Let Laughter Be Your Song

Oh, it is busy busy here with the beginning of spring. My crocus have greeted the world with their bright purple flowers. I can see the daffodils and tulips have pushed up through the soil and are preparing delightful surprises for me. Spring has officially sprung.

And, amidst all of this, I feel frantic. I have too many hobbies and too little time! My garden is naked. I did manage to put down black plastic mulch and plan to shred the Christmas trees on top into a more appealing mulch. I did trim back my roses, but I haven't mulched or fertilized them. I am starting some veggies on the sill in my laundry room mostly onions so far, but hopefully I can hop skip jump out to the garden and get in some peas, broccoli, cabbage and spinach. Right now those are just little seed filled envelopes sitting on my counter but I hope to turn them into yummy veggies.

I am trying to organize my home as well. We are so blessed, and sometimes the better part of valor is knowing when to part with things we no longer use.  I think I sometimes forget that and think that she who dies with the most stuff wins. See this pile? It needs to go.

My poor quilt is neglected. I haven't touched it in weeks. I REALLY had wanted to finish it this week so I can take the binding class on the 31st. But with the lack of organization....well, I am simply not hanging out in my sewing room the way I would like.

But, here is the catch. Anytime I try and make progress, this wonderful little girl wants to play or eat. And I barely seem to maintain a sense of cleanliness through my home during her naps. There is just not much time for anything extra. But, at the same time, I can't help but think that these moments are going too fast and do I really want to miss all these fun memories so I can plant some spinach? Won't this quilt wait for me, rather than just pushing on with or without me? I think I will probably have the REST OF MY LIFE to clean and organize my house. So for now, I will focus on this ADORABLE little angel.

So, for you, Abigail's first real laugh. We were fortunate to get it on video. Lucky you!
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Three Mile Smile

Today, Abby is three months old. I suppose it is time I stopped telling people her age in weeks. She is getting so big! We had her two month check up last Wednesday (late, I know, move along, nothing to see here). In addition to the dreaded shots, Abby was weighed and measured, poked, prodded and tested. Guess what? She grew. A lot.

Please meet my twenty three inch long, twelve pound bundle of joy.  She is in the 50th percentile for height, for weight and for head size. The doctor was shocked that she hit all three numbers at exactly 50 percent. And, he was surprised at how strong her neck was and how easily she managed to hold it up and turn her head. Would you expect anything less from my joyful, super curious baby? She loves to look at everything.

So here we are at three months. She can do so much now! She can *almost* sit up on her own. She can lift her head off your shoulder and look all around the room. She can "vocalize"...a lot. She chatters nonstop and it is just so fun to listen to. When she finds something she likes, she gets very excited and kicks her feet, waves her arms and breathes so fast. And my favorite new development is that she can recognize Weston and I. Whenever she sees us, her face just lights up with the most gorgeous toothless smile I have ever seen!

I am not gonna lie to you. There are tough moments. The hardest part, so far, has been breast-feeding. Some people make it look so easy. All those moms at church quietly feeding their babies in the mothers' lounge (aka partitioned area of the bathroom). Our feedings aren't like that. I get frustrated. Abby gets frustrated. It is hard for us both. But, as we muddle through this experience together, I don't think I could love her more. She is so patient for someone so little and so hungry. Her growth shows that we are succeeding, but sometimes it feels that every day, every feeding is a battle we have to wage. If either one of us gives up, then we both lose. Luckily, I have a tenacious little partner.

So, another month of her babyhood is gone. Whoever said "the days are long but the years are short" lied to me. The days are way too short! At the end of each day I wonder how I could have spent more time with my Abigail. I wonder if I taught her enough. I worry that I missed something important that won't ever be recaptured. I marvel at her toothless grin, her funny half chuckle-half snort laugh. Her sense of humor is incredible and the fact that she can communicate so much with us without talking is simply unbelievable.

I will miss two-month old Abby, but I just have to hope that "The Best Is Yet To Come".

I Can't Hear The Music

I am bored. No, definitely not with my baby, who is adorable, as always. I am stuck in a music rut. I think I have listened to the same six cds on repeat for the last four months, maybe longer. I need something new, something fresh, something that screams "It is almost spring and then its time for summer fun!!!"

So, I am taking suggestions. I would LOVE something new and fun. The cds I am currently stuck on are Lady Antebellum's Need You Now, Taylor Swift's Fearless, Pink's Funhouse, the Mamma Mia Soundtrack (so fun, but only the first 200 times), The Eagles Greatest Hits, Simon & Garfunkel Live in Central Park and Yiruma (when I am in the nursery)

Suggestions? As long as it is clean and springy I would love to hear from you. It doesn't have to be new, just new to me...

And, just for fun, Weston and I ate out last week at Zupas, which is our new most favorite place to eat (I am really into trying new things right now). It is a fun little soup and sandwich shop that serves FREE chocolate covered strawberries with each meal. Here was Weston's crazy topped strawberry:

And here is Abby's hair after a bath:

Just sayin'....

A Day In The Life

I know that each and every reader of my blog is eager, waiting with baited breath to find out how my darling daughter spends her day. In the interest of pleasing you, my reader, I have documented several major events in my baby's day. Here is Abby first thing in the morning. She is all smiles and coos. She gets so excited to see whomever comes in to greet her.

Then, we bring her into our bed and cuddle for a little while. She is always just so happy!

After a yummy breakfast, she gets story time before she gets dressed and goes down for her nap.

While she naps, I frantically try and clean the house, sew or do whatever I have allowed to pile up, like dishes or laundry or showering.... But, a brief few hours later, she wakes up again and it is time to play! She loves to sit on her changing table and kick her legs in the air.

Then, it is time for lunch #1 followed by either a walk or another nap.

Then, after lunch #2, it is usually time for dad to come home and play with baby Abby!!!

Then, of course there is play time, dinner numbers one two and three and perhaps another story time.

Then, it is time for a bath, massage, swaddling and midnight snack. Here she is in her swaddling blanket.

Then, it is time for Abby to sleep. She is just so sweet in her crib, snoring away.

Such a sweet little girl!

Have Suit, Will Travel

It is finally snowing here in the beehive state, but, much to my chagrin, it is not sticking! I have visions of an adorable photo op including my sweet baby and a snowman. It does not look like this is the year for it, though. It hasn't snowed and stayed snowy since the night Abby was born, and, well, I was too busy right then to build a snowman...

But, being cooped up is apparently not my forte, slushy rain or not, so we are fortunate to have found a couple of fantastic and adorable little suits to drag Abby around town in! Here she is in her "bear suit" which is so warm and soft!

And here is her "ladybug suit" which I adore!

If I go anywhere during the day, she gets all bundled up in one of these. They are so super warm and she is just so super cute in them....summer clothes are not nearly as adorable!

Sometimes, the suits are so warm that when we get where we are going, I have to take it off so her face doesn't get red and she doesn't sweat.... Here we are visiting Daddy at work. 

Late in January, Weston and I got to go up to Midway with his cousins and hang out at a super fun cabin for the day. Abby passed out and we didn't get any snow day pictures that day, but we did get some sledding in!

And a cute couple picture in this little alpine hamlet....

Sorry for the rather dull post, but it has been awhile so I thought it might be time to record what we are and have been up to!

Wave Your Knickers In The Air

Before the adventure in parenthood began, Mr Darling and I made a lovely friend, the beautiful evie ivy overstreet. She is simply fantastic and talented at just about everything she seems to try. Evie's parenting has always impressed my sweet husband. Her children are well behaved, smart, and friendly, rarely watch tv and usually play with handmade toys. If that isn't enough, she cloth diapered...whew! 

But, Mr Darling was inspired. I was intrigued. Thus, we frequently discussed how amazing Evie is and how much we would like to emulate her mad parenting skills. And she made me think that perhaps cloth diapering was frugal, environmentally friendly and doable, not scary, overwhelming and gross.

(yes, this is my adorable daughter, No, this is NOT a diaper we use regularly!)

(pictures by peekaboo photos)

So we discussed. We pondered. We researched. I walked across the street and saw that another fantastic neighbor covered her baby's bum in cloth. I bit the bullet. Then we shelled out a considerable chunk of change on diapers. We chose these one size covers with organic cotton liners from "GroBaby".

 We felt that we chose the best option for our lifestyle. They snap smaller and then you unsnap them as baby gets bigger. Best of all, by my math, they will pay themselves off in 15 weeks. Seriously, I think I will be diapering a lot longer than that since we are at nine weeks and Abby has yet to say the word "potty".

Now, why am I blogging about diapers? Because I am excited at how easy they are. Hopefully, some other mom out there will read this and think, "hey, I can do that!"

I love that I don't deal with leaks and blowouts. I love not making emergency trips to the store because we are out of diapers. I love that my garbage can isn't overflowing with non-biodegradable ickiness.

I confess that I still use disposables overnight (and for those I thank the lovely ladies who came to my baby shower... thankyouthankyouthankyou). Disposables can hold more liquid overnight than cloth. But during the day? I DO NOT like changing clothes covered in poop. I have had to do it in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning and it is GROSS. And baby poo? It does NOT come out easy... Lifting a diaper liner out and throwing it in the pail is WAY easier. And not ruining Abby's cute clothes makes the extra 3-4 laundry loads every week totally worth it.

So, here it is. My name is Amanda and I am addicted to cloth diapers. I do it because it saves money. I do it because it saves the environment. I do it because I don't like poopy clothes or diaper rash. I am so glad that someone gave me the confidence to try it and for a supportive husband who agreed to brave this road with me.

Isn't She Lovely

Today, Abigail is two months old! The last 62 days have flown by. I understand completely why the saying is "the days are long but the years are short". My sweet little girl is no longer the itty bitty newborn. She has so many new facial expressions and her tiny toothless smiles are my very favorite thing!

Here she is at 8 weeks with her giant bear...she is getting bigger every day!

I bought this little pompom hat on etsy from a local girl. It is adorable, but Abby hates it. Too bad for Abby since I get her dressed and hide her hands in mittens!

She is still adored by her papa and cherished by her mother. I had no idea I could love her this much!

Here they are dancing before bedtime!! I love when they are both happy and get to spend time together.

I saw a picture of baby feet that I liked and wanted Mr Darling to do a similar picture with Abby. My vision was to take a picture like this:

But we also got a picture like this:

Which I also really like.

So far, I love being a mom. I haven't had to hear the word "no" a thousand times, very few temper tantrums and Abby's wants are fairly easy to discern. I love cuddling with her, feeding her, watching her play with her arms and legs and coo and talk to me, my sweet husband or the ceiling fan...

I love sneaking into her nursery and watching her sleep. I am surprised at how much fun I am having. I like getting her dressed, even changing diapers is kind of fun because she likes to be on her changing table. And look at her hair, her skin, her alert little eyes! I think just looking at her is fun.

So I ask you, isn't she lovely?

Happy two month birthday, Abby!!! I love you more every day!!