TJ's Birthday!

Happy Birthday to TJ!
TJ turned the big 28 yesterday and so we celebrated his birthday on Saturday! Well, it actually started out on Friday night with dinner at Red Lobster with me, Kaitlynn and my mom. It was great, I love the coconut shrimp there, IT'S DELICIOUS! Saturday we ate some sloppy joes (I know, what a glorious dinner) opened presents and gave TJ his cake. It is actually a REALLY large Ms. Fields cookie! It was SOOOOO delicious! I was skeptical at first, but I think I ate more then TJ did! =) That night we went to our friends house to watch the BYU vs UOU football game! GO UTES! It was a great end to a great day! Sunday we chilled around the house and enjoyed spending time together and with Kaitlynn.
Monday, his actual birthday, was a little rough. He had to wake up at 5:30 to drive to Lumberton to spend all day with a very rude Pediatric Cardiologist, then at lunch spilled Pepsi ALL over his pants and the cafeteria was only serving lasagna for lunch AND dinner. If you know TJ, you know that Lasagna is like his MOST UNFAVORITE food! So for dinner he went out to Burger King. What a way to spend your 28th birthday. Poor guy! We love him though and hope he has a better week!
Kaitlynn grew out of her bassinett and now is a big girl in her crib. She actually does REALLY well and continues to sleep really good at night. The first night though, our monitor battery died and so TJ woke up and heard her crying. I didn't wake up until TJ woke me up. I don't know if I would have ever woke up if TJ hadn't been there. YIKES! Since then I have learned to make sure and plug it in, and not rely on the battery! =)
We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we love you all! =) Enjoy the pics of Kaitlynn and TJ's birthday!

Six weeks and then some!

All is well here with our little family! Things are busy, busy, busy
but all is well. Kaitlynn continues to grow and grow and grow! I
weighed her today and she is already about 12 lbs! What a chunker! =)
She is also SOOOO long, atleast 24 inches! She keeps outgrowing all of
her pajamas! =) Oh well, it means she is eating well I guess! She has
started to talk to us and it is so cute. Her smiles are getting bigger
and more frequent and she is getting on more of a regular schedule. She
also can roll from her stomach to her back, but we have yet to catch it
on camera! She brings more happiness into our home then we could have
ever imagined! She is just a sweet heart!
I am doing well, still at home with Kaitlynn and trying to figure out
how all of you moms get things done each day. I have a hard enough time
trying to work-out, shower, do my hair and make-up and cook dinner each
day along with feeding my daughter seven times a day and playing with
her, changing diapers, bathing, etc. When does house cleaning, laundry,
grocery store, etc get done? Things that I used to get done in one day
now take me two to three. Oh well, I wouldn't have it any other way!
Hopefully I'll figure out how to be more productive!
TJ is going very well. He finished his rotation at Butner with the
crazy people and now he is doing pediatrics. He is really enjoying it
so far. He continues to learn alot and his rotations are flying by! It
is crazy to think that next year at this time we could be somewhere
totally different writing a new chapter to our book we call life. How
exciting! =) Anyway, here are some pictures of our cute little girl and
some video we took of her!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is so much fun! I have always enjoyed Halloween, I mean, who can't love a holiday where it is totally expected for you to EAT as much candy as possible? Althought I don't usually dress up, it sure is fun to dress up your little child! =) We had such a fun time celebrating Halloween this year! It started off on Thursday night at the ward party. It was a lot of fun to see everyone in their costumes. We had a weenie-roast along with yummy treats, a cookie walk and a trunk-or-treat. It was a lot of fun! Then Friday we had a chilli cook-out with some of our friends out here and it was great! We had some of the BEST caramel apples I have EVER had in my life! YUMMY! Kaitlynn was so cooperative the ENTIRE time! She didn't hardly cry until the end of the photo shoot when she had definitely had enough of mom and dad taking pictures! She is such a trooper! She is so much fun as she continues to make new facial expressions each day and learns how to make new sounds each day! She continues to amaze me how much she is awake and alert and tries to take in! I know I'm partial, but I just think she is the cutest thing! =)
Anyway, this weekend has been great and I'm so lucky to have such a great family. TJ is very patient with me and my "neediness" that has now doubled since our new addition. He is very helpful and I really appreciate all that he does for both Kaitlynn and me! I do have to admit, that I really can't remember alot of the cute songs to sing to Kaitlynn, but TJ knows them all. It is alot of fun to see what that little girl can get her daddy to do without even saying a word! =)
Well, we hope you all had a great weekend and we hope you are able to enjoy some of the pics of our little girl! We love you all!

One month gone already!

Kaitlynn turns one month old tomorrow. I can hardly believe that she has already been with us for four weeks! She is such a precious spirit and we are truly blessed to have her in our home! She has been such a trooper to put up with TJ and I! She is such a great baby, she eats well, sleeps great and poops ALL THE TIME! I can't believe how much she has grown and changed over the past four weeks. Life really does go by so fast!
She has started to find her vocal cords the last few days and now occasionally makes some very sweet squeels and noises. She has figured out that if she cries, mom and dad will do just about anything for her! =) She is awake several hours of the day and is sleeping really well at night. Half the time I have to wake her up because I need her to eat! =) She is such a sweet spirit and I don't think she could be loved any more! =)
Here are some more pics we took of her after her first day at church. She was superb, she ate during sacrament meeting and then slept until the closing prayer in relief society. She is fabulous! =) Although, I have to admit that most of her dressess look like mini skirts on her, because she is SOOOO long! I don't think newborn dressess are made for 22+ inch babies!
This past weekend TJ and I decided it was time to take her out into Durham! She was almost a month old and we just couldn't take it anymore! =) So, Friday I got all ready (this means doing both hair and make-up, it really is a big deal) and we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse! YUMMY! Then, Saturday TJ studied in the morning and then we all headed out to the state fair. It was a lot of fun, we saw bunnies, cows, goats, a juggling act, some of the demolition derby, ate a corn dog, and some old farm equipment! All in all it was a great day! We were all exhausted by the end of the day, but it was well worth it! Then on Sunday it was off to church. This is more activity then Kaitlynn has seen since she has been born. She was very cooperative and I think she really enjoyed it!
This week we are going to get her dressed up for Halloween and head to the ward party! I am really excited to see all the kids dressed up this year! Halloween takes on a whole different meaning when you have kids! =)
Anyway, life here is going great! We will continue to keep you posted as time is available. I swear that Kaitlynn has a sixth sense because everytime I sit down to blog, she starts crying. Hence why it has taken me three days to finish this one! =) We will keep working on it though! Love you all and hope you are all doing well!

Growing up so fast!!!

I can't believe she is already two weeks old! Time has gone by so fast! I swear, it was just yesterday when we brought her home! How much fun we have had over the last two weeks though! She is definitely a very sweet spirit and we are so blessed to have her in our home! She really is such a great baby, I honestly cannot complain! Plus, how can you have anything but love for such a precious girl? =)
We went to the Dr.'s this week and she is not gaining enough weight, so we have to feed her more often now. She was already eating every 3 hrs, so now we are doing every 2-2 1/2 hrs. I swear, all I do is feed her, TJ burps her, we change her diaper and then it is time to do it all over again! Oh well, it is so much fun! Plus, we were able to give her a REAL bath on Tuesday which was SOOOOOO much fun! She was not so sure about it at first, but after Dad put in warmer water, she was much more comfortable! Other then that, she continues to be healthy, healthy, healthy!
I have to say thanks again to my mom and Julie! You guys were great and we truly appreciate you taking time out of your schedules to be out here helping us. Julie, thanks so much for cleaning our house, I feel so much better with a clean house! TJ and I ate like royalty while you guys were here and I didn't even have to do the dishes! It was SO nice! =)
Anyway, we hope you all have a great week and here are some more pics of our little one! Love you all!

One week old already!!!

I can't believe that our little girl is already one week old! Time is really flying bye! This past week has been full of memories! I do have to admit, I was prepared for the discomfort after the delivery, the sleepless nights, the blow out diapers, the baby crying, the feeding, and even the chance that I might lose my hair. I was NOT ready or aware of the emotional changes that would occur. I was not ready for the crying non stop, or the surfacing of emotions over EVERY LITTLE THING! I swear, TJ has had to give me more hugs and more comfort in the last week, then he has in our six years of marriage. Sometimes I don't even know why I am crying! I cry over the fact that my baby is crying, I cry when I see TJ holding Kaitlynn, I cry watching the movie "Babe the Pig," I cry when my mom leaves, I cry when I hear someone else cry. I AM OUT OF CONTROL! =)
Other then the crying, things are going great! Kaitlynn is the best baby ever. She sleeps when I need her to, she eats every 3 hours on schedule and poops occasionally! Other then that, she is awake and very happy. I can't believe how alert she is! TJ loves playing with her and all of her toys. He gets so excited to use the bouncer, the swing, the rattles, the stuffed animals, etc. He is seriously the best dad ever!
I feel as though I'm getting the hang of things. I was so proud of myself today because I was able to feed Kaitlynn, give her a bath, eat breakfast, go for a short walk, shower, do my hair and makeup all before noon today! This was a record since she has come home! Most days I stay in my PJ's all day and don't shower until in the evening! My goal is to atleast shower each day this week before 12:00, we shall see how that goes! =)
I have to publically thank my mom for coming out for a week. She is amazing and TJ and I truly appreciate everything she did for us while she was here. I don't know what we would have done without her! Thanks dad for letting her come, we really, really, really, REALLY appreciate it! THANKS SO MUCH! We also have to thank Julie who is still out here with us right now. I know it was a sacrifice for her to come and we really do appreciate all that she has done for us as well. Thanks to her family back at home for giving her up for a whole week! We really do appreciate everything everyone has done for us! We are so truly blessed!
I had better go, I hope you enjoy the pics and we will continue to post more as we are very picture happy right now! We love you all!

Our new addition!

I am really sorry that we have waited four days since the birth of our little girl to post pictures, but things have been REALLY busy! Our computers did not work very well in the hospital, so we couldn't post things there and since we've been home it's been feeding, burping, sleeping and changing diapers! Life seriously could not get much better then this! =) We will post more throughout the week as time permits, but please be patient! Here are a few of my most favorite ones! She is super cute (I know we are totally partial) and I honestly don't think I could love her any more then I do right now! Plus, I truly appreciate my husband as he has been the BEST DAD EVER! I also have to thank my mom who is an angel in the flesh. I don't know what we would have done without her! Thanks to everyone who has called, texted or e-mailed us and for all the prayers offerred on our behalf! We truly appreciate all of the support from our family and friends! Anyway, we love you all and we will continue to update throughout the week!

Quick Stats:
Kaitlynn Kiana Barnett
Born October 1st, 2008 at 11:26 a.m.
8 lbs. 12 oz
22 inches long

Love you all!