I always swore that once my daughter entered the world, I would still find the time to keep up my blog, and have you all up to date on a frequent basis. As we can see - that has not happened one bit!! But here is my attempt to catch everyone up on the last 6 months of our lives.
Julianne Rose is growing, growing, growing!! She has been a healthy baby since birth, minus her quick bout with jaundice for which she was never actually admitted back to the hospital. At her last appointment in May, she was 22 inches long, and 13'5. Right on schedule! She has been smiling and laughing for months now, and now eats baby food for lunch and dinner, in addition to her bottles throughout the day. She sleeps through the night, from about 9pm to 7am, if not longer. And yesterday, she took her first "crawl"! Granted, it was only one small "crawl" before falling back on her tummy, but after days and days of trying to get her hands and knees to work at the same time, she finally got it! Mommy was quite proud! She graduated from her pack 'n' play, to a real crib last month, when Gamma and Gammpa bought her one for an Easter present. She has almost outgrown her bouncer, it seems, because she cannot manage to sit still, and even when she is buckled in, finds a way to nearly roll it over. We are in the process of trying to find her a round walker so she can move around the house. She has had strong legs since the day she was born, and has been able to stand on her own while holding onto something, for over a month now. She will be fully mobile in no time at all!! She loves to talk, and is just starting to find her "tickle spots". Her full head of hair is back, although her hairline is rather amusing. For those of you who recall, she was born with a very thick head of dark hair, which, of course, was rubbed off in the oddest spots. She had a mohawk going for awhile, with three little rat tails on the back of her head, one on each side, and directly in the middle. Now, her peach fuzz is finally growing back. I plan on letting it all grow as it wants, until it is long enough that I can cut it without cutting it too short. It is all now light brown like her Mommy's with little baby curls surrounding her ears. Within the last two weeks, she has cut through her first two teeth, and did so without a problem. I did not even realize they had come through until she bit me one day! She is such a trooper. Every one just loves her, and I do not have a problem finding someone to watch her. She is an absolute angel, and so easy to take care of. She is happy and content and truly does not have a care in the world unless she is hungry or ready for bed!! I have been so blessed. I always knew the one thing in life I wanted was to be a Mommy. But I never dreamed that it would be so satisfying, and that I could possibly love it as much as I do. I wouldn't trade it for a single thing in the world, ever. Being J.R.'s Mommy is worth every pain and frustration that happens in the rest of life.
And, of course, with a child comes a father. I thank you all so much for your prayers, encouragement, and help regarding our situation with J.R.'s father. It has been a rough, rough road, and it does not look like it is going to be getting any easier any time soon. It is sad to me that someone can view the responsibility of parenting as a convenience, and yet expects to reap the benefits and rewards of having a child. As most of you know, her father has put me through hell on earth for the past year. He has lied to the courts time and time again, his most recent lie, claiming that there was domestic violence in my home, and demanding a change in the custody order. Granted, the judge passed over his request within a matter of minutes, but the stress of the situation still exists, no matter how absurd his claims are. There is no need to go into great detail of the day-to-day stresses that he causes, but your prayers would be greatly appreciated, as it seems a day cannot go by without him picking a fight.
J.R. currently sees her dad 3 times a week, four hours at a time. By the second week of July, he will also add one overnight visit to his week, and by September 15, he will be having her two nights a week as well as whatever parenting plan we come up with. Again, please pray for a change either in him, or in the court orders, as I am greatly worried for J.R.'s mental and emotional wellbeing, especially long-term, if this order stays in place.
Other than the issue of Mr. Strong, our lives are moving along fantastically.
Last month I opened up bank accounts for us, finally. This is something I haven't been able to do in quite awhile due to my lack of income. Not only do J.R. and I each have checking and savings accounts, but I was also able to open accounts for my new business, which is on the writing block as we speak. Slowly but surely I hope to see it come to fruition in the near future.
Other than that, life is pretty normal! We just are enjoying it day by day, and are excited to see what's to come.
Stay tuned!
