He is Risen

I think it's always easy to get wrapped up in all the fun things about Easter, and with children I've found it's even easier. Like this.............

Sometimes I can't get over how cute she is! But I digress, the real reason for Easter. At my Mops group we were talking about how nice the Christmas story is, but the Easter story isn't as nice and pretty. It's hard to think about all the pain and suffering Jesus went through. But the fact that He overcame all of that makes it even more incredible. And the fact that He went through all of that for us, makes it the most incredible thing of it all. The fact that he was innocent, didn't deserve any of what He went though but did so that we could be forgiven. He died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven. And Easter is the glorious part of the story, the part when he overcomes death and rises from the tomb. 

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

I love this verse, because it paints such a clear picture of what Easter is really about. By His wounds we are healed and brought peace. As much as I love the adorable baby clothes and yummy candy that comes with Easter I love what Jesus did on that cross even more. 

2 Things on Tuesday

I thought I would update the blog since it's been a week since my last post. Two things about my Chloe Mae:

She is so into "mouthing" everything now. All her toys go into her mouth, she just loves chewing or sucking on them. It's really adorable the way she looks at it, I can just see her taking it all in, then she pops it in her little mouth. 

She has gotten so much better at sitting up. I'll prop her up on the couch and she sits there happily, she is so proud of herself. And I'm not the only one who thinks she is so strong, when we were at the pediatrician for her 4 month wellness visit the doctor said she wishes med students were there to show them how strong she is!! 

A Day in the Life

I've seen a lot of other bloggers do day in the life posts about what a typical day looks like for them, and thought it was a great way to remember what life was like a few years from now. So here is a typical day for us, I even made a cute image to go along!

8:00 am: I hear Chloe in her crib cooing and making noises so I crawl out of bed to get her. I'm never ready to get out of bed (but who is?) but when I see her smiling face and she gets excited to see me it makes it worth it. She gets a diaper change and nurses. We head downstairs. 

8:30 am: I eat breakfast and get ready while she plays on her activity gym. 

9:30 am: Most of the time around this time we leave for either the gym, music class, a play date or mops. Sometimes a little earlier or later depending what it is. 

10:00 am: Chloe takes a little nap, I try to time this right especially if we are going to the gym, then I can run on the treadmill. I'm lucky that she will sleep in her car seat. Obviously if we are going to music class she naps afterwards. But yes, sometimes she does nap through a play date, oh well! 

11:00 am: Chloe nurses, sometimes a little after 11. Then we might run errands, or I'll do laundry, wash her cloth diapers or do things around the house I need to get done. 

1:00 pm: Chloe takes a good 2 hour nap. I eat lunch. Sometimes I'll meet my mom for lunch or hang out with a friend who has the day off. 

3:00 pm: Chloe nurses again. Then she'll play on her activity gym or swing. Recently we've been going on walks around the neighborhood since it's been so nice out.

4:30 pm: Chloe takes a little 45 minute nap. 

5:00 pm: I start getting dinner ready, Chloe watches me in her little napper.

6:00 pm: Chloe nurses and Clarke comes home form work. We eat dinner and play with her until bedtime.

8:00 pm: I get Chloe ready for bed, she nurses one last time. 

I will not go into what our nights currently look like, because they are all over the place! Sometimes good, sometimes bad. But that is a typical day for us right now. I didn't put every diaper change, but that does still  happen a lot too!

Chloe's First St.Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We didn't really do much, but of course I had to dress Chloe up for the occasion. 

I absolutely love her little onsie I got from Etsy. 

Another shot of my sweet baby girl. Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday! 

Raleigh

This past weekend Chloe had her first road trip. I must say she did so good being away from home for the first time and sleeping in a strange place. Unfortunately the reason for the visit wasn't a good one, we had a death in the family and attended the funeral and visited family in Raleigh, North Carolina.

We snapped this photo at a rest stop right before Chloe left Virginia for the first time. 

I had to take a picture of her at the hotel. She slept in the pack n' play and really did well. She had so much stimulation during the day, with all the family and people around, and went to bed past her bedtime both nights, I was proud of her.

The funeral was really beautiful. It was my mother-in-law's cousin, Virgil, who passed away after complications from his heart surgery. There were so many people there, and it really touched me to see how much of an impact his life had on so many. Going to something like that really makes you think about things differently. 

Now that I know Chloe is a good little traveler I wanna take her on some more trips. Looking forward to going more places for better reasons in the future. 

4 months!

Dear Chloe,
Today you are 4 months old. You have really become so aware of everything that is going on around you. You react when someone smiles at you by smiling and laughing back. Sometimes you will even babble, squeal and "talk" back. Your smile is just beautiful, I love it. You have really started moving a lot. You haven't rolled over anymore but you love to kick those feet and move your arms. You grab at things hanging above. You love to put things in your mouth and chew on them, including your hands. You are pretty good at sitting up, I'll prop you up on the couch with pillows and you sit there happily.

You are still in 0-3 month clothes and size 1 disposable diapers. We go to the doctor soon, I can't wait to find out how much you weigh. You are still very small, but you have definitely grown.

We did go through a rough patch with sleeping at night. I don't know if it's a growth spurt or you are just so much more aware now, but when you wake up at night nursing seems to be the only thing that will put you back to sleep. Most of the time you nurse twice at night.

You nap three times a day, one nap is normally two hours long the others about 45 minutes. I must say you are great at napping anywhere. If we are out and it's naptime you still sleep great. You nurse five to six times a day still.

Recently you have grown very fond of your carseat. If we are at a restaurant or out and you get fussy I'll put you in there and it calms you down. You also love your activity gym.

You are such a beautiful baby. Just the other day someone came up to me and said "that is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen." And I hear it all the time. People are always saying how beautiful you are and I definitely agree! You are a content baby as well, which makes me so happy and proud. You bring me such joy. I love you so much and I feel so incredibly lucky to be your mom. I can't believe another month has gone by but it was filled with laughter and great times.
I love you always,
  Your mommy

March Snow

We woke up this morning to snow covering the ground. Actually the "thundersnow" woke me up, then I saw the pretty snow. 

It's still really coming down, and here I thought Spring was coming!

Chloe is loving the snow. I opened up the blinds in her room to show her this morning and she started laughing and squealing. She thought it was the best thing ever, quite adorable!! We are spending the day inside, enjoying hopefully the last snow before Spring. 

Happy Friday

Happy Friday! Even better, happy March! So glad that Spring is even closer now that February is over. Not much has been going on around here except this:

I got a new toy for Chloe, and she loves it!

Although, it's definitely something she'll hafta grow into, her feet don't even touch the bottom of it yet!

Ahhh, I love that face, I think I might frame this one. Hope everyone has a good weekend!