The Homan Summer

It has been quite some time since I have updated my blog. Summers seem to be our busy time. Our business is booming during these months as kids are off school and activities are booked all week long. Now we start to slow down, which affords us the time to enjoy as a family. Annabelle is doing wonderful. We've had a few good trips around Colorado with her, and we even camped out one night! That was interesting. Let's just say that I don't know who was more scared at night, Annabelle or Momma. hehehe... Poor Michael, every time the wind blew he got a jab in his

ribs and me asking, "What was THAT?". But the morning view made it all SO worth it.

View from our camp site.

Setting up camp.

Happy Campers!

Camp Site

Daddy and his girl

We also were able to get up to Lake Dillon a few weeks ago. I can't believe we are surrounded by so much beauty where we live.

Family time!

Lake Dillon

Gondola ride up Breck

Annabelle is now 8 months old! I can't believe how fast this time has gone. She is more of a Momma's girl right now. I am really enjoying this. She looks for me when I leave the room. She will even scoot after me. Technically she is not crawling, but she can get herself where she needs to go. My heart just melts when I see her coming after me. Can you love someone so much!?! Here are a few cute summer photos of her:

I can sit up all by myself now!

Lovin bath time.

Little Love

Lot's to write about, but not so much time to do it. Annabelle is doing great! She is weighing about 12.5lbs! She is all smiles and sweetness. She has had some big accomplishments in the past week. For starters, our "Little Love" rolled over for the first time this past Saturday! I put her down for tummy time, and went to clean her jammies that she got a little messy. ;) As I was in the laundry room treating the spots, I noticed that I didn't hear her normal fussiness during tummy time. I went into the living room to check on her, and she was laying on her side. I was thinking, "She's gonna roll over!". Sure enough, she was soon on her back and then soon in Mommy's arms as I was squealing in delight! She was so excited that I was so excited, but I don't think she even knew what she did. It's so amazing to be apart of her growing and learning. Makes all the hours of doing to same things over and over seem like there is something going on that I don't see. Good job Annaboo!

I also went back to work yesterday. I will only be working one day each week, but the thought of Annabelle not being with Mommy for 14 hours made my stomach turn. I cried the night before, but was actually fine while I was at work. BTW, talk about being thrown back into the swing of things. I had a patient with an emergency situation at 8am. He had a heart attack! There I was calling the rescue assessment team in the hospital, thinking "seriously, this is my first day back!". But everything came back to me. It's amazing what the mind is capable of under pressure. It was nice to get some brain stimulation and use my critical thinking skills. It was also nice at then end of the day knowing that I won't be back again until next week! :) Annabelle, did great yesterday with Daddy. She took all of her bottles, took two three hour naps and went grocery shopping with Daddy. Michael did a great job. I almost felt a little jealous that Annabelle had such a great day with her Pappa. I mean, wasn't she supposed to be fussy and wondering where her Momma was? Oh, well. I'm glad it was a good day for all of us.

Here are a few pics. We had high hopes of getting some cute pics of our sweetie in her Easter dress, but she "exploded" in it, before we could get some good shots. :( Thankfully we were able to clearn her dress and are hoping for some family pics here in the near future. Stay tuned!

Bath time and such...

Some new pics! Yay, just what we all want. My little "love" is letting Momma get some more photos of her. She is a photogenic baby! hahaha... Before I post pics, I'll give the updates. Well, it's finally here! Annabelle is sleeping through the night!!!! Last night she slept from 11p to 7a! That is, count em, EIGHT hours! How lovely! Mommy likey! We have started doing tummy time, which she is not particularly love. She does best laying on my belly. We are up to 3-4 minutes without crying! She actually smiles and coos at me in the beginning. Annabelle is holding her head up really well. She sits on my lap, and I hold just her hands. She keeps her head up and looks around all by herself! Good girl. She also has discovered her hands and sucks on them all the time. AND, we have a drooling queen who blows bubbles! Cute baby.

I'm doing pretty well. Annabelle and I went to our first MOPS group today. It is a Christian women's group hosted by my church for mothers of preschoolers. It was nice to meet some other Mommas, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better. I'm gearing up for returning to work one day a week. I'm actually looking forward to this! I mean, I will miss her so much, but it will be nice to stimulate my brain a little with some adults... ha... baby diapers to adult diapers. I do really miss my co-workers. We went and visited them at the hospital last week, and that was fun. Daddy will take such good care of Annabelle while I'm at work. Last night he took her out for a few hours to give me a break! What a good hubby!

Here are the pics!

Starting to enjoy bath time!

Not so much AFTER bath time. :(

Cute baby!

Looking more and more like Daddy!

2 Months!

Annabelle had her 2 month check-up today! She is doing fabulous, and making Momma so proud. Here are her current stats:

Weight: 10lbs 3oz
Height: 22.5"

The little peanut is growing out of her newborn clothes. I can't believe it. She is changing so much. She smiles all the time and coos. She has the cutest girly coos I've ever heard, and gets so excited when I repeat her coos back to her. Her sleeping/eating schedule is going really well. She is eating about every 3 hours during the day and sleeping anywhere from 5-7 hours at night. Mommy LOVES this. We put her down around 11, and she usually sleeps until 5. No fussing or crying at night when we put her down. Such a good baby. She is also now sleeping in her crib at night. This is going pretty well, although she has had a few mornings when she has been up earlier than normal to eat.

We went to a birthday party this week, and she was such a good girl. No crying! She sat on my lap with wide eyes taking in all the action. She loves to be around people. I'm feeling more and more comfortable taking her out of the house. I also started letting her go to the nursery during church. So funny, I felt like I was taking her to school for the first time. It was hard for me not to think about her during the entire service her first time. But she was a good girl.

I'm doing pretty well. Aside from needing a little more sleep here and there, everything is going so well. I LOVE being a mother. I have so much love in my heart for my little girl that I never thought was possible. I mean, how else can a person get so excited about a coo or spending hours trying to steal a smile from their little baby. I think she is the most beautiful, lovely baby ever! Breastfeeding is going well. I have been pumping and getting a good supply built up for when I go back to work one day a week. Annabelle takes a bottle or two a day and does beautifully. Daddy has been great with her, and I know will do a great job with her on days I go to work.

Well, I think that's it for now. Sorry, no pictures this week. But I will post some more again soon.

A few moments...

I have a few moments before my pumpkin gets up from her nap and Daddy gets home. I will hopefully be able to update better next week after her 2 month check-up! But, here are some pics; that's the best part anyway. Oh, I am going to post some of Annabelle the day she was born as well. That way we can see how much she has changed.

With Momma for the first time!

My Birthday!

5lbs 14oz

I still love to cry...

But now I smile!!! I'm over 8 pounds!

By Request!

Ok, so I've already had several comments from the fam about new pics. I finally have an entire hour to sit in front of the computer and update my blog! Michael has been making calls and working hard Monday through Friday all day at this computer in his office. So, it's rare that he's not using it AND that Annabelle is napping at the same time! SO nice. :) So let's get some updates going here.

Updates on Momma

I'm doing great! I had my 6 week post-partum check up this week, and everything is where it should be... uterus is back in place, sutures "down there" are gone, and "down there" is all better! The only things not quite in place are "the girlies" upstairs! Ha! I feel like an old woman some times, they are beyond big and heavy. Uggg.... but they are working and giving Miss Annabelle her meals! I've been able to get back into my running. I started a little earlier than recommended, but I couldn't help it. Even a half hour outside in the morning gives me the energy to get through the day! I was so excited today to get a 5 mile run in and I felt great afterwards. One thing that is nice about Daddy working from home is that Mommy can get away for an hour here and there to work out! I'm BLESSED! And, I am really starting to love being a Mommy to my sweet heart. It was rough the first month, but the last two weeks have been better. We are into a routine and I am learning to be more patient. My favorites times with her are the mornings! She is alert and contented! So sweet!

Updates on Daddy

Michael is now working two jobs. Before he started X-Treme Challenge, he sold and ran career fairs out of Chicago. He is now doing this again part time in the Denver area, Phoenix and Salt Lake City areas. He sells and runs one fair a month, so he will do a little traveling, but not much. He is working HARD! But mostly he is at home with us which is nice. He will only be doing this during the winter months, and then focus on X-treme Challenge during the summer since that is when they are most busy. We have been praying about me staying home with Annabelle, so this is a nice supplement for my income. I will still work one day a week to keep up with my skills, but I like to think of myself as a "stay-at-home" Mom! What a good provider we have in our family!

Updates on Annabelle

The little peanut is now over 8lbs! She will be 6 weeks on Sunday! Time flies! I think most of her weight is in height. She is long but looks tiny still. Her clothes are baggy on the sides, but short on her arms and legs. She now tracks with her eyes, and turns her head to follow Mommy. AND, she knows her Momma. This is the best feeling in the world. For instance, the other night we put her down for a nap during our dinner time. I put her in her room and, of course, as soon as the first bite of food goes into my mouth, I hear crying. Not whimpering, full blown screaming. I tried to wait for a couple of minutes, but could not stand it. Upstairs I went, and into her room. She was still screaming, I picked her up, and she was instantly sleeping! I couldn't believe it. I took her downstairs and she was out! hahahaha But, she loves Momma! So amazing! She is sleeping pretty well at night. I usually put her down around 11pm and the last two nights I've had to wake her up to eat around 3:30am. She is then up again around 7am. YAY! I feel like nights are getting more normal now.

So, here is what everyone really wants to see - Miss Annabelle!

Grace

Over the last few weeks, I have felt a battle between giving and taking. Motherhood is all about giving, and, well, let's face it, our human nature is all about taking. I have never realized this more until recently. I must admit, that I have had my share of frustrating moments since parenthood has begun. It usually hits me most at 10:30 at night. It's this overwhelming feeling, that I will never again have a full night's rest or be able to come and go as I please, that my home will always be baby land, and what about those great date nights with my hubby? I feel so horrible for feeling this way, that I don't even like to speak of it. I mean, I love my little sweetie. When I begin to feel overwhelmed, I am reminded once again that life is NOT all about me. Hmmm... the Holy Spirit even works in the middle of the night. But the real revelation came to me today!

Lately, I have found it to be a challenge to spend any quiet time with God. I have felt ashamed about this. He seems so far and unattainable to my selfish ways, and I unknowingly cast aside that uneasy feeling of guilt by hiding my face from Him. So, today I made a choice to get some time reading the word. A verse JUMPED out to me, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Heb 15, 16. This really struck me for a few reasons. First, I have always assumed that even though God came to us in the form of Jesus, and died for us, that it wasn't hard for Him to do so, because He was God. And, since doing the smallest right thing seems like such a challenge for me, how can I relate to Him? But according to this verse, he sympathizes with our weaknesses, because He was tempted in EVERY way. Tempted just like I am. And when He had to do the right thing, it wasn't always easy, but He DID the right thing. He understands our weaknesses! I never understood fully the challenge of being a mother until I became one. He became human and therefore understands, has compassion, and sympathizes with us! Second, I don't have to have any more shame about struggling to do the right thing. Jesus, who understands us, extends mercy (not getting what I do deserve) and grace (getting what I don't deserve) in our time of need - which is when we desire to what is right and live lives that are Holy.

God desires for us to live a lives that are pleasing to Him. Christ's sacrifice does not warrant me to do whatever I want. But, He lives, so that I can live! He intercedes for me, because He understands me! He paid for my sins, so I can choose to do what is right, even though I fail at times. I know that I can keep coming back to Him again and again for mercy and grace without shame but in confidence. I cannot be a perfect mother to Annabelle, but through Christ, I can love her like He loves her and learn to sacrifice myself for another person. That is what Jesus did for us, and it is what I want to learn more and more about.

So, my little Annabelle, I am so glad we named your middle name GRACE! We cannot live without it. What a wonderful Creator we have! He is my Father and your Father. I am not perfect, but Jesus chose me to love you and give myself for you! What a privilege!