Dear Georgia

Dear Georgia,

Exactly one year ago I got to see your beautiful little face for the first time. That moment changed me. When you were still growing inside my tummy I would sometimes wonder how I could possibly have more room in my heart for another baby. My heart already felt so full. But the moment that you were born, and they handed you up to me, I felt my heart grow as I sobbed with joy. You completed our little family and from the very beginning you fit in perfectly. I laid your new little body on my chest and your dad and I laid there on our bed with you for almost 2 hours. Your little spirit captivated us.

Your little spirit captivates everyone that comes in contact with you. Quite often there is an audible gasp when you come into a room because everyone is completely taken by you. Your dimpled smile can make anyone feel better and your blue eyes dance around with excitement at everything they see. You love to make people smile and laugh but when it really comes down to it, you want to be close to me or your dad or Tristyn. I love to see the bond that you have with Tristyn. You couldn't ask for a better big sister. She didn't really think she ever wanted kids of her own until you were born. You won her over and made her realize that motherhood really was something that she wanted. She is strong and smart and has a good heart. Look up to her and strive to be the same kind of person that she is. When you're a teenager and think you're too cool for me ( I really hope that day never comes but I'm trying to be realistic here), go to Tristyn. Tell her your troubles and ask her advice. Confide in her. Keep the strong connection that you have with her. She will always be on your side and want what is best for you. But remember your other siblings too. They will also always be on your side. You have been blessed with a lot of older siblings and they all love you so so much.

Now, about your dad and I. Sometimes we will make you mad. Sometimes you will think we are being unfair. Sometimes you may even wish you had different parents. Just remember, we love you more than I can describe with words. We will undoubtedly make mistakes but in the end we will always fight for what is best for you. I promise to teach you to fight for what is right and stand up for yourself and what you believe in. I promise to teach you to listen to your own heart so you know who you are and what you want in life. I will teach you to be kind and compassionate and loving toward others. You will teach me the same things in return. Just know that I will do anything for you. You make me stronger. You make me happier. You are special and I know you will do amazing things in your life. I love you baby girl! Happy Birthday!

11 Months!

She did it! She finally started crawling! Its been about 2 weeks and she is all over the place. She loves to chase Max around house. He thinks its about the most fun he's ever had too. She's super fast and its the cutest little thing I've ever seen.

She had two more teeth break through on the top so she's up to a total of 6 now. It looks like there are more that are pretty close behind too. She is loving being able to chew up so many different kinds of food. She loves Chinese food. She can't seem to get enough fried rice and lo mein. She learned how to drink out of a straw but still gets surprised every time the water hits her mouth.

Her favorite thing to do in the bath is color with the bath crayons. She covers the sides of the tub with every color and gets really excited every time she gets to use a new color.

She gives kisses and says "Mama" now. Its about enough to make my heart burst. Her sweet little personality is infectious and people go crazy for her everywhere we go. He little personality is developing into some more and more fun every single day. She brings so much joy into our family. We can't imagine our lives without her.

10 Months!

Georgia has learned some fun new tricks in the last month. She now points and claps. Her favorite thing to point at is the light and she says "light" in a breathy whisper when she does it. Light is her first and only word at this point. It's very exciting around here. She still isn't crawling but is so close that its crazy. She does get around a bit by scooting but she is still basically immobile. It definitely makes my life a little easier. Her two front teeth on top have finally made the final push through and she has quite a few more that are looking close.

She keeps trying new foods and loving all of them. She thinks its great to feed herself and everyone else.. She is already good at sharing. :)

She loves being entertained by anyone who will smile at her but she doesn't really like being held by strangers. She has also suddenly decided that she is not a very big fan of her big brother Kyle and she starts crying the second he tries to hold her. Its pretty funny.

The time is just flying by and I can't believe that my baby will be a year old in just two short months!

P.S. We just finished remodeling the house so we had to say good bye to our fun yellow walls. I miss the warm of the yellow but I love having something new. It just seems so fresh and clean and bright.

7 Months!

Every month seems to go by faster than the last. Georgia's 7th month has been as fun as the previous six. We finally got her in for her 6 month check (3 weeks late). She is a petite little thing. It's throwing her doctor off... I had to explain to him that Max is really skinny too. We agreed that she is definitely eating enough... The girl eats like a little piggy. :) We are going to try to fatten her up a little bit over the next couple months anyway. She loves her baby food and will eat pretty much anything you put in front of her. Her favorite are anything with berries and squash.

We got her into her room and she is now officially sleeping through the night. I've been working to get it decorated. I painted an old dresser that has been in Thayne's family for a long time and it turned out awesome. I can't wait to get the room finished completely... It should be done within the next couple of days.

She still hates being on her tummy. She is sitting up without hesitation now and prefers to sit rather than lay down. She loves playing with Max and his crazy ways of getting her attention. He has started to call her "Sissy". He picked that up from the neighbor boys that call their little sister the same thing. It's pretty cute. He even told someone the other day that her name is not Georgia anymore, it's just Sissy.

We all love how her giggles and cooing have reached a new level and her little voice is just the cutest thing I've ever heard.

She is still the most mellow and happy baby I ever could have imagined getting. :) We are obsessed!

6 Months!

I can't believe that we are half way through the first year. It has gone way too fast but it is so much fun to see her grow and develop her fun little personality.

She is sitting up now. She's still a little nervous about it but she's getting more steady every day. She also has teeth now. That's right, after 3 months of teething she finally had 2 teeth break through on the same day. Sheesh. No wonder we haven't been getting much sleep lately. She's also scooting around on the living room rug pretty well. Just on her back though... She is still not much of a fan of being on her tummy. She may be a late crawler if that doesn't change.

Thayne fed her some banana squash for the first time today and she loved it! She couldn't get enough. She has also discovered how delicious graham crackers are.

Her favorite game to play is for me to hold her up above my head and bring her down to face while making noises at her, then lifting her up in the air. She smiles and giggles the most at me when we play that game.

This week we are putting together her room. Up to this point she has been sleeping in a bassinet next to our bed. It's time for her to have her own room. She needs her crib too, she's starting to get a bit big for her bassinet. I don't think she's totally comfortable in it anymore.

I'm looking forward to what the next 6 months will bring.

5 Months

Baby girl is 5 months old now. I'm posting this late because we went on vacation the day after she turned 5 months and all I got around to doing before we left was taking this photo. I was going to write this post while we were on vacation but my laptop flipped out and wouldn't let me upload the photo.

For vacation we went to Alabama. We drove there and back and it made for a very long 12 days but it was so much fun. Georgia had a lot of first time experiences. First time out of state, first time in the ocean, first time in a hot tub and swimming pool, first time meeting Papa Albert (Thayne's grandpa), first time meeting Uncle Jim & Aunt Meghan (My brother and his wife). I'm sure that there are probably others but my tired brain is still on vacation.

Georgia is getting to be more and more interactive every day. she coos more and coos in response to people talking to her. She is starting to sleep less during the day and become more alert and she continues to become more comfortable with Max and his craziness. She has started to really like her little baby toys that rattle and have little tags for her to play with. She has started reaching for things and people. In the grocery store in Alabama she grabbed a candy bar of the shelf. Too bad we wouldn't let her eat it. She has gotten close to being able to sit up on her own but still tips over pretty quickly. She figured out how much fun it can be to splash in the bath and giggles at herself when she does it.

She is still so much fun for all of us and I think she gets prettier every day.

I can't wait to blog about her first Halloween in next months post :)

4 Months

I can't believe how fast the past 4 months have gone by. Baby girl is growing like a weed. At her 4 month check up she was 7th percentile for weight and 74th percentile for height. We just make tall, scrawny babies :) She is still just a happy, mellow baby. She's getting more comfortable with Max and his craziness. Instead of looking at him like he's crazy all of the time she has started smiling and cooing at him. He loves it. She coos at us all the time and I really love all of the new noises she making. She can now roll from back to belly and from belly to back. She really hates being on her belly and immediately starts fussing at us and trying to roll over. She is also starting to try to sit up on her own. She has become infatuated with her feet. She almost always has one in each hand and occasionally puts her toes in her mouth. She is still teething but hasn't had any teeth break through yet. She like to suck on her bottom lip to make her gums feel better. We've started trying out new foods. She likes rice and oatmeal cereals and sweet potatoes, prunes and bananas. Whenever the TV is on her attention goes right to it... She gets mad at me if I set her down somewhere that she can't see it if she knows its on.

She keeps getting to be more and more fun and we all keep falling more and more in love with her. Life is good :)

3 Months

Baby girl is 3 months old now and just getting to be more and more fun. It is great to see her little personality developing. She is so happy and mellow. She eats well, sleeps well and loves to hang out with us. She giggled at me a couple weeks ago and we've been trying like crazy to get her to do it again but she's being stubborn and won't give in. She still gives us unlimited smiles though and we all love that. She starting to figure out that she has a voice. Just this morning after I fed her she laid there and cooed at us for at least 5 minutes straight. It sounded like she was trying to sing to us. This last week she also started to notice that she can control her hands. I watched her look at them with amazement as she moved them around. :) She loves to go on walks at night after it's cooled off and the street lights are all on, she becomes hypnotized by them. She's growing so fast. Getting longer and longer and her cheeks get squishier and squishier. I think she might be teething. She drools almost constantly and loves gnawing on anything she can.

Max is still crazy about her. I keep thinking the excitement for him will wear off but it sill hasn't. He loves to show her off everywhere we go. He still wants to hold her, hug, kiss and pet her all the time too. He loves helping with her in any way that he can (he's great at taking her diapers to the trash... Score!). He's made an incredible big brother and I'm excited to see them grow up together as close friends.

The excitement for Thayne and I hasn't worn off either. Or even the older kids. We could just sit and hold her and look at her all day. I love sewing cute little clothes for her and making hair bands and girly stuff. Having a girl has been more fun for me than I expected it to be. She has stolen each and every one of our hearts and already has us all wrapped around her little finger.

2 Months

Time is just flying by. Baby Georgia is 2 months old now, and doing so well. At her six week check up she had already grown 2.5 inches and gained 2 pounds! It looks like she is going to be long and scrawny just like Max.

 She is still sleeping really well, some nights even sleeping all the way through the night. She loves to eat. She would eat all day if I let her. She still sleeps a lot during the day too. She usually only stays awake for stretches of 45 minutes to an hour.

She loves to smile at us now and Max thinks it's the greatest thing in the world. I do too. Max is always right in her face trying to get a smile out of her and then he screams and announces "my baby sister smiled at me!". It's pretty cute. Both of them.

We are pretty much settled into our new routine. It feels so natural. Here's to another month of bliss!

Blessed

We blessed Georgia on Sunday. It was such a great day. I love the special day that we get to have with friends and family celebrating what a blessing it is to have Georgia in our family. There were so many people that came for the church meeting and a lot of them came over to our house afterwards for lunch. It was a nice relaxed day. Georgia was in a great mood, but then again, she almost always is.

I was going to make her dress but I was digging through the clearance rack at Target one day and found this little white tulle dress. The smallest size they had was 24 month but that turned out to be perfect with all of the alterations I made to it.

I cut off the white straps and took in the side seams a few inches. Then I added the pink straps and tulle cap sleeves, the ruffled pink waistline and the rosettes. And of course she needed a headband to match. It turned out just how I had pictured it in my head so that was a huge bonus. :)

Georgia met Great-Grandma McMillan. She is my grandma on my mom's side. It was nice to get a visit with her. We don't see our extended family often enough.

We got a photo of the four generations since we were all together. Georgia and me in the middle, my mom on the left and my grandma on the right.

It was the perfect day. At the end of the day I sat feeling blissful and content. I am so incredibly blessed to have the family and friends that I have and especially that I get to be sweet Georgia's mom.

One Month

I can't believe Georgia is already through her first month. It has gone so fast. It has been a month of bliss. Seriously. My life feels so complete these days. We are still making adjustments and settling into a new routine but everything just seems to be perfect.

Georgia is doing great. She is such a happy baby. She loves to cuddle and be rocked, bounced or just have some kind of movement going on. She loves to go outside and go on walks. She hates being in her car seat unless she's in the car and it's moving. She eats really well and she sleeps really well. She typically only wakes up once a night.

Max is still completely excited about her. He tells everyone he sees about his new baby sister. He is always wanting to kiss and pet and hug her. He loves holding her and brushing her hair. He hates to hear her cry and is always so quick to let me know when she starts fussing. He wants to make sure she is happy all the time. He is happy to share his toys with her (we'll see how long that lasts) and he wishes that she could sleep with him in his bed. He calls her "sweetheart" and "princess" when he is talking to her.

The older kids all love her too. Tristyn and Kassidy especially can't get enough of her. Tristyn is living with us to work with Thayne for the summer so she gets a lot of "bonding time" with Georgia. They have a special sister bond thing going on and it makes me so happy to see it. One of the happiest things in my life is seeing how much Thayne's older kids love Max and Georgia. I'm so happy to see that my kids have older siblings who love them and will help protect them. I try to thank the older kids often for being so good to the little ones but I just don't think I'll ever really be able to express how grateful I am to them.

Over the past month we have discovered that Georgia has completed our family. She is the perfect fit.

3 years old?!?!

My little boy is 3 today. I can't believe it. I remember the first moment that I held him in my arms like it was yesterday. It was the best moment of my life. I felt like my heart was going to burst and I feel that same feeling every time I hold him. If you want to know what true, unconditional love is, have a baby. Even the most awe inspiring things in this world pale in comparison to him. The other night there was an awesome thunder storm. I have always loved watching thunder storms but I could not take my eyes off of Max. Watching him watch the storm made it my favorite storm I've ever seen.

He makes me laugh every single day. And when I get frustrated with the trouble making toddler that he is, he looks at me and my heart melts. Being his mom can be hard but it is the best thing I'll ever do. He fits into our family perfectly. I can't imagine my life without him in it. I am so thankful to be his mom. There are no words to describe it.

Happy Birthday Max! I love you!!!

She's all grown up!

Tristyn graduated from High School yesterday. I can hardly believe it. Time flies by so fast these days and it only seems to be going faster. I swear it was yesterday when I first met Tristyn. She was 10 when Thayne and I started dating. Thayne introduced me to his kids about 3 weeks after we started dating. We went out on a Wednesday afternoon and had a picnic at the park and flew kites. It was so much fun. I remember how natural it all felt. They made me feel so welcome. That was 8 years ago. :( Tristyn and I became fast friends. She was my little buddy who ran all of my errands with me just because it was fun to hang out. One night Tristyn and I went to a dallor movie and to Wal-Mart for a prize. The prize she picked was a "Best Friends" bracelet to share with me. I have to admit that the kids all had a big part in my decision to marry Thayne. I was so excited by the idea to be able to be a part of these amazing little people's lives. And I do have to say that they have all made my life richer and more fun. Watching Tristyn grow up has been one of the highlights of the past 8 years. She has handled so many of her trials in life with incredible grace and integrity. SHE HAS MADE ME PROUD. In all that she has done. I love that girl. I have enjoyed every moment we've spent together. It makes me sad to realize that she is moving away for college in August and the time that I will get to spend with her will be cut dramatically. But I hope to be able to still continue to have our long conversations about life and people and the things we love. I hope that she always feels like she can talk to me in the same way that she always has. I hope that she knows just how much I love her and want only the best for her. I hope that she knows that I will support her through thick and thin and will always encourage her to be true to herself.

Tristyn, you are the more than I ever could have hoped for in a step daughter. I am so proud of you and I love you more than I can say. Congratualtions! I know that there are some amazing things waiting for you in your life and I can't wait to continue watching you experience all that life has to offer!