A Day in the Life of Audrey Noelle

My mama emotions were flaring up the other night when I found myself lying in bed and looking forward to a stay at home Saturday with my little pal. I love our chill days together, and I got a little teary realizing how quickly this time with her will go and our daily routines will change from sweet and simple (sleep, eat, play, repeat) to much more complex. So the thought crossed my mind that every once in a while I should record some of these simple days to look back on and remember with a smile. You, friend, are invited to come along and join us on these average, lovely days.

Stay-at-home Saturday

7:20 am
Good morning Mama :)
Breakfast time!

7:50 am

Full belly. Lots of smiles! I'm a happy baby in the morning :)

New diaper. 

I giggle for Mama on the changing table.

8:00 am 

Yawn... I'm sleepy again. And it looks like Mama wouldn't mind going back to bed either...

10:00 am

Wake up. Ready for brunch!

10:30 am

Time for a cute outfit. Check out how adorable I am in my new cloth diaper!

I decide to try the latest style in baby fashion--leggings under my bodysuit. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to see my cute purse! (Mama can't resist putting a headband on me even though we're not leaving the house today.)

10:35

I get to hang out with Dad as Mom makes breakfast. 

10:55 am

Woohoo! Swinging in the bathroom while Dad gets ready for work.

11:10 am

Bouncy seat at the kitchen table while Mom and Dad eat. Hmmm...that looks tasty.

11:30 am

Bye Dad :(

Now I get to hang out with Mom in the kitchen while she cleans and sings to me.

11:45 am

Feeling ready for a nap again.

Time to get swaddled so my crazy hands don't wake me up.

11:55 am

While I sleep peacefully in the bathroom listening to my fan Mom finishes cleaning, sweeps and vacuums, does laundry, organizes some of her crafty things in the basement, and does some BSF. 

3:55 pm

Wow, good nap! But boy, am I hungry! Time for an afternoon snack.

4:35 pm

Yay! I get to do a video chat with Grandma Denise!

I'm so happy to see her :) Even though I get a little fussy at times...

5:15 pm
We walk around and bounce, look in the mirror, and shake some rattles. But I still want to fuss.

5:30 pm
Mama thinks she can help me relax and take another nap by going on a jog. Usually that works, but I don't want her to get too cocky and think she's got me all figured out already, so I refuse.
(Do you like my little elephant friend? He gets warmed up in the microwave and keeps me toasty.)

I'm fighting to stay awake! I know Mama wants to be able to run without having to stop and walk, so I decided to motivate her by crying whenever she stops. It seems to work :) Maybe I should be a motivational speaker when I grow up. 

6:00 pm

We're back from our jog and I'm getting really cranky. Mama thought she could distract me with my play mat while she stretches. But no sir! I won't have it! (In 2.5 seconds I will let out a scream)

6:10 pm

Awww man, she outsmarted me. I'm always a sucker for my bathroom swing.

Now she can stretch and shower.

6:50 pm

Wake up. Time for dinner!

7:30 pm

We like to read stories out of my Jesus Storybook Bible.

This is the story of Jonah. (I wonder if being inside a fish is like being inside Mama. I liked it in there. But I'm glad I'm out, and Jonah probably was too.)

7:45 pm

Bath time.

I am still unsure about this whole sitting in a tub of water thing. My dad dislikes hot tubs and swimming, and I can kinda see where he's coming from.

I refuse to smile until I've got it figured out.

I know I'm cute in my ladybug towel, but I really don't like being cold. So Mama has to work fast to get me in my pjs.

Now it's time for my bedtime swaddle.

7:55 pm

I'm all cozy and calm again, so Mom and I bounce on the exercise ball while she sings to me and prays for me. She likes for me to fall asleep on my own, but sometimes she bends the rules and cuddles me while I drift off.

8:15 pm

I'm sleeping peacefully in my crib...but not for long.

8:45 pm

I'm awake and not happy! I cry for a bit, then Mama tries to soothe me but nothing's working...

9:10 pm

I get another meal to help me calm down. Maybe I'll sleep with a full belly.

9:35 pm

I'm asleep for real.

(But I plan on waking up twice for midnight snacks. I'm a growing girl!)

Three Months Old

Weight: 12 pounds
Length: 23 inches
Head: 15.5 inches

Likes:
- Still a big fan of white noise. This morning she was having a melt down in the car and I tuned the radio to static--she chilled out in seconds. White noise is everywhere! Yay!
- Bouncing on the exercise ball. I think it is now more regularly used than the rocking chair in her room. (Thanks Meridith and Henry for figuring that one out!)
- Naps! She has turned into quite a sleeper. As of these past couple weeks she likes to take a 3.5 hour nap in the afternoon and a 1 to 1.5 hour nap in the morning and evening. Mama can get stuff done! (or nap herself :)
- Reading stories. We've been going through The Jesus Storybook Bible. I highly recommend it to other mamas out there! It's amazing! Right now I think it's more for my enjoyment than Audrey's, but someday I'm sure it'll generate great conversation!
- Smiling :) :) :)
- Singing. We've got a pretty good repertoire we go through before bed (while bouncing on the exercise ball)... You Are My Sunshine, Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, I am Jesus' Little Lamb, Hush Little Baby, and Brahms Lullaby. It's a good thing she's not particular on how well mama carries a tune.
- Having her face/head stroked. It helps her drift off to lala land.
- Sucking on her hands. This is a recent development that she just can't seem to get enough of! I keep trying to promote the pacifier instead because I know I can take that away in the future. But her hands are just so handy :)
- Sleeping in her carseat. This is where most of her naps are taking place right now...(in the bathroom with her beloved fan. That's where she happens to be right this moment, since I mentioned it.)

Dislikes:
- The same activity for too long. She needs variety!
- Being tired. There is a very small window where she will easily fall asleep on her own. If I miss it she gets pretty cranky (and by that I mean she yells)

Accomplishments:
- She slept for 10 hours once! I have Marie as my witness. The only problem was that it was from 4:30pm to 2:30 am. Not ideal hours. She is typically doing 6.5 to 8 hour stretches at night now. I'm still pretty happy about that. (It begins around 7:00 though, so I have yet to sleep through the night.)
- Beginning to lift up on her elbows (especially when she is lying on Dad's chest. She's gotta see his handsome face!)
- Giggles!
- Sits when supported.
- Graduated from her cradle to her crib at night.
- Falls asleep on her own most of the time (if I catch the brief window of opportunity, or after a little crying session. They don't usually last too long, which is good for her parents' soft hearts)
- Is finally becoming a better nurser!

Memories:
- First all day outing--to New York with the girls. What a trooper!
- First Easter
- Showing her all the flowers on our springtime walks (even though she's usually asleep.)
- Story time
- Making her smile and giggle :)
- Family snuggle time in bed. She loves sitting or lying on Dad's chest.
- Just this morning she had her best diaper explosion yet. She hadn't gone poo in three days, so you can imagine the build up. It necessitated an immediate bath for Audrey and new clothes for both of us. The poor girl looked quite shocked, and needless to say I was too. I was so, so grateful it didn't happen an hour later when we were at BSF. Only Mary Poppins' diaper bag would have been able to accommodate that one.

Audrey Lately

Here are a few more recent favorite pictures of my darling girl.

I captured a sweet naptime moment

Her first Bible study! (I promise she wasn't bored...)
Check out her cute mini BSF nametag!

another cute Marie beanie

first piggy back ride!

practicing her smile with dad :)

blurry but cute!

More Visitors!

Audrey has had several visitors these past couple weeks. At the beginning of the month my three best college friends flew out to meet her. She had a couple rough days with the girls here, but she had to keep it real and let them experience true life with a baby. They were awesome with her...lots of bouncing, rocking, feeding her bottles, listening to the bathroom fan, and putting socks back on. We went on walks, got our nails done, watched Downton Abbey, and they even made us a delicious dinner and went grocery shopping! They were so understanding of my tired mommy moments and gave me the pick-me-up that I needed. 

The highlight of the trip was heading in to NYC for the day. I was a little worried about how Audrey would do, but she was such a trooper! It was her best day while they were here. She was a happy little girl in her stroller as we walked all around the city. We must have logged several miles, so we rewarded ourselves with the best cookies in the city and much needed pedicures the next day. There were several things I wanted to do with the girls while they were here that just didn't happen due to a crying baby, but simply hanging out with them was exactly what this mama needed.

walking around central park

busy time square

love these girls

pretty

mama and her girl in the big city

tired face...it was a long day

Jamie, Dana and Karin overlapped a day with my sisters who came out for Easter. While there was no egg hunt, Easter baskets, or chocolate bunnies this year you can be sure Audrey's second Easter will include all the festivities. We did deck her out in a cute little dress though :) We tried to get a family picture after church, but Audrey decided she wanted a nap instead. 

naked snuggle time with aunt sarah!

a smile with aunt marie :)

Audrey loved all her visitors and can't wait to see them again this summer...this time in Cali!

Newborn Photo Shoot!

Getting sweet little newborn pictures of Audrey was something I was so looking forward to. (And I finally got the pictures!) So when she was only 9 days old a photographer came to our house, and Audrey learned how to pose (a skill she better get used to in our family!) Except, I guess she actually didn't learn anything because she had to be in a deep sleep in order to get her positioned right...

Anyhow, she decided to be a bit of a stinker (maybe her dad's love of pictures rubbing off on her already), and we spent the first three hours just trying to get her to calm down and sleep. Every time we thought we had her perfectly positioned and peaceful looking she would contort her face into a cry. Once she finally decided to succumb to sleep (completely exhausted from all her wailing, I'm sure) the photographer went to town and snapped pretty much every picture in the final hour. Pretty sure we won't be doing professional pictures again for a while...it was stressful. 

We took a couple behind the scenes shots too. I'll show you those first:

before she fell asleep...at least she's not crying

love the pose :)
the diaper was whisked off at the last second, but she still managed
 to pee and poo on the photographer, us, and the blankets. oops

trying to get her hands to stay

Sarah thought she looked like a sea cucumber :)

Ok, now for the real ones!
First we got some family shots...

I love how she's looking at me in this one!

sitting in the palm of my hand :)

one of my favorites! (check out the big belly)

looking quite pudgy

not exactly peaceful sleep

all wrapped up in daddy's arms

And then some of the little model herself...

I wish this one was a little more face on...it makes her head look huge!

still rocking the stump (it hung on much longer than I expected!), but I love her tiny naked body :)

my favorite face shot :)

love her tiny toes

her face here cracks me up!
cute bunny hat by auntie marie :)