Hello again, and welcome to another "filling in the blanks" post. This one would have been dated March 9^th 2015. That is the day Liana’s baby cousin Bronson Matias took his first breath.


As soon as we heard that my sister could be in labor, Ashton, Liana, and I all piled in the car for the 112 mile ride to the hospital. I remember how long that ride was (and the fact that it was almost 11PM when we left our house). My thoughts were all over the place and every once in a while when I thought about holding my nephew for the first time I’d secretly get a little emotional. You can’t blame me, I was about to be an Auntie!



Desiree was in labor for sure, but Bronson took his sweet time and didn’t arrive until the next morning. To everyone’s surprise, he came out even smaller than Liana! He weighed in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces (compared to Liana at 5 pounds, 12 ounces).




Now I know that we’re supposed to say, “he has daddy’s eyes” or “he has mommy’s nose”, but when I saw him I immediately thought, “he has Auntie’s ears!” mainly because they looked big compared to the rest of his features. Maybe a lot of babies have big ears and they eventually grow into them, but I think I still have big ears and I took much comfort in the fact that I thought my nephew might look a little bit like me.

Baby shower flashback, February 7^th 2015.

I also thought I'd throw in a few photos I dug up from Desiree's baby shower, which was a green and orange dinosaur theme.

Everything looked amazing and everyone had an amazing time. The food was delicious and I just couldn't resist sneaking a few pictures!

When I first started my blog, I was both excited and nervous to be pregnant. I didn’t have any friends who were pregnant and it’s quite difficult to have a relatable conversation with anyone who hadn’t had the experience of growing a tiny human inside of them for nine months. So I turned to the internet. I ended up joining an online community and began participating in a birth club, with other women who had babies due during the same month as Liana. I began following blogs of other women my age who were also pregnant and sharing their journeys. I realized that what was happening inside my body was amazing and I wanted to share it with everyone.
 

 
I feel like a broke record when I write these updates, repeating how I can't believe how much time has passed and how big Liana is getting. Mothers always say "they grow so fast" and "these are the days you'll miss when they're older." And I know exactly what they mean. I see mums bring their newborns into my work and I think, "I remember when Liana was that small" and I miss it. I loved how tiny and fragile she seemed. I loved watching her sleep and kissing her face all smooshed up against my chest. I loved her tiny newborn clothes and waiting for her first smile.


I would never want to rewind or slow down time, though. Babies grow so rapidly and are constantly learning new things. Liana literally keeps me on the edge of my seat with what to expect next. I've seen her first smile, her first laugh, her first time rolling over, standing up on her feet, cooing, reaching for objects she wants, and resting her hands on her feet to attempt to sit up on her own.


Next will come actually sitting up on her own, responding to cause and effect games (like peek-a-boo), getting her first taste of solid food, developing an understanding of associations, sleeping in her own room, etc. I can't wait to experience her "firsts" with her and watch her little personality blossom.


Currently we are working on getting her to sit up on her own. Liana still does tummy time to strengthen muscles (by having to lift her head/neck/shoulders), improve coordination (by grabbing for toys in front of her), and promote mobility (by trying to get objects out of her reach or turn toward a noise). I also give her plenty of time to practice actually sitting. I will help her by holding her hands for balance, putting a pillow behind her (which she usually tries pulling her self away from so she can sit up even more), or resting her hands on her feet while she sits leaning forward (i have a clip of this for her next video!).


I love trying to show her new things, but I'm trying to be patient and let her figure certain things out on her own. I am starting to offer her more toys so she can choose what she wants to explore and play with. She always looks so thoughtful and I can tell when she is really trying to figure something out because her eyebrows will scrunch together and she won't lose focus unless I literally pull her away. She focuses a lot when she plays with the toys on her new exersaucer.


After sitting up on her own, I think our next feat will be letting her sleep in her own room (eek!---sad mummy day) and letting her taste real food! Those will probably be between 5-6 months though. But I am so excited!

Check out a clip of Liana's laughing fit this week:

Liana and I decided to have a bit of a homemade spa day and pamper ourselves today. We slept in until 10am (after her initial wake and feed at 7am), then Liana ate while I multi-tasked and researched school options online.

Then around noon we took a shower and I used her California Baby calming wash. She was so relaxed, she fell right asleep in her sweet little owl towel! Her brief nap allowed me time to moisturize myself, get dressed, throw up my hair, and pick out her clothes.

Next I decided to massage my little princess awake. I put her on her tummy and rubbed her California Baby lotion on her back and cute little bum cheeks, hehe. She didn't really wake up too much until I rolled her over and did her tummy and put her diaper on her and got her dressed. Of course by that time she was ready for lunch, so I fed her and put her down so I could clean up a bit and get some granola and blueberries for myself. Yum!

Not too much later Ani was ready for another nap, so I let her sleep on the couch while I painted my nails, did a bit of makeup, and worked on my blog. After her nap I trimmed her nails and we relaxed on the couch together for a while, with the window open and a nice breeze blowing in. We both even took another short nap before daddy arrived home from work!
I'm really going to miss spending every day with my little peanut when I go back to work. :( It's too soon!!