A year passes so quickly...

Before I begin this post let me warn you all that I am in a sentimental mood and listening to sappy Christmas music as I write. Proceed with caution:


So much, good and bad, happens in a year. And it all happens so quickly - 365 days really isn't THAT long.  How is it that a year ago I was holding my precious 7lb baby girl who only ate, slept, pooped,  and cried, and today I walk through the house holding both her hands as she learns to walk? She is now 20 lbs, about 30 in tall, and saying bye bye, mama, dada, papa, kitty cat, and puppy. She is my heart, absolutely the best blessing God has ever given me. I had no idea one little person could stir such emotion in me. I think of her often through the workday, and although I miss her while I am work, I feel so proud to be her mommy and so blessed to be the one God entrusted with her care while we are on this Earth.  There is nothing I wouldn't do for her or her daddy. They are my world- and I know if I hadn't waited for George - and rather married some other goob along the way- Julianna wouldn't be here today. We've gone through so much this year, our little family, and proved that we can make it through anything. Many of you reading this may be unaware of our struggles, and that's ok. Just know that my faith and hope has been renewed over the past year, and God answers prayers.

I am a very emotional, reflective person. As my favorite time of year - Christmas- approaches, I try to think of all of my blessings- even if sometimes it makes me sad. I am honored to be Julianna's mother, and I think the world should know that I had a great example of motherly love to follow. I miss my mom so much, and I know I will see her one day, but I can't help but think about how much she would love my little family- and her first granddaughter. Sometimes Julianna waves off into space and smiles. She has done this since she was just a couple of months old. I always ask her what she is smiling at, or reaching for, as she sometimes does. Of course she doesn't tell me, but I like to think that maybe she sees or feels mama's presence here. They say babies are open to that because they are closer to heaven than we are, seeing as they were there not that long ago. It's definitely going to be one of my questions for God when I get there.

We recently celebrated Julianna's 1st birthday. I am proud to say that I was pretty domesticated. I made the cupcakes, her cake (George made the frosting, but I decorated), her onesie (iron on), and her tutu and bow. Now those of you that know me know that is pretty impressive for me- I am the one who buys anything I can that is already done. Those of you that know Julianna know how absolutely precious she was in her birthday outfit. We had a wonderful turnout for her party, and if you were one of those folks - thank you so much!!!

This year has been wonderful- even with the struggles- and I so look forward to the year ahead. I just wish we could slow down a bit so I could hold every single moment and find a way to capture them all. Of course if that were the case, maybe we wouldn't be able to appreciate the moments we do have.

I am going to work on getting this blog out much more often (seriously). So keep an eye out. Thank you for allowing me to be open and vulnerable. Some days we just need to be sentimental. God bless you all.  Merry Christmas!!!

Heartaches and Happiness

Hi Everyone! I know it has been a while since my last post. We have been facing some difficult challenges as a family, and have been using the past few months to work on things and spend some quality time together. I won't go into the challenges here, as they are deeply personal, but just know that the prayers you all have sent on our behalf are working and the sun is starting to shine a little brighter each day.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my summer with my princess and hubby. Next week I have to return to work, and am a little bummed about that, but I am really working on trying to stay positive in all things. You won't believe how big Miss Julianna has gotten. On Monday she will be 8 months old!! Not sure how much she weighs, but I am guessing around 18 lbs or so. She eats all kinds of things now, but her favorite is bananas. I am only nursing her once in the morning and once in the evening. The rest of the time she gets formula, because my milk production dropped drastically. I was really hoping to nurse for a year, and then pump after that so that she would get the nutrition from breast milk for at least 2 years, as the American Pediatric Association recommends, but I am learning that we do what we have to do. As long as she is fed and healthy, it doesn't matter if it is formula or breast milk.  I will say it is SOOO much easier to give a squirmy baby a bottle when we are in public than to try to covertly nurse.  So, again, I find the positive! This new plan is working! Today anyway..... LOL.  In addition to bananas, she also has been served oatmeal, rice, sweet potatoes, green peans, pears, apples, yogurt and mashed potatoes.  She is taking a while to get those teeth, so purees it will be for a while. She seems to like everything so far, which means she is taking after her daddy and not her mama!!

She is so close to crawling, I can already feel the muscles burning from chasing after her.  Right now she rolls to get where she wants to go, but this past week at Papa and Gigi's house she pushed up on all fours and pushed herself forward and inch or two to reach a desired object (Papa's watch!). LIke I said it won't be long!!

Julianna had her first night (actually 2) away from us in June. Her grandma kept her so that we could enjoy our anniversary. We went to Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor, and out to dinner. It was nice to be able to play and eat without her constantly wanting our attention, but when it came bedtime, I really missed her and worried about her all night.  Of course she was fine and had a great time at grandma's so after taking her back to the hotel with us for one night, we decided she could stay with grandma one more time the next night. I think mommy is learning to share a little bit!!

We just retuned from our summer road trip. We put 3200 miles on our car, and basically made a big triangle throughout the eastern/central part of the US. We drove from Houston to Waynesville, MO where we stayed with some very gracious friends, Hermann and Melissa. I also got to see Fort Leonard Wood where George was stationed when he was in the Marines. That was pretty cool. Then we went to Chicago where we stayed for almost a week and had many adventures, including a trip to the top of the Willis (Sears) tower. Then it was on to Gulf Shores for a short visit with Dad and Kelly (otherwise known as Papa and Gig), then finally home to Houston. WHEW!!! Can you say tired??? We had to come home just to recuperate from our vacation.  But we had a blast, and got some great pictures.

So now it is back to the real world. Next week, Julianna starts with a new babysitter, Mrs. Tania, and I go back to work, and George's schedule pics up too. So the countdown begins...how long until Thanksgiving break?????

Love you guys! Thanks for reading and, I promise to update more often. Please feel free to leave a comment if you enjoyed our updates!!

Growing and Changing!

 Our little miss Julianna is growing so fast. She is 4 1/2 months old now, weighs in at about 13 lbs 4 oz and is still the most precious thing ever! Of course, I think she will hold that title forever! She is one happy girl too. She laughs and "talks" all the time. It is very difficult to not be a morning person when you wake up to sweet smiles and coos. The really wet diaper in the morning doesn't even get me down! We're lucky because she sleeps through the night, so we sleep too. Occasionally, she wakes up for a middle of the night feeding, but mostly she sleeps from 10:00 to 5:00. I still wake up to check on her often, but I am sleeping pretty well these days. I can't complain.

Julianna is doing some cool new things. She has learned how to take her pacifier out of her mouth, play with it a bit, and sometimes she can manage to get it back into her mouth when she is ready. It is fun to watch her try. Everything goes into her mouth. I am going to have to do some serious childproofing of our home here soon. She loves to lay on her floor mat and grab (and try to eat) the toys hanging from it.  She can stay entertained with that for quite a while. Her favorite is this little blue bird that vibrates when you pull down on it. It took her while to figure out how to do that, and to have the strength, but now that she can I worry she's gonna pull the little guys legs off!

She has also found her toes! For a long time she was entranced by her hands and would constantly stare at them. Now she gets what those are for, she has moved on to her toes. You should see her try to eat her toes. It is quite amusing!

And the drool!! My goodness the princess can drool. I think she may start teething soon by the amount  of drool and the fact that she chews on everything and tries to put her whole hand in her mouth. She is constantly sucking on her fingers, and my arm too when I am holding her!

So..to share the absolute neatest thing that my baby girl can do these days: she recognizes her name! She actually turns to look at you when you speak her name, and gives the biggest smile. I love it. I love when I see her reaching these milestones, and growing and changing.  It kinda breaks my heart in a way because I know that time is going to continue to fly by and I am going to miss these sweet baby days.  So I just enjoy every moment I get with her and, try to take lots of pictures, and write this blog. All of these things I hope will help preserve the memories of this time, so that one day she can see what a precious baby angel she was. I even wrote her a lullaby that I sing to her each night (God bless her little ears!), but it is something special that we share that I hope will be a tradition I can continue with her as she grows. That is until the day she realizes her mommy can't carry a tune in a bucket and asks me to stop. But we won't think about that now...

I will share this lullaby here, however vulnerable, so that you all can know the joy she brings to my heart.


You're my special angel,
You're my baby girl
I love you so very much 
You're my whole world


You can do anything you want to do
You can be anything you want to be
Yes you can, Yes you can
'Cause I believe in you


You're my special gift from God
He sent you from up above
You're my special gift from God
He sent you to me with love


Don't let anybody ever tell you no
Don't let them get you down
If they try,
You just spread your smile around


Now it's time to say good night
It's time to close your eyes
Now it's time to say goodnight
We'll wake up with the sunrise


You're my special angel
You're my baby girl
I love you so very much
You're my whole world.


She is usually asleep by the time I finish the song, as we have been rocking through the lullaby. Then I place her in her bassinet, and crawl in bed and cuddle with my hubby (when he is home). I must say I am truly blessed.  Tired, in a good way, and I usually fall asleep the moment I say my prayers and close my eyes. Before that happens though, I make sure I thank God for my beautiful family, and for all of you as well.

Thank you for reading. God bless each of you in whatever it is that you need. Stay tuned for the next update from the Gallamore family!!

Transitions

So...the dreaded return to work has come and gone.  In 32 years I have been fortunate enough to only have had to face just a few days that have threatened to rip the heart out of my chest. This past Monday was one of those days. (George says this is a bit dramatic, but hey, it's how I felt!) I woke at 5 a.m. and tearfully nursed my barely awake daughter, then continued to combat the tears as I dressed and loaded my car with the seemingly millions of items the babysitter would need. I spent the free time I had to play with Julianna and soak in her smiles and laughs. She is a very happy baby in the mornings, so it is difficult not to be happy too!! On the 45 minute drive to work, I explained to her what was going to happen today and why we had to be apart. I assured her that I would much rather be with her, but that for a few hours there were other kids who needed me. I told her that some of them don't have the loving parents she does, and they need someone to talk to and to love them too. I told her that Mrs. Theresa was going to take good care of her and that I would call often and come by at lunch. As I peered at her through the rearview mirror with my blurry tear-filled eyes, I realized she was fast asleep. So much for that pep talk! I am already gabbing her to boredom! George made me feel better when he told me that I had comforted her just enough to sleep peacefully.  That, or the magic of a moving vehicle sent her into dreamland. Once we arrived at the sitters, I cried before I entered the door, gave her many kisses, went to work and spent the rest of the morning crying. I called Mrs. Theresa 3 times before lunch, went and nursed her at lunch because she was resisting the bottle, then called again 3 times after lunch. Poor Mrs. Theresa! But she was so patient. My reward for making it through the day was a huge smile from Julianna when I arrived to pick her up in the afternoon. That helped so much...and the fact that I had all evening to love on her!

People tell you it gets easier. People tell you that every mother goes through this. People tell you that one day you will enjoy the time apart from your kids. People are crazy.

It IS getting easier, as I only cried the first 2 days, and have been better the past 2 days, but it is still hard to be away from her.  On the 2nd day Julianna knew what was happening and cried when I handed her to Mrs. Theresa. It broke my heart that I had to leave her crying like that. By the third day, she cried when I took her from Mrs. Theresa. That broke my heart even more. Today, day number 4, was much better, and we are both adjusting well. She seems to really like Mrs. Theresa and vice versa. I am extremely lucky to have found such a caring individual  (and close to work too) to care for my daughter. A (large) piece of me stays there with her each day as I go to work. I can't imagine ever wanting to be away from my angel, but for now this is how it has to be.  So we wake up with a smile and we go to sleep with kisses.  I realize that I set the tone around here, so no matter how hard it is I have to be as positive as possible. (As my dad reminded me...this is just the beginning. Wait until she falls off her bike, gets her heart broken, drives away from me in her own car, and goes away to college. Thanks dad....but for now I think I'll take one day at a time. You tried to teach me that motto for years...I finally get it!!)

On another note, Julianna weighs 12 lbs now! She is the absolute most cutest, cuddliest,  most adorable creature on this planet! I can't get enough of her and love to just kiss her puffy cheeks and squeeze her (gently) all the time. Her laughter is contagious and she babbles so much I wish I knew what she was trying to tell me! She gets so excited about her conversations too. She knows what she is saying. I am just trying to learn Julianna lingo.

Today I witnessed one of the sweetest things. George turned on the radio, grabbed Julianna and danced with her around the living room. He even did a mock dip. The sight of daddy and daughter having their first dance had me grinning from ear to ear.  It was priceless. One day they'll be dancing at her wedding. But for now....one day at a time!!

Thank you to all who prayed for me this week. I have no doubt your prayers helped me through this transition. You all are awesome! Leave a comment below or become a follower of our blog.  Love to all!

The things I've learned...

Ok....first things first. I realize now that I never should have named our blog "The Gallamore Weekly", but rather "The Gallamore Monthly", or better yet, "The Gallamore When I Have Time Blog".  Having a baby changes the number of things that one can accomplish in a 24 hour period. Many times I have written a new blog post in my head and prepared to sit down and type it out, only to be sidetracked by a waking baby, a dirty diaper, a growling stomach (mine and hers), or the most delicious laugh you've ever heard. I mean, really, who wouldn't want to cuddle and see those smiles and hear the laughs of their daughter versus typing on a computer? So, although my princess will undoubtedly wake before I finish this, I thought I would begin this latest update into the Gallamore world.

My sweetie pie is 3 months old! Can you believe it? Over the last three months I have witnessed some of the most miraculous, wonderful, and exciting changes in this tiny little person. Julianna now smiles, laughs and coos quite a bit. I really think she has something to say and is trying her best to get it out. And she is so happy about it! Other than the major issues in any baby's life (i.e. dirty diaper, hungry, tired), she rarely cries and is just generally happy. She wakes up happy and it just makes my morning. For a while she was sleeping 8-9 hours at night, but now she only sleeps 5-6. Still not too bad. She weighs approx. 11 lbs 3 oz. Still tiny, but growing and thriving. She can still fit into some of her newborn clothes but is slowly transitioning into size 0-3. We have so many cute clothes for her, but many of them still swallow her!  She has discovered her hands and it is so cool to watch her try to figure out what they are for. I can't wait till she discovers her little feet. She can at times roll from her back onto her side. She holds her head up well and we are now doing daily tummy time to get her ready to crawl in a few months. We have a pretty good routine down and I have learned, for the most part, what she needs and what her cries mean as well as how to soothe her. Being a mommy is an education all its own, with the main lessons being "hands on"...I think by the time she is 18 I should have earned another master's degree...if not my Ph.D!

However, next week things are going to change. I must start back to work and just the thought of it breaks my heart. Last week I spent an entire day and a half crying, and not wanting to put her down, or let anyone else hold her. We spent half a day with her sitter, and although she is great, it hurt my heart to watch someone else care for her. That's my job, and I am not really interested in sharing it, except with George. Reality bites. Bills suck. Truth hurts. I know I have to go back. I have kids at school who need me, but I can't help feeling like she needs me more. I never thought it would be like this. I always thought I would want to work. I mean, after all I spent 4 1/2 years in college and 3 1/2 years in grad school. Why would I give that up? Why? Because holding her I feel is where I belong. Where everything I do actually makes a difference that will make an impact for a lifetime. It is where I have wanted to be my whole life and now I have to share her with someone else for 9 hours a day. I sleep 6-7 hours a day, and she sleeps more. How much time will I actually get with her? Will she miss me? Will she think I want to be away from her? Am I crazy???????

I have spent the last three years helping moms and kindergartners separate on the first day of school. I have told parents to leave as their child cries and screams and I have all but pushed them out the door with tears steaming down their face. I always called them a few hours later to let them know their child is ok.  I thought that would never be me, but once again God is teaching me humility. Next August I will be more empathetic towards the parents who are so strongly leaving their crying 5 year old behind, trusting me and the teachers with their child's safety, well- being, and education. Still, I wonder, next Monday am I going to be able to actually walk away, leave her at the sitters, and go to work. Realistically I have  no choice. Emotionally, well....I will fill you in on how it goes. Prayers will be much appreciated.....

Thanks for sharing in lives. Checkout facebook for the latest pics of Julianna. Leave a comment below if you'd like, or click to become a follower. See you next time on The Gallamore Weekly!

8 weeks old!!

I can't believe our Julianna is 8 weeks old! She is gaining weight and growing. At her last dr. appt she weighed 9 lbs 5 oz and was 22 inches long. Thats 2lbs 5 oz and 2 in. more than at birth! She is still tiny and still wears newborn clothes but the doctor said she looks great and is perfectly healthy. I am so thankful to have a happy, healthy baby. We are truly blessed.

She is getting such a cute personality now. She smiles and coos and is just generally happy. She is the most adorable thing I have ever seen, not that I am biased or anything. I love waking up to her in the mornings. That is when she is the most happy. I am not a huge fan of the middle of the night feedings, as I like my sleep, but any time I get to spend with her is precious. She is sleeping longer at night now so we are getting our rest again. That is nice. In the evenings she is pretty alert too, and she seems mesmerized by the TV. That is not good!! We are not going to let her be a TV junkie!!! Luckily, she likes her swing too and anything else that makes noise and moves. She is pretty easily entertained at this stage. She loves to be held and I love to hold her.

She also loves her daddy time! George and her have such a special bond. She just gets so happy when he is around, and smiles and coos at him. If she is fussy, he calms her down so easily. Not to mention she looks just like him when he was a baby. We looked at the two baby pictures and it could be the same kid! She  is him made over, all I did was carry and birth her. Of course, her sweetness comes from me too!

She is "talking"more now too, making new noises and her cries have changed. She is growing up on me! I am trying to soak it all in and memorize her every move because I know it won't be long until she is truly all grown up. I know I will miss this stage.

We are going to Alabama next week and I can't wait to show her off to everyone. I am such a proud mommy. Last week we went to Baton Rouge and Julianna and I spent the day with some dear friends, Barbara and Jimmy, while George went to work. It was a great day! I look forward to seeing more special friends when we head to Alabama.

I thank God every day for my wonderful little family. I am also thankful for you, my friends and family, who keep up with us and love us so much. We love you all!!

How time flies!

It has now been more than a month since Julianna entered our world.  She is the most amazing, wonderful, special gift God has granted us. I know it has been a while since my last post, but I have learned that newborns set the schedule for your life and blogs are not at the top of their list of priorities! My life now revolves around feeding, changing and sleep. But I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I am going to try to recap the past month for you all, and I will make every effort to make sure my next post is not so far away.

After bringing Julianna home, I discovered that I really don't need as much sleep as I once thought I did. 3 hours at a time is a miracle and believe it or not I can feel rested after 3 hours. That is provided she goes back to sleep after a diaper change and feeding. Sometimes I get lucky, and sometimes she wants to stay up and visit (aka communicate by crying!).

The first two weeks were the hardest, as I transitioned into mommyhood, and my body healed from childbirth.  I had the baby blues, where I cried every night, but that has gotten better. For the first 2 weeks, I did not want to let George out of my sight, and I was extremely clingy to him. He is so good with the baby that I just felt more comfortable with him there. After catching up on my rest and realizing that life had to get back to some sort of normal, I let go of the clinginess and now feel confident in my abilities as a new mom.  We had some wonderful friends who helped in those first two weeks, as my house was messy and often times I would be so focused on feeding Julianna that I forgot to feed myself.  So God blessed us with wonderful friends who brought us meals and straightened up the house. I seriously do not know how single moms do it. My hats off to them.

At 3 weeks old Julianna attended her first Gallamore Christmas party. This is a family event held at our house and she was able to meet some of her aunts, uncles, and cousins for the first time. I think she liked them...she allowed them to all pass her around and hold her while she slept.  I actually missed her while they were here, even though we were in the same room! She is very well loved, and for that I feel so very blessed.

Her first Christmas was spent at home and she slept right through Santa's visit and the opening of gifts. I took pictures of her with her stocking and gifts so we can show her one day all about her first Christmas. We were excited because her Gigi and Papa (dad and Kelly) and Uncle Will got to come for her 1st Christmas. Uncle Will was a bit under the weather so he didn't get to spend much time with us. Hopefully in February when we go to Alabama she can have some quality time with her uncle.

For New Years, her great Granny and Papaw (Margy and Don from Arkansas- Kelly's parents) came to see her. We all went to dinner and then Granny and Papaw babysat so mommy and daddy could go to a movie. I cried when we left as this was our first outing without her since she has been born. But we were home way before midnight and I got to give her and her daddy kisses at midnight. It is going to be a doubly good year!! Of course after kisses her dad had to go out and wake up the neighborhood with our left over fourth of July fireworks. Funny...she slept right though that too!! They sure were pretty, and half the neighborhood came outside to watch. It was a lot of fun.

On New Year's day she turned a month old. George and I have noticed that she stays awake longer now and is much more alert. She just loves to look around and try to figure out what is going on. She smiles a lot, but at this point they are just gas smiles. And boy does she have gas!! Who knew something so tiny could have adult sized toots! I figure it can't be comfortable because she fusses a lot, so I am trying to cut dairy and chocolate out of my diet. They say in breast feeding moms that those items can make it worse. So, this chocoholic ice cream lover is going without until Julianna's digestive system gets a bit stronger. The things we do for our kids!! :)

And now we have come with daddy on our first road trip. We are in Austin for a couple of days while George works. We brought Cocoa too. It is definitely harder traveling with a new baby and a dog.  Luckily my hubby is a master packer so everything fit in our car with room to spare!

I think I have got you all up to date. We did get her newborn pics taken, and I am going to post them on facebook soon, and her birth announcements will be out in a few weeks.

God Bless!