First Official Mother's Day :)

5.12.13

My 1st official Mother's Day!

This Mother's Day :)

Last Mother's Day :)

This time last year we were celebrating the news of our pregnancy with our family and I was celebrating my "first" Mother's Day! I posted about that day here. It was such a special weekend that I will always hold close to my heart. Even though Leah wasn't here yet David made sure to make my "first" Mother's Day a special one. However, nothing compares to actually spending Mother's Day with my little bundle of joy by my side. Leah, I love you more than you will ever know and more than I will ever understand. Being your mama is the greatest joy of my life and I feel so blessed that God chose me to be your mama. I love you, baby girl! 

I Love You Through and Through

"i love you through and through... i love your top side. i love your bottom side. i love your inside and outside. i love your happy side, your sad side

your silly side, your mad side.

i love your fingers and toes, your ears and nose. i love your hair and eyes, your giggles and cries.

i love you running and walking
silent and talking

i love you through and through... yesterday, today and tomorrow too."

1st Zoo Trip!

3.30.13

Leah's First Trip to the Zoo!

 

We had such a great time at the zoo! It was one of the first nice days of spring and we thoroughly enjoyed it with our sweet girl :) Leah loved sitting back in her stroller and taking in all of her surroundings. We got a zoo membership so there will be many more trips in our future! I'm already excited for ZooBoo and Christmas at the Zoo! Lot's to look forward to :)

One Year

4.17.13

One year since I saw that beautiful word "pregnant" read across that pregnancy test screen.

It's unbelievable how fast time flies when you're having fun and just plain happy. As soon as I saw that hour glass turn to the word pregnant, my eyes instantly started to swell, and tears started rolling down my cheeks. I will never forget that morning. After eight long months of trying to get pregnant, it was the most overwhelming feeling of joy, happiness, and thankfulness. I was finally going to be a mommy. David was finally going to be a daddy. We were finally going to be a family of three.

I documented that amazing day here.

I am so happy that I have this day documented in detail. I love being able to go back and read every little detail. I love that Leah will be able to go back and read every little detail. That makes my heart happy. That is why I started this blog. To be able to look back and remember these memories. Our memories.

I'm also thankful for the special moments David has documented on video of our family. These videos perfectly capture the special and intimate moments of becoming a family of three. 

These are moments that I wish I could bottle up and relive over and over, and these videos allow me to do that. I feel like I am able to relive those very moments. When I watch these videos and hear the music I am instantly taken back to that very moment in time. It brings me an unbelievable amount of happiness. Below is the video he created of our pregnancy announcement. I secretly filmed him the day I found out we were pregnant and then we secretly filmed telling our family and friends.

Pregnancy Announcement! from Rachel Wood on Vimeo.

It's been one special year.
We love you so much, Leah. Each day I think being your mommy can't possibly get any better than it already is, but it always does! I still can't believe you are ours. I thank God everyday for you. You bring more joy and love to our life than we ever thought was possible. 

Leah's First Laugh!

4.13.13

I couldn't possibly love any sound more...melts my heart every time :)

Letters to Leah: Three Months

3.20.13

Dear Leah,

This month has been filled with so many smiles and laughs. Your little personality is starting to unfold right in front of our eyes. Daddy and I have loved watching you grow, discover, and explore new things this month. Each day you are getting stronger and mastering a new skill. Each day I think being your mommy can't possibly get any better than it already is, but it always does! Each day gets better and better! I still can't believe you are ours. I thank God everyday for you. I've said it before and will say it again...you have completed our life in a way that is indescribable. It's amazing how much love you have added to a home that was already filled with so much love. You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to us, baby.

I have no new stats this month because we do not see your pediatrician again until next month. However, you are continuing to grow like a weed! It's hard to believe you used to be inside my belly! I just love your little leg rolls, chubby little cheeks, little nose, and chunky little feet! You still have your beautiful blue eyes and your hair is still light brown. 

You smile all the time and it's simply the best thing ever. Daddy and I can't get enough of those little smiles. You still love when we talk to you. You just smile away :) On March 14th, you laughed for the first time. It was just a little laugh but a sweet glimpse of what is to come! 

You now love tummy time! Whenever you are a little fussy I just put you on your belly and you are as happy as can be! You will stay on your tummy with your head raised and just hang out. It's adorable. 

You continue to love bath time. You just love the water so we are really excited to see you in the pool and ocean this summer! We rarely swaddle you anymore. You are slowly starting to grow out of loving your MamaRoo (swing). You still like to sit in there sometimes and stare and babble to the mobile above, but you much prefer tummy time, laying on a blanket, laying in your car seat, and especially laying in mama or daddy's arms. You are now in size 2 diapers and wearing clothes from 3 months - 6 months.

Speaking of babbling, you are a babbling and cooing machine! People tell us that you will probably be an early talker with how much you love to babble. I absolutely love hearing you babble and getting a glimpse of your little voice! 

You continue to be a content little thing. You are still a great eater and a great sleeper. We're still breastfeeding great and you are still sleeping about 14 hours a night with two short feedings in between. You still continue to nap here and there throughout the day but you are now spending longer times awake, which I love! 

We are starting to get out and about more now that you are older. Mama's not as nervous about germs! We have lunch dates with your aunties (my girlfriends) weekly, which is so much fun! I'm getting so excited for the warmer weather when we can eat outside!

This month's firsts: 

1. First Short Laugh

2. First Trip to the Mall

3. First St. Patrick's Day

So here we are! Another beautiful month with you, sweet girl. I'm making sure to soak up every minute because it goes fast. You teach us new things every day and there is nothing we love more than watching you grow, learn, and discover new things with each passing day. We are excited to continue watching you grow and living this beautiful life with you.

We love you to the moon and back, baby girl!

Love,

Mama and Daddy

Letter to Leah: Two Months

2.20.13

Dear Leah,

How is it possible that you are already two months old? I'm sure I will start each one of these posts like this because it's amazing how fast you are growing! They say time flies when you're having fun and boy does it ever. Although it has only been two months it feels like you have been a part of our lives forever. You have completed our life in a way that is indescribable. It's amazing how much more love you have added to a home that was already filled with so much love.

Sweet girl, you are our everything. When I sit down to write these posts I think...will I ever be able to describe just how much I love her, how much she has changed my life, or how much she means to me? Will I ever have the words? My words may never be enough to describe the deep love I have for you, but that's okay, because I make sure to show you every day just how much I love you. Being your mommy is the greatest joy of my life.

Okay before I start crying at the computer let's move on to your two month updates and milestones!

This was a big month for you, sweet girl! You had a major growth spurt. You are in the 90th percentile all around! Your pediatrician said you are developing perfectly, and she couldn't be happier with your progress. Always what a mama wants to hear! At your two month appointment you had your first round of immunization shots. It was heartbreaking to see you get stuck by multiple needles. It was the first time I had really heard you use those lungs and it broke my heart. Good thing daddy was there to keep mommy strong! Here are your two month stats from your appointment.

Two Month Stats:

Weight: 12 pounds 14.5 ounces (90th percentile)
One Month: 9 pounds 9 ounces
At Birth: 7 pounds 13 ounces

Height: 24 inches (95th percentile)
One Month: 21.75 inches
At Birth: 20 inches

Head Circumference: 16.02 inches (90th percentile)
One Month:  14.76 inches

I just love those chunky little thighs! You continue to keep filling out and I just love it. You still have your daddy's pretty blue eyes and your hair is still light brown. We continue to think you still look more like mama, but everyone always says they definitely see daddy too! You have the chubbiest little cheeks that I kiss hundreds of times a day! You still love your little hands, especially when you sleep. This month you have really started to smile and grin more and we love when we catch one of those little grins. Your little nose scrunches and your left eye squints and it's just the cutest thing ever.

You love when we talk to you. That is usually when you will flash us one of those adorable smiles. We have been doing lots of tummy time this month. You're not a big fan of tummy time but your head control keeps getting better and better. You amaze me everyday with your strength! You continue to love bath time, being swaddled, and your MamaRoo. You still dislike pacifiers so we have pretty much stopped using them. This makes daddy the dentist very happy :) You are still in size 1 diapers and wearing clothes from 3 months - 6 months.

You continue to be such a content little thing. You make this whole parenting thing look easy. You are still a great eater and a great sleeper. We're still breastfeeding great and you are now sleeping 14 hours a night with two short feedings in between.

You still continue to nap here and there throughout the day but you are now spending longer times awake, which I love! You love to sit in your swing or in mama or daddy's arms/lap and just stare all around. You also now love lounging in your boppy on the couch and just hanging out with mommy and daddy. You love to kick your little legs and move your arms all around. This month we have seen so much change in you. We feel like you are growing up before our eyes, and there is nothing we love more than seeing you discover new things each day.

You are definitely a mama's girl! All is good when you are in your mama's arms and this mama has no complaints ;) You love that daddy of yours too! You laugh the most when he plays and talks with you and it's the sweetest thing ever. He loves you more than you will ever know and works so hard for our little family's future. We are very lucky, bug!

Speaking of bug, that is my newest nickname for you. It all started with Leahbug and now it's just bug or buggy ;) The other nicknames that have continued to stick are: Le-Le, Baby, Leahbug, Bug, Buggy, and Sweet girl. I usually call you bug and daddy calls you baby or Le-Le.

This month there were a lot of firsts for you:
1. First Valentine's Day (which I posted about here)
2. First stroller ride and walk in Fort Ben
3. First Superbowl Party
4. First trip to the grocery store with mommy and daddy
6. First Vaccines

This month your future best friend, Maxwell Parker Kimberly, was born! He was born on February 5th, 2013 at 11:54 pm! I posted a little bit about Maxwell here. You two are going to grow up together and hopefully become the best of friends just like his mama and I are. I'm so excited for all the things we do and will continue to do together as families. Andria and I can't wait until the day when you and Max are running around the house together. Did I really just say that? Not that I want to rush any stage but I look forward to all that is to come :) You two also took your first stroller ride together the other day. This is something that will happen much more often once it warms up. Congratulations again to our best friends, Bryan and Andria, on the birth of their beautiful Maxwell.

Two very important family members I have yet to mention in your posts are your four-legged brother and sister, Louie and Lexi! These two love you dearly and have adjusted perfectly. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous to bring you home to a home with two dogs. Not because Lou or Lex are aggressive because that couldn't be further from the truth. They are the most loving dogs but I did worry they might accidentally jump on you or be too rough while trying to love on you. I worried about if you would ever be able to do tummy time without them licking you up and down. I thought they would steal all your toys. Well...I was so wrong! The dogs have been so amazing with you. They are so cautious and protective over you. It's amazing to see their instincts kick in. When you cry they both come over and check on you immediately. They never touch your toys, which I am shocked about. A lot of them squeak/make noises and look just like they could be a dog toy, but they never touch them. It's like they know they are your toys. They have adjusted perfectly and we couldn't be more thankful. You also seem to love them too. You have never once been bothered by them and I know you will love them as much as your mama and daddy do when you are old enough. I'm excited to see you interact with them as you get older and start running around this house with them :)

You continue to get lots of visitors each week and I don't see that changing anytime soon! Our family and friends are so head over heels in love with you! Your grandparents especially can't get enough of you. This month your grandpa and Danna also booked a family vacation for all of us in Clearwater/St. Pete this summer! This will be your first plane ride and first vacation and we couldn't be more excited! Mommy and Daddy love to travel so we are excited to start traveling as a family of three! I can't wait to see you put your little feet in the sand and your little hands in the ocean. I am so excited to start making these special memories as a family :)

So here we are. Another beautiful month with you, sweet girl. I'm making sure to soak up every minute because it goes fast. You teach us new things every day and there is nothing we love more than watching you grow, learn, and discover new things with each passing day. We are excited to continue watching you grow and living this beautiful life with you.

We love you to the moon and back!

Love,
Mama and Daddy

Leah's Birth Video!

Leah's Birth Video! from Rachel Wood on Vimeo.

The best day of our lives. The day we welcomed our baby girl, Leah Kimberly Wood, into the world!  I'm so grateful to have these short videos that perfectly capture our special and intimate moments of becoming a family of three. I'm so fortunate to have a creative husband that cherishes memories as much as I do. He is the one behind the magic of all our videos. To read Leah's full birth story: Click Here

If you are new to the blog make sure to click the links below to view our previous videos :)

Announcement Video: Click Here
Gender Reveal Video: Click Here

Leah's First Valentine's Day

2.14.13

How could you not love a day that celebrates love? I like to think that I celebrate love every day by showing the ones closest to me how much I love them on a daily basis, but who doesn't love another reason to celebrate? Another reason to decorate the house? Do crafts? Take pictures? Dress up? Do something special for someone you love? This Valentine's Day was extra special because of the new little valentine in our lives. 

Leah's first Valentine's Day was so special and filled with love. Daddy got her the sweetest card and brought us home a dozen roses. There is nothing sweeter than seeing my husband do these special things for our daughter. I love seeing him start these traditions with her. It melts my heart. These are the things that girls cherish forever. My dad still thinks of me on Valentine's day and it still makes me feel special every year. This year he had two floral arrangements delivered to the house. One for me and one for Leah. It meant so much to us. Thank you dad/pop-pop! We love you!

Leah also received her first piece of jewelry from her Grandpa Rick. He kept telling us weeks before Valentine's Day that he was so excited to give Leah the gift he had been working on. I was in tears when we opened up her present. It was a necklace with her birthstone surrounded in little pave diamonds. He had designed it just for her. This is something she will have and cherish forever. Thank you so much, Grandpa Rick! We love you!

David also made Valentine's Day a special day for me like he does every year. At first I was just going to write about Leah's first Valentine's Day since I use this blog to serve as her scrapbook, but then I thought it was important to document the sweet and thoughtful things her daddy does for her mommy. We started the festivities a week early with the annual IUSD Valentine's Day Dance. We go every year and have such a great time! I love getting all dressed up with my hubby and having a great night with great friends. David has the best class. I have become close with many of his classmates and their wives/girlfriends, so it's always so great seeing everyone and catching up!

On actual Valentine's Day, David took the day off class/clinic to spend the day with his girls. He made us breakfast and we spent the morning hanging out with our Leahbug. Around 2 o'clock he had suggested that I spend the afternoon baby-free to go and do whatever I wanted for the day. He told me he had a surprise and to be home at 6:00. I was excited to have the afternoon to go and run some errands and do some shopping! I was also pretty excited to get home to see what he had up his sleeve! I knew he would most likely be making me a nice dinner but I was so surprised when I got home and he led me into the living room to this set-up...

He had re-arranged the living room to make this romantic set-up. I was in tears at just how perfect he had made everything. He made us bloody mary's, shrimp cocktail, filet mignon, and dessert. He thought of everything. It was perfect to have a romantic evening at home with our baby girl right next to us in her swing. It couldn't have been a better Valentine's Day with the loves of my life. 

Sunday we spent the evening with David's family celebrating Valentine's Day. They brought over take-out and we had a great night playing with Leah and hanging out. I love having such a close knit family that lives close :)

Thank you to all of our family who made Leah's first Valentine's Day so special. We love you so much!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day with the ones you love :)

Leah's Birth Story

It all started on Wednesday, December 19th, 2012.

We checked into the the hospital at 7 o'clock to have our baby girl! The nurse showed us to our room and had us get settled in. Walking into the room was such a surreal moment. I had been in one of these rooms just three years ago when I visited my best friend after she gave birth to her little boy. And now? It was me having the baby! As someone who has never been a hospital patient before, I was nervous for the unexpected, yet so very excited to be meeting our baby girl!

After putting on the hospital gown the nurse had me climb into bed. This was it! She hooked me up to the fetal monitor, started my IV, and gave me the drug Cervidil to aid in the process of softening my cervix. 

My best friend, Andria {the same friend who I had visited in one of these rooms just 3 years ago}, is an RN at the hospital and came to spend time with us after her shift! Our parents also came to the hospital as soon as we checked in. To say our parents were excited, would be an understatement! It was such an overwhelming feeling to have such amazing family and friends be so excited for this special time in our lives.

Making sure to take in all the last little kicks and movements from Leah on the inside :) At around 11:00 pm our family and friends headed out for the night so we could get some rest. My sweet hubby made sure I was comfortable and then laid in the chair right next to my bed. We watched episode after episode of Survivor to keep my mind off the contractions.

Come 2:30 am the contractions had really started to kick in. The nurse said that I could get my epidural at anytime and suggested that the sooner I get it, the sooner I could relax and get some sleep for what was ahead. I was always under the impression that the epidural could wear off if you got it too soon, but I guess that is a thing of the past! Epidurals are now are just like IV's. The medicine is continuously running, so it didn't matter when I got it. 

I was extremely nervous for the epidural but had decided to have it ordered about an hour later. At that point I was having contractions every 2 minutes and was less concerned about the pain of the epidural.

At 4:00 am I hear the anesthesiologist and nurse come in. I absolutely loved my night nurse, AJ. She was so sweet and made me feel at ease the entire time, answering any questions we had. With her in front of me, and David beside me I was ready for the epidural. The anesthesiologist was also great. He was friendly and kept the conversation light-hearted, which helped ease my nerves. Five minutes later and the whole process was over and in that moment I remember thinking, "This is it?! I can't believe I got myself all worked up over that!" For future mamas, I just want you to know it wasn't bad at all. Just a quick prick and a numbing sensation down my lower back and it was done!

And...wow is the epideral amazing! I was pain-free in a matter of minutes. They said I would still feel pressure but no pain. Well I didn't feel anything, and it was wonderful! It was so nice to be able to finally relax and get some sleep before I had to push.

At around 9:00 am I was 4 cm dilated. The doctor came to visit us and decided to start Pitocin. Shortly after my contractions had started to become stronger and closer together. I went back to sleep, but shortly after awoke feeling very nauseous. I got sick a couple of times, which actually was the worst part of the whole laboring process. If you know me at all, then you know that I have a fear of throwing up. See, when you check into the hospital you aren't allowed to eat or drink anything besides ice chips. For the past 15 hours I had just been eating ice, so I was basically just throwing up stomach acid, which was terrible. Soon after, I stopped getting sick and felt much better. At around 12:30 pm the doctor had come back in to check my progression and at that point decided to break my water.

At around 5:20 pm the nurse checked me and said I was 9 1/2 cm and told me I was about ready to start pushing! I will never forget that moment. I couldn't believe we were about to meet our daughter! She notified the doctor of my progress and said that we were going to try some "practice pushes." With her holding one of my legs and David holding the other she had me start pushing. I remember thinking, "Wow, this is it?" I was picturing a scene right out of Knocked Up, but all I could feel was pressure with each contraction, which told me when to push. The pushing was exhausting, but I felt no pain at all. I kept thinking no way this pushing is going to result in pushing a baby out. Well, I was wrong! After about 15 minutes of the "practice" pushing she said it was time to call the doctor in.  

At our hospital the room that you labor in is also the room you deliver and recover in, which is so nice. The doctor came in with all the equipment and flipped the bright overhead lights on and suddenly the room was transformed; ready for the delivery of our baby girl.  My doctor, nurses, and David were so encouraging while I pushed. The nurses kept saying, "I knew you were going to be so great at this!" In hindsight, I'm sure they tell all their patients that. Nonetheless, it really does give you the confidence to keep up the strong pushing. The next thing I remember is the doctor saying, "Okay I think she will be out in the next push!" Really?!? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. One more push and my daughter would be in my arms? Boy was the motivation for that last push! 

At 6:44 pm, December 20th, 2012, Leah Kimberly Wood was born! I remember seeing her beautiful face and then her warm body against mine as they laid her on my chest. 

In that moment love was truly redefined. 

Our first picture as a family of 3

Daddy's little girl

These photos melt my heart

I know I have mentioned many times on my blog how lucky we are to have such amazing family and friends, but we really are so blessed to have these amazing people in our lives.

We had such an outpouring of love from all of our family and friends. We had to start turning people away from visiting us at the hospital because we weren't sleeping ;)

It truly meant the world to us

 

Our little family about to head home

Excited for our journey as a family of three :)

The night we left the hospital David drove us home and went back to CVS to pick up my prescriptions. He came home with this sweet card for Leah and me. Such a sweet thing to get from your husband the same night you leave the hospital. Leah and I are pretty lucky girls to have such a loving daddy/husband :)

The beautiful ring I got on Christmas from my hubby for the birth of our Leah. It's engraved with Leah's initials and birthday. This is my right hand ring until Leah is old enough and then it will be hers :)

Little Leah had more visitors once we got home!

We didn't get photos of all her visitors...so some important family members and friends aren't pictured :(

We would also like to take a moment to personally thank everyone for all the kind posts, messages, comments, texts, phone calls, visits, food, cards, gifts, etc. You have all made this an even more special time for us and we are forever grateful. 

Thank you!

Love, 

David, Rachel, and Leah 

{Stay tuned for the Birth Video}