Blessed

First of all, I just want to start off by saying that I am so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing daughter. My life is so much more meaningful now that she is in it. There are so many times that I just stare at her and I am still in such awe of her. Sometimes it feels so surreal, and I think, "am I really a mother? Is this beautiful being in front of me, the one that depends on me for most everything right now, the one who's laugh can break even the worst of moments, the one who I would do anything and everything for really my daughter? She is the most precious thing (not that she is a "thing," but I cannot seem to find another word at this moment), and again, I am so blessed. She has brought me so much joy, and I know that there is so much more to come. I know that there will be bad and bumpy times along the way, but that's okay. She has brought me to a place with my Mother where I never thought I would be. She makes her "Mammi" smile and be silly at times, and she has brought out a side of her that I haven't ever seen before, and I love it. She is wonderful, and Shelbi and I are both so blessed to have her in our lives. I know that she is going to be a "Mammi's girl!" Also, if it wasn't for Shelbi, I never would have met Steph and Josie, and they are so special to me and Shelbi. I have never had such a good friend as I do in Steph. We haven't even known each other for a full year yet, but I feel as though we have known each other for ever. She is a true friend, and am so blessed to have her in our lives. I can honestly say that I have a true friend who is not in the friendship for herself or around only when she wants something or when it's convenient, which has been the case with some others along the way. I know that when I need a friend, she is there, and the same goes for her.

Shelbi slept until about 8:30 this morning. I went into her room to get her up when I heard her moving all around and saw that her eyes were open, as she is very content and happy in the morning. I was greeted with her beautiful smile and her excitement kicking. Most mornings when I pick her up, she lays her head on my shoulder for a few seconds to cuddle, and I love that so very much. We came downstairs, did the diaper change thing, and headed to the kitchen for her yummy breakfast consisting of rice cereal made with apple juice. She really seemed to like that. She chowed down on that while I snuck in a bite of my peaches and cream oatmeal when I was able to. She nursed for a while afterwords, and drifted back off to sleep for a few moments until I took her off of my breast. We headed upstairs and she hung out in her activity chair while I got dressed and ready to go. We play a game of hide and seek while I'm getting dressed and brushing my teeth and darting in and out of the closet and the bathroom. She jumps and then gets excited and laughs when I pop out of the room and say peek-a-boo. She also LOVES the ceiling fan, so she's able to entertain herself for a minute or two so I can get turbo dressed (that's dressed EXTREMELY quickly). We then took our time getting her ready, as she likes to play while we do so. We play "Where's Shelbi" when we put her shirt on, and "put your left arm in, put your right arm in" and so on and so forth. We headed to Michael's, as they are having a good sale on scrapbooking supplies, and, well, since I'm addicted to scrapbooking, I had to go. We met our BFF's there, and Steph was a little stressed, but I had a good time. We ended up running to the mall to enjoy a yummy lunch of boardwalk fries and Subway subs. Shelbi and I didn't really feel like heading home just yet after our trip to the mall, so we stopped and hung out with Mammi for a bit. She just went to bed around 9:00pm, and she did so without a peep. She's such a good baby, and again, I am so blessed to have her. She hung out with Dad a bit this evening while I made some chili, and let me just say it was rather, um, interesting. I did not have any tomato sauce, so I used tomato puree (which, by the way, is absolutely, 100% disgusting by itself). I also did not have any chili seasoning mix, so I created my own. I used chili powder (and a lot of it), garlic salt, some chopped onions, oregano, salt, pepper, Red Robbin seasoning, flour, and, last but NOT least, RICE CEREAL. Yes, I'm serious. I put Gerber rice cereal in our chili. Don't ask me why because I'm not really sure, but it worked and it was good!

"I have been blessed

And I feel like I've found my way

I thank God for all I've been given

At the end of every day

I have been blessed

With so much more than I deserve

To be here with the ones that love me

To love them so much it hurts

I have been blessed"