Talk Time with Ellery.

Poor Vaccinated Baby.

Friday was not a fun day in the Tyson household.

It started off relatively pleasant with the baby waking for the first time around 5:30am after being put to bed about 9:30 pm (a big accomplishment that just started this week) and with smiles that warm the heart while changing the overly full morning diaper.

Putting our big girl, ready for the day, pretty clothes on went pretty smoothly as well. The ride, the two hour waiting room visit, and even her examination by the pediatrician went wonderfully. No crying, not even a frown.

The nurse held her, said she was beautiful, and carefully placed her on the scale to gather an accurate weight. Thirteen pounds. The weight that rivals most 4 month-ers - reminder, she's only two months! Even that was positive, it meant she's healthy.

And then.

The nurse walked out of the room for a brief second and returned with a needle and a squeeze tube. It was time for her first shots. She told me to lean in close and talk in my little naked baby's ear. While I was doing that, telling Ellery how beautiful she was, how it was going to be over soon, and that in the end she'd have a really cool cartoon character band-aid, Ellery let out a violent, heartbreaking scream.

She cried.

I cried.

And the nurse politely smiled and recommended I give Ellie some Tylenol when we get home.

As soon as the needle was out of her little leg, I swooped in, like the protective mother I am becoming, and snuggled her close as she nuzzled up close to my neck. She calmed down, but we didn't rush putting her clothes back on, and I took a moment to steal a few more hugs and kisses from my hurting baby.

She spent the rest of the day alternating fussing and sleeping. Not the Little we have gotten used to. It was hard to watch our poor, pathetic baby not feel good.

Needless to say, not many chores got accomplished that day. All that was on the agenda was to love on my Ellie.

Becoming.

Children and mothers never truly part, bound in the beating of each other's heart.  

- Charlotte Gray

 I am blessed beyond measure to be a mom.  It is essentially impossible to describe how every ounce of my being has transformed into something so maternal and so magical all in such a short amount of time.  This experience, being completely depended upon, being needed so intimately, is more rewarding, more humbling, and more humanizing than anyone who hasn't experienced it, can possibly imagine. The emotion that surrounds my inner most soul can hardly be condensed into a single word, and the only one that seems fractionally relevant to what I am feeling is 'love,' but even that seems far too inferior.

As life with an infant gets easier by the minute, I can see why people look back at this time and suddenly want to do it all over again. Yes, babies are time consuming. They require you to set aside yourself and focus solely on them for this brief moment in time. They are hard work, but would it be as fun if they weren't? With every new development, as a mother, a sense of pride surrounds you, captivates you, and makes you feel like, "well, hey, maybe I will eventually get the hang of this parenting thing!"

As my Little sits propped up beside me, blowing bubbles and staring intently at her moving little feet, I am mesmerized by every inch of her body. Her movements are choppy, she is so needy, yet her strength amazes me.  Her soft skin and powerful eyes remind me of her innocence. She is canvas waiting to be painted. Her future, morals, and self-confidence will be shaped by the messages we provide to her in childhood. It's a scary concept; the foundation for the rest of her life begins with us.

Mommy-ing is not for the weak at heart. It takes courage and patience beyond measure. In the beginning, all of the sleepless nights accompanied by an aching body leave you craving just a few moments alone. Your desire becomes a moment of eye closing rest where you aren't required to care for anyone but yourself, until your eyes actually close and all you see is her. Her face. Her body. Her eyes sparkling with excitement. Your heart overtakes your pain and reminds you of the love you hold in your heart for this precious being.  Everything is suddenly worth it. That's becoming a mommy. Sacrificing constantly, and loving every minute of it. 

Letter to 2 Month Little.

Sweet Ellery,

Today marks the 2 month anniversary of the day our lives got a little bit sweeter. It was such a special moment, I continue to feel as if it was just yesterday that my body did something so incredible, and God blessed us with a beautiful you.  

In these two months, we've been getting adjusted, little by little, day by day. Your little soul melts our hearts to the point that we can not imagine life without you. You are a part of us, a part of our little family, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

You surprise us daily with the beginnings of your personality. You're becoming more alert by the minute and are in the early stages of interacting with us. We are enjoying watching you grow into something so amazing. 

 Your belly and thighs are on the fast track to breaking some kind of record! You, dear Ellie, are growing by leaps and bounds and getting cuter by the day.

  We are excited to see what 2012 has in store for our young family and to watch you grow each new day. We will make many memories with you in the forefront and probably make a few mistakes, too.

We're learning along with you, kiddo. 

 

 And falling more in love with you each day. 

We've enjoyed these past two months and know we will enjoy the times to come. 

We love you, Squirt. 

With all of our hearts.

Love upon love,

Mommy

Just in the past week, EK has really started noticing her surroundings and entertaining herself with her toys. First it was the self rocking, and now, this lovely play gym that came in the mail yesterday from her Grandma and Granddaddy Parrott. She is completely entranced by the bright colors and swinging objects overhead and is also starting to discover that her hands can make a fantastic rattle noise. 

 She occasionally looks in the plastic mirror which hangs on the side of one of the poles, and gives her distorted image a cute little grin. I guess vanity can start at any age, even 2 months. 

Speaking of those upturned lips, we have yet to capture a really good one on camera, but she is beginning to show us her gummy grin more and more frequently now - which melts the heart every time.

As a side note from the "look what she's doing now" post, I promise, we do cover that Ellie belly from time to time, even though the last two blog posts seem to prove otherwise. She's been wearing her adorable outfits that many of you gave us, :), but she seems to prefer nakey time the most, so I give her about an hour of happy-naked-body time a day.

We go to the pediatrician on Friday, which will be her 2 month check up. I'm anxious to see what she weighs in at...she's growing, incredibly fast. :)

So, we are well aware that we could be the only people extremely amused by Ellie's new self-entertaining methods, but thought we'd share anyway. 

 

We knew from the get go that we'd be those people... the ones that brag on their kid's ability to rock their own rocking chair. Yes, we're officially parents.

Growth Spurts...

Make us both feel like this:

Nursing on demand is exhausting, especially when your house needs to be cleaned, laundry is piled up to the ceiling, and dinner needs to be made. In the last 24 hours, all E-K has wanted to do is nurse. Previously, Little was spacing her feedings out between 2.5 and 3 hours, but yesterday started every thirty minutes to an hour.  This problem arose because my body was producing just enough milk for her little needs prior to the growth spurt, but as she hits 8 weeks and growing, she is suddenly demanding more than I am currently providing.

Yikes!

Hopefully this will pass soon and my body will catch up...

We're home from the holidays.

Over the past two weeks, Ellery and I were blessed to spend a great amount of time visiting with our loving families, mainly the grandparents. We drove 11 hours, just us girls on the Saturday before Christmas Eve, to land in North Augusta to stay with a darling friend for the night, before heading the rest of the way home the following morning. Ellery was a champ when it came to riding in the car. She cried twice for all of 30 seconds and was an angel thereafter.  

I've got to admit, the days leading up to my departure from McComb, I was a bit terrified of how a young 5 week old would do on such a long drive, but with answered prayers, things couldn't have gone better!

Ellie loved on her grandparents and let them love on her too. :) Now my task this week is to teach Little Bean that it is okay to lay on the floor sometimes...

Grandma and Granddaddy Parrott.

 Momo ...

 and Grandpa Tyson.

It was hard to leave, but it is also good to be home again!