I told ya so...

Yesterday I told you I was addicted to cuteness. If you don't remember click here. Well, today...the cuteness continued. See for yourself.



Do you now see why next week is going to be TERRIBLE!!

I am addicted...

To cuteness that is. See, I love having a daughter. I am sure I would love having a son if/when I have one, but right now, I love having a daughter. Because I am always looking for ways to make her "cuter" or to find that perfect addition to any outfit, I love buying headbands for her. Well, my friend Michelle over at Love, 2 carseats and a minivan sent us these awesome homemade headbands. I love them all, especially the zebra print. As soon as I saw it, I knew what outfit Makayla had to try on. Want to see the cuteness? Feast your eyes here...

Don't you just want to eat her up! I do!!

Morning News

As you know, this is my last week of Maternity leave. While I would love to say that I have a routine worked out with the babes, if I said it, I would be not telling the truth. Yesterday, we tried some belly time...
and the jury is still out on if she liked it or not.

This morning I thought I would give the neglected Boppy a whirl....

Maybe if it wasn't the news on the tv she would still be interested?

I do have to admit, this kid melts my heart...

See why? I? could watch her sleep FOREVER!

Taking Back Monday

Thanks to Dandelion Wishes, Monday is not a bad word anymore!

This week it is a $25 gift certificate for a cute etsy shop that sells awesome jewelry by Rhonda Michaels Jewelry. I fell in love with the Seafoam Bubbles earrings. They take me away to the summer and the beach...both of which are better than the weather outside our windows right now! Go, see for yourself!

Silent Sunday Newborn photos

Happy List 1.23.11

I found this while browsing the Internet...it's a chance for you to say what makes you happy. SO, this is my first one...let's see what makes my happy list
1. My DAUGHTER of course! She makes me all kinds of happy. Even when she does nothing, she makes me forget what worries me and makes me happy.
2. Trying to plan a gift for my niece. She will be 4 this year. I heard about this play called Pinkalicious and thought it would be perfect! I can't take my own daughter, but since they are coming to a theater in my hometown, I thought I would take my niece. I don't think I have ever seen a play or anything (well wait, I might have seen Grease off of Broadway, but I digress) I thought it would be a great way to make a 4 year old feel very special.
3. My family and friends. They always make me feel loved and special no matter what I throw at them.

4. One more week of maternity leave makes me happy. One more week where my daughter gets my undivided attention!

5. My new blog friend Michelle. She called me her blog peep today. I wish we lived closer so we could become IRL friends. But, in the meantime, I will just keep reading her blogs and buying cool girlie stuff for my sweet babes!

If you want to play along with Happy List, be sure to click the button at the top of my post to link up with Mamarazzi. This week she's doing a special giveaway for one participants.

A month...

My dearest Makayla,

You are 5 weeks old officially tomorrow. You went to the doctor's yesterday and had your second Hep B vaccine. You cried for a hot minute, not when they stuck you with that needle, but when they injected the vaccine into your little thigh. You weighed in at 10 pounds 8 oz in the 90th percentile and at 23 inches, the 95th percentile. Your physical went well although the doctor heard what he called an innocent murmur. To make sure that it is nothing major, we go for an Echocardiogram on Saturday morning. A bunch of mommy's friends have been telling her that their kids had this murmur and that everything will be fine, so we are praying that will be the case. Aunt Bet (Nana's sister) said that there is a 10% chance that it is something to be worried about. However, you know me and my faith, I believe everything will be fine. I can't believe how much you have grown in five weeks! You grew from this...









And have grown into this sweet precious piece of love.

Unfortunately, my time on maternity leave is just about over. It makes me really sad that I can't be home with you all the time. To watch you amaze me every moment, to shower you with nonstop love. Trust me, it's not easy going back to work, and that day is going to be filled with lots of tears. The 8 weeks that follow will not give us a lot of time together, but we will push through and we will be fine. "Auntie" Carissa will be watching you, and mommy knows you are in good hands. She is coming to our house so that you don't have to go out into the cold and so that the environment is the same for you. This will be a big adjustment for both of us. Then, come April, will hopefully bring spring, and mommy going to work at 3 in the afternoon. While I won't be home to put you to bed ( I am still hoping you wake up at midnight for a feeding so that I can do it), we will have all morning together. As the weather warms up you and I will be going on walks, and I am sure Pop-Pop will join us too. But mommy will use the time as mommy and you time! April will also bring taking you to daycare, another adventure for mommy. But, you will only be there 3 hours a day, and I think it will be good for you. You will get to play with other children and maybe make some friends ;) Weekends will be family time, and of course visits with your cousin Shae, Nana and Pop-Pop and Uncle Ryan and Tia Rachel. You have no idea how much you have changed me. How you have put things in perspective for me. I truly believe that you are...

You have helped mommy put things in perspective, and focus on what is truly important. But, before we worry away our time together, just know that mommy loves you oh so much. I never knew I could love someone as much as I love you. You melt my heart over and over every day. I can't wait to watch you grow and your personality flourish. January is almost over, so next month you get your first Valentine's Day. Mommy can't wait! I love you my pumpkin and I hope you know that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today is the birthday of one of the most important women in my life. Ok, wait the most important woman, for whom without her, I wouldn't be here. It's my mom's birthday!
And, while I try to find the words to express how much you mean to me, and how much I appreciate EVERYTHING you do, I want you to know that Makayla and I love you very much. I hope that I can be a quarter of the mom that you are to her and then I will know I am doing something right. I love you mom! Have a great day!

Do I have a twin?

So, I stumbled across this blog written by a young lady named Michelle. The more I read it, the more I was like, wow! We have so much in common. First thing is obvious, our first names, except that spells it with 2 "l". Then, both of our nicknames are Shelley, although she spells it "Chelle." Then, our occupation is the same, we are both nurses. We both are moms (although she has 1and 1 on the way) we are both married to servicemen, and while she is currently also a full time student, I am currently applying to grad school! Wow! What a small world! So, go on over to her blog, learn a little more about her and enter her, "How did you meet your cupcake" giveaway!

You take the good, you take the bad

And there you have the facts of life. What did that show really teach us? Did it teach us how to fall graciously from grace and then how to get back? Did it teach us to value ourselves? This is going to be a spiritual post, one I don't make often, so if you need too, you can leave now.
Still there? Good. I truly believe God has spoken to me by giving me my sweet daughter. The journey of becoming a mom was the introduction to what he wants of me, but actually meeting her and seeing her is what he built the 9 months on. I am one to go to Church on Sunday. I try to never miss. Heck, my daughter was 10 days old when she went to her first Church service. Then we missed a couple of services because well neither one of us was getting sleep. However, we are back on the right track. I don't think that just going to Church is what God wants of me. I believe he wants me to be a more active participant in my faith. Faith, it's a 5 letter word that means so much to many different people. Part of my new year's resolution is to be a better me. Being a better me also includes the spiritual me. So, I am trying to do just that. I am looking for ways that I can be a better Christian. One way is to go to a Bible Study. A local Church has one during the day (will be perfect when I go 3-11) and this same Church also has Parish Nursing. What is a Parish Nurse? Well, it is "a registered nurse with a minimum of 2 years experience that works in a faith community to address health issues of its members and other members in the broader community or neighborhood." What a better way to serve God and my community than by looking into other ways to serve him. I am more interested in the Bible Study at this time, I don't want to bite off too much and then not be able to do something 100 percent.
Another part of my resolution to being a better me, is actually doing something that I say I am going to. How easy is it for me to say on a blog that I read that I am going to do something, have the intentions of doing it and then life gets in the way. I am trying to change that. I will start with my blog friend Kristen. Kristen started a new blog Krit's Krazy Life, as a way to start a new chapter in her life. 2010 was not a good year for her, so as a way to start fresh she created her new blog. In 2010 she got divorced, lost a child, and moved back in with her parents. While she did not ask for me to post her personal life on her, and while I am not asking you to feel bad for her, I think that it is important that we don't take anything for granted. I think that it is important to remember what we have in life, that it all can be gone tomorrow and that we need cherish it. So, if you want to read about some one's new journey, go on over to Kristen's page.

And just because this seemed like a heavy post...some pics of the sweet one.

Silent Sunday Newborn photos

1 month

After 9 months of carrying her in my belly and making that connection, I am here to tell you looks who is 4 weeks old...

Yep, that girl right there! My sweet little pumpkin is a month old. We go to the doctor's on Tuesday so I will blog then about her newest stats, oh yeah, and how vaccinations went. I can't believe how slow time seemed to go before she got here, and now that she is here and I want time to go slow, it seems to go by so fast!

Sleep

What is sleep? According to Merriam-Webster, sleep is "the natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored." I put that out there because I have no idea what sleep is. Yes, I do get some rest, a nap per se, but I cannot recall the last time I had 8 hours of continuous sleep. Wait, I can..sometime last March. Yep, right before we found out we were expecting. Now, I am lucky to get sleep in 3 hour increments. She was doing well, giving me at least 4 hours, but the last couple days, I was lucky to get sleep in hour increments before she decided she had enough. Take last night for example. She would fall asleep with us holding her, as soon as we would put her in her crib, she was wide awake! All.night.long. Finally, at 2 am, with me holding her, me sitting up in the futon, she fell asleep. Until about 4am. Then the process repeated itself. Finally at 6 am, she went back to sleep until 10am. Yeah, slept through our first 2 daycare tours. Called them, able to successfully reschedule one appointment, left a message about the other one. She is sleeping now...something I am about to do in a moment, so I will be rescheduling another tour. I guess we are staying in today...it's ok...apparently snow is on the way. So, be safe out there, and hopefully there will be sleep in our igloo tonight.

Resolutions...

This year, I decided against making a resolution for New Years. Why? Because I never kept them anyway. So, this year, I have decided to take matters into my own hands. While pregnant, I developed Gestational Diabetes and therefore lost weight while pregnant. Granted, I did gain some weight, but it was monitored and controlled. Just like my eating habits. While I can say that I don't miss pricking my finger, I loved how full I felt when I ate a nutritious well rounded and proportionate meal. I guess I can say that I must have done something right because my daughter is not yet a month old, and I am wearing clothes I haven't worn since my honeymoon and some of those clothes in fact have room in them. While I go to the doctor's next week and get my official weigh in,according to my scale I am down 55 pounds from March. If I keep eating like I did pregnant that means I could be down another potential 55 pounds in another 10 months. (Although I know it will be hrd to lose the next 55 pounds. So here's to eating healthy, exercising any way you know how and becoming the best self you can be. Hears to a New Year and New You!

Her mother's child

While the debate still stands with who the babes looks like...my mom insists she looks like me when I was born, and my sister R insists that she looks more and more like my mom, she is definitely my daughter. See..when I sleep no matter how hot or cold it is, I must always have a foot or something outside of the covers. Even when I was pregnant, something had to stick out. Even after the hubs covered me back up, the unexposed extremity would be exposed again. Babes does the same thing. Today, while taking a nap, I had her pjs covering her up all the way to her piggies, and then put a blanket on her...apparently, she didn't like it either...


And, just for good measure, here is a picture of the sweet babes with her Nana.

And just because...her cousin Shae...
I promise the babes is not crying because Shae is holding her. She's crying because I believe it was time to eat. Notice the cabbage patch kid..not really sure where that came from, but I started noticing it at Nana and Pop-Pop's when the babes was born.

Pink

This is what happens when you put your baby, wearing pink, into a crib, decked out in pink, which is in a room with pink curtains, that cast a pink glow...

Peaceful slumber

Sneak Peek...

Here is a sneak peek of the newborn photos that my friend Becky took...

I can't wait to see more!

Newborn Photo Session

Happy New Year! How are we bringing in the New Year, well with a photo session of course! While I don't have any photos to post (they are being taken right now) I will post them when I do. I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year and let you know what we have been up too! I hope you all had a Happy New Year. My sister and nephew are back in Chicago :( and next weekend we get to watch Shae as R and her hubs go to a hockey game. Other than that, tomorrow we look at a day care and try to start a plan for when I go back to work :( I wish I was fortunate enough to not have to go back to work, but I do have to go back. I guess it will make me cherish the time I have with Makayla all the more. Happy Monday!