We have been pretty busy around here! Since the last time I posted we had Sarah Jo's 6 month well check, celebrated her first Halloween and now we are preparing for her first Thanksgiving! :-)
At her 6 month well check she did great! Still healthy and meeting milestones like a champ! I am so very grateful and thankful that we have a healthy baby girl. We moved forward with Baby Led Weaning after getting the ok from the doctor. She said there are no rules so just have fun with solids. Pretty much the only thing she can't have is honey and cow's milk until she is a year old. So we have been having a lot of fun with food! So far she has had cucumber, celery with peanut butter, pasta, scrambled eggs, toast with peanut butter, sweet potato, shredded chicken, apple sauce, green beans, and black beans. She has pretty much loved all of it! :-) In the beginning she would pretty much cough and spit out pretty much everything. But now she chews and swallows quite a bit and doesn't cough nearly as much. She has a lot of fun at meal times. We also do some purees but for the most part she eats food that we eat. For Thanksgiving I am excited for her to eat with us. I decided she is going to have some shredded turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and maybe some mashed potatoes. :-) It is going to be so fun.
For Halloween we had several activities! :-) We kicked things off with our Halloween party with our friends. We went over to Heath and Courtney's house and hung out and played games with the Talks, Adam and Ches, Butch, Paula, Heather, Mom and Adam Enloe. We decided we would all dress up so we went as a farm family. Micheal wore overalls and boots with a cowboy hat and I dressed up as the farmer's wife. And our sweet Sarah Jo was a duck! :-)
The weekend before Halloween was our annual Pumpkin Trail. It was a long day and a lot of work but a blast! :-) It was like 80 degrees and we were out there at 4:00 for the parade so we didn't dress Sarah Jo up until that evening when it cooled off. She was a cow this night. And a very adorable cow if I do say so myself! :-) The next evening we put Sarah back in her duck costume and went to the trunk or treat at the Baptist Church. It was so neat to show off our sweet girl.
Finally, on Halloween night we dressed her up again (as a duck) and took her to see her grandparents. We went to Nana and Poppa's, Cyndy and Jimmy's, and to see Granny Jo at the Nursing Home. By the end of the night Sarah was exhausted and DONE with Halloween. LOL. I told her that we wouldn't put that duck costume on her anymore. :-) We spent the rest of the evening passing out candy to trick or treaters and just hanging out. This was our first official holiday with our girl and we had a lot of fun!
To wrap up this post I am going to list some sweet things about Sarah Jo at 7 months that I don't want to forget.
-She started sitting up on her own earlier this month. I have always thought babies sitting up is just the cutest thing so needless to say I am loving this new sitting up thing. :-)
-My mom has this stuffed puppy that lights up and sings and whenever Sarah sees it she smiles THE SWEETEST smile. I love it!
-She has been having some issues sleeping lately so if we just cannot soothe her in her crib we bring her to bed with us. It is so sweet cuddling with her... even though I don't get much rest LOL.
-When she wakes up in the morning she will just talk and talk for a long time! She is just so content to just hang out in her bed and talk. When I get up and go in there she smiles the BIGGEST smile and does her little crunch which means "Hey Mom! Pick me up!" :-)
-Yesterday, I was sitting on the couch and she was sitting down at my feet and she started to pull up on my legs. She is soooo close to being able to pull up! I don't know if I am ready for that.
-When you are sitting in front of her playing with her she will find both of your index fingers and start standing up. She lights up when she stands up!
-She wants to chew on EVERYTHING. Anything you hand her, she aggressively grabs it and shoves it into her mouth. It is hilarious how intense she is.
-She has 2 teeth now. The center bottom ones. I didn't think her smile could get any sweeter... I was wrong!
-Right now her favorite toys are her dolls, her rattle, the remote control and a rubber spatula. :-)
-She loves watching sing along shows. :-)
-She still adores being outside and just out and about in general. She is the best companion. She just looks around and takes it all in when we are in stores or at church or wherever. And she still crashes out in her car seat. :-)
Well, that is all I can think of right now.
We are just living and loving this life with our girl. :-)
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Fun with Friends
In order to bring in a little extra income and help out my Mommy friends I have been babysitting a few times a week. I watch Karder pretty regularly when Kamille has marketing events for work and I keep Wyatt as a backup for Kimberly if his regular daycare worker is unavailable. It has been neat to watch babies at three different stages. Karder just turned two months and Wyatt just turned one in September. Karder reminds me where we have been and how quickly time flies and Wyatt shows me how much we have to look forward to! And my girl is right in the middle! :-)
Today Wyatt is here. (I have not been brave enough to watch all three of them at the same time yet. LOL.) He is so sweet. He crawls and cruises like a champ. He is so close to walking it isn't even funny. I love watching him and Sarah interact and just watch each other. It is so fun. Right now he is munching on his snack in his high chair next to me while Sarah naps. :-) I just love meal time and snack time with Wyatt. It is so sweet to watch him eat and take drinks out of his cup like such a big boy. I can't wait to do that with Sarah Jo.
Tonight Micheal has Wednesday night youth so Sarah and I will just hang out and make some meatloaf for dinner. She enjoys watching me cook. She sits in her bumbo chair and I talk her through all the steps. It will be fun when she is big enough to pour and stir! :-) Right now her main job is usually chewing on a rubber spatula... which is pretty essential to the cooking process if you ask me! :-)
Well Mr. Wyatt is about done and now its time to play!
Until next time!
Today Wyatt is here. (I have not been brave enough to watch all three of them at the same time yet. LOL.) He is so sweet. He crawls and cruises like a champ. He is so close to walking it isn't even funny. I love watching him and Sarah interact and just watch each other. It is so fun. Right now he is munching on his snack in his high chair next to me while Sarah naps. :-) I just love meal time and snack time with Wyatt. It is so sweet to watch him eat and take drinks out of his cup like such a big boy. I can't wait to do that with Sarah Jo.
Tonight Micheal has Wednesday night youth so Sarah and I will just hang out and make some meatloaf for dinner. She enjoys watching me cook. She sits in her bumbo chair and I talk her through all the steps. It will be fun when she is big enough to pour and stir! :-) Right now her main job is usually chewing on a rubber spatula... which is pretty essential to the cooking process if you ask me! :-)
Well Mr. Wyatt is about done and now its time to play!
Until next time!
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
The Wonderful World of Solids!
At Sarah's 4 month well check back in August I asked Dr. Dalton about her opinion when it comes to introducing solids to Sarah. She said that we can do whatever we feel comfortable with as far as when and how to introduce them. She said she started her first (out of five) on solids at 4 months because it is exciting but ended up stopping and waiting until later simply because it was a mess trying to feed a 4 month old. And with her other babies she waits until 6 months and does baby led weaning. I told her that I plan on doing baby led weaning and wanted to skip cereals and try to wait until closer to 6 months. I made it to 5 months and then I just couldn't stand it! I wanted to explore the wonderful world of solids with my girl!
I started slow and just gave her frozen chunks of bananas in her mesh paci to help soothe her gums (teething probs). She absolutely loved it! A few days later I tried a small piece of frozen strawberry in there. She was not a fan. It was hilarious and sad at the same time. I thought maybe the strawberry was sour so I tasted it and it was as sweet as could be! I couldn't believe she did not like it!
After that I waited a few more weeks and we introduced some apple sauce. She like it but was pretty fussy later that day so I thought it made her have a tummy ache. We paused again and a couple of weeks ago started again. So far she has had sweet potatoes, butternut squash, peas, bananas and apple sauce (all purees). She has loved them all and we have not had any other issues! (Other than last week when she was eating some bananas and wanted more and more and more and almost ate a full container. Well I learned my lesson when I cleaned up spit up bananas all night and had to deal with an inconsolable baby at bedtime.) Mommy learned her lesson and will put the brakes on before Sarah eats her fill of bananas again! :-)
So next week at her 6 month well check I am going to get more information on baby led weaning from Dr. Dalton and we are going to ditch the purees (for the most part) and start eating actual solids. I am excited! I know in the beginning she will mostly just play with it and (maybe) a few bites will actually end up in her mouth. But I just LOVE to watch her explore and discover new things. I am so excited for all of the firsts that are in our future. But I have moments where I miss my newborn so much. My heart has felt more happiness and sadness at the same time since I became a mommy. I feel so incredibly blessed and privileged to get to raise this beautiful girl! She has my heart and always will! :-)
I started slow and just gave her frozen chunks of bananas in her mesh paci to help soothe her gums (teething probs). She absolutely loved it! A few days later I tried a small piece of frozen strawberry in there. She was not a fan. It was hilarious and sad at the same time. I thought maybe the strawberry was sour so I tasted it and it was as sweet as could be! I couldn't believe she did not like it!
After that I waited a few more weeks and we introduced some apple sauce. She like it but was pretty fussy later that day so I thought it made her have a tummy ache. We paused again and a couple of weeks ago started again. So far she has had sweet potatoes, butternut squash, peas, bananas and apple sauce (all purees). She has loved them all and we have not had any other issues! (Other than last week when she was eating some bananas and wanted more and more and more and almost ate a full container. Well I learned my lesson when I cleaned up spit up bananas all night and had to deal with an inconsolable baby at bedtime.) Mommy learned her lesson and will put the brakes on before Sarah eats her fill of bananas again! :-)
So next week at her 6 month well check I am going to get more information on baby led weaning from Dr. Dalton and we are going to ditch the purees (for the most part) and start eating actual solids. I am excited! I know in the beginning she will mostly just play with it and (maybe) a few bites will actually end up in her mouth. But I just LOVE to watch her explore and discover new things. I am so excited for all of the firsts that are in our future. But I have moments where I miss my newborn so much. My heart has felt more happiness and sadness at the same time since I became a mommy. I feel so incredibly blessed and privileged to get to raise this beautiful girl! She has my heart and always will! :-)
Monday, October 10, 2016
Nap Strikes!
Last week our sweet, normally great little napper decided that she had much more interesting things to do during the day than sleep. :-) Needless to say, that made for some long days for me and my girl. I have read that while they are going through major developmental milestones (like sitting, which she is sooo close to doing) that they have more REM sleep which equals more night awakenings and shorter naps. Well, that sounded exactly like what was going on with us. So on Friday afternoon I decided on a whim to try to lay her in her crib when I knew she was tired and let her fall asleep on her own. She enjoys laying in her crib so she talked and played for a while and then started to fuss. I went in a gave her the pacifier and left. I repeated this process a few times and eventually she went to sleep! I couldn't believe that it actually worked! It is now Monday and I have done this all weekend for her naps and it has been incredible. She has learned that when I lay her down in her crib that it is time to sleep. And her normally 20-30 minute naps have turned into an hour or more! I am just so proud of my girl! :-) As of right now she seems to be able to be up for about 2 hours before she starts showing signs of sleepiness. So I just time it from the time she wakes up and 2 hours later we start winding down for nap. I know all of this could change tomorrow but for right now it is working for us and I could not be happier.
I am also trying to introduce a lovey to her. From about 2 months to 4.5 months our precious girl would go to bed around 9:00 and sleep until around 9:30 the next morning. She slept like a rock all night and didn't make a peep. It was glorious! Well we had several transitions around that 4.5 month mark like weaning from the swaddle and eventually moving her to her crib. Since then she has started crying out for her paci throughout the night. She doesn't really fully wake up but it just seems like she can't soothe herself back into a deep sleep when she starts to stir. I give her the paci and she goes right back to sleep. Sometimes we do this 20 times a night while other nights just once or twice. It can be pretty frustrating to say the least (LOL) so I am hoping by introducing a lovey she will find comfort in that when she starts to stir and be able to eventually go back to sleep without her paci. I know she may not take to it and that is fine but I think its worth a try. We have been holding the lovey while we eat and keeping it in her crib while she sleeps. We will see if she starts to take to it. :-) I have considered trying to wean her from her paci but honestly I am just not up for that and I don't think Sarah is either. She loves her paci (aka her baby) and it just comes in so handy for sleeping and in the car and other times when she is overwhelmed. So I will continue my job as night time paci popper! :-) (And know that someday she will learn to put it back in herself) :-)
Well that is the big update in our lives right now! And I can hear my little girl waking up from her almost TWO HOUR NAP! Score! :-)
Happy Monday everyone! :-)
I am also trying to introduce a lovey to her. From about 2 months to 4.5 months our precious girl would go to bed around 9:00 and sleep until around 9:30 the next morning. She slept like a rock all night and didn't make a peep. It was glorious! Well we had several transitions around that 4.5 month mark like weaning from the swaddle and eventually moving her to her crib. Since then she has started crying out for her paci throughout the night. She doesn't really fully wake up but it just seems like she can't soothe herself back into a deep sleep when she starts to stir. I give her the paci and she goes right back to sleep. Sometimes we do this 20 times a night while other nights just once or twice. It can be pretty frustrating to say the least (LOL) so I am hoping by introducing a lovey she will find comfort in that when she starts to stir and be able to eventually go back to sleep without her paci. I know she may not take to it and that is fine but I think its worth a try. We have been holding the lovey while we eat and keeping it in her crib while she sleeps. We will see if she starts to take to it. :-) I have considered trying to wean her from her paci but honestly I am just not up for that and I don't think Sarah is either. She loves her paci (aka her baby) and it just comes in so handy for sleeping and in the car and other times when she is overwhelmed. So I will continue my job as night time paci popper! :-) (And know that someday she will learn to put it back in herself) :-)
Well that is the big update in our lives right now! And I can hear my little girl waking up from her almost TWO HOUR NAP! Score! :-)
Happy Monday everyone! :-)
Monday, September 26, 2016
Ephesians 3:16-21
16 May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, 18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; 19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].
20 Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:16-21 (AMP)
This. This. This. I want this so badly in my life. Before bed last night I was reading and came across this verse in the Amplified version. I am a wordy person so I LOVE all the extra words in this version of scripture. What really grabbed my heart was verse 19... to know God practically, through personal experience which far surpasses mere knowledge (without experience). Oh my goodness. This is going to be my prayer for the coming weeks. I am going to memorize, live, and breathe this verse. Because knowledge without experience is not good enough for me. I want to experience Christ's love in a new and deep way. This is my heart's cry and I cannot wait to dig into this deeper with the Lord.
Abba,
You know every crevice of my heart. The good, the bad and the ugly. And you know that I am so ready to cast away all distractions and get to the heart of what our relationship looks like. It is unique and cannot be compared to anyone else's. I love you Abba and I want to know you more. Please give me eyes to see and ears to hear you speaking to me. Help me to experience your love and your shalom peace! I am so excited to move forward on my journey with you! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your goodness! Thank you that all of your promises are yes and amen!!!!!
Amen and Amen!
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Crib, Friends and Church!!
So I have to start by saying I am so HAPPY! I FINALLY sat down and moved all of my pictures of Sarah (including pregnancy) onto my external hard drive so I can get them off my phone! Shout out to Adam and Ches for surprising me with a hard drive last week! I feel so relieved to know that are now backed up and safe! So I was able to delete them from my phone, which has been full for weeks. So I haven't been able to take pictures or videos on my phone. But I am back now!!! :-) It is so awesome to have that accomplished.
So Miss Sarah has been doing great! We moved her to her crib 1 week ago and she has been doing well with the transition. I was a little nervous because she has been restless the last few weeks and needing me to replace her pacifier all. night. long. And the thought of having to get up and walk into her room to give it to her over and over did not sound appealing to me... it is so much easier to roll over and give it to her! LOL! But last Sunday I just decided it was time. The first night she did AWESOME. Self soothed like a champ and only needed her paci once. The next few nights were a little rough but not bad considering. And now she is pretty much only needing me to go in once or twice (not counting all the times I just go peek on her to make sure she is ok.) :-) And when I do go in I just give her the paci and she goes right back to sleep. I am just so proud of her making this transition! And I am a little proud of myself for doing it too. I was not looking forward to not having her next to me but we knew it was time. Poor thing has pretty much out grown her bassinet. Here is a picture of the first night Sarah slept in her bassinet next to a more recent picture. As you can tell she has done a lot of growing!
Another big moment this week is that we almost have a sitter on our hands! I am so ready for her to be able to sit on her own. She will be so much happier to play sitting up instead of laying down! Sister is over laying on the floor. LOL. She will play for a little bit but then starts doing her little crunch which is code for pick me up please!!
Yesterday we went to Lubbock and met my sweet friend Kayla Foshee for lunch! This was the first time she got to meet Sarah. :-) We went to the Plaza, a new restaurant in Lubbock and it was delish! Sarah had so much fun and was definitely showing off for Kayla. She was talking and squealing up a storm. Kayla brought Sarah a sweet outfit and a fun toy! Sarah loves it! Here she is holding it while fighting to stay awake right before bed time last night.
And lastly I have to show how adorable she looked for church this morning. Today was also her first Sunday in the nursery! I have to note that I worked the nursery lol... I am not ready for her to be in there without me yet. Ha Ha! But she had a blast and loved watching all the other kids!
So Miss Sarah has been doing great! We moved her to her crib 1 week ago and she has been doing well with the transition. I was a little nervous because she has been restless the last few weeks and needing me to replace her pacifier all. night. long. And the thought of having to get up and walk into her room to give it to her over and over did not sound appealing to me... it is so much easier to roll over and give it to her! LOL! But last Sunday I just decided it was time. The first night she did AWESOME. Self soothed like a champ and only needed her paci once. The next few nights were a little rough but not bad considering. And now she is pretty much only needing me to go in once or twice (not counting all the times I just go peek on her to make sure she is ok.) :-) And when I do go in I just give her the paci and she goes right back to sleep. I am just so proud of her making this transition! And I am a little proud of myself for doing it too. I was not looking forward to not having her next to me but we knew it was time. Poor thing has pretty much out grown her bassinet. Here is a picture of the first night Sarah slept in her bassinet next to a more recent picture. As you can tell she has done a lot of growing!
Another big moment this week is that we almost have a sitter on our hands! I am so ready for her to be able to sit on her own. She will be so much happier to play sitting up instead of laying down! Sister is over laying on the floor. LOL. She will play for a little bit but then starts doing her little crunch which is code for pick me up please!!
Yesterday we went to Lubbock and met my sweet friend Kayla Foshee for lunch! This was the first time she got to meet Sarah. :-) We went to the Plaza, a new restaurant in Lubbock and it was delish! Sarah had so much fun and was definitely showing off for Kayla. She was talking and squealing up a storm. Kayla brought Sarah a sweet outfit and a fun toy! Sarah loves it! Here she is holding it while fighting to stay awake right before bed time last night.
And lastly I have to show how adorable she looked for church this morning. Today was also her first Sunday in the nursery! I have to note that I worked the nursery lol... I am not ready for her to be in there without me yet. Ha Ha! But she had a blast and loved watching all the other kids!
I can't believe we almost have a 6 month old on our hands!!! :-( Time needs to slow down!
Friday, September 23, 2016
A New Beginning
I want to remember this moment.
I have really been struggling lately. Fear and worry have been literally dragging me down. These are things that in my flesh I have always been susceptible to.
It is exhausting... it makes you rude, selfish and just not fun to be around. I struggle because I go to God and I feel like nothing changes.
However, I continue to call out to the One I know can set me free and give me His Shalom peace.
Today, I have been set free. In Jesus' mighty name I am a new creation, the old is gone the new IS HERE! I have His Shalom peace inside of me. It flows through my veins.
Today I choose to trust Him fully and completely!
It is a new beginning. Praise you Jesus for you are faithful always!!
You will keep in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on you because he trusts in You! Amen and Amen!!
I have really been struggling lately. Fear and worry have been literally dragging me down. These are things that in my flesh I have always been susceptible to.
It is exhausting... it makes you rude, selfish and just not fun to be around. I struggle because I go to God and I feel like nothing changes.
However, I continue to call out to the One I know can set me free and give me His Shalom peace.
Today, I have been set free. In Jesus' mighty name I am a new creation, the old is gone the new IS HERE! I have His Shalom peace inside of me. It flows through my veins.
Today I choose to trust Him fully and completely!
It is a new beginning. Praise you Jesus for you are faithful always!!
You will keep in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on you because he trusts in You! Amen and Amen!!
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