Mother Letter

Dear Mommy-to-Be,

You may be staring down at your growing tummy right now wondering, do I have what it takes to be a mom?

I can promise you that you do.

I remember when I was filling out our baby registry.  There were so many choices, so many brands and options and colors...I was overwhelmed.  One of my friends encouraged me with this, and I've held on to it ever since.

You are all your child needs.

You can provide the warmth to comfort your little one, you can provide the sustenance to help him grow.  Your voice can soothe her to sleep, and at the end of the day, that's all that's important.

Maybe you're also looking down at those swollen feet and darkening stretch marks and wondering if your body will ever be the same.  

I can promise that it won't.  

Many parts of you will bounce back to their former selves after pregnancy, but even if they don't, you can be proud.  It takes one amazing person to be able to grow a baby from a microscopic cell to the wrinkly, kissable munchkin you greet in the delivery room.  Your body is a thing of power.  How can it top giving birth?  Your skin may be a little stretchier than it used to be, and your favorite clothes may not fit like they used to, but when you look in the mirror, be proud of who you have become.

There is nothing more incredible than the journey you are on, and when they place your baby in your arms for the first time, you will know that it was worth it all.  

Get ready for your life to change forever--in the most beautiful, wonderful, amazing way you could ever imagine.

Linking up with Mother Letters to share my letter to future moms

Wordless Wednesday: Sophie the Giraffe

Pinterest Party Link Up #3!

Welcome to Happy Homemaker Me's 3rd monthly Pinterest Party!

Have you tried a new pin lately?  Recipes, DIYs, fashion/beauty tips, home decor or organization ideas, it all goes here!  I'm excited to see what you have been up to :)

Is this your first time joining us?  You can read more information about our Pinterest Parties here.

This month, my project is sweet and simple.  For my first Pinterest Party project, I sewed something.  Last month, I shared a favorite recipe.  This time, I decided to crochet something for Easter.  I went through my pin boards, and found this adorable pattern to make a Marshmallow Bunny!

Doni of Whiskers & Wool shares this great pattern, along with excellent step-by-step pictures and instructions.

I made my little bunny in about 20 minutes, and I love it!

Doni made the eyes and mouth using black seed beads, but since my little Easter Bunny likes to put everything into her mouth, I altered my Marshmallow Bunny by sewing the features on using embroidery floss instead.  Our very own teether friendly version.

And I'm not kidding about the teething...

(Sorry that it doesn't taste like the real thing, Kid)

It's been a crazy month since I began teaching ESL college courses online...but I learned a few things tonight:  

a) don't leave your Pinterest Project til the night before when you have a tired baby and no good lighting to work with

b) if you're planning to take close-up photos of your project, do that before you hand it to your baby and she spits up on it.

Sigh.  It happens :)

Now it's your turn!  What have you worked on this month?  Share your pictures, victories, fails, inspirations, or simply things that you want to try!

I can't wait to see!

6 Months Old

Our Sweet Kayleigh Grace,

I looked at the clock today at 1:22, and ran over to where you were playing happily on the carpet to swoop you up and cover you with kisses.

Six months ago, right at that minute, you came into this world and made our hearts overflow with love.

As much as I loved you that moment, with your blotchy pink-blue skin and sticky hair, how could I have imagined how much that love would change--deepen--in the next six months?

The first time I saw you, I loved you because you were mine.

I loved that you were a physical representation of the love between your daddy and me.

I loved you for the potential of what we could have together.

I loved you because for nine months, I had countered every wave of nausea and every pain with the reminder that a baby would come from all of this.

And here you are.

Now, when I look at you, I love you because you are you.

I love every giggle, every squeal, and every belly laugh.

I love every crease and roll you have.

I love your curiosity, your excitement to try things out yourself.

I love that expression which tells me that you're so gosh-darn proud of yourself.

I love the way you smile at passersby, that you're just as social and friendly as your daddy. 

This month, you have changed the most out of any month.

It wasn't even a month ago that you rolled over for the very first time,

and now you're on a blanket next to me, singing to yourself as you rock back and forth on all fours.

Crawling is just days away, Sweet Girl.

And you're so excited about it!

It seems like overnight, you went from toppling over when anyone tried to sit you on your bottom, to being able to sit as long as we let you.  And now, you wave your hands and kick your feet if we leave you sitting somewhere and move away.  Like you're offended that you can't follow us on your own yet.

It's not far away...

You have been exclusively breastfed up to this point, but in the last week, we've let you sample (more like suck on) a carrot, broccoli stem, banana, and apple.  You've also tried rice cereal twice now, and we were amazed with how you knew just how to open your mouth for the spoon and slurp it right up!  Now you feel entitled to eat whatever we're eating, and we just have to smile and shake our heads.  No cheeseburgers for you, yet!

You started reaching for people this month, and you have completely melted some hearts!  I'm glad that you're so happy to visit with other people now (too much interaction with people other than Mom and Dad used to leave you overwhelmed and frazzled).  All of the sweet grandma ladies at church have adopted you, and you're completely happy being passed from loving arm to loving arm.

What a fun age this is, Baby Girl.  We are loving every minute of watching you grow, grow, grow.  You're not just a helpless infant anymore.  You have a will of your own.  It's so much fun to see you sitting up and playing with toys, laughing at Daddy and the funny games he plays with you, and hearing your squeals of joy.  And yet, I'm just as happy and thankful that one of your favorite things to do is still cuddle up in our arms.

Daddy and I look at each other all the time and ask, "How did we receive such a wonderful, happy baby?"

We didn't do anything to deserve you, Kayleigh Grace, but our God is good, and He has blessed us far beyond what we could have imagined.

Stay as sweet as you are!

We love you!

Love, Mom

Biting Daddy's Nose

Our silly girl has a new favorite thing to do.

She loooooves biting noses, especially Daddy's!  

We've started kissing her nose back, and she thinks it's the funniest thing.  Such a cute little sense of humor! 

Tabhair póg dom, táim Éireannach!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day from our kissable little lassie!

Swings and Smiles

Kayleigh and I had a wonderful afternoon.

We met a friend and her two little boys at a park after lunch, and spent a few hours enjoying the beautiful spring  weather.  Kayleigh can't do quite as many things as the active little one year old and three year old boys did, but she enjoyed watching them play in the woodchips and would nibble on a shovel or bucket when it was handed to her.  Her eyes really lit up whenever the boys came near.  She just loves "playing" with other kids!

Brecken and her boys headed home before we did, so I took the opportunity to take some pictures of Kayleigh in the sunshine.  I think more trips to the park are in order!  I loved how much she loved our time outside today.

Kayleigh's first time in a swing!  She loved it.  I knew she would, since she loves it when we swing her around in our arms.  She's fearless.  And tons of fun :)

Every little detail about today was just beautiful

Especially that happy little smile on my sweet girl's face!

I hope you all are enjoying some lovely weather this week, too!