Kennedy at 3 Months

I totally forgot to write her 3 month update! It was also Father's Day, so I was busy making sure Jake felt special all day, but that's no excuse. :) We took her swimming for the first time on Father's Day, which was awesome. We are just having the best time with our little peanut. Here are some developments:

• Kennedy is extremely expressive. You can see in the first picture below how she can curl her lip and clench her whole body, to completely express her distaste for something. She laughs, screams, squeals, and has this noise I call the kazoo cry, because it's like a zippy cry of increasing frustration. It's sweet, even though she is clearly sad! I just love that she's not afraid to communicate her feelings.
• Her other squeals and shrieks sound a bit like baby pterodactyl. Thus, we sometimes call her Baby Dinosaur.
• Is super curious and widens her eyes while she's looking around at everything. She still loves patterns of high contrast, like black/white, light/dark.
• Weighs probably 12.5 lbs., though no doctor appointment this month to confirm. Also seems much longer - I swear one night she grew an inch overnight!
• Wears 3-6 month clothes. We've finally introduced one pair of footwear, these furry slippers that are oh so cute!
• Wakes one or two times a night, and is getting more consistently down to one time. During that time I nurse her for 10 minutes and she's back to bed!
• Sleeps 12 hours at night (even past 8am in her crib!) and 3-4 hours during the day. Still a great sleeper.
• Likes sucking on her hands, even her entire fist. She sucks on her hands half the day! She seems to be teething quite a bit, so she'll suck and chew on her hands and her toys. She also put herself to sleep sucking her two middle fingers one day.
• Loves her monkey (mono) toy, her seahorse, and Sophie the giraffe. 
• Can sit in the Bumbo and reach for her toys.
• LOVES to be "standing" on our legs. She's super active, always pushing up and moving her body. And strong! We can so tell she wants to be on-the-go! (we're okay waiting a bit though)
• Does not love to be on her tummy as much. Now that she's experienced "standing", tummy time is just downright frustrating. I'll bet she only crawls for a short time, then walks early.
• Stares at the trees in awe. When I was walking her in the Bjorn, she would just stare straight up at the trees, mouth open, completely enthralled. When we hit blue sky, she started fussing until there were trees above us again! A nature girl.

I went back to work last week and it's been hard, but she's doing so great. She has a pretty chill attitude and is perfectly happy with her daddy during the days I'm working. We're definitely still loving this team effort and our family time, though. Happy 3 months, Baby Girl! We love you!

First swim on Father's Day

Thoughts from a 12 Week Slice of Heaven (aka Maternity Leave Comes to an End) (aka The Most Dreaded June. Ever.)

Writing is therapeutic. And therapy is probably what I'll need in the days, weeks, and months to come. It is so strange, because I'm sitting out on my deck on this 87 degree evening, looking up at clear skies in the 8pm daylight, and all I can really do is look at this beautiful sight to my left and wipe the tears away when they roll down my cheek.

For the first time in my entire LIFE, I dreaded the arrival of one of my most favorite months. June is full of beauty, warmth, newness and excitement. Busy weekends, barbecues, an entire summer ahead of us. And for me just this year, the end of a period filled with hour after hour of pure bliss, while getting to know my sweet baby girl, and my chance at being a mama for the first time.

She's sleeping, so I am playing the iTunes playlist that Jake made for her titled "Goodnight Kennedy" about 3 hours after we came home from the hospital. "All the Pretty Little Ponies" by Kenny Loggins just played, and I tell you that this is the epitome of melancholy. I so vividly remember coming home and crying out basically every pregnancy hormone in my body for 48 hours straight, holding her from 2-6am on the couch while Jake slept, and feeling comforted by this song. Melancholy, but comforted. And gosh, at that time it was ALL ahead of us.

The first struggles. The first joys. Not sleeping. Tears. Three human beings and one furry being sharing one bed. Learning to breastfeed. Recovering from labor. Walking in circles around the house, while hushing and rocking her to sleep. The Twinkle Twinkle giraffe. The Sleep Sack. Awake at 9, 11, 12:30, 2, 3:30, 5, 6, 7:30, for the day. The first bath. The first trip to Target. Weekday walks as a family. Daytime naps on the tummy, while Mommy and Daddy eat breakfast and watch Desperate Housewives, The Voice, Grey's, and Glee. The first coo. The first smile. The first shots. :( Watching her give us Love Eyes. "Kennedy is The Backson!" Naps together in the bed. Daddy/daughter time so Mommy could sleep in. Photo shoots. Video shoots. ECFE class (she was the youngest). Play dates with Angie, Eva and Carter. Day after day of visitors bringing meals. Staring at the trees. Giggling at Mommy's belly blows. Calling her Mono. Reading books. Memorizing Dr. Seuss' ABCs. Talking with her. Listening to her. Cuddling with her. Loving her.

That last paragraph may not have made total sense to you, but I want to capture it all. I'm extra lucky because Jake's job has allowed us to spend most days together as a family during my leave. This time will forever go down as one of the best times of my life. And not just my life, but our life together.

I still realize that the title of this blog is incredibly cheesy. You can roll your eyes at, I know that life is not always a honeymoon. BUT, I believe, and this short period of time has reminded me, that the honeymoon parts are what make it great. They're what we need to focus on during the less than desirable times. I'm certainly not fearless, but I'm going to enter next week with strength and willpower to succeed at being a mom who works. And as I said to someone a couple weeks ago, I'll constantly remember that "Everything is much more beautiful as a mama."

The Best Day

"And I didn't know if you knew, so I'm takin' this chance to say
That I had the best day with you today." -Taylor Swift

So my time at home every day with Kennedy is dwindling. Like really fast, quickly before my eyes. I've had some tears already, and I can safely say that this has been the only year that I completely frowned at turning the calendar to June. Normally June is my favorite! Summer, anticipation, long days, hot, starry nights. A whole three months of pure glory. Not this year. This year I would go back to April in a heartbeat. To the weeks and weeks of 24/7 time with my girl. Now I can't even say week.

However, today, I have felt energized by our time together. Recharged, excited. I heard "The Best Day" by Taylor Swift, and it made me smile. Taylor's singing to her mom instead of the other way around, but it totally touched me.

We didn't even do anything extraordinary, but that's what was beautiful. We drove downtown, strapped on the Bjorn for a walk to get ice cream (Kennedy stared straight up at the trees passing by the entire time), napped in the bed, smiled and giggled at each other. ALL DAY. It's cool how right now these are the things that constitute the best days.

And we will have more best days. The things we do will change as she grows, and I'm excited to see what the best days are made of at each age. We won't get a best day 7 days a week, but that's not reality for stay at home moms, either. We will get 3 solid days a week to turn into best days as often as possible, and I will certainly be capitalizing on those.

It won't be easy, and sometimes it will be downright difficult, but days like today are what will keep me going from one best day to the next.

Beautiful napper. Beautiful nap.

Cake pops! (yes, I ate them both)