9 months... just like that

Wow... time flies. I can't believe how crazy life has been lately. It seems like the last two months have gone by in the blink of an eye.

Life has been pretty overwhelming the last couple of months. Last spring my dad was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer, and recently we have hit some pretty big bumps in the road in regards to this. I feel like it's all I think about these days, and it's exhausting... mentally, emotionally and even physically. I, like many little girls, grew up thinking that my daddy was the strongest man in the world. It's hard to wrap my brain around the idea that something might be wrong with him, that he could be so sick. We're trying our best to be positive and strong. I've been praying like crazy. In my heart, I know that my Dad can beat this. He IS strong. But it still scares me.

Work has also been crazy for both Scot and I. I've been hiring like crazy and trying to stay focused, while Scott has been putting in lots of very long hours. Sometimes I feel like it will never end, like we'll never get a break. This rat race really drives me crazy. We've had very little time for each other lately, which also makes me sad. I'm hoping to be able to take some time to connect this weekend when we go out to celebrate his 27th birthday. I can't believe he's already 27! Time really does fly.

Jordyn continues to amaze us. I can't believe how perfect she is. Lately, she has been crawling and climbing all over the place. She recently learned how to wave Hi and Bu-bye. She is just so smart. Now, every day when I drop her off at daycare, she cries and waves at me. It absolutely melts my heart. I always listen right outside the door though, and she stops as soon as I'm out of sight.

At her 9 month check up, she weighed in at 18 lbs and 8 oz... such a big girl. Right now she has 4 teeth and is currently working on 2 more. She loves to put everything in her mouth, and Cherrios are her favorite breakfast food. Within the last two weeks or so, Jordyn has figured out how to push walkers and run behind them... baby girl is quick! I'm sure she'll be trying to walk here shortly.

Well, there is my quick update... pretty exhausted, and its late. I'll be sure to post more later with pictures!

Our little 7 month daredevil

Jordyn is a mover and a shaker! I can't believe how all over the place she is. Scott and I are constantly in amazement with how fast she is, and how she is able to climb anything. While at daycare, if there is another baby in her path, she doesn't take the time to go around... nope... our little angel goes up and over, making that poor other baby Jordyn roadkill. It doesn't matter that she is the smallest baby at daycare, I honestly believe that she is the toughest.

This last weekend, Jordyn started pulling herself up on furniture and standing. She now absolutely loves to stand and will use anything near her as support to get up. It doesn't matter if it's the couch, the dog, or another baby, if it's nearby, Jordyn is going to use it to push up on. Her new skill of standing officially scares me to death because I'm not sure she knows that she can't walk. If she sees something that she wants while standing, she'll just let go and tumble to the ground.

My baby is growing up so fast, and I'm just trying to drink in every moment.

As she grows, she is becoming more and more fun. I love watching her and Scott play together. She absolutely lights up when Daddy is around, and it is the most adorable thing in the world to watch. While I might complain about about his lack of night support, I really can't complain about the type of father he is. The other day I was watching the two of them play peek-a-boo, both Scott and Jordyn were crawling around the living room furniture and Scott would jump out and yell "PEEK-A-BOO!" Every time, Jordyn would startle, jump up in the air and then start laughing hysterically. I could have watched them for hours, it was so cute.

Jordyn is just about 7 months now... she has two teeth, is crawling, eating baby food and some solids, and now she's pulling herself up and standing. She's growing up so fast!

On the move... thank God for Starbucks

Baby girl is on the move! Just when we thought that we had this whole parenting thing down pat, she throws us this curve ball and changes our whole world up.

Jordyn has now been officially crawling for about 2 weeks. My new life's mission has become doing everything I can to protect Jordyn from herself. I vacuum everyday, I scour the house for tiny choking hazards, I'm yelling at the dog to "Go to bed" so she doesn't get stepped on, I'm constantly redirecting her attention away from the dog food, chords, and munching on the throw rugs... it's a work out. Scott and I now have a fixed baby gate at the top of the stairs, which our dog absolutely hates.

We have a very active girl, and she can easily make it across the room in a blink of an eye. She definitely keeps us on her toes. I can only imagine what life will be like when she's walking. It all makes me very nervous. Please don't get me wrong, I'm excited for each and every mile stone that she hits, it's just scary. I know the stumbles and falls are coming, and I promise to be there to kiss every boo-boo, but I just don't know if I'm ready yet.

In other big girl news, she is sleeping through the night in her own crib. Thank the lord! I can't believe what a zombie I've been for the last few months. I don't know how other families do it, but I've been the only person to get up with her in the middle of the night since she's been born. Yes, there were times in the very beginning when Scott needed to wake up and hand her to me since I simply couldn't bend over and grab her while recovering from a C-section. But, since the day Scott went back work, it's been 100% me at night, and it's definitely taken it's toll. I've spent 100's of dollars at Starbucks... thank God for Starbucks! I'm sure many people around me have been less than pleased with my attitude due to my lack of patience and energy. Sorry to those that I've offended, but I've been silently losing my mind for the last couple of months.

Working a full time job and being a mom is hard. Props to the other women in the world who make it look easy. I just don't think there are enough hours in the day to be a good mom, a good wife, a good friend, and a good employee. And don't even think about time for myself, "Me time" doesn't exist. In the end, everything suffers except being a good mom. I refuse to let that suffer. And while I feel like I've made great strives towards finding a better balance between everything, I don't know if I'll ever have it figured out. We've made more time lately for "date nights" and I've made it a point to see my friends more often, but there are definitely days when I struggle just to get out of bed. Every morning when my alarm goes off, I hit snooze and think of the things I can cut out of my routine so that I can sleep just a little bit longer... "I can go another day without washing my hair," "I don't really need to wear makeup today," "I can skip breakfast," it's really pathetic.

I am not complaining by all means, and I hate to sound like I am. I guess for me, the biggest challenge of motherhood is just finding the time and the energy to work full time and still be supermom. In a perfect world, I'd win the lotto and stay at home with my little princess so that I could enjoy every minute of her childhood and not miss a thing. Things would get done around the house and projects would get finished. Maybe someday, but until then a good portion of my paycheck will be going to Starbucks.

6 months old!

Our sweet baby girl is 6 months old today and I can hardly believe it. I honestly can't remember what life was like without her. She has been such a blessing to Scott and I.

The past month has been crazy. It's been full of ups and downs for our family and has made me realize how important it is to cherish every day that we have on this earth together. I'm trying my hardest not to take anything for granted, especially my relationships with my family and friends, and everything that encompasses being a mommy. Every feeding, every dirty diaper, every spit up... it's all part of being a mommy and I'm so thankful that I have a beautiful baby girl to take care of and teach her about all the wonders of the world.

For those of you that I don't talk to every day, you might be thinking that this is nice and all, but where is this all coming from. Sadly, last week I was faced with the harsh reality that life is short. One of my closest friends passed away suddenly from a car accident. I grew up with Natasha, we played soccer and softball together, we danced together and she was my partner in crime for multiple family trips. As we got older, I have to admit that we became lazy friends, each with our own separate lives. We didn't spend nearly as much time together, but that didn't matter. She was one of those best friends, that months could go by, and the second we reunited it was like no time had passed at all. Unfortunately, she never met Jordyn. I'm still struggling with the idea that she is gone, and sad knowing that Jordyn will never know her crazy auntie Tasha. Her memory will forever live on in my heart, and I'm truly thankful for the years that we had together. Natasha was a beautiful woman, that could light up any room the second that she walked in. Losing her has really shown me how fragile and precious life really is.

So with all of that, friends and family, please understand why I might hug you a little harder and a little longer, and that when I tell you I love you, I mean it and I need you to know.

Through all of this sadness, Jordyn really has been my little saving grace. Just one little (mostly) gummy smile from her can really brighten my day. I say "mostly gummy" because Jordyn has gotten her first tooth!... and her second! Her first bottom left side tooth popped up on July 11th and her second was quickly to follow on July 16th! I can't believe she already has teeth! It is amazing how quickly they grow and mature. She is getting so strong and grabbing on to everything. She loves to pull hair, and necklaces and will lunge her entire body in the direction of an object that she wants. Diaper changes have become daily wrestling matches sometimes resulting in poo all over... fun right? Jordyn can roll across the room in the blink of an eye, and often does so that she can go after an object that she is ever so curious about. Yesterday, for the first time, I noticed she had worked herself up on all fours and was rocking. She is incredibly close to crawling. Jordyn continues to amaze scott and I, she really is growing up right before our very eyes, as cheesy as that sounds.

Lately, Jordyn has really enjoyed her exersaucer and tummy time. At daycare, she loves to work out her quads with the help of the Johnny Jump Up. Jordyn love to jump, and it's so adorable when she gets all excited and out of breath doing it. We have started to explore different menu options with Jordyn over the past month, and so far she has loved sweet potatoes and bananas. There hasn't been really anything that she has protested to when it comes to food, but she always makes a very funny face when trying something new. I'm glad that we caught Jordyn's first sweet potatoes on video, which was an incredibly messy and hilarious event. She was literally covered in orange potatoes. Luckily I saw this coming and had already stripped her down to her diaper, it was straight to the bath as soon as she was done.

I can't believe we have a 6 month old baby girl. God has truly blessed our lives with Jordyn.

5 months old... already!

Our baby girl is growing up... and fast.

Lately she's been rolling... and rolling... and rolling. It's become a challenge to put a diaper on her and get her dressed. Man she's getting strong, I can hardly believe it. She'll see something across the room and just roll on over to check it out. It's amazing, she's getting so close to crawling.

This past month we started solids and Jordyn has been working on mastering the art of eating rice cereal. She absolutely loves it. I love it, because it gives me a break from feeling like a nursing cow all the time.

Jordyn is starting to have quite the personality. She definitely lets us know when she wants something, or is unhappy. She's started to reach for us when she wants to be picked up, or especially when she's in someone's arms and wants mom instead. She is so adorable, but I'm pretty sure that Scott and I are going to be in for it because of how curious she is.

Right now she's weighing in at just about 16 pounds and trying to eat everything. We think that she is starting to teeth. Unfortunately, she's been a little fussier the last week or so and can't seem to remember to swallow. Thank goodness for her favorite toy Sophie the giraffe.

Life with a 4 month old...

It's hard to remember what we did with ourselves before we were blessed with our little angel. The past 4 months have been life changing, but absolutely amazing. Scott and I are enjoying the ups and downs of parenthood and trying our best to soak up every moment of it. Of course because of this, nothing gets done around the house, and we never look put together, but it's just a small price to pay.
I've been amazed at how natural parenthood has come to us. It is with out a doubt, the single best thing that I have done with my life. Tears well up in my eyes just thinking about the amount of love I have for this little girl. It's the kind of love that can't be explained, and can only be understood by those that have children of their own. I love watching her and Scott play together. He is such a great father, and it makes me realize even more what a great catch I have.
Life has changed a great deal since I last wrote, the biggest change being the return to work. God, that was painful. No more days spend cuddling on the couch in our PJ's, now it's rushing to get diaper bags packed to drop her off at daycare in the mornings. I am exhausted 100% of the time, and I miss her like crazy during the day. It took me weeks just to be able to drop her off without crying. I really wish there was a way I could just keep her under my desk in her bouncy chair or something.
Jordyn is changing and growing everyday. At just over months Jordyn is smiling, laughing, rolling and grabbing just about everything. She currently weighs about 15 lbs and is about 26 in long. No doubt, she's a healthy girl. Yesterday she enjoyed her first taste or rice cereal. I can't believe how much she has matured, in such a short time.
In other updates, Scott and I have taken on the hobby of running. This has really helped me to get back into shape and loose all of my baby weight. I actually weigh less than when we got pregnant, which is amazing in my eyes. We've started competing in races, so far, it's been a 5k, a 12k and most recently a 8k. Hopefully we're able to keep up this healthy lifestyle. Here's a picture of us after our latest race.

4 weeks old

I can't believe that Jordyn is 4 weeks old today. Time is flying by way too fast. The days and nights have been full of feedings and diaper changes and tons of snuggling. Jordyn's favorite place to sleep is right on Daddy's chest... she just loves that skin to skin contact. It's only dangerous when she's hungry and starts rooting around for a boob... lol.

Baby girl is definitely an eater. I can tell that she has put on some weight. Last week she graduated to a size 1 diaper, growing out of the newborn ones. She is also wearing 0-3 month clothing, as most of her newborn clothes are just too tight.

Jordyn definitely has her own personality and has a lot of manurisms that just crack me up. So far most of the noises she makes are grunts and snorts. We joke that she sometimes sounds like a pug. This is especially true when she is really hungry and starts her rooting. Jordyn also enjoys blowing spit bubbles, sometimes so big, that they pop and get all over her face.

Basically, she is the love of our life, and we couldn't be happier to have her.