January 17

I love being a mommy. Seriously. I knew I would like it but not this much! I'm supposed to go back to work in 2 weeks or so. I've always said I would HATE bein a stay at home mom and I'd be ready to go back to work. But I was wrong. I could totally keep doin this. I don't want to go back to work next month. If we could afford it, I would totally ask Paul if I could stay home! But we can't. :(

Claire is awesome. I'm still figuring her out, but I pretty much know what she needs and wants most of the time now. Her new thing is she cries every night for a few hours. Its frustrating, but after that she has been sleeping most of the night, so I can't really complain. I did figure out that rock music calms her down when she's fussy. Its so funny! I guess they really can hear in the womb. I listen to rock more than anything, and I usually jam out on the way to and from work. So I guess she remembers that!

She changes a little every day. You can tell she's the same baby, but she looks nothing like she did when she was born. And she's developing mentally, too. She stays awake for longer periods during the day, and likes to look at colorful or moving things. And she smiles more. Soon she'll start cooing, and I can't wait for that! That's part of the reason I don't want to go back to work - I'm scared I'll miss something.

As for me, I'm slowly healing. Some days I feel great and I'll be really active. Then the next day I'll pay for it! I keep forgetting that my body went through a LOT recently and it takes a while to recover. I go for my 6 week check up in a few weeks though. Hopefully I'll get the go ahead to start exercising. I've lost most of my stomach, but I think the rest will stick around until I can work it off. I haven't weighed in over a week, but last time I checked I still had about 12 lbs to go to get back to my prepregnancy weight. I can wear one pair of non-maternity jeans, but they are a sie bigger than I usually wear. I can fit into all my old jeans in the butt, but I can't get them to button yet. Hopefully that will happen soon! Shirts are tricky, too. My boobs are humongous but I can still wear most of my old shirts. But I usually wear maternity shirts cause they are big on me now and its easier breastfeeding in a loose shirt.

My cousin Meredith got engaged last Friday night. It was exciting, but expected; she's been dating her fiance for over 3 years I think, so we all figured it would happen eventually! The wedding won't be until 2012 or 13, but she said I will be the matron of honor and Claire will be a flower girl. I try to picture Claire in a year or two, wearing a cute purple dress (cause that's Meredith's favorite color) and throwing flowers down the aisle. But I can't picture what she'l look like! Right now, her eyes are dark blue, but who knows if they'll stay that way. And right now, her hair is straight and fine and light brown/reddish (like mine), but most babies loose their hair after a few months and it can come back totally different.

Well that's enough gushing about my beautiful baby! ( :