Bippity Boppity Boo

Kate's Fairy Godmothers came to town this past weekend! Tricia, Heather, and Lindsey all drove from the coast (Mobile, Hattiesburg, and Gulfport) to visit with the newest member of Kappa Delta 2027 (yes, Tricia figured that out on the drive up). Kate was so happy to meet them, and I even let them babysit. Luke and I both had weddings to attend, and the Fairy Godmothers held down the fort. I returned home to a quiet house, but never fear, the pics tell it all! Sleeping Beauty after a meal! Sleeping Beauty has pretty dresses...so what do Fairy Godmothers do? They dress her up, of course! "But look how cute I am! Take my picture!" declared FG 3 to FG 2. "Why, look! There are enough bonnets for us all to dress up," exclaimed FG2! "Whew! Sleeping Beauty is back asleep!" "Oh! Props!" said Fairy Godmother 1. And then FG 3 got jealous of the attention not being on her: I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends and I miss them already. My friend, AFS, describes college friends perfectly. Because I am math/science oriented, I am stealing her lines: I really treasure the friendships where we really know each other...our fears, our insecurities, our families, where we grew up, our core beliefs, our long strings of boyfriends. That kind of knowledge really helps each friend be a better friend to the other, but that kind of knowledge only comes with time. Anywho, I truly love it when my out-of-town friends come. It may sound weird, but one thing I really love is the music we girls make when getting ready to go out - hairdryers blowing, the clatter of makeup brushes and compacts, girly chatter, laughter, switching into countless outfits, swapping shoes, spritzing perfume and hair spray. It is one of the sounds I miss most as a married girl. It is a happy symphony of sounds and scents, and it signals a night of memories in the making. Does that remind anyone else of the KD house?? If you want to see more pics of Kate, check out Tricia's website.Click here~ I am so proud of her and her new business!! So, what else is new in the Cantrell home? For Earth Day, we celebrated with a new COMPOST BIN!! I started one at my parents house years ago and have really missed having one since I have been married. The cutest boy in the world built me one with two sides. It is so convenient, and I have already begun to fill it up. We have red clay instead of soil, so it will really help my garden grow next year! Also, there is a new member in the Bousson household! Joey and Cassie welcomed Baby Will a week ago! He was 9 lbs 5 oz and 21 1/4 inches long. We took Kate up to visit, and she loved her new cousin! She started crying though...I am not sure if it was because she liked being the baby of the family, or because she was afraid he was going to sit on her :) He is beautiful and Mama and Baby are both doing well at home!

Merryweather: It's pink! Flora: Oh, lovely shade, isn't it? Merryweather: But I wanted it blue. Flora: Now, dear. We decided pink was her color!

In Full Bloom

(walking into the hospital)

Kate is four weeks old today (almost to the very minute)! I can't believe that she has been a part of our family for a month. She is staying awake longer during the day, but still spends most of her time sleeping and eating. She nurses about every 3 hours, and she is starting to outgrow some of her newborn clothes! Last week at the ped, Kate weighed 8 lbs 2 oz. That is 9 oz in 1 week! Her little tummy is getting rounder, and she looks longer to me! She really enjoys bathtime, and her Daddy singing to her. Overall, she is an absolutely perfect baby! Here is our family of three on Easter: And some close ups of her precious dress: In other news, Jake was baptized on March 29. I am so proud of my precious little brother. What a wonderful day! We also celebrated several birthdays! My mom's bday was March 27, mine was April 5, and my grandfathers was April 6. We enjoyed lots of cake, some crawfish, and good times hanging out with my family and friends. Luke and I have been working in our flower beds, and have enjoyed landscaping our new home. I have loved every minute of being at home with Kate! Luke and I going on a date for my bday: (you can see the landscaping we did for my mom for her bday in the background!) WE'RE DEBT FREE!! We have been working on the Dave Ramsey plan since March 2007. We paid off our last student loan last June, and then instead of paying off the Yukon, we saved because we were not sure about how much it was going to cost to have Kate, and her expenses, etc. The money to pay off the Yukon completely has been sitting in our account since about November. It has been burning a hole in my pocket, so we decided to go ahead and pay it off! We are so excited and a little proud of ourselves, too! :) So, we can now officially call into the Dave Ramsey Show and yell WE'RE DEBT FREE!! until August, when... Luke might be going to law school. He has been looking for new job options for about a year and took the LSAT and the air traffic controller test. He wanted to have a few options, and he excelled on both tests (such a smarty-pants!) He went to LA and interviewed to be an air traffic controller and got a tentative offer based on, get this, a psych eval. This is hysterical if you have ever met my husband. He is the most normal, laid back, not stressed person I have ever met! Anyway, he passed that part too. In the meantime, he had applied to *cringe* Ole Miss' law school and gotten accepted. It is only 45 minutes from our home, and he went a few weeks ago to visit. Please keep us and his decision in your prayers. I am not sure what he will be doing in a few months, but I know he will make the right decision for our family. I think that is all the news that we have for right now! I am loving this spring weather! When you work at night, you really don't enjoy the changing of the seasons. I am really appreciating it this year!

Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o’er His foes, He arose a Victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever, with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Almost three weeks old!

We went to the dr last Wednesday, and here are her stats: Weight: 7 lbs 9 oz (10.5 %) Height: 21.5 inches (75 %) Head: 35.5 cm (25%) (We go back this week to check her weight again) She eats every 2-3 hours, and sleeps in between! The last few days, she has definitely become more alert and is staying awake for a little longer in between feedings. At night, she usually goes right back to sleep in her cradle after getting her tummy full. The biggest issue is filling up the little piggy's tummy! She has her mama's appetite. Kate loves her passy most of the time, but usually doesn't take it at night. When she does have it in her mouth, she is sucking 90 to nothing! Being a mom is the best job in the world. It is also so nice being home when Luke is home. I have seen more of him in the last three weeks than in our whole marriage!

Katherine Tally Cantrell

Kate made her debut March 18, 2009 at 2:31 pm...here's how it all happened! On the 17th, Luke and I were driving to Walmart when I informed him that I would be going into labor that night. I just had a feeling, and he thought I was a little crazy. Well, about 1:46 am, I woke up form a dream that I was at the hospital with what felt like a contraction. I couldn't decide if it was the real deal, or if I was dreaming really vividly. About 15 minutes later, I felt another one, and knew that something was going on! About 2:30, I woke up Luke and told him that I was right, I thought I was in labor! I told him to sleep while he could, and I got up and started walking around the house. Our bags were packed and ready to go, so I unloaded the dishwasher and started gathering my toiletries. About 3:15, I took a shower, and then woke Luke up about 3:30 and told him if he wanted a shower, to get to it! My contractions were about 5-7 minutes apart by then. We were in the car and headed to the hospital by4:30. We stopped at McDonalds on the way so I could get a Sprite, and Luke got something to eat. I called my friends at work and told them I was heading in. We got checked in and into my room by 5:30. They put me on the monitor, and sure enough, those horrible pains in my stomach were in fact contractions-about 3 minutes apart. They started my iv, in my terrible veins, and we called our parents to tell them they were in fact keeping me because I WAS IN LABOR!! Yea! I got my epidural about 7:30, and from there Life was Grand! I could not imagine going through natural childbirth...kudos to you women who can do it! I had a fabulous CRNA, and my epidural did not hurt at all. As in, I didn't even know she had done it. We had realized we had forgotten our new camera battery at home, so my dad came by soon after and picked up our house key. About 8:30, Luke's mom got there, and about 9:30 my parents and Jake arrived. After that, the room slowly filled up with people...Megan, Newsom, Nana, Nannie, PawPaw, Granny T, Bubba, Travis, Aunt Tracey, April, Katie, Michael, Uncle Bucky, & Will. At about 10:30, I was 7 cm, and then at 11:45 Whitney Tandy, my fabulous labor nurse, got everyone out of the room again. I was complete! When she told me we could start pushing, I got a little nervous. I couldn't believe it was really time to meet our Baby Girl! Well, after everything going so fast all morning, we slowed down a little. I pushed, and pushed, and pushed. One o'clock rolled around...and then two. Sweet Whitney had to reassure me after every push that she was moving down, and her heart rate was still good. I was so worried I was going to push for 2+ hours and then get cut ( the nurse curse in full effect). Whitney was so patient with us, and let me continue pushing...and reassuring me! She started pit sometime in there to get my contractions a little closer together so Kate would quit sliding back after each one. Dr. Aycock came back sometime after 2:15, and precious Kate was born at 2:31 pm. She was 7 lbs 13.4 oz, and 21 1/2 inches long. They put her on my chest, and she looked up at me with the hugest, bluest eyes I have ever seen. I tried to towel her off a little and stimulate her to make her cry, but she just looked at me! The baby nurse that was in there took her to the warmer to assess her, and she did let out a few little cries then. We had a few moments by ourselves, and then we let in the grandparents, and then the rest of the crew. It was an absolutely perfect day! Me with my wonderful labor nurse, Whitney~ Miss Blue Eyes! KK and Aunt Meme before Kate got here 7 lbs 13.4 oz The grandparents meeting Kate The crowd that was waiting Family of threeJake waiting on the delivery....he was so worried he was going to get stuck in the room for the actual birth...he kept asking where the bathroom was...haha PawPaw and Baby Kate Kate meeting Mary Magers Daddy getting him some sweet sugar

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy. So there ought to be""

James Matthew Barrie "Peter Pan"

Kate's Room

We will start off in her bathroom! Luke painted it blue, and it looks so cute!

I love, love, love Kate's room! It is not what I had pictured when we started looking for fabric, bedding, and paint, but the final result is wonderful! Luke picked out the paint, curtain fabric, redid the furniture...basically, everything. He has suck a knack for decorating, and I am so glad because I am so indecisive!

Handmade dresses & bonnets and frames waiting on pictures!

Her closet. The poor child needs some clothes!

My glider! Yea!! I made the blanket on the left, and Aunt Katie made the pillows!

Side table beside the glider.

Side of room. There are still a few things to hang on the wall and to be put away.

Kate's rocking chair and box of books. I need a little bookcase to go here. And did I mention Luke picked out that cute lamp? I think he loves his little girl! =

From the door looking in.

Grammy (Luke's mama) made the curtains and is going to hem them, and we are making a cornice box with her monogram on pink fabric for the top. I have also cleaned out a little bit of the "clutter."

Last Friday night, we had girl's night at The Orpheum. We saw Legally Blonde, and it was wonderful. Megan and I both agreed it was better than the movie. It definitely made me miss the KD House!

For Audra: Me in all of my 38 week glory. Lovely, I know.

"There's not a whole ot of choice involved. From what I hear. Your body gets this big and it takes over-you can't accomodate it, sweetheart, you just get out of its way. It's on a track of its own and nothing stops it now." She pushed herself up, trying to see over the rise of her belly. "I feel like a hostage to myself. Or to the baby."

-Gregory Maguire, Wicked