The Beach at Sunset

My mom and cousin, Jeyda, came in town this week to visit. They were a huge help with Blythe and gave me a wonderful break. My mom even took night shift for two nights and I got to sleep for two full nights! Jeyda is a pro with babies since she has four of her own so she helped out a lot and taught me a few things.

Since it's 30 degrees in Indiana where Jeyda lives, we went out to Clearwater beach at sunset and had a great fresh seafood dinner at Frenchy's. While we waited for a table we took a long walk on the beach. It was Blythe's first trip out to the beach but Brian said it would be mean to put her feet in the water. So we just took pictures with the sunset. She'll be a beach baby soon enough!

First Easter

We finally made it back to church this weekend! JJ bought Blythe a cute easter dress but she had to wear a sweater with it since it was cooler than it has been. She was adorable and her church debut proved it. She did great during the service, not interrupting or making noise in the back where we sat. Funny enough, she fell asleep during the worship music which was very loud. She woke up when Hal began speaking! After she got herself back to sleep, Hal decided to play the drums as part of his illustration in the sermon. I thought she was going to scream but she was just slightly startled, opened her eyes and looked around, and went back to sleep.



After church she met the Easter bunny (who seemed very nervous about holding such a small baby).





Later we met Meme and Popi for lunch at The Rusty Pelican. It was a beautiful day!

Meeting Great Granny and Grandpa

While Allison was in town we ventured up to Gainesville so the girls could meet their great grandparents. What would normally seem like a quick 2 hour drive up the road was a much longer trek with two babies in the car. After that experience I know it will be awhile before Brian and I decide to take any long car trips with Blythe. The girls did great though and the trip was a success.



As a bonus we even got to have lunch with Aunt Jane!

Meeting Cousin Calleigh and Aunt Allison

Brian's sister, Allison, was in town last week. She and her husband, Brian Stebbins, brought their youth group to Tampa for a missions trip. Blythe got to spend lots of time with Calleigh and Allison. I think she even learned some things from Calleigh, like how to use her lungs! Maybe it's a coincidence, but she has become much more vocal since last week and does not like to sleep during the day. Calleigh is only about 2 months older than Blythe so they will have a lot of fun growing up together. Blythe does wish her cousin lived closer though ;-)



We spent a lot of time in Meme's new car (bought especially for her new grandchildren!) After last week Blythe is definitely over her car seat.

Three Generations

Blythe had her first lunch out with Meme and JJ. She was a trooper since it was raining outside but of course she slept through most of the experience.

Bath Time

Blythe had her first real bath today now that her umbilical cord has fallen off. I can't say that she loved it, but since she's such a good baby, she endured it. We made sure it was quick and it was followed by a full body massage that put her right to sleep. What a grand life to be a baby!

Photos by Request

People keep asking us to see more pictures of our baby girl so here are a few.

She loves sleeping on her stomach



This is the face we get every time she wakes up... she can raise her eyebrows and grin at the same time while also scrunching up her whole body. We think she's part tree frog.


Here's a rare picture of her both awake AND smiling. It took a lot of tries to get this picture.


She is so content in her swing. She also loves her hands. Here she was so fascinated with her hands that we couldn't get her to look anywhere else.




Blythe is doing so well in her second week of life. She is settling into a more predictable schedule already which is great. She has stayed home with her daddy for a few hours two days in a row and managed to get only a little bit fussy when it's time to eat again and mom wasn't home yet.

She had her first lunch out with both grandmothers (JJ and Meme) yesterday. Later this week she will make a visit to Gainesville to meet her Great Grandparents. We are also really excited that her Aunt Allison and cousin, Calleigh, will be visiting this week!

Our First Outing

Blythe made her first trip out today. First we had a pediatrician appointment this afternoon. She's doing very well and is back up to her original birth weight. The pediatrician told me that I need to eat a whole lot more (5 full meals a day!) We'll see how that goes. Later we made a short trip to the mall. That's right, less than a week old and she's been shopping. Her daddy is going to love me for that. Days and nights seem to be a bit confused. She'll stay awake all morning and then sleep all afternoon. Then wake up at bedtime and want to stay up for another 3 hours. We're working on that. As I type Brian is attempting to keep her awake for another hour so we can put her down to sleep and hope that she sleeps in longer stretches tonight.Here are some pictures from today.

Introducing Blythe Arden Quimby

Blythe Arden is here!

Blythe Arden was born yesterday, 3/4/08 at 4:56 pm. It was a very quick delivery (and labor thanks to an amazing epidural - who invented that thing!) She was born after only 10 minutes of pushing during 3 contractions! We couldn't have asked for anything better! She weighed exactly 7 lbs and is 19 inches long. She is very alert - staying awake for the first 6 hours of her life yesterday, just looking around at everything going on. We are truly blessed with her and are thankful for what God is doing in growing our family.