7 weeks

Peyton is 7 weeks old today...where has the time gone :( 

I am officially halfway through my maternity leave (I actually have 7 weeks and 1 day) which leaves me with a whole lot of emotions. I am so thankful that I still have 7 more weeks with her as I really couldn't go back to work right now without becoming an emotional mess. I would miss her way too much and she still seems so small to me. Lately I have been so conflicted...part of me is excited that I will be going back to work as I do miss the deadlines, craziness, the people I work with and surprisingly during this time off, I have realized that I actually do enjoy what I do. Work had kind of worn me down and I had forgotten how much I love the crazy parts of my job. The other part of me wonders how in the world we are going to manage everything with two working parents and I wonder how I will be able to be away from Peyton. She is so adorable and so much fun and the idea of being away from her all day breaks my heart. It does help that I will be back at work for only 7 days before we have Christmas holidays (starting December 24 returning January 5)! I am praying that these next seven weeks will continue to be a wonderful bonding time for us, that I make sure to not get too busy with the holiday season and focus on maximizing my time with Peyton and that God prepares me for the transition back to work and gives me peace on how we are going to handle this. 

Enough about emotional mommy...here are some cool things Peyton has been doing lately!

• She is a smiling machine. She smiles all the time now and it absolutely melts my heart!
• She talks back to you! No, she is not a teenager...duh! Instead she makes this "ugh" like sound and when you imitate her she will go on and on making that sound for you. It is adorable and I actually cried when she did it the first time.
• She loves to be held but many times just wants to be left alone. She very much enjoys sitting her bouncer or swing and looking around entertaining herself. I am not sure what she is looking at or does to keep herself interested but she is content.
• Peyton is now sleeping a consistent 5 hour stretch at night followed by a 4 hour stretch which means more predictable sleep for mommy. She is still sleeping in her room in her crib and has easily made the transition.
• We are still struggling with keeping her awake during the day. We are having more success but not nearly enough as she is wide awake from 8-11 PM.
• She continues to try and move while on her tummy instead of working on her neck skills but even with her desire to get moving she has lifted her head more and more. Still something we need to continue to work on though.
• She is starting to hold onto things you put in her hands and it really shocks her when she moves her hand and the thing moves with her (especially if it is a rattle that makes noise)