The Newest News

It feels like we've had a ton of stuff happen the last couple of weeks! Halloween has come and gone already and left me no time to really feel the Halloween spirit...maybe because of the move I don't know. We did have fun at our ward's soup and pie/trunk or treat the Tuesday before Halloween...Shawn had signed me up for the pie contest...I was supposed to make a key lime pie, but I didn't have enough time in between taking care of the baby, so of course I was in tears over that. With Shawn's help we managed to pull off a quick Apple Crisp instead, so it worked out just fine.

Anyway... as the week went on we passed out candy to trick-or-treaters, got ready for Shawn's parents to visit, had Victoria's blessing day, spent a couple days in DC again, and experienced how painful it is to watch your baby get shots!  Below are pictures of the past weeks events... (the photo above is Tori on Halloween night)

Our friends from the ward, who are actually from Fellows 06 (the program Shawn is in but class of 2006) Jon, Megan, and baby Seth Blood...we loved their homemade Gingerbread costume!
Our sleepy baby bunny. I made a little bunny costume for our ward's Halloween party...she slept through the whole thing :)

          Victoria meets Grandpa and Grandma Atkinson

November 2nd was a big day..My parents anniversary, along with my brother Kurt's anniversary, and Victoria's blessing day! It was a perfect day! Shawn gave such a beautiful Blessing. Victoria's blessing dress is the same one that my sister and I were both blessed in, that our grandpa had picked out. Before my parents sent it out to me they had embroidered on the bottom of the dress our names (mine, my sister's and Victoria's) and blessing dates...it was so beautiful!

Please excuse my post partum body..in this and the following pictures..no comments please.

Below is a collage of our two day trip to Washington DC. We spent the night at Shawn's cousin's home so we could fit in a few more attractions with Shawn's parents...Thanks Scott and Katie! We spent a lot of time at Mt. Vernon (George Washington's Mansion), it was beautiful and full of history. Shawn's Cousins, Scott and David, took Shawn and his parents on a night tour of all the historical monuments while I stayed back at the house with Katie and the babies. We also had a chance to visit the Arlington Cemetery...incredible, and the fall colors were beautiful. At the Arlington Cemetery we were able to watch the changing of the guards ceremony for the Tomb of the Unknown. Last, Katie set us up on a tour of our nations Capitol Building...SO awesome, a must see! I can't believe how much history there is in one place and it's amazing to be so close to it all and be able to stand on grounds where it all took place!

SIDS

A couple of weeks ago my mom called and told me about an article she had read about a new study done on SIDS. For some reason I keep feeling like I should post a little something about it. Some of you may have already heard the article but anyway, the study was of 500 babies and their sleeping conditions...turns out that having a fan in the babies' room to help circulate the air helps reduce the risk of SIDS by 70%!!! Some articles said an open window while they sleep helps as well. The articles explained that some babies don't get enough oxygen when they sleep...or they breath in too much CO2, because of inclosed sleeping areas or blankets too close to their face, etc. My dad had a good way of explaining it... we all breath in Oxygen and out CO2, the bad stuff (which we all know) so it is like dry ice. When you put dry ice in water the fog will spill over the top and all around the ground because it is heavier than air, as is CO2. When you blow into the dry ice it will spread and clear away for a bit. So having a fan to circulate the air in your babies room when sleeping helps them breath better. One article sad that babies are at highest risk for SIDS between the ages of 2-4 months and during the winter months. It makes sense doesn't it... google "SIDS and fans" and read the articles!

Washington DC

A week after arriving in Maryland my older sister, Rose (whom Victoria Rose is named after) came for a little visit to see the babe and make great dinners! While she was visiting we all made a day trip to Washington DC to see some of the sights! We walked all day and saw some amazing history! One day is not nearly enough time to see it all! When we were at the Lincon Memorial we ran into the Cook family (what are the chances of that?!), our friends from Texarkana who are in the same program as Shawn...they now live 25minutes from DC! We were so excited to see them! It was good day and we plan to go back to see more!

Our Baby Girl Is Growing!

Victoria is now almost 5 weeks! She has brought so much perspective to our life. Just when we think we couldn't love her anymore, we find that love growing more everyday. She is the closest thing to heaven! Our baby girl is growing so fast, I'm scared to look away or blink for fear that when I look back she will have grown even more and that time will have been lost! We love being parents! A week ago Victoria weighed in at 8lbs 6oz..I'm sure she has gained more since then! As like most parents, we have hundreds of pictures we could post...but I will try to hold back and only post a few that I took today...

                                                         These boots are made for walkin
                                                            After all, She was born in Texas
                                                                        Soo much hair

The Update

I am pretty behind on our blogging...I am still trying to get used to this mom thing...which I love of course, I wouldn't trade it for the world! A lot has happened in the past few weeks so I will start with where we left off...week and a half after Victoria was born and the movers had come and gone, we packed up our air mattress, camping chair (which I sat in to breastfeed my baby...), our kitty Trixie and we started our trek across 8 states to Maryland!

         Part of our first day's stop was my 

grandpa's house in Bella Vista, Arkansas...where Victoria met her Great Grandpa and Grandma. My dad was also there waiting to meet his new granddaughter! It was pretty special to see the look on all their faces. Tori makes great grandbaby #15 for my Grandpa!

The rest of our trip consisted of driving, stopping to feed a hungry baby and trying to get our cat to go to the bathroom every 2-3 hours, and sleepless nights. In one hotel, the pet friendly hotel where we had to pay a $75 pet fee (no, the gov. wont cover that cost) Trixie would not stop 

 meowing (we had to lock her in the bathroom while we slept because of the baby), she was driving us crazy! So Shawn had to put her in

 her cage and in 

BED with US...this is the CAT not the baby... so she would shut up!

After a four day trip we finally made it to our "new home"! We've been trying to make our townhome a little more home like and are getting closer!