Christmas

Our ward had a breakfast with Santa that Adilyn really enjoyed. She was even a good sport about staying out past her first nap, up until we got in the car. Then she started crying because she was ready to be asleep.

You can tell in this picture that she is sleepy. Those sweet little eyes just did not want to be open anymore.

Lucky for us she is usually really well behaved around people. What a sweet lady we have.

On Christmas morning she had no idea what was going on. But Christmas Eve night she gave me the best present ever. She slept until 5 am, nursed, and promptly fell back asleep until 7:30 am. That was the first and so far the last time she has done that. A Christmas miracle if you ask me.  Once we handed her the present we got for her all she wanted was the tissue paper.

Is this for me?

Are you sure?

Well if you say so.

You got me paper? This is the best!!!

You got me more than just paper? I sure do love you guys! We bought her a platypus doll that was a little more her size. Orion's mom bought her one when she was born, but it is too big for her to hold at the moment.

Looking up at her favorite man in the world.

Her usual stare every time she realizes her picture is being taken.

Showing off her Christmas jammies. My mom bought them for her. They say "Babies first Christmas". She wore them for about five minutes before she spit up on them. Oh the joys of having a baby.

Things No One Told Me

I thought that being a mom would come naturally to me. After all I was a nanny for over a year. I have babysat countless children in high school and college, yet I kind of had no idea what I was doing when Adilyn came into my life. What babies don't just fall asleep on their own? They have to learn how to sleep on their own? Nap time does not always come easy? They wake up in the middle of the night? Honestly no one gave me enough warning about what life would be like with a baby. I still have so much to learn, but I feel like I am getting the hang of things.

• Keeping babies up a little longer is usually a bad idea. They sleep less even though they are more tired. I would have loved to know this one months ago. All those battles with naps I had with Adilyn ended (for the most part) once I read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby. Babies under six usually can't stay awake for longer than 2-3 hours. Well they can stay awake, but they are going to be overtired. Honestly why did everyone I know fail to mention this to me?
• Here is something that I find so odd, but true. The earlier you put your baby down the longer they tend to sleep. Say what? I read in a book that babies should stay up 2.5 hours in between their first and second nap. So I followed that advice even though Adilyn showed signs of being tired long before the 2.5 hours were up. Thus a battle went down when I tried to put her to sleep. So I say go with what your baby is showing you no matter how long it has been. Adilyn sleeps the longest for naps (2 hours or so) when she has been awake for 1.5-2 hours. 
• If your baby misses a nap or takes a short one it is not the end of the world. As a first time mom I would freak out when this happened. To be honest I still get upset when her naps are messed up because I like schedules. In reality so does Adilyn. She is so much happier when things go according to plan. 
• If something works for one mom does not mean it will work for you. On that note don't feel bad if your baby does not do what other babies do. Adilyn still does not sleep through the night. She wakes up once a night to nurse. I have heard from so many moms that their babies started sleeping through the night when they were 1-3 months old. This made me feel horrible because there must be something wrong with my baby. Then I heard from moms who said their babies did not sleep through the night until 6+ months old. Every baby is different and you should not compare them. 
• Life is so much better when you realize that as long as your baby is happy that is all that matters. 
• Be sure to take time for yourself. Or else you will have a melt down and have nothing to give to your sweet baby. This is so hard for first time moms. You feel like you have to do everything for your baby and you want to make sure all of their needs are met. But if you are too busy meeting their needs to notice your own needs life gets really hard really fast. Figure out what you can do each day to give yourself a break

Chops

Orion decided to grow some chops recently. Seeing as he is part werewolf it did not take him long to get thick chops.

Adilyn sure does love to hang out with her dad and chew on her fingers.

 People at work called him Wolverine. Then someone decided to complain about him having so much facial hair. It was the guy that got called in about having an unkempt beard. He decided that if he was going to get called on his facial hair so should Orion. So he had to shave it off. I have to say I was not said to see his chops go. Adilyn on the other hand was very sad. It took her an entire day to stop crying every time Orion picked her up. She was unsure that he was still her daddy. Lucky for him she decided he was the same guy.

Poop-ilyn

Sometimes we call Adilyn Poop-ilyn because she poops a lot. It is really not my favorite thing that she does, but it is natural and she can't clean herself up yet. It is a good thing I love that little lady so much. The other day she decided to poop A LOT! It got everywhere....

Yep she got it all the way up her back.

She had to check it out herself. As you can tell by the picture Orion is disgusted. That girl has a gift at getting her poop everywhere.

Adilyn's thoughts of Santa

Eh he is ok....

Look at this funny face I can make.

I am way more interesting than this Santa guy.

Have you seen my spoon? I want to chew on it some more.

Ah here it is. That is what I am talking about. I don't care about Santa. All I want for Christmas is stuff to chew on.

That is right dad just give me spoons. Don't worry I won't let mom know that you try to feed me from your plate. Your secret is safe with me. But if you take my spoon away all bets are off.

One Year

About two weeks from now marks one year since I graduated college. I can't believe it has already been a year. Thinking back on the past year I have made some big accomplishments.

• I grew a child!
• I birthed said child
• I did not get a fancy high paying job that utilizes my degree. I did however get the best job in the world, MOM
• My diploma is still sitting in the envelope it came in on my desk. I just have not gotten around to buying a frame for it. Those things cost ten bucks or more. I know I graduated I don't see why I have to pay even more money to show people I graduated. 
• I started paying my student loans back. YUCK! I so wish I could have graduated without having to take out student loans. 
• Orion got a raise at work. Our insurance got more expensive thanks to adding our little lady to it. So we did not get to see his raise at all.
• I am amazed everyday by my sweet lady.
• In the four short months that Adilyn has been in my life I have spent more time praying, reading, wondering, worrying, losing sleep, etc over her then my entire college (or any schooling for that matter) experience.
• It is amazing how much you learn from having a child.
• I wish I had taken a class on how to teach you baby to fall asleep on their own without tears (on theirs or mine). I took plenty of classes on families and parenting, but never once did I learn about how hard sleeping can be for babies. They simply don't know how to sleep on their own. It is a gradual learning process. Seriously who forgot to mention this in the many family and parenting book I read for my degree. I think it is an important aspect of parenting. 
• I have fallen even more in love with Orion over the past year. He tries so hard to make sure Adilyn and I are always happy. Even if that means losing sleep or working double shifts. He is the best.