3 Months

Today is Gwen’s 3 month birthday.  She is getting so big so fast, and sometimes I really miss her newborn days and want her to be tiny, and some days I get really excited for her to be able to crawl, and talk, and walk.  Mostly, though, I just love her, and want her to stay little.
At 3 months she loves to:
*Swing in her swing
*Bounce in her bouncy chair
*Eat her hands
*Be held facing out so she can see everything
*Take baths
*She’s just starting to reach for toys and it’s so fun to watch her mind working
*Stand up
*Read stories with bright, fun pictures
*Smile.  She has been such a smiley girl, except, of course, when I want to take a picture of her doing it.  Then she won't, but as soon as I put the camera down, she’s all grins.  Little stinker.
*She does NOT love her bumbo….yet.
She is such a sweetheart and I am so glad she’s mine forever.  I just love her so much!
On another note, it’s been so nice outside lately.  We’ve been taking Gwen out to the back yard to lay on a blanket and play with toys.  She loves being outside.  She just smiles and kicks and tries to talk.
For Dan’s birthday, before Gwen was born I got him a little onsie “from her” that said I love my dad.  Well she’s finally big enough to wear it, and so I had to get some photos of them together with her in it.  I love the one where she is just staring at him.  She loves him so much.  Any time she hears his voice she turns her head to try and find him, and he is always making her smile.  Sometimes it’s not fair.
And here are a few more photos of her being cute, and Dan holding Gwen and Chloe.  Sometimes Chloe gets jealous of Gwen and she wedges her way in, forcing us to give her attention.  It’s pretty funny.  We still love you Chloe!
Don’t you just want to munch on those cheeks?  They are just so chubby, and I love them!  She is getting such a fun, cute personality, and I love watching it develop and start showing.  It’s so amazing to watch her learn and grow.  She changes so fast, and I feel like if I blink I’ll miss something.  She is just a cutie, and we are loving getting to know her.

Mother’s Day

I was so excited to be able to celebrate Mother’s Day this year.  It’s been such a fun/hard/crazy/emotional adjustment, but I really do love being a mom.  I am also grateful for my mom, who’s always been there for me and who I know is willing to do just about everything for me.  In fact, until about a year ago, she’d call and make doctors appointments for me, and still offers to this day.  That’s what I love about her.  She doesn’t forget the small things.  I hope to be a mom who loves and fights for her kids like my mom does.  Also, she’s an awesome grandma.  I never really had grandparents growing up, and it always devastated me.  My mom’s dad and my dad’s dad died before I was born, and my mom’s mom died when I was only 4.  My dad’s mom died just a couple years ago, but she lived kind of far away for most of my life so we didn’t get to see her that often, and I was at the tail end of the grandkids, so I didn’t get to spend as much time playing with her as my older sibling did.  However, we had a very special bond, and when I got older I had a great relationship with my grandma.  But, the point is that my mom is young, and she plays with the kids, and does special things for them, so it’s so fun for me to watch that relationship that I never really had as a child, but always wanted so badly. 
I got really sick on Saturday night with a bad cold.  So I was kind of out of commission for Mother’s day.  So, Dan took Gwen to church and let me sleep.  Then when he came home we went to dinner at my parents house, and then went to his parent’s house for dessert.  We headed home rather early because I just wasn’t feeling well.  Luckily it has been pretty short, and I’m starting to feel better now, but it hasn’t been fun.  And, as a result, these are the only photos I got on Mother’s Day.  I’m just glad I remembered to take any photos at all!

Weekend away

This last weekend, we went to the Homestead for Dan’s moms 60th birthday!!  We still aren’t too comfortable leaving little Gwennie, (even though she is sleeping through the night 8pm-8am, and has been for about a month now) so we brought her along with us, and she was a trooper!  She was an angel, as always.  She loved getting all the attention from aunts and uncles, and loved being the only grandchild allowed to come.  She also had her first swim.  Her suit is still a little big, but it’s ok.  We couldn’t find swim diapers yet, so her regular diaper swelled up and filled in the empty spaces. :) She looked like she had a little bug butt.
Whenever Dan’s whole family gets together, they love to be together, so despite the tiny hot tub, clearly not big enough to fit them all, they squeezed in, made the water overflow out of the hot tub, and it’s pretty possible that some people were feeling a little bit uncomfortable with the closeness.  They also always have to have some sort of contest.  One to see who can swim the longest, hold their breath the longest, go the deepest, and win a chicken war.  It’s pretty comical, especially with all the wives lined up cheering for their man.  We are quite a sight when we go out in public.  Oh, and Gwen LOVED the water.  She just kicked and kicked and smiled and had a great time.  I can’t wait to take her swimming this summer.
The next day we woke up, ate breakfast together and had a little photo op of all the kids, and all the kids and wives.  It’s a pretty big posterity. (and that’s not even including the 22 grandkids)

Then we headed on home.  It was a quick trip, but fun to be with family and celebrate 60 years.  My mom and dad watched Chloe while we were gone, so we had to go pick her up, and while we were there, we figured we’d stop for a little nap since little Gwen is such a snuggle bug.  Dan slept with her for the first half and I slept with her (and apparently Chloe) for the 2nd.  Neither of us knew the other had taken photos…how funny! 
We are just trying to get all the snuggles out of her that we can while she’s still willing to give them.  She is such a snuggler right now, and I am loving it.  Sometimes I just forget about everything I’m supposed to do during the day and snuggle her all day long.  I figure, you only have 1 kid tiny once, so why not enjoy it while I can?