Crosbi: 2 Months

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here I am again, super late in getting Crosbi's monthly update posted. So she'll be three months old a week from today, that's alright. Better late than never! I can't be too hard on myself these days. I only have a couple more weeks before I return to work, so I'm spending each second that Crosbi is awake cuddling and playing. Yes, I'm returning to work. Just months ago I would have said that I would have no problem going back. I've always been pretty career/goal driven. But a sweet little girl changed all of that. Now I'm begging time to stop. I don't want to be away from Crosbi for a second. I am going to be one terribly sad mommy soon. Praise God it's just part-time for awhile. I'm sure I'll be writing more on that in the weeks to come.

For now, I'll celebrate this special Valentine's Day with my 2 month old baby girl. She's getting so big!

• Weighing 13.1 pounds and 24 inches long (at 8 weeks), my little stinker is growing by the minute! 
• She has just started to laugh out loud and it melts my heart. I will do any dance or silly voice to get her to laugh. I have no shame. Her giggles are the best sound in the world.
• She's getting better at holding her head up and will sit in her Bumbo seat for a few minutes. 
• She likes to see what is going on around her. No holding her like a baby, she needs to be able to look around. 
• Still not much of a crier (thank goodness!), she is making her voice heard when she's angry now. She's not afraid to yell. It cracks me up. 
• Crosbi sleeps 9+ hours straight each night. To my mommy readers out there, please don't hate me! I have to thank the Miracle Blanket for sure, but I'm also really blessed to just have a good sleeper. 
• She loves other babies (including the baby she sees in the mirror) and small kiddos. I think she's going to be pretty social!

My sweet girl is growing so fast.

Wishing you all a Valentine's Day filled with lots of love (thanks Shutterfly!)

*Shutterfly gives you a $10 coupon when you blog about projects you make on their site. Not a bad deal! 

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Imagination Library

I could write for days on why I love living in Tennessee and how I'm thrilled to be raising my little girl in the South. I secretly hope she says things like "ya'll" and you better believe we'll be teaching her "Yes Ma'am and No Sir."

One of the perks of living in Tennessee is that it's the home of Dolly Parton. No, not because we can go to Dollywood, but because of the incredible book program she has for children living in the state. In the mid 90s, Dolly created Imagination Library, a reading program that provides one book each month for children in Tennessee ages 0-5.

The vision:

In 1996, Dolly Parton launched an exciting new effort, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee, USA. Dolly's vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families by providing them with the gift of a specially selected book each month. By mailing high quality, age-appropriate books directly to their homes, she wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could insure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income.

Signing up was so easy. I just entered Crosbi's birth date and address. That's it!

Crosbi received her first book this month. I know I was definitely more excited than she was, but I'm sure that will change in the months and years to come. Todd and I already enjoy reading to Crosbi. We can't wait until she's picking out her favorite books and jumping on our laps to have them read to her. 

So we say thanks, Dolly! Crosbi and I are very excited to build our very own Imagination Library!

 

For more information about Dolly's Imagination Library and/or to bring the program to your state, check out her website.

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The In Between

At 9:18pm last night, Crosbi officially turned eight weeks old. I honestly don't know how two months have already gone by. In some ways it feels like C has been here for months, but at the same time, it feels like we just met. I guess that's because we're still getting to know each other. That's a hard concept. You would think since I carried her in my belly for nine months I would have her completely figured out, but instead each day I'm learning more about her. It's funny. She's the love of my life and still a stranger.

Right now I feel like I'm caught in the in between. I'm a mom, yet I don't really know what I'm doing, so that title seems unmerited. I'm not pregnant, but I still have 15 pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, so my body doesn't feel like my own. I'm spending the days soaking up my daughter, yet slightly missing the creative and social outlet of my job. I guess I don't really know who I am. I don't write this to gain sympathy. It's not a complaint. It's just a new way of life that I'm trying to get the hang of. The weeks immediately following Crosbi's birth were solely about survival. Now that I have a bit of routine (if you can call it that), I'm more aware of my new life. When they say, "A Baby Changes Everything." They're not kidding. Having a baby is absolutely the hardest thing I've ever done. There are moments during the day when I want to go in the other room and scream in my pillow. But at the same time, being a mom is the most incredible thing I've ever done. After a day of nursing, changing diapers (I caught poop in my hand yesterday), peek-a-boo, etc., I feel like I haven't accomplished a thing. But then I catch a glimpse of Crosbi in her crib as she's going down for the night and I'm so proud I could burst. Such a strange thing, motherhood.

Some days, like today, are challenging. Crosbi is just like her dad when it comes to naps. She refuses to sleep during the day. The hard part is that I can see how tired she is, but she fights sleep. Thankfully she sleeps well during the night. I'm learning I have to pick my battles. Patience has never been a strength of mine. It looks like God is going to change that.

So here I am, eight weeks into my new identity. I'm learning a lot. That's an understatement. I'm learning more than I have in my entire life. I'm learning more about my daughter each day, but more than that, I'm learning about myself. The good, the bad and the ugly. I'm learning I can't do this alone.

I can't end this post without a picture of my Tink! Seriously, I have the cutest baby in the whole world.

And just to keep it real, I have to add this photo of Crosbi laughing. It's horribly blurry, but it makes me smile. I love that girl.

As soon as I find the time, I'll be back with Crosbi's two month update!

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Crosbi: 1 Month

Our little girl is getting so big! She's technically 7 weeks old today, but we're still shy of two months, so I'm still good on calling this a one month post, right? I remember thinking about my maternity leave and how much spare time I would have to document every move Crosbi made. That's not so much the case. Between diaper changes and feedings, I don't have a lot of spare time. Thankfully C cooperated in a one-month photo shoot. Well, semi-cooperated. She was done about five minutes in.

Crosbi Adelle's One Month Stats:

*Weighing in at 11 pounds, 13 ounces and 23.5 inches long.
*She's starting to smile! It's so fun, but still rare. We take what we can get.
*She's getting really good at holding her head up. She thinks she's such a big girl.
*She's sleeping great at night. Typically 6-7 hours straight after daddy sings to her.
*She loves Mr. Lion on her activity mat.
*Bath time is her favorite.
*Already a music lover. Chris Tomlin seems to be her preference these days.
*Nicknames: "Tink" (began as stinker, then stink and eventually just became Tink). Todd calls her "Monk" short for monkey. Poor girl. We call her by nicknames so much that I had to stop and think about what her real name was once. I lost mommy points that day.

It's hard to believe that 7 weeks ago I was in labor, about to meet my little girl. Time is flying!

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Looking Back: A Recap of 2011

What a difference a year can make! I don't think my life could have changed as much in one year as it did in 2011. I'm a new person. I'm a mom. It still doesn't seem possible. Below is a little recap of the past life changing, crazy 365 days.

January

Last January began in a funk. I was dealing with some personal issues that I was ready to leave behind. I knew that 2011 had to be different. It was in January that I took a stand and made some changes. It was also when I realized I wanted to think about someone other than myself. I wanted a family. But that would happen a little later...

In January I had the honor of hosting a baby shower for Allison, one of my closest friends. It was so fun celebrating her and the upcoming arrival of her precious little guy, Brody. I decided to get more practice in the kitchen. My new food processor came in handy. I attempted to make some home decor changes too. I was kicking off the year in full speed.

February

Todd and I hadn't fully committed to the idea of starting a family, so we dreamed of other ways to spend our money. A lake home seemed like a great idea. Keeping with the lake theme, I continued my home decor projects and gave our guest bathroom a makeover. I didn't do a lot of my own writing in February, but I managed to give some of my favorite bloggers praise.

March

March was a big month. Todd and I took a much needed trip to Seattle. Little did we know I was pregnant the entire time. Although, some crazy cravings during our layover in Denver on the way home tipped us off. I found out I was pregnant the morning of March 10th, but it would be several weeks before anyone else would know. 

April

No blog posts or photos in April. It's almost as if April didn't exist because I was in such a fog. A certain little baby girl was making me extremely sick. I was in survival mode, but barely surviving. It was awful, but definitely worth it.

May

Another month of sickness, but I was able to make one exciting blog post. We finally announced to everyone that we were pregnant. Todd and I thought we might explode if we didn't get the news out. Finally we could talk openly about our little peanut. 

June

Another exciting month. I was finally starting to show and we found out the sex of Baby S. A little girl! We shared the big news at a special reveal party with family in Missouri. While Todd and I both thought we wanted a boy, it would only be a matter of time before we discovered God knew best all along. How silly of me to think otherwise. We wouldn't trade our precious girl for anything in the world.  June proved to be a month of spiritual growth as I realized the great responsibility of raising a godly young woman. 

July

I was still stressing about motherhood, but planning the nursery was a great distraction. Celebrating Suz's 30th birthday helped get my mind off things as well. Such a fun outdoor movie party. My belly was definitely starting to pop as I hit the halfway mark. I got the chance to show off my bump at my 10 year high school reunion at the end of the month.

August

Baby S became Miss Crosbi Adelle when we publicly announced C's name. I entered my third trimester so I got a little crafty in the nursery and Todd and I took a quick trip to St. Louis with his parents. Our last getaway as a family of two. 

September

My belly continued to get bigger and bigger. Todd and I began weekly brunch dates as we looked forward to Crosbi's arrival and we threw in one last trip to Missouri to see family and have our maternity photos taken.

October

The month began with a baby shower thrown by friends here in Nashville. The fall was filled with several fun showers. We were so blessed to celebrate Crosbi's upcoming arrival with family and friends. October was a bit stressful as we were just weeks from meeting our little girl. So much to do in such little time. But we survived!

November

The month my life changed forever. Crosbi's due date came and went and we were getting so anxious to meet her. I struggled with the idea of being induced, but my prayers were answered when I went into labor naturally the morning of the 21st (more on that when I post Crosbi's birth story in the coming weeks). Definitely one of the best months of my entire life.

December

We wrapped up the year spending lots of quality time at home getting to know our little girl and settling in as a family of three. The month ended with Crosbi's first road trip of many to Missouri for Christmas.

Todd and I will look back at 2011 for the rest of our lives. The year God called us to be parents. The year we realized we are not in control. The year we were challenged and strengthened. The year we finally understood what love is. The year we grew up.

Thank you, God for this past year. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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