ONE MONTH OLD!!!

WOW! How quickly one month has gone by! Our baby Crockett turned ONE MONTH OLD on Wednesday, April 22! I have not had much time to blog since he arrived, so I have posted quite a few pictures. It amazes me everyday how much he has grown. He weighed 6 lbs 13 oz at birth and on Apr. 22 his weight was 8 lbs 8 oz! He is getting the chubbiest cheeks, which I love and want to kiss constantly, he is outgrowing his newborn diapers and some of my favorite clothes, which makes me VERY sad :( and he is starting to smile at us and really observe his surroundings. I think he is starting to look EVEN MORE like his daddy, but somehow, Chris doesn't see it. I am not sure how, since they are exactly alike! It is so much fun staying at home with him and watching this growth daily. I am truly blessed to be able to do this! We took our first road trip to Lubbock a couple of weeks ago and he did so great in the car! I drove the whole way (3 hours) without stopping on the way there and only stopped once on the way home! He was such a trooper :) He has also gotten to meet so many people important people in mine and Chris's lives. I wish I had gotten a picture of him with ALL of them! He still has his days and night INCREDIBLY mixed up... last night he fell asleep at 4:30 a.m. after Chris and I tried every way possible to make him close his eyes (and stay asleep after putting him in bed). It doesn't help the situation that he is colicy. If anyone reading this has any suggestions, PLEASE HELP!!! I love him so much, but would love him even more if he would sleep for a couple of hours BEFORE 4:30 a.m. Other than the no sleeping part, life with Crockett has been better than I would have ever imagined. I have forgotten how things were without him. I know the next months will go by just as fast and I look forward to all the new things he will do! We love you Crockett Christopher, what a precious miracle you are to us!

Also, congratulations to Chad and Sara Stone (Chad is Chris's cousin)! They found out this week that they are having a little boy, Richard Wade Stone, in September. We are so excited and wish them all the best in the months ahead. Crockett is very happy he will have another little Stone boy to play with!

CROCKETT CHRISTOPHER STONE

WOW! I finally have a few minutes to update this blog! SOOOO much has happened in the last week and a half... Crockett Christopher Stone FINALLY arrived! He kind of caught us off guard on the night of March 21. I started having contractions at about 5 p.m. and by 10:30 p.m. we were at the hospital, dilated to 5 cm! Not 15 minutes after we arrived, my water broke... and by 1:34 a.m. on March 22, we had our sweet baby boy! The experience was AMAZING! Chris and I both were smitten at once and just in awe that this little miracle had been growing in my belly.

When we returned home on Monday, my mom was there to greet us with lunch, a clean house and an extra pair of hands :) She stayed with us for the first week and was such a great help. I was scared to death that I couldn't handle things when she was there, how in the world would I be able to handle everything when she left?!?! The three of us took turns at night (he would stay up from 12 a.m. to about 6 a.m.) which allowed all of us to get a little bit of sleep. I figured mom would be really excited to get home and sleep all night long, but really it was so difficult for both of us to say goodbye. Chris even wondered if we could hide her keys! She definately saved us the first week. Since she has been gone, Chris' grandmother, Elwanda, has been taking such great care of us. She has brought us dinner every night. She even offered to come stay at our house at night! I told her to be careful what she offered, I might just take her up on that :) I don't know what we would do without his family (and our friends that are like family).

Even though the first week was very trying, it was absolutely wonderful at the same time. I love sitting in the chair holding Crockett, watching Chris hold him, listening to the tiny, wonderful sounds he makes, listening to Chris talk to him in his big, low voice (I usually hear him through the monitors and he doesn't know I am listening), seeing the pride and love in Chris' eyes, feeding him and hearing that sweet little "gulp", looking into his eyes, Crockett holding onto my finger, the unconditional love I feel for this little bitty human being every time I look at him.... There is nothing better.

Crockett had his first Dr. appointment this past Monday. He weighed 6 lbs 15 oz, which is up 2 oz from his birth weight! We were so proud of him, especially since he had some difficulty breastfeeding at first. He got his newborn pictures made. This was quite a comedy of errors :) He usually sleeps ALL DAY LONG, but the day I chose for his pictures, he was wide-eyed the whole time. He peed on his dad twice and pooped on me and the burp cloth. The second we left, he was sound asleep and did not wake up until 12:45 a.m. At least we got a bit of sleep that night! He has met both of his great-grandfathers (Chris' - Hotshot and mine - T-Pa) and his great-grandmother (Chris' - Elwanda) and we are waiting for a good day to take him to meet his great-great grandmother, Elwanda's mother, Grandma Welch. We are so lucky to have had so many friends and family members come and meet him. We are very blessed.

He will be going back to the Dr. next Wednesday for another weight check and some lab work. I hope daddy will be going with us, because I think I might cry. He is such a wonderful addition to our lives and I can't wait to watch him grow. I know it will go by so quickly, but we have so much to look forward to! He also had another little friend who was born four days after him! Arrah Addison Locknane was born March 26! Grady and Celeste Locknane are good friends of ours and the Luigs. How funny is it that all of our babies were born four days apart :) Cade and Crockett may have to fight over Addison... We will have so much fun next time we are all able to get together. Things will never be the same :)

Also, by the way Aunt Monica, that song always makes me cry.... even when I was just reading the words on your blog. I cried at it before he was born, and now that he is here, it makes me cry just a little bit harder. But I love it!