The spectacular now

I'm here!  I did not fall off the face of the earth.  On the contrary, I've been at home loving every second (even the frustrating ones!) with our daughter, Audrey.

Audrey is five weeks old today!  Here are some pics over the last several weeks:

Professional picture done in Florida.  Audrey was 6 days old and weighed in at 4 lbs, 2.5 ounces this day.

Showing off a little smirk at about 1.5 weeks old.

Taking a "wrap" break at the airport on the way home (2 weeks, 2 days old)

Rocking her socks.  3 weeks, 1 day old...clocked in at 5 lbs, 13 oz the prior day.

One month old!  Hovering right below seven pounds based on our totally accurate bathroom scale.

My takeaways from the last month-ish:

Babies' faces turn bright red very quickly when they are working on passing gas.  The first time she did it, I really freaked out thinking she was dying.  Now I giggle at her and cuddle her until she's done.

Babies can get a big blister/callous thing on their upper lip when they start feeding.  Apparently, it's most common with breast feeding, but happens with bottle feeding too.  I again thought she was dying of a rare callous disease, but it actually means she latches on well and has the battle scars to prove it.

Audrey can Edward Scissorhands her face even right after I've cut and filed her finger nails.  

At this age, smiles aren't really "social" yet (we are soooo close though!), but they are still the greatest thing in the absolute world...even if it means she has a very dirty diaper afterwards.

Similar to most babies,but still surprising each time -- Audrey can burp louder than my husband. Sometimes she shocks herself and starts crying.

You never know how much you are into voyeurism until you buy a video baby monitor.  I could watch it while she sleeps for hours.

2am feedings really aren't that bad, as it can be a super cuddly time with baby.  It's just not fun when she doesn't want to go back to sleep afterwards.  Luckily, these instances are pretty few and far between for her.

Her birth parents love her tremendously.  We've been in contact with them several times since we've been back at home and they are doing well.  

I feel bad that my husband misses out on most of the day with her while he's at work (and I'm dreading going back to work next month).  I love when he holds her and she just studies his face in awe and wonder.

Her teenage big sister adores her.  

Holy shit, babies can shit.  The best one was when she covered her diaper in poop while sitting on my lap, and then decided to pee.  Since there was no diaper left to absorb the pee, it leaked out all over me.  I would have sat in her pee for hours though if I needed to.

Things I'm looking forward to:

Big smiles.  Supposedly these start coming full force any time now, and by the end of 2 months (8 weeks).  I cannot wait.

Neck support.  She can get so squirmy and I lose her head sometimes.  I'll love it when I know she can hold her own neck even for a few minutes!

0-3 month clothes.  She is eking into those, but is still mostly in newborn.  Her 0-3 month clothes are so much cuter.  And don't even get me started on the 3-6 month stuff she has waiting for her.

More established schedules.  She is doing SOOOO well, and could probably get on a pretty tight schedule now if we tried to implement one.  We're waiting until closer to 2 months though, but definitely before I go back to work.

I love the crap out of this girl.  God has blessed us in such an amazing way, and I feel blessed us with the whole experience overall.  We were totally meant to know and love her birth family, and to raise Audrey.  This point in our lives is pretty spectacular.