Why I Love being Audrey elizabeth's mommy

There are so many reasons why I love being Audrey's Elizabeth's mommy.  I preface this post with those very specific words because I know I will love being a mommy to (hopefully) many more, but this post is specifically about being Audrey's mommy.  From the very beginning, she's been her own person, establishing her own way of doing things.  She's never been a "by the book" kind of baby, which, in the beginning was a little frustrating because as a first time mommy I had no clue what I was doing, but now I just love more than anything in this world!  These last 3 months at home with her have been more precious to me than I can put into words.  We spent that time really getting know each other and I can say that I am a much better mommy for it!  I now know what her different cries mean, her sleep cues and when she routinely starts getting sleepy and ready for a nap, her internal rhythms, her likes and dislikes, her favorite positions to lay/play in, how she prefers to be held during snuggle time vs. play time, when she wants her paci and when she doesn't, etc.  Right now, I could tell you every little thing about her.  I treasure this time because I know as she gets older it won't be the same.  She'll continue to grow into her own person and I won't know every single detail about her anymore.  This already makes my heart so sad.  But for now, in this moment, I am so fulfilled as this precious little girl fills my heart with immense joy and purpose!  Every morning she wakes up with a smile on her face.  Just saying the words "good morning sunshine" makes her face light up with happiness!  After every rest period she spends about 10 minutes just stretching and waking herself up.  it's the cutest thing!  When I hold her (which is every possible chance I get), I'm always sure to hold her so close that I can feel her breath on my skin.  With going back to work recently and putting her in another's care, it's so important that she know her mommy's touch and the comfort only it can bring.  Every day I tell her 3 specific things over and over: 1. how beautiful she is, 2. how much her mommy and daddy love her so much, and 3. that God made her special and she is a daughter of the King.  My prayer is that by reinforcing these 3 truths every day, she will grow up with a sense of security and confidence in herself, her relationships, and her God every day of her life.  One of my favorite things is how she tells us she is making a dirty diaper.  There's a lot of grunting and clinching and her face turns red with every bit of effort - truly endearing :)  Which leads me to perhaps my most favorite thing of all about my sweet Audrey Elizabeth.  Ever since she was a teeny little baby, she has melted our hearts with her pouty lip.  Any time she gets sad or upset in any way, she sticks that lip out so far it immediately prompts us into some sort of action ... usually giving in to whatever she wants at that moment.  Chris says this will inevitably be his greatest downfall as her father.  Naturally ... what daddy can resist that face from his little girl?!  This will surely be her ticket to that new car, far too expensive prom dress, or getting her ears pierced or wearing makeup at far too young an age :)  And I would be remiss if I ended this post too soon without mentioning her sneezes :)  Obviously, babies don't come right of the womb with little voices, it takes some time to develop that.  So when she first started sneezing we were instantly inamored because it was like hearing her little voice for the first time.  Of course, now we hear it all the time because she loves to talk to us in her happiest of moments (which is practically all day), but her sneezes are even more endearing now because it sounds like she's windng herself up for a great release. And the fake-outs are even more hilarious because it almost sounds like she's straight up yelling at us!  We might think she was if we didn't know any better - lol!  It only seems right to end this love note to my daughter with the most practical thing we love about her the most - her snuggles!  Chris and I are very snuggly people by nature, so the fact that our little girl loves to snuggle just as much makes our hearts (and arms) so happy!  She cuddles herself right to sleep in our arms and it is THE most beautiful and precious memory we make every single day.  Being Audrey's mommy is by far the greatest blessing and most precious gift I've ever received and there's not a day that goes by that I do not thank God for His sovereignty and mercy over our lives by giving us this precious baby girl in His perfect time.

Roly Poly

Guess who's rolling over????  Last night after I came home from work, Audrey and I were playing on her activity mat.  I had laid her on her tummy so she could work on strengthening her neck, back, and arm muscles and before I could even blink she was pushing off with her right leg and rolling over (tummy to back, right to left)!  I could hardly believe my eyes so I made her do it for me at least a dozen more times!  I just cried and screamed and laughed - I was so excited and so proud!  I'll admit, I was also a little sad because it means my little girl is growing up and way too fast!  She's been rolling over every time I put her on belly since!

Audrey's First Cold

it had to happen eventually and I've tried to shelter her as much as possible, but our sweet baby girl finally caught her first cold :(  This weekend we were around a ton of people at our nephew's birthday party and then we put her in the nursery at church on Sunday, so who knows where she picked it up.  But when I came home from work on Tuesday, she had a runny/stuffy nose, a terrible little cough, and constant sneezing :(  It made for a rough night because she had a hard time sleeping through all that mess, but she finally went to sleep around 2am and slept hard until 8am this morning.  Fortunately it doesn't seem to phase her anymore that she's sick, she's been her usual happy self since she woke up, she just sounds terrible :(  I'm glad I could be home for this though so my special mommy love could heal all her ailments and make her feel better again :)