Month One is Done

We had our little girl one month ago. The pain is gradually fading and now I can look at her pictures without crying. I made a collage of pictures to print off for her service and it's framed and set out in the living room. Aly loves to sit and look at the pictures of her sister:

The top center and bottom pictures were taken by Amanda. We absolutely LOVE the photos she got for us! The top corner shots were taken by Mike just minutes after Aubree was born. I love the picture of her head. It's the only picture we have of her hair. This is how much hair she had at 10 weeks early!! She would have had a full head of black hair just like her sister if she had made it to full-term :) And that foot...that was the foot that tried to break my ribs. Oh how I love it :)

It seems so strange that she's been gone for a month already. I was looking back at some of the goals I had set back in December for 2013 - one of them was to have another baby. I guess I should have been WAY more specific about that one, since I really wanted to keep her and not just "have" her. I knew Aubree was on her way even before those two lines turned pink that first weekend in February. She was very much wanted and planned for. Ok, if you know me, the "planning" part of that last sentence wasn't a surprise.

The last few weeks at home for me have been really good for our family. Things are much calmer, relaxed, and happy. I've been able to spend a lot of time resting and recovering. It's been kind of hard for me to actually sit down and take it easy as most of the time I feel ok, but I am quickly reminded that I need to let my body heal since I did just go through 3/4 of a pregnancy and delivery. This down-time, though, has really let me spend some quality time with Aly. We've been cuddling on the couch and watching her favorite Disney Jr. shows (mommy now knows ALL the songs!). We've played tea party and princess dress-up. We went shopping and got some puzzles to put together. Aly has been helping me with cooking dinner most nights and she's loved it! She helps me take care of Lucy in the mornings. All of these things that I usually rush through on my way to work or in the crazy minutes when I first get home. It's nice to be able to slow down and include Aly more, and to see how much she is growing and maturing.

The week after next I go back to work and life returns to our new normal. Normal life full of busy schedules and rushing around. But, I am kind of ready to get back into familiar territory after the agonizing uncertainty of our life since May. Back to a life that I can "control" or plan for. Yeah, right. But I am really going to miss  morning cuddles on the couch and naps in the afternoon.