Life with the Bauers: Life with Anniston- 10 weeks in

Anniston turned 10 weeks old on Wednesday.

I don't even know where to begin. It is hard for me to describe the joy and the gratitude that I feel. She is so beautiful, so sweet, so funny, so amazing, so.....perfect. There are days when tears come to my eyes as I think about how thankful I am and how GOOD the Lord is for bringing her to us. She's ours....and yes, we think she's perfect.

While I'm on the subject of being thankful...let me say a word about community. I truly believe that one of the reasons my transition to motherhood has been so indescribably amazing is because of the women I have joined up with in the journey. I am surrounded by the most AMAZING moms. They are full of joy, patience, peace, and oh so much wisdom. How lucky am I to get to ride their coattails. To watch them and learn from them. I hope one day I can be half the blessing to a new mom that my friends have been to me. They have called, they check up on me, they give me advice, they have brought me meals and treats and drinks...and boy do they love my daughter. They hold her, they tell me how much they love her, they ask about her, they pinch her amazing chubby cheeks, they offer to watch her when I need to run an errand or go to an appointment, and most of all, I know that they deeply love her...how lucky is she? She has an abundance of family and friends that already love her so much. She has grandparents, uncles, an aunt and cousin, great grandparents, a bunch of extended family, and all of our community that have prayed for her and loved her since the moment they heard she was coming!

Ok, back to the last ten weeks. Favorite things include: when she sleeps on my chest, when she smiles, when she sleeps with her little hands tucked under her chin or with her arms outstretched, when she has a staring contest with Mr. Sunshine (the current love of her life- the little sun character on her play mat), when her daddy sings her to sleep...I love it all.

I am approaching my return to work. If I'm being honest, I thought I would feel ready to go back. I thought that changing diapers, doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, and all of the things that go along with being a "stay at home mom" would be exhausting and that going back to work would feel like a break...I mean, I like my job and before I became a mom, I didn't like all of those other things....but I was wrong. I love it. I love all of it. These 10 weeks have been some of the most peaceful, relaxing, joyful, fulfilling, life giving weeks of my life. I'm sure one day if I have three kids under the age of 5 I may feel different about time at home, but today, that is my reality. So the thought of going back to work fills me with a little bit of sadness. I am going to miss my little buddy so much. I'm going to miss things...I might miss the first time she rolls over or the first time she really laughs...and that thought brings tears to my eyes as I type this. But I will go back with a thankful heart. Because the truth is, I am thankful. How many moms get the option of working part time? How many moms get 4 days a week with their little one and only have to leave them for three? How many moms have someone that will come to their house to watch their little one so they don't have to drop them off with strangers? How many moms have a nanny that will pray over her everyday and love her so well? Not many. So in 11 days, I will get in my car and pull out of my driveway with a thankful heart...and probably a lot of tears in my eyes.

Ok, now the fun part, here's some pictures of the first 10 weeks.

Enjoy!