3 Months

This month has been so much fun! We are getting lots of smiles, laughs and more personality. Our sweet little girl is growing so big and it’s been wonderful getting to see her achieve new milestones and discover new things. At the same time though it’s a little heartbreaking to realize how quickly she moves from one baby stage to the next. She went for her 9 week checkup and got 3 shots which was horrible to endure for this momma. She is in the 90^th percentile for weight and 60^th for height … guess that means she is taking after her mom, poor thing. I feel like we are in such a wonderful phase right now because she is happy pretty much all of the time, she takes wonderful naps and is sleeping through the night. She will go to sleep somewhere between 8:30 – 10 and wakes up around 5:30, dream feeds and then will usually sleep until somewhere around 8:30. I know I should count my blessings on this one!

Peyton is getting such good head/neck control and we have been able to do more activities. She loves sitting up now and we’ve tried using the bumbo a few times. She really likes to sit in it but can’t stay for very long because she gets tired. She still hates tummy time … oh well. She also has discovered her feet and it is hilarious to watch her watch her feet. She gets so tickled when she realizes they belong to her and she can move them herself. I painted her toenails so that there is a little bit more of a visual interest for her, which was no easy task. I’m sure there is some women’s right group out there that would like to chop my head off for doing that but she digs it. Her favorite toy right now is her mobile, she gets sooo tickled when she can kick it and it makes different noises for her. She still is a huge fan of bath time but unfortunately has out grown the sink. I still really wanted to use her flower in the bathtub so I decided to get a laundry basket and put it in there, this has worked out wonderfully and she is loving all of the leg room to kick around.

Surprise surprise we made another trip back to Kentucky this month for two whole weeks which as always was wonderful. Peyton and I were able to attend Chase’s t-ball game and Jack’s soccer game, both were rock stars. One of the most difficult things for me when we moved was not getting to be as involved in my nieces and nephews activities, so it was very nice to have the time to watch some of their events. Peyton and I have started taking lots of walks which she is usually a huge fan of. I’ve recovered enough to be able to be pretty active and not be sore the next day which has been absolutely wonderful, I finally feel like myself again.

I’ve also gone back to work which consists of working 2 days a week and Peyton goes with me. The owner and his family have been absolutely wonderful to me and it is such a blessing to be able to get out of the house a bit but not have to leave my sweet girl. Everyone has been asking me how cloth diapering has been going. Honestly I love it! It’s not difficult to do at all and is so much more comfortable for her. It has especially been nice since it has gotten warmer because then I can dry all the diapers outside.

Jordan was in a wedding this month so Peyton got to hang out with her Nonna (my mom) and her Cookie (Shapell) while we were at the rehearsal dinner. I was a little bit worried about leaving her because she has not been very good about taking a bottle. I was so relieved when I got a text saying that she took a bottle like a champ though. Now that I know she is willing to take a bottle I see more dates for Jordan and I and also some daddy daughter dates in the future.

Before having Peyton I had an idea of how I wanted things to go and everyone always says never say never when it comes to raising your children. I should have listened when I got this advice because I said we would never co-sleep. Somewhere along the way Peyton and I ended up sharing our bed one night and she slept great. Since then it has somewhat became a habit, especially early in the morning and naps. Sometimes in the evening she’ll fall asleep with us snuggling in bed and then I’ll transition her to her own bed when she is good and asleep. I guess in the future I just need to keep an open mind and see what works best for us as a family regardless of the preconceived notions I had.

On to the next month to see what adventures await us!

Hanging out in the bumbo.

On our way to Chase's T-ball game

Checking out her feet

Before church

 

 

Finally taking a Paci

 

 Matching Toes!

2 Months

It has been so much fun to be able to see more and more of Peyton’s personality come out this month. For the most part she is a very content baby and really doesn’t cry very much unless she needs/wants something. She loves new things/people and she will just sit and watch and study whatever it is. I think she is going to be a little social butterfly because she loves when we go places and new people come and talk to her. I’ve kind of given up on a schedule with her because she sleeps so well at night. I let her let me know when she’s sleepy/hungry and for the most part let her sleep as long as she would like. She is getting a little bit better about sleeping on her own and in her own space. I have to make sure she is really asleep before I try to lay her down otherwise she will wake up. She will sleep for 4-6 hours at night and I feel totally refreshed after that many consecutive hours of sleep. The only difficult thing is when she wakes up in the middle of the night to nurse she will not go straight back to sleep so we could be up for a few hours. I try to make this time as positive as possible so when were up I make it my priority to pray for her and her alone.

We’ve started to get some smiles out of her which brings my heart so much joy. It is such a good feeling to be able to interact with her and get a positive reaction back. It makes me look forward to when she starts laughing too. We have been traveling A LOT since she was born and I’m so lucky she likes to be in the car. We made a trip to Mayfield, KY to visit Jordan’s grandparents and it was fun to be able to get to introduce everyone to Peyton. We also made another trip back to Lexington for a few weeks while Jordan was traveling again. Easter was spent in Huntsville so we could get back into a routine and spend some time as a family. We were able to go to church and spent time with our Mt. Zion family and then had lunch with the lovely Karen who works with Jordan. I was reflecting about our time in Huntsville and what a different life we have now since last Easter. We have been blessed enough to have a wonderful daughter in our life now and a truly fantastic church family. I'm looking forward to what changes we experience between now and next Easter.

 It has finally started to warm up enough to be able to go outside a little bit. I was getting a little stir crazy being inside all of the time. Peyton seems to enjoy the outdoors and the dogs like it when we come to visit them on their turf. We’ve taken a few walks but my recovery (or lack thereof) doesn’t allow us to go for long or far. I’m still having a difficult time lifting things and using my abdominal muscles for anything. At my 6 week follow up appointment my doctor said everything was healing nicely and I should expect my full recovery to take 9 - 12 months ... wowzers.

I’m about a month late posting this and I’m hoping I remember all of the details from this specific month and don’t mix up anything that occurred during month 3.

Strolling Outside

This ridiculous looking flower has been such a life saver while traveling because it holds her head up when she falls asleep ... best $8 we've spent.

Precious Smile

Dad of the year taking Peyton and Sofie on a walk.

Happy Easter!