Dear Sophie,

You're almost three months old now; sometimes it feels like exactly that short a time but often it feels as though you've always been here.

I'm sitting on the couch, pumping as you nap; stealing away some time with my laptop as you sway back and forth in the Rock N Play beside me. You always fall asleep when you're nursing and I still mostly hold you while you nap, staring at your face and running my fingers through your hair, which is the exact same color as your dad's beard. I’ve been trying to put you down more often so I can get a few things done but sometimes (most of the time) I just want to have you close.

At night when I'm in bed and you're still in the living room with Rob, I swipe through pictures of you on my phone and marvel at how much you've changed from the day you were born, the day we brought you home, the day before this one. You grow and learn and grab things and I swear to God the other day you laughed, although you haven't done it again since then.

You're finally sleeping for some longer stretches at night, which means your dad and I actually get to sleep next to each other again. For weeks we took turns holding you and passing each other in the hallway between our bedroom and the living room at 3AM, but this morning I woke up with you still sleeping in the bassinet beside me and your dad curled up against my back and I couldn't believe how lucky I am to have this life and to know this kind of love.

The other day I came across a quote and now I can't remember where I saw it or who said it, but it was something to the effect of this: I love you so much that sometimes I don't even think I can bear it, and then I realize that there are so many other people out there in the world going about their days, quietly harboring the same intense love for their children. It really is the most incredible thing.

I knew you'd change my life and my self, Sophie Ray. I just didn't realize how much or how fast.

I love you to the moon and back,

Megan (Mom)

She's here! Our daughter Sophie showed up right on her due date last Tuesday and we've been in a haze of snuggles and slightly interrupted sleep since then. She's adorable and makes hilarious facial expressions and she smells so good and we just love her so much already.

We've been home for five days now and I'm still pretty sore from a long labor and delivery, but Rob and Ender and I are finding our rhythm as a family of four and loving every minute taking care of this little girl.

Welcome to the family, Sophie Ray--we're so incredibly happy you're here.

The past few weekends I've been doing a lot of cooking and freezing meals so we have some stuff to defrost when we come home with the new baby! My mom will be here on December 1 and is always amazing in the kitchen so I figured we just needed enough to get us through a week or two to get us started (plus I ran out of room in the freezer a lot faster than I thought I would).

Here's what's in my freezer right now:

• Fit Foodie Finds' Healthy Chicken Enchilada Casserole. I used white rice and it looked so good that Rob and I had some before I popped it in the freezer. It's delicious and I'm already looking forward to defrosting it and having it sometime in the next couple of weeks.
• These hash browns that I usually do with sweet potatoes, but used white potatoes instead. I froze them in 1 cup increments so we can defrost a little at a time and just scramble some eggs as we need them.
• My "famous" bacon-wrapped dates--they're a great snack and Rob loves them. I skipped the goat cheese this time.
• Some easy Paleo pumpkin banana muffins that I made up one morning when I realized I had bananas about to go bad and a can of pumpkin in the pantry:
  • 4 bananas
  • 3-4 tablespoons canned pumpkin
  • 2/3 cup coconut flour
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 3 eggs
  • Maybe 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • A few handfuls of chocolate chips
  • Mix everything together and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes
• I wanted to make these sheet pan eggs but ended up freezing about 4 servings of a breakfast casserole that I made for book club the other day (basically it's this one but I skipped the meat and added some cheese).
• More Christmas cookies than anyone needs--I'm sharing a bunch of those recipes the first week of December, so stay tuned!

I still want to make these recipes:

• Kale Soup with Potatoes and Sausage. My aunt Pat sent me a great list of freezer-friendly dishes to make if you're having a baby and this was one of them.
• Another from that list: Scallion Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Glaze
• When my mom gets here I may ask her to make her empanadas so I can write down the recipe and share them with you guys. They're the best and we never have them because they aren't even a little Paleo, but I'm thinking a hand-held meat pie might be the perfect breastfeeding snack, so we may have to make an exception.
• A few things from my new book: fat bombs, "granola" bars, cheeseburger casserole, and buffalo chicken dip.

Do you have any favorite freezer-friendly meals? I want to hear them! I'm sure we'll do another round of cooking once my mom gets here so I want to have a new list ready to go!