Anika Iris, 3 months

Happy 3 month birthday Anika! We love you so much.

Want to see how Anika has changed in the first three months of life? Click HERE.

It is hard to believe that today Anika Iris is 3 months old. Time seems to be moving faster and faster. Anika is full of personality now as you can see with smiles often. Elizabeth says “Ahda miling!!!” which is translated to Anika is smiling. Anika coos and laughs throughout the day. She holds her head high and observes all that is going on around her which on most days includes a lot of action! Anika never lacks attention. She gets lots of hugs and holding from Hunter. And Elizabeth is a hands on big sister as much as we will let her be. Daddy holds Anika every day at lunch and then in the evenings they play together in the basement. We both have mastered giving both girls baths at the same time with out too much chaos in the evenings. Grocery shopping is also a mastered skill. It helps if Hunter is with me so he can have one girl in a cart with him but doing it solo with both girls requires a lot of packing in cartons of milk and groceries around Anika’s infant seat while trying to keep Elissa’s hands out of the groceries.

Anika remains calm, low key and the most well-mannered baby we have ever known. She is just peaceful and sweet. If she fusses there is a reason behind it and it can be solved promptly. She is growing and changing every day. When we attended a family funeral last week, a longtime family friend and Hunter’s Godfather, Mark A. told us “she looks like David’s kids” and Mark being a seed scientist said “she is a true hybrid!” My mom also commented that Anika now looks similar to my Uncle David and Aunt Angie’s kids who have darker hair and at least one has blue eyes! I know my cousins Nick, Tait, Walker and Vienna follow this blog so I thought you would love to hear that Anika is getting compliments by looking like you! However for the most part, Anika is her daddy’s girl when it comes to looks. We love that and many local people comment all the time how much Anika looks like Nathan. A little girl looking like her daddy is a lot of fun.

Anika’s latest and greatest achievement came just yesterday. A couple weeks ago I had called my mom in the middle of the day to tell her Anika had rolled over from her tummy to her back. She said I had once done that as a young baby and then never again for a long time. We chalked up Anika’s one time roll over as an accident! But it was no accident. She is rolling from her tummy to her back now. Yesterday I captured it on camera after I laid her down on a quilt and she rolled right off of it.

Ready to roll…

As you can see Anika is quite proud of herself and ready to keep rolling!

Today is my first day back to work. I am excited to tackle some challenges and hurdles within my job responsibilities as well as interact with my co-workers again. Modern technology allows me to sit in my home office and talk “face to face” with just about anyone. Yes, I am motivated to do my job but sad to leave my kiddos.

Anika will spend her first day at Grandma Carol’s house today. Next week when I travel my mom will be here for some extra help with the kids. We are so fortunate to have plenty of grandma help! Despite all the help and love our kids receive while I am working, I am physcially aching inside to leave my kiddos on a regular basis and get back into the work routine. This too shall pass I know. Nathan has been encouraging and positive with me. He is so supportive and I am grateful. We know in a few short weeks it will be our new routine and life will still be great.

As you may be able to tell from my words, this maternity leave has changed me for the better. I have slowed down. I am still the energetic and fun mom I was before but I seem to enjoy staying at home more than before and feel more content at home, surrounded by husband and kids. I definitely now have a deeper sense of myself as a mother and a greater appreciation for the little moments even when the little moment consists of Elissa opening a carton of yogurt in the grocery store and dumping it on herself yesterday. (Note to self: Do not turn your back on her even if she is buckled in the cart.) I have less stress about checking off my “to do” list and have better systems now to keep our family organized, the laundry done, meals planned ahead and will work to have dedicated family time each early morning at breakfast, evening meals, nightly playtime and on our weekends. I enjoy more than ever before spending reading books to my kids (or having Hunter tell me about the books he is reading and making him do his required book reports!), going on walks, cheering on Hunter at his games, playing at the park and having family picnics.  Did I really think all closets, the storage room and cupboards would be perfectly in order when I returned to work? No. I dreamed of it and actually am glad I did not spend my time organizing too many closets and rather spent my time outside with the kids. I have been at my job for the past seven plus years. It has gone quickly and it hit me this summer in just seven more years Hunter will be a freshman in college, gone from our home. Whether the cupboards are organized or not. So we are going to love every day together as a family.

Yes indeed spending the first three months of Anika’s life at home has been full of priceless memories and moments that I will always cherish. As my dad has said to me many, many times, it is time to turn the page to the next chapter. The past three months has made for chapter full of happiness, blessings and fun. The next chapter is sure to be an exciting and memorable one too.