Life Lately

(New 1-month- AND 2-month-old pictures coming soon!)

Alice is smiling at us!  It breaks my little mommy heart every time she looks at me and smiles.  What could be better than that little bean who grew inside you for 9 months, takes your sleep for 2 months, and requires your every moment, finally "seeing" you for the first time?  It's not uncommon for my eyes to water with happy almost-tears when we're smiling at each other. Yesterday, as Caleb and I were standing over her, smiling like giddy fools, she let out a happy squeal!  Ah, the cuteness could kill.

So we've reached the responsive smiling milestone, and I have to be honest, I'm impatient for more milestones to start popping up.  I can't count how many times moms have said, "Oh, this is the best age," "I love this age," "I wish they could stay this age forever."  Of course I love tiny 2-month Alice, but really?  She can't sleep through the night, she likes to eat every 3 hours, when she cries we play guessing games to see what's wrong, and her new little digestive system makes her gassy and angry.  Call me a bad mom, but I am looking forward to her being just a few months older -- then maybe the guessing games won't be as common and she'll be just a little less needy.  There's nothing better than being needed, but it makes sense to me that a mom with more sleep and a baby whose digestive system is more mature would make life a little more stable. 

But Alice has been a trooper this past week or so.  About a week ago, my sister got married (hooray!), and with all of the wedding events/family in town, we had somewhere to go almost everyday.  Alice rocked those first few days, but as it got later in the week, she made it very clear to us that she was confused and very unhappy with how unpredictable life had become.  She chose the rehearsal dinner to introduce us to her loudest screams and longest cries... poor baby.  We learned our lesson, and brought her entire nursery with us to the wedding the next day!  Her bouncer, sound machine, monitor, pacie, and a dark room had her set for success (and her grandma to take care of her, of course).  She made it through the wedding like a champ.  I never thought that events could be such a big deal... infants are kind of a big deal and they're very good at carrying that "big deal" into every situation of life.  It's a good thing you're cute, kid!  But I guess it's worth it. :)

That's as exciting of an update there is right now.  Alice is the best little girl -- she tolerates long outtings, is patient in practicing nursing (yes, I'm pumping less and less! AMAZING), and is sleeping longer and longer through the night.  Oh, and let's not forget that she loves smiling so much that she'll sometimes stop mid-feeding just to smile for a few minutes.  And for me, the days are running together and getting out of the house couldn't be more glorious. 

Caleb and I are dreaming of a date night.  This dream might become reality very soon... Alice can live without me for a few hours, right?  Maybe.