Time to get groovin'

Madi is almost 7 months old and I have started to get myself together and get back into the swing of life. I have enjoyed reading again and an occasional glass of wine with the beautiful silence of a sleeping baby at the end of a long day. I make sure to get up and put the house back together every morning and make sure to take the time to make myself look human (shower and some make up). I also want to starting entertaining again. I LOVE to have people over. Hospitality is my gift!I am enjoying summer walks and days at the beach. I am working two days a week. It's not much, but it is something. I really don't like to leave Madi behind, but it is almost worth it to come home to someone that excited to see you.

I feel like a wife again. I love talking to my husband and hearing all about his super boring financial accounting classes. Trust me it is a snooze fest, but the fact that he loves it so much makes it easy to listen to him. I love that he still loves me. Having a baby and then trying to care for her 24 hours a day in those first few months can turn even the most patient, kind, loving woman into a demon. Yet, he stuck it out with me.

I have also started working out again and believe me that was necessary. I am trying to be more positive and confident. Yes, my body looks like I had a baby, but the truth is I am absolutely sure it could be a whole heck of a lot worse. So, I am going to carry myself with poise and be proud of the little person I brought into this world.

My mom

This June was a particularly hard month for me. It marked the 3rd anniversary of my mother's death. I was all too aware this year that my mother would never meet my baby girl and there isn't a day that passes that I don't think about that. And... it never gets easier. I will always wish she had the chance to meet her granddaughter. I will always wish that she was in the audience when I graduated from College in June. It doesn't matter how old you are, girls always want their mommy. Still, we have to move forward continuing to make the most of our lives and live it to the fullest. I promise to always love and care for Madilynn with every ounce of love I have to give just as I know my mom would have wanted. I know my mom would have been proud of my accomplishments thus far and I know she would have loved my baby. And that means everything.

Summertime

Some days with a baby are really trying, but others are flat out rewarding. And it doesn't hurt that Madi loves the water and summer sun :-) We will be spending our summer like this...





Gotta love the napping at the beach.

S'more Camping Please

This memorial day weekend was our first weekend camping as a family of three. We go a few times every year and I was delighted to introduce Madi to the great outdoors camping. Of course, it was also Madi's first night sleeping away from home (she did sleep somewhere else at 4 weeks, but was obviously unphased then). Needless to say, I was a little nervous about how it was going to go. Fortunately, she was a trooper. She loved being outside. While she did take short naps, she took enough of them to keep her happy. It was so great to see her interact with her little friend Meredith as well. They used to seem light years apart in age even though they are really only 5 months apart. As they grow older, and Madi tries her best to catch up, they can actually enjoy each others company. I could see Madi studying every move Meredith made. I know that Meredith will teach her many things.

We were missing some dear friends this trip and we really truly did miss them. There was definite potential for gloom with threatening weather forecasts and missing friends, but it turned out to be beautiful and we had a great time with amazing company. We can't wait for the next trip!
Sunday Morning... clearly enjoying the trip :)

sleep, sleep, sleep

Sleep? What is that? I am surrendered to the fact that I will never sleep again the way I once did, but every once in a while Madi surprises me and we both get amazing naps. I am working really hard to get her on a specific nap schedule. It has been incredibly difficult and it seems there is always something that threatens my efforts. But today, she actually napped on the schedule I wanted... and it really is just as amazing as I thought it would be. It was probably a fluke, but I won't give up.

She napped from 9 - 11 (so did I) and 2 to well it's 3:40 now and she is still asleep. I have been getting some great afternoon naps lately. This left us 3 hours to play with in the middle of our day and she was so pleasant. I was able to feed her at 11 and we headed right out on this beautiful day. We went to the chiropractor, ran a few errands, and then visited some of my favorite high school teachers and the preschool that I worked at in high school. We could do so much. We then got home at 1:45, she ate and went right to sleep. I never thought I would see the day when I could be out with a happy awake baby for 2 1/2 hours before she would need to be fed and sleep again. It's funny what makes a mom happy ;)

Now I find myself missing her and wishing she would wake up, but at night when she still gets up twice I am wishing for sleep. And even when she never slept (or so it seemed, I still loved her with every ounce of my being, as I am sure I still will when she regresses and we fight for sleep again. I hear it's a never ending battle ;) I can't have it all can I? But then again, I kind of do!

The Small Things

Sometimes I like to just sit back and think of the small things that truly make me happy...

My tiny baby girl Madilynn

Madi only waking once in the night

A hot cup of coffee for those early mornings

The Ellen show

Walks on sunny days

Delicious meals

And a not so small thing.... a baby who is completely latching on to the sleep training concept. Thank goodness!

All new moms should have...

Now that Madi is 3 months old, there are some things I have discovered that have really made my life easier. And, quite frankly, I don't know how our moms did without.

Who has time to scrub the house from top to bottom on your hands and knees with a new baby?

• Clorox disinfecting wipes

• swiffer wet mop

• swiffer duster

• shower spray and leave

For those late night feedings while trying to keep your eyes open

• Netflix

• DVR

Everyone needs to eat dinner

• the crockpot

And most of all....

• the most precious baby on the planet