Valentine's with a New Meaning

Last year, you changed our Valentine's Days forever.

That morning, on February 14th, 2015, I took a pregnancy test on a whim.  Just a feeling I had.  

When it was postive, we didn't know what to think.  We caustiously celebrated our secret with hope in our heart.  

Now, here you are a year later bringing smiles and joy wherever you go. 

All we need is you, our little love bug. 

Mila is 4 Months!

Milestones:
~ thirteen pounds and ten ounces; twenty five and half inches long 
~ working my core by trying to sit up all the time (rolling back to front is coming so so soon!)
~ grabbing and swatting toys from my play mat 
~ helping Mom turn pages when we get to read books
~ reaching for my legs and almost catching my toes
~ spinning myself around on the floor from one direction to another (especially to see the tv better)
~ chewing on my fingers, Mom's fingers, toys, and teethers 
~ giggling, smiling, cooing, and talking constantly!  

Mila's First Snow Day

An unplanned, surprise day to snuggle my little sweet baby?  I will never say no.  

Of course teachers love snow days, even more so than the students.  On Monday, even though the temps were in the mid forties, the impending possible blizzard had the school buzzing.  In true Iowa-weather fashion, the amounts kept changing.  The predictions were anywhere from twelve to eighteen inches at one point to six to twelve inches to five to eight inches.  True Iowans know this could mean we could be dumped on or we could be missed completely.  We ended up with two inches.

Because of the hype for the last week from the weather, we all - teachers and students - agreed, if we did have to go to school on Tuesday, we would pout, stomp, whine, and more or less throw a fit.  My temper tantrum would rival them all.  How dare you tease me with a possible day with my Mila bug and then take it away.

To ensure it would happen, Mila wore her "Let it Snow" outfit on Monday.

Like many teachers and students across the state, I woke up with my alarm, instead of hitting snooze. I immediately hopped on KCCI and anxiously waited for the site to load the hundreds of school closings.  I scrolled the list clear down to the "U's" searching for Urbandale Schools only to be let down.  Then comes the never ending task of hitting refresh every two minutes until I get the answer I want.

Impatiently waiting for any metro school to close, I checked the radar and my worst fear was confirmed.  There was snow to the north and south with a big empty clearing right over Des Moines.  Figures.  I didn't give up hope and went back to the school closing list to watch it grow.

Finally, the call came at 5:35am.

And I knew this smile would fill my day:

Mila is obsessed with the television.  Whether it's cheering for the Hawkeyes or Daddy's video game, she will stop eating, playing, and talking because she gets sucked into whatever is on.  We know it is the bright lights and noise, but we are already jokingly telling her, "No more screen time, Mila."  This is her literally straining to watch: 

Mila was a little clingy and wanted to be held while she slept.  This meant I didn't get the grading done I had hoped, but, this was by far more important:

Had the snow hit at any other point of the day, we would have had school.  The roads were clear by 10am.  But no complaints here.  There is something so special to cherish about an unplanned day off.

Future Drool Monster

When I noted a couple weeks ago that you found your hands, I thought that was a big deal.  I had no idea.  These hands are constantly in your mouth now.  

Earlier this week, you tried to get your fingers, paci, and monkey "chew toy," as Aunt Rissa calls it, in your mouth.  This is the first time you got that toy in your mouth on January 5th.  We all thought it was such an accomplishment! 

Last night, you gnawed on Mom's fingers hard for a good five minutes.  Probably about time for Mom and Dad to invest in some real teethers for you, huh? 

I'm just waiting to see if you will prefer those sweet fingers over a paci.  

Mila is 3 Months!

Milestones:
~ observing everything around me; there is so much to see and it is exhausting
~ sleeping pretty regularly through the night, especially 9.5 hours after Christmas celebrations
~ learning to giggle, which is the best sound in the world
~ making new friends at daycare when Momma went back to work
~ finding and sucking on my hands 
~ trying so hard to mimic mouth noises
~ spinning myself around in my crib in the middle of the night

My Heart

My heart in one moment. 

I never knew I could love him more until I saw him be her daddy.  Until I saw the first time he looked at her.  Until I saw the love in his eyes. Until I saw he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders to protect her.  

Back at It

The first day went better than expected.  Mila had been sleeping until 7:30am, and I know you are not supposed to wake a sleeping baby, but there was no way I was going to go all day without seeing my pretty girl and getting a couple of quick morning snuggles in.

And I love mornings.  It was one of my favorite parts of being home with her.  Those first sleepy smiles when she hears my voice.  Picking out the cute little outfit.  Singing the good morning song.  I am not willing to give it up.  She seemed to be okay with it, too.  But, man, was this face hard to leave that morning.

I, of course, talked about her all day.  In my introductions to each class, I told my students the logistics: my free periods, my email, my Twitter username.  I said I don't have very many followers on Twitter, and that's okay.  That's not how I get my self-worth.  They smiled, understanding my reference.  Then, I quickly switched the PowerPoint to the next slide and said this is where my self-worth comes from.  And up pops a beaming smile from Mila.  I told my learning center (study hall) students I really need this time to get work done and be productive because I have this beautiful face to go home to every night.

Thankfully, I have a very busy and fast-paced job, so my day went quickly.  And sounds like she was quite entertained with her new friends at daycare by hardly slept a wink  She just loves watching and observing everything.  Doesn't want to miss out.  Which meant she slept all night for Mom and Dad and that's fine by us!

I couldn't wait to get this little bug back in my arms.

Somehow, today, on day three, it was much harder to leave her.  Reality is sinking in.  I just wanted to play with her and snuggle her all day.  I can see she is exploring and learning new things every minute, and I so enjoy watching those discoveries.  Weekends have an entirely different value to me now, and I can't wait to spend time as a family of three.