Daddy's Little Tiger

Grace and I surprised Matt Thursday night be getting her all decked out in her D-Town Tiger outfit to watch the game with him. I'm not sure if she'll wear another headband though since it left little marks all around her head.

Three Nights

We are going on three nights of Grace making it through the entire night. YAHOO! What makes it even better is after she eats (a whopping 5 ounces now), she is super smiley.

You Don't Know What You Have Until It's Gone

Don't agree? Just ask a sleep-deprived mother. Pre-baby, I slept a lot. An 8-hour night was rare. I could sleep anywhere from 9-12 hours a night. Let's just say those days are LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG gone. However, last night I got a glimpse of my old sleeping habit because ...

Grace

slept

through

the night

FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!!

9 p.m. - 5 a.m.

Gotta love XM Radio

Grace absolutely LOVES music. She loves the rainforest sounds and crazy music on her rainforest floor mat, and after I put together her new mobile, I found out she also likes Bach, Mozart, and Beetohoven. We learned quite quickly she needs noise/music in order to sleep, but I'm not too fond of listening to heartbeats, oceans, or white noise 24/7. This is where XM comes in. When Paula and Mallory were here, they turned on 20 on 20 which is a station of current pop music. Grace loved it (and still does.)

However, Matt isn't too fond of that music, so he listens to Lithium with her, which is Grunge and 90's Alternative Rock. She also loves Pearl Jam. Since then Grace has enjoyed the music from the 50's, country, and classical.

I think we'll stay away from rap!

Jockey's Ridge

Matt and I took Grace to Jockey's Ridge in the Outer Banks this past weekend. Just like our trip to the zoo and the aquarium, Grace slept the entire time. Jockey's Ridge contains the largest sand dunes on the Eastern shore. They are definitely nothing like the ones in Michigan, but I got a workout nonetheless hiking up and down dunes with Grace in the sling.




You can only see the top of Grace's sunprotected head. We love the SPF hats down here in Virginia.



A view from the bottom.



It must be exhausting just chilling out in a sling.

Snapshots from a Visit From Aunt Paula, Aunt Mallory, and cousin Landon

mother's day

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn’t worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn’t want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn’t stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn’t know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn’t know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn’t know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn’t know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

Author unknown

Grace Elizabeth is one-month today!

All That Matters

My sweet Grace....

and my husband!

Swing Away

My daughter has been sleeping for 15 minutes straight in her swing. HOLY COW! Usually, Grace only falls asleep in my arms, and even if I try to move her by putting her in the bassinett, boppy pillow, bouncy, etc. she lasts under 10 minutes before turning red from screaming. I didn't know what to do with myself for 15 minutes, so I thought I'd take care of housework. Yeah, you know that stuff that would have been neglected if not for my husband who does A LOT around the house. So far, I've started a load of laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, and dusted. And of course, now I'm typing away. I love watching her sleep while she is in my arms, but it is nice to be arms free once in awhile. And it's nice to have some feeling again in my right arm.

Why Typing With One Hand Rocks

....because my sleeping daughter is occupying the other. I tried all morning to get her to nap. We tried the stroller, bassinet, and boppy. She just needed mommy.