Saturday and Sunday were quite dreary-- lots of rain and grey skies. But, we had mum and dad up from Naas so we still managed to have a good time :) Saturday we relaxed, stayed warm inside, and went to our favourite pizza spot for dinner. Sunday we got a few things crossed off of our ever-growing 'house to do' list. It was just a few bits here and there, but it really helped! Mum found us some lovely curtains, dad hung a few things on the walls, the boys moved some furniture, the girls did a bit of cleaning... etc etc. We still have some painting to do and more furniture to find in charity shops or off Gumtree (our version of Craigslist). But, things are coming together and it definitely feels like home now.
Here's a photo from Sunday... after a couple of hours in the house, the sun peeked through so we thought we'd get outside! We took a little walk to a nice coffee spot near our house for a caffeine break. I know Niall has said it before, but we are so blessed and grateful to have these two alongside us here in Ireland. We only wish they were five minutes away instead of two hours!
As you can probably imagine, Méabh is pretty much the center of attention these days. Now that she is smiling and 'talking', we're all even more enthralled with her. ;) What can I say-- she's our first baby and the Maddens first grandchild, so she's bound to steal the show!
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| Dad brought up the lawn mower! Niall's first time tending to our garden :) |
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| Méabh and Nana watching from the kitchen |
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| Méabh fell asleep on Grandad's lap during dinner :) |
The Maddens headed back to Naas on Sunday evening. Luckily, Monday was a beautiful day... and, we all overslept!! Yes, it was glorious. I was up with Méabh at around 5:30 am feeding her. I gently put her back in her Moses basket (which she has outgrown!) hoping she'd go back down for an hour. At 8:40 am, Niall woke me up! I glanced over and there she was, still snoozing away. Half of me panicked a bit (we had friends coming over to the house around 9) and half of me was thinking, 'hallelujah!' :D I hadn't felt that rested in quite some time. She must have known it was a holiday because today she was back to her 6:30 am wake up time!
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| Hooray for blue skies! |
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We had 2 couples from our connect group come over for coffee and runner watching! The Belfast Marathon went right by our house which was pretty cool. Neil who is part of our group was running so it was fun to cheer him on. Luckily he was only at mile 4 so he was still smiling at this stage!  
We were pretty chuffed with the view from our front garden!
We really enjoyed having people over to the house. However, it definitely highlighted for both Niall and myself that our kitchen is not conducive to entertaining loads of people! We are lucky that only 2 of the 5 couples we invited came over; even with 6 adults, there wasn't really enough space for everyone to sit. We are hoping these kitchen plans work out because we love the idea of having people over for dinners, breakfasts, etc!
After our morning with friends, we ran a few errands, got a coffee at our beloved 5A (yes, we still have a weak spot for South Belfast!), and did a few last things at home before wrapping up the long weekend.
We try and get Méabh out in the fresh air when we can! Niall found a crib off Gumtree for 20 pounds and finished painting it yesterday. Can't believe this kid has already gotten so big!
  
Not a bad view while I cook dinner!
Well, I can't say the sunshine lasted-- it has been pouring rain all day here today. Oh well. It's the nice days here and there that give us a boost to get through the dreary ones! I had a few hard days when we first moved, but I'm grateful to be feeling much better now and I love how our home is coming along. Méabh is great-- she is 15 weeks today. Her personality is showing more and more, we really love her!
She likes... the car. She still falls asleep whenever we drive somewhere. Also her bouncy chair, her play mat (a gift from our friends which we recently set up for her), her green pacifiers from Auntie Evan (aka the 'mute button' as Niall says), her morning nap, diaper changes (if she's ever in a fussy mood, this does the trick!), and chatting right after waking up. Also the pram!! She loves walking and being out and about... the buzz of a coffee shop puts her to sleep.
She dislikes... when I try and clip her fingernails (I get so nervous doing this!), baths-- I think she would like them, but I've been doing it in a plastic tub that we used for moving so I man handle her a bit!! Also bedtime. This has been really hard lately. She screams and cries and screams and cries... I check on her every so often to try and calm her down before she conks out. Let me tell you, it is pretty funny how she knows it's coming! It's tough prying her little hands off of me but I know she's exhausted and it's the one time of day when Niall and I can relax with each other. So I'm hoping this phase (which has been going on a few weeks) will soon pass!
Her latest trick... well, she is almost rolling over. She gets half way on her side and then she's stuck! She'll let out a cry until I come push her back over... I'm pretty sure she'll go over onto her belly soon enough. She's not full on laughing yet but she's close-- I have made myself look like a fool more than a few times trying to get some giggles out of her!
Sleep... is going well. For a couple of weeks around 3 months she was up twice a night which was a bit rough, but coffee always helps and she's pretty good at going back down after nursing. Lately after I feed her around 10:30 or 11 pm she's only up once between 2 and 3:30 am and then again around 6:30. So she's doing well!
Funny fact... I have about six different butt creams that friends gave me, all swearing their choice was the best. But Méabh has never had a rash on her bum once! I'm grateful... and hoping her little buns stay nice and rash free! :)
Ok, I'll stop there. My little sidekick is snoozing next to me... it is still quite stormy out so I'm off to make a cup of tea!
Love you all... less than two months now until CA... the countdown is on!
xox
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