NICKNAME:
Shay earned herself a nickname. Her daddy and I were watching her spastically kick & flail her arms and legs during a fussy fit one day. I commented that she looked like a bug when it gets flipped over on its back and kicks its legs frantically in an effort to turn over. So we now call her "Shay Bug." It's caught on...the extended family now calls her that too, hehe!
VISIT FROM GRANDMA:
My mom visited for a week at the beginning of April and was so excited to meet her first granddaughter. Shay enjoyed all of the extra attention and cuddle time (and when I say "extra" I really mean "constant!"). Her parents enjoyed a few extra hours of sleep while Grandma helped out. Here are some pics of the visit:
Grandma Pam holding Shay for the very first time
Poopy diaper for Grandma!
Grandma Pam, Shay & Mommy
Two pretty ladies
PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS:
While my mom was in town, we also took then 3 1/2 week old Shay to get her first professional photos taken. She did really well and, I have to say, is one photogenic baby! I'm glad my mom was there to help out...I was too much of a wuss to bring her by myself in case she pitched a major fit. Here are some of my favorite shots (the tutu is courtesy of our friend Judy who is a multi-talented dancer and seamstress!):
My favorite of the bunch...She's gorgeous. And yes I am biased but I can't stress enough: She's GORGEOUS!
Reminds me of an Anne Geddes photo
Mommy & Shay Bug...don't really like the shot of myself but other people seem to like this photo so here it is
Ballerina Baby
Cute, cute, cute!
LOVE the look on her face!
NASHVILLE FLOOD:
Like I said above, SO much has happened in the last month not the least of which was what I've heard referred to as the "1,000 Year Flood." Aptly named because something like this was estimated to occur only once in a 1,000 years. On Saturday May 1st, Nashville and the surrounding areas flooded after days of nonstop, heavy rainfall. I have never seen anything like it (and hope I never do again).
Jeff was out working for Copycats for Kids and my friend Kristen was over at the house hanging with Shay and me when we caught on TV that I-24 was flooded at the Bell Road exit. There were semi trucks and a lot of cars trapped in the floodwaters and getting tossed around like toys. For those not familiar with this area, there really isn't a lot of water right in that vicinity. There is a small creek that flows around there but not right by the interstate itself so we couldn't even fathom where all this water was coming from except the shear amount of rainfall. Kristen and I watched as a large structure that looked to us like a mobile home (which we later found out was a unit from a local school) was tossed around in the raging water until the roof came off.
Jeff's parents and sister & her husband all live in Antioch off of that exit but were all thankfully okay and sustained no flood damage. Jeff's folks got stuck in their subdivision as the road all around them flooded but they were high and dry as their house sits on one of the highest elevations in their neighborhood. They did end up missing their much anticipated Jimmy Buffet concert that night but it's sort of funny now when everyone realizes just how trivial that is in the grand scheme of things.
Around 9:00pm on Sat. May 1st, our next door neighbor came by and told us that they were evacuating our neighborhood because of oncoming floodwaters. Jeff and I hadn't been watching the news for a few hours after having watched coverage of the Antioch flooding so we didn't realize our community was at risk at the point. As our neighbor informed us, police were in our area advising us to evacuate. There was no water on our street and we sort of brushed it off as people being paranoid.
However, a couple of hours later, the water slowly started coming down the end of our road. Our subdivision became a swarm of people outside talking with neighbors, evacuating their homes and generally freaking out. Our next door neighbors tried to leave in their car but ended up turning around and coming right back because the roads at both entrances to our community were flooded. They ended up leaving by boat. We made the decision to stay put as we have a 2 story house (many of those who left have 1 level homes) and figured that even if some water got downstairs, we would be okay. We proceeded to put Shay to bed and then run around like crazy preparing things just in case. Jeff moved as much as possible upstairs while I packed bags in case we did need to catch a boat out to the shelter.
Now, in case you're wondering, the decision to stay was made out of the assessment that the water wasn't coming really quickly and we didn't want to take our 7 week old out in a boat through nasty sewage & gasoline filled floodwater to a shelter with hundreds of people, some of who I'm sure could have passed on some sort of illness. We were also afraid of running out of formula and diapers for Shay if we had to stay more than a couple of days since we couldn't pack a lot. Jeff waded through the water and talked to a couple of police officers who were staying all night in boats in our subdivision to get any people out whenever they wanted so we knew we had a "Plan B." Several of the folks on our street decided to stay as well. One neighbor, a single woman who lives across from us, asked us to take her cat while she evacuated. He stayed in our walk-in closet since our cat didn't like him and he didn't like our dog.
Well, we pretty much stayed up most of the night monitoring the flooding and talking with neighbors and police. By Monday afternoon the water had covered most of our yard and was slowly creeping up to our front & back doors. We had turtles and minnows swimming around in front of the house, the driveway and the backyard! The Cumberland River is blocks away from our subdivision and there are multiple ponds around the area which had swelled to the point of flooding into the yards of peoples' homes that border them. At this point, we were a heartbeat away from flagging down a boat but Jeff went to talk with the police again and one said that they thought the water had stopped rising. Once he got back, we looked and the water line had stopped literally 1 inch from the cracks of the doors of our house and Jeff's car door in the driveway. We set a rock out and checked back 15 minutes later and the water had receeded a few inches. Then it slowly started receeding even more. Talk about a close call!
Here is a video I took on my cell phone of our street:
We were so very, VERY fortunate and ended up being one of the few houses in our area that didn't flood inside. All around us, it ranged from a little bit of water in peoples' garages to complete loss of entire homes. Our area was among the hardest hit during this mess as were Bellevue and Antioch. The Opryland Hotel, Grand Ole Opry and Opry Mills Mall, just 3 miles from us, all flooded so badly that they aren't estimated to re-open for months to a year. Seeing the inside of the beautiful garden atriums of the Opryland Hotel full of dirty water and destroyed was so sad as it has always been one of my favorite places in Nashville. But not nearly as sad as seeing the homes just blocks from my house in my very subdivision just ruined. People have been picking through the mess tearing up carpet, drywall, etc. while trying to salvage anything. Below are some pictures I took during the whole mess:
View of the end of my street
Our front yard before the water completely covered it
Fish swimming around IN OUR DRIVEWAY
View of the entrance of our subdivision a few days after the flood
The devastation in the aftermath of the flood just blocks from our house
This gives just an idea of how peoples' homes were destroyed
We couldn't get out of our neighborhood for several days as the flooding was too dangerous on the streets around us. Thankfully we had enough supplies for Shay and enough for Jeff & me. We must sound like parrots repeating over and over just how lucky we got to have zero damage.
All over Middle Tennessee, so many others were not as fortunate. Some lost homes, some even lost lives and loved ones. It is absolutely heartbreaking. Nashville and surrounding communities will need help for months to come. Please consider donating money, goods and/or time. So many area churches and organizations are banding together to help flood victims. Check out Hands on Nashville and the Middle Tennessee Red Cross websites to see how you can help. You can also check out our local news station websites News Channel 5 or WSMV for more information and video clips.
While I really hope to move away from Tennessee someday down the road, a couple of things I really love about the city are the faith and friendship. People openly talk about God here. People also seem to be more willing to help each other out and get involved. I'm assuming that's how it came to be known as "The Volunteer State." Never has this been so true today. All over I see people helping people in ways that amaze me. No one ever wants to meet out of dire circumstances but a small good that has come out of this mess for us has been meeting so many of our neighbors. For years we've lived on this street and never met some of the people living just houses down from us.
Please keep Nashville and Middle Tennessee in your thoughts & prayers.
MOTHER'S DAY
Well my first Mother's Day was a busy one as Jeff & I hosted his family for dinner. I made a full meal & dessert and we all enjoyed hanging out and watching Shay Bug. I received some sweet cards & wishes from friends and family...thank you all! "Surreal" seems to be the only word I can use to sum up this whole experience of being a new mom. I can't believe we finally have our little baby girl. I am the most blessed woman in the world to not only be a mom, but to be the mom of Shay in particular. I love her so much! My gifts from Jeff were some money to go shopping (woohoo!) and a sterling silver name necklace that spells "Shay" which I'd been wanting for a while now. I still haven't gotten it yet because it was made and shipped from Jerusalem. Fitting since my other favorite piece of jewelry, my wedding band, has diamonds from Tel Aviv, Israel. My friend Kristen gave me some pretty flowers, Jeff's folks got me a zip up hoodie (which, for those of you who spend any time around me know I live in those things) and my mom got me a beautiful sterling silver necklace with a tiny silver baby bootie containing an aquamarine stone (mine and Shay's birthstone) with Shay's name engraved on the bottom of the bootie. So cute and meaningful. Can't wait to wear it with my other necklace...neither will be coming off :-) I'm bummed that in all the running around cooking, cleaning & getting ready to host dinner, I never got a picture of me with Shay on my first Mother's Day. However, I got some other shots which I'll share:
Shay with Papa & Mimi (apparently Papa's hand is fascinating)
Aunt Julie holding Shay Bug
Fast asleep on Mimi
SHAY BUG:
And finally, an update on my favorite subject...Shay! Our baby is now 8 1/2 weeks old. In the last week, she's begun to smile, coo and drool!
We are loosely following some of the EC ("Elimination Communication") principles as outlined in the book Diaper Free Baby. We have a little baby toilet seat that goes on top of the regular toilet that we put her on and she goes almost every time...smart cookie! While she goes in her diaper too, it's so nice to save on some diapers on occasion and she doesn't have to sit in a wet or dirty diaper as often if we can get her on the potty in time. Potty time has become our favorite because, for some reason, it's when she coos & smiles the most. We joke that she's like her daddy because he's a pretty happy camper after going to the bathroom too, haha!
My heart lights up when I see that adorable little smile. There really isn't anything else better in the world than seeing your baby healthy & happy! Next week we go to the pediatrician for a round of shots...I am a nervous wreck just thinking about it. I hate even seeing the dog get shots. I know I'm going to be a mess when they stick her and she starts crying! Thankfully her daddy is cool about those kinds of things and will be the one to hold her.
I'll close this ridiculously long blog entry (that took me a few sessions to write) with the birth announcement I Photoshopped and had printed through Vista Print:
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