The BEST daily grind

"Extra" time doesn't exist, so I've learned. "Making" time is what I'm doing. I love to blog, especially about my adorable youngin' so I must, must, must be better about this! I have just closed out two of my four online classes and couldn't be happier! I will NEVER do that again...and please hold me to it! I feel like I have spent every spare moment that I haven't been feeding or taking of Grace Louise on the blasted computer grading papers. Did I already say that I will NEVER do that again?!?! Now it is tax season and working on the business taxes... always something. Can I just veg for a little bit?

I went to MOPS yesterday, had coffee with my bestest this morning, and a wonderful visit with my brother this afternoon. Making time is good. I'm trying to get up every morning before Grace Louise to steal away a few moments of quiet time. I'm more than 50%... not too shabby ;-) I'll try not to mention this struggle with feeling overwhelmed every time I blog, but seriously, is this new balancing act not a major life adjustment for parents??? A million people warned me, "your life will change". There is no doubt about that! Somebody should have slapped me- what did I do with all my time before she was born?

The daily grind, though, is made much sweeter with this extra love in our family! I've had these pics edited on the computer for a couple of weeks now, so I'm eager to get them out. Enjoy.

How sweet is this? Triston made GL a Valentine's Day card.

And here she is reading it while her V-Day monkey is singing "Buttercup".

This book teaches her how to count to five in English, Spanish, and French.

She's more interested in how it tastes. Teething.

Morning kisses for mommy!


Good morning, Sunshine!

This was the first pic of the morning. Couldn't quite get those eyes open yet!

This crazy thing behind her in all the morning pics is a rice sock Jimmy made me when I was pregnant (for heat/cold therapy). It comes in handy. I use it to mimic my hand on her while she is sleeping and also as a barricade to keep her from rolling off various pieces of furniture :-)

Holding on to the silver fox.

Hanging out with mom on the office desk.

Hats and Hair Bows

Momma got paid (wahoo!!!)... so we took a little trip downtown to the boutique last week and bought some pretties. A new hat and hair bows with interchangeable flowers!

Playmates

I love watching Grace Louise interact with her friends! There are clearly no age requirements for play dates! She thinks Addi is so funny, especially when she blows raspberries! She's learning to share- letting Joanna wear her new hair bow. Trey treats her like any sweet big brother would (don't ask me... couldn't tell you a thing about sweet big brothers! ha!) It's pure entertainment hearing Sophie say her name. And since Carson is the same age, they've got so much in common!

A song in honor of all of Grace Louise's cute little friends...

Say, say, oh playmate,

Come out and play with me

And bring your dollies three

Climb up my apple tree

Slide down my rainbow

Into my cellar door

And we'll be jolly friends

Forever more, more, more more more!

Grace Louise and Addi Fann

GL and Joanna Banana

Trey Michael

Sophie

Hot Cakes

AKA... Carson Joyner

Cling to what is good!

One thing that undoubtedly changes when you become a parent is your personal time. “Alone time” with God, specifically, has changed and is much harder to come by… mostly because, well, I’m never alone! Realizing that God is so much greater than the box I like to keep Him in, I prayed that He would begin to reveal Himself to me in the small, seemingly mundane, day to day events. I prayed that my eyes would be open to see and my heart open to learn in unconventional ways. My first lesson came Saturday morning… Cling to what is good.

When my hungry little munchkin woke up, it didn’t take her long to ring the breakfast bell! She squirmed around restlessly in her bed and as soon as I picked her up- mouth open, hands flying, she went to reaching for the dairy! Much to her dismay, a diaper change was in order! After taking care of business, I nestled her in the bed, arranged myself, realized I was all twisted up in my nightgown, rearranged, and by that time, she was screaming her head off (mouth still wide open, hands still flying). As I came close enough for her to nurse, she grabbed ahold of my breast with both hands and wasn’t letting go! Clinging doesn’t even begin to describe the grip!

Romans 12:9- Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

I find it most interesting that this passage does not say “Do what is good”, but instead uses a really committed word, like cling. God doesn’t want us just to do good, but to cleave or unite to those things that are good. The passage goes on to give examples of what is “good”- brotherly love, fervor in serving the Lord, hospitality, rejoicing in hope, etc.

Our small group is super excited about our new focus for 2010- doing good for others. Our first step was a service project for the community. Below are pics of us working hard to clean up a transitional housing project for the Lake Wales Care Center.

11-12 Weeks

Feeling much more sane than the last time I posted. A few days ago I woke Jimmy up at 4 in the morning to ask him if he paid the water bill. Crazy!

I took Grace Louise back to the doctor on Monday morning. She has been having diarrhea on and off for weeks now. The doctor thinks that she is sensitive to dairy proteins that are coming through my breastmilk. We are awaiting test results. She has never had a fever and seems to feel fine in regards to that issue. It will be nice to get it resolved, though, and to have much fewer poopy diapers to change!!! Between that and the gobs and gobs of drool this little woman produces, you might not think she smells like a sweet little baby right now... unless you're her mom (or Daddy, BeBe, Pops, or Lala). Mmmmm- we love her to pieces!

13 weeks old now and I've accepted "3 months". Are they 3 months when they are 12 weeks or do you add three months to the date she was born? (If that's the case, then February 1st was her 3 month BDay!) I prefer to count in weeks; it doesn't sound so old! I must get pictures taken soon!

I really need to read up on the milestones that babies typically reach in each month so I know what to expect. I was so excited when GL rolled over (about two weeks ago) and then started to wonder if she should have done that before now. She's not too fond of tummy time, although she is starting to tolerate it more and more now that she can hold herself up a bit higher on her forearms. She loves to stand up, sit up, lay on her back and kick... heck, she loves it all! "Ninny" is probably going to be her first word- or momma. We'll see. She loves to eat ninny and opens up wide for kisses! Car rides are improving now that she grabs her toys and eats them... keeps herself entertained. She is "talking" so much right now- sounds like a raspy little monster half the time and an angel the rest. It is so neat to hear her voice. I wonder if she will have a squeaky little voice like me. As my wonderful husband informed me, I sound like a "nasally hillbilly". Great.

And, of course, my favorite time with her is still morning. She gets in the bed with us after her 1st feeding of the day (around 6-7am) and goes right back to sleep. She's clearly showing affection more with her hands- grabbing my face and snuggling close to mommy on the pillow. It just doesn't get any better than that!

Oh yes, did I mention she is about 13 1/2 pounds, almost 25 inches long?!?! Big girl.

Cousin love.

Ready for church!

"Hey, I've got an idea!"

This was the first day she grabbed her taggie book and put it straight in her mouth.

My camera was close by!

"I have feet!"

"Look at all I can do!"

This is her serious face. She loves her little bear in her bouncer. Last night she almost bounced right out of there! Daddy had to strap her in.

Her last bath in the sink-tub. Too big!

Plus, now she likes to splash!

Hangin' out with Uncle Chris and trying to figure out what in the world that creature is!

Rolling over for the first time (well, maybe second).

Finally made it to the Bumbo seat.

Yes, my child is watching TV... and she likes it.

She's trying to tell Daddy which channel she likes best ;-)

"Oh my goodness! A talking cow!"

Starting to recognize the dogs- and reaching for them.

Her new aquarium from Aggie.

A new Moby position- facing out and lovin' it!

3 months old!

Every little girl wants a pony, right?! Lala bought her this talking, sleeping, snoring horsey and she loves it!

Blogspot, Blogspot. Oh where have you been?

I had my first (or second) meltdown as a mother this evening. I have been entirely too busy lately and am frustrated at myself for it! I took on some extra classes with UOP and have been swamped with taxes. My house feels like it is caving in on me... why can't it just clean itself?? My sweet, precious baby girl has a stuffy nose, is teething, and has undiagnosed diarrhea. Poor thing. My car needs work and so does my body. Welcome to motherhood, right?

I really don't believe motherhood has to be that way, though (at least not most of the time!). I have simply fallen in a hole (and I think I hit my head on the way down). I've overextended myself and underplanned. I've underestimated how much time, patience, and attention the job of mothering requires, alone. I'm quickly learning how much I can handle without compromising time and attention for my daughter. She's my first (and best) job... everything else can wait. For this little bit of wisdom, I thank every parent in this world who has humbly admitted their regret for not taking more time with their family.

A great al anon principle- "You can't be good for any one else, if you aren't good to yourself". Resolution #2: steal a few moments alone each day to do something I enjoy. Preserve my identity. I'm not even going to begin to claim understanding, much less answers, on how this works for mothers. I do know, though, that I haven't practiced yoga or blogged, things I really enjoy, for over two weeks. Breastfeeding can make this tricky, but not impossible. (By the way, does anyone have any liquid gold... I mean breastmilk, for sale? I hate pumping.) Denying myself simple pleasures and time away doesn't make me a better mom. Grace Louise needs a mommy not a martyr.

My time is up. I gave myself one hour to do whatever I wanted. Not enough time to post pictures. I'll catch up on that Wednesday. Grace Louise is amazing and growing so fast. I have captured adorable pics of her in the past few weeks and can't wait to share them! Until then...