Christmas!

Well, we have put up Madeleine's first Christmas tree and what a pretty tree it is!  Patrick and I picked out our family ornament as well as Maddie's first ornament to put on the tree.  We hope by the time she has her own home she will have enough ornaments to at least decorate a small tree and then she continue the same tradition with her family.  Nana and Papa were here to decorate the tree with us and we hope that is also a new Carpenter family tradition for our Maddie.

I still need to get the personalized stockings for the fireplace, but as usual I am second guessing my choice, so heres to hoping I make a choice before Christmas is over!  I haven't done much decorating this year other then the tree..I can't seem to motivate myself to take the week it normally takes to decorate the house for the holiday.  I know this is the last year I can get away with hardly any decorations as Patrick and Mads will hold me to it every year. She will love the Dept 56 Villages as much as I do, our own little village that we create to celebrate our family Christmas!

We are so blessed.

 I thank God every day for the love that he has blessed me with in my life.

Halloween and the start of November

We decided to dress up Maddie as a lobster for Halloween, we originally wanted to dress her as a piece of sushi, but figured we will wait until next year when she is mobile.

We also carved our first Halloween pumpkins as a family.  We used the pumpkins we got on our 1st Annual Carpenter Family Fall tradition outing to Patterson Farm.

Maddie is cooing up a storm and likes to let her voice be heard with little shrieks.  She has a great little laugh and smile that we will do anything to see!  She was 11lbs 11oz and 24 1/2 inches long at her 2 month visit last week.  She is getting so big!

Mads is 2 months old already!

It is hard to believe that our little ladybug is already 2 months old! it seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home for the first time, time is flying by too quickly already.

She is smiling and cooing now and is almost able to roll over by herself..she gets about halfway and then can't go any further, but she tries very hard.  She had her first "conversation" with her daddy on Sunday which was very special and heartwarming for all 3 of us. He would talk to her and she would coo back or he would make a face and she would try to copy him, she would even laugh when he did! It was a very special moment for our little family.

She loves to sleep on her tummy! This was so hard for me to do at first, but after a many daytime naps on the tummy and a few comforting words from my other mommy friends I let her go a night on her tums...she went out like a light! she has to rub her face on the bed a few times before she passes out, but according to Patrick he did the same thing as a child.  I just think she looks like Stevie Wonder and want to put sunglasses on her for the full effect!

We also went on our 1st annual Carpenter family Fall tradition this past Monday to pick our pumpkins for our Halloween Jack-o-lanterns.  Maddie was not a very happy camper, but she did enjoy walking around Patterson Farm on a beautiful Fall day.

Next step Thanksgiving!

Enter mommyhood

So, Patrick and I have officially decided that I will stay at home..it was something we had thought about for  quite some time, but only decided Tuesday.  I sent my notice into Footprints yesterday morning..sad about not working anymore, but "working" for Maddie is the hardest I have every worked in my entire life.

I my try to be a contract employee with Footprints, but it may not work out depending on what HR says..we shall see.

In the meantime Mads is getting so big and changing everyday..She is starting to give little smiles (unless her daddy is in the room and then she gives huge smiles!).  She is also finding her voice..I think she sounds like a terradactyl, but at least she is starting to make a noise other than cries.  Her eyes are still dark green and I am hoping they either stay that way or go hazel, but she does have the gene for brown eyes so only time will tell. The one thing that has stayed is her hair! that child has a ton of black hair and it is only getting thicker!

We are finally getting to try her cloth diapers as she is big enough now. I hope they work out well, if not we have found a brand of diapers that are biodegradable and do not have any polymers in them or that will stay around for 500 years.

She is also going through a rough spot with sleeping she is also at 6 weeks so she is also going through another growth spurt..at least I may get 2 weeks off between 6 and 10 weeks when she goes through another one..all I know is this kid sure can eat! but when you are as cute as she is, it is okay :)

I am researching mom groups and have found one through my friend Janis called LKN moms based in Mooresville.  We are also starting infant massage classes at the end of the month!

Things I have learned as a new mommy and questions I ask myself daily

Things I have learned as a new mommy and questions 

I ask myself daily

(or things I have re-learned as a human being or things that are now really and I mean really stuck in my brain)

1. Sometimes less is more
2. That I have no problem making funny faces, noises or cooing in public
3. To respect and sympathize with another parent with a screaming child or a child having a tantrum in a public place. I realize now that even when there are good parents there are still crying children who you can not reason with
4. Which leads me to..I never thought I would reason with something that weighed only 8 lbs.
5. I can do a lot of things with just one hand while successfully holding a child in the other
6. That the sight of a toothless grin would make me melt
7. That this is not my life with a newborn, it is a whole new life with a new beginning
8. That I could cry at the drop of a hat-especially when I think about her turning towards my voice when she needs comfort at the Dr’s office or looks into my eyes while I feed her...that by the grace of God my husband and I have been able to create a new life
9. My child has further cemented my belief that all people who deserve children should be given the opportunity to be parents if they so choose
10. I believe in miracles.
11. That I can create a song with my child’s name in it at a given time
12. That I can turn any song into a song including my child’s name..and yes I mean ANY song!
13. What are my beliefs? What do I really believe? How can I teach my child to understand her own thoughts and consciousness?
14. Love can change by the minute.
15. That I am a very emotional and sappy person
16. I can spend hours doing the same thing over and over again if it makes my child happy
17. That infants send emotional cues and I need to learn how to read them and adjust..my child has reminded me that this is true for “big” people too
18. I can survive on only a few hours sleep and then do it again and again and again
19. To rely on my mommy friends. They are warriors!
20. That I need to ask for help when I need it. The only superheroes I know are fictitious.
21. That giving birth to a child is not the only thing that makes you a mother.
22. That I have never seen toes and fingers so cute in my entire life!
23. That friends may come and go but those that really matter will make an effort.
24. My child has helped me remember to be emotionally happy I need to do more things for myself even simple things like taking walks in the sunshine for no reason.
25. My child has taught me that there is a whole new world to explore and discover. It is my job to make sure I teach her everything I can..after all she has never seen trees, flowers, the ocean or the world before and she needs to be introduced.
26. That sarcasm should be a virture
27. I worry about her future more than I do my own
28. That I wish I could do more to ensure that my child has a clean and safe world to live in as she ages.
29. That there is ALWAYS a pattern in life. We create our own rituals from how we go to sleep at night to how we live our life on a daily basis.
30. I have 100% faith that if my child and a linebacker from the Steelers were in a farting or burping contest..my newborn would win.
31. Love like I have never known. I only thought I knew what true love was before I met my child. She has opened my eyes to what love really is and in turn has made me love my husband more and in a different way. She has taught me to love my parents in a new light. She has taught me to love in a way that I can never explain.
32. Am I teaching her about life or is she teaching me?

and the lessons keep coming.......