Author: Noelle

Well, it has been a pretty exciting and busy weekend. Two of my sisters, Faline and Ladawn, and Ladawn’s daughter Chelsea came to visit me (mostly to visit Rachel), and they did a TON to help me a. organize my house and b. baby-proof my house. I would show before and after pictures, but before pictures are too embarrassing. I will show some after pictures, though.

It was really nice to visit with my family. Since we live kind of far apart it is a little rare that we can spend much time together. So it was great to see them. I will also say again how much I appreciate all of their help. (I appreciate it A LOT!) They also had the honor of being the first on my side of the family to meet Rachel.

It was fun to have Chelsea here. She appreciates Scout more than either Faline or Ladawn do. Just because he is constantly under foot and is always getting into everybody’s stuff doesn’t mean he is not extremely cute.

Faline also acted as the courier for her daughters Milaka, Shanda, Keturah and Malauna who sent Rachel some presents. They did have a stipulation in that they required a fashion show, so here it is . . .

From her lounging collection we have a delightful white number with little flowers. If you look closely you will see little ruffles on her bottom. (It’s not really her bottom, the ruffles are actually on the clothes that cover her little bottom.)

Next, from her casual collection we have a cute pair of yellow overalls. The lesson learned in putting this piece on her was that overalls are VERY hard to put on a squirmy baby, but as Chelsea said, the result was more than worth it. I mean, seriously, have you every seen anything as cute as that!

Finally, from her formal wear collection, we have a beautiful red velvet dress, perfect for celebrating Christmas as well as any other time I feel like dressing her up as a beautiful baby doll.

So as not to skip any important credit, Faline also gave me a beautiful hooded towel, complete with applique. Ladawn and Faline also went in together for a beautiful baby carrier.

Anyway, great weekend. Thanks so much to Ladawn and Faline for all their hard work. I shouldn’t skip Chelsea, she is responsible for a lot of paper shredding as well as Rachel holding and Scout occupying. So thanks to all of them. It was great.

Rachel was born at a very young age – namely 0 (zero).
This is what she looked like:

She grew and grew.
At age 1 week you can see a definite maturity and wisdom in her countenance:

It’s never too early to start musical training. Here she is at age 2 weeks learning how to sing:

She wanted to show off her new singing skills to her Daddy. She is really putting some emotion into it, don’t you think?

The days became weeks, and weeks became 1 month, and before we knew it, Rachel was 1 month old (is that a coincidence, or what!?)

She enjoyed the constant (and I mean CONSTANT) companionship of her doggy, Scout. He just couldn’t and wouldn’t leave her alone!

The festivities of Halloween came –

and went.

Rachel is now a mature and grown-up six and a half weeks old. Oh, they grow up so fast.

She actually held her head up long enough for me to get a picture!

And I mean crib as in a baby’s bed, not a house. Yesterday I got a crib from a friend of mine. I spent the afternoon putting it together. First I had to call the company and request assembly instructions. They e-mailed me a PDF file that was so tiny and hard to read, but luckily I happened to have my decoder ring and I was able to assemble it (with a little trial and error thrown in). It didn’t have a mattress, so last night after Jeff got home from works (that is his regular job and his other job), we went to Target and bought a new mattress. This morning I put it all together, and as I am typing this, Rachel is taking her first nap in her very own crib.

This whole situation is sad for Scout, because last night he used the bassinet as a bunk bed again. I think he is going to miss sharing Rachel’s bassinet with her. On the other hand, maybe Scout is capable of creating a bunk bed atmosphere with any sleeping accommodation for Rachel.

On Tuesday October 23, Rachel had her first shower. She usually takes baths, but she seems to get more presents at showers (ha ha ha ha ha ha). Janice Alvey, my real estate agent, insisted on giving me a baby shower. Since she doesn’t really know many of my friends, and it was likely to be a pretty big group, I got some people to help her out. (It turned out that she was sick that day and couldn’t make it anyway, but she still was pretty helpful.) We had a very nice turnout, and even though several people were unable to come, they still gave gifts. (What very nice people!)

So here are some pictures from that event:

Jeff has needed a little consolation after U of L’s less than stellar football season so he turned to Rachel’s Cardinals pacifier. He is feeling better now.

We had a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who was there, who helped out with it, who sent gifts, and generally for everyone’s love and support. We are very grateful.

It is tough for Jeff and I to try to be the cutest when our competition includes Rachel and Scout. This morning, Scout decided to make the bassinet into a bunk bed. Rachel gets the top bunk, and Scout climbed into the bottom bunk. Scout loves climbing into things. He likes to get into open suitcases, into
laundry baskets (especially when there is clean laundry in them), and now I guess I can include bassinets on the list of Scout’s favorite hangouts.

Since I live in Kentucky which is where Jeff is from, my family gets a little neglected when it comes to pictures (and letters and probably everything else) so this posting is dedicated to the Bateman Family
This is my Dad and Harriet. We enjoyed staying with them for a few days when we were in Utah this past Summer. I was very impressed with Dad’s garden, especially his roses. When they said the desert would blossom like a rose, they weren’t kidding!

They got a new batch of baby chicks while we were there. They still have some older chickens so we got to have fresh eggs.
It was a really nice trip. I got to enjoy some time with most of my family.

I was officially introduced to Sweet Adelines through Faline while I was there. I went to a rehearsal of her chorus with her. I had a lot of fun, so much so that when I got home I joined with a local chapter here in Louisville. It’s called the Pride of Kentucky (or POKY). Coincidentally, both Faline’s chorus (Mountain Jubilee) and POKY competed in the international competition in Calgary, Canada this past October. Out of over 30 choruses, Mountain Jubilee finished 8th (congratulations) and POKY finished 11th. I was unable to attend the competition due to the delightful arrival of sweet Rachel just a few weeks earlier. I did watch a fair bit of it online, though.

Back to the Utah trip of this past Summer, we had a big family get together at Dad’s house. Just about everybody was there. (Those who live thousands of miles away had an excused absence.) But I got to see Faline and Glen, Cortney, Malauna and her husband, Lamona and Ralph and some of their kids, Monte and Suzanne and some of their kids, Holly and John and their kids, (they actually came a couple of days too early and had to leave before the real party, but credit to them for making it from Colorado), Brennan and Tammy and their kids, Rachelle and Mike and their kids, and John and Stephanie and some of their kids. It was a huge group, and I’m sorry if I neglected to mention one or two of the attendees.

The purpose of the Utah trip was actually to attend the wedding of Jeff’s brother, Brian. His then fiancée (now wife) lived in Logan. While I was up there I took the opportunity to look up Sister Reeder, and had the chance to visit with her and Doug for a little while.

I guess enough time has passed, and I can now join the blogging community. Maybe this can take the place of my very unused journal.

So today Rachel is six weeks old. She is such a little sweetie. Her first few weeks were spent sleeping all day and partying all night. This past week, however, she is starting to really catch on to the whole purpose of the darkness, and that is to sleep. So Mommy is getting a little more sleep too. That is not a bad thing.

At birth: In the pink corner, wearing a lot of pink, Rachel weighs in at 9 lbs 12.7 oz.
At 1 month: Still in the pink corner, wearing pink still, but with the occasional yellow sleeper, Rachel weighs in at 11 lbs 8 oz.

I haven’t weighed her since then, but I’m pretty sure she is growing. We are now starting to put her in 3-6 month outfits.

By the way, she is really cute.

I’m really excited, because last night I got a phone call from two of my sisters, Ladawn and Faline, and they surprised me by telling me they are coming for a visit next weekend. Yeah! Sure, now they come, now that Rachel is sleeping at night better. Where was everyone the first few weeks when she was up from 2:30 to 7:00 a.m.? (I’m just kidding. I’m really glad they are coming!)

At the ripe old age of 5 and a half weeks, Rachel had a once in a lifetime experience (well, so far) – Halloween! What better time to introduce her to the glories of candy! (I’m kidding!)

We got a cute little Halloween outfit from Rachel’s birth family, and Paul and Andrea gave her a little ghost hat with gloves, which completed the ensemble. Now is that not the most precious thing you ever saw?! Scout thinks she is too cute.

Actually, I was able to get a little candy out of the deal. What can I say, Rachel told me “aah” which clearly means, “Go ahead, Mama, I didn’t really want any candy today. I’m trying to watch my girlish figure.”

Adopting Rachel has been a very emotional experience, and it has caused me to think a lot about things. One thing that has come into my mind is how much more personal the Atonement of Jesus Christ is to me now.

As I watched Anna endure the physical pain that comes from childbirth, the emotional pain of not being able to raise her baby, and the joy she felt for Jeff and I that we are able to have a child, it made the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for me much more personal. She did something for us that we could not do for ourselves, just as the Savior did. He endured great physical pain as He paid the price for my sins, and as He hung on the cross. He endured emotional pain as He felt alone in His suffering. I can’t really comprehend the Atonement completely, but I feel like my understanding has increased, at it has certainly become more personal to me.

As I was in the hospital with Anna, she cried with both sorrow and joy, and I cried too with both sorrow and joy. I only just met Anna, but I feel like she is my sister. It is hard to comprehend the selfless love she demonstrated, both for Rachel and for Jeff and I.