Goodbye 2009!

What a rollercoaster of a year... starting off with Gramma dieing, then finding out we were pregnant a couple weeks later... I couldn't have asked for a more perfect ending though. We had a good first Christmas - Eve at C's parents, Day with my family. It is so fun to see Mike, Tim and Sarah with the baby - they are just as in love as we are. She is truly the light of everyone's life right now...and deservedly so!

Allie,

There are so many things I want to write so I don't forget about the first few weeks of your life. You have already grown and changed so incredibly much, and I love you more and more every day. I do miss having you inside me though - feeling your kicks, talking to you, singing to you, and having just me and you time that no one else has. Granted I spend a lot of time just me and you as it is now, but I do miss that special time a little.

You took a while to get here, but I have loved every second of getting to know you and watching you become a little person. Your facial expressions have become so much more -- animated? expressive? I don't know... but you're finally starting to smile a little more, cooing, gooing, grunting, aaahing, and you are adorable in every way. I hate the nights where you don't sleep, but at the same time, I love you so much it doesn't matter. It's more time I get to spend holding you, rocking you, singing to you, and just staring at your beautiful, incredibly dark blue eyes. Right now they are sapphire blue, and I hope they stay that way forever. It is a gorgeous color.

Allie, you are amazing. You make Daddy and me smile and laugh every day - from your "proclamations," where you put your hands up (jazz hands, of course), like you are announcing something important to the whole world, to your conducting, where those arms and hands wave to the music, to your sounds, your kicks ( you have strong legs, little girl), to your goofy grins which make my heart absolutely melt and I get teary eyed just thinking about it. I want to know who you will become, but at the same time I want you to stay this tiny and precious forever. You are a good baby.. you really only cry when you are hungry or wet. You love cuddling and snuggling on me and Daddy's chest or tummy, and when you can't fall asleep in your cradle you will undoubtedly fall asleep in bed with me, cuddled up tight. I love your baby snores, your little sighs, your silly high-pitched giggles as you fall asleep. I love your different ears - you may hate them when you are older, but we think it's awesome that you have one that looks like my ears and one that looks like Daddy's. I love that you stare at lights, and are completely enthralled with ceiling fans.... when they are off. Your yawns are the cutest things I have ever seen, and I want to bottle up your baby smell. You have gained over 3lbs in one month, you have a fabulous double chin that catches formula as you drool when you eat. Your hair gets a little curly in the back when you get hot or when it is wet and I look forward to seeing what it is like as it grows and putting bows and barrettes in it.

You are nothing short of perfect. I can't believe it's already been 6 weeks since we met you, but I feel like we've had you in our lives forever - I would never want to go back. Me and Daddy love you more than anything in the whole wide world and would do anything for you. You are the greatest gift I've ever received.

As this year ends and we start a new year as a family of 4 (with Jethro included, of course!) I am excited to see what each day holds for you, how you grow and change. Happy New Year, little Angel.

Love, Mommy

Alexandra the Late

Yes, it's been a long time since I updated...and SO many things have happend in the last 3 weeks. Yep - Alexandra is 3 weeks old today! My water broke on Monday November 16th at work (not fun) and 36 hours later, Alexandra Josephine was born at 2:30am on 11/18. Hence the nickname, Alexandra the Late (dubbed by Uncle Mike, not surprisingly!).

She is amazing, and perfect, and silly. C and I just laugh and laugh sometimes - she makes these faces... you want your baby to be cute and beautiful all the time, but sometimes the faces she makes are not so cute and we just laugh. We call her Mr. Magoo ( courtesy of the pediatrician...poor girl got my bags under her eyes) and she grimaces sometimes, scrunches her face up - adorable but not, at the same time. Chris is beyond in love, and he is so cute with her. You can see it in his eyes - she's already a daddy's girl. And it makes me love him even more. We've had our moments where insomnia makes me crazy/cranky and him irritable too, but the dumb fights are long forgotten when we pick her up, smell her baby smell, feel her soft as silk skin, and give her a million kisses.

Breastfeeding didn't work - everything that could go wrong, did... her latch was painful at 20 minutes old, cracked nipples, jaundice, not peeing for 30+ hours, having to supplement with formula, use a nipple shield, then pump... I ended up with a yeast infection in both breasts and mastitis. That was it. I made it just over 2 weeks....and now she's on formula only and mommy is a lot less stressed!

I will write her full birth story soon - I made Chris write it all down at the hospital so I wouldn't forget anything that happened. It wasn't picture perfect, and took way too long, but it was all worth it in the end. I want to have something for Allie to read in the future about our experience of meeting her for the first time, the first couple weeks of life with her, and just how much she is loved. I promise to get it done, I promise myself and Allie! For now, at least I updated the blog... I guess that's something!