4 months old!

Happy 4 months Princess! You are back to your wonderful routine of sleeping all night long (11 hours), you have started to roll onto your side (can't quite get all the way around yet), you kick and wave all the time (I mean all the time), you cackle and laugh at Daddy when he gives you zerberts, you "talk" about "dadadadada" all the time (and make Mommy jealous), you have started to reach for any and all food that Mommy eats and make a "mmmm mmm" sound as I do, you had your first taste of frozen yogurt and absolutely loved it, you have now become a wonderful shopping buddy and had your first shopping trip with Gigi and Mommy, you visited all 4 Disney parks for the first time, you had your first Christmas and New Years, and you continue to light up our world and give us so much joy, our hearts are bursting. We love you sweet baby girl.

A Disney Christmas

So much has happened since my last post. We had the most amazing Christmas ever with our wee one! We spent 3 days at Disney world and it was absolutely wonderful. The crowds, never ending lines, screaming children and hotter than usual weather didn't seem to matter at a time like this. I was introducing my daughter to my favorite place in the whole wide world, and she loved every minute. We had a pretty successful trip, only two meltdowns the whole time we were there, and they were both at the end of a very long day. She loved all of the lights and Christmas songs and Disney characters. She just stared in awe of everything, so much to look at and hear! I had tears streaming down my face many times during our stay. I just loved Disney as a child and still do as an adult. So to see my daughter take it all in for the very first time, it touched my heart so.

In Front of The Great Tree at Epcot

Mommy and her sweet girl

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights at Hollywood Studios

Santa Goofy at Animal Kingdom

Her first glance at the castle at Magic Kingdom

Bliss=This

This on Pandora:

Courtesy of Wikipedia

This on the grill:

Pic courtesy of Pinterest

This on the tube:

Pic courtesy of Amazon

This next to me:

This in my firepit:

A night under the stars with my girl and my boy:

Teaching my sweet babe to bake for the first time:

And this, shared with my lovie, once Sweet-Pea is asleep in her "nest":

This "little bundle" has taught us so much about appreciating the little things in life. It passes by so quickly. We now take time to stop and smell the roses, stare gawkingly at the little ladybug on the flower, point out every star in the sky, lie on our backs and look at the clouds, snuggle each day with a Peanut between us, stare at eachother as we hold our wee one, savor quiet time, not care so much about what we wear or where we go or what we buy. Yes, it's the little things that mean the most.

It's Your 3:30am Wake Up Call!

I am not sure who told my daughter that playtime is at 3:30am, but I can't say that at first I was super duper excited about it. Boy have my feelings changed. For the past few weeks, my little night owl, has been just that, a night owl. She doesn't want to go to sleep until 10:30 at night and she wakes up, occasionally, around 3:30am. I think she is wondering what we are up to and hates to be in her crib by herself. "Is the circus in town? Did Santa come yet? Are they eating shortbread cookies? What's goin' on here?"

When she wakes up, she has got to be the sweetest, most cheerful baby around. She cackles and giggles and laughs, louder and louder until finally I have to go in and see what all the fun is about. "Hey darlin." When she hears my voice, she snaps her head around and bam. There it is... The sweetest most wonderful smile known to mankind. I melt. Instantly. This never gets old folks. I would trade a million blissful, well rested nights for one more night like this. Once I drag my tired self into her room, I never want our time to end. But I know she needs her rest, as do I. So after about an hour of play and a little bit of "udder-time", as we call it, I sadly place her back in her "nest" for a few more hours of thumb-sucking sleep (yes we already have a thumb sucker).

I hate to think that someday soon, these nights of sweet, cheerful play will end. And she will once again sleep through the night and be ready to do more grown-up things than to play with mommy. I sometimes find myself tearing up when I feed her, so innocent, so peaceful, so content. (whew, actually crying now) She depends on her daddy and I for her every need these days, and we feel so honored and needed and loved. Just the grasp of her tiny hand around our finger sends us over the moon. It's the touch you never knew you needed, but now you never want it to end.

My heart is so full. I have never known a love like this before. I believe it's the closest thing to the love our heavenly Father has for us. And for this glimpse into his perfect and endless love, I am forever greatful, forever changed and forever in awe. Your daddy and I love you with all of our hearts, sweet baby girl.

Gettin Ready for Santa!

So have you heard of Pinterest? If you haven't, you must have been living under a log for the last 6 months. This site is awesome!!!! It is great for us crafty people who love to make things, but really don't have alot of "green" to work with, if you know what I mean. I was so tired of "Favoriting" all of my favorite blogs and websites and having to go back into them to figure out what the hey I liked so much about them. So Pinterest is the answer!

When our baby"Owl" is sleeping in her nest, Mamma Owl gets to Pin away and get to craftin! I have made countless things for Christmas this year for next to nothing by using this site. All I have to say is, "Thank you Pinterest creator! Thank you!!!"

Here is a sneaky peek at some of the things I have made this season!

Tree skirt from an old table cloth and a burlap runner, with, you guessed it, a handmade burlap owl :)

 A berry garland from $0.69 berry sticks at Michaels

 Burlap covered vases holding the remnants of our Christmas tree

 An amazing free printable from the movie"Elf"

 Yarn covered wine bottles holding wintery twigs, a red bowl holding freshly fallen pinecones and a chalkboard made from an old disgarded picture frame and homemade chalkboard paint

I used burlap ribbon from Michaels on my tree thanks to the suggestion of a Pinner

 Ok, I know I didn't make this, but I couldn't resist! Found this owl hat thanks to a fellow Pinner who pinned an adorable etsy store!
My little Blue-Eyed Owl :)

An ENORMOUS homemade no-sew tutu! I've made 5 of these now :)

Ok, so that's just a sampling of what I've made in my spare time. So much other stuff including awesome recipes, Christmas gifts, etc., I'd show ya' but I haven't the time. Somebody just woke up from her long nap and is SUPER hungry :) Toodles!

3 Months Old!

Happy 3 Months my Baby Bee! This month (actually this morning) you graduated to size 2 diapers, you started "talking" like crazy (especially to Mickey Mouse on MMC), you sit in your Bumbo seat very well for about 5 minutes at a time, you are lifting your head up off the floor like a pro during tummy time, you are now sleeping about 9 hours straight at night, you take one very long nap in the afternoon, you still LOVE bath time, you are very close to rolling over, you had your first Thanksgiving (3 actually), you picked out your first Christmas tree and hung your first ornament, you found your hands and you giggle and cackle like there's no tomorrow. We love you so much Princess :)

Two Months Old!

This month you graduated to size 1 diapers, you started "tracking" us with your eyes, you smile all the time now, you love your bath time, you've been sleeping for 11 hours straight at night for a week now (praise the Lord), you take 2 long naps during the day, you've had a few more nights being watched by your Nana and Gigi, you dressed as Minnie Mouse for Halloween, and you had your first cooing session in your crib. You continue to steal our heart everyday, we love you baby girl.