This month was a toughy! Between the lack of sleep and fussiness, it was hard not to burn out! There are more details to come. But I thought this pic is so funny to see how small you are against the big couch!
Just when i think youre getting too big too fast, im reminded that you are still little! You must have liked the chair because you are giving it a thumbs up! So much happened this month. its hard to remember it all. but that why i write to you. i hope it encourages you when you have your kids! anyway, Here's what happened this month.
Favorite moments-there are so many this month! All of the highlights could count as my favorite moments with you. I think hearing you laugh is my favorite. It's a glimpse of heaven I think. But to name a few others- you make faces when taking your vitamin. You close your eyes for a few seconds. your whole face shutters. you have this extremely disguised look on your face. its hilarious. It gets dad laughing even after a long day.
Happy first Labor Day! This holiday was special for me and your dad! I was this holiday last year we announced that you were coming! What a happy day! :-) we are so thankful you are here. It's pretty mind blowing that I'm holding you now a year later!
Nursing- it got sabotaged! The pediatrician recommended trying rice cereal because your weight was low. Even though it felt too early, I gave you some. You loved it! You'd cry every time i pulled the spoon away to get more! (see video). It was hilarious how much you wanted it. You loved it too much I guess. You started to eat less during the day. Then you were up all night eating. It was terrible. It felt like it was too soon for you to start weaning. I decided to quit for a few weeks at least until you can handle both cereal and nursing. If I could go back, I would started the cereal a little older like six months in the morning after mursing. I didn't realize weaning would start so fast. It opened your eyes to how good food was! Now you watch us eat with wide eyes like this!
Development-you have gained one pound since last month! this makes you 13 lbs! it is such a relief that you are gaining weight. its ressuring that you are growing as you should. This month we've been putting you in the high chair. a few times you pulled yourself up with the tray! ill put toys on the tray. You grabbing them and put them into your mouth. You are chewing on every toy! if they arent in your mouth, then they wined up on the floor somehow. It's like you started the phase of dropping things.
You started drinking from a cup! You love doing that! You didn't really get the sippy cup thing yet!!
Leap-During these weeks, Alex will make the fifth leap in her mental development, known as the 'world of relationships'. After this leap, Alex will start to perceive the relationships, including distance, between the things that make up her world. Suddenly, her world is a very, very big place and she is a very small part. It also includes simple things like the distance or the position between things and the placement of things in relation to each other: something can be inside, outside, on top of, next to, underneath or in between something else, and your baby will play with these notions. Maybe Alex suddenly cries if you go a little further away. This is very normal. She now understands that the distance between you and her increases! ( I've notice this a lot with you. Many times you'll cry if you see me leaving.)
Jess's visit- it was fun! They loved you! You found them pretty fascinating. You would look and look at them. You studied them. You were so good to let them hold you! I'd like to think its because my attach ment parenting is so good. But the truth is that it's just because you're a good baby!
Baby dedication- this month we officially dedicated you to The Lord! It's very exciting and touching to have family here for it. It was very moving to have the whole church say a prayer just for you. we prayed that youd come to know christ as your savior! This is the decision of salvation that only you can make. It's also good reminder for me. We realize that we need to surrender you to Him daily. You are his! I've been reading genesis chapter 22. In this chapter, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only beloved son Isaac. Abraham is willing to without question. I can't imagine what he felt as a parent. He had faith that God would provide and had the power to revive his son. His faith overcame emotion, parental instinct, doubt, and fear. I think he knew that Gods will best for his son Isaac. Like Abraham, I know that you are his blessing to us. Giving you up to him daily is hard. You are His! he gave us you. And he gave you his beloved son, Christ to die on the cross for you. He did this because to He loves you, john 3:16. He loves more than me or your dad could ever!
Challenges- sickness and slept less nights! Which You've already heard about. It's hard not to get angry with the lack of sleep. I realize that I don't want to be that kind of person who lives life with anger or sense of entitlement. I don't want to give in to my fleshy sinful nature. I don't want it to be in control of my life. I need to give up and sacrifice my desire to hold on to my anger to The Lord. It's what Paul calls us to be living sacrifices in romans 12:1- "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." So when I feel angry, This is when I realize that I need to stop. Put you down even if you're crying. Take a deep breath and pray. give up my anger or the situation to God. when I give my anger up, I am being living scarfice. And a bonus, I worship God in the processes! Sweet!
What I've learned as a mom- I've been thinking about what kind of parent I want to be. Do I want to be the trendy momma? It's the kind who follows a certain pop culture doctor or mainstream philosophy. Or should I be the kind of momma whoes uninformed and relies to hearsay from her friends? The type who's classic excuse is "i didn't know!" "Or no one told me"! Do I want to be the momma who bases all her decisions on science, studies, and doctors? "well, this study says this." Should I be the kind of mom that only follows her motherly instinct? Do I want to be the prefect momma with a perfectly clean house, gourmet meals and well dressed kids? (Lol, in my Dreams I know). Do I want to be the sweet momma who never disciplines and always friends with their kids? Or I should be the kind of parent whose always angry and yelling at their kids? Do I want to be an all natural hippie momma? Do I want to be the sporty kind of momma? Do I want to be the overwhelmed busy momma?
Not all of these types are bad, I've realized that I don't want to be any one of those kinds of mommas. I want to be a godly one. A kind of momma that is lead by the spirit and follows Gods word. Why? It's because God knows what's best for you. He created you and knows everything about you even the amount of hairs on your head. He knows exactly what you need from a mother and father. He tells us how to parent in his word. I find the hard part is finding the time to read, memorize it, and apply it. After Reading Gods word, I have faith that this is when the Holy Spirit will step in and lead us in each day to day interaction. I pray that Ill listen and stay in tune with him. That's the kind of mother whoes timeless and worthy of praise, proverbs 31:28-29. I pray that you'll be that kind of parent someday!
Love you sweet cheeks,
Mom
Ps- thanks for reading past the run on sentences and all the miss spellings!! Love y'all! Blessings!
