A productive day

Before Tabitha I used to define a productive day as one that included laundry, dishes, cleaning the house, pulling weeds, baking, cooking, cleaning the garage, etc, etc, etc. I was a little naive in thinking that once she came that I could keep up that level of productivity. Haha! I figured that she would sleep a lot (in her crib nonetheless) and that I would be able to get so much done.


The past 7.5 weeks I have learned a lot about raising a baby--and the biggest lesson--I will not be as productive as I once was. Perhaps this is because when there comes the opportunity to hold your baby--you do, and there comes the opportunity to go on a walk with your baby--you do, and when your baby needs something--you take care of it. A productive day for me now includes making sure Tabitha gets fed when she needs it, holding her, taking her on a 4 mile walk, going to our new mammas class, hanging out with grandma, and reading lots of books. I do manage to get some of my old stuff done...however, not as much as I once did. Oh well....it's about spending time with her and if the house doesn't get vacuumed this second or those weeds don't get pulled for a few weeks then so be. It's much better to spend the time with Tabitha as much as possible!

Spending time on a walk with Tabitha. Both mommy and daddy were able to go that day (daddy's taking the pic).

Learning

It's amazing how much babies learn. I would have to think that they probably learn more in the first year of their life than at any other time. From large motor skills to fine motor skills to talking, smiling, and just being cute! It's been fun to watch Tabitha starting to learn the skills that she will be using the rest of her life. She's got smiling down, and now she's working on focusing on things going on around her.

The other day I layed her in her crib while I folded her laundry and turned on the mobile. Immediately she looked up and began looking at it. Additionally, it also calmed her down. Just that little thing of looking up at the mobile showed me that she is learning and picking things up quickly!

Baptism

This past Sunday, Tabitha was baptized at church. She wore her mommy's dress from her baptism, and looked very beautiful. She only cried once, and not when the cold water hit her head. It was a fabulous day and now she is a part of God's kingdom.

I think that they are starting to bond...slowly but surely!

Wee Creatures

Tabitha isn't the only wee creature that was born this summer. As I was outside cleaning the cars one day, I heard the chirps of small birds coming from somewhere in our yard. I investigated the nearest tree, and much to Tabitha and my's delight, we saw a nest with a few young birds in it. Being the first weekend in September, it seems a little late for new birds, but what do I know about nature. Using the zoom lens on our camera, I was able to capture the little face of one our newest babies on Vincent Avenue.

Tabitha's First Vacation

Several weeks ago, when Tabitha was just 2.5 weeks old we decided to go up north for a mini (like one day) vacation. While we only wanted to drive about four hours to Two Harbors, being that it was still summer and a last minute vacation we ended up having to drive five hours to our favorite place to stay when we go skiing. Our goal for the weekend was to get out of the house and to explore the great outdoors. We want Tabitha to love being outside and to enjoy the wonders of nature. Our goal is to make Tabitha a world traveler, but for now we are settling on getting her to all of the state parks in Minnesota and to as many national parks throughout the US. So far, in six weeks of life, we have gotten her to two of Minnesota's great state parks: Cascade River state park and Gooseberry Falls state park.

Elise and Tabitha at Gooseberry Falls State Park

There's something about a smile....

The other day our normal walking spot was overtaken by a bunch of people running/walking a 5K. So, because of this, we went back home, but in the meantime decided that we should walk down to the farmer's market. This occurs each Saturday from June to October. We had a great time and even found a few things to take home with us.

As you can see, Tabitha is very excited about our Farmer's Market purchases of sweet corn, raspberries and jam.

Bathtime!

Tabitha got her first about about 2 weeks ago. We haven't done a lot of baths with her yet, only because both of us are a little nervous about giving her a bath by ourself if only one of us is around. However, we have managed about 4 baths total with mixed results so far. It seems that we get it right about every other time. Those are the good days where she doesn't scream and seems to enjoy the water. Hopefully, we can get her to start liking it every time!

A little blury...she is such a wiggle worm!

Love

James and I were probably not the most likely candidates in most people's minds to have kids. I did babysit growing up, but I wasn't one of those that HAD to have a job teaching or doing something with kids...I just wasn't like that. When we got married, no one really bothered us about when we were having kids (mainly because we played off that Fred was our child). It wasn't until I hit 30 that I really decided that I wanted to have kids.

While both James and I like being around kids, I wondered how we would do when we finally made the decision to have one ourselves. Nine months of thinking and waiting went by quickly, and with each day, I grew nervous about how I would react with a child of my own. It seems now though that I had nothing to worry about.

The second that James and I met Tabitha was like everyone says. You fall in love instantly. I didn't believe it when people said that, but now I understand what they mean. It's amazing the instant bond and love you feel. As Tabitha is now 4 weeks old, I know the love has only grown. It's an unconditional love. I look into her eyes and she just melts my heart.

How can she not melt your heart?!