It's been a hard days night...

Where to begin?


Eden is into everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. The poor girl is probably tired of hearing me say, "No, Eden, Mommy doesn't want you to play with that", or "Let's find something else to play with, Eden."

BTW, I did actually allow her to play in this cabinet!

One month ago, Eden fell off our bed. She cried for a few minutes, and then seemed ok. Later that day, I noticed she wouldn't use her right arm. An xray at the after hours clinic confirmed that she had a broken humerus. Yikes! My poor baby broke a part of her arm. What a trooper she was through it all. The PA wrapped her arm in an ace bandage, and over the next 2 days we went to 2 Orthopedic physicians who told us the same thing; her arm will heal in about a month's time and she should be as good as new.  

Trooper Eden Joy

 Eden loves waving to people. She waves to me, Randy, her toys, and pretty much anything that moves! She actually gets upset if she waves at people and they don't acknowledge her. She likes to clap her hands and says, yay, and she thinks she is big stuff (I do too :))

Hi Everybody!

 Not only does Eden love getting into everything, she loves pulling things out of spaces. She likes to dump all her toys out on the floor and leave them there. Some days she pulls each toy out, one by one, and of course she never puts them back in (that's mommy's job, right?)

Eden turned 9 months on October 20th. She is so over the monthly stickers. It is now difficult to get her to look into the camera. She is too busy looking at the sticker and trying to eat it.  At least we only have 3 more stickers to go!!

  
We celebrated Eden's first Halloween by taking her to not one, but three fall festivals! She was quite intimidated by all the people and noise, but I think she still enjoyed herself. 

My pumpkin

Eden is a UGA cheerleader, and Evie is a GA Tech cheerleader

We took our first family vacation to Blue Ridge, GA during the first full week of November. Eden loved hiking through the woods as long as she could see water. We have a backpack carrier for her, and it sure made hiking enjoyable.
On our last day in Blue Ridge, my brothers, sis in law, nephew JM, and mom were all able to spend the day with us. It was great being able to hang out as a family and watch the kids play together.

Hiking in Ocoee, TN

thanks to sis in law, Haley for taking the pic

 We will be spending a few days for T-Giving with Randy's family in Mobile, AL, and we're looking forward to seeing our other 2 nephews.

almost 9 months! what????

In just 8 short days, my little beauty will be 9 months old. I just can't believe how fast time has gone by. 

Eden surprises us all the time with new little things she does, or expressions on her face.

She loves pulling up on anything she can get her hands on, and that means the couch, her crib, the tub, the chairs, and the entertainment center. 

Our house is becoming sparse of decoration, and instead being filled with baby entertainment items.

If she isn't asleep, she is playing in her crib!

E crawling out of her bathtub (its a racecar)

The first few times we took Eden to the ocean, she wasn't too thrilled with it, but things have changed. She loves walking through the water, and eating sand. Yep, my girl loves eating sand...wet and dry. The sand here is very powdery, and apparently good eating!!

She loves sucking on the strap on my bathing suit bottom

The beach in October is gorgeous! So much better than the summertime

E went to her second wedding of the year. Well, we only made it to the reception b/c E was taking her afternoon nap. We took a few pics at Gabe's wedding. It was located at a state park here; Camp Helen, and it's right on the water. Pretty views!

It's hard to get our girl to sit down!! She is on the go all the time

The days are long sometimes (she wears me out!!), but it's so fun getting to know our little girl.

Friday's Musings

 Dear daddy,

Sorry I did a pee pee on your leg this week. I had a little accident in the bath so mommy had to re-run my bath water for me, and thankfully you were there to hold me through it all.  Hehe

Dear babies everywhere,

So, I just figured out this really cool way to make your parents go crazy..it's called crawling. You see, once you start crawling, you can get into everything that is within your reach; and that means nothing if off limits! I heard mommy and daddy mention something about gates, but I don't know what they are talking about.

Dear legs,

Not only do you help me crawl, but you are letting me stand up on my own, and that provides me a greater perspective into the world. I love watching my bathtub fill with water every night, and soon I will be able to reach the items that mommy and daddy are witholding from me. (They think they are smart)


 Dear pack n play,

I liked you better when you were in the corner of the living room. Now that I'm crawling all over, mommy is putting me in baby jail to help keep me contained when she is in the kitchen. I am not too fond of this situation at all!

Dear grandparents,

I enjoy hearing your voices, but I sure do wish that I could see you in person more often. I think we would have a lot of fun together, especially since you would let me do things that mommy wouldn't.

Love, Eden

Friday's musings

I am borrowing this idea from my sister in law, Haley, and I think she borrowed it from someone else.

I've been thinking of what Eden would say if she could talk and here are some of the ideas that I have.

Dear teeth,

Why do you cause me such pain? I am glad that you've come through my bottom gums, but do you think that you could try to hurry up and come through my top gums please? I sure do think mom and dad would appreciate it too since I am waking up in the middle of the night and crying.

Dear baby food,

I am not quite sure what to think of you yet. Mom tries to get me to eat you, but I just don't feel like eating a lot of you yet. The avocados are ok, and frankly, I have liked everything I've tried, but I just like what mommy has better than you. Sorry.

Dear baby swing,

I liked watching the sassy bugs on the mobile go around my head, but as for you, I am not sad to see you go. Mommy and Daddy said I'm too big for you anyway, so I guess you'll come back out when I have a brother or a sister. 

Dear Daddy,

I can't wait for you to come home from work every day so you will let me do my most favorite thing (lately)...ride on your shoulders. From the first moment you let me try it, I have loved it. I love pulling your hair and jumping on your shoulders. Wonder if you'll let me do it when I'm 16?

~There are so many other things I could share, but I'll save them for later musings!
Thanks for reading,
Love, Eden Joy

A new life..6 months in

I just realized my last blog was on January 10th. Time sure flies by when you have an infant! I've wanted to write a blog for a while, but I just never seem to have time to sit down and write it. Can't imagine why, right?
I am going to jot a few thoughts down; maybe just so I can look back and remember some things (I certainly do have mommy brain).

Being a mommy is the most amazing job in the world. Adjusting to this new life has been difficult, mainly because I am not a fan of change. It seems that the past couple of years of my life have been changing so much, I can't keep up. Some days have left me frazzled, others elated with joy. It is hard to put into words what it is like to watch this little person grow. I am so grateful and thankful that I get to spend every hour of the day with her. Granted, there are times when I can't wait for her to take a little snoozie, so I can get a few things accomplished. However, I find myself wanting her to wake up b/c I miss her!

If I had to work outside the home, I know God would grant me the ability to leave Eden in the hands of another, but I just can't imagine it. I hate leaving her for 2 hours to go on an occasional date with my husband, and leave her in the church nursery for 3 hours? Yea right!

Mommyhood has come with many challenges. Late night feedings, poo blowouts, spit up, teething, body changes, and sleep deprivation. Everyone said that it would get better. Well, in some ways it certainly has. E has dropped the late night feedings and is sleeping through the night now (with an occasional short crying spell in the middle of the night). Mommy is finally getting more sleep (with the exception of the multiple times a night that my husband tends to wake me up..for various reasons that I won't mention here).

We're still in the teething process. She has her two bottom teeth, but they still bother her at times. I have come to love the many options that we have to soothe her...from teethers, to a cold washcloth, to her newest favorite: the mesh teether feeder filled with ice. She loves sucking on ice. I assume it numbs her teeth enough to give a little relief.

When I was pregnant, the midwife/sonographers kept telling me that her head was too small and she was going to be a small baby, and I worried myself sick that my child would have brain issues and who know what else. My God knew better though. E was 7 pounds 12 oz..much, much larger than I though possible. I only gained 21 pounds with her, but she was obviously fine.
In fact, she is rolling over, sitting up, teething, passing toys from hand to hand, talking, and doing all the things she should be doing for her age.

I love the little things that E does such as trying to sing with me when I sing to her. I love it when she puts her mouth on my face and gives me kisses..sometimes I think she is part dog when she licks me!
I love her sweet smile and her little giggles. I love the way she looks at her daddy and plays with him when he gets home from work and in the mornings before work.
I love the way everything is new and amazing to her. She loves being curious. I love being able to tell her Bible stories, and pray with her, and read her Bible verses at night before bed.
I love the way she loves the music at church.

I'm amazed at how my view of God has changed since I became a mommy. There are times that I just thank God for his love for me b/c I finally understand it a little more. I am his child, and he loves me more than anything in this world! Yep, I feel that for my little girl too.

 Yes, the past few months have been challenging, and from what I hear, parenting is challenging for the rest of your life. I am blessed beyond measure to be able to call myself a mommy. Thank you Lord!


 

is it today?

The past few days, I've wakened every morning wondering if today is "the big day." According to the calendar, we are t minus 10 days until due date. I am aware that lots of babies come before their due date, but there are also babies that come after their due date too. 

At my last doctor's appt, I was around 70-80% effaced and 1-2 cm dilated. I have another ultrasound, fetal monitoring and vaginal check tomorrow afternoon, and I'm interested to see if little Eden is any closer to making her appearance. I think R is getting more nervous as time quickly approaches. He texts me every morning and asks how things are going...which I find hilarious since I am up with him every morning and see him off when he leaves for work. No one seems to believe me when I say that I will be more than happy to let them know when something is actually happening. 

Last night, I started feeling kinda weird, and wasn't sure if I was going to start having consistent contractions or not. Apparently it was just an upset stomach for a little while! Eden is still moving around and kicking me in the ribs. I can honestly say that is one part of pregnancy that I will not miss. The right side of my ribs may never be the same again :)

 Since I have this wonderful gluten free and dairy free diet, I decided it would be in my best interest to make some food ahead and freeze it. Mind you, our freezer is not large and although we have a freezer in our guest house, it's filled with Randy's last grouper catch.
I made the lists today of what I've frozen, and we have dinner food/meat to last us at least a full week, and breakfast food for at least a week. I figure I'll just keep making some extra bkfast stuff every day or two before our little girl comes. That will take much of the stress out of our morning routine!

 Until Eden decides to make her appearance, I'm carrying on as usual. Cleaning, going to the gym, sorting through things in the house, and trying to keep things in order. It's life as usual here in the Whitehead house