3 Months

Wow! I cannot believe that Mary Lee is 3 months old today! Time sure does fly by! Mary Lee is doing great! I cannot believe how much she has changed over the past few weeks. I remember the first 5 or 6 weeks of Mary Lee's life...Griffin and I told everybody about how fussy she was. I remember thinking to myself, "When does this (having a child) become fun?" I know it sounds horrible to think that, but she was so fussy and we often did not know why. I remember just being completely exhausted and not knowing if I could bounce her, rock her, feed her, or swing her one more time to get her to stop fussing. Well, I am not sure if it was just something she had to grow out of or what, but Mary Lee is now such a happy baby. Don't get me wrong, she still has her fussy moments, but those moments are few and far between. Over the past month, Griffin and I have looked at each other many times and just expressed how blessed we are to have such a wonderful baby girl. She is so happy, and that makes us happy! Mary Lee, here are a few things I want to remember about you at this age:

• Your huge, mouth-wide-open smile
• The way you love just laying in the floor on a blanket on your back
• Our conversations during feedings, floor time, and car rides
• The way you open your mouth real wide and stick your tongue out when mommy and daddy kiss you
• Our nighttime feedings together when it is just you, me, and Jesus...Oh I how desperately pray for protection over you before I lay you down
• The way you suck on your hands constantly even though mommy worries about germs
• The way you now roll from your back to your side but when you roll back to your back you get scared
• Your ab work out trick (see video at end of post)

Here are a few pictures that Tori took of Mary Lee at 3 months:

Mary Lee, in just three short months, you have brought so much joy to mommy and daddy! You have become our world! We love you more than you will ever know or understand! Thank you for being such a precious, beautiful, smart, loving little girl. We look forward to watching you grow and change in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. I love you baby girl!

Merry Christmas!!

Mary Lee has had a wonderful Christmas!! We have done lots and lots of family Christmas things! Mary Lee has loved every minute of it! Tomorrow, we are going to Opryland Hotel in Nashville...I will post pictures from the trip!

Visit with Santa

Just hanging out in her car seat about to head out the door

Is that not the cutest face you've ever seen!?!?!?

Santa came to visit Mary Lee. She got a wagon, lots of toys and clothes, and a Vera Bradley backpack!

Back to Work I Go

Well, I have dreaded this day for quite some time. Tomorrow, I go back to work. I am not dreading actually going back to work because I love my job and have missed my students, but I am definitely dreading leaving my baby girl. I would not trade the last several weeks at home with Mary Lee for anything in the entire world. While being a new mommy is sometimes tiring, stressful, and hard work, the joy you get from having a child is undescribable. Mary Lee has become our world in a few short weeks. And now, to know that I will not be with her all of the time devastates me...It is bringing me to tears as I type. I want to spend every moment that I can with her right now as she is growing and changing so much. My only comfort right now is knowing that she will be well taken care of while I am working since my mom and Betsy Millington will be taking care of her...I could not ask for her to be in any better hands. Luckily I will only be at work for 2 weeks, and then it will be Christmas break, and I will be off for 2 weeks! Well, here goes...back to work.

2 Months Old

Well, Mary Lee is now 2 months old! I cannot believe it! She is growing and changing so much right now. I took her to the doctor today (Monday). She weighs 12 lbs 6 oz and is in the 86th percentile for weight. She is 22.5 inches long and is in the 56th percentile for height. The pediatrician said she is developing perfectly and has great muscle tone! She also had to get some shots, so both Mary Lee and Mommy cried!

Here are some things Mary Lee has started doing over the last few weeks.

• She has started smiling a lot. She has a HUGE gummy smile that is adorable!
• She is "talking" to us in her own CUTE way!
• She has slept through the night once, but she usually sleeps 5 or 6 hours straight and then another 2 to 3 hours. Getting up one time a night seems easy compared to our first few weeks home!
• She will fixate on things/people a lot more now.
• We can actually put her in her bouncy seat for about 30 minutes, and she will entertain herself by kicking and talking!
• She holds her head up GREAT and looks around at everything...She is a very curious baby!

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks!

Baby Dedication

On Sunday, November 8th, we dedicated our precious daughter to the Lord! We feel so blessed that God has chosen us to be the parents of this amazing little girl! Since before she was born, we prayed that Mary Lee would be an amazing woman of God who would give her whole heart to the Lord and live for Him! We truly feel that she will be a difference maker for the Kingdom! We were blessed to have wonderful family and friends there to support Mary Lee on her dedication day! The gown that Mary Lee is wearing is the gown that I was dedicated in 25 years ago! Thank you Tori for taking all of the pics for us!

Husband and Daddy

I am not writing this for any special occasion...just because I want to express how wonderful my husband truly is! Griffin and I have been married for almost 3 years (December 30th)! We started dating my senior year and his junior year of high school. He is absolutely the love of my life! God definitely picked him out for me because he truly makes me a better person. He pushes me to a be a better Christian...gaining a deeper knowledge of who Christ really is. He has so much Biblical knowledge that I am often amazed. He is one of the most intelligent people that I know...graduating from Auburn with a 4.0 in Biomedical Sciences and going on to Medical School at UAB. He is probably very uncomfortable reading this right now because he DOES NOT like attention/praise...He is one of the most humble people that I know (a quality I adore about him). We have walked through the past 3 years of life as a newly married couple. Through some of the trials of life that have surfaced over the past few years, Griffin has been my rock...He knows when I need him to pray with me, love me, hold me, or even just sit there quietly with me.

Now, we are walking through life as new parents! God has blessed us with a beautiful baby girl for whom we prayed for many months! I have seen how great of a husband Griffin is, and I am now seeing how great of a daddy he is! The way he looks at Mary Lee each and every moment he is with her simply brings me to tears. It makes me have just a small understanding of the way God looks at us and how much He loves us. When she is fussy, he holds her, plays worship songs on iTunes, and sings to her...She just gazes into her daddy's eyes as he sings...talk about bringing tears to your eyes! Griffin is in his Pediatrics rotation right now...I know he is exhausted, but every day, as soon as he walks in the door, he gets Mary Lee from me and just loves on her! He texts me all day wondering how his girls are...We miss him all day but look forward to the moment he walks through the door from the hospital every night.

I could go on and on, but I will close with this...Griffin, you are truly my best friend. I thank God every single day for your life and for bringing us together! I have so much respect for you, and I admire so many of your attributes. You make me a better person. Thank you for being the best husband and daddy! I love you!

1 Month and GO SAINTS!

Mary Lee turned 1 month old on Thursday, October 29th! We went for her 1 month check up today. Dr. Redmond said that Mary Lee was very healthy! She got her heel pricked and a Hepatitis B shot :-(. She was pretty upset but quickly got over it! If you will remember, Mary Lee was 7 lbs, 7 oz and 20 inches long at birth. She is now 10 lbs, 5 oz and 21 3/4 inches long! She has gained almost 3 pounds! We thank God every day that we have a healthy, beautiful baby girl! She is such a blessing!

As most of you know, we are HUGE New Orleans Saints fans! I should mention that the Saints are UNDEFEATED so far this season...I am not saying that will last, but we are enjoying it as long as we can! Griffin is on call at Children's Hospital tonight, so Mary Lee and I are going to my parents house to watch Monday Night Football as the Saints take on the Atlanta Falcons! Mary Lee is ready to cheer on the Saints in her new attire!

A SMILE!!

Mary Lee has smiled some, but it is usually in her sleep or more of an involuntary smile. Occasionally, here lately we have been able to actually get her to smile. Today, we got her to smile on camera! Enjoy the video of Mary Lee smiling!

UNASHAMED

At the young age of 2 weeks and 2 days old, Mary Lee Guice made her first debut at UnAshamed! For those of you who do not know what UnAshamed is, it is a ministry for college students in Tuscaloosa. Griffin's brothers, Taylor and Tyler, help run UnAshamed. Each week, hundreds of college students gather together to worship, hear the Word, and spread the gospel! Griffin and I are so proud of Tay and Ty and the way God is using them to touch lives in Tuscaloosa and around the world! Tyler spoke this week at UnAshamed, and he used Mary Lee in his message. He talked about the love of the Father and how if we will let God hold us in his arms, he will never leave us, nor forsake us...He will never let go of us...He will never stop loving us. In other words, just like an infant trusts us to take care of them, hold them, love them, etc...we should trust God to do the same! WOW! What a powerful message! Before we took Mary Lee to Tyler on stage, Griffin and I prayed over her...we prayed that God would use her at such a young age to touch lives just like we hope He does as she grows up! We also prayed that she would not wake up screaming on stage :-)! Our prayers were heard and answered because Mary Lee did touch lives and she did not cry or scream on stage! We are so proud of our baby girl!

Mary Lee gets the hiccups A LOT!! Check out this sweet video of her with the hiccups!

I also posted a new entry below.

Quick Update on Mary Lee

Mary Lee has brought so much joy to our lives in just the almost 2 short weeks she has been with us! Griffin and I just cannot get enough of our baby girl! She is so amazingly beautiful and such a good baby! She would be an even better baby if she slept better at night :-)! Oh well, Amy keeps telling me that the sleep/schedule will come with time. I am holding onto that right now during our sleepless nights!

Speaking of Amy, she brought lunch over Friday...a much needed good lunch! It was kind of strange with us both trying to eat lunch and taking care of our daughters! It is hard to believe we have been best friends for sooooo long and now we both have little girls...such a blessing! I look forward to our little girls growing up together!

Mary Lee loves her swing! She often even sleeps in it at night (Probably not the best habit to form, but some nights we will put her anywhere just to get some SLEEP!)

Mary Lee has arrived!

I obviously have not had much time to update the Blog since Mary Lee was born. She was born Tuesday, September 29, 2009, at 7:36 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 20 inches long. She is just absolutely beautiful! Griffin and I often just stare at her and say, "Where did she come from?" She is just perfect! I will write more about her later but wanted to at least post a few pictures! Enjoy!

Dear Mary Lee

A letter to our blessing from above:

Dear Mary Lee,

Mommy and daddy love you so much! We are so blessed to call you our daughter! Back in January, when mommy and daddy found out that God had answered our prayers of wanting a child, we were excited beyond belief. You see, mommy and daddy had fasted and prayed for days, along with our church. We fasted and prayed that God would bless us with a child in His perfect timing. During this time of fasting and prayer, God told us (through Pastor Pat) that our prayers of having a child would be answered. We were in amazement at just how awesome God truly is! When we confirmed that you were in fact on your way, we felt that an overwhelming blessing had just been given to us. You are going to be brought into this world in a few short days, and we cannot wait for your arrival!

Here are a few things mommy and daddy want you to know:

We will tell you about Jesus.

We will always love you beyond belief.

We will take care of you.

We will pray for you.

We will pray with you.

We will protect you.

We will be there for you.

We will read the Bible with you.

We will teach you.

We love you so much! We cannot wait to hold you in our arms. We will welcome you into this world soon, and we cannot wait to bring you home!

We love you,

Mommy and Daddy

She's Coming!

I went to the doctor today for my 38 week appointment. Mary Lee is measuring rather large, so Dr. Heath scheduled an induction for Tuesday! We have to be at the hospital at 8:00 Monday night, so I can be started on medication to soften my cervix. I will start pitocin Tuesday morning at 5:00! What a blessing! Griffin and I are soooooooo excited and ask for your continued prayers in the coming days! We cannot wait to meet our precious daughter!

Hospital Stay

Tuesday at about 3:00 pm I started feeling some pretty severe upper abdominal pain. I was a little scared about what it was, but pregnancy brings so many aches and pains that I tried to ignore it. Well, the pain lasted throughout the night. I could not sleep at all that night, and about 2:00 am, I started feeling very nauseated along with the abdominal pain. I started throwing up at about 5:oo am. I called my OB office Wednesday morning when they opened. They told me to come in right away. After doing a urine test, Dr. Heath told me that I was very dehydrated. She also did an ultrsound to determine if gallstones were causing the abdominal pain...No gallstones showed up. She then hooked me up to monitors to see if I was contracting. Well, I was definitely having contractions. So...Dr. Heath decided to send me to Labor and Delivery to be put on IV fluids for the dehydration and monitor the contractions. Finally, after 4 bags of fluids, I was no longer dehydrated. My contractions had also stopped. After bloodwork, they also found that my pancreatic enzymes were elevated. At this point, Dr. Heath decides that I need to spend the night in the hospital...ugh! Because of the elevated pancreatic enzymes, Dr. Heath orders that a GI doctor see me. He determines that I have pancreatitis. Common symptoms of this are abdominal pain, nausea, and vomitting (I had all 3). Pretty much the cure is not to eat so that the pancreas can rest and return to normal. I am now on a low fat diet so Mary Lee will get nutrients but my pancreas will not have to work too hard. I am now out of the hospital, but I am still not feeling great. Hopefully, I can recover the next few days and be ready to start school fresh on Monday. I am so ready to meet Mary Lee, but I am glad she did not make her grand entrance into the world this week! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!

30 weeks and Nursery Pics

Well, I am almost 30 weeks! I cannot believe how fast it is going now! We went in for a 4D ultrasound Thursday, and we got a few good pics. I am going back for another one Tuesday to try to get some better pics. I will upload 4D ultrasound pics after my appointment Tuesday. We saw enough to know that Mary Lee will be adorable!

The nursery is pretty much finished now...just need a few small accessories, so I am uploading pics! Thank you to Callie Ward for the AMAZING cross pictures and Jessica Turner for the BEAUTIFUL name canvas on the door (which will also be on the hospital door)...and thank you mom and dad for buying it! School is about to start back, so I finished the nursery just in time!