12 hours difference. 20 days away from hello.

Jan. 7 2013, what a fun way to start the NEW YEAR! Stephen went to Asia.
      3 weeks +Vietnam, Thailand and Japan
     
     Monday @ 4:00am the group flew out. Thank God they made it there safe and sound. so that day just didn't feel real at all. as if it was just a normal day kind of at the last minute before i pulled out of birchcroft to head to VA i met with my friend LAURA YON. it was so great to have her come to town from michigan. what a great friend she is to me. we found each other i target. i will never forget seeing her hold KiAH for the first time.

it was breathtakingly perfect. laura, kiah and i went to the dressing room so i could feed her and i handed kiah over to laura and she just cried. so i just cried. talk about good for BOTH of our hearts. gosh, laura is one of those friends who you don't talk to for months and then when you get together an hour turns into 5 too quickly. oh how i love you laura. http://2009.usdeaflympics.com/sports/athletes/laura-yon-carlsen/ check her out! after long talks, lots a tears over each other stories, a long walk to freedom park and then a sad good bye we finally caught up on what we have missed in each others lives over the last 7 months.
    so since then i have been at my parents house. i spend most of my time cleaning. and make green monster smoothies!
but tonight has been super special. my parent took kiah on a long adventure to martinsville for the past 3 hours and it has been amazing! everyday i have been able to run thanks to them and this evening i have been able to shower, dress, light some candles, roast some tasty chickpeas, get these thoughts out and SIT. REST. BREATH. ahhhh.

    oh jesus, we exalt your name high above the heavens. you reign. oh jesus. oh jesus. oh how i love you. i love your name. i love your presence. i read my old letters to you jesus and i long to be that desperate for you again. thank you so much for your grace. wow, so much grace flows from you heart on over for me that i never have to worry about being separated from you. i am your forever and you are mine forever. i thank you that fear has no place at the sound of your great name. come in closer my jesus. come in closer. take me a little deeper. i need you. ive been in a whirlwind becoming a mommy and i am excited for the season ahead.

   Today, it has been starting to feel real that he is so far away for so long.

1st THANKSGIVING

        i always look forward to "FIRSTs" ;you only get a first time once! EVERYTHING!!! FROM KIAHS FIRST CAR RIDE, to her first giggle, to the first bottle, the first tear, the first taste of cereal, her first time on an airplane, her first bath= so this year we are enjoying and celebrating EVERYTHING! every month we celebrate and this month is a big milestone.    6 Months OLD. i remember thinking about when she would be 6 months old way back when she was only a few months old and feeling like 6 months would take forever but here it is before our very eyes.

..........the funny things that kiah does these days are roll around the floor all over the place, suck on everything, she kind of growls and smiles and it is sooooo cute, she hates getting her diaper changed in the middle of the night so we don't do that anymore, she almost jumps herself out of her little activity bouncy center, she laughs at PEEK-A-BOO, she is SO curious, she goes to anyone who wants to hold her, she loves listening to stories, she loves the bath, she has a bit of a temper..-thats just a few things that i don't want to forget 

       thank God i have been able to simply breastfeed kiah through this whole time and she has been growing beautifully. feeding her other things is going to take some extra work. she has been sleeping through the night since Nov. 12. this has made a huge difference in our lives. i believed in my heart that she would get it before or around her 6 month point and sure enough she did. it just clicked for her and i am so glad i did not have to have excruciating nights of letting her cry it out...which i was prepared to do by her 6 month birthday. thank you God!

       this has been an amazing thanksgiving family vacation with Stephen's family down here in sunny florida. on thanksgiving day stephen, his dad and i ran the 10k turkey trot in the morning and then in the afternoon we boiled and mashed some carrots for kiah to try for the first time. she was a great sport about it but defiantly didn't love 'em. its gonna be fun introducing her to more foods now and entering into THIS NEW SEASON! a new season of being able to be away from kiah for longer periods, a new season of CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS that we start as a family, a new season of teeth and crawling and changing and growing. wow! its so good!

4 months gone by already

dear kiah lily, how u make me laugh and how u make me cry. i love you. u are so amazing.
you are officially 4 months old. i have been a mommy for 4 months...16 weeks. it has felt like a lifetime but still new all at the same time. you are sleeping in you crib so well now for naps but i think tonight i might introduce a taste of rice cereal to see if you will let me sleep all night long.

i took you to the pediatrician this morning and it was so sad. they gave u 2 shots and you cried so hard you face almost turned purple. its good that you daddy isn't there when this happens because he would probably cry too.
 kiah lily jackson you are 13.5 lbs and 25 in long now
you have been doing some amazing things lately.

1. last weekend when morgan came down from Pittsburg to visit you slept all night long! until 6:30 am! it was amazing!
2. yesterday morning after the 3-5 wake ups through the night i woke up to a bright sunny room at grammy and papas house in VA wondering what time it was because i could tell it had to have been late. i was like, IS KIAH STILL SLEEPING? nope, u were ever so cutely and contently playing with yourself in the pack and play below my bed. i was so happy that you let me wake up on my own!
3. then yesterday afternoon, you just put yourself to sleep again at nap time. all of this told me that you were inevitably growing up
4. you are holding you head up really well
5. might be teething
6. love it when kailer jumps up and down like a frog in front of you
7. you are great about taking a bottle
8. you laugh sooooo much, play so much and are so great about being passed around most of the time
9. you are sucking on everything! you gave me a serious hickey the other day

there have also been a few words given to you already too
"a preacher and teacher of the WORD"
"a worshiper"
"strong"
"alert"
"content"

you always fold you hands like you are praying

love her

mother-in law to the rescue

this weekend, Stephen's mom, dad and grandmother drove up from FLORIDA to visit and it has been such a great break. yesterday, stephen and i camped out over at the house they are all staying at and watched soccer all afternoon. kiah was amazing. no fussing or uncontrollable crying. just peaceful. i was able to sit out in the sun for the first time on 13 days and really relax. i even fell asleep on the couch while stephens mom held little kiah lily. we are defiantly getting a handle on all this slowly but surely. i can not imagine doing it without Jesus or Stephen. then for dinner we picked up boston market food and sat outside on a patio. it has been so good for us to get out of birchcroft for such long periods of time, especially now since the kids are officially out of school. then this morning, stephen and i woke up and packed our baby in her car seat again to grab some coffee and muffins and head to the greenway for a sunday morning stroll. the weather has been perfect today.  little overcast, breezy and cool. happy. so happy. so thankful to have such a great family on my side and stephens. having my mom visit a few days ago and now having them here has really made me thankful for our awesome family. like i said, i have not had this much free time without the little one in my arms in 13 day. yesterday and today my routine is pretty much every 2-3 hours i feed her for about 15 minutes and then hand her off to auntie(i think this is going to be her grandmother name) pops (Stephen's dads grandfather name) or bebe- Stephen's grandmother. i have been able to eat! they head home tomorrow so i am taking advantage of it all while i can.