Mommyhood

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It seems that every time I vow to do better about blogging regularly, life comes along and shoves me right off track. This time, it’s taken a little while to pick myself, and my baby, up and recover my footing, but I’m back, and I hope to actually entertain you with some of the upcoming posts I mentioned a few weeks ago.

But before I do that, I wanted to share the unpleasant adventure we survived last week. Baby girl endured her first trip to the hospital. It was not pleasant, nor was it fun, and I do not wish it upon anyone. Did you know that hospital cribs look like tiny little baby jail cells?

Twas awful.

Micah caught a nasty little stomach bug {as did I} that threw her little system {and my grown up one} for a major loop last week. She threw up once on Friday and once on Saturday, but Sunday morning the floodgates opened and she couldn’t keep anything down. We stopped in at the hospital when she was so lethargic she couldn’t lift her head if she wanted.

If you know my baby, you know that she’s a bundle of energy. She does not like to be cuddled. She wants to be crawling around exploring her world and playing all. the. time. She hates being held like this:

But she was so out of it that she voluntarily laid her head down on her daddy’s chest while we were in the ER. If you ever go to the emergency room and they usher you to a room immediately, you know that it’s serious. My poor pitiful baby was very, very sick. She was severely dehydrated, and her blood sugar had dropped to 50. Once they got an IV in, she perked up a bit.

But she was still pretty puny. Monday she was able to keep down a bit of Gatorade, so they let us go home, but it soon became obvious that the virus was still ravaging her little tummy. Tuesday morning she couldn’t even keep down a teaspoon of Gatorade. A teaspoon! Do you know how minuscule a teaspoon is?

It was scary. Very, very scary, but thankfully, we finally got the vomiting under control and she’s back to normal now. And let me just say that she’s hungry. Very, very hungry. Which is good, since she lost a whole pound while she was sick. That’s a lot for such a tiny little girl.

Anyway, many of you knew all of this already, but I wanted to write and thank you for all of the prayers and kindness you showed us last week. We needed your help, and you provided in a very real way. We’re more grateful for your love and support than you’ll ever know.

Until next time, grace and peace.

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My baby girl turned 10 months old Saturday. As she gets older and starts looking more like a little girl and less like a baby, it’s the little things I want to remember.

Like these chubby little legs.

This excitable nature.

And this sweet little spot on the back of her neck.

This innocent delight.

And, of course, these bright blue eyes and two tiny teeth.

I could go on and on. At 10 months old, Micah has a fearlessness that I envy and a mischievousness that gets her in trouble. She plays peek-a-boo with us, crinkles up her little nose and snorts at us, follows us, and climbs all over us. She’s on the verge of walking and takes every opportunity to practice standing up. Though she started out as a picky eater, now she’ll eat anything we put in front of her, but she has a fondness for Cheerios and bananas that can’t be beat. She’s sweet and funny and easy-going and happy and as delightful as a little girl can be.

As she grows up before my eyes, It’s the little things I want to savor and remember. Soon her mouth will be filled with lots of tiny little teeth. That sweet spot on the back of her neck will be covered with blonde curls, and the chub will fall off her little legs. But her eyes will always be bright blue. And I pray that she’ll keep her innocent delight and sense of adventure. Right now, the little things are the precious things in our lives.

Until next time, grace and peace.

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Yesterday, Micah and I traveled to the big city so I could shop for a new swimsuit. Let’s just say that after giving birth to a child, my old suits are a little {ahem} inappropriate. It was time for a new swimsuit.

I hadn’t exactly been looking forward to the task, but white water rafting and log flumes are looming in my future, and it was now or never. I chose now.

Because I had to return a pair of sandals to Target, I decided to start there, and after getting Micah settled into her stroller, I promptly selected about 207 items to try on my post-baby body. I made my way to the fitting room, where the attendant looked horrified at the mountain of clothes I had piled onto the stroller’s handles. I assured her that I would only take six items into the room at a time. She handed me my number tag, and I wheeled the stroller into the narrow walkway between the dressing rooms.

Which is where I discovered a few things.

First: the stroller wouldn’t fit through the stall door.

Second: if I somehow managed to wrangle the stroller through the door, I wouldn’t fit in the stall. Which would defeat the purpose of getting the stroller into a fitting room.

Third: the handicapped stall was occupied.

I decided to wait it out. When a little blonde girl about as big as my pinkie finger finally left the handicapped fitting room, I wheeled the stroller in and settled into the task of finding a flattering suit. Imagine my shock when the first tankini I tried on was a winner! I was even more pleased to discover I needed a smaller size.

I flipped through the pile of swimsuits I had hauled into the fitting room to find the smaller size {because I always take at least two sizes of the same item into a dressing room with me}, but I was out of luck. So, I pulled on one of the swimsuit coverups I had selected, left behind my clothes, and strolled out of the dressing room. I quickly retrieved the size I needed, made my way back to the fitting rooms, wheeled the stroller into the hallway, and opened the door of the handicapped stall.

And startled a half-dressed college girl.

Oops.

I quickly closed the door and asked tentatively, “Umm…are my clothes still in there?”

“I guess so,” she replied. “I’ll be out in a minute and switch to another room.”

“I’m so sorry!” I answered. “I didn’t realize you were in there.”

And then the awkward silence followed, during which I wondered, “What is it with these girls taking the handicapped stall??”

When she hurriedly exited the stall with an armload of bikinis, I avoided her eyes and scurried back inside the only room that would hold both me and the stroller. I shed the too-big suit and tried on the smaller size.

It fit! Yay for finding an appropriate swimsuit so quickly! But I had other items to try on, so I took off the suit and laid it on the bench.

Which is when I discovered the poor girl’s undergarments. That’s right. Undergarments. Plural. Bra and Panties.

As if I hadn’t already exchanged enough awkwardness with the girl, now I had to tell her that she left her underwear behind.

Who in the world tries on bikinis without their underwear?? The thought makes me shudder. Seriously. Who does that??

The crazier thing, when I knocked on the girl’s stall and told her she had left her underwear behind, she denied it!

“No, I didn’t,” she said. “I’m wearing my panties.”

Umm…no you’re not, I thought to myself. I know because they’re in a pile in my dressing room.

“Maybe I left my bra in there,” she said.

Yes, you did, I thought. And your panties!

“Well, you’ll probably want your stuff before you leave. Just wanted to let you know that it was in there,” I muttered.

I tried to finish up and get out of there before she did, but I was unsuccessful. When we met in the hallway, again, I stepped aside and let her grab her undergarments. Plural.

Funny thing. The panties that weren’t hers disappeared from the bench.

Now why would she go and take someone else’s underwear?

I’m just saying.

Don’t you wish you were me? Needless to say, when I got home, I promptly threw my new suit into the washing machine. Wouldn’t you?

Until next time, grace and peace.

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I’m not a parenting expert by any means, but I am a parent, and I absolutely must share this tip. Over the past several weeks, Micah has begun waking up earlier and earlier. She used to sleep until 8:30 or even 9 every. single. morning. Without fail.

Sigh.

I didn’t know how good life was.

Then she began waking up at 8 a.m.

Then 7:45 a.m.

Then 7:30 a.m.

Then 7:15 a.m.

Then 7 a.m.

Until finally, Monday morning, she woke up at 6 a.m. As I stumbled sleepily {I’ve never pretended to be a morning person} to her room, I marveled at how bright it was in the house.

Then it dawned on me. Literally.

Micah was waking up with the sun. As the days have gotten longer and longer, Micah’s sleeping hours have gotten shorter and shorter.

Later on in the day, I rummaged through our linen closet and came out with a dark brown sheet. I hung it over her curtain rod and crossed my fingers.

The next morning, she slept until 8:30 a.m. And the next, 9 a.m.!

Victory!

So, for what it’s worth, here’s my parenting tip of the day: If your baby is waking up with the sun, shut the sun out of his room. It’s that simple. Life is much better now that we’re back on our old sleeping schedule. Pulling out that sheet was the best idea I’ve had in a while!

Until next time, grace and peace.

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Life has been so busy lately. I’m not complaining, but the busy-ness has kept me off of here and running around like a chicken with my head cut off instead. In lieu of writing a lengthy post to bring you up to speed, I thought a few snippets from the past couple of weeks would be appropriate.

In baby news, Micah has become decidedly more adventurous in her eating choices. Last Thursday, she ate about a quarter of an avocado for lunch. Let me just say that I never imagined my child would voluntarily eat something so green and squishy, but she did, and I was shocked.

When I was in Girl Scouts, we sang a song about friendship. It went like this: “Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold.” Now, I’m not sure which group of friends is silver and which is gold, but I’ll take both. This past week, I got to spend some time with some of my best high school friends. On Monday, Micah and I took a roadtrip to Memphis for lunch with my high school bestie, and we traveled to Nashville over the weekend for the wedding of another high school friend. It was so nice to spend time with people that I haven’t seen in ages, and I enjoyed myself immensely. Since none of us {that I know of} are planning on attending our 10-year high school reunion {oh my goodness, are we that old??}, I’m glad that we were able to spend some time catching up and visiting with one another.

It. Is. HOT. Oh my goodness. The aforementioned wedding was outside. On the evening of a day that had been pushing 100 degrees. I took pity on Dennis and let him remove his tie, unbutton his collar and roll up his sleeves. Yesterday, Micah and I walked outside for a few minutes to rock on the front porch, but before I even sat down, I decided that it was time to go back inside. It’s only June, people. I know that I live in Mississippi, but seriously. It’s not supposed to be 100 degrees until July.

Speaking of the porch, we’ve taken to taking Micah out to swing in the evenings just before bed. She loves the Little Tikes baby swing we bought for her. She giggled and giggled when we put her in there for the first time. Baby laughter is such an addictive sound. There’s no sweeter sound in the entire world. See {and hear} for yourself:

Just a Swingin’ from Leslie Ann Jones on Vimeo.

I think that’s about it for now. I’ve only got a bit more time before Micah wakes up from her nap, and there’s work to be done between now and then. I’ve got cards to print, e-mails to send, and orders to package.

Until next time, grace and peace.

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Oh my goodness, I’m the parent of a child who is mobile. Last week my eight-month-old little girl rolled to her intended destination. This week she crawls. It’s a major milestone.

I immediately realized how un-babyproofed our home is.

Is there a way to teach babies this tiny not to touch things like electrical outlets? Do they learn that curtains aren’t a good thing to pull up on?

Admittedly, the following video will not be exciting to some of you, but if you’re interested in seeing our little girl start to go, all you have to do is click play:

Micah on the Move from Leslie Ann Jones on Vimeo.

God, help us. Our child can go wherever she wants. It’s the end of an era. Now I have to wonder what would happen if she eats the leaves of our houseplants or munches on a dead bug she’s found {not that there’s any of those in our house, or anything}.

I have a feeling that she won’t be crawling long. Even though she just started crawling a few days ago, most of the time she only crawls to something she can pull up on. It won’t be long until she’s walking.

God, help us.

Until next time, grace and peace.

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Last time I posted, I mentioned writing a guest post for a writer friend of mine. Remember? I’m sure you do. Anyway, the article went live today, and I thought I’d give you a sneak peak at the guest post I wrote for Annie over at Sister Wisdom on Modern Homemaking:

Last Thursday night, I was sitting at my desk in the office, singing along with Martina McBride on iTunes, packaging several sets of custom stationery from my etsy shop, glancing over my shoulder at my 8-month-old daughter rolling around on the floor, listening to my husband talk about his day at work, and thinking about starting to cook supper when Dennis, the aforementioned husband, let out an alarmed yelp…

To read the rest of the post, click on over to the Modern Homemaking REdefined series at Sister Wisdom.

Until next time, grace and peace.

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I have been meaning to sit down and write all week long, but every time I logged in to begin writing, something else popped up, and I was unable to get my thoughts down in written form.

Ah well, such is the life of a modern homemaker. Speaking of which, my friend Annie over at Sister Wisdom is running a series of posts on Modern Homemaking over the next few weeks, and I was happy to contribute a post for the series. Look for my entry on Monday. It was nice to spend a few minutes reflecting on this crazy life that we live, and I very much enjoyed writing the post.

In other news, Micah has gotten very adventurous lately. It’s as if someone wound up the key stuck in her back, and she came to life. Her voice box has been turned over, and she babbles incessantly. She’s in full-on creeping/crawling mode, and she’s started pulling up to her knees. She’s mastered the art of sitting back up after she’s been rolling around on the floor, and she picks up finger food all by herself.

She’s a cute little booger, and she doesn’t stay still long enough for the camera to focus on her sweet face most of the time, but I managed to capture a few good ones for her monthly date with the sock monkey.


She’s cute, but she’s stubborn like her mama and daddy. And a picky eater. Like her mama used to be. Like her daddy still is.

Starting solid food with her has not been the most fun thing in the world. I’ve given up on baby food and have started giving her table food. At 8 and a half months, the child eats bananas, bread, grits, mashed potatoes, applesauce, and puffs. She despises apple juice, but she’ll sip water. She occasionally tolerates peas, but they’re not her favorite. She refuses to eat any form of vegetables. When she decides she doesn’t like something I’ve given her, she refuses to close her mouth and swallow the food. She doesn’t spit it out, she just sits there with her mouth hanging open until enough saliva drips out of her mouth to carry the food with it. It’s just as disgusting as it sounds. But kind of funny at the same time.

She’s a trip, that’s for sure.

She’s changed so much in the past few weeks, it’s unreal. We’re hitting some major milestones, and I’m watching my baby become a little toddler, which is exciting and scary at the same time.

Look out, world. Micah’s on the move, and she’s coming to get you!

Until next time, grace and peace.

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Two days ago, Dennis and I stood in front of our church and “committed ourselves to the Christian nurture” of our daughter. It was a precious moment, celebrated with family and friends. Micah won’t remember the day. She won’t remember the prayer. She won’t remember the way she wriggled in my arms and tried to eat her shoes.

But we will remember.

I’ve always been amazed that God would give me a job so important…that he would entrust me with the task of raising one of his sweet little children. I try to be a good mother not just because I love my daughter. Not just because I’m a perfectionist. But because for some crazy reason, God gave me this task. I want to do well because I want God to be pleased with the job I’ve done.

Micah is a sweet little girl. We rarely have days when I want to call a do-over. She’s got an infectious grin and a laugh that bubbles out of her. Every day, she shows me a new facet of her personality, and I’m quite surprised that so much life can fit into such a tiny package. She’s a sweet and precious gift from God. She’s cute as a button too; that doesn’t hurt.

It is my prayer that she will grow into a beautiful young woman who loves the Lord and chases after him with abandon. I know that I can’t shelter her from pain, but I pray that the hard times she faces will help her appreciate the good even more. I pray that God will transform us into the kind of parents that he created us to be. That he will grant us patience, and kindness, and grace and mercy as we raise his baby girl. I pray that God will help her forgive us when we make mistakes, that he will cultivate a gentle spirit, a contrite heart and a sweet disposition in her. I thank God for Micah every time she falls asleep in my arms. I pray that she will make her heavenly father proud. I pray that she will love him. I pray that she knows how much we love her, how much we care for her, how often we pray for her. I pray that God gets ahold of her in the same way he got ahold of me – in a way that will leave her forever changed – for the better.

These are the things I pray.

Some of them, anyway.

Will you pray with me?

The thing I love about baby dedications is that I get to pray for a tiny little person and his parents. That I get to call that child by name and ask God to protect and nurture, to guide and bless him. It’s a privilege that I love to be a part of.

I love it, because I feel like we’re really being the church when we commit to help raise a child. Will you be the church for us and pray for our family as we raise this precious little girl?

Until next time, grace and peace.

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I call a do-over. Today has been a bear of a day, and it’s only 1:45 in the afternoon. It started out way too early, but that’s only because I stayed up way too late doing random things that I should have done when normal people are awake, but since Micah’s awake when normal people are awake, I have a hard time completing all the tasks that I think I ought to do.

Like balance the checkbook.

And pay the mortgage.

And wash dishes.

And put away the four dozen pairs of shoes that have collected in the den.

Stuff like that.

So anyway, I crawled into bed at 1:48 a.m., Dennis rolled out of bed to go to work sometime around 5 a.m., and Micah woke me up at 7:36 a.m.

I’m not exactly sure how long she’d been awake. She was cooing and talking to herself, and since I had been dreaming about my sweet daughter talking to me, I’m pretty sure that she had been awake for quite some time.

I pried one eyelid open to look at the clock.

Then I did what all good mothers do.

I rolled over and pretended that I didn’t hear her.

Don’t act shocked.

You know you do it too.

But then she became more vocal, so I dragged myself out of bed and tried not to fall asleep while I fed her.

Then I counted down the minutes until it was time for her morning nap.

Because then I could go back to sleep.

In case you haven’t noticed, Sleep and I are good friends. I like to hang out with Sleep for an obscene amount of time. When I don’t see enough of Sleep, I make life miserable for everyone around me. Trust me, you want me to spend time with Sleep.

So when the hands on the clock inched past 9 a.m., I decided it was time for Micah to close her eyes, because that’s what I wanted to do.

She had a different idea about that.

Apparently, she decided that she didn’t need her customary two-hour-long morning nap.

Today, about 30 minutes was enough.

Thirty minutes.

Let that sink in.

Do you know how difficult it is to get a good nap in 30 minutes?

Do you know how impossible it is to take a nap and get something else accomplished during that time?

Eventually I gave in and rescued Micah from her cage crib.

A couple of hours later, and she finally gave it up. I hope she stays asleep for a good long time.

Doesn’t she know that I have about 153 things to do today?

Now I can actually start working on getting some of them done. Like writing on here. Only 152 left.

Until next time, grace and peace.

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