The Mommy Marathon

I look at the clock, it's 4:30. I lay her down after a long day of avoiding naps. Perfect...a little time for myself! I excitedly log on and get lost in blog world, reading the thoughts of others, my favorite past time. In the back of my mind I know I should be taking advantage of this peace to get ready for the night ahead. I ignore the thought, "I don't have to leave until 6:15. I've got plenty of time... just as long as she doesn't wake up."

5:00... I reluctantly shut the lid to my pink laptop and walk to the closet to choose my outfit for the night. I choose black. (I have learned in the last three months that spit-up doesn't show up as much on a darker color.) Next, I begin my make-up and this excites me a little because I haven't worn any since Saturday. But then I hear it... echoing through the house, her faint cry informing me that her nap is over. She only slept 30 minutes and I hope, a little too optimistically, that if I put her passy back in and pat her tummy she will fall asleep again. I literally run through the house and into her room and do both respectively. I realize the "mini-makeover" I have scheduled with myself will now be canceled.

5:05...I hear her crying again; however, this time it might be considered screaming. Running back into her pink room, I peer into the crib and see her rubbing her tired eyes. She sees me and give me a gummy grin. I can't resist, I pick her up and rock her back and forth a little. She coos and I lay her down to change her diaper. We play the "making silly faces" game for a second and we both smile. I carry her to my room and open up the blinds. Maybe she will want to soak up some sun laying on my big bed while I finish the make-up I never really started?

5:20...I am back at the mirror and she is on the bed kicking and smiling. (This lasts about 30 seconds.) The next 15 minutes of our lives are spent like this:

Put her passy in, I do my powder....she spits the passy out and screams. I run in the room put it back in and give her a smile. She is content. I run in the bathroom slap on some blush. Screaming again. I run back in and tell her in a sugary sweet voice, "Baby, I love you so much and I really want to hold you all the time, I do, but Mama would actually like to wear make-up tonight." Passy in. Eyeshadow on one eye. Passy out. I run in and give kisses on her tummy. Passy in. Eyeshadow on the other eye, it is a little bit uneven, but it will do. Passy out. I rush back in, "Don't worry, Mama is here." I pick her up.

5:40ish...I dress her.

5:41...Spit up on that outfit. We find a new one, put it on and I quickly find a matching bib this time.

5:50...I feed her. I hold the bottle with my chin while putting on her shoes with my one free hand. One shoe won't fit and I can't seem to figure it out. I leave it off for a second, burp her, and put her in her swing. I spot the "too small" shoe on the floor and notice a small wad of tissue paper, from when they were brand new, still stuck in the toe. I could have sworn that she had worn these shoes before?? I take it out, throw it on the ground, and put it on her chubby foot.

6:10...Only 5 more minutes and I still need to fix my hair and pack her bag. I sprint back to my bathroom. She begins to whimper. I know the content baby I left in the swing won't be there for long. I hurriedly stick my hair up in a half pony tail and straighten a few pieces in the back. I hear her whimper turn to a wail. I take a second glance and realized that I forgot my mascara. I grab it and slap it on in under a minute.

6:15...We should be walking out the door. I run over to tell her, "Mommy is going to pack your bag and then I promise we are leaving and you get to ride in the car!" She returns my promise with a quivering lower lip. I run to the kitchen get her bottles ready, run to her bedroom grab extra burp clothes, and run to find the camera.

6:20ish...I load her in the car and run back in the house to grab her stroller. I fold it up and put it into the trunk of my Mustang, which is a job all in itself! Finally, I grab her bag and my purse, lock up, and head out.

6:30...Driving away and only 15 minutes late, not too bad. I begin to have this gnawing feeling like I forgot something. At the stop sign I search my purse. No cell phone. "What if Daddy tries to call?" I say out loud. I turn around with hesitation, take the house key off the keyring so I can leave the car running, and run into the house to search for my phone.

6:43... Back in the car, phone in hand, and headed down the road. Almost 30 minutes late. I look back and my princess is sleeping. I roll my eyes and smile. I take a drink of my now lukewarm Diet Dr. Pepper and, oddly, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

I feel like I just ran a marathon in heels, with a baby on my hip.

3 months already!!

Pink Lady

Look at those baby blues!!

Mommy and Gracie

A half smile...she was so tired!!

Being silly in the tub...one of her favorites

Gracie-bug,

I feel like I blinked and this last month was gone!! You have been so much fun lately!! You make Daddy and Mommy laugh so hard everyday. Your faces and sounds that you make now are the cutest thing ever. You have found a new love...ceiling fans! Your favorite thing to do now is to lay on the couch, listen to daddy play guitar, and watch the ceiling fan go. You just smile at it, kick your legs, and talk to it with all that you've got! You are so close to rolling over. You get about halfway there all by yourself. Any day now and we will be chasing everywhere! You have your stash of toys in the living room corner and you have already decided which ones are your favorite. You are definitely a little girl who knows what she wants. I love that about you! We fall in love with you more everyday.

Love you forever,
Mama

it's been awhile...

I have a lot of blank boxes this month on the baby calendar I keep of Gracie's first year. On it I carefully note all of her "firsts", her favorite things, and whatever else I think merits going down as a memory. Needless to say not much has happened lately in terms of baby milestones around our house. That is also another reason why I have not posted in a while, thinking without a major milestone, I have nothing worthy of writing for the blogging public.

However, I remembered today while rocking her I was wrong. There are so many things she has been doing that are very much worth writing about, even though there may not be a pre-made sticker that came with the calendar of each of these unique moments, such as "first smile" or "first doctor's visit." I thought I would share our moments with you, as small as they may be, they are what I get excited about.

The other night while sitting in the rocking chair rocking her to sleep, I pressed my cheek to hers and thought "I will love you forever". Immediately after the thought entered my mind, she grabbed around my neck and squeezed as hard as she could. Mind-Reader? I think so.

She has been trying so hard to talk. Each time we talk to her she moves her mouth to copy our words and then her eyes light up like she has done something worth being proud. Then yesterday, while sitting with her daddy, I heard him yell, "Baby, she is talking. She just said 'moo' twice." I laughed and said, "Wow, that is really cool." But secretly, I don't really think that would count as a word though unless she were a baby calf.

There are so many more little things that she does like moving positions from where I lay in her crib, grabbing onto her favorite toys and smiling, sleeping a full 8 hours through the night, and discovering her feet and almost laughing at them. These are the things that probably don't mean anything to anyone else, but make my day complete. My heart is full, even if her calendar doesn't show it.