One month and growing so fast...

At Mattilee's two week doctor visit, she had already gained about a pound over her birth weight, which was great news. I knew she looked like she was gaining weight, but it was great reassurance to know she was getting the nutrients she needed, especially since we wouldn't see the doctor again until her 2 month checkup. The first month flew by so quickly. I guess it's true what they say, time flies when you're having fun, because Matt and I were and still are having the time of our lives with her. Matti was born on March 2 and on the 30 a sweet friend from our small group brought us dinner. She had just gotten a new camera that she wanted to try out so she took lots of pictures of Matti. On April 2, Matti's 1 month birthday, friends Nikki and Bradley came over and Nikki also took lots of precious pictures of Matti. It's so great to have these special pictures from her first month! I'm thankful to have sweet friends that love to take pictures:)

Settling In

Ready for her first outing

Napping with Daddy

First time to meet cousin Addie Brown

First introduction to cousins Claire Kate and Trey

First bath

Meeting my grandmother

With Matt's grandmother

It was so good to be home with our new, precious addition. We experienced lots of fun "firsts" with Matti. For example, introducing her to Molly our lab, her first bath, first nap with Daddy on the couch, first time in the swing, the bouncer, her first outing, etc. We also had lots of guests the first few weeks. Couples from our small group at church brought us dinner for the first two or three weeks that we were home. This was so nice! Not only did we not have to worry about dinner plans but we also got to hang out with sweet friends every night. Some of our other special guests were of course both sets of grandparents, as well as both great-grandmothers and cousins Addie Brown, Trey, and Claire Kate.

Home Sweet Home

Although we had a wonderful visit in the hospital with the best nursing staff one could ask for, we were very ready to get our sweet girl home. For her trip home, she wore the same outfit I wore home from the hospital. I had so much fun getting her nursury ready with Matt and my parents and I couldn't wait to bring her home to it.

Matti's Birthday

After nine months of excitement, prayers, preparations, and anticipation Mattilee Aliza Hope was born on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 12:39 pm. She weighed seven pounds, nine ounces and was twenty-one inches. She was named after my sweet, precious grandmother. Her name was Mattie Lee, but everyone pronounced the two names together as one so we just named her Mattilee. Putting the two names together also allowed us to incorporate another family name as her middle name. Aliza was my great-grandmother's name and she was such a special lady as well. Her delivery and the hours that followed were such a sweet time for us. We had been praying for her and waiting to meet her for so long. Now all of our questions about if she would be healthy, how much she would weigh, who she would look like, her temperament, etc. could be answered. I remember feeling so overwhelmed with joy in the hospital. I still get that feeling when I think about how much the Lord has blessed us with this sweet baby girl. It was evident that she was already so loved. She had so many visitors in the hospital that would take too long to list. Matt was such a great daddy from the beginning. As soon as he held her, it was written all over his face that he was in love. He took care of everything to make sure Matti and I were comfortable and happy and still does!

Better late than never

Matt and I were given the sweetest gift on March 2, 2010. A sweet baby girl, Mattilee Aliza Hope. I'm hoping that by starting to blog, our friends and family that can't see Mattilee very often will still stay up-to-date on her life happenings. I should have started this before she was born but as the title of this posts states, better late than never I suppose. Mattilee is now four months old. I will attempt to post all of the fun and important events since she came into our lives and forever changed them.