Ode to maternity leave

This is officially my last week before I go back to work... I go back on Friday the 28th. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it; a part of me is excited to see my coworkers again and get back in a routine, but a part of me is a little heartbroken. My maternity leave has been the happiest, craziest, most frustrating, emotional, blessed, anxious, joyful, exhausting, tearful, and best three months of my life. This little person has completely changed our lives, and only for the better. Every day she grows and explores, and I feel so priveleged to be able to watch her discover the world around her. Three months ago she was brand new; now she can smile at us, coo, kick, and even hold her head up. She recognizes our voices, and her eyes follow us around the room. We can tell just by her cry exactly what she needs, if she's hungry, tired, bored, needs a diaper change, or just needs to unwind. It's only been a couple months, and Kyle and I can't even remember what it was like before a baby! What is a casual dinner and a movie? What is sleeping in? But you know what? We wouldn't change it for the world. :)

Worth every moment!

I got Payton's 2 month pictures, they turned out great!

















So cute! If anyone is interested in ordering them, I scanned them and uploaded them to costco so you could just e-mail or call me and I'll give you the login info.

Payton is starting to hold her head up when we do tummy time! She is not a fan of it though, she'll only do it for a couple minutes and then she's done. I caught it on video!


This was the first time she held it up for so long! I was so proud :)

I'll be sitting up before you know it! Oh, and I'm a little messy :)

She's a pretty good eater and sleeper, she's eating about 6 bottles a day now, and still waking up in the middle of the night for a bottle. She sleeps the rest of the time though without a problem, which is nice. She doesn't think nighttime is playtime! The longest stretch she's had in between meals was 9 hours (starting at 6pm though); usually it averages about 5 or 6. Hopefully she'll be sleeping through the night before we know it!



Kisses from daddy

Kyle has a big test for school coming up, so he's been studying like crazy... which means I get my little girl all to myself until I have to go back to work! It's going to be hard, but I know it will be ok. I'm afraid she's going to forget me because I won't be around all the time, but everyone tells me that won't happen... my mom was a working mom and I certainly didn't forget or feel less of a bond with her, so that makes me feel better. I just can't believe how fast time is already passing... we applied for Wee Care (the daycare at my work) a long time ago, when I was like 12 weeks pregnant. She's still on the waiting list, which is ok because we decided that Kyle is going to stay home with her (he's free!), at least for a while. We'll need daycare eventually because Kyle will start student teaching next February, but for now this works out really good for us. His last day at Sports Authority was last week, so he's officially a stay at home dad! I'm kind of jealous, although it was never really my aspiration to be a total stay at home mom... if I could work part-time it would be perfect, but that's definitely not possible right now. Maybe a little later we'll find that silver spoon! :)

Oh and we finally figured out why my camera sometimes turns her birthmark blue, my cousin suggested it... my camera thinks it's red eye and tries to correct it!

Wish me luck, I'm afraid I forgot how to do everything and will feel like a total idiot on my first day back! I'm sure it will all come back to me, but I've never taken such a long break from scanning before, not since summer break my first year in the program. I'll definitely let you know how it goes!