It’s been a while since I last posted some family updates! I feel like we have finally hit the sweet spot in baby-land with our girl. These past few weeks have been (for the majority of the time) pretty nice and we are finally falling into a somewhat predictable napping schedule (do you hear the glorious hymns of angels singing? You better believe I do). Her demeanor has also just been really sweet lately – lots of smiles and giggles – especially for daddy. A few weeks ago we got home from church and she was in such a playful mood that I wasn’t ready to put her to bed. We sat on the couch making faces at each other and Eric joined in the fun towards the end. Yesterday morning she was so sweet and snuggly after waking up that we ended up hanging out just cuddling for a while in mommy and daddy’s bed. It was the sweetest.

I feel like these moments are what I really envisioned when we talked about starting our family. Lazy Saturday mornings and late night giggles. The really good stuff (obviously, who wants to think about 3am feedings and blowouts?).

Madeline just turned 5 months old last week. Where did those 5 months go? I really do feel like this is still all so new, but then again 5 months is a pretty good chunk of time. Those first two months are so blurry now with sleep deprivation and hormone surges muddling the vividness of early newborn memories. But I can still remember the feelings. Feeling helpless during the afternoons where there was just crying and no naps. The late nights where she would wake up every hour on the hour as a hungry little bear and worried that I wouldn’t be able to stay awake or have enough to feed her. How tiny her little chicken legs were compared to our healthy rolls we have started sporting.

This past weekend we ventured down to New Orleans for yet another summer wedding. It was our first experience flying with a little one in tow and I can honestly say that no amount of blog-reading or Pinterest searching can prepare you for a flight with a baby. Our flight down to NOLA was smooth sailing in terms of Madeline. All of the slip ups we encountered were from the adult side of the travelers-Martin. On the return flight we fussed a little in the beginning and ended up passing out in Daddy’s lap. As far as helpful tips go,  I think flying at night & putting our girl in her jammies pre-flight helped because it made her more comfortable for the journey ahead.

Tonight we are going to get back into the regular swing of things with our youth group’s bible study starting back up. Last year our littlest one was only the size of a jumping bean and this year she is going to be joining in the fun and seeing the joy that youth ministry and involvement in the church has brought to our lives as a couple. I can’t wait to see our youth group kiddos – they challenge me and bring so much happiness to our lives. I can’t wait for our first round of prayers & praises with our girls!

I think that about sums up current happenings for us. It really is something else to have a little family. I know it isn’t always easy (flashback to last Thursday & yesterday when I experienced blowouts like no other – hello solid foods!) but it is pretty amazing to see our little girl grow and to watch my husband become such a fantastic daddy.

Happy Wednesday!