5 Months

Mia will be 6 months old in a little over a week, so I suppose I should finally blog her 5 month updates!

- Mia is seriously the happiest baby I know!  She has such a sweet disposition, and has a way of making people so happy!  When she smiles, it's like she smiles with her whole body; her eyes crinkle up, her nose wrinkles, and she usually kicks her legs out.  She really can light up a room.  I love it!

- I felt like she wasn't getting enough to eat (nursing is tricky that way!) so I started giving her rice cereal.  She eats it pretty well, but I think she's ready to move on to baby food.  Lex never really loved rice cereal, and I think Mia is similar.  She tolerates it but it's not her favorite.

- She is learning to make different noises, like "Ga" and "Da" instead of just the baby "Ya" and "Wa" sounds.  So that's fun.

- She is back in her crib in Lexsi's room, and it's generally going well.  Lex likes to talk and sing a LOT at night, and Mia sings herself to sleep, so they're getting used to each other.  But really, it hasn't been a hard adjustment.  There have been a couple rough nights but it's mostly good.

- Mia goes to bed around 6:30, and generally sleeps til between 11-12, when she wakes up to eat.  She wakes up again about 3 hours later, and then again usually between 5-6am.  At that point I keep her in bed with me, because she often wakes up around 7:30am and just sings and talks and I don't want Lex to wake up that early.  Mia falls back asleep by like 8-8:30am and Lex usually gets up between 8:30-9am.

- Mia is the grabbiest!  She loves to hold things, and will grab just about anything around her.

- She is learning to move, but in weird ways... she likes to lay on her back, arch her back and push with her legs, so she scoots forward but with her head stretched backward... it's way funny to watch.  She also good at spinning in circles.

- Her hair is ridiculous, and I love it.  It's so curly and puffy!

- She absolutely loves Lexsi!  She wants to be around her all the time, and lights up whenever she sees her.  It's so cute :)

I love this little girl SO much!  She is an absolute sweetheart, and I'm so so grateful she's mine!

At the park

Early morning playtime in Mom's bed

 Grabbing her zebra

She loves her toes!

Going on a walk

Trying out the baby doll stroller

Reading with Daddy

Playing with Lex

Piggy tails!

At a track meet

Doing Daddy's (and Papi's) famous trick

Her crazy curly hair!

So sweet!

Simple Things

There are a couple blog posts I really need to write... updates on my babies, and--oh yeah-- that time I found a mouse in my house...  but right now, I just want to write about some cool things that have happened to me at church.

A few weeks ago, we had a ward dinner.  We ate and chatted and then were thoroughly entertained by a group of dancing grandmas, a few of whom were from our ward.  If you know me at all, you know how much I LOVE stuff like that!  Seriously-- I couldn't stop smiling and laughing.  So awesome.  Unbeknownst to me, during the dinner there was a lady in the ward going around taking pictures.  Later that night, this picture went up on our ward's Facebook page:

I can't lie... I love it.  Not because I look amazing or anything (I hadn't even showered after being at the gym.. ha!), but simply because it captured me interacting with my baby.  Completely unstaged.  This is what I do, day in and day out.  I love my girls more than I could ever begin to express.  I'm just so grateful to be able to have a tiny snippet of that love captured in this photo!

Last week, after Sacrament meeting, the lady who was sitting behind me started talking to me.  I honestly don't know her name (I'm in the Nursery, remember? I pretty much only know the littles in the ward :) ), but she was so so sweet.  She told me that she thought it was awesome that I stayed home and took care of my babies all day.  She acknowledged that it's not an easy job, but that it was the best thing I could be doing.  I've thought about that conversation all week, and I've felt so grateful to her!  She didn't have to say anything, but she did, and it meant so much to me.  Being a stay-at-home mom is NOT easy.  It is definitely the best job I've ever had, and it's SO rewarding, and most days I love it.  But it's certainly not easy, and it was nice to hear from someone else that they knew what it's like and that I was doing the right thing!

Today, I had the opportunity to sing a solo in Sacrament meeting, and I chose to sing "Lead Kindly, Light."  I honestly didn't put too much thought into it-- just chose a song with a fairly simple accompaniment so that my friend wouldn't have to take too much time working on it.  I have always loved the song, too.  After Sacrament meeting, a man came up to me (again, I don't know him), and told me that when he was a soldier in Vietnam, he had had a really horrible day.  People he knew had died.  He was really struggling, and he prayed to Heavenly Father that he could feel some peace, and the words to "Lead Kindly, Light" came to his mind.  He told me that when I started singing it, the feelings he had then came back to him.  I felt humbled that he'd share such a personal experience with me.  I wanted to hug him but didn't since I didn't know him-- something I've pretty much been regretting all day.  It was another instance where someone opened up to me when they didn't need to, and I'm so grateful they did.  I know I'm never going to sing that song again without thinking of him.  

These little things are just that-- little things.  But they are little things that have really helped me.  It just goes to show that you never know what someone might be needing, so don't hesitate to open your mouth and say it when you feel you should.  It doesn't matter if you don't know them.  Heavenly Father does, and we all know that He works through His children to help His other children.  I'm so so grateful for that.  

Nursery

There tends to be a negative feeling towards the nursery at church.  It's a running joke in LDS culture to make fun of being called to be a nursery leader. We've all seen things like this:

We laugh and move on.  But I've got a different take for you.

I've been a nursery leader for the past 6 months, and I love it.  There are certainly times when I wish I knew people in my ward better-- since I got put into nursery a month after moving in, I know the other ladies who are nursery leaders, and I know the 18-month to 3-year-old children very well.  Other than that, well... thank heaven for Facebook, which allows me to {creepily} get to know other people a little better.  Because of the stigma associated with nursery, I have sometimes poked fun at my calling, referring to myself as the "Ward Babysitter."  A few weeks ago I realized that this attitude is pretty much terrible.  

When was the last time you spent any time around a 2-year-old?  I'm blessed to do it all day, every day.  2-year-olds are the funniest.  They are innocent.  Watching them learn and grow is incredible.  From the ages of 18 months to 3 years, children are learning and developing so so much.  I feel incredibly blessed to have been called to teach these sweet kids about their Savior.  I love that I get to teach them songs about family, loving each other, where they came from, and their Heavenly Father.  

The thing is, I know that this is a calling from God.  I didn't volunteer for it.  That's not how it works in this church.  Heavenly Father wanted me in nursery, so here I am.  I realize that I can just show up and go through the motions, or I can go and be the best darn nursery leader I can possibly be.  I choose to do the best job that I can, cause I believe that's what Heavenly Father expected from me when I accepted the calling.  So I'm going to keep getting down on the ground and sit on a rug with those sweet kiddos.  I'm going to keep singing all the songs.  I'm going to keep being down in the middle of all the toys, playing right along with them.  I love them.  Their spirits are valiant.  I'm so grateful for the chance I have to be with them for just a few hours each week. 

We really shouldn't make fun of any position in the church.  Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves, and he certainly knows our neighbors better than we know them.  He knows exactly where we should be at all times of our lives.  If you're a Bishop, it's because He knows you and what you need.  If you're a Sunday School teacher, it's because He knows you and what you need.  If you're a Girl's Camp Director, it's because He knows you and what you need.  If you're a nursery leader, it's because He knows you and what you need.  So here's to being grateful for our callings, for recognizing Heavenly Father's hand in our lives, and for trusting that He will do what is best-- and leaving it at that.