Brenden and Bryleigh - updates

Well, Bryleigh is now one month old so Brenden and mommy took her to the doctor yesterday for her check up. They were very pleased with her growth and how she is doing so far. She is starting to sleep for 4 hours and then wake up to eat. After she eats she is normally awake for awhile looking around, making noises, and kicking her legs. She is very strong so we're worried she'll be moving around sooner than we want. At her appointment they said she is now 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 20 1/4 in. That means that she has grown almost 1 inch in a month and has gained over 2 lbs. since she was released from the hospital! She is a growing girl which is very exciting for us. She is also taking some of her feeds from the bottle so we can start preparing her for Nana's house since that is coming up in less than 2 weeks. So far, she seems to do well with the bottle and doesn't resist it at all when it's offered to her. Maybe that's why she's gaining the weight?! Ha! She is also doing a good job of tolerating her big brother as he gains more and more interest in her. He is asking to hold her everyday now and is also laying down beside her to "cuddle" some in the mornings. We just worry about her when he wants to "tickle" her or "give" her the paci because both of those look more like a beating than a friendly interaction between peers. Overall though, she appears to be a tough cookie and we're very excited to see her grow and change everyday!

Brenden is also growing up so much each day. His language has really blossomed over the past few weeks and we're constantly laughing at the things that he comes up with everyday. He's very into imaginative play and has pretend friends that come over and play every once in awhile which can be freaky but yet fun to watch. He also likes to pretend that there are monsters in the house so we're constantly hiding from them and then reminding him that monsters are not real...too much fun! Today, Brenden returned to preschool which was VERY exciting. He didn't want to go when he first woke up but then was eager to get out the door when the time came. His teachers said he did a great job and enjoyed playing with all of his friends. They said he didn't want to do carpet time at first but after seeing everyone else having fun over there, he quickly joined them in the activity. He loved seeing Mommy and Bryleigh come to pick him up afterwards and then called Daddy on the way home to tell him all about his day. We're very proud of him for doing such a good job in situations like this every time they are presented to him. We know we're fortunate!

It's so bittersweet to see your children changing in front of your eyes each day. It's a blessing that we get to be a part of their lives and witness their growth and change, but it's very sad to see them become big boys and girls every day. We just hope we're soaking it all up while we can and that we're steering them in the direction we want them to go in the future. That is our prayer daily!

Love and Marriage

On Saturday, we celebrated 5 years of marriage! That's right 5 years! :) It is strange to think that it has only been 5 years when it feels like 20 according to Bobby! I guess the truth is that it's been 5 years of marriage but we have been "together" for over 9 years. Looking back over the years, a lot has changed or happened to us. Our marriage has not always been an easy road as we would have hoped, but instead has been more like a roller coaster ride that fortunately God has been in control of the whole time. We have had fights, we've made up, we've gone on trips, we've stayed home, we've rented our house, we bought our house, we've gotten jobs, we've changed jobs, we've experienced deaths and we've been blessed with births...through it all though we can honestly look back and say that we love each other even more today than we did the day before. All of the adventures have done nothing but bring us closer and make us smarter in our marriage. We feel so blessed to look back over everything and know we've come this far! Even though our anniversary was filled with quality family time (and a 3 year old's birthday party), we still plan to get plenty of "us" time in the future and we know that our love is the strong bond that holds our family together. So we cherish the memories but look forward to the experiences that are ahead of us in the next 5 years...

Today is our due date

It is very strange for us to realize that today, August 21st, was our original due date. That's right, we are holding our little girl and thinking about the fact that she was originally not "due" or expected to come until today. We know that we're so blessed to have such a perfect gift from God because her early arrival could have brought a lot of complications but it has been nothing but wonderful. Holding her all we can think about is Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Even though we have heard that verse a million times, it's still hard to remember in our times of stress. When we found out Bryleigh was coming 4 weeks early, we were scared. We worried, stressed, cried, and wondered...is it too early?! In moments like that, it is hard for us to stop and remember that we are not in control of this situation. God is in complete control of our life and He knows what he is doing. He has a plan for us and His plan is not to make us suffer or stress but to give us hope and a future...our Bryleigh. Looking at the day we realize that if Bryleigh came in our time (today) it would not have been good timing. We would have missed Brenden's preschool orientation, Bobby would be starting a new job in less than a week, the nursery would still not be finished, Brooke would have been stressed out at school, and worse of all...we wouldn't have had Bryleigh for the past 4 weeks!

Today we give praise to God for all that He has done in our lives. We praise Him for being in control and for not waiting until our work schedule is convenient, until the nursery is complete, or until the timing is right in our eyes...we praise Him for being in control of our lives and for doing things in His timing and not our own. It is an amazing gift to be able to recognize this date and celebrate it with our new baby girl! We are so blessed and very thankful! :)

Bryleigh - 3 weeks old

Bryleigh is now officially 3 weeks old and in her first three weeks of life she has been very busy and has also changed a lot. The biggest change is probably her physical appearance. Even though we didn't have a weight check this week, you can tell she has put on some weight just from looking at her. Her clothes are fitting better, she has a little belly, and she is starting to get those famous "Baber" cheeks! :)

She is also more alert and socializing some with all of us when she is awake. She's very aware of what is going on around her and even tries to turn her head to look at sounds and people. After some of the feeds, she is wide awake and looking around for atleast half an hour. Her final big change is her bond with big brother Brenden. Tonight in the car we caught him leaning over to hold Bryleigh's paci in her mouth to calm her down when she got a little fussy. This is huge compared to his typical interaction with her when he steals her paci and announces that she doesn't want it as he sneaks it in his mouth. I think she is starting to win him over!

Her first 3 weeks have been busy with lunch dates, doctor appointments, shopping, and play dates with cousins. This past week she had her first photo shoot at Portrait Innovations which was a huge success. Finally, she got her first church experience tonight as we went for a special event and she got to hang out with us during the service. It was very exciting to have her there with us (outside of the belly) and be able to show her off to all of our friends and extended family.

This week of changes, growths, and activities have only reminded us of how lucky we are to have such a healthy and happy baby girl! We're so blessed and a day doesn't pass when we don't work hard to give praises to God for all that He has done for us and our family. We're also thankful for you, our friends and family, for all of your thoughts and prayers as we've adjusted. You are the best and we know it!

A Blog...finally

Okay, so we have a Myspace page and a Facebook account, so it only makes sense to add a blog to the mix. When we had Brenden, we sent out emails regularly updating everyone on his growth and progress. We had planned to do the same with Bryleigh but decided that this might be a better solution. With the blog, you can feel updated whenever you want instead of every time we send an email or pictures. This is our way of keeping you all involved in our life. We love our friends and family more than anything! We feel so blessed to have so many people that care about us and want to check in on us so we want to make sure that you're all equally involved and included in our lives. So, welcome to The Farr Family blog and check back regularly for our updates! Love ya!