First time at the beach

Memorial Day weekend was Providence's annual Singles Beach Retreat at Fort Caswell (near Oak Island). We had a blast spending time with the singles, getting to know them and experiencing Hailey's first time at the beach! She did pretty well with all of the changes to her surroundings. Ryan's parents, Mimi and Poppi, came down to the beach to help take care of Hailey so she had lots of fun hanging out with them.

We never actually took Hailey out on the beach because it was super windy most of the time we were there. There was a tropical storm off the coast so that made it more windy than normal. Poor Hailey couldn't quite figure out how to breathe with all of the strong wind. She kept losing her breath when the wind blew!

Here are a few pictures from our trip...

Sink bath! Our room on the first night didn't have a tub, so Hailey got a bath in the sink!

Hanging on the pier with Mommy...can you tell how windy it was?!

Hanging on the pier with Daddy

Toes in the sand for the first time!

Aren't I cute in my beach hat?!

Spending time with Poppi

Love my Mimi!

We had a great time on our first beach retreat and can't wait for next year!

2 months old

Hailey is officially 2 months old! We went to the doctor and she weighs 11 lbs 5 oz (65%), is 22 in. long (30%) and her head circumference is 37.2 cm. She also had to get her first round of shots. That broke my heart because I knew she was hurting but I know they're good for her.

Hailey has started "talking" to us a lot lately. She'll look at us so intently and just starting cooing and babbling at us. It's so cute. She loves to talk to her friend, Mr. Fan (the ceiling fan in our bedroom). She'll lay on our bed for a good 15 to 20 minutes just staring and talking to it. It's so funny! Here's a video of her "talking" that we sent to to Ryan at work.

She also loves to just lay on her back and kick and flail away. She loves to be moving!

She's trying so hard to roll over. She can easily get to her side but can't seem to get her arm out of the way to make it all the way over. I'm sure it'll happen soon!

First day at Providence

Didn't my girl look sweet for her first day at Providence?!

Yesterday was our first official Sunday at Providence Baptist Church. It was exciting to meet even more of the singles that we will be serving. Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly to us. I know this is where God has called us to be and He has continued to confirm it through little things as we've began meeting people and getting involved in the church. They've brought us dinners, given us encouragement, reminded us of their names numerous times and shown us that they want to get to know us and be involved in our lives and Hailey's. I'm excited for the beach retreat in a few weeks so that we can get to know them even better and continue forming relationships!

I love Fridays!

But not for the normal, end of the work-week reason. Now that I'm staying home with Hailey (HUGE blessing!) it's the start of our weekend. Ryan has Fridays off, since he technically works on Sunday. So, Fridays begin our wonderful weekends as a family! I love how Ryan gets up with Hailey for the early 6ish shift on Fridays and lets me sleep a little longer. I love how we can put her back down after her feeding and just relax and watch TV or spend time together while she sleeps. I love my little family!

This week was Ryan's first official week at Providence. Wednesday night they had their Singles service called The Gathering. We were officially introduced! It was so neat to meet some of the people that we had prayed for for so many months. We have prayed that the singles in the ministry would be open to us and the change in leadership. It was so exciting to finally meet some of those people. They were all so nice and welcoming. Tonight we have an event called The Oasis. It's kind of an outreach event that they can invite other singles to; there is dinner, a dessert contest, and swing dancing! How fun does that sound?! I'm excited that I'll get to meet more of the people involved in the ministry.

Plus, Grams is coming to keep this cutie! Yay for weekend trips to Raleigh!