2 Months!

Rhett at my sister's wedding

Rhett is two months old now! Crazy! According to my trusty bathroom scale, he weighs exactly ten pounds, which according to my trusty online calculator, puts him in the 13th percentile for his age (I don't actually know how trustworthy either of those things are). When he was born, he was in the .8th percentile. You guys--he's doing so well! I'm so happy that he's growing and thriving.

Rhett is getting cuter and cuter. His personality is showing these days. He's developed a short temper for having things he likes taken away from him (bottles, mostly). He always lets out a huge coo a few seconds before he sneezes. He's trying really hard to suck his thumb, but he can't quite coordinate it. He's pretty much over pacifiers, he'd rather babble away at us. He is just barely able to fit into newborn clothes, 0-3 are just a little bit large. He's wearing his one size diapers as of today. He went to the beach with us for the first time last week and loved going into the water with his mama. (he's such a waterbaby). He's discovered the mobile over his swing and he'll watch it for long periods of time and coo at it.

Rhett does not like having his arms swaddled anymore, and he's finally learned how to keep them still while he sleeps, so that they don't wake him up. He's up pretty regularly every three hours--so we're a long way from sleeping through the night, but that's ok. He's worth the lack of sleep. He has developed a strong preference for a particular blanket--my college roommate and dear friend, Danielle made it for him. It has his name and a lamb on it. One side is fuzzy and super soft. It's a huge comfort for him, and I foresee him carrying it around when he's a toddler.

The beloved blankie

Every day with Rhett is a new adventure! We can't wait to see what the next month brings!

Back from Vacay!

Well we made it back from my sister's wedding in Puerto Rico. We had such a fabulous time on the island. The scenery was beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as my amazing sister as she walked down the aisle to join Jim in marriage. It was truly a special trip that created memories that will last a long time and I was honored to take part in Jim and Emily's special day.

The ceremony site

Unfortunately, our camera died pretty quickly on wedding day, so I don't have a ton of pictures. I'm working on gathering up some from family members. I'm also really looking forward to seeing professional photos.

The best picture I have of the happy couple

We arrived in Puerto Rico on Monday afternoon. Due to having a 6:00 a.m. flight from Flint, we ran on about two hours of sleep. Traveling with Rhett was only slightly more challenging than the normal perils of airport navigating. We spent the week enjoying the beach, Bacardi tour, local cuisine and hotel casino (well, Josh enjoyed the casino. I'm not a fan of gambling). The ocean views from our hotel and various restaurants were breathtaking.

The wedding was on Thursday and my sister was kind enough to gift me with hair and makeup for her big day. It was fun getting all dolled up, it's something I rarely do. We got our hair and makeup done together at the wedding venue. Emily looks so beautiful with her hair and makeup all done up. She declared "I don't look like a teacher anymore" upon seeing herself in the mirror and it was true: she looked like a movie star. It sounds trite and little lame--but Em was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen! Her happiness radiated from her and everything was just perfect.

Half-way through dinner, our little baby could not longer stand the heat and humidity of the rain forrest (unfortunately the wedding fell on the hottest day of the week). We had to take him down to the air conditioned honeymoon suite for the rest of the evening. We got drinks and cupcakes delivered to us down there, and my generous aunt relieved us for awhile so we could enjoy some more drinks and dancing!

Wedding Party

Spending time with family was so fun and I wouldn't trade those days for anything. Josh and I wish we were still there! We are so happy to welcome Jim as a brother into our family. Here's to the newlyweds!

Puerto Rico, Here We Come!!!!!!

On Monday, Josh, Rhett and I are leaving for Puerto Rico for my sister's wedding! We are so excited to soak up so sun, learn how Bacardi is made, and most of all--to witness the union of Emily and Jim. The venues for the wedding look absolutely gorgeous, and I can. not. wait. to get down there. I've been super-nervous about traveling with Rhett, but being with my family for this special day is so, so, SO important to me. Josh is super-excited to bring another in-law into the family, and of course, Rhett is excited for another uncle to manipulate into being held (he's getting so good at that). Jim and Emily are so perfect for one another. Their sense of humor mesh so well (which is pretty vital if you ask me). They have such similar passions and goals and I'm so thrilled that they have found one another.  They got engaged this past Christmas, while Emily was visiting us from Virginia. Six months have flown by!

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Dance With Me

Won't you dance with me?

Throughout the heavens 

and below the sea?

Up on the mountaintops.

Blow with the breeze.

Come carry me.

Oh, won't you dance with me?

We've loved singing to Rhett from the very beginning. Singing and dancing with him is even better. There's nothing sweeter than holding him close to my chest and dancing about his room with him as he coos happily in my arms. I feel my love for him in my chest. It's hard to describe, but it's true. It's like it's in my lungs and sometimes it feels like it's physically swelling inside of me. I love him so much sometimes that it's physically painful. And emotionally painful to think that he's not always going to want to dance with me. Soon enough, he'll be more inclined to wrestle with me than to cuddle with me. It makes me sad. But he needs to grow up. He can't stay in my arms, dancing away with me forever, and I know that. Mommy and baby dancing sessions always end with me telling my little son the same thing. "Some day, you're going to be all grown up, and we're going to do this at your wedding". The moments to come are going to be wonderful. But for now, I'll take all of the dances I can get.

Well played, 24.

This past weekend, I said "bubye" to my 24th year of life. And what a year it was! Graduation, internship, a move, and of course a pregnancy and a baby! Last June, I never would have expected that my life would change so much by the time I turned 25. I could not have even imagined that twists and turns that this year has provided and the wonderful gift I got at the end in the form of a giggling bundle of joy named Rhett (count the cliches in that sentence folks!)

Auntie Em

Uncle Andy

My mom and siblings came up for my birthday this year. (I'm suspicious that the real reason they came was to see the baby and no one REALLY cares about my birthday anymore. Can't say I blame them.) This was a particularity special weekend because my siblings go to meet Rhett for the first time! It was great to get to see them holding and talking to the baby. It's going to be so much fun when Rhett's a little bigger and he can enjoy some video game time with Dad and Uncle Andrew. My sister enjoyed getting some snapshots of the baby and of our newly completed little family. I don't get many opportunities to get shots of the three of us, so I really appreciated her photographing us.

I'm going to miss our back yard when we move!

My mom brought me a cake that was made by a friend of hers. It was a lovely piece of work. Mom chose a bumblebee hive, obviously representative of the year that our little Bee came into our lives. It even had two big bees and one little Bee up at the top. It was perfect! (and so thoughtful!) It was fun to have a nice cake. My family also picked up some sparklers in the shape of a "25" to go on top of the cake. The baby thought they were pretty much the coolest thing ever, he couldn't take his eyes off of them. We skyped with my dad to hear the "Happy Birthday" song.

24 served me well. Here's hoping that 25 brings even more joy, love and laughter into our lives. There's some remarkable things coming up this year (a move! a new job! tons of firsts for Rhett! A NEW BROTHER-IN-LAW!). I can't wait for the ride! (so...what's the final count for cliches in this whole post? Bueller?)

Rhett and Hannah's Six Week Appointments!

Rhett and I had our six week checkups this week. I'm happy to say that we're both doing really well. Rhett weight in at 7lbs, 14 oz--which is 3 lbs, 10 oz up from his birth weight! The doctor was thrilled with his progress. He said he usually expects babies to gain about 1.5 pounds in four weeks, and Rhett has gained 3 in the past month, so he is working hard to catch up with his peers! He's also very alert. He focuses in on faces like a champion and has amazing head control.

I'm all healed up. I've got ten pounds to lose and I can start exercising now, so hopefully they'll come off soon! My doctor was not able to tell me what caused Rhett's IUGR. Unfortunately, that means that there's no way of knowing whether or not it's likely to occur in future pregnancies. We were very, very blessed that Rhett developed normally as long as he did. The doctor says it seemed like his problems started around 34 weeks. If the same thing were to happen at 20 weeks--Rhett's story may not have ended so happily. It's something we'll have to seriously think about when planning for the future of our family.

But as for now, we are feeling wholly and completely blessed. Our son is so healthy and happy, and as we've learned, that is not a give-in for any pregnancy. There are so many things that can go wrong in a pregnancy and so many people out there who are not as lucky as us. Rhett has brightened our lives and we thank God every night for his life and health. It was hard to trust in God during those last difficult weeks of my pregnancy and the even more difficult time in the hospital. But per usual, God has been good!

I love this baby

Look at how cute he is! My heart just swells up whenever I look at this little guy. It's amazing how much you can love someone who (let's be honest)...doesn't really do much. He sleeps, eats, cries...he's just starting to babble and play with us a little bit more and I am loving every minute I spend with him. He's the greatest, and I just can't get over how CUTE and AWESOME I think he is. He's the best baby in the world! (I just know it)

Rhett's Baptism

My dad is SUCH a good Grandpa!

We were so thrilled to welcome Rhett into God's family last Sunday through the waters of Holy Baptism. We had so many wonderful family and friends come to witness this joyous occasion. It was such a blessing for everyone to meet Rhett and get to spend some time with him over the weekend. He met my dad and grandparents for the first time, as well as his Aunt Michell and cousin Austin. Josh and I are so sad that we currently live so far away from so many special people in our lives. When Rhett came, it suddenly became a lot more tragic that we can't see our families daily. It was wonderful to have them up for the weekend, and have Rhett get to spend some time with everybody (I tried really hard to be a good sharer)

Four Generations of Kurth genes

Rhett's baptismal gown is very special. A dear friend of our family offered to make it from my mother's wedding gown. I asked her if I could also add touches from my own wedding day, and she agreed. The gown ended up with a few details added from my wedding gown and the tie Josh wore on our wedding day. The baptismal gown also had some gorgeous embroidery on the front, and the back had his initials and baptismal date. It is so beautiful, and we will certainly be using it for any future siblings Rhett might have.

The gown

Josh decided to be the one to baptize Rhett, which was a great experience for him. I don't know for sure how common it is in our church for parents to baptize their children, but our Pastor suggested it, and I'm glad he did. It was a really special moment for father and son and I hope that we have the opportunity to baptize our future children as well.

 Rhett did pretty well in church. It was the first time we've brought him to church without having me wear him in his Moby Wrap, so I was a little apprehensive on how he would do. He was just a little fussy during the service, but he went to sleep pretty quickly.

How cute is this? TOO CUTE

Aw...this is a good one

He also didn't mind the water being poured over him too much. He fussed and whined a little bit when it was first put on his head, but he was back asleep by the third shellful of water. What he DID mind was getting his picture take afterward. I don't know if it was the flashing cameras or the fact that he was getting passed around to half a dozen people, but he was really crabby for his post-baptismal photo shoot. He did much better after I got him home and changed and everyone dispersed for lunch. I don't know if this is any indication of his personality, but if it is, I'm thinking our kid is somewhat of an introvert.

May 27th, 2012--Happy Baptismal Birthday Baby Boy!