hello, blog

Sorry for the neglect.

Promise it wasn't intentional. 

Olivia's perfect schedule went berserk the week after Thanksgiving, but she and I have worked things out, which is why I'm back. No, that perfect Baby Wise schedge hasn't returned to us, but we're working on it. Olivia may be getting teeth. That's all I need to say. 

Olivia is basically laughing now. Don't you love it? She does this gargle in the back of her throat, I gargle back, then we both smile, then we laugh. Three-month-old Olivia is my favorite so far. 

What the, three months? What happened during the last three months? Reflux, what? Sleepless nights, what? That time has flown. 

*Note: no, Olivia hasn't outgrown reflux (yet), and no, Olivia isn't sleeping through the night (yet)

Three months ago I was about to go into labor with this special delivery in tow...

and now here she is

and here she is smiling at her (not pictured, but also smiling) father 

 and here she is looking at her (totally smitten) mother 

Okay now here she is again smiling at her now-pictured father. 

P.S. Do I need to remind you that her father is incredible? Don't worry, I'll get back to you on that one soon.

So, we're alive, and oh so happy. 

The happiest, in fact. 

dear ms. time

Dear Ms. Time,

Olivia's button nose - I've noticed that it has moved a bit. Now it's fastened a little lower down her face because the bridge of her nose has lengthened. 

Olivia's legs - now they have four rolls on each one of them. I have to try a little harder to clean her up with diaper changes. 

My darling feels heavier. 

Olivia's clothes - they're being switched around. Some "nb's" are gone and unfamiliar "3's" have replaced them. 

Olivia's eyes - their color is deep blue. They were once just dark, and her eyelids were thick and full surrounding them. 

Ms. Time, what are you doing? My darling and I just met, and yet you've already made my moments with her foggy. You are whizzing around us, speeding up ahead, and leaving me - her mother - behind in a blur. 

You must not be a mother, Ms. Time, otherwise you would pity me, and you would slow down a bit. Just show me some mercy when she is really old, when she is going to move out and move on. Slow down then and make our moments together long, because right now they're already too short.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jeni, the young lady that will cradle her baby for as long as you will allow

Dear Olivia,

Your father says that you bring out the best in me,

 but, clearly, you bring out the best in him.

Let me explain. 

Dad and I hung curtains yesterday because we want our little home to be more beautiful. It needs to be worthy of you. Granted, it will never be the kind of palace that a little queen like you deserves, but we've tried to make it feel lovely, bright, and clean like the heaven you are coming from. More than that, we've been trying every day to make our home feel like the heaven that you're used to. We want you to love love love being with us. 

I was looking at those curtains during lunch today - I loved the bright light that was coming through them. Wanting to catch the bright, white light, I decided to take a picture. Dad heard me snapping and snapping (I don't really know how to take pictures yet, so I have to take a lot in order to get a good one - you'll learn all about practicing things when you get here), and when I turned to him and said, "Ryan will you come here and stand in front of the window?" he walked right over and struck that pose. 

He knew exactly what I was thinking - 'I wonder what kind of silhouette the light through the curtains would create of Olivia and me...we're 38 weeks and we haven't taken a picture yet...' - which is why he took center stage, mid-bite of his banana, and poked out his lowest ab as best he could so that I could "catch the vision."

I burst into laughter. Dad even posed his face: soft eyes and solemn smile, because this is such serious business... :)

Dad will make you laugh and laugh, Olivia. You will adore your father. Promise.

We are anxious for you to get here. When are you coming? We've cleaned and organized. We've washed and folded. We've paced, and we'll probably pace some more. 

We love you. So very much.

Godspeed, angel girl.

xoxo

your mama