Naptime!

Naptime in my house, it runs approximately 9am-10:30am.  I love naptime!  My dogs, cats and baby all snuggle down to snooze.  So the real question is WHY AM I AWAKE?!?  My baby might sleep through the night now but I still frequently wake up in the middle of the night.  Sometimes it is to use the bathroom, other times it may be due to a noise in the house, and on occassion, it is just to lie there listening to her breathing over the monitor.

I don't nap during naptime.  I have only tried a handful of times and each time there was an incredibly shortened nap.  So what do I do during naptime?  I catch my breath, work on our business, get bottles prepared, and attempt to shower and put myself together.  Today, I am blogging.  I am exhausted today and I am stupidly sitting here on my blog complaining about it.  Wanna know why?  Well I'm going to tell you anyways.  I was laying on the couch next to my baby in her bouncer.  She was fighting her nap so I began bouncing for her.  She slept, I stopped the bouncing, she woke up.  Okay, rinse and repeat!

I love naptime....someday I might get to participate in it, right?

A Long Road

If you all remember a post from a little while back titled "My Week", you will remember that I received news of my mom having moved out of the family house.  It took much less time than I thought it might, and to be honest I wasn't sure it would happen at all, but Mom and Dad are back in the same house and working together to make this better!

I am thrilled to be able to watch my parents being happy together and for the first time that I can recall, living and sharing the same life instead of two lives being lived in one house.

Easter was a horrifying thought this year for me as I was being haunted with thoughts of choosing where to go.  Mere days before Easter, my mom told my papa to come home.  They are working so hard to get to a place where they are equal partners in their marriage.  Papa is making sure that there is nothing in the way of time with Mom.  He is helping around the house, sharing the bills responsibility, and spending quality family time with the kids as well.  Mom is making certain to try harder to not keep quiet when she is hurting or upset over something.  She has voiced complaints and he has listened, truly listened.

I just wanted to thank you all for the thoughts during that tough time for my family.  If you don't mind, I'd truly appreciate continued support for my parents, siblings and us.  I am very hopeful that everything will progress towards the better situation that we currently see on the horizon.

Movies

I know everyone has different tastes, preferences and some just plain don't watch 'em.  So bear in mind as I tell you that anyone, and I mean ANYONE who has an inch of open mind, should watch the movie that my friend Dave brought over to distract me.

Look back at "My Week" and you will see why he was aiming to distract me.  Tuesday after I found out my parents had seperated, Dave came over with a movie titled Man From Earth.  My buddy knew just what would work for me and I will remember it forever.  This movie was so incredibly intriguing.  I became so absorbed in the theories that it provided an immediate escape from the stress of the day before.

Now, I'll be honest, anyone who cannot tolerate alternate religious ideas or different interpretations of the Bible, will not care for this movie.  Anyone who is a biblical literalist will likely wish to burn this dvd straight from the player.  But, I loved it!  It did not offend me in any way and if you are able to discuss religion and science with anyone in either extremes or middle ground areas, you will likely enjoy the new take that it brings.  I could hardly believe that the time the movie actually takes had elapsed at the end.  It went so far beyond any other movie I have watched that I could hardly pull away.

I would like you to watch this movie.  Enjoy it as much as I did or at least enjoy yelling at it if that is your preference...!  Either way it is worth the time.  It is available via Netflix or probably available on Blockbuster.  I purchased it through Barnes & Noble and it is also on Best Buy's site.

Chewable Jewelry

Yes, I said "chewable jewelry".  Momma now sports a gnawable necklace and has a matching bracelet.

This cool new idea comes to us from a family dentist who went looking for a teether for her own baby.  Instead of finding a suitable teether on the market, she ended up making these and the rest of us should all thank her!

I saw this item being reviewed on one of the blogs I follow and was intrigued.  I was actually thrilled to find something so perfect for the on-the-go family.  Alyssa is just beginning to really chomp down on things but she is so young that she hasn't got the ability to hold something in her mouth herself yet.  What better way to help her feel better than holding those big bulky teethers in her mouth that barely fit?  Hmmmm....How about finding something that actually fits in her little mouth to chew away on??  Yah, this is where these Chewable Jewels come in to play.

I bought my combo set and waited for its arrival.  I was pretty excited when the envelope came.  I ripped into the package and pulled out the necklace.  Of course timing was awful and I had to go to work right then or risk being late.  When I got home that night I hugged my daughter (it was my first day back to work so I really really missed her!) and then we washed the new accessories.  As we sat down to snuggle she was chomping away on her nuk so I pulled a switch and gave her the rectangular necklace.  At first she pulled a face and stuck out her tongue pushing the necklace with it.  I was a bit disappointed but I wasn't giving up after one face!  The second time she bit down on it she didn't reject it.  She started to chew lightly on it and then of course she switched to using it like a pacifier.

So she hasn't quite gotten the hang of continual chewing...oh well!  We have a teether that she can nom away on that fits her mouth!  The bracelet was the next test and it fits her mouth even better than the necklace.  I think that it will work even better when she is beginning to hold things for herself

And in case you were wondering....They don't look half bad!! 

3 Months!!

When did a few blinks allow THREE MONTHS to pass?!?  It shouldn't be allowed to pass so quickly!

My little girl!  8lbs 4.8oz, 20" long and her big head...and all of her has just kept growing!

She is now over 15 1/2lbs, over 24" and her head is still big.  She keeps getting more adorable!

Watching her learn and grow is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced.  To see you baby smile on purpose after so many days and nights of reflexive smiles only brings tears of excitement.  Having her prefering Momma to whoever is holding her at the family function makes your heart silently soar.  Seeing her discover that kicking makes the bouncer bounce and watching the joy on her face is probably more fun than she has bouncing.  She sleeps through the night and Momma has gotten her ability to sleep through the night again finally!

Three months are not near as long as they used to be and that excites me as well as terrifies me.  I want every moment I can have to snuggle my baby girl.  I want to enjoy the time where she still can't move without me.  I also look forward to helping her learn crawling and then walking.  I want to see new tricks that she discovers like holding toys (and my most desired--controlling her own nuk!).

Her three month pictures were taken by a very talented friend who has just recently started up her photography business.  All the pictures in my brag post before this one were taken by Kala S.  You should all check out her Facebook Fan Page!  L.O.V. Photography stands for Language of Vision and I couldn't be prouder of her!

I would like to brag for a moment!

Here are some of those pictures that I promised you! These fabulous pictures were taken by a friend who, as you can see, has amazing amounts of talent. Enjoy!

My baby girl loves her time with Papa! She and he share storytime right before bed nearly every night. With how much she talks during the books you would think she was the one telling the stories!

 

 

Momma gets playtime too!  And in case you were worried for my welfare with this position....We escaped without a need for a new outfit or shower!

We have a horse-addicted GodMother for our girl.  The cute horse blanket she is currently saddled on was a gift she got at the hospital the day after she was born.  She loves how soft it is and Papa loves giving her horsey rides that don't risk her breaking his back yet...

And I will leave you with one final picture:

My Week...

I realize that I haven't been on lately and really, its been a rough week.

I currently feel like a tiny little girl who has no control over anything.  This week my family has suffered a blow to the core.  My mom is staying at a friend's house and says she needs to 'find herself'.  My papa is devestated.  He is lost, hurt, confused, cautious and terrified.  He didn't do anything.  Mom isn't seeing someone else.  They have led seperate lives with only us kids as the common denominator for many years now.  This has been both of their faults for not trying hard enough or working hard enough on their relationship.

I am 23.  I have my husband and baby girl.  I have my own house in a different town.  I can 'escape' this for a few minutes a day and just dive into my life.  It may not last long but I have that option.  I do have two younger siblings however.  They are both still in school and live at home.  How incredibly hard this has been on me, I can't imagine how much worse it must be to actually SEE it.  I've heard the hurt in voices but they have watched the tears.

I may feel like a little girl in this situation, but my mother-instincts are on full alert watching for the slightest provocation to protect my siblings.  It has been very civil so far because this is a difficult situation but one without a very obvious blame game.  IF it turns into less than civil and it begins to affect them, I will step in.  Right now, I'm there for everyone.  My mom, my papa, my sister, my brother, my grandma....they all talk to me (well, my brother doesn't talk about it but that is him).  I am an ear for all of them.  It is a burden that I carry and have done so my whole life.  It may not be fair, it certainly is not easy sometimes, but I thank God for my husband.  He has been so silently supportive to me.  He lets me break down, he holds me and loves me and without him, I honestly have no idea how I would be handling this.  We are strong together and no matter the outcome in my family, life goes on and we will go on together.

Next week we have a heart surgery for his father.  We will be with at the hospital to support his mom and to be there for his father.  I am looking forward to having some great news of how well the surgery went and something wonderful to be able to dwell on.

With the health problems of his dad, the health issues my mom has (gal bladder surgery scheduled for later this April), massive sinus colds and sore throats hitting all of us (Chris, myself and finally my poor little Alyssa) and then my parents' new situation...I have been in a pretty dark place.  Thank God for the candles that light my life everyday!