One Week Old Today

Well, our beautiful baby boy is one week old today - can you believe it? This week has truly flown by for us. It seems like just last night when we were driving to the hospital talking about who Cole would look like! Thank you for all of your support, encouragement and prayers...we have felt all of them and appreciated them so much. He is a wonderful blessing and I am so happy and thankful to be his mom. Please continue to remember us as we strive to be the best parents we can be!!!

Total Happiness

Isn't this is face of total comfort and happiness? This was taken right after Cole ate - he always looks like he is in heaven after a feeding!!! Let me tell you, that makes his mommy very proud!

Just Me and My Dad

We have been so blessed that Rhonald was able to take the entire week off to be home with Cole and I. One of the most awesome things I have experienced this week has been to watch Rhonald and Cole develop their relationship with one another. Rhonald is an excellent daddy. He has jumped right in there to help me with anything and everything and he is having the best time doing it! His face lights up whenever Cole is around - especially when he looks up at Rhonald with those big eyes. It is so obvious when I see the two of them together that they are the best of friends already. On more than one occasion it has been Rhonald who is able to calm Cole down and get him to go to sleep. He has been wonderful about taking Cole into another room so that I can take a nap and I know part of that is simply because he loves being with his son. This may sound kindof crazy but I see even more how much Rhonald loves me in the way that he cares for Nicholas. I am so excited to watch them grow closer each and every day. Cole and I are so blessed to have Rhonald in our lives and I thank God that he is here with us each and every day.

Our Shining Star is Born

Nicholas Myers Searcy (a.k.a. Cole) was born on Friday, January 11, 2008 at 4:42 pm. He weighed 7 lbs and 7 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. Cole is the most amazing gift we have ever been given and we cherish him so much. We keep saying that it is hard to remember what life was like before he came and honestly, I don't even want to.

Rhonald and I went to the hospital on Thursday night to begin our induction. We were so anxious to get things started that we actually showed up an hour early! We were so lucky to have one of my oldest friends (and co-workers), Rachel Grubb, take care of us that night. My water broke around 4:00 am which was the strangest feeling ever! I was so excited that it broke on it's own since everything else was so planned out. On Friday the waiting room was full of family and friends which was so nice and several of my co-workers would stop in and check on us throughout the day. We felt so blessed to be surrounded by loved ones and familiar faces. It made us much less nervous to know that we were being cared for so well. I owe a lot to my nurse, Jennifer. She was so patient and kind - we could never think of enough words to thank her. The day progressed quickly - once I started dilating I dilated quickly and by 3:15 pm I was ready to get the show on the road and see my sweet boy! I only pushed for about an hour and it really was not that bad. I got so excited when I saw Dr. Shenker come in the room because I knew it would not be long then! Rhonald was awesome - he coached me and encouraged me like a pro and I loved seeing how excited he was too.

Words cannot describe the feeling we had when we heard Cole cry and the dr placed him in my arms. It was love at first sight for all of us! Right after delivery I was able to feed him and Rhonald was able to hold him. It was so awesome to see that tiny face and know that he is ours forever and ever! As you can see he looks a lot like his daddy but with my skin tone (so far). He is truly the sweetest baby - he loves to cuddle and eat. When he opens up those big eyes and looks up at us our hearts simply melt! We thank God all of the time for him and the wonderful addition to our family that he is. He fits in perfectly and we love him dearly. We hope that all of you can meet him soon!!!!

A Nice and Quiet Christmas

First off, we hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas filled with family, friends and lots of fun! We celebrated Christmas a little bit differently this year since my due date is only 2 1/2 weeks away (can you believe that?). Rhonald, Mason and I spent Christmas home alone this year and although we missed seeing family we had a wonderful day! After we woke up, we opened stockings and gifts and then had a nice breakfast. We lounged around all day and then I made a traditional Christmas dinner which actually turned out pretty well! We had every intention of going to see a movie in the evening but so did everyone else in Northwest Arkansas - every movie we wanted to see was sold out! Who knew that was such a big Christmas tradition for people!!!! Santa even spoiled Mason with several new toys and treats and by 9:00 he was sound asleep. We both agreed it was an amazing day and one we needed....the calm before the storm!

A Weekend Full of Blessings

We were blessed with not one but two baby showers this past weekend. It was so wonderful to have them at a time when our parents could be here to celebrate with us! On Friday night my friends from work gave me a shower and I must say, I was speechless at the amount of love that was shown to us from them! It was so much fun to share stories about having babies and get lots of advice from people that I have grown to love so much. On Saturday night we were blessed with a shower given by Rhonald's work and a few other friends. It was so neat to have him there and be able to share that time with him and his friends. Our parents felt so welcome and had so much fun meeting our friends. It was so much fun to come home from each shower and put baby Nicholas' things away. I think I rearranged our gifts several times before I found "the perfect" place to put everything. We kept saying how lucky Cole is to have so many people who are excited about his birth and meeting him. We have only lived here for 2 1/2 years but have made so many friends - we are so thankful for everyone who shared in this weekend with us. We have never known such love and excitement!

The Long Awaited Nursery

Rhonald and my dad painted the walls a tan color
Then they spent the morning putting the furniture together
The larger glider is new - the smaller rocker was Rhonald's when he was a little boy
Our "theme" is a vintage cars theme

We had a very fun and eventful weekend! The thing I have been most anxious about is getting the nursery ready before Nicholas gets here. With a lot of help from my parents we were able to accomplish this task in only 2 days. It was so much fun watching the room come together-a room I have been dreaming about! Rhonald and my dad did all of the labor and then my mom and I decorated the room. Although there has already been some rearranging of decorations (and I realized I did not think to buy any lamps) the room is basically done and ready for our son. We keep walking in there and talking about how real it all seems now. I spent some of today rocking in the glider and looking at all of the books that Cole has. I cannot wait to read them to him and lay him down for bed in his crib. One gift that was very special was that my mom took Rhonald's old rocker from his childhood and had it redone for Cole. It meant so much to Rhonald to be able to share that with Nicholas. We can't wait to see him rocking in it! Putting this nursery together was an amazing time and I know none of us will ever forget it!