Leaps and bounds

Freia one month old.

A month. It might as well be a hundred years. Freia has only been with us for a month, and I can't even remember what life was like before she got here. So much has changed and happening in the past month. And I am not just talking about adding another person to our family. It feels like our entire family has changed since she arrived. Leaps and bounds for all of us.

First smile

e went from having this tiny little family that sleeps and eat all the time, to a baby girl that is getting more and more aware every day. We even got our first smile a few days ago :) The sweetest, cutest little smile. My heart just melted that day. The girls have embraced having their little sister around - I guess embrace is not the right world.....they ran to it! They had been waiting for their little sister for so long.

And the minute she arrived, it's like they already new about how to be the wonderful little sisters that they are. Well, we had to teach them a thing or two, like "Don't step on your sisters head, Olivia!" or "Madeline don't you put that lollipop in your sister's mouth!"....little details you know ;) But overall, all that love, they already had it ready for her. Such nurturing little girls I have.
 

And I, well, I've been learning to balance having 3 little girls. Which, to my surprise, is much easier than I thought. I am growing in my role as a mother, learning to be present when I need to and let go when necessary - which happens a lot nowadays. The girls have gained so much confidence since Freia arrived. I watch Madeline in the morning as she walks out the door in the morning carrying her lunch box, and I am amazed to think that in the fall she'll start pre-school. I swear she was still in my belly yesterday. Time gets blurry.
  And Olivia - she started writing on her own! The other day I found her at the table - she had picked up a book and decided to copy the letters in it...all on her own! Such a big girl. So we're encouraging her that way. Can't believe that in the near future I'll have a little girl that can read and write.

Of course the past month hasn't been without it's challenges - physically as I've had some post birth issues, minor issues but still tiring. How tiring? Well, so tiring that indeed I forgot how to write my own daughter's name when I took some pics to celebrate a 1-month birthday - see pic below :D Oh. And I posted the picture on facebook without noticing it...until my friend Carlin called me up on it. The shame. Ha! This woman needs sleeps, guys. And I am not the only one - big changes in the house means that everybody is more tired...and mmmm, let's say, a bit fussy. Tantrums much? Yes, Olivia, you do have to eat your food........
 

So what do we do? Well, we slow down. Take a deep breath. And try to focus on what the things that matter - our time together. Especially 1 on 1 time. Last weekend hubby took Olivia on a big girl date, and while Freia was sleeping I made paper princesses dress with Madeline. We had such a blast. Having more to balance has made me rediscover how important every minute that I spent with my kids is.
 

So we're tired, yes. And sometimes things get challenging. yes. But in the end, being challenged is the only way to grow, right? We rise up to those challenges, and our lives get better for it. I am so so SO glad that we decided to add another child to our little family.

Sure, things were easy and comfortable before that, and we could have chosen to stick with  it-  nothing wrong with that. But I feel so good having one more little person to love and care for and watch as she grows. Turns out, I had a lot of space left in that little heart of mine. And then some :) Seems like that little heart also grows leaps and bound with each sweet little girl that comes to our life.