4 month update - Edith's 1st Christmas

Edith had her 4 month check-up and weighed a whopping (almost) 15lb! 6 month clothes are already starting to get a little tight on her. About 2 weeks after Edith turned 3 months, she rolled belly to back for the first time! She's only done it a handful of times since then and I've only been able to catch it on (a crappy...#sorryEdith) video once, and she hasn't rolled back to belly yet but I feel like it's coming this month.

If there's one thing motherhood has taught me, it's to let go of expectations. Milestones will happen when they happen. The laundry won't get done when you'd like (and even if it does make it to the dryer without being forgotten in the washer, it won't get folded before wrinkles set in), and my milk supply won't last forever. Someone will always be blinking, blurry, or not looking at the camera. And the only one who truly cares that your Christmas cards were sent out after Christmas is you. Btw...those should just be getting to some of you.

It being Edith's 1st Christmas, I wanted to make it just as special for her as Grace's was last year. Last year, we picked out a Christmas tress together as a family and hung a beautiful "Baby's First Christmas" ornament on it, we put Grace in a pretty dress on Christmas day, had cute family photos taken in the backyard, and had videos of her opening up gifts.

But I feel like it's been the season of "hashtag, sorry Edith".... #sorryEdith

It started with her first month of life when I managed to take 3 pictures of her (but had a MILLION of Grace just in her first week). They were taken all in one night, when I realized I hadn't really taken any. And all 3 were blurry. #sorryEdith followed by #secondchildproblems

I didn't know about this Christmas tree shortage until it was too late. You see, Christmas trees take 10 years to grow. And 10 years ago, there was a crash and financial burden kept farmers from planting many trees that year. Thus, 10 years later, we have no trees. And what good trees we do have to choose from, are $$$

We always wait until the last minute to buy our tree. So when we went around my birthday as we do every year, it was slim pickins. Places we'd gone in the past literally had zero to four trees to choose from. We ended up at Lowe's buying a tree for super cheap (no complaints there) but was so short and skinny. It would have to do. #sorryEdith

I scheduled our Christmas family photo shoot WELL in advance (like...months). Here's where I think I'm winning. It was with our favorite photographer who's done both of our maternity photos. She's got the cutest little set-up with an old Ford truck. When our shoot got rescheduled due to rain, I shrugged it off. But the following weekend was also calling for rain. We managed to find a weekday that worked for all of us, and aimed for this day. An hour before our photos, we were informed the truck wouldn't start. Call it post-partum hormones, but I had a vision for our Christmas photos that I just couldn't let go of. I wanted everything to be perfect for Edith's first Christmas and I felt like every time I tried to make it special, I was failing. (Of course nothing could top the hormonal Christmas of 2016). And if we couldn't make it work with the truck, then it wasn't worth moving forward with fancy photos. I literally pouted like a child on the couch nearly in tears for the next hour before deciding to grab the family and take quick iPhone pictures in the backyard.

So here's our Christmas card photo this year. There's no fancy truck and I don't match lol All this fuss over Christmas and I didn't get a single picture of Edith (or Grace for that matter) with all her presents! But I was more in the moment than ever on Christmas Day and unfortunately have no documentation #sorryEdith. Since we still have our tree up, I made a "mock Christmas" morning and had Edith opening a few late gifts so she'd have something for her baby book.

I'm determined to turn it around this year though! ...or this will just become a running theme in the girls' lives lol We at least got her to the Festival of Lights, a tradition I hope to continue each year!

The day after Christmas, Mathias and Grace drove to WV and Edith got to sleep in her very own crib for the first time which we finally set up in Grace's room. (Pics of the completed room to come!) Then a few days later, Edith and I flew up to meet them. She did SO GOOD on the plane! I was a little worried because for one, I've never flown by myself, let alone with an infant. I nursed at take-off and she slept the whole way! Luckily, a very short plane ride...any longer and I would've started getting nervous. The drive back wasn't bad at all, and even quicker than when we traveled with the girls for Thanksgiving.

We spent two nights away from Edith, which was a first for me (and so so tough) but she did great! The night we got back from vacation, Edith and Grace slept in the room together for the first time. I'm not sure which came first (Edith probably woke Grace up), but an hour before my alarm went off, Grace let out a cry and pointed to the door indicating she wanted me to get the giggling Edith out of there. I nursed her out of the room and by the time I put her back down, Grace had already fallen back asleep. And again not sure which came first, both girls got up around 8am. So not bad for the first night!

First Christmas, first plane ride, first Festival of Lights, first roll over, and first time sleeping away from me! Can't wait to see what this next month holds :-)