August Already??

I can't believe that it's already the middle of August. Seriously, where did the summer go?? I will say though that I am ANXIOUSLY awaiting the ridiculous heat to go away. There was a heat warning for yesterday and today because temperatures might get from 109-112 degrees!! And that's the actual temperature...not the heat index!! Seriously, COME on!!! Our air conditioner can't keep up with the heat so by 5 pm our house is well over 80 degrees and it's so stinking hot even inside. I never thought I would say that I was tired of the heat, but I'm looking forward to fall and when I can walk outside and be comfortable. :)

Okay well that was just me venting a little bit. I feel a little trapped inside my house cause I don't want to even take Keira outside in that heat, but I am thankful that we have air conditioning and that summer does last longer than winter...even if there's a few months that it's unbearable. Like I've always said, I'd rather be hot than cold so for that I'm thankful!!

My little girl is quickly approaching 4 months old!! It has gone so fast!! I feel like I was just telling Pete I'm 4 months pregnant. And actually, I just looked at my calendar and realized that it was one year ago TODAY that we found out we were pregnant!! That is so crazy and exciting! Wow!! I remember that day like it was yesterday!! I was working and in the afternoon I felt super nauseous. I never feel nauseous and was 4 days late. I came home, made dinner and Pete and I were laying on the couch and I still felt sick to my stomach. I was scared to death to take a test because I didn't want it to be negative again (I had convinced myself I was pregnant the month before and it was negative twice). I finally gave in to take the test and when it say "pregnant" I started immediately bawling and couldn't believe it. I kept saying "I'm going to throw up" haha. I think that was partially the nausea and partially the unbelief that we were actually going to have a baby. Wow. This day one year ago changed our lives!!! Amazing!! And now we have a 4 month old precious little girl that I can't imagine living without! Thank you Jesus for this sweet miracle of life you've given us!!!!

I'm having so much fun with Keira these days. She's giggling so much and just all grins all the time! She's getting so much more coordinated with her hands and reaching and grabbing things. Yesterday I was watching her on her playmat and was convinced she was going to roll herself over. It didn't happen but I'm sure it's coming soon. It's such a cool thing to watch her make little connections. She's found her toes as well and I just love watching her look at her little piggies with awe and curiousness. Everything is so new to her and I love it!! However, with that said, she's getting a little antsy when she eats these days because the butterfly mobile or the stuffed animals or the light in the window are far more interesting that eating....that's boring!! :) I literally have to put a blanket over her (which she doesn't like and tries to pull it off) or distract her so she's facing the right direction if you know what I mean. :) I can imagine it's only going to get more difficult to convince her that eating is more important than staring at the pink bunny haha. :)

Since my last post, we make yet another trek home. This time it was completely spontaneous. Sunday night Pete was talking to his parents on the phone and they said they had gotten a ton of flooding at their house. Pete offered to come home and help them out and so at 5 am the next morning, we packed the car up once again and headed back to Chicago. Yeah!! Jamie had just had her baby so I was so anxious to get home and see her so it just worked out perfectly. We surprised Jamie and Brandon and little Elyse at the hospital and it was so much fun seeing them and their new little baby girl. The cousins met for the first time!! We stayed in Freeport for a few nights and then I met up with my mom and we went back down to Bloomington and stayed at Jamie's for a few nights. I love being home and am missing my family more and more these days. I think the new babies make me want to be home and have them grow up together and be close to grandma and grandpa. :) But for now, God has us in Kansas and so I am trying to be content and make sure that I'm doing what He's called us to do while we're here.

Here are a few highlight pictures from the last month or so...

My two favorite people in the whole world!!!!

Keira's started using her exersaucer. She loves it and it gives me a few minutes to get some things done while she's happy. :)

My sweet girl!! This is how we hang out a lot during the day. Close to mommy yet hands free!!

My Grandma was just THRILLED to meet Keira. I loved that she got to see her.

Keira's first time swimming. :)

Keira and Elyse...they love each other already! (sorry I couldn't get it to rotate)


Proud Grandma and Grandpa with their two new grandbabies.


Pete's grandma and grandpa got to see Keira when we were in Freeport


The surprise visit to Jamie in the hospital


Yeah for the cousins!! Keira's a biiiittt bigger than Elyse haha. :)

First holiday

It's been awhile since I've posted because the computer we were using at home (Pete's computer from college...) finally had it's last day. The hard drive died on our way home from Chicago and so we've been computerless for the last month or so. It's amazing how much you realize that you use a computer, until you're without one!!! My parents knew we needed a computer so they gave us their old powerbook. Let's just say it's good to be back on a Mac!! :)

I'm anxious to get back to my blog cause I feel like I've already missed writing about Keira's new moments. :)Yesterday was July 4th and it's her very first holiday (well besides Memorial Day). Cyndi gave us a super cute dress for the holiday before she was born and so it was fitting that she wore it to church. :)
We are back home for the second time in the last month. Yeah!! It's so good to be back and my schedule is packed as always. It's great to see family and friends and I really don't even feel like I've left. I'm so thankful for them!! I got to go to Christ Community and saw so many people. We were literally the last ones out of the auditorium haha. Everyone wanted to see the babe and I just loved showing her off. :) We spent the evening with the Muellers (like we do for many holidays!) and cooked out and then went to the fireworks. Keira slept through it all!

Speaking of Keira sleeping...she slept for 13 hours last night straight! She's doing AWESOME with the whole sleeping at night thing!! I put her down at 6:45 (she was exhausted from so many people yesterday) and she didn't wake up until almost 8 am this morning. Granted...I was extremely uncomfortable by 8 am but I was so thankful for a full night's sleep. She's done that 5 times this week so I'm thinking that it's going to be a regular thing from now on (hopefully!!).

Keira's started cooing so much just in the last day. She's had a few coo's this past week but just today and yesterday it's like she's hearing her own voice and realizing that she's making noises. It is the most amazing sound!! :) I could listen to her little voice talk to me for hours!!! I made this video when we were in the car earlier today. The end of it sums up my life these days haha. Watch it and you'll understand...




One thing I noticed her doing last week is starting to reach for things. She's not too coordinated yet but I will put her in her bouncy chair on the kitchen table and I hang a toy from the kitchen light to just in front of her. She stares at it intently and moves her arms all around. She'll hit the doll when she does, she'll smile really big and do it again. It's been SO cool watching the learning process take place in her little mind. It's like I'm seeing her make the connections that she can move her arms and when she does so, she hits the doll. It's amazing and such an incredible thing to see her process through the littlest things that we take for granted every day.

If I wasn't able to be home with her right now, I don't know that I'd be noticing all these little things. I wouldn't want to miss them for the world!!! Staying home with my baby is better than I could ever have imagined...I dread going back to work eventually and having to leave her for the day. I know it will be good and I'm sure once I get into the swing of things, I'll be thankful...but for now, I just want to soak up every minute I can get with her!! I'm thankful for this summer and that God has provided for us and given me the chance to be with her! What a blessing!!

Practicing the Presence of God

So like I said before in my post about being a big time "routine" person and big on schedules, it's been somewhat difficult to adjust to this time of not being on a routine. I mean like before I would know the exact minute I had to be drying my hair in the morning so I could then get dressed and put on my makeup and eat breakfast and get out the door to go to work. It's not like that with a baby. :) To say the least...

Anyways, with that said, I've been trying to figure out what my relationship with God looks like now that I don't wake up every morning at 6:20 and read the Word from 6:30 - 7:08 am and have my journal and prayer time. I will say it's been difficult and I'm trying to find what the best way is to stay connected with the Lord as well as get the things done that I need to get done. I find that I have a "chunk" of time each day when Keira naps and that time is very limited and also has to include a shower, making dinner, picking up the house, paying bills, etc. How do I fit it all in???

Lately I've been focusing on the small moments that I do have and using the extra reminders I see and focusing on them for a minute or two more that I would before. For instance...I have verses around my house on the wall or in pictures. I'm making myself meditate on them for longer than I normally would and soaking in God's Word that way. Or taking a minute or two when Keira is "playing" on her floormat or in the swing and reading a chapter in my Bible. Or this morning she fell back asleep in her crib before I went in and got her so I took advantage of those few minutes and went out on the deck and prayed for the day and committed it to the Lord.

It's been a transition and I'm not going to say this new "routine" is easier but I know that as Keira gets older and requires more and more attention and then as we eventually have more kids, it will just get harder to find those few moments. I remember reading a book by Brother Lawrence called "Practicing the Presence of God" and he would talk about how he would pray when washing the dishes and in simple task, he would experience the presence of God. I need to be more diligent with those moments and train my mind to be aware of the presence of God in the simple tasks throughout the day....He's there when I'm feeding Keira, when I'm driving in the car, when I'm eating lunch, when I'm running errands, when I'm pacing the family room trying to soothe my crying baby.

God...may I be aware of your presence at all times. Teach me to see your Glory in all things!

Babywise

I read the book Babywise before I had Keira and knew that it was going to be something I wanted to try. Being such of a "routine" person myself, I knew that I would function best if Keira was on a schedule and I could know what was going to happen and how to deal with it. I've been attempting the "eat, wake, sleep" 3 hour increments for the past 4 weeks and yesterday was the first time I let her cry herself to sleep. She had been somewhat fussy and would need some help in order to get to sleep for her naps. She was alert and awake for a lot of the day and I couldn't get her to sleep at certain times. It was stressing me out.

They say you can start letting them cry themselves to sleep around 6 weeks so I was anxiously awaiting her 6 week bday (which is today...crazy!!). So last night for her evening nap, I let her cry. It was torture! She cried and I cried. She cried for about 45 minutes and finally I gave in and picked her up. It was horrible!! When Pete got home I cried to him too...seriously, I felt like someone was ripping my heart out listening to her. I put her to bed at 8:30 and she fell right asleep. I don't think it was cause of any method I used, I just think she was exhausted from crying so hard for so long. Regardless...she slept the WHOLE night!!! I fell asleep around 9:45 expecting to get woken up around 11 to eat and I didn't wake up until 5 am!! And she hadn't woken up at all throughout the whole night! At first I was worried and immediately checked her to see that she was breathing and she was doing just fine, sound asleep in the bassinet right next to me. I was extremely uncomfortable so I fed her and put her right back to bed. I then woke her up at 7:20 to eat again. It felt incredible to get a full night's sleep!! I haven't done that in months!!

I'm determined to get this babywise thing to work and I know that the outcome is a happy baby who knows how to sleep and sleep well. So this morning I tried again. I put her down for a nap around 9 am and she cried for another 45 minutes. Heart wrenching! BUT...she fell asleep! She slept for about 15 minutes and then startled herself and woke up and cried for another 10 minutes. I'd go in every 10-15 minutes and shush her and pat her and check on her. I could tell by her cry that she just wanted to be picked up. Right now she's at the end of her second nap, which she went down for no problem (again probably cause she was so exhausted from crying). We'll see how the late afternoon one does and then how she sleeps tonight. We're going home for a week next weekend and I'd love to have her on the schedule by then and sleeping well. I have a week to give it a shot. Hopefully it's successful!!

2 "milestones"

Keira had two "milestones" this past week! It's amazing the little things you look for as achievements in babies this tiny. She turned her head completely over when she was having some "tummy time" and she officially smiled at me yesterday!! These pictures weren't her real smile just a gas one :) but I still think they are super cute. :)


She's been "smiling" at me for about a week now but I think it's just been gas. But yesterday morning before church, she had just had a bath, had a clean diaper and been fed and I was just sitting on the couch talking to her and she most definitely smiled at me on purpose! :) It was one of the greatest things ever!!! She's done it a couple times since then and it just MELTS my heart every time! It's amazing how the littlest things can seem so huge. I just love seeing how she's growing and learning.

11 lbs 4 oz.

I've decided that being a stay at home mom is absolutely wonderful. Some women don't enjoy it and like getting out and having "adult" time occasionally at work, but having been home now for almost 5 weeks, there hasn't been one day yet where I've wanted to get away or have "adult" time. Between my small group on Tuesday nights, church and stuff going on with friends, I feel like I'm not missing out on anything at all. I'm so, so, so thankful that I get to be home with Keira this summer and CAN'T imagine if I had to go back to work full time anytime soon.

This past Sunday Pete wanted to go to a movie and so we decided to see if Jamie and Carla Heintz wanted to watch Keira for a couple hours. They offered before so we decided to take them up on their offer. I got her fed and changed and we dropped her off right before the movie started. During the whole movie I was so anxious and missed her like crazy already! I about jumped out of my seat as soon as the movie ended. I know it's good for us to get out and we need to do that every now and then so I want to make that a priority, but the first time leaving her with someone else was hard.

I've been asking the Lord lately if there's anything I could do that would allow me to earn money while being at home. I haven't gotten any answers but I'm still asking. I'm planning on filling out substitute stuff and then there's a possibility of working at the Crisis Pregnancy Center part time. My prayer has been that I know God knows what would be the BEST situation for us and I want to pursue that. Even though I don't necessarily know what that is yet. I'm trusting that He will show me.

I went to a Mom's group at the hospital this morning and there were about 12 moms and their kids (all under 1) there. It was fun and I just feel like that's the type of stuff I want to do during the day. :) I loved talking with the other women there about their kids and comparing stories. They brought in a scale and weighed Keira. At 4 weeks and 5 days she weighs 11 lbs and 4 ozs!!! She's definitely not having a problem gaining weight that's for sure! She's starting to be more attentive to sounds and noises lately and if you call her name she'll slowly turn her head to look at you. I've even seen a few smiles lately when I've been talking to her! I'm not sure though if it's just gas or they are real smiles. :) I like to think that they are real and she's just smiling at her momma!! :) I can't wait till she starts responding to us and laughing. Just this past week I've heard a few coos from her so she's starting to make some sounds. There is nothing sweeter than the voice of your child. I absolutely LOVE it!!

Time has already gone so fast. Sunday she turned 1 month old and I just can't believe how quickly it's gone. She spits up a TON and I feel like I have to arm myself with burp cloths every time I feed her otherwise I'll get covered. This morning right at the beginning of the class she spits up all down the front and center of my shirt...awesome. :) She gave a good morning projectile vomit this morning in bed to Pete while he was still sleeping. I'm sure he loved the warm milk all over his arm haha. I couldn't help but laugh. The first time she spit up when he was holding her, Pete was downstairs and I was upstairs and all of a sudden I hear, "BABE, BABE!!!" I come running out and he's walking up the stairs holding her out and says to me "Cottage cheese just came out of her mouth!" hahaha. It was hilarious and so I wiped it off her shirt and got her cleaned up.

She's such a JOY and I was thinking this morning how amazing it is of how much I love her already and can't imagine life without her ever again. They say the bond between a mother and baby is great and I so believe it. She's got my heart and it is SO full of love for this sweet little baby girl!!

Grandma & Grandpa G (and Aunt Jess)

So Pete's parents are here this week and it's been great having them. They just absolutely love Keira and it's been so nice having a second pair of hands when she's fussy or I need a break for a couple minutes. I was telling Pete before they got here that we are so blessed with our in-laws!! I just absolutely love Pete's whole family and we get along so great and Pete (from what he tells me) :) loves my parents and family as well. I've heard so many horror stories of "in-laws" so it just makes me appreciate mine all the more!! Jessica (Pete's sister) came in last night as well so it's been fun having her around.


Pete and his dad are building a deck extension on our teeny tiny square deck. It's going to be so great once it's done!! I'm so impressed that they can just figure out how to put a deck together like they do. I wouldn't have the SLIGHTEST clue as to where to start haha. :) Now we will be able to bring our patio set up there and eat outside. I'm so excited for that!! It's such a blessing having a husband who not only knows how to work with his hands, but is so great at it and does such an excellent job. I seriously think he could figure anything out if he tried to. He is SUCH a hard worker!!!

Here's some progress pictures from the deck: