3 months

Madeline is three months old today! That's just crazy. ( Well, since she was a preemie, her adjusted age is 7 weeks.) She definitely is starting to do things a 7 weeker would do. Here's some things about Madeline recently:

She weighed just a little over 9 lbs last week!
She just barely outgrew her newborn onesies ( but she can still fit into the NB diapers.)
She's a tiny thing, but she's so much more alert now!
One of my favorite things about her is her big, blue eyes.
She has suffered acid reflux and colic this past month. Luckily, the reflux medicine has helped with the reflux, and the vacuum has helped with the colic. ( She has good days and bad... mostly good lately though.)
She still sleeps mostly 2 hours at a time. She'll do one long stretch from 9 pm- 1 am and I love her for that!
She is starting to smile more! She is absolutely adorable, you guys.
She definitely recognizes me and Nick because she gets super excited to see us... especially her dad! It's so cute.
She LOVES when we read books to her!
She loves her "alone time"... usually on the floor on a soft blanket or in her swing! ( thanks mom and dad... that's been such a life saver lately!)
She loves car rides still!
One of her favorite places to be is on her changing table. Strange, right? haha. She's instantly happier when she's laying on that thing. She doesn't mind her diaper being changed... and is accepting the fact that she has to get a new change of clothes often ( since she spits up a lot.) :)
She's still eating mostly 2-3 ounces each feeding.
She loves it when you sing to her ( and dance with her! She's loving Justin Bieber these days. :)
She's starting to "coo" and make cute sounds when we interact with her! She gets really excited when you give her lots of attention and entertain her! She's a demanding one. haha.
I can tell she's going to be really smart... like her dad. Haha.

She is so much fun and is an absolute blessing in our lives! Nick and I get choked up talking about her and how blessed we really are. I love my little family!

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Recipes

I LOVE Pinterest. Did you know that? 

I love it for many reasons, but I have seriously made a bajillian recipes from this awesome site. 

If you don't have a pinterest, you should get one! If you do have one... follow me! 

I am a pinning-machine. 

Here are a few recent meals I've made, enjoyed, and want to share: 

30 minute rolls

These rolls seriously only take 30 minutes and they're delicious AND EASYYY! 

The Best Texas Sheet Cake Ever

Absolutely to-die-for delicious. 

French Onion Soup

yumm I love me some good onion soup!

Roasted Chicken, Asparagus, and Potatoes

 I made this the other night. It was fun to make and easy! 

Tasted wonderful too! 

Baked Potato Soup

Anything made in the crock pot, I love. 

Grilled Cheese and Avocado Sandwich 

The best grilled cheese you will ever have. 

( Instead of pepperoni, I added tomato. :) 

Avocado Chicken Parmigiana 

absolutely splendid dish. 

and there's more where that came from.... 

you can follow me on Pintrest HERE. 

lists

Blessings. I'm so thankful for them. 

I was reading in the Book of Mormon about Nephi. Talk about amazing. He was amazing. Nephi is the perfect example of someone who never complained. Ever. He had so many trials and afflictions, but he never once complained. He was always quick to turn to his Heavenly Father for comfort or guidance. He never complained about his problems... but how quick are we to complain about our blessings? ( speaking of that, check out this youtube video when you get a chance. haha.) 

On that note, I feel super blessed. I have SO much to be happy about and I am overwhelmed with gratitude about the blessings I so undeservingly receive each day. Here's a list of just a few of them... off the top of my head. 

my sweet husband. he's the most selfless, caring, kind person I know. 

my precious madeline. she makes my world go round.

the fact that it's been a mild winter. tender mercies!

a delicious onion soup I ate for lunch today. 

photography & the fact that cameras can capture the beautiful images they do. 

a phone call from a dear friend. 

the majestic mountains I see each time I look out my window. 

the hot showers I get to take each day. 

a supportive family. through thick and thin. 

the comfort of knowing Nick got accepted to a few great medical schools! 

cuddling with my baby girl. and watching her fall asleep in my arms. 

uplifting music that warms my soul. 

beautiful lighting. ( this makes for perfect photo shoots). 

new babies.

good friends. 

warm hugs from my husband. 

laughter. 

our health. especially madeline's. 

I'm grateful for my hands. I can touch my baby's face, hold Nick's hand, create things, take pictures, cook things... the list goes on and on. 

I'm so thankful for my blessings. By recognizing my blessings, it humbles me & my heart is full. I'm going to make it a goal to make a list ( in my journal ) each day of the blessings ( or tender mercies) I recognize each day. It makes life that much sweeter when we can recognize how blessed we really are. 

Go ahead, try it for yourself. 

"Count your many blessings see what God has done". :) 

picture overload

Forgive me while I try to catch up. :) 

Our dear friends, Jason and McKell gave birth to their second baby! Maely. She's so precious. And so are these boyfriends.

 Me and McKell ( & Madeline and Maely) 

Siblings.... finally all together again. 

...don't mind all my iphoto's of my precious Madeline ( bc there will be a lot in this post :) 

Cute Nash loving on his new baby sister

Maely and Madeline = BFFs

Nash and Maely 

She loves car rides 

oh, hey! 

We got to spend some time with Brad, Michelle, and Will a few weekends ago. 

It had been WAY too long. It was so fun reuniting with them! 

Nick loves his baby girl! 

My favorite pair of hands. 

post bath time :) 

We found out Ashley is having a little baby GIRL in July! 

We are SOO excited! and Madeline is excited to have a little girl cousin to play with! 

Ashley is always so creative with everything she does.

Hair bows for a girl, bow ties for a boy. 

I guessed girl. :) 

( I love the name she picked out by the way!) 

my favorite pair of feet! 

This sums Nick up. 

A hard working, devoted, selfless, loving father and husband!

He sacrifices for me each day so I can take a much needed nap!

I love him.

sweet baby girl. 

( There is a vacuum going in this picture. That's why she's sleeping so soundly. haha) 

our little house. 

We're moving in June!

We are choosing between: University of Utah or Temple University in PA ( for Med school) 

We'll know where we're going by April. crazy! 

My cute elementary ed girls, reunited! 

best friends! and lots of babes. haha

I want to munch on her. 

William and Celeste and Madeline. 

William is from Tennessee and he is SUCH a southern gentlemen. Seriously, you should hear his accent. 

" hello there, it's sure nice to meet ya" ( while shaking your hand.) Love it. 

We love him. 

My dad came to town last week ( one of his awesome surprise visits) and he taught us how to make sushi!!! ( Avocado Rolls.) I was in heaven. He served his mission in Japan, you know. 

Gramps and Madeline 

Story time with dad

I love her! 

yummy fruit pizza on V-day. Thanks Pintrest! 

( Nick and I spent it with Jason and McKell at Texas Roadhouse. :) Of course we would. haha. Nick got me a box of chocolates and some tickets to see the Anne of Green Gables play. I'm so excited! Such a sweet husband! 

photo deal!

welcome to motherhood

I'm just going to be blunt here. The past 48 hours have been the most difficult 48 hours as a new mom.

Our poor Madeline has been very fussy, sleepless, and unhappy these past few weeks. I think I mentioned that before... but man is it hard. I mean... more difficult than serving a mission in a foreign country... hard. Some of you may think, " oh, suck it up" ( and if you are thinking that... come over really quick so I can kick you.) Others of you may be thinking, " I feel ya girl." Bless your hearts.

I have just felt so bad for our sweet little girl because she has acid reflux. As much as I hate it, we finally got her medicine to help her with the reflux. ( I seriously cringe at the thought of having to give her medicine), but it's going to help her... so I'm okay with that.

Anyway, these past couple of nights have been trying ones. I literally got 2 hours of sleep in a span of 48 hours. And when you mix no sleep with a screaming baby.... that equals one INSANE mama. Seriously. I thought Nick was going to have to take me to a mental home or something. Madeline eats every 2 hours and it takes her about an hour to go back to sleep ( IF she sleeps.) Most nights, she tosses and turns and cries and cries until she has to eat again, and it's a vicious cycle. Poor Nick has school the next day so I don't want to waken him. It's just me and the crying babe.... and lots of prayer.

It makes me sad that she can't sleep ( doctor says it's because of the reflux), so she's in pain AND tired. and so am I.

I definitely try to keep my head on strait at 3 am and I've definitely gotten really good at being patient... it's just HARD. There's no other way to sum it up. It's hard because your heart aches seeing your screaming baby's face turn purple from crying. It's hard because I don't function well on hardly any sleep. It's hard because it's just me and her all night long... ( how do single moms do it?!)

Thankfully, sweet Nick comes home every day from 11-2 and I get to take a MUCH needed nap during that time. It's amazing what a couple hours of sleep will do to you!!! I look forward to that time everyday and I'm SO thankful Nick is so great. He watches the baby AND does his homework during this time. What an AWESOME guy. Bless his heart.

These past 2 days I haven't been able to get that nap that recharges my battery... so I really did think I was going to lose it at any minute. I often rely on prayer and the strength of the Savior to help me through these tough nights of no sleep and then days of no sleep, and then the nights start all over again.

It's amazing how prayer and faith can do so much. I have felt the comfort of the Savior lots of nights and Him whispering, "you can do it!"

It's so interesting that Heavenly Father commands us to have children and families. I have learned SO much in these past short few months just caring for a newborn ( I know I'll continue to learn more and more as she grows up). I think I've tasted a TINY TINY bit of how much our Heavenly Father cares for each of HIS children... having a child myself. My heart aches seeing her sad or in pain.... HIS heart aches when He sees us aching or in pain.

Having children definitely is one of the hardest things, but one of the most rewarding too. I see moms sometimes with 8 little children and wonder, " is she crazy?" or " how DOES she do it?!" and my hat goes off to moms all over the world. ( and dads too.)

I know this is just a little phase Madeline is going through and she'll be fine. I try to remember to soak in every moment with her because she's only this little once! I am SO blessed and SO grateful that I have a beautiful, healthy little girl all my own. She is an absolute joy in our lives ( despite the sleepless nights and deaf ears. :)) I feel so lucky that Heavenly Father has trusted ME to take care of her and to love her.

and boy, I do love her!