A Day in the Life

I have come to realize that life with a baby is all about the immediate and routine. When she needs something she needs it quickly, and we do the same things over and over each day. I really love it. 

Every day Kate gets quite "drunk" after she eats:) She wears a bib because she is a messy eater!

She has some bouncy seat time every day. Today was the first day she actually watched the bubbles and little creatures! 

She laughs and plays with dad....

and mom!!!

Unfortunately, her favorite pastime is watching TV. She will sometimes stare at it for 10-15 minutes at a time (which in 2 month-old time is like an hour:) We will have to limit her TV time when she gets bigger I think!

Sometimes the shows get scary!

It's so hard to wake up from a deep sleep to eat!

Almost there!

Kate rides in her car seat almost everyday and isn't too fond of it....unless the car is moving:)

And after all that, who wouldn't need some sleep?

By the way, I highly recommend the Swaddle Me blanket she is sleeping in. She didn't seem to like it at first but I tried it again a few weeks later. Now it is one member of "The Indispensable Trifecta of Sleep" (aka, hat, paci, swaddle me blanket)

Kendra and Jeanie both tagged me to go to my 6th folder and post the 6th picture. It's baby Kate being checked and cleaned right after she was born. She looks SUPER annoyed. I would be too:) 

Now I tag my SISTER

Smiles All Around

***warning: this post contains a rather ridiculous amount of pictures. I couldn't narrow them down.***

Kate turned 6 weeks old on Saturday! In the last two weeks she has started to smile and coo! I think it is pretty much the cutest thing ever:) I took about a gazillion pictures of her this morning trying to capture a smile and was able to get a few. 

Her new favorite thing is "naked time". This is when she gets to lay on her changing pad with no diaper for a little bit. She kicks and waves her arms and talks and smiles up a storm! It's hilarious how much she loves it. I took all these pictures directly after naked time when she was still quite happy:) 

She gave herself a nasty scratch because I didn't trim her razor thumb nail in time.

This picture shows how big she has gotten! I can't wait to get her stats at the doctor in a few weeks.

Close range surprise face:)

"Come here, I wanna tell you a secret."

I love this one:)

Looking exactly like her dad while sneezing. (she and I both have a bit of a cold.)

Starting to smile!

Working those arms and legs!

I included this one to show how long and chubby her body is and how short and skinny her legs are. Last night David and I were laughing because he said she looks like Dogbert from the "Dilbert" cartoon strip. She really does:)

Time Flies

Today our little munchkin turned 4 weeks old! These 4 weeks have flown by and each one has gotten easier and more fun. Kate is simply a delightful baby. She continues to be so content and eats and sleeps like a champ!  I feel kinda guilty for having such an easy baby. The Lord never ceases to amaze me with his blessings! 

We learn more about her all the time. She loves her bath and loves looking out the window, she prefers to be put in her bed to fall asleep (this one is a little sad, I love holding sleeping babies), she loves her paci, she hates tummy time, she hates her swing. The funniest thing she does is grunt (a very deep, manly grunt!) about EVERYTHING. Anyone who hears her laughs and comments on what a noisy baby she is:) It really makes us laugh. I think she is going to be very vocal...wonder where she gets that from? :)

I am loving being a mom more and more. Taking care of her feels very natural and I am having success with getting her on a routine, which makes me feel much more prepared for each day. I feel a little sad over how fast she is growing though! She already seems to have left the newborn stage. I am trying to savor her tininess:) 

Well, that is about all I can think of for now. For the most part I don't feel super exhausted from day to day but my brain stays pretty fuzzy so I know I am! 

On this particular night she liked her tummy time and David got some really adorable shots.

Do you think she looks at all like me? 

Sometimes she just conks out. It's super cute. 

This was her first real bath after her umbilical cord FINALLY fell off after 3 1/2 weeks! I love how much she enjoys her bath. She gets so quiet and content and just looks around peacefully. And wrapping her up in her towel after we are done is the most snuggley thing ever. 

Dad, if you are reading this, I thought you would laugh at this last picture because of her huge hands! 

There is the update! We are one happy household right now!

At her 2 week check up today Kate weighed in at 9 lbs and 3 oz! That's an ounce short of a pound over her birth weight! That made this first time mama's heart very happy:) It's good to know you are feeding your baby well.....

2 Weeks

I can hardly believe that Kate is 2 weeks old today! Time is really flying. It's hard to find the balance between looking forward to when life begins to normalize and she sleeps through the night and savoring these early days of her being so tiny. The first 10 days were pretty difficult as I was experiencing "baby blues" and didn't really realize it. My feelings of being overwhelmed and wondering if life would ever be the same (or even remotely resemble what it used to be) rubbed off on David and led to some pretty "down" times for us emotionally. But on day 10 I woke up feeling completely like  my old self emotionally and the future seemed bright and rosy. It's crazy what hormones can do to you! I have had a much easier time since then. Thank you so much if you have been praying for us! This adjustment has knocked David and I upside the head in a way we hadn't imagined!

David and I are both enjoying Kate more each day. She is truly the sweetest of babies. She continues to be so content and her few fussy times are quickly soothed. We went out on our first date last night (thanks Granni and Pop!) and half way through dinner I already missed her so much! She is just so easy and fun to take care of and makes us laugh with all her little facial expressions! 

Here are just some of them for you to enjoy!

This is what she does when I am trying to wake her up to eat. Just goes totally limp and huffs and puffs as though waking up would be the worst thing ever.

She smiles in her sleep all the time! I can't wait til they become purposeful!

"Oh my goodness! Would you look at that!"

Meeting one set of great grands for the first time. David is blessed to have both sets of grandparents still living and here in Charlotte! Kate has so much doting family!

I love her skinny legs and perfect little feet.

Looking like a MUCH older baby then she actually is!

Our Girl

Our Baby Kate is home and doing so well! She is really the most content newborn! She is nursing near perfectly, naps long and soundly, and has amazingly long stretches of being wide awake and looking around at all her loving family. 

That doesn't mean we are getting tons of sleep:) But so far I feel rested enough to function well with taking short naps. I didn't expect to feel so weak and tired after delivery (naivete of a first time mom!) I am really looking forward to being able to care for her when I am feeling strong and like myself again. 

Here are some pictures of her!

This one should actually be turned the other way. 

Sleeping in her cradle! She loves sleeping in our arms but does well when we put her in her bed:)

This was after her first bath last night. She stayed this wide awake for 2 1/2 hours after her bath! I couldn't believe it! Then she fell so sound asleep that she didn't eat for 5 hours so that wasn't great, but no harm done:)

Well, that's all for now. I don't know when I will be posting again, but I will try to keep updated. Prayers for healing (did have some nasty stuff happen with the delivery), strength, and continued grace would be much appreciated! Love you all!