A Whole New Mother's Day

This year Mother's Day has taken on a whole new meaning for me.  These last ten weeks with Ellen have given me a whole new appreciation for the moms in my life.  I have experienced first hand just a small piece of the sacrifices and selfless love they have given me over the years. 

My mom has always been a source of love and a safe haven when I am in need.  I have always had the kind of relationship where I can tell my mom anything.  I hope that one day Ellen will feel the same way about me.  When Ellen was born my mom dropped everything in her life and even took vacation time to come and help my new little family.  She spent her vacation changing diapers, feeding me and waking up around the clock.  Only my mother could consider that a vacation.  :) 

Thank you mom from the bottom of my heart for modeling how to be an amazing mother.  You have loved me unconditionally for 31 years and counting.  You have showed me Gods love through your love and grace.  I have so enjoyed becoming a mom and beginning to show Ellen the kind of love you have blessed me with each and everyday.  You tell me over and over again that I am an amazing mother and I have come into the role so naturally.  I learned it from you my dear mom!  I wouldn't know what I was doing without learning it first from you.  I love you!

 

 

When I met Drew I knew I had met the man I wanted to marry!  He was perfect for me in every way and I couldn't imagine he could get any better.  Then I met his family and I fell in love all over again.  Drew's mom Marcia has been an amazing blessing from God.  I hold our relationship so close to my heart.  Over the years Marcia has taught me so much about being a mother.  Like my mom, she has blessed me with a selfless love that goes beyond words.  She inspires and challenges me each day to appreciate the little things in life and to not take one day for granted.  She has the softest spirit combined with the strength greater then anyone I know.  She has modeled how to love a family in such an amazing way.  I will forever be grateful to God for putting Marcia in my life.  So many people don't know what to do with their mother-in-law.  I don't know what I would do without mine!  I love you Marcia!

So on this Mother's Day I am reflecting on all my moms have taught me and all that I have learned in the short ten weeks I've been a mom.  It would be easy for me to say that these last ten weeks have been perfect bliss.  I could only include pictures where my hair is done and my house is clean but that isn't my real life.  The truth is my house and hair are dirtier then they have ever been.  I can't remember the last time I have showered for more then three minutes and I know that the milk in the fridge is at least two and half weeks old.  However, I also know that my life now has more love then I ever thought humanly possible.  I don't care about my personal hygiene, clean house or perfectly prepared meals.  In time all those things will return.  For now I am drinking coffee out of dirty mugs and wearing clothes way longer then appropriate and LOVING each and every moment!

Here are a few things I've learned from being a mother the last ten weeks.....

I CAN survive on a lot less sleep.  However, when I fall asleep it's no longer pretty.  I collapse into a sleep I've never experienced.  The proof is below. 

It is possible for it to take four whole days to complete a load of laundry.  I'm serious! 

Naps are better then any dessert in the entire world!  This was not true before Ellen.  :)

3 am can be as magical as a morning sunrise with the right company. 

There is something better then being productive..... Ellen cuddles!

God gave me a greater capacity to love then I could have ever dreamed.

Being a Mom is completely selfless but one look at this face is everything I could ever need!

God blessed me with the most loving and supportive family.  It takes a village to raise a child and I have one amazing village! 

God's plan for my life was SO much better then I could have ever dreamed!

Happy Mother's Day!

Ellen's 2 Months

This last month Ellen has grown SO much.  She is packing on the pounds and growing like a weed!  It is such a joy to watch her change each and everyday.  Most nights when Drew comes home from work he says she looks bigger then when he left for work and I agree with him. 

During the last month Ellen has become much more alert.  Her wake times are getting longer and she rolled from her tummy to her back.  I know it was not on purpose but the look on her face was priceless. 

On Easter she gave Grandma Marcia her first social smile.  Since then she smiles lots.  She is most smiley in the morning.  She is a morning girl!  She got that from her Dad and not me.  Here are a few of her smiles.  They are hard to catch on camera. 

Most everyone says she looks like Drew and I would agree.  However, every now and then I see me too.  Here is a picture of me and Ellen at the same age.  I'm in there too.  :) 

At her two month appointment she weighed 11 lbs 4 oz.  I am one proud Momma.  Her height was 23.5 inches.  Her doctor could not believe how long/tall she is for her age.  This is again something she did not get from me.  She took her shots like a trooper but I hated to hear her hurt cry.  :( 

This month Ellen got to meet Aunt Rita for the first time.  She came and stayed the weekend with us.  Ellen got lots of love and attention from Aunt Rita and Aunt Chelsey all weekend.  We hated to see Rita go home!  We miss having Rita and Alex in Omaha so much!

At the end of this month Ellen has started sleeping through the night.  We put her down around 10pm-11pm and she is up around 6am-7am.  I however haven't got great sleep because I keep getting up to check if she is breathing.  :)  Since it's new I'm still not used to our new routine.  She has continued her fussy evenings.  She is very fussy and hard to console in the evening for 2-3 hours.  It makes our evenings harder but we have been reassured over and over that it is normal. 

Ellen has some funny hair growth right now.  The hair on the top of her head has turned very fuzzy and she is loosing a patch of hair on the back of her head where she has the most hair growth.  She also has this long piece of hair on the crown of her head the cracks me up.  I took a picture because I never want to forget how funny and cute her hair has been this month.

Here are a few other things Ellen was up to this month....

She had a play date with the Thimm twins.  It is so much fun to have babies so close together.  Poor little Will was out numbered!  Ellen kept sucking on Reese's hand the whole time. 

 

She got to meet Noelle Papik.  Bob and Maggie are so proud of their new little sister.  It will be so fun to have girls so close in age.

Heber spends most of his day right next to Ellen.  I know they will be best friends once Ellen starts moving.  He has been so good with her. 

This is a picture from the day we took Ellen home and her in the same outfit recently.  It's crazy how fast she is growing! 

Eli is back in Nebraska for a few months.  It was so fun to introduce E & E.  I know they will have so much fun in the years to come. 

We celebrated Easter with family and she had the cutest dress! 

Dad brought her back this turtle from his time in CA.  We put it on her rock and play and she LOVES it.  Heber also is a fan of the turtle. 

She got to meet Helen who is a dear family friend.  Ellen loved her so much!  It melted my heart!

Another month with Ellen has been an amazing blessing.  We had some challenging times and endless amounts of joy.  I wouldn't change a minute!  I can't wait for month 3!