5.16.11

I was just reading my weekly update for the baby website I subscribe too and am feeling so lucky and blessed and downright happy. On the website women ask questions in a forum format for other moms to respond to with answers or advice and one of them said this, “All I kept hearing was how this motherhood thing begins to get easier after 6 weeks or so. 8 weeks, 1 day and counting.” I read this and I am thankful I don't feel this way, I feel the exact opposite. Each day I take a picture of Ariah as she is waking up or before she wakes up because she is growing and changing so fast. As the day passes I just want to pause it so I can stare at her for another hour without feeling pulled to get something accomplished, like packing a box because we are still in the midst of moving. Sure, I am tired of changing diapers, 240 in 21 days is a lot, and I do feel like a robot refilling the wipes bin every other day. I get frustrated when I can't figure her out or fix whatever is making her cry but it's few and far between. I have virtually given up putting actual clothing on her because I have to unsnap and resnap so often so she lives bundled in blankets. I miss the days of getting things done, showering and running and accomplishing errands in a timely manner but I hate the moments that go by and that I can't get back. Hate is a strong word but it is accurate, my newborn is 7 weeks old today and it has all gone by so quickly! Her little face is filling out and her cry is even different.

When people see her and ask how old she is they are surprised when I say 7 weeks because they all say she looks like a 5 month old, I guess that's what happens when she is born the size of a toddler :) Her next well baby appointment is June 6, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that she weighs 11 pounds, she has gotten so heavy. 2 weeks ago she started making bubbles with her mouth which, believe it or not, is a milestone. A few days after that she smiled at me for the first time. I will never forget that. I didn't think her cute little face could be any cuter and then she smiled. She could light up the world with that smile. When I have her over my shoulder to carry her or burp her, she has started holding onto my shoulder and it's such a neat feeling. I love having her close to me all day long and I am so thankful I get to stay home with her.

This past Sunday Kyle took her for the morning so I could go for a run, the first one in 5 months. It was awesome. I woke up and fed, burped and changed Ariah and passed her off to dad. I was gone for about 35 minutes, I ran the whole time and I am pretty proud of that. When I returned I quietly opened the door and heard Kyle singing. I poked my head around the corner because I wanted to see them without them knowing I was there and it was the cutest thing ever. He was rocking her back and forth and singing the numbers 1-10 to her in his best voice. Apparently he ran out of words and baby songs and every time he stopped singing she would wake up and cry so he sang numbers. I fell in love with him as a daddy, again. The other thing he does that is super sweet is play patty cake with her. The kid cannot even sit up but she will be able to play patty cake and count to 10 before she's 2 months old. He sits her on his chest and holds her up by her hands and does patty cake, it totally melts my heart and even better, she loves it! She smiles and giggles the whole time, and then she spits up! It's priceless.

Ohp, she's up, I gotta go.