Valentine's Day

Ready for Snowmageddon 2011!

SO this is one of my favorite recent pics of Miss Kinley. She is the happiest baby ever, I swear. Just had to share this one!

As a mother now, I have so many thoughts and worries I never thought I would ever have-not in a million years! Today Seth picked K up from daycare, and she brought home 2 Valentine's Day cards. OMG I thought, why did I not get V-Day cards for her "class" if that's even what you want to call it!? I didn't even think about getting infants cards! LOL. I seriously beat myself up for a second, and then I realized-Oh wait, I couldn't have sent cards because I don't even know all the kids' names! I am a failure! But then I also thought, why the heck would I buy them cards, they don't care about cards at all! They are infants, for Pete's sake! But should I have been so thoughtful, like the other mothers? Seriously, I am sad to admit that I had this sort of internal conversation with myself! It makes you feel a little bit crazy. But then would I be a little bit crazy had I been the mom buying the V-Day cards for the infants?!

I really wish I could update more often. Although, I honestly wish I could get a lot more stuff done. Trying to plan a wedding with a 4 month old is much harder than I thought it would be! And not because of how much stuff there is to do, but hey-I'd honestly rather be playing with her than planning this thing! I have started having to make lists of things I need to do-not even just wedding related-like I did in college. I need to take an outfit back to the mall, I need to sort through K's pictures and get some out for her daycare poster-OMG she is the only baby without pictures on her poster over her crib! Fail again!-and I need to tidy up my house that is in total disarray. But I suppose it will just have to wait and get done another day. Everyone in the house is asleep, so that is where I am headed!

I don't know how mom's can work full time and keep everything together. It amazes me. I feel like I am always behind! And I'm only working 4 days a week. I would like to have dinner on the table at a decent time, and a good and healthy dinner at that. I would like to do all the laundry at once, and have time to put it all away. Someday, hopefully very soon, I will! More to come on that......

Updates on Miss Kinley-she loves to sit up! Anytime you lay her back at an angle, she tries her hardest to sit up! She likes to sit straight up in her stroller and high chair-which she still doesn't even eat in, but she loves to sit up and watch us eat while she plays with her toys on the tray. She is probably going to have a six-pack soon! She has almost rolled over from back to front a million times, but hasn't quite actually made it on her own. I'm thinking she will soon though! She can definitely roll from tummy to back, but only when she wants to! I swear she will do it 3 or 4 times, and then she won't do it again for like, a week or two! She laughs a lot now, and it is hilarious! Every time she laughs, I laugh, which makes her laugh, and on it goes! She is ticklish on her feet and in her armpits! But it's like, an uncomfortable laugh she gives us, much like the laugh you make when you as an adult are tickled! So funny. When she is nursing, I can't hardly look at her because if she catches my eye, she will just stop and turn and smile really big at me. So easily distracted! We went on a walk yesterday on a local trail and she seemed to really like it. She likes the vibration of the stroller on the trail, which put her right to sleep. Even while asleep she had a good grip on her toys.

On the trail by OTC on Hwy 14

Gosh, so much to say! I love talking to other mom's at work or when I'm out and about-none of my close friends have babies yet. I cannot wait until they do-it is so nice to be able to discuss different joys and trials of motherhood. It is wonderful to be able to give and receive advice from mom's who have babies who are still babies-not from mom's who have kids my age! Not that there is anything wrong, but times have changed and so have a lot of things regarding parenting. It's just nice to be around others who have the same ideas about parenting as me. I am excited that eventually my good friends will all have babies and finally understand how my life is now. I get asked if I miss going out, or being carefree, or miss having alone time. I honestly usually don't. I will miss going out with my girlfriends if something comes up and all my friends are going out but me, but at the same time I want to stay home with Kinley. I feel like I don't spend enough time with her as it is, even though I know to everyone it seems like I do. Having Knley has totally changed my life. I'm still me, but it's like I'm a complete person now. Before I had her, my life seemed complete-but now it's hard to say that it was back then. I can't even hardly imagine my life without her back then. It seems weird that she wasn't in my life before. I definitely can say that I feel I was born to be a mother.

Alright, it's past my bedtime now!  I could blab for hours......maybe another night after the laundry is folded, the dishes are all put away, and the house is picked up..........

Lauren

One Worried Mama!

Well, lots of updates on Miss K. Our most recent "happening" has been an allergic reaction to penicillin. The rash started out at the doctor's office and wasn't bad until the next day (of course.) We ended up in Urgent Care because I was so frantic-the rash had turned into hives and was covering her from head to toe, literally. After some Benadryl and many prayers, it seems to be getting better. Her ear infection really seems to be improving also. Thank you God for making my baby better! It is awful being such a worrisome mother. You just feel so helpless when you can't do anything to make your baby feel better. It is a horrible feeling.

In other news, Kinley is becoming so active and really paying attention to the world around her! She has always been a very alert baby, but she is finally really getting into textures and shapes and colors, and really paying attention to faces. She also is obsessed with her hands, which is the funniest thing. Even while nursing she will get distracted by her own hands! She loves to stick her whole hand in her mouth- it's her favorite toy! Her other favorite toy is her Sophie the Giraffe. I don't know what sort of magical power it has over babies, but she loves it and apparently so do many other babies! She has really been paying attention to Macie, our dog. She will smile really big when Macie comes up to her, and she pulls on her fur. Macie has been a great sport through it all!

After her 3 month pictures

Another favorite activity of Kinley's is reading! I try to read to her before we go to bed-Good Night Moon is our favorite. I pretty much have it memorized, so I can watch her face as I turn the pages and point out things. She really seems to be paying attention. She also likes the soft books that she can hold on to. I swear she can even turn the pages! It is too funny. I just got her another soft book today while we were out shopping, and she was reading it in her stroller. Kinley enjoys riding around in her stroller like a big girl, without the car seat portion snapped into the stroller. She likes to be able to sit up and look around! It is such a joy watching her development.

I bought some 18 month-24 months clothes the other day at Macy's. They look so big, like she shouldn't be able to wear them for several years! I can't believe that in a year she will be able to fit into those clothes. As much as I love watching her grow and become more playful, it also breaks my heart that she is growing up so fast. It really makes you feel very split between wanting them to grow up so you can teach them things and show them things in the world, and wanting to keep them tiny babies forever. But I know I can't keep her tiny forever, so I will just have to help her grow as much as I possibly can! It is so much fun each time she laughs, or rolls over, or plays with a toy. 2 months ago, she couldn't do all of those things, so that keeps me going! I am so proud of the littlest things too. She puts her hand in her mouth, and then tries to put it in my mouth! I am so proud she recognizes my mouth! lol. She just makes me so happy! Anyone who is a mother can understand!

-Lauren and Kinley-