My Ari...

It's so true what people say, babies really do grow up fast but I'm okay with that because I know I have made the most of the last 3 months! Yup, it's been that long already and my baby girl is a whole 3 months old, already a quarter of a year!

Some of the few things I love about my Ari:
She has beautiful big eyes that she smiles with.
She has a cheeky little smile.
She snuggles into me at night when I'm burping her.
She loves our playtimes.
She has these chunky little legs, they're so cute.
She looks up at me when I'm feeding her and smiles.
She has the cutest little facials.
She has baby toe jams, milk breath, poos and wees smells but they are comforting smells to me.
I miss her company when she has long sleeps and sometimes I long for her to wake up in the morning so we can snuggle.
I love seeing her smile at her daddy.
(In amongst the small battles...) Ari brings me so much joy!
I'm her mummy and she is my baby.

I feel like I have known her for a long time. Longer than the time she spent in my womb, longer than the little time she has been here as our earthly child. I feel like I knew her before. It makes me want to cry because it feels so special. I feel like I already know how she will be when she gets a little older. I feel like I already know some of her personality traits and characteristics.

Yes there is more... this is only a snippet of the HUNDREDS of photos we have of this little girl...

Most days, daddy gets a new photo when he is at work.

I'm not sure who she looks like. Mummy or daddy? Actually, maybe I don't really care because WE created a beautiful baby together! That is Ari's first passport photo... so cute! Look at that 'unruly' hair sticking out on the side hahaha... After looking at our baby photos, I know where she got that short at the front crazy on the top hair from... I thought it was from her dad but I was mistaken.


I think motherhood is such a great learning experience because you truly do learn so much. It's a physical and spiritual journey all rolled into one that mothers get to share with their babies. It's not always rainbows and lollipops...

Yes, I'm sure you have all heard it before, but being a mother is hard work!!! Thee hardest of all the roles I have ever had, the hardest of all callings I think I will ever have... but yes, the most rewarding, so cliché I know! Some days I am so tired, some days I don't know what it is that is upsetting baby that I get so frustrated at myself that I can't comfort her. We have had some little ups and downs with her having reflux and not being able to bring up her wind properly and I tell you, just these very small things are huge for babies. But it was tough for a good 3 weeks or so with an unsettled baby and not being able to take away her pain and discomfort. It was long hours. Baby crying and unsettled from 6-10pm before going to sleep for the night. It was upsetting. It was damn hard work. (But that was all fixed after taking her to an Osteopath! Remarkable difference and I am so grateful that it worked for Ari who now sleeps well during the day and during the night). I know these are all just challenges of motherhood and I know I have many more to come!

Our share of ups outweighs all of the minor downs we have had. When we aren't so tired, we have fun together. I love kisses and cuddles with Ari, singing to her, the conversations we have together, playing, watching her face light up when I walk in to her room, seeing her beautiful smile. I look forward to watching her continue to grow and continue to be a light in my life! Ari has just started to giggle too. Just the other day I heard Ari giggle for the first time when we were playing. Then I was so excited I tried to re-enact what we were doing to make it happen again, to no avail, so then for about ten minutes I just did all sorts of crazy stuff to try make her giggle... didn't work hahaha... so now every time she starts to laugh we try to rush for the camera to catch it but she gets so distracted by the camera she doesn't put on the show we are expecting! Oh well...

Ari has a little giggle in this vid. Sorry about the bad angle. It's hard trying to hold the camera and her at the same time lol. Excuse the sound effects too. That's me poking tongues at her to make her laugh...

Side note: I have just finished reading this book called 'Covenant Motherhood. Reflecting the role of Christ in our lives' by Stephanie Dibb Sorensen. It's really a light read. The author writes from her own experiences as a mother and compares how Jesus' example teaches us much about motherhood and how as mothers we take on a 'Christlike' role through our everyday service as mothers. Although a light read, I really enjoyed it!

Book Description:
Even the most devoted mom can feel overwhelmed and discouraged in the daily trenches of family service. But she can find power in her seemingly endless and ordinary tasks when she sees how they symbolize her covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. In this insightful exploration of domestic life, Stephanie Dibb Sorensen shows how everything a mother does, from folding laundry and washing dishes to refereeing arguments and taking temperatures, is designed to bear record of the Savior’s atoning mission. Through scriptural exploration and personal experience, she illustrates how the ongoing chaos of an active home enables a mother to develop the Lord’s attributes as a creator, teacher, healer, provider, and cleanser—thus giving her the opportunity to do for her family, on a smaller scale, what Christ does for the human family.