A Little Pictorial Catch Up

I've been absent from this blog, but of course, you know the reason why.  Really, I wasn't supposed to continue beyond Jiselle's birth.  I only wanted to chronicle my pregnancy to her birth, but I extended it a little longer.  Now that I'm at the point that I no longer feel the desire to capture each milestone via this blog, I've found the perfect site to build my blog book!

But of course, before I capture all the thoughts, emotions, and feelings since over this time last year, I had to end this blog with the period to its ending.  Because words can longer offer each of these precious moments its due commentary, I will post a few pics that show how this little bundle of joy has turned quickly into her own...in just a short 7 months!

The  Ultrasound

Your 1st Birth Pic

Day 2 at home

Tired of all the photo sessions already!

Even smaller than Nina, the Yorkie

Playing Dress Up

Cold and upset after your bath

So many Expressions

A Mother's Love

Mommy/Daughter Nap Time

Dress Up again!

Your 1st Easter

My 1st Mother's Day

You let me have my body back early!

Grand Finally meets you!

Your Baby Blessing

I enjoy making your food!

Bouncing in your Tigger Jumper

Your 1st time at the beach ~ Ocean City, MD

6 months old - You're natural holding your bottle

All I can say as I end this blog is....We love you Jiselle!

A Little Luxury

I've said in previous blog posts that bath times have not always been pleasant for me or JSL...until I bought the Puj anyway.

Getting a shampoo...the first of MANY!

Now, she's all smiles while I wash and shampoo her.  And boy, is this a much better experience than when I was washing her in a little basin!

Bathtime

But just when I thought she was really enjoying bath time now, her Aunt Jess bought her a new spa tub!  I thought this little indulgence was the cutest ever.   It's the Summer Infant Lil Luxuries Whirpool bubbling spa tub.

I haven't opened it yet since she still comfortably fits in the Puj, but I'm really excited to try the new spa tub out in a couple more months.  This little tub can take her up to 2 years of age, so we have lots of time to create extra special relaxing spa days for her!

Hopefully she likes it....or this excitement is all for naught!

Thank You Easter Bunny!

Having grown up with the last name, Easter, meant that this day that honors the resurrection of Jesus Christ was extra special to us as kids.  I remember dying eggs with my mom the evening before, waking up to a nice little Easter basket, having our own little Easter egg hunt in our backyard, waking up at the break of dawn to attend Sunrise service, eating breakfast, and then heading back to church for the regular morning service.

Though we didn't do any of this with JSL this year, she can she look forward to sharing some of the same Easter memories as I had.

One of which is the annual picture with the Easter bunny!  I swear this Easter bunny and background looks exactly like my Easter bunny pics as a kid!

Future note to self when taking these mall pics...B.M.O.C. - Bring.My.Own.Camera!  By the time the mall attendants were able to take a clear picture, JSL was done with the bunny!  As you can see in her expression...she's over it!  This was after about 5 -10 minutes of them working on getting a clear shot.  I even changed her to the opposite lap because the bunny whiskers were annoying her as they kept brushing against her face!

As you know from the many pics I take of her, it's not hard to get her to smile or laugh, but after a while, your window of opportunity is CLOSED.  And the mall photogs hit that window!

I love taking shots of her with her bears!

My First Day at Day Care

Yes, I say MY first day at day care because I needed to settle and get adjusted even more than she did!  After tossing around various options for JSLs daycare, we finally landed on the old faithful day care approach, Bright Horizons!   We discussed DLs mom coming to live with us, we explored the nanny concept and even looked into home day care, but we made the decision (at this point anyway) to enroll her in the day care at my job.  Everything about the facility is focused on education & development where I have no doubt she will flourish!  This decision certainly ain't cheap, but another sacrifice we had to make as parents.  So, updates on my latest bag purchase or cute little outfit selection will be few!  (sad face)

Yes, this came with some pros and cons since my drive to work is an hour commute and a 60 mile drive, so just thinking of doing this everyday with precious cargo on board was a little unsettling to me.  Not to mention that now it will become a little more difficult to participate in the after hours happy hours that we as co-workers sometimes do.

But nonetheless, I enjoyed every morning and evening drop off and pick up of my baby girl.  She only lasts about the first 15 minutes of our ride before she's completely knocked out!

Here's her welcome sign in her classroom

Mommy dropping her off!  She has that look like she's say, "Mom, get over it already"!

Here's her teacher, Ms. Carrie

Her personal diaper cubby.  I took pictures of everything they had up with her name on it!  LOL

So after her first week, it was certainly bittersweet!  I enjoy the fact that she receives sensory and motor skills development on a daily basis and the fact that she's able to interact with other children as well, but the downside was that she still needed to get adjusted herself.  On days 1 - 3 of her first week, she only slept a max of 20 minutes each naptime because she still looks around trying to figure out where she is.  When I came to visit her on my lunch break Monday, her eyes were swollen because she was SO sleepy!  And she looked at me as if she was saying, "Mom, can we just go home so I can get some sleep!"  Or maybe that was my interpretation!  

So needless to say, she is out like a light when we get home.  I literally have to wake her to eat and change her diaper and then put her back to sleep.  Which in itself is bittersweet because yes, my evenings are free, but bitter that I don't have playtime with my baby girl!

I'm confident it will all settle soon and we all will adjust to our new lifestyle!

Our Last Day of All Day Everyday Togetherness

I'm going to make sure this smile NEVER goes away!

I'm going to keep this post short, because I'm already tearing up writing this first sentence!  So where do I begin??

Words cannot describe the love I have for the little girl who grew perfectly inside me for 40 weeks and 4 days.  She was perfect to me in utero.  I had no morning sickness, food aversions, nausea, excessive weight, etc!  She was perfect to me in delivery, as I had a medicine free delivery and 2 good pushes to finally meet her and perfectly allowed me to get quickly back into my pre-mommy physique.  And now she's been perfect to me for the 11 weeks and 4 days of her life that we shared together daily!

As I go to work tomorrow and take you to day care, I think of how you adjusted to life in the Lavender home.  You have been a healthy, happy and extremely hilarious baby!  I've enjoyed every moment of lost sleep, every diaper I had to change and even every cry that you shed to let us know you were in need.  I would have to be honest and say that it hasn't always been easy adjusting to motherhood, as breastfeeding certainly came with its share of pain, and lifestyle adjustments are still difficult to accept and endulging in my wine and spirits seem to be few and far between!  But it is all so worth it!

As I look back on these past weeks, some of the moments I cherish most are going to the mall and strolling you along as you took in every image you came across.  I enjoyed establishing feeding/play/nap schedule for you and feeling like my Ah-ha moment came when I finallly got the confidence to decipher your cries and anticipate your wants.  You enjoyed your activity time just as much as I enjoyed reading and playing with you.  Bathtime wasn't always friendly, but I finally found out how to make the experience enjoyable for both us!   Of course I can't forget you allowing me to photograph you at every chance I got!  You amused me long enough to get my money shots before you let me know "enough is enough"!  And lastly, I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Shreveport, just you and me and you traveled like a pro!  I was certainly nervous about the trip, but you quickly allayed my fears with your consistent demeanor!

If I had it my way, I would be a SAHM (stay at home mom).  I thought I would NEVER say that, but having had the opportunity to stay home and nurture my child, it embed a brand new feeling of responsibility that I never had before.  But since that is not my reality, I feel even more responsibility to excel in my career and provide a life for her that she deserves and more!

The love for your child is the type of love that never goes away.  I will love my child to the day I die!

Thank you JSL for being as perfect as God has intended you to be!  Though I'm headed back to work, my evenings will be all about our family!  Please know that the sacrifices being made are ALL for you!

Turning Cards into Decor

I knew that after my baby shower and after seeing all of the cute cards I received, I wanted to somehow preserve them or keep them as keepsakes for JSL.  For a while, I just kept them in a box until I decided to buy some frames and make a card collage for her room.  So I moved the pictures I painted for her and added these two frames for the other side of her wall.  The frame size fit the cards perfectly.

Unless I decide to change her room look by the time she can read, she will see all of the well wishes and love she received before she even arrived!

Bless My Baby!

I know that we went home to Shreveport the other week, but it was solely to check on my father in the hospital.  We were already planning to have JSL's baby blessing on May 22 at my childhood church in Shreveport, but we made the trip home a little earlier.  I pray that my daddy is healthy and strong by then, so now, I'm on with the planning for May.

I got confirmation from the church that the date is good, I sent out the invitations yesterday to many of my friends and family at home, bought our tickets to fly home and now the blessing is all set!

Next thing to do now is to secure the reception site and menu and of course, find a precious white dress.  I thought it would've been easier to do, but I seem to be pretty picky about the style and fabric.  Also, she will be 3 months next week and her 0-3 clothes are still big on her, so I'm cautious about the dress size as well.  Maybe size 3-6 will work, but I don't want it to look like a wedding gown on her!  Stay tuned to see some of the dresses that may make the short list.

I'm extremely excited about my childhood pastor doing her blessing because he baptized me when I was 7 years old!  Life sure has come full circle as he will now be officiating the blessing of my child!

Moving Her to Her Bed

In a nutshell...I'm NOT ready for her move out of our room!  Fortunately, we've gotten her to sleep in her bassinet with no problem, but I love her being beside my bed at night.  D.L. keeps saying that once I go back to work, she should go in her room, but I've been pushing back to say that she can go in her room when she's 15 lbs.  By my calculation, that buys me another 2 months.

Occasionally, I put JSL in her crib, but she's never been in it for more than an hour since she's been born.  As a matter of fact, the only time she goes to her room is to change her diaper and get her dressed.  However, I plan to gradually begin introducing her to her crib and room even if it's just take a nap.

Wish me luck.  Again, I say, wish ME luck!

Cherishing Each Moment

Many of my family and friends always asked if I was going to have children and I always said probably so.  They would ask me that question, because I've been so focused on my career and taking career opportunities without regard for family.  Now, that it seems like I have everything, a great career, a loving husband and a phenomenal baby, what else could I ask for.   Really, I say this prior to going back to work, so I pray for balance!

When we went home to Shreveport, it was funny because my sisters, nieces, nephews and mom kept looking at me saying, AL has a baby!  My niece even said to me, "it's funny to hear you say, my baby".  Yes, it's still funny to hear myself say it, but oh so natural to me now.

I've noticed a tremendous change in my priorities, my capacity to love and an increase in patience.  And to my family, it's like watching another person.  Not that I was living with the absence of all those things, but they've certainly been enhanced now that I've become a mom.

So, when I say I've been changed by JSL, there's so many things I could do, but I'd rather do with her than with anyone else and no one I'd rather be with than with her.  I've noticed that when I go to the mall now, I'm in Baby Gap, Children's Place, Gymboree, and other baby stores!  I actually had no desire to shop for myself.

Perhaps I'm being extra sentimental because this is my LAST week of maternity leave and I know that the time we've had together, uninterrupted by the stressors of my career, has been so special.  When I left work the first week of January, everyone said, enjoy your time, it goes fast!  Yes, it does and it did!  My mommy/daughter time has been so precious to me!

In just 11 weeks, I've seen so much!  I've seen my baby go from Newborn clothes and diapers to size 0-3 months and size 1 in diapers.  I've seen her baby gaze move to a laser focus on my eyes as she now knows I'm her mother!  I've seen her expressions change from sad to scared to secure to happy and I've enjoyed seeing each one!  I've seen her little 6 lb body get chubbier to a now 11 lb package!  I've seen her sleep all day to now enjoying her awake time filled with activities like tummy time, reading, conversation (with all her baby coos), and learning sensory and motor skills development.

I've seen so much spending all day with her and I know that I will miss much of her life during the day as I go back to work, but the sacrifice has to be made to offer her the life of opportunities we want her to have.

My Happy Baby

I recently took Lil J home and because the weather was 88 degrees and lovely, I decided to take her outside.  I could tell that the air was a lot for her to take in, but I thought she just had to get used to the air, since we don't go out a whole lot here because of the temperature.  Lo and behold, no one told me that she would ingest too many air bubbles and get colic.  Well, she was miserable and screamed and yelled with the gas bubbles.  I've fortunately never had to give Lil J any type of medication because she's such a healthy, happy baby and very predictable, so I knew something was wrong.  She literally cried for 3 hours!  Finally, my sister-in-law went to the store and picked up some gas relief medication, and it was like the heavens opened up!  (Aaaaahhhhh)

I got my baby back!

I know that I take hundreds of pictures of Lil J, but it's because she smiles so much that I just want to capture each one!

Daddy's Girl

I haven't posted a blog recently because I went out of town last minute to Shreveport to check on my Daddy who's in the hospital after emergency intestinal surgery.  He asked me not to come because "I need to take care of my family," as he says, but I went anyway because he IS my family!  I've ALWAYS been a Daddy's girl as long as I can remember.  As a matter of fact, my earliest memories as a child include daddy/daughter moments that I will cherish for a lifetime.

As a little girl, I never really dreamt of my husband on my wedding day, I dreamt of my daddy walking me down the aisle.  As I look back, that moment was more important to me than the wedding itself.  

Thank God my childhood dream came to fruition!  My Daddy is still in the hospital, but I'm praying for a full recovery.  Even if it's not a fast recovery, I pray for a full recovery.

As I look into my daughter's eyes, as much as I love her and cherish her, I want her to have the same fortunate relationship with her father that I've had.  And really, there's no doubt in my mind that she will!  I know my mother harbored a bit of jealousy as a wife as she saw our relationship, because in my eyes, Daddy could do NO wrong!  Whenever Mom would vent to me about Dad, it fell on deaf ears and she knew it!  

So as much as I love my Lil J, the relationship with her father is such a precious one and it began the days he laid eyes on her!  

Holding her the day she was born

I think this is Day 2...staring at the love of his life

He even changes diapers with no problem!

Pictures are worth 1,000 words...this one says one ~ Enchanted

Boyfriends....LOOK OUT!