Sweet Adelaide,
You are sleeping soundly in your crib right now. I hope you are having the sweetest of dreams. The past couple days with you have been great. You have been full of snuggles and smiles! Yesterday at Thanksgiving dinner you couldn't take your eyes off your great grandpa banfield. Take advantage of your time with your wonderful grandparents and learn as much as you can from them - they are all wonderful people! I've been studying you a lot lately, trying to take mental notes of the things you do so I can lock them away, treasure them in my heart for always. But in case I forget, I will write them here. You've been really into standing lately. Of course, not on your own, but while holding my thumbs in your precious little hands. It's so fun to watch you pull and push with all your might to go from a semi-reclined position to a standing one. As soon as you get all the way up, you grin from ear to ear. To see the look of joy on your face when you succeed in doing what you set out to do... I imagine it will only continue to melt my heart as you get older and the task gets bigger. There are those tines though when I know you are truly our daughter because you get so frustrated when you can't do something - part of the reason you hate tummy time so much. It frustrates you to no end that you can't already pick your head up and crawl around. Sometimes I'll get down on my tummy and encourage you and it always amazes me how much harder you try when I am down there with you. I hope your daddy and I can continue to encourage you and cheer for you in everything and that no goal will be too high for you. I love you so much sweet girl. There's so much more I can say, but you've already been asleep an hour and that's one less hour of sleep for me! I can't wait to see your smiling face in the morning. :)
Friday 25 November 2011
Tuesday 22 November 2011
#iamthankful #part2
Sweet Adelaide,
Even though this post won't be much about you, I'm writing it to you so there will be no question about how much I love your daddy. This is my tribute to him and all (more like 2%) of the reasons I am thankful for him...
I am thankful for your daddy because he serves and loves the Lord above all else. You and I never have to worry about him leaving or being uninvolved because he seeks the will of God first and foremost (and contrary to popular culture, it is not the will of God for fathers to abandon their families)
I am thankful for your daddy because he loves me and is constantly looking for ways to show me that.
I am thankful for your daddy because he has a great sense of humor and makes me laugh (someday he'll make you laugh too!)
I am thankful for your daddy because he keeps me accountable to things and calls me out when I mess up.
I am thankful for your daddy because he prays for us.
I am thankful for your daddy because he's a great cuddler :)
I am thankful for your daddy because he could've married a lot of other girls, but he chose me.
I am thankful for your daddy because he is your daddy and without him, you would not be here!
I hope you never take for granted how blessed you are to have the daddy you do. Treasure every moment you get with him. Learn from him. Laugh with him. And one day, marry a man like him. Don't settle for anyone less!!
I love you baby girl. I can't wait to snuggle with you all weekend :)
Even though this post won't be much about you, I'm writing it to you so there will be no question about how much I love your daddy. This is my tribute to him and all (more like 2%) of the reasons I am thankful for him...
I am thankful for your daddy because he serves and loves the Lord above all else. You and I never have to worry about him leaving or being uninvolved because he seeks the will of God first and foremost (and contrary to popular culture, it is not the will of God for fathers to abandon their families)
I am thankful for your daddy because he loves me and is constantly looking for ways to show me that.
I am thankful for your daddy because he has a great sense of humor and makes me laugh (someday he'll make you laugh too!)
I am thankful for your daddy because he keeps me accountable to things and calls me out when I mess up.
I am thankful for your daddy because he prays for us.
I am thankful for your daddy because he's a great cuddler :)
I am thankful for your daddy because he could've married a lot of other girls, but he chose me.
I am thankful for your daddy because he is your daddy and without him, you would not be here!
I hope you never take for granted how blessed you are to have the daddy you do. Treasure every moment you get with him. Learn from him. Laugh with him. And one day, marry a man like him. Don't settle for anyone less!!
I love you baby girl. I can't wait to snuggle with you all weekend :)
Monday 21 November 2011
#iamthankful
I love hashtags. I don't know why because I'm really not good at coming up with really clever ones like some people, but I just think they are fun. Anyway..
Sweet Adelaide,
I am incredibly thankful for you. I am thankful that my pregnancy with you was without problem. That I could still dance even that last week you were in my belly. That the worst thing I experienced were those first weeks of morning sickness. That you grew healthily despite my need to eat cereal and ice cream constantly. That you made it full term.
I am thankful that your birth went without hitch. That God gave me the strength to do it naturally. That things progressed quickly. That the doctor was wise and skilled in what he had to do. That the worst I had to endure was a few stitches. That you were healthy and breathing well from the get go. That they let me hold you immediately. That your daddy was there through it all, encouraging me and praying for me.
I am thankful that you took to nursing almost immediately. That I have enough milk to feed you. That you continue to grow everyday. That I get to steal away throughout the day and spend precious moments, just me and you.
I am thankful for your smile. Especially those early morning grins I get right after you eat. It sure makes waking up at 5 a joy rather than a burden.
I am thankful that you seem to enjoy daycare. That you are well taken care of and that you have the opportunity to develop social skills earlier in life.
I am thankful that you are such a good sleeper. That it is rare for you to wake up before 5. That you sleep in your crib without incident.
I am thankful for your red hair.
I am thankful that you get to grow up with family close by.
I am thankful that you have a loving, encouraging, and involved daddy. And that you two are already developing a special relationship.
Darling, I love you so much. I am thankful for you. You bring me joy. And teach me new attributes of God that I never could fully understand before now. And you make me love your daddy so much more. Without him, sweet girl, I believe we would fall to pieces. We are so blessed.
I am so blessed.
You are loved, beautiful. Time for bed now! Sweet dreams my precious Adelaide :)
Sweet Adelaide,
I am incredibly thankful for you. I am thankful that my pregnancy with you was without problem. That I could still dance even that last week you were in my belly. That the worst thing I experienced were those first weeks of morning sickness. That you grew healthily despite my need to eat cereal and ice cream constantly. That you made it full term.
I am thankful that your birth went without hitch. That God gave me the strength to do it naturally. That things progressed quickly. That the doctor was wise and skilled in what he had to do. That the worst I had to endure was a few stitches. That you were healthy and breathing well from the get go. That they let me hold you immediately. That your daddy was there through it all, encouraging me and praying for me.
I am thankful that you took to nursing almost immediately. That I have enough milk to feed you. That you continue to grow everyday. That I get to steal away throughout the day and spend precious moments, just me and you.
I am thankful for your smile. Especially those early morning grins I get right after you eat. It sure makes waking up at 5 a joy rather than a burden.
I am thankful that you seem to enjoy daycare. That you are well taken care of and that you have the opportunity to develop social skills earlier in life.
I am thankful that you are such a good sleeper. That it is rare for you to wake up before 5. That you sleep in your crib without incident.
I am thankful for your red hair.
I am thankful that you get to grow up with family close by.
I am thankful that you have a loving, encouraging, and involved daddy. And that you two are already developing a special relationship.
Darling, I love you so much. I am thankful for you. You bring me joy. And teach me new attributes of God that I never could fully understand before now. And you make me love your daddy so much more. Without him, sweet girl, I believe we would fall to pieces. We are so blessed.
I am so blessed.
You are loved, beautiful. Time for bed now! Sweet dreams my precious Adelaide :)
Friday 18 November 2011
Sweet Adelaide
It has been exactly 6 months since I last blogged. Which actually surprises me. It feels like it has been about 6 years. And to be honest, I haven't *reallY* missed it. But I randomly decided to read my old posts and it made me wish I had been blogging these past 6 months, simply because it reminded me of where I've been. And sometimes, we all need a reminder of where we've been to prove that we are actually headed somewhere (whether good or bad). So here I am, hoping to ignite a passion in myself once again for blogging. (my lighter fluid seems to leak everytime I fill it up, though..)
The past 6 months have been quite full. But it's the past 2 months that have been the most interesting (and for the thousands of you that follow me so faithfully, you can probably guess why ;) Our whole "life as we know it" turned upside down and backwards as the addition of the world's cutest baby was made to our simple little family. On September 17, 2011 at 11:15 am, our hearts grew twice their size as we held (and were peed on!) by little sweet Adelaide Sophia. She has transformed everything we thought we knew about life. You always hear people say things like "just wait, it's different when it's your own kid" (esp in regards to bowel movements) and "you'll feel differently when you have your own" and "you don't know real love until you have a baby" And while I've believed most of these things to be true, I never really believed any of them to be true. Poop is poop. Worrying is for the birds. And I know real love, duh! But now that Ada (which is pronounced A-duh, rhymes with beta) is here, poop is not so bad, worrying is a constant battle, and I know a new kind of love now. I always assumed that when you have a baby, the love you already have in your heart sort of just transfers over to your baby and you can control how much of it transfers (hence why some people "stop loving" their spouses and idolize their children) But that's not how it is at all. Rather than transferring love, I have a whole new deeper capability of loving. I still love God deeply. And I still love Sam wholeheartedly. But now I have another kind of love for my beautiful baby girl. What a beautiful, incredible thing God has gifted us with in this!
And speaking of Ada, I have decided to dedicate a portion of each post to her, as sort of a letter to her now for her future self to read and remember (even though she isn't capable of storing memories long term yet!) how much her mommy loves her and the things we experience together in these early years. So feel free to forego reading it, since it's really only meant for Adelaide. Or read it and be jealous that our daughter is the world's greatest. Your choice ;)
And now, to my sweet Adelaide,
We sure have come a long way these past 2 months. It's hard to believe that the sweet little girl snuggled into her daddy's arms right now is the same little girl that snuggled into my heart that Saturday morning. You have grown and changed so much. Since I am starting this 2 months into our relationship, occasionally I'll "flashback" to moments before now that strike me as memorable and note worthy. But for now, I'll dote on all the amazing things you do. For example, this past week was our first week learning to cope with being apart - you in Ms. Donna's room at the daycare and me around the corner with my preschoolers. We had our difficult moments, times when I was feeding you and ran out of time before you ran out of milk and I had to stop you and let Ms. Donna finish (not fun to see you cry and give me that look like "why aren't you feeding me, mom??") and we've had sweet moments where I get to just snuggle you and savor every sweet smile. But overall, we survived and, dare I say, thrived! Ms. Donna said today was the best day you had all week. You slept a lot, smiled a lot, and generally seemed to enjoy yourself. Which warms this mama's heart! It's still tricky trying to figure out the whole feeding thing, since you seem to just eat whenever someone offers food and ask for it when they don't. I have a hard time trying to find the balance between being a good, concerned and proactive mother and not wanting to spoil you or become too obsessive about everything. There is a very fine line, as it turns out. But just know that in all things, we seek the very best for you and pray that your daddy and I make the best most Godly decisions for your life, and that when we don't, we have the humility to admit our mistake. You are most treasured, little one, and every moment spent with you is a gift. It's funny, in the first few weeks, you spent most of your time sleeping or eating, and when you weren't doing either of those, we were doing everything we could to try to help you sleep. But now as you get older and stay awake longer, our efforts are focused less on getting you to sleep and more on getting you to smile. I can't tell you the joy it brings to us both when you bust out in a big, toothless grin. You really are the cutest little baby ever (no offense to all the other babies reading this, I'm sure you're cute, too ;) We look forward to watching you grow and learning how to best serve you and love you. Until next time, remember that we love you very much!
XOXO
p.s. You are a fantastic little sleeper. Thank you for that :)
p.p.s. Sorry for those times I ate spicy food without thought to what it would do to your poor digestive tract!
The past 6 months have been quite full. But it's the past 2 months that have been the most interesting (and for the thousands of you that follow me so faithfully, you can probably guess why ;) Our whole "life as we know it" turned upside down and backwards as the addition of the world's cutest baby was made to our simple little family. On September 17, 2011 at 11:15 am, our hearts grew twice their size as we held (and were peed on!) by little sweet Adelaide Sophia. She has transformed everything we thought we knew about life. You always hear people say things like "just wait, it's different when it's your own kid" (esp in regards to bowel movements) and "you'll feel differently when you have your own" and "you don't know real love until you have a baby" And while I've believed most of these things to be true, I never really believed any of them to be true. Poop is poop. Worrying is for the birds. And I know real love, duh! But now that Ada (which is pronounced A-duh, rhymes with beta) is here, poop is not so bad, worrying is a constant battle, and I know a new kind of love now. I always assumed that when you have a baby, the love you already have in your heart sort of just transfers over to your baby and you can control how much of it transfers (hence why some people "stop loving" their spouses and idolize their children) But that's not how it is at all. Rather than transferring love, I have a whole new deeper capability of loving. I still love God deeply. And I still love Sam wholeheartedly. But now I have another kind of love for my beautiful baby girl. What a beautiful, incredible thing God has gifted us with in this!
And speaking of Ada, I have decided to dedicate a portion of each post to her, as sort of a letter to her now for her future self to read and remember (even though she isn't capable of storing memories long term yet!) how much her mommy loves her and the things we experience together in these early years. So feel free to forego reading it, since it's really only meant for Adelaide. Or read it and be jealous that our daughter is the world's greatest. Your choice ;)
And now, to my sweet Adelaide,
We sure have come a long way these past 2 months. It's hard to believe that the sweet little girl snuggled into her daddy's arms right now is the same little girl that snuggled into my heart that Saturday morning. You have grown and changed so much. Since I am starting this 2 months into our relationship, occasionally I'll "flashback" to moments before now that strike me as memorable and note worthy. But for now, I'll dote on all the amazing things you do. For example, this past week was our first week learning to cope with being apart - you in Ms. Donna's room at the daycare and me around the corner with my preschoolers. We had our difficult moments, times when I was feeding you and ran out of time before you ran out of milk and I had to stop you and let Ms. Donna finish (not fun to see you cry and give me that look like "why aren't you feeding me, mom??") and we've had sweet moments where I get to just snuggle you and savor every sweet smile. But overall, we survived and, dare I say, thrived! Ms. Donna said today was the best day you had all week. You slept a lot, smiled a lot, and generally seemed to enjoy yourself. Which warms this mama's heart! It's still tricky trying to figure out the whole feeding thing, since you seem to just eat whenever someone offers food and ask for it when they don't. I have a hard time trying to find the balance between being a good, concerned and proactive mother and not wanting to spoil you or become too obsessive about everything. There is a very fine line, as it turns out. But just know that in all things, we seek the very best for you and pray that your daddy and I make the best most Godly decisions for your life, and that when we don't, we have the humility to admit our mistake. You are most treasured, little one, and every moment spent with you is a gift. It's funny, in the first few weeks, you spent most of your time sleeping or eating, and when you weren't doing either of those, we were doing everything we could to try to help you sleep. But now as you get older and stay awake longer, our efforts are focused less on getting you to sleep and more on getting you to smile. I can't tell you the joy it brings to us both when you bust out in a big, toothless grin. You really are the cutest little baby ever (no offense to all the other babies reading this, I'm sure you're cute, too ;) We look forward to watching you grow and learning how to best serve you and love you. Until next time, remember that we love you very much!
XOXO
p.s. You are a fantastic little sleeper. Thank you for that :)
p.p.s. Sorry for those times I ate spicy food without thought to what it would do to your poor digestive tract!
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