Thought I would share...

...this pic of Emme that our brother-in-law took while at the hospital...

Ugh, could you just die?? Or maybe that's just the proud mom in me talking. It's amazing just how much she's changed in 3 short months. Her hair has lightened & the mohawk (that the nurses gave her) is no longer. Sigh. Anyway, I'm waaaaay behind on getting out birth announcements (hello, it's almost February!) since I'd been waiting on pics from our photographer. But after unearthing this photo from my inbox this morning, I think we have a winner folks. Just try to act like you've never seen this picture if you get a birth announcement from us...

And just so you can see how much she's changed since this picture was taken, here's a shot of us today before I left for work....

Ugh, again. I can't stand it! If anyone's in Emme's corner, it's her mom. She's totally fascinated by my phone too. Can you tell? I can get her to smile, but as soon as that phone comes out to take a picture, she gets serious & focused. Anyhoo, I'm currently working on a post about her nursery so I'll be back again this week to share!

 

Day 2

Day 2, and I'm back to work. Maternity leave is officially over. Of course, I use the term "leave" quite loosely, as I'm transistioning back to work on a part time basis for now. I'm starting out at two days, working up to three, and then four....you get the picture. I can't believe how fast all of this came up. Two & a half months went by in the blink of an eye, yet some days it seems like she was born two & a half years ago.

So here are some things I've observed now that I'm officially back to work. The stresses you left behind when you walked out that door are the same ones you'll return to (that nagging stress knot in my left shoulder is back y'all!). It's good to have an office with 4 walls and a door for the purpose of privacy & pumping. You'll wake up in the morning and have nothing (I repeat, nothing) to wear because not only are your work clothes not fitting the way they used to, you suddenly realize that your old wardrobe isn't pumping friendly either (and don't even think about putting those maternity clothes back on...they are no longer acceptable). You'll get nothing done those first few days because you'll spend all of your time talking and catching up with everyone after all that time away. And if you're not talking and catching up, well then it's taking you all day to sort through e-mails, and random piles of paper that made their way to your desk in your abscence.

A lot of people asked how my first day went. If I'm being honest, it went well. There were zero tears or anxiety. In fact, I sort of liked the "break". I'm pretty sure the words 'going back to work' and 'break' are a huge oxymoron, but it's the truth. Does that make me a bad mom to admit that I'm okay going back to work? I told the husband that going back allows me to focus & decompress...something I don't do very well while at home with a baby. Because honestly, my days at home are consumed with taking care of the baby, playing with baby, doing endless loads of laundry, picking up and cleaning, taking care of the animals, paying bills, and just trying to find the time to brush my teeth. For reals...I lose focus quite easily now that I'm a mom. Of course I should also mention that my mom is holding down the fort while I'm gone. And my short 15 minute commute allows me to come home when & if I need to (like today when Emme pitched a fit when taking a bottle...the same baby who we started on one bottle a day at 3 weeks and had zero problems up until it was time for me to go back to work). If I was shipping Emme off to daycare--a thought that breaks my heart--this would be an entirely different story. So in short, things are good.

I'll be back in a few days with pics of Emme's finished nursery! We're getting close to transitioning her into her own room...in order to regain our sanity. Okay, I kid, I kid! But mostly because it's time for Miss Emme girl to be in her own room. I'm sure this transition will totally shake up what little routine we've got going on...but at least we can look at pretty nursery pictures and pretend life is good!

Is this thing on?

So here we are. 2013. And it's been almost 3 months since my last entry. I'm beginning to wonder if I even know how to do this blogging "thing" anymore. To say I'm a rusty is a bit of an understatement! Clearly things are very much on with this blog, people are still reading and wondering & asking just where the hell I've been.

Well, I suppose my excuse is a pretty good one...we welcomed this lovely lady into our lives 9.5 weeks ago...

Miss Emmeline Clare arrived 9 weeks and 4 days ago! If you're doing the math, that makes Emme a Halloween baby. Her mom's least favorite holiday. She arrived via c-section at 10:57 p.m. weighing 8 lbs. 4 oz...bound and determined she'd make her mom learn to love Halloween for the rest of her life. I suppose there's no time like the present to put my thinking cap on & come up with some creative costumes and party ideas. Thank goodness for Pinterest, huh?

So let's see, we've been a little busy being parents these last couple of months, and adjusting to this new life of our's. It's challenging, exhausting and awesome all at the same time. Which explains this really long absence from the 'ol blog. I'm at a current loss for words and creativity when it comes to putting together a blog post after almost three months, so I'll let the pictures do the talking (beware...picture overload ahead!)...  

Our first picture as a family of three (just the beginning of my exhaustion...I can't even believe I'm sharing this pic??)...

Going home from the hospital (in our really cute outfit that was worn all of 30 minutes before getting into our jammies and getting ZERO sleep that first night)...

Jazz hands (one of our favorite poses)...

We visited with Santa (the fake one, it's safer that way)...

We love bathtime, but the owl towel...not so much (does it make me a bad mom that I absolutely LOVE this photo?!)...

We got our Christmas tree (and slept through the whole adventure)....

And we were super pumped to turn 7 weeks old!

So there you have it folks. My life in a mini-nutshell these last few months. Now that I've got my wits about me & this parenting thing is getting a bit easier...Stella's gonna get her groove back when it comes to this blog! I'm not a resolution person, but if checking into this blog is the one goal I have, then you'll be hearing a lot more from me in 2013. I'm getting ready to enjoy my last week of maternity leave before heading back to work next week. After that expect a lot more photos & Emme stories, a post on her finished nursery (of which a few people have asked for details and source info, which I'll be sure to include!), an update on the (finally) finished hallway, photos from our maternity shoot last September (?!), and maybe her birth story. Which...is anyone interested in that stuff? I'm typically interested in other people's experiences, but maybe that's just me. I'm going to put my thinking cap on and decide if that's something I want (or should) share. We'll see what folks say...

And with that, I'm off to take care of a baby now. You know, because I'm a MOM...whoa. Things just got a whole lot more exciting up in here...