One Month

Afton's Birthday Photo Shoot

Somewhere in this time frame we lost a shoe.

She got a Bumbo for her birthday.  We were surprised how well she took to it.

Ok, so she was scared at first...

Here are some of our favorite pictures from her first month:

Our favorite jammies

She did this all on her own.  I just looked over and saw
the photo op.  I promise.

The hat says it all

Planking

We love our little girl!  This month has gone by so fast.  It's so fun to see how much Afton has grown!

Don't Blink

Three weeks is a long time.  I mean, we're talking 21 days.  That's 504 hours--very few of which were spent sleeping.  Yet I feel like I blinked and I missed something.  A lot has happened in the past three weeks.  For one, I have a daughter that actually fits into her newborn size clothes now.  That's a big deal.  I feel like she has grown so much and is starting to show us a little bit more of who Afton is.

April 10th

May 1st

I think she has a good sense of humor.  One of her favorite things to do is make a mess when her diaper is off.  She's 4 for 4 when getting weighed at the doctor's office.  She's also 2 for 2 when wearing this outfit.  She loves looking at the lights in our house.  If you walk around with her, she will turn her head to keep looking at them.  She's actually really good at holding up her head.  She has been from the very beginning, but she continues to get better.  She doesn't like to do it when we have tummy time (which serves the purpose to help her hold up her head), but she loves to lift it up and look around whenever you hold her on your shoulder.

She also loves looking at our painting of the Savior on our wall.  She's been intently focused on that painting way too many times for that to be a coincidence.  She's also very patient and understanding.  Mom's got no clue what she's doing half the time, but Afton is so patient with me.  She fusses when she's hungry, but when she she realizes that mom's getting ready to feed her, she usually calms right down and waits patiently.  She is such a sweet little girl.

April 12th

April 27th and fitting much better :)

I had a big pay day a few days ago.  I was rocking her and singing to her and she was just staring me in the face being so calm and peaceful like she tends to do.  It finally hit that I really am her mom.  She needs me to help her and to teach her.  She's so sweet and I am so lucky to have the blessing of being her mother.  Such an incredible feeling.

In other news, I've changed quite a bit in the past three weeks too!  Just a minor detail though.

April 10 (actually the 9th, but I look about the same)

May 1 (I had every intention of showering and
getting dressed for this picture, but I pitched
that idea after a long day, reasoning that this
is a more accurate depiction anyways.)

Three weeks have come and gone, and there's three more weeks until that magical six-week mark that I've heard so much about.  I'm excited for that day to come, yet I find myself already nostalgic for that brand new tiny little 6lb 14oz baby that got swallowed up by all of her clothes.  I'm glad she and I are starting to get things figured out, but I kind of miss that fresh little bundle too... but not enough to trade back the progress we've made. :)

One more picture, just because she's so cute.

What's in a name

By request, and because I'd love to share, I wanted to post about Afton's name.  As some of you may know, Afton is actually my middle name.  I was named after my great grandmother.  I didn't know her very well--she passed away about 15 years ago and suffered from Alzheimer's as long as I can remember, but I've kind of always felt a bit of a connection to her because we shared a name.  From what I understand, she was very much a lady, and also very strong.  We hope Afton will also have those same traits.

Afton and Michelle Afton

Michelle Afton and Afton

Afton's middle name is Jayna.  As some of you may know, this is my sister's name.  Ty actually suggested the idea.  We thought it sounded good with Afton, and then the name continued to grow on us as we want Afton to look up to Jayna as well.  Jayna is one of the sweetest people in the world.  She is a peacemaker and is very good at helping others to feel loved and included.  We hope that Afton will develop some of the great traits of her Aunt Jayna.

Me with Aunt Jayna and some headbands she made for Afton

Our little Afton Jayna has some big shoes to fill, but we know she can do it.  We're so grateful that she has so many people (way more than just her two namesakes) to look up to and try to emulate.  We'll do our best to teach her, but we're grateful for all the wonderful examples she has that will really help her to become an incredible woman.