Thankful

Wednesday, November 28, 12

How can I possibly remember every single one of these moments when my daughter changes daily? It seems like just yesterday that she started grabbing toys and now, 2 weeks later, she is holding on and shaking them and bringing them to her mouth.  She lays in her crib after waking from a nap and happily blows raspberries and “talks” to herself (or her imaginary friends…or is it the vent?).  She kicks her legs when playing like there is no tomorrow.  No wonder she used to startle me so much when she was still in my belly.  Those kicks have some force. 

Maddie just went through another wonder week growth spurt last week, which was very apparent by her refusal to sleep through the night.  We have been so fortunate that she has slept so well from very early on that I forgot how difficult it was to get up in the middle of the night for a 2:00AM feeding.  She kept this up for about a week but last night slept, well, like a baby!  ;-) She went down at 10:00, woke at 11:30 and, after Phil rocked her to sleep, she slept through until 7:30 in the morning and then took a 2 hour nap after eating in the morning.  Now we are playing on the floor in her gym and she is just as sweet and happy as can be.  I hope that she reverts back to her good sleep schedule again and that last week really was a developmental milestone causing her to be out of her usual routine.

This is the life!

Let’s see. Updates in the life of a Jones.  Well, last week was Thanksgiving, of course, and we had a wonderful time seeing all of our family members (minus a few who decided to celebrate in California). We saw Vanessa and Steve for the first time since they got engaged (YAY!!!) and Jay’s parents came up to celebrate with us, too.  I don’t remember how long it’s been since I have seen them, so it was great to spend some time and to eat their oh-so-amazingly-delicious food.  Wow. Those two can cook and I mean it! We also saw my side of the family on the following Sunday and had another amazing meal. Phil and I are truly spoiled. My dad makes, hands down, the best stuffing in the world! I can’t wait until Maddie is old enough to try it. 

Beautiful Aunt Vanessa and Mads

Phil and I also went shopping and bought new leather furniture for the living room this past weekend and we LOVE them! We are excited to have people over, now, as we think the new living room setup is more conducive for entertaining.  We are just waiting on the chair and the rug and then the room will be complete. 

Spiritually, this past week I have seen the Lord really answer a lot of my prayers.  They may seem like silly little things, but sometimes the Lord shows up in little ways and we just have to watch for them.  God is also growing me through this furniture-experience, too, and teaching me to be patient and kind and to trust in Him when things don’t go exactly as planned.  He is so good and us Joneses are truly blessed!

Post-baby weight report: I am officially one pound away from hitting my post-marathon weight! I’ve been sticking to my workout routine (except during the week when I had an awful cold that took my voice from me for three days) and the breastfeeding is helping out with the drop, too.  I also am seeing the vertical line on my belly starting to fade (finally!) and my stretch marks are minimal and no longer very dark: very happy for that. Do I see a bikini in my future??? Well….I don’t know that I would go that far.  Haha.

Oh, little precious Madelynn: you have brought me so much joy.  I am watching her play again right now and I am just overflowing with love! Children truly are a blessing from God. Psalm 127:3 -- very true. 

Precious baby and Mommy with my hair freshly cut (10 inches donated to charity!)

Pacifier!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

This week has been nice, so far.  Maddie has been a little angel for the majority of the week, with the exception of some evening-screaming, which Phil and I have come to expect.  She has discovered the pacifier as a soothing mechanism and will actually take it for long periods of time.  Phil and I have tried to give her the paci on numerous occasions to help quiet her when she has been upset in the past, but she wanted nothing to do with it.  This weekend, though, after trying everything else on the planet to calm little Mads down, we resorted to giving the pacifier a shot again and, to our surprise, Maddie took it and was soothed by it instantly.  It’s adorable watching her use it.  She plays with it with her hands and little fingers and will push my hand out of the way so she can hold it in her mouth herself. I am excited that it appears that her fine motor skills are being developed through this process.  She also will stop sucking sometimes and “talk” for a little while before remembering, “Oh, yeah! Pacifier! Boom!” and starts sucking again.  She seriously cracks me up.  I have startled her a couple of times with my tummy-jiggling laughter. 

I started going to a new small group this week and I am loving it so far.  It is SO refreshing to have a break mid-week and be surrounded by Godly women and reading God’s word and being reminded of his promises to us.  He is great, powerful, all-in-all, in control and has dominion over everything.  A great word to remember during the difficult times throughout the week.  I’m really looking forward to next Wednesday night!

Tummy-time: oh my goodness, Maddie hates it! We are still working on increasing the time every day, but Maddie’s spine and neck really seem to be getting stronger with the short spouts she has on her tummy every morning.  I was so excited yesterday watching her turn from her tummy onto her side and ALMOST onto her back.  A couple more weeks and I think she will be able to roll over.  I’m looking forward to it. 

"Hi, everyone! I am 3 months old, now!" 

Phil’s birthday is coming up this weekend and I am really looking forward to celebrating with him. I think we’ll be getting together with family from both sides at some point, so it will be a busy weekend.  We will have “Phil’s birthday (observed)” on Monday, though, since he will be taking the day off of work again.  WOO HOO! We love having daddy home during the weekdays. 

Now, I am just waiting for Maddie to wake up, which should be any minute now.  Thanks to daylight savings, she is now going to bed by around 10:30 and sleeping until 8 or 8:30 am.  Such a long stretch! I love being able to go to bed earlier and getting an earlier start on the day, too.  Plus, we are working on getting a good nap schedule in place, so I am getting a little bit more “me-time” during the days so I can get my workout in and do some housecleaning (or write my blog!). 

Well, Maddie is starting to stir.  Sure enough – it’s 8:33! Off to see my “good morning, mommy!” smile from my little princess.  J

Happy Halloween! 12 weeks old and learning!

Thursday, November 1, 12

Happy day after Halloween! We didn’t go trick or treating or anything since Maddie is so little.  We decided to skip the costume this year and just put her in a cute little dress with pumpkins for the pockets. It was cold, so we decided to save the trick or treating until next year.  We did get lots of cute little kids coming around with their parents, though, which was nice to see.  They all looked so cute!

Maddie seems to be learning so much recently! We are playing so much and Maddie is cracking up about the things that we do.  She just loves to watch us dance and sing and she loves the little clapping game with play with her: we count to four while clapping and then attack her with kisses.  She now anticipates the kisses when hearing the clapping and counting and starts laughing even before we lunge at her.  It’s adorable.  She kicks and smiles and giggles when playing on the floor in her gym, too.  She is on the verge of being able to grab at toys on her own, which I am so excited for.  She will hold onto them if I put them in her hand, but she hasn’t started to pick them up on her own yet. 

Maddie is also sleeping for 10 hours at night now.  It is nice because it gives me a good idea of when she is going to wake up in the morning so I can get a few things done around the house beforehand.  I’m still trying to get a good naptime schedule together, though.  She has been very clingy this week (growth spurt??) and hasn’t been sleeping in her crib during the day, but she will pass out in my arms.  It makes it tough to get my workout in, but I’ve been able to squeeze little spurts of running or biking in while she snoozes here and there.  I’m hoping this clinginess passes soon, though.

I’m trying to implement more tummy time, too.  Maddie hates it but I know it is so important, so I try to put her on her belly for short periods during the day.  Yesterday, she played on her belly for 10 minutes before crying, so that was a nice long stretch.  I try to have her on my chest and recline, too, so she can work on her neck muscles that way, as well.  She seems so strong, so I’m thinking she’s getting enough.  I’ll still try to increase it a little bit more over time, though. 

Overall, things are good! Phil will say that the evening screaming is just as bad as it has always been, but I think Maddie has quieted down quite a bit.  She seems happy and healthy and is getting bigger before my eyes. She’s not chubby by any means, but she’s got a little fat in those cheeks.  What a cutie!