Our little pumpkin!

Every year the Fessler family makes the short trip to Elijay, GA to get apples and pumpkins. It has become a fall tradition that started well before Mike got his driver's license. This year the trip was extra special because it was Will's first time. Here are just a few pictures of the fun that we had at Burt's Farm and Kernel Cob's Corn Maze.
P.S. You'll notice that I cut my hair. It was a total impulse, but I love it! It has made my life easier!

Tired Mommy!

Will after church on Sunday.

Being a mom is exhausting! I'm not complaining, it is a lot of fun and very rewarding. But it is crazy how fast each day goes by. Honestly, some days it feels as though I wake up in the morning only to look at the clock and see that it is time to go back to bed. All I do most days is feed and change Will, play with him, hold him and love on him and try to calm him when he is fussy. Who knew that could be so tiring?!
Will looking at the sign hanging over our couch. He looks at it a lot when he is sitting on the couch with you.

It might not seem like much to you, but yesterday I put Will down for his first offical nap in his co-sleeper. Now don't get me wrong, Will takes naps all day long. He will sleep in his boppy or swing or in my arms. I would like for him to be able to sleep in his co-sleeper or crib, eventually. So this was a big deal to me. Will has no real routine right now and I have been wanting to establish one so that he knows what to expect throughout the day. I just put him down for today's nap, so we will see how long that lasts.

Will is a busy man!

This past week has been so busy. Here are the highlights:
*Thursday, 9/25, I went to meet Rose. She is the art teacher from my school. It was so good to sit and talk with her. I was able to catch up on everything that was going on at school, but I also got to talk to Rose on a one-on-one level that we don't usually get to do at school. I was able to learn things about her that I never knew. I had a great time, thanks Rose!
Will and I at El Pollo Loco where we went to meet Rose.

*Friday, 9/26, Will had a doctor's appointment. Things went really well. He had gained weight, he now weighs 10 pounds 4 ounces. He also grew 2 inches, so he now is 21 and 1/2 inches. He is healthy and growing, in fact he is growing out of his newborn clothes and we are soon to move up to the next size diaper.

*Saturday, 9/27, My birthday!! Mike, Will and I went home to celebrate my birthday in Chattanooga. My whole family, except Linny and Seth:(, was there and we enjoyed sitting and talking with each other. We ate chili and hotdogs, my favorite meal, and watched football. The day was fabulous, but then again I love my birthday!


*Tuesday, 9/30, We slept through the night and Will slept in his crib for a little while! Can you believe it! About 7:00 that night I started our nighttime routine. I bathed, fed and rocked Will. Usually this has no effect on him, but this night it did. I noticed him falling asleep. Once I felt that he was asleep I put him in his crib, he fussed at first, but I picked him up and rocked him some more and he stayed asleep in his crib for about 45 minutes! Yeah! This is huge progress for us, since Will is sleeping in our bed. After 45 minutes he woke up and Mike decided to keep him up and play with him for the rest of the evening. I was ready to go to bed by 10:30 and nursed Will in the bed so that he would fall asleep. The next thing I knew it was 5:45 am and Will was ready to eat. He went 7 hours without eating! This was a short lived sucess, we went back to our 3 hour eating schedule on Wednesday night.

1 month old!

I can't beleive it! Will turned 1 month old yesterday. Its hard to imagine that a month can go by so fast, but for our family this month has been a little crazy. Will has done some new things in the past few weeks. He has gone to the hospital, funeral home and church. He has also visited my mom's school and Debbie's school as well as Publix to see Paul. He has gone out to eat at two resturants and celebrated Andrew's birthday. (Tomorrow we are going to Abigail's 2 year old birthday party and this weekend he will get to celebrate my birthday in Chattanooga) He has done a lot for such a little guy!

I Love You Aunt Karen!

Be vigilant, stay firm in the faith, be brave and strong. Let everything you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13,14

On Monday, September 15, 2008, my beloved Aunt Karen went home to be with the Lord after a battle with a respiratory disease. My family is still in shock.....Aunt Karen was such an important part of my family. It is still hard to imagine that she is not with us anymore. I have thought a lot about her for the past week and thought that I would pay tribute to her life.
First though, let me explain a little about my family. My dad has twin sisters, Karen and Sharon, and one brother, Scott. My dad and my two aunts have always been close. Each of them had two kids and along with my mom, they raised all of us like brothers and sisters. We all went to school together, played ball together, vacationed together, my cousin Holly and I even went to college to play ball together and ended up being roommates for a year. My family eats Sunday dinner together every week. So you can see, we are pretty tight. Aunt Karen was an integral part of making us so close, so her passing hit us all very hard.
But I want to share with you who she was. I want you to know why she was so loved, by not only her family, but by anyone who met her. (I've never seen more people in my life than were at the funeral home on Wednesday.)
Aunt Karen was a small lady. In fact, she was 4 ft 11 and 1/2 inches(she always added the half!) and she might have weighed 100 pounds soaking wet! But she had a huge heart! She was self-less, she always took time out of her busy schedule to make you feel special and you always knew that she loved you. She would come to anything important that was going on in our lives. She came to just as many of my ballgames, dance recitals, birthday parties and awards ceremonies at school as she did for my other cousins and her own kids. I can remember her taking me to piano lessons in middle school. I can also remember her coming to ballgames when Holly and I were in college with goody bags for each of us. She would send cards for every holiday just to say she was thinking about you. She hosted a baby shower for me this summer, she wasn't able to come because she was at home on bed rest, but she still wanted to honor me and make me feel special. She even made the trip to Hiram to see Will a week before she passed away. She didn't just do these things for me or my other cousins, she did them for friends also. One of the pastors that did the funeral told a story of Aunt Karen and Uncle Garland serving his own family that was going through a death just a few weeks before she passed away. She just loved people so much and she wanted them to know. I think that was her gift.
Aunt Karen, Uncle Garland and Will
My mom, all my girl cousins and my Aunts Sharon and Karen. This was a bridal shower that they helped host in my honor.

Aunt Karen was fun-loving. She always loved a good joke. She and my cousin Katie had a nose joke that seemed to run-on forever. Christmases were always fun because you never knew where the nose joke was going that year!
She loved sports, as does my whole family. She and my Aunt Sharon played softball growing up and my dad coached them. She also played basketball and a little volleyball. She loved watching sports also, especially Tennesee football and her nieces playing softball. Whenever we get together to watch football we always eat chili and hotdogs. This weekend I am going home to celebrate my 29th birthday with my family. I have asked to eat chili and hotdogs and watch college football. Its only fitting, Aunt Karen would have wanted it this way.
Aunt Karen at one of mine and Holly's ballgames at Tech.
Aunt Karen with Holly and I at a ball tourament in Florida. I told you she would go anywhere to support us!

Aunt Karen was someone that you could talk to. There were several times that I remember calling Aunt Karen for advice, or just calling her to tell her what was going on in my life. She never brushed me off, she always had time for me.
I'll never forget that about her. She was strong, she never complained when she was sick, and she loved her family and friends with a passion. The verse at the beginning of this post is one that was used to describe Aunt Karen at her funeral. It fits her perfectly. She was a special lady. I am honored to have called her my Aunt and I know I'm a better person for knowing her.
She left behind her husband(Garland), daughter(Ashley), son(Ryan), and dog(Buffy). Uncle Garland has been in the family for over 30 years now, and is one of my dad's best friends and golfing buddies. Whenever we go home to Chattanooga, Mike always looks forward to playing golf with my dad, Uncle Garland and Ryan. Needless to say my family is gonna wrap their arms around these three, and show them love and support and encouragement through this difficult time.

3 weeks old!

It is so hard to believe that Will is already 3 weeks old! Things are getting better around here. We are actually sleeping at night which is awesome! We have found that Mike has a magic touch and is able to comfort Will and help him fall asleep at night. My job is to get Will ready for bed which involves a bath, clean pj's and of course food. He is not sleeping in his co-sleeper or his crib yet. He tends to like to sleep cuddled up with Mike and I or in his boppy. We are fine with his sleeping arrangements for now, because it means that he is sleeping and not screaming!
We love the boppy around here!
I am learning how to get up each morning, take of Will and myself and start to get things done around the house. I'm still taking it slowly, I'm not cleaning the whole house each day or any thing like that. Just a small job here and there still gives me the chance to just sit and hold Will. I love doing this! The past two days Will and I have gotten out on our own for some short errands, this has been good for me because it has shown me that it can be done, even though it takes me forever to get ready to go!
Aunt Linny and Uncle Seth with Will. Look closely and you will see Lily in the background. She wasn't happy about her mom and dad holding Will.
Playing on our playmat
We are also learning more about Will and what he likes and dislikes. We have found that: he likes to take a bath, he doesn't mind swinging in his swing, he likes a pacifier, he hates being hot and he loves going outside. It is so funny! That kid can scream to the top of his lungs inside the house, but as soon as he goes outside he is quiet! Its strange, but whatever works, right!
Just a swinging!
Gran came to stay with us last week. She was a huge help and we loved having her spend time with us!
See Uncle Gordon, Will does have a shirt with a Gator on it!........If you look closely it reads, "LATER GATOR(s)":-)

Sleepless in Hiram

Mike and his lil man!
Me loving on my baby boy!
We are a little short on sleep here in the Fessler house. Master Will has made his presence known and he demands and gets all of our attention. I have had a couple of nights this week where I have sat up for two hours after feeding him. I would work so hard to try to get him to go back to sleep only to have to feed him all over again. Its like a never ending cycle! We have talked to every person we know that has a baby or has had a baby and have heard similar stories. Evidently, no baby sleeps for long stretches through the night until close to 4-6 weeks. And by that point, we are told, you have started to learn what their cries mean. We are still learning what position he likes to be held in, let alone why in the world he is crying. But, despite the sleepless nights, Mike and I are so in love with Will. Parenthood is a dream and has been a lot of fun. We love to just sit and stare at him and see all of his funny faces. We love to listen to his adorable baby sounds, and we love the way he smells!
Will at 9 days
This past week my Mom came to stay with us and help us out. She was amazing! She cooked, she cleaned and she played with Will so that I could shower. She even helped rock him to sleep at night so that I could sleep and baby-sat him for the first time so that Mike and I could go out for our anniversary. She taught Mike and I how to give Will a bath, with out using the fancy tub that we registered for. She also encouraged me to get out of the house and start moving around. We went shopping a couple of times and took a walk around the neighborhood. Because of this, I think I am less sore and starting to feel a lot better. My Dad came Friday night and the two of them stayed up with Will all night rocking him back to sleep so that Mike and I could sleep throughout the night. They brought him to me only when it was time to be fed and tried to catch a cat nap when they could. I am so grateful to them for this. It felt so good to sleep for 2 solid hours at a time! I have to admit though, I cried when my parents left. Its hard not living close to them. I have told Mike to be prepared to take lots of trips to Chattanooga.

We did hit some milestones this week: we lost the umbilical cord after 9 days and we took our first bottle on day 10(Mom gave it to him while we went out to eat).
We have also had lots of visitors besides my mom and dad. My cousins Holly, David, Katie, Ashley and Baby Jake came. Then Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Paul and Uncle Andrew came to visit. Aunt Tammy and Uncle Daniel, who by the way are expecting Will's cousin in late March 2009, have also been by. My Aunts Sharon and Karen and Uncles Terry and Garland as well as my Gran are also coming. Whew! We have been busy showing off our precious little boy!
Will and Jake
Two sweet cousins!