school FOREVER, we think! Sean’s immediate family, David, Pam, Ben, Rebekah and Daniel all came in for the excitement! Toward the end of the evening, friends and family members started to toast and praise Sean for his marvelous accomplishments and even told some comical stories about him. Some of the stories mentioned the fact that would Sean procrastinate his studies until 11:00 at night before his papers were due at midnight or the conversation Sean had with his mother early on that college may not be for everyone! After all of this was said and done, Sean stood up and thanked everyone for coming to the party and then started talking about how people that night had asked him why he was wearing a brown T-shirt under his nice blue dress shirt! Then Sean started unbuttoning his blue shirt to reveal the words...I'M WITH PREGNANT with an arrow pointing to me (Kimberly)!

There was an outburst of laughter and tears! It was quite the moment of surprise for everyone including the grandparents! We love all of our family members and friends for loving and supporting us!! It was an unforgettable moment of joy for us!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-05-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, sorry for the delay! We have been busy lately at the Lowery house! Sean and I like to make memories of memorable events on major holidays! For instance, he proposed to me on Ground's Hog's Day in 2007...Go Hogs!! We found out that we were PREGNANT on St. Patrick's Day of this year!! What a WONDERFUL blessing from God!! This just suits us perfectly on this day because we LOVE anything that has to do with the Irish culture! We hope to take a trip to Ireland someday in the future! We could not have been any happier and surprised with the baby news!! Sean told me that I was going to be a wonderful mother!!! We wished we could have shared the news with you at this point, but we had to make the grandparents wait just a little longer!! Here a just a few of the moments that we captured after we found out the news!

Blog baby

2009-05-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am trying out this new blog "baby" before the world of our families and friends read it first!