Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hi little one,
This will be quick, as I'm pretty tired. Leaving the house by 6am, working a full day, and not getting home until after 4:30pm can really wear a mommy out. (Not that I'm complaining!)

Okay, maybe I'm complaining a little.

Anyway! Happy St. Patrick's Day! Your Daddy and I are so LUCKY to have you in our lives, baby girl!

Those leggings! Those THIGHS! I just can't even.

I will leave you with this last picture. There's something very special about the way a little girl looks at her Daddy...

(Even if he probably did just fart.)

Love, love, love,

Three Years Ago Today

Hi little one,
It's quite the big day...three years ago I met your Daddy for the first time! We are a Match.com success story. But funny enough, the first message Daddy sent me went straight into my Spam folder. Thank goodness I randomly checked it, or I might not be writing you this blog :)

We met at O'Dowds on the Country Club Plaza. I was secretly hoping that your daddy would ask me out because we had been texting and emailing for a few weeks. Because I lived in Oak Grove and he lived in Lenexa, meeting somewhere casually was a lot of work. I had class every Thursday night at UMKC, which is right near the Plaza, so I made the fateful decision to skip class (and I'm so glad I did!). I told your Daddy that class got "cancelled" and that if he was free, we should meet for a drink since I had already driven out to KC. Once he agreed, I went on a panicked shopping spree...the work outfit I was wearing just wouldn't do for my last first date.

He walked in wearing a plaid button down shirt and the grossest sneakers I've ever seen (seriously, Pem. The. Grossest.) and there I was, in 4-inch heels and a skirt! But once we sat down and started talking, I was just smitten. And I guess the rest is history. We ended up walking around the Plaza until the wee hours of the morning (literally...it was 2:30am). I drove home with sleepy eyes and a smile on my face.

At work the next day, I remember telling the girls at my lunch table that I had gone on a date with a really cute guy, and I was pretty certain that I would marry him someday. They laughed, but two years later, I walked down the aisle and married your Daddy!

Now we have you and our lives are complete. It's hard for me to believe that it's only been three years ago that I was wondering if I would ever be someone's wife and mommy. It's crazy how much your life can change when you find the right person to share it with!

I hope that you read this someday and know how much I love your Daddy. He's not a perfect man, but he is perfect for us (farts and all). 
I love you, baby girl!

Pemberley - Five months

Hi little one,
This has been quite the month for you! A lot going on, but first...your adorable pictures!

So at five months, you...

- weigh 15 pounds, 6 ounces (54th percentile)

-are 26.6 inches long (94th percentile)

-have a head circumference of 16.7 inches (78th percentile)

-wear size three diapers

-are in 6 month clothes

-are still teething, but haven't had any push through yet

-have almost mastered back-to-tummy rolling, but don't have the patience for tummy-to-back rolling just yet

-love practicing sitting up on your own, even though you fall forward

-have found your voice! And you aren't shy using it!

-enjoy watching the dogs rough house, and you like pulling out Dolce's hair by the handful

-are starting to display a little separation anxiety when your Daddy or I leave the room

-kicked the four month sleep regression, and now sleep from 7pm-3am with no trouble at all

-chew on anything you can get your chubby hands on (seriously, anything. Nothing is safe. Not even handfuls of pet hair.)

-Love, love, love to blow raspberries and get spittle all over your face

-laugh every time I nibble your toes and play peekaboo

Weight check:: As you can see, your weight and length rebounded quite nicely from your last checkup at four months, which makes for one relieved mommy! I think you just got really distracted at daycare, and preferred to watch the other kids play instead of eat. I'm going to ask Ms. Jennifer if she will feed you in another room, and try to feed you at least 6 ounces at each feeding, once you start daycare again tomorrow. I'm happy to have my chubby baby back!

Congrats, Daddy:: Well, your Daddy got a new job last week! He's now a construction engineer at KAI in Overland Park. I know he's going to miss spending time with you during the day, but he's excited to get back to work after getting laid off from his last job when his company got bought out. I was so excited that he got to spend some one-on-one time with you, though, not to mention extremely jealous! Here we are, celebrating his new job at dinner at Old Chicago.

 We haven't been out to eat in quite some time, so it was really nice to go. As you can see, we pigged out on delicious food (you'd better believe I ate every bite of that spaghetti pie, and considered licking the sauce off the plate, too). I almost forgot how awesome it is to not eat ill-prepared food from our kitchen...or to have cereal and chips & salsa for dinner...

First kiss:: Yep, you had your first kiss from a boy this past weekend! And it happened at your first party, too. (Daddy goes crazy when I put it like that
 It sounds too "mature".) We went to Colin Clark's first birthday party on Saturday. He's the little boy of mommy's best friend from Truman State, Caitlin. It was so neat to get a preview of what to expect from you in a couple months! You played it totally cool, and everyone commented on what a chill, relaxed baby you are. That's old news to your Daddy and I, but we were beaming with pride on the inside. Here he is, going in for the kiss...

And here you are, after he pulled away. Daddy breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that you don't like being kissed by boys yet.

Sitting up girl:: It's official...you're no longer my little baby anymore! If you can't sit up, you get kind of pissed off and fussy until we help you out. You still need a little support, but the Boppy pillow and your high chair have been awesome helpers. Seeing you try to sit up by yourself makes me SO proud that I want to cry, and it makes me SO sad and I want to cry all over again! You have one emotional mama!

Okay, so you haven't quite mastered sitting up in your Boppy *just yet* but I know you'll get there soon! My big girl...how time flies!
I love you soooo much.