a busy and meaningful week

hello from lillian and me! love self portraits. plus, you can't keep me from kissing that little nugget. :)

we have had a busy week here in the watson household. i flew to DC to say goodbye to my grandmother. her funeral was on tuesday, so i was gone monday and tuesday, leaving hank to be mr. mom. i was definitely nervous about leaving her, not because i had any lack of faith in hank, as he is an amazing and attentive dad, but i missed her! she is changing daily and the thought of missing something made me sad. but, i wasn't going to miss seeing my grandmother for the world, and in the end, everything ended up perfect. hank and lillian did amazing and i got to be with my family to celebrate the life of an inspiring woman who i am honored to call my grandmother. lillian, you have a beautiful new angel to watch over you. grammie, i love you, forever and always.

lillian LOVING rolling over!

i got back wednesday night, and then on thursday afternoon our friend Pat came into town! she lives in bangkok and was in atlanta for her daughters wedding. pat, so happy we got to see you! thank you SO much for making the drive to nashville, lillian loved meeting you :) congratulations to Jen and Ross on their upcoming nuptials this weekend! sorry to miss the celebration.

thanks pat! we love you!!

tomorrow my two sisters-in-law, suzanne and maggie, come into town! they are bringing their youngest kids, lillian's cousins. it is going to be such a fun weekend, can't wait to have them all together. lots of photos to come from that!

to end the post, i will share georgia's latest yoga pose, a perfect upward facing dog! what can i say, we are a family full of yoginis :)

xo

one month birthday

happy one month birthday to my beautiful lillybug!

amazing how fast time goes, she is growing so fast and i am just so grateful that i get to witness every moment of it. she is truly remarkable, every time i look at her i am so filled with love and purpose. being a mom is and always has been my purpose in life, and i can feel that now. i dreamed about it for years, especially after meeting hank and really being able to see it in my head. oh, and it is so much better than my dreams. i never dreamed up such an amazing husband and father, nor was i able to imagine how unbelievable my daughter and first born would be. i look at her and i see a beautiful marriage of hank and myself, of our amazing families blended together in one single human being- and she is ours, forever :) bliss.

highlights from the first month of lillian's life...

meeting her four legged sisters, and all getting along

taking her first bath, and LOVING it

smiling and cuing when she looks at hank and i, ok, and when she poops :)

first walk as a family

first trip to ugly mugs, where she met a friend!

rolling over, not consistent, but she did it!

hanging out at lululemon- we call it "girl time" :)

spending a night with a babysitter while mom and dad went out- went off without a hitch

moving from the pack and play to her crib (i am trying to be strong...)

and so many more...

lillian's one month birthday comes a little bittersweetly. her middle name, virginia is after my grandmother, who passed away this week. we had plans to visit her in a few weeks, so lillian virginia could meet her great grandmother. although that would have been such an amazing moment, i can't help but think about the uncanny connection of lillian's birth and my grandmother's passing. i too am named after my grandmother, as my real name is margaret, which we share. i have always felt very connected to her, she was an amazing woman, strong and passionate. oh, and stubborn, which we definitely share :)

grammie, you are so loved. you will be missed but i know a piece of you is in me, and now in my daughter and i will forever cherish that. i love you.

xo

cabin fever...

is spring here yet? we are so ready.

i do love the down time here in the house with the pups and lillian, but, no more snow! please!! we are all ready to be outside. in the meantime i will dream about lillian in cute little dresses, laying her in her crib without 3 blankets and turning our space heaters off!!

speaking of the little nugget, we head to the pediatrician tomorrow, anxious to know how much she has grown. i can't believe how big she looks, every day she changes so much. yesterday, she took her first bottle. it was such a special moment for hank, as he got to feed her for the first time and lillian LOVED it. she was so milk drunk after, it was hilarious. i am so relieved too, as she doesn't seem to care where the milk comes from. hank is nervous i am going to "give" him the 4am feeding :) haha. good to know i have the option anyway!!!

in order to keep her used to the bottle, and to give hank a feeding once a day with her, i am committing to pumping once a day now. i haven't been doing it regularly- mostly because i haven't had the need to. my milk seems to come in as she needs it and i rarely feel i have too much. i also hate doing it. for those of you who have used a pump before, you know what i am talking about. for those of you who haven't- it is not something to look forward too. i feel so awkward and it kind of hurts! i much prefer just letting her breastfeed, but i want hank to have some bonding time with her like i do. and since she really just eats and sleeps right now, i think it is so important he gets the opportunity to feed her.

off to snuggle my little lady. she is amazing. love, love, love.

:)

xo

she is growing so fast...

lillian has officially grown out of her newborn onsies! ah! i can't believe it. she is growing like a little weed and is more and more beautiful every day :)

check this out...a picture of lillian during her nap today. the picture sitting next to her is of me when i was a newborn! uncanny how much we look alike, huh?

hank is in there for sure...but, i love seeing the resemblance she has to me too :)

since the weather has been so nasty, lillian, the dogs and i have been stuck in the house. luckily, this morning, although cold, wasn't wet so we took a trip to ugly mugs- our favorite coffee shop. she and i just hung out, drinking coffee, checking out the ny times...i loved it. it really is the simple things. i can't wait to share all my favorite places and things with her as she grows up. i wish so much for her, and know hank and i will do anything in our power to show her possibility is endless. and she is loved, no matter what.

a friend directed me toward a new blog this morning, and i have to share a quote from it. it is a guest post from a mother about her advice to new moms/moms to be:

"Trust your instincts. You might not think you know what you're doing, but I promise you do.

Expect that it will hurt, expect that it will be hard, and expect that you can do it anyway. You're a rockstar, after all. You were made for this.

Cherish those first few days. They are straight up magic."

-rockstar diaries

love it. beautifully said.

xo

GO STEELERS!!

freedom :)

finally turned a corner yesterday, feeling more like myself and so today, lillian and i adventured out together, just she and i! where did we go? lululemon of course! it was so nice to get out, hang out with the girls and show lillian my second home :) she loved it, was wide awake, taking it all in! so cute.

i also have to say thank you to my lululemon family here- you girls are so amazing. hank and i are so lucky to know and have you all in our lives. they have been bringing hank and i dinner every other night and it has been life saving. and even better, we get to visit and share lillian with you all. i love you all from the bottom of my heart and couldn't be more blessed to have you in our lives. the love and support is just overwhelming, in the best way :) xo.

it was so fun today, i really was such a proud mama. pushing my stroller with my beautiful daughter, walking her around and strutting my stuff :) aka, my babe :) i am so in love. i know i keep saying it but every day it just gets better, and i know it is only going to keep going...when she laughs, starts to crawl, calls me mom...ahh, this is just the best. i was meant for this and my heart is just so full. so full.

off to snuggle lillian and then head to bed.

xo

busy week!

time flew by this week! i can't believe lillian is already 9 days old! she is growing so fast and becoming more and more active. yesterday was our first day alone together, just me and lillian! my mom was here for almost two weeks, helping me prep for her arrival and then juggle her and the house after. having her here was the most amazing gift, she helped with cleaning, cooking, driving me around to run some errands and overall just being an unbelievable role model for me as i am learning how to be a mom. love you so much mom, thank you 100 times over. words aren't enough.

we also had hank's parents, his grandmother and my two sisters in this weekend! we were surrounded by love and support and it felt amazing. thank you all for taking your weekend to be with us and lillian! here are some pictures from the weekend...

hank's family and lillian & i.

my sisters, mom and me with lillian.

we also took a trip to lululemon, my first visit back with my daughter, and of course, lillian's first (but definitely not last) lululemon experience :)

thanks ladies for welcoming lillian into the lululemon nashville fam :) love you all. xo.

after the busy weekend, it has been nice to begin to settle in and get ourselves into a routine. breastfeeding is still going really well, lillian really latches well and is quite a hungry and growing little girl. although i look forward to sleeping through the night again, waking up and seeing her little face looking at me is something i don't want to trade in. our time together when she is nursing is so precious, just being able to use that time to really bond with her. makes me feel so needed and loved.

off to fold some laundry and then lay down with my little girl :)

xo