We love long weekends!

One thing I will surely miss if I ever leave banking will be the awesome random holidays we get paid for.  Thanks to Monday being Columbus Day, we got to stay home with Kayla for her first teacher inservice day at daycare.  But I am getting ahead of myself...


This weekend's adventure began on Thursday when I got a call from daycare saying that Kayla had spiked a fever of 99.7 earlier in the day.  I picked her up a little early so I could take her to the doctor, but her fever had already broken by that point.  Her temperature was normal at the doc's office, but he prescribed an antibiotic anyway because of her persistent congestion.  So far it doesn't seem to be helping much, but we're only through about half the bottle. 


Friday was a typical day.  Shaun worked early and came home in time for me to head out and come in.  Kayla was fine all day with him if not a little more tired than usual.  She was great for Pepere and Grammy Sue's visit in the evening.  After that, we packed up and went down to the hospital to met Addison for the first time.  What a teeny little cutie!  She barely made a peep the whole time we were there, until Kayla woke up and started crying... but most of the time she looked something like this:

She is so incredibly tiny - Kayla was born nearly a pound heavier, and she seemed itty bitty at the time!  I can't wait for them to be able to play together! 

We designated Saturday as our running all over creation day.  We got up early (when Kayla woke up that is - I think around 6:30 or 7?) and stopped for coffee treats and then made our way to Walmart, BJ's, Babies R Us and the grocery store.  We managed to get home at a reasonable time and just sat and watched football most of the day while I cleaned and did laundry.  Sunday was more football watching, and a lot of cooking.  My mom stopped up for her visit with Kayla too.  Kayla LOVES it when she visits - I think my mom gets more smiles than even I do! 

Then Monday came.  So nice not to have to go in to work!  I was feeling pretty wiped out, so I "encouraged" Kayla to go back to sleep after her morning feeding.  When she continued to fuss in her crib, I took a different tactic and brought her over into bed with us.  Lucky for me, she snuggled right into me and went back to sleep.  I got to sleep in for the first time in ages!  What a great morning.  We did some shopping, trying to find new Christmas stockings for the family, but had no luck.  Not even at the Flower and Craft Warehouse!  Maybe once the Halloween stuff goes away there will be more out.  In the mean time, I'll look around online and see what I can find. 

Today I am especially anxious to get home to my new toy!  I finally broke down and ordered my Nikon D40 last week and it's scheduled to be delivered today.  It was expensive, but I'm really excited to be able to capture some of the moments I may have missed with our old camera.  I'll be sure to post results of that soon! 

Congratulations Adam and Kristen!

It's hard to believe it was back in March that we found out that Adam and Kristen were expecting their first baby together... today they welcomed Addison Elizabeth to their family! She was born at 11:14 am, 6 lbs 3 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. I hear that she and Kristen came through the c-section just fine and are doing well! Congrats to Mommy and Daddy and big brother Trevor! We can't wait to meet the little peanut!


PS - Kristen, if you read this still... so much for your "little tank!" My delicate little flower outweighs yours by more than double! Too funny. ;-)

3 Month Pictures and Stats

I've updated the Photobucket Account with a few pictures I took of Kayla yesterday, and her three month photos taken by the Picture People are here. The pink sweater and hat were knitted by my mom. We chose the Phillies t-shirt because the Phils started their run at another world series yesterday with a 5 - 1 win over the Rockies. Go Phillies!!

Kayla is now checking in at a healthy 12 pounds 11 ounces and 23 1/4 inches long. She's growing so fast!

Happy 3 Months!!

Dear Kayla -

The picture you see here was a result of mommy getting over zealous this morning. It was very cold when I took you to daycare yesterday morning (about 40 degrees) so I put this obviously too large sweatshirt on you this morning to help keep you warm. As it would turn out, it wasn't as cold as I'd thought. At least it made for some adorable pictures.

This month was a lot of fun for us. You've gotten much better at lifting your head and we were able to put you in your bumbo seat for some fun. You like to push toys around on the tray and knock them on the floor. So cool! You've really started to use your hands a lot more. You shake and grab at toys so they make noise. You love to bat at the duckie toy on your carrier, and to shake your keys around. Your play mat still entertains you, but you are loving to sit up more too.

You are such a happy little baby; I love picking you up out of your crib each morning. No matter how fussy you are when I open the door to your room, you always smile as soon as you realize I'm there. It's the greatest thing in the world.

The ladies at daycare just adore you. It's still hard to leave you there every day, but I am getting better with it. I have been finding excuses to "drop in" and see how you're doing as often as I can even though driving away the second time is often harder than the first.

As before I am finding myself being torn between absolutely adoring the baby that you are right now, and looking forward to who you are going to be in the future. What I do know for sure is that I am even more crazy about you now than I was the day I brought you home. You are my little angel, and I love you more than you will ever know.
Love always -
Mommy

Who knew that sad could be so adorable?

Bonus pic... Kayla and my grandmother. how sweet is that?

It's official

Cold season is already in full swing, and it's hit our house. I thought being sick when I was pregnant was bad - this is even worse, since now I can (and have) actually pass it on to the little one. Kayla is taking it pretty well. We kept her home from daycare today in order to help avoid spreading it, but I think she'll be ok to go back tomorrow. She was smiling and happy when I went home for lunch, once she woke up from her swing nap. Hopefully she'll sleep well again tonight and will be breathing easier tomorrow.

Nice reminder that I need to call the doctor's office about getting my flu shots huh? For the first time ever, I am going to actually get a seasonal flu shot. I'm also planning to get the H1N1 shot when it becomes available. Not my idea of fun, and I'm REALLY hoping it doesn't backfire and make me sick. I will not be happy.

Other than that, not much is happening at our casa these days. We're just spending lots of time together as a family whenever we aren't at work, and enjoying watching her grow. I haven't taken many new pictures lately, but I will update the photobucket again soon! She smiles a lot now and is really close to laughing out loud. Sunday morning I was brushing my teeth when I heard her let out a loud shriek from our bed. Shaun was playing with her and apparently had her really close to laughing. I love every sound she makes, even when she's crying. Yesterday she had several fits over the course of the day (probably because she wasn't feeling well) and for the first time, I realized I wasn't upset or stressed out when she cried. I was just happy I was there; happy to be the one holding her and trying to comfort her. I'm sure the solid nights of sleep I have been getting help, but I also like to think that I'm really settling into this mommy role. It still breaks my heart that I can't be with her all the time, but I love the moments we do have together that much more. This little girl has changed my life in every conceivable way, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Another milestone this weekend

I'm happy to announce that on Saturday night, my little angel slept from 10 pm until 6 am! Our first 8-hour night! She didn't even stir when I had to take her out of her crib at 11:30. What a trooper. (Of course, she didn't nap much while we hung out with our friends this weekend, so I think that's why she slept so well.)

Today starts the 3rd week back at work... I was a mess leaving her at daycare this morning; it seems the weekend set me back a bit. Hopefully it will get better again even though I don't think I'll ever really be used to it. I still miss her every second we're not together, so much that it almost hurts. I hope I can get my new project at work under way soon so I don't have as much time to sit here and think about all the time I'm missing with her. Man this sucks...

Happy Two Months!

Dear Kayla,

I promised myself that this was something I was going to do for you every month, but somehow

your one month got by me. For that I apologize.

I can hardly believe you are two months old today. You are such an amazing little creature, and every day I look at you with wonder and awe. You've been sleeping well for being so young yet, only waking once a night to be fed. I know it seems silly, but I really appreciate that. You are so beautiful; you smile a lot now and it's just the sweetest thing. Today was the first time I was able to catch your smile on camera... the picture above. You also try to laugh - you open your mouth really wide and sometimes a gurgle or a loud "ah!" escapes, but you haven't quite figured out how to make a laughing sound yet. It cracks me up every single time. You are definitely vocal though, cooing and "talking" to your light up sun on your play mat, and if I'm lucky, occasionally to me as well.

In the last week or so, you've really discovered your hands. For the last few days they have been in your mouth almost non stop. Last night you stared at your fists, not quite sure where they came from, and even sucked your thumb for the first time. I don't know if it will stick though - you still prefer your Soothie for comfort sucking.

Tummy time is still a little bit of a challenge. You seem to enjoy the new view for the first few minutes but quickly grow weary of not being able to see the world as you're used to it. The new Boppy tummy time mat seems to help that some, but it extends our floor time to maybe 10 minutes at a shot rather than 5 or less. I enjoy watching you lift your head for brief periods and smile at me. I love seeing your happy little face no matter what.

Last week brought the challenge of me returning to work. Although you and daddy did just fine without me, I had a really difficult time walking out the door that first morning. I went to take you from your crib to the bed so you were closer to daddy, and you were happily playing in your crib by yourself until you looked up and saw me. You got the saddest look on your face and let out a little cry. It nearly brought me to my knees right there. I missed you more than I could ever express. I'm afraid that dropping you off at daycare for the first time tomorrow is going to be even harder.

You had your two month doctor appointment last week; you weighed in at 11 lbs 4 oz and are now 22 1/2 inches long. You've grown so much. Daddy says you took your shots pretty well too. You were so unhappy when I came home and I felt terrible for you. I know it's to keep you healthy though, and I'm just glad I wasn't there to hear you cry when you got them.

So much has happened and changed in just a few short weeks, and I can only begin to imagine the changes that are to come on the coming days, weeks, months and years. I do know that I look forward to seeing you continue to grow and develop and to be the sweet little lady I know you're going to be. I love you so much Kayla Anne and I always will.

Love,

Mommy

8 weeks!?!?!

Yeah, I'm a slacker. Sorry to the 3 of you who read this. :-) We've been so busy I've hardly given blogging a thought. I was also totally determined and committed to spending every possible moment with my little sweetheart before coming back to work, so sitting down at the computer usually meant running our numbers in Quicken, maybe entering some Pampers points in their website, and getting back to being a mom.

Kayla is an absolute joy of a baby. I know every parent says this, but she really is. Besides her normal bouts of bedtime fussiness, she is generally a very happy baby. She smiles all the time now and it just melts me every time. We love to go for walks in the evening now that it’s cooler out. Kayla seems to enjoy the time in her stroller, even if she does just spend most of it staring at the little pink snail toy hanging from the handle of her carrier (thanks Laura, she really loves that thing!).

My 6-week postpartum appointment went well. I am feeling really good and starting to think I look more like myself again. Even though I have a bit more weight to lose, I can deal with it now. Kayla’s next doctor appointment is on Friday, so I will have updated stats on her then. She was over 9 pounds the last time she was weighed, and I’m thinking she’s well over 10 now. I can’t wait to hear how much she’s grown!

Leaving her to go to work this morning was extraordinarily tough. This is the first time in months and months that I’ve been away from her for this long, and it’s killing me. I’ve spent the better part of my day fighting back the tears, especially when someone wants to hear about her, or asks me how I’m dealing with my return. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I never thought it was going to be this hard. Somehow though, we'll make it. Hopefully I'm somewhat used to it by next Tuesday so dropping her off at daycare for the first time won't be so hard.

Belated Updates

So here we are swiftly closing in on Kayla's one month birthday. The last few weeks have been amazing, overwhelming, sometimes trying, but on the whole wonderful. We absolutely adore this little girl. She has taken over our lives and turned our world upside down, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

As of her doctor appointment last Tuesday (7/28) Kayla was 8 pounds, 7 ounces and 21 inches long. She is growing like a weed; I go back and forth between being proud to be doing everything we can that she is thriving so well and being sad that she is growing so quickly. I'm sure it's only going to continue to fly faster and faster from here.

For the most part Kayla has been sleeping pretty well, sleeping from 4 - 6 hours at night. She's had a little bit of colic in the last week or so, but nothing completely unmanagable. We are very lucky in that she travels exceptionally well, often sleeping through outings of several hours. This allows me to get out of the house during the day when I need to... allowing me to keep some small measure of my sanity.

It's amazing to watch her become more aware of the world each day. She lays on her activity mat and plays. She looks at us when we talk to her. She smiles at me when I tease her about her insanely full diapers. I love watching her move her little arms and legs and her ever-changing facial expressions. We had our first tub bath experience this week. Kayla did really well. I was expecting a scream fest, but only got some confused looks. Even when the camera started flashing, she didn't fuss. I was really glad for that.

On the whole, I am feeling good. My recovery went much more smoothly than I ever thought it would. I drove myself to an appoinment only 1 week post partum. Shaun and I redid our master walk-in closet during his second week off, about the same time. I really can't complain. I have lost about half of my pregnancy weight so far. Not too shabby considering the chocolate chip cookie habit I've developed as of late. Although I'm still wearing my maternity clothes almost exclusively, I'm noticing they are starting to feel a bit large. Here's hoping I can pack all of those up for good soon.

In the mean time I am going to continue to enjoy my days at home with my little sweetheart, and try my hardest not to dwell on how much I am dreading September 1st when I return to work, and even more so, the 8th when I take her to daycare for the first time. :-( Thankfully we still have a month to go...

Keep an eye on the photobucket account for updates - I am much better about that than I am about updating here. Also, check out our Picture People Album. The pictures from Kayla's newborn session (done when she was 2 weeks old) are there. Until next time... when I'll most likely be posting 1 month pictures!