Amelia Mayton Estess

born March 12, 20013

7 lbs. 11 ounces

 Amelia was born via scheduled section on a chilly Tuesday morning.  After what seemed like an eternity, Mom was escorted back for surgery.  About 20 minutes later, Amelia was delivered into the world by the fabulous Dr. Billy Johnson.  Everything with surgery went seamlessly, but sweet baby girl took a little while to "pink up."  She came out grey and her cry was pretty weak.  We were trying not to worry.  We knew you were responsive.  I just was afraid you would not scream the fluid off of your lungs with such a puny cry.  After a little time, the nurses brought her over and said everything looked great.  Unfortunately, we only's  had about 15 minutes with her in the room before the nurses realized her O2 levels were in the 80s.  What started as a 4 hour trip the NICU, turned into a 3 day stay!  We were unsure what the exact issue could be, but Amelia's chest xray showed fluid on her lungs and her white count was slightly elevated. 

Because of her stay in the NICU, we have very few pictures from our time at the hospital.  In fact, brother and sister did not even get to meet sweet baby girl until the day after we returned home from our hospital stay.  However, we really enjoyed our quiet time visiting with Amelia in the NICU and resting between those time.  We were so excited because Amelia was released to us for our last night in the hospital.  All seemed right with the world after we were reunited.  Those 24 hours in the hospital with our sweet girl were some of the happiest of my life so far.  Maybe it was new baby love or just the emotional release from waiting for her to well enough to leave the NICU.  Either way, our last morning in the hospital, I was literally on cloud 9.  I held my sweet baby and soaked up all the time I had missed getting to know her the week before.  Mom, Dad, and baby headed out and spent our church day and night at home just the 3 of us.  The next morning, the real fun began as we welcomed home the siblings!!

To say these two are smitten with our new sister would be an understatement.  David is an incredible helper.  Though he often is in his own little boy world, he has truly enjoyed helping me feed her, hold her, and soothe her when she is fussy.  Evie Marelle has fallen head over heels and is just eating up the big sister role like nothing I have ever seen.  She is constantly calling them best friends or calling her "my precious girl" or just gushing with joy over Amelia's cuteness.  I am quite shocked that neither child has really missed a beat yet.  Amelia has just seamlessly slid right into our family and everyone acts as if she has always been here.  What a tremendous blessing!!

Amelia!!!  How we love you so.  Everyone thinks you are your Daddy's clone.  You definitely have his eyes and inherited the Estess cowlick.  I see a bit of your sister in your sweet face as well!  You are such a wonderfully easy baby.  We have hit the ground running since you entered our lives.  I had you at the library with the big kids at 9 days old.  You have already attended 3 baseball games in your first month of life and been to the Tennessee Aquarium before you turned 6 weeks!!  You never have cried inconsolably and absolutely have never fussed without a reason.  As soon as the problem is resolved, you are set to go.  I am so thankful that you are a great sleeper.  You have been known to fight sleep a good bit, but once we can get you down--you are out for the count.  You slept 5 hours in the hospital and slept through the night at home by 4 weeks.  You only normally get up once a night and sleep completely soundly between feedings.  You love to be swaddled and prefer to sleep on your side.  You don't enjoy having your diaper changed and you are slowly warming up to your baths.  You definitely love your pacifier and it is a staple for us throughout the day.  I try and hold you as much as possible.  It would be quite easy to put you in the swing in order to deal with the constant demands of your older siblings, but I am treasuring your time as a newborn and infant.  I do not want to miss a moment.  You are already smiling and have even giggled a few times.  I hope to do my best to document your sweet life in our little family.  Life with three is busy busy busy, but I promise I am trying to take as many pictures as I can!!!!! 

David's 5th year of life was a huge one for the bud.  He has grown up so much in the last year and blown us away in so many ways.  Over the past year David lost his first tooth, learned to swim, ride a bike, and read!  He is one proud boy and though often tentative at first, has surprised us with his confidence in the face of new milestones.  He was a fish in the pool this summer and never missed a beat in swim lessons.  This completely shocked his Mama considering how cautious he has been in the past.  David also got a bike for his birthday.  It took him a few weeks to attempt tackling this new feat, he felt the bike was bigger than he expected it to be.  However, the balance bike has paid off in full.  After 3 times around the parking lot with Dad's assistance, he took off on his own and never looked back.  The boy has never fallen and is in love with his new found independence.  Becoming a beginner reader has completely taken me by surprise.  He led the brigade on this and began requesting help in that department.  Before we knew it, he had blown through a beginner's reader set and was picking up on new words on his own everyday.  To say the least, he is a quick learner!!

In many ways, I cannot believe my first born is 5.  This was the first birthday that really hit me hard emotionally.  He is a true boy and any ounce of toddlerhood he was once held is long gone.  His interests have remained pretty consistent.  Legos, police, army, and now superheroes.  It is amazing how quickly he can assemble a new set of legos and follow the directions with no help at all.  David is also costume obsessed and immediately strips down after school into some sort of get up.  Though he can play extremely well on his own, he has graduated to a full rough and tumble boy as he runs around the house jumping off furniture and making huge messes with my couch cushions.  He loves to play pretend and has an incredible imagination.

David continues to prove himself to be the most mature, responsible child on the block.  We often refer to him as geriatric because the way he processes things is just so far beyond a typical 5 year old.  He is very concerned with being responsible, doing the right thing, pleasing his parents, and keeping everyone else in line.  He is a man of justice and loves for his younger more precocious sister to be put in her place by Mommy or Daddy.  Funnily, I often get a pat on the back after disciplining EM!  This year he has been asking for extra homework at school and really matured in his desire to take care of things around the house.  He LOVES to help his Dad to any sort of project and will clean his room anytime he is asked.  We will see if this lasts into his tween years :).

Last and not least I would like to record the fact that David accepted Christ as his Savior right before Christmas.  It was a really special and sweet night I hope to always remember.  We have presented the gospel before and his need for salvation, but he has not seemed interested until recently.  After praying to receive Jesus, he was overcome with such excitement.  He could not stop hugging and kissing me, it was really precious.  All this to say, his childlike interest in the things of the Lord has really encouraged my faith.  I pray that he continues to grow in his understanding of God's love and redemptive grace.  What a year for our boy!!  Thank you Lord for bringing him this far and equipping us as his parents to raise him in your truths.