Picture Perfect

Just a quick post to share the "sneak peek" we got from the photographer today from Annie's 3-month photo session.  Oh my, it's even better than I thought!  Here's the link to the photographer's blog post, complete with some shots from the day.

http://www.staciehawleyphotography.com/blog/annie-lexington-newborn-photographer/

If you leave a comment, you may help us "earn" a free print.  So if you are the type to do that sort of thing, feel free!

Big, Big World

I thought about being really dramatic and starting this post off by saying that I woke up this morning to gray skies, heavy rain, and blustery winds and thought it was appropriate weather for our first day taking Annie to daycare. But then I thought, “Hey, grow up already! It’s not that bad! It’s only daycare.”

Baby girl woke up as happy as can be this morning, flashing big gummy smiles to me and David one right after the other. We loaded her – and all of her stuff – into the car and she didn’t fuss once about being in the car seat. (Annie has a love-hate relationship with her car seat. Usually she loves it only when it puts her to sleep. The rest of the time she doesn’t seem to care for it much. And stop at a red light and it’s all over…she is not a fan!). Then we drove the quarter of a mile to her “school.” I kid you not, this place could not be any more convenient – it is one street over from our house. We unloaded her and took her inside, where she proceeded to smile at Miss Michelle, the lady who welcomes the babies to the nursery in the mornings. It’s like Annie was telling me, “Hey Mom, chill out. I’m fine! See, look, I’m smiling and everything.”

Annie and Mommy get in a little quality time before school.

I held it together pretty well inside the daycare. I didn’t even get teary-eyed, really. It helped that David was there with me. It wasn’t until we got back in the car that my chin started to quiver. And once we got back to the house I had to sit in the car for a couple of minutes and “collect myself,” as they say. There was no sobbing, no hysterical tears…then again, I’m not really a hysterical tears kind of girl. Just a few little drops of emotion over leaving my baby girl with someone she doesn’t know.

I know she’s too young to understand things like abandonment and will instead probably think it’s pretty cool to be in a room with a bunch of people her size. And I know she’ll get plenty of attention, while still somehow learning that the world doesn’t revolve around her – although it kind of does at our house. And from the looks of that nursery she’s going to be in baby toy heaven. There were more bouncy seats and activity gyms and other gadgets than we could ever fit in our little house. But it’s still hard to picture her somewhere else for the whole day, being cared for by people she doesn’t know. People we don’t know…yet.

David is Mr. Positive about the whole thing, and that helps a lot. He pointed out to me on the car ride back to the house that Annie starts making friends today, and that she will probably never have that traumatic first day of school experience that some kids have who have never been away from home until kindergarten. I know she will benefit from the things her caregivers teach her and the skills she learns from the other babies.

And, as you might expect, Annie did fabulously at school today.  When we brought her home, she was all smiles.

And even gave us a special treat by laughing out loud for the very first time!

So it is obvious that Annie's first day of school was far harder on me than it was on her.  And that's pretty much what I suspected - and hoped - would happen.

Hanging out with Daddy after school.

Annie’s world just got a little bigger today. That’s all. And that’s a very good thing.

 "So, um, can I go  back to school now, guys?"

The Weekend That Was

It was a busy weekend around here for the Nobles.  A weekend full of family visits and even more proof that our baby, despite our warnings to her that she shouldn’t, is growing up on us.

Papa (David’s dad) came for a visit.  He was in town for a conference for work and so he and Annie got some nice reconnecting time in.  We are looking forward to introducing Annie to all of her Indiana family next weekend when we take her for her first real car trip.  All prayers for a happy traveling baby are appreciated!

Annie had her 3-month photos taken on Saturday – and oh how she handled the paparazzi.  We simply cannot wait to see the finished product.  I mean, we think she’s one really cute baby and I think these photos are going to give us more and more proof of that.  And with adorable accessories like this hat, crafted just for her by our dear friend Rachel, how could the pictures end up being anything less than perfect?

We also made a quick little trip to my mom's house in Mt. Sterling for my nephew, Dylan’s, 16^th birthday party.  How he got so old – and how I got old enough to have a 16-year-old nephew who is NOT the oldest nephew I have – baffles me. 

I’ll just let you guess who gave her that outfit…Um, yes.  It was Grandma.  It's amazing we got a shot of her with her shirt so conservatively positioned.  She has developed a habit now of pulling shirts like this up to her chin.  It's like Babies Gone Wild around here these days.

And, in addition to all this family time, Annie proved this weekend that she is making a habit out of taking naps in her crib instead of her infant swing.  I don’t know why this is such a big deal to me.  I think this is already the second time I’ve mentioned it on this blog (and I'll try to make it the last...but Mama is just so impressed), but for whatever reason it feels like a milestone to me. 

And she wakes up from these naps a very happy girl!

And Annie’s not the only one reaching new milestones.  Mommy managed to take a bubble bath for the first time since before Annie made her grand entrance into our little world.  And Daddy wasn’t even home to keep an eye on baby girl.  (Don’t worry, she was napping at the time.  I didn’t just leave her alone with the pets as her only chaperones or anything).  I think this was a big deal to me because I kind of proved to myself that I can go back to doing some of the things I took for granted before we had a baby.  Hopefully this means I'll be able to unplug the control freak in me long enough to start running again some day soon...but we'll take baby steps for now.

So as we recover from a busy and happy weekend, we get ready for yet another big milestone this week.  Monday is Annie’s first day of “school” (otherwise known as daycare).  Since I went back to work a month ago my mom has been watching Annie – and spoiling her in all the best ways.  And I really can’t say enough how grateful I am for her and her eagerness to help us out until we could secure a spot in a daycare we really feel comfortable with.   

So tomorrow is the first day we have to drop her off to stay all day somewhere that is not our home.  I don’t know why the thought of taking her to daycare makes me sad.  I have already adjusted somewhat to not being at home with her during the day.  I have zero reservations about the facility we have chosen or the way they will care for her.  I think daycare in general, and this daycare specifically, will be very good for Annie - allowing her opportunities to interact with other little people and be cared for by people who know a heck of a lot more about child development than I do.  But I still get a big old lump in my throat when I think about leaving her tomorrow.  I expect there will be tears…from me, not from her.   Be sure to check back for a status report on how Mommy handled the big day -- as for Annie, I'm sure she'll be just fine!

Fall? Already?

I remember when Annie was brand new it seemed like everyone I talked to told me something along the lines of, “Enjoy every second.  They grow up so fast.”  At the time, when I was 2 or 3 weeks into motherhood and the days and nights were blending together for me, time and its quick passing was a concept I couldn’t wrap my mind around anymore.  

Now, baby girl is 12 weeks old and I totally get what they were saying.

I remember being home on maternity leave and still being in that stage where I got all kinds of upset when Annie would cry and I couldn’t immediately calm her.  I have this very specific memory of one day when Annie was maybe 3 weeks old and I was sitting in the glider, rocking to beat the band, big fat tears streaming down my face, and pressing Annie’s hot, red, screaming head to my chest, willing her to find some sort of comfort in what I was doing and just calm down already.  I looked over at David in the midst of this and said, all pitiful, “I’m just so tired.”  I think he took Annie from me and I wandered off to the bedroom, where I had a good cry and felt like a terrible mother.

Now, 2 months or so later, I understand that Annie will cry.  And there are times when she will inconsolably cry.  That’s just how it is with a baby.  It doesn’t mean I’m a bad mom.  It doesn’t mean I don’t love her enough or know how to comfort her.  It just means she wants – or needs – to cry.  And while those moments are fewer and farther between and as she gets older it gets easier to figure out what her deal is when she’s crying, they do still happen.  And they will continue to happen – for years to come.  I just deal with it better now…most of the time (no comments from my husband are necessary here).

But I digress…I guess my point is that in that moment those weeks ago I longed for Annie to be 12 weeks old.  I remember thinking 12 weeks was some magic number when she would be oh so close to not being a newborn anymore and would, instead, be an honest-to-goodness baby.  And now, here we are, with a big 12 week-old, and I can’t believe it’s happened so fast.  

Yesterday was the first day of FALL.  Fall, I say!  Where did the summer go?  And where did my newborn go?  Now she’s big enough and strong enough to sit in a Bumbo seat and I haven’t had to support her head when I carry her for weeks.  While she still loves to lie on her activity mat and bat at the toys hanging down, she greatly prefers sitting up on the couch with Mommy and Daddy to lying down on it.  She makes flirty eyes at the ceiling fan and sometimes even sleeps in her crib during naps – unswaddled!  When I carry her from room to room, it is in a modified version of the baby-on-hip-posture, not the holding-her-head-against-my-chest thing I used to have to do because she was too little to have much head control.  My baby girl is getting so big – it seems like she grows from the time I leave home in the morning until I come home in the evening.  Where oh where does the time go?

And now, with it being so much easier to see what all of those people meant when they advised me to enjoy every second, I find myself wishing I could do these first 12 weeks all over again.  Not because I would do them differently (although I would stress and worry less and just enjoy holding her, snuggling her, and staring at her more), but because I already miss her early babyhood.  

Before I know it, she’ll be starting preschool, graduating from eighth grade, and learning to drive a car.  In the blink of an eye, I’ll be helping her pick out a prom dress, dorm accessories, and curtains for her first apartment.  Someday way too soon I will be unboxing my wedding dress and veil to see if it fits her (and praying she likes it enough to use part of it in her own fantasy day) and packing my bag to go help her with her own baby.  The thoughts of this bring such big, sloppy tears to my eyes that I’m going to have to stop thinking about it.  But I say all of this to say that I totally get it now.  I know what they mean when they say that time flies, because I honestly have no idea where the last 12 weeks have gone.

Here We Go...

I've been threatening to do it for a while now.  I've toyed with this idea of starting a blog and have finally decided to just go for it.  It seems fitting to start one now, while my first child is small and there are new things to report to family and friends who don't see her everyday.  I may get bored with it after a few posts...or I might just take to it and continue to add "blogging" to my list of interests for years to come.  Who knows.  Regardless, welcome to the journey.  I hope you like it!