2 months old!

And what an incredible 2 months its been! Avery has been one of the greatest blessings I've ever been given and I feel like so much has happened in the past 2 months that I couldn't possibly type everything I want to in this post. So, here are just a few the highlights since we've become a family of 3:

- Avery makes the cutest faces when you put her on her changing table to change her diaper. I need to keep a camera nearby to catch those sweet smiles.

- She loves taking baths and looking in the mirror

- She has had lots of "firsts"... 

First restaurant was Beef O'Bradys

First trip to a store was Publix 

First visit to a law firm, haha (we refinanced our house)

First visit to Starbucks - it's changed her life

First visit to Gaffney to see grandparents and Wade's family

First professional photo shoot - I'll post pictures soon...probably most will be on Facebook

First church service was for Drew Eckstrom's baptism...she's been a busy girl!

- She has started sucking (loudly) on her fist when she doesn't have a pacifier. 

- We have done pretty good keeping up with the Babywise feed/wake/nap schedule. She has been getting sleepy about 1.5 hours into each 3 hour cycle, but I kind of encourage her to sleep most of the time...like, if she eats at 10 am, I put her in her swing with a pacifier at 11:30 am...and she's out in 10 - 15 minutes. Then, I gently move her to bassinet and she finishes up her nap there. Sometimes she wakes up and goes back to sleep. Sometimes she wakes up and stays up too! 

- We moved her to her crib upstairs at 6.5 weeks old and she's been sleeping about 7 hours at night (11:30 pm - 6:30 am).

Overall, it's been so awesome and the Lord has really helped me get out of my "it has to be done my way ONLY" mentality. During the first 2-4 weeks, I was in a bad mood pretty often. I didn't know why I felt so stressed and irritated, but I did. I wasn't having the "this is so much fun!!!" attitude about being a mommy that I thought I was suppose to have. I was weepy, tired, easily angered, resentful even...it was not fun. Not fun at all. 

All I can say is that around 4 weeks, the Lord woke me up out of my funk. He did several things... He reminded me that the enemy will always try to that come in  and steal, kill, and destroy everything that is beautiful and from Him. He reminded me that the enemy hates God's gifts and will use any means possible - even good intentions, like trying to get her on the Babywise schedule - to get me to sin/get frustrated/get mad/not be joyful in the Lord and enjoy His blessings. God really showed me I was letting the enemy get to me in this way. He also reminded me that I was uniquely created to be Avery's mom and she was wonderfully made to be my daughter. In His grace and power, Avery and I could have tons of fun and really enjoy this precious time together. 

Needless to say, I've been a lot more happy, smiley, and joyful over the past month than I was after we brought her home from the hospital. I've let go of my "she has to do the Babywise method!!!! But, I hate to hear her cry!!!" mentality and have found that I have enjoyed being her mommy 100 times more.  It's ok to let her sleep in her swing during naptime...to rock her a little before bed...to rub her head while she lays in her crib...to love, cuddle, and pick her up if she cries...we're still doing the Babywise stuff, but I'm a LOT, LLOOTT more laid back about it now. She's sleeping great at night (11:30 pm to 6:45 am the past week! Plus 2-2.5 more hours after she eats) and eats consistently throughout the day...so I think that's a success so far:)

Oh, her umbilical cord was taken off by the doctor when she was 7 weeks old!  She was very upset during the procedure -she cried HARD- and the doctor said he hasn't seen one that's been attached that strongly, and for so long, like that in a long time. Thank goodness it's off now and we're happy to have her cute little innie belly button to look at!