Already?! H oly Cow!

So my little mover and shaker has finally accomplished the greatest desire of her little heart-she walks! My life will never be the same. On February 13th (friday the 13th, no less) she took her first steps. It was a wonderful end to an otherwise disheartening day. Kevin and I are very excited. I don't think she fully realizes what she's doing yet. She doesn't quite trust herself to walk to things that are not me or Kevin, but she can take several steps by herself and she's pretty quick. She can also maneuver adeptly around our coffee table and couch. I think she's pretty excited about it too. She smiles and laughs when she's walking as if to say, "Mom, look at me! Look at me!"

Her crawling is getting better, too. She's pretty good with her army crawl, although she doesn't like it much. She has resigned to the crawling because it's her only form of independent self transportation at the moment. I know once she figures out all of the implications of walking she will resort to that. She grows more curious (and more independent) every day. She wants to touch everything and put everything in her mouth.

Another milestone she reached was her first illness. She has something call Bronchialitis. It's more than a cold but not quite bronchitis, I think. She has to do breathing treatments and take a steroid to open up her lungs. She's doing really well, though. By the way she plays you can't tell she's sick and nothing (not even mucus rattling around in her lungs) will keep her from walking. Hopefully she won't be sick for too much longer, but my little miracle continues to amaze me. She recognizes me, now and calls me when she need something. She has the most amazing smile and the most beautiful expressions. I love her.

Baby's First Christmas and beyond

so Megan made out like a bandit on Christmas (as expected). Grandpa came from Nevada and was here for the big day. We were very excited.

I predicted that she would crawl by Christmas and I was right. She does an army crawl now. She's really good at it, but hasn't moved beyond that since. Other abilities: clapping, standing up if she's holding your hands, holding her own bottle, feeding herself bread and cookies, waving hello and bye, and the big one "mama." YAY!!! That's right she said it. That one came after Christmas, but that's okay.

It is beyond my comprehension how such a tiny, helpless person can cause so much joy. A friend of mine (who also adopted) said that there was much more laughter in their house since her daughter had been there. I understand. Megan makes us laugh just by doing what babies do. One would never know that she was a preemie.

As the big "1" approaches I find myself in a quagmire of emotions (I just wanted an excuse to use that word). I love that she's growing and being independent, but I hate it, too. I think that I'll always see her as my little baby, but she's not going to be forever. *sigh* In the meantime, I can enjoy her beautiful crazy antics and save her when she needs me to. I love my little one.

Milestones

Megan will be 6 months old tomorrow. The time has flown by. These last two weeks, though, have seemed to be particularly busy (developmentally) for our little one. She broke her first tooth, learned to sit by herself, rolls over from front to back, grabs for things (she started reaching up today), and had her first real laugh when she was tickled. All this happened in the last 2 weeks. It's amazing. I've so worried about her being behind because she was a preemie, but she has caught up.

We had our 6-month check up today and she got another round of shots. She doesn't like those much but she handles them like a trooper. She weighs 17 lbs and is 25 in. long. Her favorite toy are these plastic chain links that are easy to grab and are just the right bite size for her. Her favorite game is the horsey game where I sit on the floor and straddle her across my leg and she can bounce up and down. She absolutely loves it. Oh, and she loves the pool, too.

All of the help and advice I've received from friends and family has been absolutely invaluable. My husband has done a great job, too. She now recognizes both of us even from across the room. She is still as social as ever and will giggle and play with just about anyone. She even tries to imitate other babies' movements. She's just growing so fast I can hardly stand it. Pretty soon she'll be crawling around and getting into trouble. My little baby is growing.

It has been difficult to put into words just how I feel about her. I love her so much. I can't imagine life without her now. I'm grateful that she is ours forever.

First Tooth

Megan has learned that she can scream. It's exacerbating the screams. It makes people crazy. Well, today we discovered what we think is the cause. At least I hope that it's the cause and the screaming will calm down.

She was chewing on my friend Eliza's finger when Eliza said she felt something sharp. I looked and, sure enough, there it was. Her first tooth.

I love my little girl more than I can express. It's so hard to watch her become a big girl. I know she still has a long way to go, but it feels like it's just passing me by. I know that Kevin and I will have more babies, but that's not the point. I want to enjoy this baby. I'm so grateful that I stay at home. Even though I get to spend all this time with her it still seems to fly by. So from now on I am going to try harder to enjoy her even more.

The Magic of Mom

I've discovered something about myself. I've discovered that I have magical powers. I can soothe a crying baby simply by whispering in her ear, "mommy's here." It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Of course, it doesn't always work, but something always does and I'm usually the one to do it. I amaze myself sometimes because I just seem to know what to do. It's really quite remarkable. I've baffled my husband on several occasions, although I must say that he's pretty magical himself sometimes.

My baby is nearly 4 months old and is becoming increasingly aware of the world around her. She's starting to focus more and she laughs and giggles and just has the prettiest smile. She recognizes my voice and she knows me by sight. She's very social and loves to be around people (especially young people). She almost sounds like she's talking when she makes sounds. I know they're just arbitrary sounds, but I swear sometimes it sounds like she can say "ma", "daddy", and "hungry." My mom thinks she say "Abu" (short for abuela). My prediction is that Megan will be an early talker.

We had a doctor's appointment today. Megan is officially caught up with her height and weight. She's in the 50 percentile for both. I'm so proud of her. The doctor said we can start her on solid food, too. We have to start with rice cereal and once she gets used to eating with a spoon and the thicker consistency, then we can start her on other cereals and phase 1 fruits and vegetables.

My little baby is getting big. I can hardly believe it. She gets stronger every day and learns and discovers something new everyday. She's still my baby, though. I can understand why people hesitate to have more children. I wonder how in the world I can love another baby like I love Megan. Then again, I can't imagine not having more. I just love being a mom. I love that I know how to soothe my baby and make her laugh. I love that she makes me a better person. I appreciate life so much more. I can come home after being at rehearsal or class and she just makes life better. She makes the world a better place.

And there she is now...

Out of this world

I never could have imagined the love that I feel for this new little being in our home. It's just amazing.

It's incredible how the Lord has blessed me with patience and wisdom to care for her. Our lives are all about her these days. She is just so sweet.

Now that she is sealed to us for time and all eternity I feel a completeness in our family. She's ours forever. My husband and I are so happy. There's a new dimension to our relationship and such a joy in our home. I think she feels closer to us, too.

She's just amazing.

First Turnover

My daughter is 2 months old tomorrow. Today she turned over for the first time. I could hardly believe it. I went into her room to check on her because I heard her cry and I know that I put her face down. When I went in, though, I found her face up. She's so beautiful. She gets more beautiful every day.

I can't believe I'm part of that elite group of women called "mom." I love my daughter so much it makes me want to cry. She's growing so fast and i want to enjoy every moment I can with her. Ahh... it's a good life.