My Christmas Miracle

This Christmas was extra special. It was one year ago (the 26th) that I found out I was pregnant with my beautiful baby girl. It really hit home this year as I stared at my daughter thinking what a blessing she is and has been to me and Jimmy.

I went to church Christmas Eve and God really confirmed that His promises are true. One year ago, after multiple years of infertility I felt hopeless. I found a quote that I put on my fridge to give me hope. It said, "Do not mistake God's silence for his absence." That same month I put the quote on my fridge, I found out I was pregnant.

The church service Christmas Eve began with beautiful music and Adalyn was pleased to look all around at the pretty lights and lots of people. When our Pastor began his message, the title for his sermon came across the screen and read, "Do not mistake God's silence for his absence." WOW! I do not think this was a coincidence.

Even when we feel God is not listening, he is always working behind the scenes. God had a plan for Adalyn's life. Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." Adalyn was MEANT to come last Christmas and God designed it to be this way. Through my infertility struggle, God gave me a renewed sense of FAITH and TRUST. Because of it all, I am a better person and believe in His timing and His plan far beyond my own.

Here are some pictures of Adalyn enjoying Christmas! She got the most gifts by FAR and my house is now exploding with toys! :) She is the best Christmas gift I have and will ever receive!

Adalyn meeting Santa

We caught Adalyn's first laugh a couple weeks ago! Music to our ears!

 

Christmas Eve at church

Christmas Eve

Grandma and Adalyn at church Christmas Eve

Grandpa and Grandma and a very surprised Adalyn from the flash of my camera :)

LOVES church!

Grandma snuggles

My First Christmas

Pretty excited about all her gifts!

Zoe asking Adalyn to borrow some of her new toys

 

Me and my girl <3
We ended up getting a little snow for a white Christmas

The Horans Christmas 2014

All pooped out with her new dolly

 

Adalyn Grace - 3 Months Old

Adalyn Grace is 3 months old today. I am so blessed to be her mommy!

These pictures are getting harder to take each month - busy girl! :)

 

Sometimes I can't tell who she looks like but when I look at these pictures I definitely see myself. :)  I also can't tell how much she has changed and grown until I look at these fun comparisons. Such a big girl she is! :)

Love,
Kristin

12 Weeks full of thankfulness

Miss Adalyn Grace is 12 weeks old today. She is changing so much and outgrowing a number of adorable outfits she never was able to wear. I already filled an entire storage bin of newborn clothes. Hubby tells me to stop buying her outfits that she won't wear but it's just so hard with all the cute girl clothes out there!

Adalyn started daycare at a new center we absolutely love. The first two weeks that I was back at work she went to a center that was (to put it nicely) HORRIBLE. Adalyn was taken care of and was just fine but there were a number of things that gave me a red flag and we were out of there. The place she is at now is already 100% better and I am actually able to concentrate on work with peace of mind. That is priceless. I find myself missing her during the day and I watch the clock waiting until 5:00 when I can go pick her up and see her smiley face! The teacher says Adalyn is very aware for her age and does not like to be alone. That's my social girl!

Last week was Thanksgiving which is my second favorite holiday. My parents had us and Jimmy's family over which was really nice. Jimmy's Grandma was in town to meet Adalyn and we were able to spend a lot of time with her. Jimmy took 5 days off work and it was so nice to have the family time.

Adalyn has her first cold. I am not surprised as she was in daycare and around so many people with the holiday. Sunday it was very bad and we got concerned as it seemed hard for her to breathe. We called the on-call nurse and after going through her symptoms she recommended we bring her in so we spent Sunday evening in the emergency room. Not fun! But the Dr assured us she has just caught a virus and she is getting much better. Nose Frida is a genius device! :)

As far as Adalyn's likes and dislikes, like I mentioned above she loves to be around people...constantly!  She hasn't shown much interest in toys but instead likes to "play" with us. We started airplane with her and she loves it. She has held and shaken her rattle but I don't know if she quite understands what she's doing. She does not like to be in one position too long so it's a lot of walking around with her and finding different things to entertain her. She used to love her swing but lately hasn't liked being in it too log. That or she just doesn't want to be put down. She has started to pull her head up (like a sit up) when she's in the swing. Not sure what that's about but I think we will be done with the swing soon...

When I reflect on the last 12 weeks I am overwhelmed with so much thankfulness. I remember when Adalyn was just a name I liked. Now it is the name of my busy, social, beautiful baby girl. She means more to me than words can describe. Thanksgiving was the perfect time to remember how great God is and how he answers prayers. So much to be thankful for!!

Love,
Kristin

 

 

Adalyn Grace - 2 Months Old

Adalyn is 2 months old and I honestly can't believe it.

I go back to work on Monday and Adalyn goes to daycare. Where has the time gone?? We decided on a daycare center up the road from us. I am not ready to bring her. I don't think I will ever be. I cried during the tour so I know it's going to be extremely hard to drop her off on Monday. I am debating if I should have Jimmy take her or us both go. I guess we will see. All I know is I am definitely going to be the one picking her up -- it will be the best part of my day for sure!

The last 2 months have gone by too fast. I wish I could have her home with me forever. But I am blessed to have been able to spend the time with her. And she will most likely only go to daycare 3 days a week thanks to my Mom and Jimmy's flexible work schedule.

Adalyn got her 2 month vaccinations yesterday...3 shots in her thighs. True to form I cried (maybe more than Adalyn). When we got home she slept for a couple hours then woke up from her nap screaming. It was a cry like I have never heard and honestly it scared me. She continued to cry in pain for 5 hours straight. I called the nurse line and they said it was "normal" after vaccinations. I am a little delusional right now with the lack of sleep but mainly I just felt helpless and heart broken for my baby girl. We gave her 2 doses of Tylenol and she finally fell asleep. Today she is back to her happy chatty self. Thank goodness! That was hard!

Adalyn was dedicated at church this last month. It was a very special day and our Pastor did an amazing job. We were blessed to have my parents and Jimmy's Dad and step-mom join. My parents hosted a get together after church and it was a very special night. We are so lucky to have a great church for her to grow up in! We dedicated the below verse for Adalyn:

Psalms Chapter 37. Verses 4 – 7.
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”

These days Adalyn LOVES her blankey. She has to sleep with it which I admit is not good! But she loves to pull it up towards her cheeks --- again I admit not good but it soothes her and she is so at peace when she has it. Don't worry, I let her have it until she falls asleep and then I take it away (at night). She also loves the TV (oops - what kind of habits are we starting?!) But I know it's the light she likes to watch. She loves the mouse that plays music and shines lights above her pack and play (and gym). She also loves to see her Mommy. In the middle of the night if she catches my eye, she gets SO excited. She does this in the morning too. I love it.

Adalyn doesn't like being in one place too long. She is one busy girl! She also doesn't like being held parallel (like you would do breast feeding). She likes to be upright and face out to see everything going on. Again - busy busy girl! :)

I know the next month is going to bring a lot of change -- new schedule, new daycare, new people, Thanksgiving and gearing up for Christmas. I am sure time will continue to fly by!

Here are some pictures from the last month.

Love,
Kristin

A love like no other

I look at my beautiful daughter and wonder what life was like before her. When I was pregnant I remember people telling me, “sleep now, date now, enjoy your freedom now” and me feeling beyond annoyed. I thought, “If you only knew how uncomfortable I was… I just want to have my baby!” How can they suggest any of this?

 But here I am now, seven weeks into motherhood and don't really remember a time where I wasn't woken up every couple hours. Or a time when Jimmy and I could just jump in the car and go on a date. Or I could go to Target without planning the perfect time to get some shopping done. And I wouldn't change it for the world.

Before Adalyn I thought I knew what love was. The amount I love my husband is indescribable. Then come my doggies, and I love them beyond measure. Then I met my daughter. My heart exploded. EXPLODED.

I can say there is no other love then the love you feel for your child. I wondered about this love… and thought how can you feel a love so pure and true when you don’t even really know this person? But the minute I locked eyes with this “stranger” I knew it to be true.

Adalyn has given us so much joy. She now interacts with us and chats away by cooing and making the cutest noises. She smiles and copies the facial expressions we make at her. It’s been so fun watching her change and grow up. I can't wait to see what the future brings for this beautiful daughter of mine.

Here are some pictures of Adalyn on Halloween.

Love,

Kristin

 

 

 

It's all about routine...

I am going on week 6 of my maternity leave. I look at the first 3 weeks as chaos (lol) but the last few have been all about routine.

Adalyn and I have figured things out. We get up and get dressed, chat a little and she spends time kicking her feet and laying in bed with me. Then we bring everything downstairs... (rock and play, breast pump, burp cloths, blankets, etc.). I usually put some laundry in and by then it's time for her next feeding. After that we run errands. I thought I may get bored on maternity leave but it's definitely the contrary! We have things to do every day. It takes a hit on my wallet but getting out of the house is definitely good for us. After errands we are back home for another feeding, a nap and then Daddy gets home. He takes the late shift (9PM - Midnight) while Mom takes a bath and goes to bed so I can catch some zzzzz's. Adalyn gets a bottle with Jimmy around 11PM and then with me around 3:00AM every night. She usually goes back to bed and then is up again to eat around 6:30/7:00AM. Of course there are nights that doesn't happen (last night for example she screamed from 3:00AM - 7:00AM, yikes!) But we are getting there...

I have so enjoyed being home with her and am already getting anxiety thinking about daycare and going back to work. It's going to be hard to leave her and figure out a whole new routine to get out the door. Until then I am enjoying my snuggles with my girl!

We got our first smile out of Adalyn this week as well. Melted my heart!

Here are some family pictures my good friend Meghan took who is a professional photographer. We love them!!!!

Love,
Kristin