To the Mailbox!

We had some uncharacteristically warm weather here the past couple of days. It was in the mid 50s to 60s. This of course prompted a couple of trips outdoors since Gracie is 3.5 months old and does not have much fresh air under her belt.

We hiked all the way to the mailbox at the end of the driveway twice and spent about 10 minutes exploring the back porch with Preston. This was between wet spells since the warm weather brought a lot of rain and wind with it. While exploring the pond in the backyard we found that Jaws, one of the koi fish we bought a couple of summers ago, did not survive this winter. Poor guy was floating belly up. I'm glad Gracie's not old enough to remember it. We have yet to see if Miles, the other koi, is still living.

Gracie is fully recovered from her bout with bronchiolitis. She no longer coughs or wheezes in the slightest. She has not, however, found her way back to sleeping ten hours at night which is making me a bit weary. I've decided the hardest part of being a mom is not the physical stress but the mental game of it all. I'm constantly thinking, "Should I let her cry or pick her up? Should I try and get rid of the 5 am feeding or let her do it on her own? Should I make her nap in her crib or let her sleep in the swing?" These times are when I really wish babies came with instruction books. I'm really good at following instructions. I've read several books about babies but not one of them says, "Do this." This stresses me out.

I'm anxious for our four month check up in a couple of weeks because I have a laundry list of questions to ask the doctor. Until then I'll just do whatever feels right and pray I'm not doing something wrong. At least I know she's a happy baby. Whenever her face lights up all the questions just go away and I bask in the sunshine that is her smile.

I've posted more photos and videos on our media sites.