It's March 17th. You just turned 11 months old yesterday! I don't know where the time goes, but I missed the 9 month post. Forgive me!
It's incredible the leaps and bounds that you have made over the past two months. You are now going from being on your tummy, to sitting, to crawling! You crawled for the first time on March 3rd but within a week you were officially on the move! I used to let you sleep in the big girl bed but now it's back to the Pack N Play since you flip yourself over and might crawl right off the bed!
We spent February with Gma and Gpa Chesnutt. It was nice to have them around to help take care of you and to play with you. You are pretty infatuated with the family bird, Sonny! You reach our your sweet little pointer finger and grandma lets you touch his tail. Unfortunately, Sonny isn't very friendly!
You love toys that make music and when music plays you clap your hands. We sing the itsy-bitsy spider and patty-cake! I've also started singing Happy Birthday to you so you know the song come your birthday!
You can say mama, dada but BEBE is your favorite. You still like to sing, especially when we are in the car and you are getting sleepy. You love to play with your hands and stare. It is the sweetest thing ever.
I'm working on planning your first birthday party now. Incredible how I really did blink and here you are almost one! I love watching you grow and learn and develop. This week is particularly hard, though. You are going through a major development leap and napping is the last thing you want to do. You never cry but the past 2 days you have cried when I try to put you down for a nap :( Breaks my heart! But today you are sleeping soundly. I am so thankful! Just two minutes later and you are up! :)
Oh I can't wait to scoop you up and snuggle you! xoxo
You are curious about everything now. Whenever you see something new you point at it. You are good at picking out which toys you want to play with and you can now feed yourself little cheerio snacks! You are a good eater. I don't think you have rejected anything I've tried to give you. You even take your vitamins like a champ. My favorite is the face you make when you try something new- it's always a very sour face but after the first couple of bites the sour face goes away :)
You love getting rides on mommy and daddy's shoulders. Bath time is becoming more and more fun. Last night you were splashing up a storm!
We are at Grandma Colleen's house now. Yesterday we dressed you up in a Viking's outfit that she made. It was so sweet! We took pictures of you in it in the box that we got from the hospital. It was a big blue box with yellow duckies on it. I had hoped to keep it to store your toys in but after all of our moves it's pretty beat up. But I'm happy I got a couple of photos of you in it!
Later today we are going to Grandpa Dale and Grandma Diane's house. I think Great Uncle Lynne and Ladd will be there too.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Brenna Rose: 8 months!
I am finally catching up on these blog posts! You are actually still 8 months and I am writing an 8 month post! Small victories.
What a month it has been. The week before we moved I took you to Dr. Hunter and Heaton Eye Associates in Tyler, TX. Our pediatrician, Dr. Brent Wadle, has suggested we take you in for a look over since it appeared like you might have one eye that tracked in more than the other. Your left eye seemed to be turn in towards your nose and we did notice it sometimes in photos. We received a letter from Dr. Wadle stating that your appointment was set for January 10th. I called the nurse disappointed because we would already be gone by then! She said she would put me on a waiting list and call if anything opened up. Shoot! I had heard such good things about Dr. Hunter and his pediatric practice! Ha, thankfully just minutes after I hung up the phone I got a call back from Dr. Hunter's nurse. She had forgotten about a couple of days that Dr. Hunter had opened up on his calendar so she was able to squeeze us in on December 11th!
The Appointment:
We arrived a few minutes early, daddy met us to scarf down some delicious BBQ sandwiches from Stanley's BBQ! Daddy had work meetings to go to so I took you into the appointment. We watched fish in the aquarium as we waited. You smiled at all the strangers and particularly at one gruff looking guy in the waiting room. It was funny to see his gruff serious face turn quickly to a smile when you waved at him. OH! You know how to wave now! Very exciting.
The nurse who took us to the back was ridiculously nice. She talked of her 6 month granddaughter and how she had only seen her twice because her daughter and her husband are stationed in Hawaii and they have restrictions on visitors. I let her hold and play with Brenna which she seemed to thoroughly enjoy!
It's funny thinking about an eye exam on an infant- they can't exactly recite what letters they see. However, somehow they can figure out their vision by using lots of fun toys with bright lights and spinning things! What looked like play time to us was really part of the exam! When we first got into the room the nurse took a photo of Brenna. Half way through the exam she went to retrieve the photo and then disappeared for a few minutes. When she came back she told me the doctor was going to squeeze us in for a quick consult before we gave Brenna the spray that would dilate her eyes. The nurse gave me a heads up that the second I walked in with Brenna, Dr. Hunter would scoop her up to love on her. He is a huge fan of babies! Glad she gave me the heads up because that is exactly what he did! Also, I must note that he had extremely good eye contact throughout the exam. Haha, must be the eye doctor in him!
Brenna sat on my lap in the big exam chair and was a rockstar for the exam. The only trouble was Dr. Hunter had a hard time getting Brenna to look at the various toys he placed in front of her- she just wanted to keep staring at his face! Dr. Hunter recommended we go ahead and dilate her eyes so he could get a better look. Secretly, I think he just wanted to play with you some more! :) The drops took about 40 minutes to work so I asked the nurse if there was somewhere I could nurse. She was at a loss for suggestions other than the bathroom. Dr. Hunter heard us discussing something and returned asking what the dilemma was. The nurse said I needed to nurse and he immediately volunteered his office! He walked us to the back and said he couldn't offer much but he did have a big comfy chair for us! I was beyond grateful to not have to nurse her in the hot car and was shocked at his generosity in offering his office. Definitely a day where I was feeling quite blessed!
After I nursed you we ran out to meet daddy at the bank and then I returned with you for the second part of your exam. The conclusion was that you have pseudostrabismus. Strabismus is a condition where the eyes are not properly aligned. Pseudostrabismus is the appearance that they aren't aligned but they in fact are! Great news! Dr. Hunter showed us a variety of photos where it really looked like the infants were cross-eyed but he explained it was somewhat of an optical allusion! He attributed your pseudostrabismus to a wide baby bridge! You just need to grow into your face sweet girl! I was relieved and happy to know that your vision and your eye site is just perfect! I was so thankful to leave Heaton Eye Associates with a clean bill of health. Our experience there was top notch and I am sad we won't be in the area to see him on a regular basis! Although, hopefully we won't be in need of an eye doctor for you for a very long time!
So, where were we? Oh yes, since your eye appointment we have packed up our little Tyler apartment, moved our big things to storage, said goodbye for now to our Tyler friends and made the trek up to MN!
We stopped at the cutest Bed and Breakfast on our way up north. We've had a coupon for $100 off from www.bedandbreakfast.com for 5 years now! Good news is they never expire so we took advantage of the opportunity to stay somewhere other than a hotel (we always seem to end up next to the party til 4am crowd). Matt surprised me with this great news the week before our move!
Matt found Su Casa Bed and Breakfast by searching places that would take dogs and babies! This was a perfect match. Turns out Lois is a huge animal fan. She has taken in rescues for years and in the 15 years she has been running her Bed & Breakfast, she has allowed dogs. It's rare to find places that welcome our entire family with open arms- even our pups! I am thankful we have 2 well behave puppies as well as a very quiet and content baby.
Since we were spending a night in Kansas City we had to meet up with our fellow Tylerite friend, Anna Bazan! She became a good friend and business client (Chez Bazan Bakery) of LLU but moved just a few months ago to be near family and friends in Kansas City. She invited us over to her house, treated us to an amazing BBQ dinner (who knew Kansas City has such amazing BBQ?) and we enjoyed a relaxing night.
If we would have had more time we definitely would have taken advantage of the amenities offered at the B & B itself. This place was complete with a movie theater, jacuzzi, fire place, outdoor sitting area overlooking the small farm animals and so much more. One thing we did get to experience was a custom gourmet breakfast cooked by Lois herself! Matt dined on waffle boats with bananas and blackberries, bacon, and a blueberry muffin. Lois was very accommodating to my diet restrictions (no dairy/cow protein) and made me some amazing steel cut oats with blueberries and blackberries and almond milk! She even hunted down some nitrate free turkey bacon. It was awesome to enjoy such a delicious breakfast knowing it wouldn't do my baby any harm! Oh and I had coffee too, delicious!
I offered to take some photos for Lois so she could update her website. It was the least we could do since she took such good care of us! We hit the road shortly after breakfast and arrived at Grandma Colleen's Sunday, Dec 16th. Once again we unloaded our stuff. We plan to be here until the end of January. After that, Brenna, the pups and I will head to my parents house for some quality time with Gma and Gpa Chesnutt! Matt will travel for roughly 6 weeks for LLU. I am already sad that we will be apart for so long, but it's all in preparation for our final destination of Winston-Salem, NC. If all goes well, we hope to make NC home!
We have been in MN just shy of two weeks and already we have gotten sick- all three of us! The puppies seem to be fine :) We took a quick trip over to Sioux Falls last weekend and caught a virus from staying at the Holman house which was filled with 13 kiddos at the time! It was fun to spend time with the other LLU people but we could have done without the parting gift of sickness.
Sweet baby girl, you have been sick 3 times now (just minor colds) but this one was a doozy! Your poor little nose was very full and you could tell that you were not feeling like yourself. Hardly any smiles, sleepy eyes and very fussy. I knew you first had a temp around 5am on Dec 31st. I can always tell because right behind your knees gets very hot. I took your temp and it was 101.8. Poor baby! I slept with you on me (secretly I loved this although I did not love that you were sick). It was a very rough night of sleeping so around 9:30pm I gave you some baby Tylenol. Although I always try to go the natural route- I could tell you were very uncomfortable and after giving you the Tylenol you fell asleep.
New Year's Day was the roughest day. You had trouble nursing because of all the junk in your nose. I asked Daddy to run out and buy you something to help clear your nose! He came home with an electric snot sucker! It even plays music. You started hating the bulb :( Thankfully, you do tolerate us using this new contraption so I'm happy we made the investment! We took lots of naps yesterday and last night I held you again and you slept great! Grandma Colleen found a little pillow for you so we could elevate your head. You alternated between that and sleeping on me. I am so thankful that you are so good at sleeping in the big girl bed! Hopefully after a few more naps and baby Vicks on your feet you will start feeling better! The bad news is now I am sick! Hopefully we can kick this virus and get back to enjoying time with family and friends!
I am going to try contacting our realtor today in hopes of getting the ball rolling on our housing situation. It's crazy to think we will have a new home lined up by April! I think we will have your 1st birthday party celebration early so all of your Gmas and Gpas can join in the festivities!
Developmentally you are now scooting backwards! But you can feel free to hold off on the actual crawling thing for awhile :) I am quite content with you being non-mobile for a little longer! But it is fun to watch you figure out the scooting thing, even if you are moving backwards. Grandma Colleen has lots of fun new toys for you to play with. Your favorite right now is a little drum. You love to chew on the drumsticks. You also figured out how to clap! Just last week you even made sound! You still love to chew on Sophie and you also have a toy from your booster chair that you love to chew on. My favorite is when you have a toy in your mouth and you starting singing/talking really loud. Still no mama or dada but lots of fun aaaah and oooh noises!
One thing I discovered while you were sick was when I put you down on a pillow, you sit yourself right back up! Those ab muscles are getting strong! You can go from a sitting position to down onto your tummy but you usually need a little help so you don't land on your face :) We are officially a "2 adults and a high chair" family when we go out! It's so cute to watch you look at everything around you when we are out a restaurant. I do need to get a high chair cover for you, though! Too many germs! The last place we visited sanitized the high chair for us! Thank you Kaladi's in Sioux Falls for that! You are also officially in a big girl car seat. I still haven't fully figured it out. Like what happens when your legs grow longer? Hopefully by then we'll have a new car with more backseat space!
Oh sweet Brenna love, my love bug, my baby- we love you more and more every day. It has gotten to the point now where it's hard to picture life without you! Life is so different but so fun! Now that you are getting older Daddy and I are looking forward to going to our first movie! Ha, it's the small things! Once you kick this sickness we are going to do a sippy cup bootcamp in hopes that you will take milk of that while we are out :) You are such a joyful and content baby. Everywhere we go that's the comment, "She is so content!" I love when I send Daddy in to get you after a nap and he turns the corner and waits for you to spot me in the room, then you give me a big smile!
You love flying on your tummy, trying to feed yourself when you are in the mood to eat, watching your puppies play, snuggling with mama, sitting on Daddy's shoulders, eating your swaddle blanket before naps, sleeping in the big girl bed with mama, splashing in the bath, reading books with things you can grab and touch, listening to mama sing, listening to daddy whistle, listening to daddy play the piano, and playing with your fingers. I love it when you clasp your sweet chubby hands in your lap.
This is one of my favorite stages so far. You are someone independent in that you can sit up by yourself, but for the most part you still rely on mama and papa for everything! You love nursing- I think that's why solids aren't too interesting to you yet. I am hoping once we get settled in NC that you start sleeping through the night again. But truth be told, I don't mind being tired if it means getting to snuggle you in the middle of the night. As long as I get a good night of sleep every few nights so I'm not a cranky mama, then all is good!
I have lots of pictures to edit of you and I will do a big post of them soon! So much still to do to get caught up! I am thankful for these few months and am looking forward to feeling ahead of the game by the time we move in April.
I LOVE YOU BRENNA ROSE!!!! MUAH. You are the light of my life sweet lovebug. You are napping right now and I just want to scoop you up! But I won't :) Praying you wake up rested after your nap and that this yucky cold disappears soon. Thank you Jesus for our Brenna Rose!
What a month it has been. The week before we moved I took you to Dr. Hunter and Heaton Eye Associates in Tyler, TX. Our pediatrician, Dr. Brent Wadle, has suggested we take you in for a look over since it appeared like you might have one eye that tracked in more than the other. Your left eye seemed to be turn in towards your nose and we did notice it sometimes in photos. We received a letter from Dr. Wadle stating that your appointment was set for January 10th. I called the nurse disappointed because we would already be gone by then! She said she would put me on a waiting list and call if anything opened up. Shoot! I had heard such good things about Dr. Hunter and his pediatric practice! Ha, thankfully just minutes after I hung up the phone I got a call back from Dr. Hunter's nurse. She had forgotten about a couple of days that Dr. Hunter had opened up on his calendar so she was able to squeeze us in on December 11th!
The Appointment:
We arrived a few minutes early, daddy met us to scarf down some delicious BBQ sandwiches from Stanley's BBQ! Daddy had work meetings to go to so I took you into the appointment. We watched fish in the aquarium as we waited. You smiled at all the strangers and particularly at one gruff looking guy in the waiting room. It was funny to see his gruff serious face turn quickly to a smile when you waved at him. OH! You know how to wave now! Very exciting.
The nurse who took us to the back was ridiculously nice. She talked of her 6 month granddaughter and how she had only seen her twice because her daughter and her husband are stationed in Hawaii and they have restrictions on visitors. I let her hold and play with Brenna which she seemed to thoroughly enjoy!
It's funny thinking about an eye exam on an infant- they can't exactly recite what letters they see. However, somehow they can figure out their vision by using lots of fun toys with bright lights and spinning things! What looked like play time to us was really part of the exam! When we first got into the room the nurse took a photo of Brenna. Half way through the exam she went to retrieve the photo and then disappeared for a few minutes. When she came back she told me the doctor was going to squeeze us in for a quick consult before we gave Brenna the spray that would dilate her eyes. The nurse gave me a heads up that the second I walked in with Brenna, Dr. Hunter would scoop her up to love on her. He is a huge fan of babies! Glad she gave me the heads up because that is exactly what he did! Also, I must note that he had extremely good eye contact throughout the exam. Haha, must be the eye doctor in him!
Brenna sat on my lap in the big exam chair and was a rockstar for the exam. The only trouble was Dr. Hunter had a hard time getting Brenna to look at the various toys he placed in front of her- she just wanted to keep staring at his face! Dr. Hunter recommended we go ahead and dilate her eyes so he could get a better look. Secretly, I think he just wanted to play with you some more! :) The drops took about 40 minutes to work so I asked the nurse if there was somewhere I could nurse. She was at a loss for suggestions other than the bathroom. Dr. Hunter heard us discussing something and returned asking what the dilemma was. The nurse said I needed to nurse and he immediately volunteered his office! He walked us to the back and said he couldn't offer much but he did have a big comfy chair for us! I was beyond grateful to not have to nurse her in the hot car and was shocked at his generosity in offering his office. Definitely a day where I was feeling quite blessed!
After I nursed you we ran out to meet daddy at the bank and then I returned with you for the second part of your exam. The conclusion was that you have pseudostrabismus. Strabismus is a condition where the eyes are not properly aligned. Pseudostrabismus is the appearance that they aren't aligned but they in fact are! Great news! Dr. Hunter showed us a variety of photos where it really looked like the infants were cross-eyed but he explained it was somewhat of an optical allusion! He attributed your pseudostrabismus to a wide baby bridge! You just need to grow into your face sweet girl! I was relieved and happy to know that your vision and your eye site is just perfect! I was so thankful to leave Heaton Eye Associates with a clean bill of health. Our experience there was top notch and I am sad we won't be in the area to see him on a regular basis! Although, hopefully we won't be in need of an eye doctor for you for a very long time!
So, where were we? Oh yes, since your eye appointment we have packed up our little Tyler apartment, moved our big things to storage, said goodbye for now to our Tyler friends and made the trek up to MN!
We stopped at the cutest Bed and Breakfast on our way up north. We've had a coupon for $100 off from www.bedandbreakfast.com for 5 years now! Good news is they never expire so we took advantage of the opportunity to stay somewhere other than a hotel (we always seem to end up next to the party til 4am crowd). Matt surprised me with this great news the week before our move!
Matt found Su Casa Bed and Breakfast by searching places that would take dogs and babies! This was a perfect match. Turns out Lois is a huge animal fan. She has taken in rescues for years and in the 15 years she has been running her Bed & Breakfast, she has allowed dogs. It's rare to find places that welcome our entire family with open arms- even our pups! I am thankful we have 2 well behave puppies as well as a very quiet and content baby.
Since we were spending a night in Kansas City we had to meet up with our fellow Tylerite friend, Anna Bazan! She became a good friend and business client (Chez Bazan Bakery) of LLU but moved just a few months ago to be near family and friends in Kansas City. She invited us over to her house, treated us to an amazing BBQ dinner (who knew Kansas City has such amazing BBQ?) and we enjoyed a relaxing night.
If we would have had more time we definitely would have taken advantage of the amenities offered at the B & B itself. This place was complete with a movie theater, jacuzzi, fire place, outdoor sitting area overlooking the small farm animals and so much more. One thing we did get to experience was a custom gourmet breakfast cooked by Lois herself! Matt dined on waffle boats with bananas and blackberries, bacon, and a blueberry muffin. Lois was very accommodating to my diet restrictions (no dairy/cow protein) and made me some amazing steel cut oats with blueberries and blackberries and almond milk! She even hunted down some nitrate free turkey bacon. It was awesome to enjoy such a delicious breakfast knowing it wouldn't do my baby any harm! Oh and I had coffee too, delicious!
I offered to take some photos for Lois so she could update her website. It was the least we could do since she took such good care of us! We hit the road shortly after breakfast and arrived at Grandma Colleen's Sunday, Dec 16th. Once again we unloaded our stuff. We plan to be here until the end of January. After that, Brenna, the pups and I will head to my parents house for some quality time with Gma and Gpa Chesnutt! Matt will travel for roughly 6 weeks for LLU. I am already sad that we will be apart for so long, but it's all in preparation for our final destination of Winston-Salem, NC. If all goes well, we hope to make NC home!
We have been in MN just shy of two weeks and already we have gotten sick- all three of us! The puppies seem to be fine :) We took a quick trip over to Sioux Falls last weekend and caught a virus from staying at the Holman house which was filled with 13 kiddos at the time! It was fun to spend time with the other LLU people but we could have done without the parting gift of sickness.
Sweet baby girl, you have been sick 3 times now (just minor colds) but this one was a doozy! Your poor little nose was very full and you could tell that you were not feeling like yourself. Hardly any smiles, sleepy eyes and very fussy. I knew you first had a temp around 5am on Dec 31st. I can always tell because right behind your knees gets very hot. I took your temp and it was 101.8. Poor baby! I slept with you on me (secretly I loved this although I did not love that you were sick). It was a very rough night of sleeping so around 9:30pm I gave you some baby Tylenol. Although I always try to go the natural route- I could tell you were very uncomfortable and after giving you the Tylenol you fell asleep.
New Year's Day was the roughest day. You had trouble nursing because of all the junk in your nose. I asked Daddy to run out and buy you something to help clear your nose! He came home with an electric snot sucker! It even plays music. You started hating the bulb :( Thankfully, you do tolerate us using this new contraption so I'm happy we made the investment! We took lots of naps yesterday and last night I held you again and you slept great! Grandma Colleen found a little pillow for you so we could elevate your head. You alternated between that and sleeping on me. I am so thankful that you are so good at sleeping in the big girl bed! Hopefully after a few more naps and baby Vicks on your feet you will start feeling better! The bad news is now I am sick! Hopefully we can kick this virus and get back to enjoying time with family and friends!
I am going to try contacting our realtor today in hopes of getting the ball rolling on our housing situation. It's crazy to think we will have a new home lined up by April! I think we will have your 1st birthday party celebration early so all of your Gmas and Gpas can join in the festivities!
Developmentally you are now scooting backwards! But you can feel free to hold off on the actual crawling thing for awhile :) I am quite content with you being non-mobile for a little longer! But it is fun to watch you figure out the scooting thing, even if you are moving backwards. Grandma Colleen has lots of fun new toys for you to play with. Your favorite right now is a little drum. You love to chew on the drumsticks. You also figured out how to clap! Just last week you even made sound! You still love to chew on Sophie and you also have a toy from your booster chair that you love to chew on. My favorite is when you have a toy in your mouth and you starting singing/talking really loud. Still no mama or dada but lots of fun aaaah and oooh noises!
One thing I discovered while you were sick was when I put you down on a pillow, you sit yourself right back up! Those ab muscles are getting strong! You can go from a sitting position to down onto your tummy but you usually need a little help so you don't land on your face :) We are officially a "2 adults and a high chair" family when we go out! It's so cute to watch you look at everything around you when we are out a restaurant. I do need to get a high chair cover for you, though! Too many germs! The last place we visited sanitized the high chair for us! Thank you Kaladi's in Sioux Falls for that! You are also officially in a big girl car seat. I still haven't fully figured it out. Like what happens when your legs grow longer? Hopefully by then we'll have a new car with more backseat space!
Oh sweet Brenna love, my love bug, my baby- we love you more and more every day. It has gotten to the point now where it's hard to picture life without you! Life is so different but so fun! Now that you are getting older Daddy and I are looking forward to going to our first movie! Ha, it's the small things! Once you kick this sickness we are going to do a sippy cup bootcamp in hopes that you will take milk of that while we are out :) You are such a joyful and content baby. Everywhere we go that's the comment, "She is so content!" I love when I send Daddy in to get you after a nap and he turns the corner and waits for you to spot me in the room, then you give me a big smile!
You love flying on your tummy, trying to feed yourself when you are in the mood to eat, watching your puppies play, snuggling with mama, sitting on Daddy's shoulders, eating your swaddle blanket before naps, sleeping in the big girl bed with mama, splashing in the bath, reading books with things you can grab and touch, listening to mama sing, listening to daddy whistle, listening to daddy play the piano, and playing with your fingers. I love it when you clasp your sweet chubby hands in your lap.
This is one of my favorite stages so far. You are someone independent in that you can sit up by yourself, but for the most part you still rely on mama and papa for everything! You love nursing- I think that's why solids aren't too interesting to you yet. I am hoping once we get settled in NC that you start sleeping through the night again. But truth be told, I don't mind being tired if it means getting to snuggle you in the middle of the night. As long as I get a good night of sleep every few nights so I'm not a cranky mama, then all is good!
I have lots of pictures to edit of you and I will do a big post of them soon! So much still to do to get caught up! I am thankful for these few months and am looking forward to feeling ahead of the game by the time we move in April.
I LOVE YOU BRENNA ROSE!!!! MUAH. You are the light of my life sweet lovebug. You are napping right now and I just want to scoop you up! But I won't :) Praying you wake up rested after your nap and that this yucky cold disappears soon. Thank you Jesus for our Brenna Rose!
Brenna Rose: 7 Months
Here it is officially 2013 and I am just now getting to your 7 month post! Oh dear! At least I have a fairly good excuse. This past month we were very busy packing up our 2 bedroom apartment in Tyler. Daddy was busy moving all of our things to a storage unit while I was busy packing us up for our 3 month stint in MN. We will officially be residents of North Carolina in April this year! It's hard to believe you will be turning 1 by the time we are settled in North Carolina!
But back to your 7 month post. This month we took a trip to Sioux Falls for our friend Todd and Tatia's wedding! Some might call us crazy since the trip involved driving 19 hours from Tyler to Sioux Falls and we already had a 19 hour trip scheduled just two weeks after this one! But to support our friends and to get another trip to Sioux Falls in, we decided to make the trek. I was so proud of how well you did on the drive. In fact, you have been a good traveler for quite some time! The initial drive from Lafayette, LA to Tyler, TX when you were 3.5 months old was a little rough but that's because you didn't know what to make of all the head lights flashing in and out of the window after it got dark! We did have one oopsie on the trip though. Daddy pulled over because I needed to use the restroom. He decided to fill up with gas while I ran into the gas station. I was heading back to the truck when I noticed Daddy was at the gas counter on the phone. That's odd, I thought to myself. Turns out while we were both outside of the vehicle, our sweet puppy Lola decided to lock us out of the car- with you sleeping inside!!! I panicked and stood outside the truck (it was chilly out!) until we finally found someone to unlock the car.
What a way to kick off our trip! Thankfully the rest of the trip was uneventful. Except for the stop we made in Anthony, KS to visit the McDermott family! Oh how we love Ted, Holly, Blake, Payton and Zach! The boys couldn't get enough of you. They even had toys out waiting for you when we arrived. Since we've been traveling so much it's been easier to let you sleep in the big girl bed with mommy vs setting up your pack n play everywhere. You sleep so much better when you are next to me! We spent time with the McDermott's before bed and we were back on the road first thing the next morning.
Thanksgiving was over the time we would be in Sioux Falls so we got to see lots of friends! Barbara and Joe had us over for brunch. There were at least 14 people at the brunch and it was a little overwhelming for you. You are such an observant baby that it was too much for you to take in all at once! I took you into the bedroom for some quiet time and you were much happier.
Development wise, 7 months was a big one! You went from sitting assisted to unassisted! Although I still like to put pillows around you if I step away just in case you topple. When you do topple you fall forward and we don't want you toppling on your cute little button nose! By the end of November, the 30th to be exact, you started making clicking sounds! It's so fun to watch you learn to do new things. You are also a huge fan of blowing raspberries and you still sing before bed. Sophie is definitely your favorite toy right now. You light up every time we squeeze her and say, "It's Sooophieeeee!"Still no signs of teeth or teething. I'm okay with that! You have eaten avocado, sweet potato, carrots, and bananas! Your favorite seems to be bananas, although some days you really don't want anything to do with solid food! Again, ok by me!
With all the traveling we have been doing you are getting used to sleeping just about anywhere! I am so proud of you. The day of Todd and Tatia's wedding you slept in your pack n play in the sound booth of the church! Although, it was more of a random room and definitely not sound proof but you took a nap like a rockstar! Grandma Colleen joined us in Sioux Falls to help take care of you on the wedding day since I was their photographer and Daddy was a groomsman! You were even a part of the wedding as a flower girl! Funny story. About 30 minutes before the ceremony I had Grandma put the dress on you. It was a decent attempt by her and the mother of the bride but that dress was NOT going to fit! My sweet little chubby baby. Thankfully Grandma knows a thing or two about adjusting clothing so we were able to rig up something just minutes before the ceremony! You were absolutely adorable in that white fluffy dress! Daddy and I have hopes of renewing our vows someday so you will get to be a flower girl again!
After we returned home from Sioux Falls it was packing time! You would think after all the packing we have done that we would be experts by now but that was not the case. We have learned a ton about packing things efficiently and safely so we utilize space and things don't break but when it comes to the amount of stuff we have, it still seems nearly impossible to fit everything in! Most of our things went to storage. We will pick them up sometime in March when we move them to our new home in North Carolina! Speaking of home, that has been the one major task assigned to me during our time in MN. It's January 2nd and I think I'll give the realtor a call. A friend of a friend recommended her. I am really hoping we get as lucky with our Winston-Salem realtor as we did with our Sioux Falls realtor, Wendy! We are hoping to find a house to rent. While we had good apartment living experiences- especially in Tyler, we are ready for our own space and a yard for the puppies to run around in! We've heard great things about Clemmons- a city just southwest of Winston-Salem so we will check that area out first. Hopefully the realtor has a lot of good suggestions for us!
As for the next three months we plan to spend them seeing family and friends in MN and SD. We will head out of Tyler on December 15th and head to MN. The plan is to stay with Grandma Colleen for the first month or so and then when Daddy travels for work, Brenna and I will head to Grandma Cindy and Grandpa John's house! I am looking forward to you getting to know your grandparents.
If there is one thing I know it's that you my littlest love, will have experience a lot of people and places by the time your first birthday rolls around! I am very excited to plant some roots, though. The older you get, the more I want you to be surrounded by familiar things and people. I am praying for our move and for the time we get to spend up north with family. I am also praying that God would prepare our hearts for the move and what is to come in North Carolina. It was a big decision deciding where we were going to move. It's bitter-sweet that North Carolina is so far away but we feel God is leading us there and we pray it will be a very good fit for our little family! I know Lola and Stella are very excited to have a permanent home again. Stella gets sick every time we start packing suitcases or boxes!
I am very proud of your daddy for his job and all that he has done to provide for us. It's been quite the journey but I am happy to be continuing onto the next phase! 2013 will be one for the record books!
But back to your 7 month post. This month we took a trip to Sioux Falls for our friend Todd and Tatia's wedding! Some might call us crazy since the trip involved driving 19 hours from Tyler to Sioux Falls and we already had a 19 hour trip scheduled just two weeks after this one! But to support our friends and to get another trip to Sioux Falls in, we decided to make the trek. I was so proud of how well you did on the drive. In fact, you have been a good traveler for quite some time! The initial drive from Lafayette, LA to Tyler, TX when you were 3.5 months old was a little rough but that's because you didn't know what to make of all the head lights flashing in and out of the window after it got dark! We did have one oopsie on the trip though. Daddy pulled over because I needed to use the restroom. He decided to fill up with gas while I ran into the gas station. I was heading back to the truck when I noticed Daddy was at the gas counter on the phone. That's odd, I thought to myself. Turns out while we were both outside of the vehicle, our sweet puppy Lola decided to lock us out of the car- with you sleeping inside!!! I panicked and stood outside the truck (it was chilly out!) until we finally found someone to unlock the car.
What a way to kick off our trip! Thankfully the rest of the trip was uneventful. Except for the stop we made in Anthony, KS to visit the McDermott family! Oh how we love Ted, Holly, Blake, Payton and Zach! The boys couldn't get enough of you. They even had toys out waiting for you when we arrived. Since we've been traveling so much it's been easier to let you sleep in the big girl bed with mommy vs setting up your pack n play everywhere. You sleep so much better when you are next to me! We spent time with the McDermott's before bed and we were back on the road first thing the next morning.
Thanksgiving was over the time we would be in Sioux Falls so we got to see lots of friends! Barbara and Joe had us over for brunch. There were at least 14 people at the brunch and it was a little overwhelming for you. You are such an observant baby that it was too much for you to take in all at once! I took you into the bedroom for some quiet time and you were much happier.
Development wise, 7 months was a big one! You went from sitting assisted to unassisted! Although I still like to put pillows around you if I step away just in case you topple. When you do topple you fall forward and we don't want you toppling on your cute little button nose! By the end of November, the 30th to be exact, you started making clicking sounds! It's so fun to watch you learn to do new things. You are also a huge fan of blowing raspberries and you still sing before bed. Sophie is definitely your favorite toy right now. You light up every time we squeeze her and say, "It's Sooophieeeee!"Still no signs of teeth or teething. I'm okay with that! You have eaten avocado, sweet potato, carrots, and bananas! Your favorite seems to be bananas, although some days you really don't want anything to do with solid food! Again, ok by me!
With all the traveling we have been doing you are getting used to sleeping just about anywhere! I am so proud of you. The day of Todd and Tatia's wedding you slept in your pack n play in the sound booth of the church! Although, it was more of a random room and definitely not sound proof but you took a nap like a rockstar! Grandma Colleen joined us in Sioux Falls to help take care of you on the wedding day since I was their photographer and Daddy was a groomsman! You were even a part of the wedding as a flower girl! Funny story. About 30 minutes before the ceremony I had Grandma put the dress on you. It was a decent attempt by her and the mother of the bride but that dress was NOT going to fit! My sweet little chubby baby. Thankfully Grandma knows a thing or two about adjusting clothing so we were able to rig up something just minutes before the ceremony! You were absolutely adorable in that white fluffy dress! Daddy and I have hopes of renewing our vows someday so you will get to be a flower girl again!
After we returned home from Sioux Falls it was packing time! You would think after all the packing we have done that we would be experts by now but that was not the case. We have learned a ton about packing things efficiently and safely so we utilize space and things don't break but when it comes to the amount of stuff we have, it still seems nearly impossible to fit everything in! Most of our things went to storage. We will pick them up sometime in March when we move them to our new home in North Carolina! Speaking of home, that has been the one major task assigned to me during our time in MN. It's January 2nd and I think I'll give the realtor a call. A friend of a friend recommended her. I am really hoping we get as lucky with our Winston-Salem realtor as we did with our Sioux Falls realtor, Wendy! We are hoping to find a house to rent. While we had good apartment living experiences- especially in Tyler, we are ready for our own space and a yard for the puppies to run around in! We've heard great things about Clemmons- a city just southwest of Winston-Salem so we will check that area out first. Hopefully the realtor has a lot of good suggestions for us!
As for the next three months we plan to spend them seeing family and friends in MN and SD. We will head out of Tyler on December 15th and head to MN. The plan is to stay with Grandma Colleen for the first month or so and then when Daddy travels for work, Brenna and I will head to Grandma Cindy and Grandpa John's house! I am looking forward to you getting to know your grandparents.
If there is one thing I know it's that you my littlest love, will have experience a lot of people and places by the time your first birthday rolls around! I am very excited to plant some roots, though. The older you get, the more I want you to be surrounded by familiar things and people. I am praying for our move and for the time we get to spend up north with family. I am also praying that God would prepare our hearts for the move and what is to come in North Carolina. It was a big decision deciding where we were going to move. It's bitter-sweet that North Carolina is so far away but we feel God is leading us there and we pray it will be a very good fit for our little family! I know Lola and Stella are very excited to have a permanent home again. Stella gets sick every time we start packing suitcases or boxes!
I am very proud of your daddy for his job and all that he has done to provide for us. It's been quite the journey but I am happy to be continuing onto the next phase! 2013 will be one for the record books!
Brenna Rose: 6 Months!
Half a year old already?! Say it ain't so! But really, six months is so much fun. This post is all over the place but my goal was to write down everything I can think of that's happened in your sixth month!
Sweet Brenna, you are such a joy to be around. Six months has been a big month for you! You rolled from your tummy to your back for the first time and you are going for the world record in baby pushups. We are so proud of you.
You love bouncing in your exersaucer but floor time is your favorite. I love to set a few toys around you and watch you scoot and turn to get each one. At some point you roll onto your back and then back onto your tummy. The puppies have been such a source of entertainment for you recently! Their loud barks hurt your ears but you don't cry, you just make funny faces and close your eyes every time they let out a loud bark. Those silly puppies. Watching the puppies play makes you giggle. Lola was playing with a bone one day and you let out a full belly laugh. It made mommy laugh! Even we can't get you to belly laugh yet!
I have started teaching you sign language. On November 3rd you did the sign for milk for the first time! I was so proud. We are also working on "sleepy", "puppy", "hi and bye". It's amazing how your little brain is learning so quickly!
We took a trip to Lafayette to visit your friend Elle a few weeks ago. It was amazing to see you two together again. Born just 10 days apart yet so different already! We also got to see little Liam and our dear friends Brandi and Kipp! Elle was sitting up all by herself and Liam was a crawling machine! You must have watched Elle sit up because shortly after that trip you were sitting up all by yourself, too! I still put pillows around you just in case you topple over. That usually happens when you want a toy but it's out of reach. On our Lafayette visit we went to the Pumpkin Patch for the first time. Our trip involved us driving there, sitting you and Elle next to each other, taking a few pictures and calling it a day! Maybe next year we will take you to see some of the animals and let you pick our your own pumpkin :)
You got your first cold while we were in Lafayette (Oct 20th 2012 weekend). Daddy got sick on the way to Lafayette and a day or so later you caught it :( It was heart breaking to hear your little cough. We had to use the nose bulb a lot. You are not a fan. You sure told that cold who was boss, though! It lasted for just 2 1/2 days and then it seem to clear. However, that stinking cough came back and that's when we introduced a little bit of Claritin D, Baby Vicks and Eucalyptus in your humidifier. After two doses of the Claritin D I was not convinced it had helped one bit so we stopped that. The Baby Vicks did seem to help you stop coughing so I did that for about three days straight and slowly you got all better! You never had a fever just a cough and some congestion in your throat. You nose was only runny for one day! Humidifier was a huge help! We will never travel without it again!
Still no teeth to report, although I think you might be showing signs of teething. You love to put everything in your mouth! You aren't drooling a lot and you aren't fussy though. Speaking of not fussy- I say it daily, you are the best baby in the whole wide world! You don't cry. Just yesterday mama was getting her hair done and because the stylist had to put color in twice (oops), you hadn't eaten in 3 1/2 hours. That's a long time for you. Daddy told me you were making sad faces saying "I'm not going to cry... I want to cry but I'm not going to!" I rushed home and there you were sitting on the floor, greeting me with a smile. Like I said, best baby in the whole wide world!
In lieu of milk, and in hopes of tiding you over until mama got home, Daddy fed you avocado for the second time yesterday! This time we used a spoon and only did small amounts. The first time we attempted the Baby Led Weaning method of giving you a big chunk. That didn't go over so well. But yesterday you ate about 10 little spoon fulls and then made a face as if to say, "DONE. SO DONE, Papa!" I'm hoping to feed some to you today mixed with a little milk. I'll be sure to get it on video!
Oh how days are flying by lately. I love holding you and reading to you and singing to you. We've added "If You're Happy and You Know It", "Jesus Loves Me/You", and random songs from Disney movies to our repertoire. You love to sing. You sing "Ooo, ooooh". It's adorable! I love taking you outside in the afternoons and we try to go on walks a few times a week. You usually play with toys on our walks and I stare at your adorable face. I must admit, I wish you could be rear facing forever, haha.
We took you to your first costume party this year! I made your costume, a baby B of course, and we took you to a party at The Mansions apartments. You won the costume contest! Well, if they had a contest, you would have won! I love taking you places with us. There were a lot of people at the party and it was getting close to your bedtime but you held it together, smiled and played. By the time we got home we had a lot of glitter to wash off! Those wings were very sparkly and very messy but totally worth it. I still want to put you in the costume one more time before you outgrow it so we can get some video and take a few more pictures. You were the cutest bumble bee I have ever seen!
We have plans to go to Sioux Falls, SD for Thanksgiving! But first we must order you a new car seat. I want you to be as comfortable as possible for our 15+ hour drive up north. I am going to pray that it is an easy trip for everyone. The reason we are going is to celebrate our friend Todd and Tatia's wedding! You are going to be a flower girl, daddy is going to be a groomsman and mommy is going to be the photographer! It's a family affair! I'm excited for the wedding but more than anything I am excited for you to meet your Sioux Falls "family". The friends who took us in and gave us so much love while we lived in Sioux Falls. It will be so fun to bring you down to the needlepoint shop and to bundle you up in warm clothes. Although, I hope it's not too cold when we go visit!
Tomorrow we are having our family pictures taken! It's the first real professional pictures we will ever have taken as a family! I have our outfits all picked out, although I'm still toying around with the idea of making you a headband. We will see if I get to that project today :) I love making things for you. Once we get settled somewhere I am going to take classes so I can learn how to crochet and sew things for you.
Before we leave Tyler we have to take you to the Rose Gardens so mommy can take some pictures of you. I have a dress picked out and being your middle name is Rose and Tyler is the rose capital of the world, it only seems fitting to take your picture there! Pictures, pictures, pictures. Sometimes I am sad I didn't do a 1-12 monthly shot of you with a stuffed animal. It's the one thing I wish I had started doing right away. But I made the mistake of trying to pose you and well, as you got bigger, it got harder. So I've resorted to just making sure to take lots and LOTS of pictures. I will take a 6 month photo of you next to mr Lamby and will continue to do so. At least we'll have 6-12 month photos documented! Better late than never, baby girl :) We've got bigger fish to fry!
Your sleep habits have regressed a bit in the last couple of weeks. I am attributing it to your 6 month growth spurt! You used to go to bed at 10pm, then you magically moved up your bedtime to 8pm. But lately, it's been back to 9:30/10pm. The last week you have been waking up around 3am to nurse and then staying awake for an hour to two hours. I nurse you again and you go back to sleep. I have even kept you in the big bed a few times because I think you wanted to be close to mama. Those growth spurts can be rough sometimes. I don't mind one bit. I love snuggling with you!
One of my favorite things is when you are in the bed next to me and you just stare at my face and smile. Then you reach out your little sweet dimpled hand and run it along my face. You also do this while you are nursing. I love it. Although, I do have to remember to trim your fingernails! On occasion you have grabbed at my face and those sharp little nails hurt! :) We have started learning the parts of the face. I point to your nose and then to mine. It will be fun when you can do it on your own!
Bath time has also become more fun. You watch your legs kick and smile when I sing "Splish, splash we were taking a bath, all on a Saturday night!" I think I'll introduce bath toys soon. Sometimes by the time we get in the bath you are so tired that we just rinse off quick and head straight to bed! I still love it when you have the energy to let me cover you in yummy coconut oil, though! Delicious smelling baby.
You love your time with papa. He puts you on his tummy and you do tummy time there! He also loves to put you on his shoulders while walking around the house asking, "Have you seen baby bear?" You light up every time you see papa. It makes my heart so happy! I can't wait to see the relationship that you and your papa develop over the years. I pray for the bond that you two are creating and am so thankful that God is teaching your papa how to be a good daddy. We are learning as we go, but we have been blessed with such a sweet baby, you make it easy!
Ooh, I am excited to make our Christmas presents this year. I won't write what it is yet since some reading this will be receiving the gifts. I have it on my to-do list for this week, though!
On that note, I will end with saying how much we love you. I tell you every day, but I love you more than the sky is high, more than the ocean is deep, more than the sun is bright. Brenna Rose, I love you!!! Your sixth month isn't over yet! I will try to post again before the 7th month.
Time, please slow down!!
Kisses my littlest love,
Mama
Sweet Brenna, you are such a joy to be around. Six months has been a big month for you! You rolled from your tummy to your back for the first time and you are going for the world record in baby pushups. We are so proud of you.
You love bouncing in your exersaucer but floor time is your favorite. I love to set a few toys around you and watch you scoot and turn to get each one. At some point you roll onto your back and then back onto your tummy. The puppies have been such a source of entertainment for you recently! Their loud barks hurt your ears but you don't cry, you just make funny faces and close your eyes every time they let out a loud bark. Those silly puppies. Watching the puppies play makes you giggle. Lola was playing with a bone one day and you let out a full belly laugh. It made mommy laugh! Even we can't get you to belly laugh yet!
I have started teaching you sign language. On November 3rd you did the sign for milk for the first time! I was so proud. We are also working on "sleepy", "puppy", "hi and bye". It's amazing how your little brain is learning so quickly!
We took a trip to Lafayette to visit your friend Elle a few weeks ago. It was amazing to see you two together again. Born just 10 days apart yet so different already! We also got to see little Liam and our dear friends Brandi and Kipp! Elle was sitting up all by herself and Liam was a crawling machine! You must have watched Elle sit up because shortly after that trip you were sitting up all by yourself, too! I still put pillows around you just in case you topple over. That usually happens when you want a toy but it's out of reach. On our Lafayette visit we went to the Pumpkin Patch for the first time. Our trip involved us driving there, sitting you and Elle next to each other, taking a few pictures and calling it a day! Maybe next year we will take you to see some of the animals and let you pick our your own pumpkin :)
You got your first cold while we were in Lafayette (Oct 20th 2012 weekend). Daddy got sick on the way to Lafayette and a day or so later you caught it :( It was heart breaking to hear your little cough. We had to use the nose bulb a lot. You are not a fan. You sure told that cold who was boss, though! It lasted for just 2 1/2 days and then it seem to clear. However, that stinking cough came back and that's when we introduced a little bit of Claritin D, Baby Vicks and Eucalyptus in your humidifier. After two doses of the Claritin D I was not convinced it had helped one bit so we stopped that. The Baby Vicks did seem to help you stop coughing so I did that for about three days straight and slowly you got all better! You never had a fever just a cough and some congestion in your throat. You nose was only runny for one day! Humidifier was a huge help! We will never travel without it again!
Still no teeth to report, although I think you might be showing signs of teething. You love to put everything in your mouth! You aren't drooling a lot and you aren't fussy though. Speaking of not fussy- I say it daily, you are the best baby in the whole wide world! You don't cry. Just yesterday mama was getting her hair done and because the stylist had to put color in twice (oops), you hadn't eaten in 3 1/2 hours. That's a long time for you. Daddy told me you were making sad faces saying "I'm not going to cry... I want to cry but I'm not going to!" I rushed home and there you were sitting on the floor, greeting me with a smile. Like I said, best baby in the whole wide world!
In lieu of milk, and in hopes of tiding you over until mama got home, Daddy fed you avocado for the second time yesterday! This time we used a spoon and only did small amounts. The first time we attempted the Baby Led Weaning method of giving you a big chunk. That didn't go over so well. But yesterday you ate about 10 little spoon fulls and then made a face as if to say, "DONE. SO DONE, Papa!" I'm hoping to feed some to you today mixed with a little milk. I'll be sure to get it on video!
Oh how days are flying by lately. I love holding you and reading to you and singing to you. We've added "If You're Happy and You Know It", "Jesus Loves Me/You", and random songs from Disney movies to our repertoire. You love to sing. You sing "Ooo, ooooh". It's adorable! I love taking you outside in the afternoons and we try to go on walks a few times a week. You usually play with toys on our walks and I stare at your adorable face. I must admit, I wish you could be rear facing forever, haha.
We took you to your first costume party this year! I made your costume, a baby B of course, and we took you to a party at The Mansions apartments. You won the costume contest! Well, if they had a contest, you would have won! I love taking you places with us. There were a lot of people at the party and it was getting close to your bedtime but you held it together, smiled and played. By the time we got home we had a lot of glitter to wash off! Those wings were very sparkly and very messy but totally worth it. I still want to put you in the costume one more time before you outgrow it so we can get some video and take a few more pictures. You were the cutest bumble bee I have ever seen!
We have plans to go to Sioux Falls, SD for Thanksgiving! But first we must order you a new car seat. I want you to be as comfortable as possible for our 15+ hour drive up north. I am going to pray that it is an easy trip for everyone. The reason we are going is to celebrate our friend Todd and Tatia's wedding! You are going to be a flower girl, daddy is going to be a groomsman and mommy is going to be the photographer! It's a family affair! I'm excited for the wedding but more than anything I am excited for you to meet your Sioux Falls "family". The friends who took us in and gave us so much love while we lived in Sioux Falls. It will be so fun to bring you down to the needlepoint shop and to bundle you up in warm clothes. Although, I hope it's not too cold when we go visit!
Tomorrow we are having our family pictures taken! It's the first real professional pictures we will ever have taken as a family! I have our outfits all picked out, although I'm still toying around with the idea of making you a headband. We will see if I get to that project today :) I love making things for you. Once we get settled somewhere I am going to take classes so I can learn how to crochet and sew things for you.
Before we leave Tyler we have to take you to the Rose Gardens so mommy can take some pictures of you. I have a dress picked out and being your middle name is Rose and Tyler is the rose capital of the world, it only seems fitting to take your picture there! Pictures, pictures, pictures. Sometimes I am sad I didn't do a 1-12 monthly shot of you with a stuffed animal. It's the one thing I wish I had started doing right away. But I made the mistake of trying to pose you and well, as you got bigger, it got harder. So I've resorted to just making sure to take lots and LOTS of pictures. I will take a 6 month photo of you next to mr Lamby and will continue to do so. At least we'll have 6-12 month photos documented! Better late than never, baby girl :) We've got bigger fish to fry!
Your sleep habits have regressed a bit in the last couple of weeks. I am attributing it to your 6 month growth spurt! You used to go to bed at 10pm, then you magically moved up your bedtime to 8pm. But lately, it's been back to 9:30/10pm. The last week you have been waking up around 3am to nurse and then staying awake for an hour to two hours. I nurse you again and you go back to sleep. I have even kept you in the big bed a few times because I think you wanted to be close to mama. Those growth spurts can be rough sometimes. I don't mind one bit. I love snuggling with you!
One of my favorite things is when you are in the bed next to me and you just stare at my face and smile. Then you reach out your little sweet dimpled hand and run it along my face. You also do this while you are nursing. I love it. Although, I do have to remember to trim your fingernails! On occasion you have grabbed at my face and those sharp little nails hurt! :) We have started learning the parts of the face. I point to your nose and then to mine. It will be fun when you can do it on your own!
Bath time has also become more fun. You watch your legs kick and smile when I sing "Splish, splash we were taking a bath, all on a Saturday night!" I think I'll introduce bath toys soon. Sometimes by the time we get in the bath you are so tired that we just rinse off quick and head straight to bed! I still love it when you have the energy to let me cover you in yummy coconut oil, though! Delicious smelling baby.
You love your time with papa. He puts you on his tummy and you do tummy time there! He also loves to put you on his shoulders while walking around the house asking, "Have you seen baby bear?" You light up every time you see papa. It makes my heart so happy! I can't wait to see the relationship that you and your papa develop over the years. I pray for the bond that you two are creating and am so thankful that God is teaching your papa how to be a good daddy. We are learning as we go, but we have been blessed with such a sweet baby, you make it easy!
Ooh, I am excited to make our Christmas presents this year. I won't write what it is yet since some reading this will be receiving the gifts. I have it on my to-do list for this week, though!
On that note, I will end with saying how much we love you. I tell you every day, but I love you more than the sky is high, more than the ocean is deep, more than the sun is bright. Brenna Rose, I love you!!! Your sixth month isn't over yet! I will try to post again before the 7th month.
Time, please slow down!!
Kisses my littlest love,
Mama
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Trust in our Creator: This post should have been published months ago! Whoops!
Trust. Not in ourselves but in our Creator.
Friends, no matter where you are now, where you were yesterday or where you will be tomorrow, we have only one thing to do. Trust that God's plan will always far exceed our own.
As many of you know we travel a fair amount. HA. Understatement of the century. Truth is we haven't spent more than 2 years in the same place since we met and married in 2005. The last seven years have been filled with all sorts of unexpected twists and turns. There were many a valley in which I wondered if we would make it to the peak and I questioned what the heck God was doing. Oh but did God know what he was doing!
Today I write from our beautiful town home in Tyler, TX. I write while our precious 5 month old little girl sleeps and our sweet puppies lounge around the house. I write while my husband works at a job he loves and one that provides for us allowing me to stay home. I write from a place of complete contentment. I write with a peace that surpasses my understanding. This peace comes from finally giving up on my need to control my life and handing everything over to the one who knows far more than I do.
I bought a small plaque a year ago that read, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 It has served as a physical reminder to me of God's goodness. A year later I look at this plaque and instead of pleading with God to free my heart of control, I praise God for the freedom I have found in trusting Him fully and not leaning on my own understanding. As each day passes, I realize more and more that trusting God is all I have to do. It takes so much less energy to trust God than it does to question every detail of my life.
Having our own daughter has truly changed my life. God has shown me that out of nothing he can create something that is so precious and priceless and irreplaceable. Words can't describe the love I have for her. No matter what she does or who she becomes, I will always love her with a love so deep it hurts. I think of the love I have for my daughter and then I realize as a daughter of God how deeply he loves me. The grace he has extended to me is amazing. Through every peak and valley, God was there, he never left.
Trust. Trust that God is good and you will see how true this is. I pray for my friends and my family. That God would be the one you look to in every peak and valley. I love the testimony God is creating for me. We are so blessed to be on this journey. I am even more blessed to share my life with an incredible man of God and a baby that I pray grows to love the Lord as much as we do.
God is good.
Friends, no matter where you are now, where you were yesterday or where you will be tomorrow, we have only one thing to do. Trust that God's plan will always far exceed our own.
As many of you know we travel a fair amount. HA. Understatement of the century. Truth is we haven't spent more than 2 years in the same place since we met and married in 2005. The last seven years have been filled with all sorts of unexpected twists and turns. There were many a valley in which I wondered if we would make it to the peak and I questioned what the heck God was doing. Oh but did God know what he was doing!
Today I write from our beautiful town home in Tyler, TX. I write while our precious 5 month old little girl sleeps and our sweet puppies lounge around the house. I write while my husband works at a job he loves and one that provides for us allowing me to stay home. I write from a place of complete contentment. I write with a peace that surpasses my understanding. This peace comes from finally giving up on my need to control my life and handing everything over to the one who knows far more than I do.
I bought a small plaque a year ago that read, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 It has served as a physical reminder to me of God's goodness. A year later I look at this plaque and instead of pleading with God to free my heart of control, I praise God for the freedom I have found in trusting Him fully and not leaning on my own understanding. As each day passes, I realize more and more that trusting God is all I have to do. It takes so much less energy to trust God than it does to question every detail of my life.
Having our own daughter has truly changed my life. God has shown me that out of nothing he can create something that is so precious and priceless and irreplaceable. Words can't describe the love I have for her. No matter what she does or who she becomes, I will always love her with a love so deep it hurts. I think of the love I have for my daughter and then I realize as a daughter of God how deeply he loves me. The grace he has extended to me is amazing. Through every peak and valley, God was there, he never left.
Trust. Trust that God is good and you will see how true this is. I pray for my friends and my family. That God would be the one you look to in every peak and valley. I love the testimony God is creating for me. We are so blessed to be on this journey. I am even more blessed to share my life with an incredible man of God and a baby that I pray grows to love the Lord as much as we do.
God is good.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Brenna Rose: 5 Months!
5 Months and you just keep getting more and more FUN!
September 18th, just two days after you turned 5 months old, you decided to roll!! I was on the floor playing with you as you kicked your little arms behind you and you swam like a fish with your arms in front of you. Every now and then you would do a few baby push ups and then all of a sudden you were on your side. This was not new. You loved to tease us by moving onto your side and then simply rolling back onto your tummy. But not THIS time! This time you went onto your side and kicked your sweet little baby leg over and boom! You landed on your back!
Daddy was walking out of the room when I gasped, "Matt! She rolled! Our baby rolled!" I giggled with glee. It's amazing the pride that I have for your small and big developments. I kept putting you back on your tummy so you could show me your amazing rolling ability over and over again. You must have rolled a dozen times that night! Oh and did I mention it was already almost your bedtime? What a perfect way to end our day.
So far month 5 has been pure joy. You are still nursing a couple of times a night but every now and then you will sleep through the night and I wake up feeling amazingly refreshed! Gramma Cindy and Grampa John bought you your first chair! You weren't sure what to make of it at first but now we have fun sitting you in it and helping you develop your muscles in preparation for sitting up on your own!
Grandpa Dale and Grandma Diane bought you an exersaucer. It lets you play while standing up and you have already figured out how to bounce in it! The sudden noises on the toys still startle you but you are beginning to figure out how to play. I love watching you during play time.
Yesterday we took you to brunch at the main office of the Cascades and our friend Donya made the observation that you are like the Jason Bourne of babies! You are extremely alert. Whenever we take you somewhere you are "looking for all the exits" as Donya put it. Just about everyone that meets you comments on your alertness. We are so proud of you and of how calm and happy you are.
We live so far away from your extended family but you are starting to recognize faces on Skype and that is very fun! We still don't let you watch too much tv, but we figure a little computer screen time with family is ok every once in awhile!
Bath time is still one of your favorite times of day. Although I am starting to wonder if play time is creeping in for your favorite activity! Part of play time always involves the puppies. You smile at them, giggle and love to stare at them. I can't wait until you can chase them and pet them!
One of my favorite developments is how you sing when I come in to pick you up after naps. It's a sound much like an owl, "hoooo, hoooo, hoooo." You tend to sing most when you first wake up and when you get tired and are ready for bed. You also love it when mama sings. I love singing to you and I love your smiles and giggles even more!
It's hard to believe you have been with us for 5 months already! I love every minute sweet Brenna Rose!
September 18th, just two days after you turned 5 months old, you decided to roll!! I was on the floor playing with you as you kicked your little arms behind you and you swam like a fish with your arms in front of you. Every now and then you would do a few baby push ups and then all of a sudden you were on your side. This was not new. You loved to tease us by moving onto your side and then simply rolling back onto your tummy. But not THIS time! This time you went onto your side and kicked your sweet little baby leg over and boom! You landed on your back!
Daddy was walking out of the room when I gasped, "Matt! She rolled! Our baby rolled!" I giggled with glee. It's amazing the pride that I have for your small and big developments. I kept putting you back on your tummy so you could show me your amazing rolling ability over and over again. You must have rolled a dozen times that night! Oh and did I mention it was already almost your bedtime? What a perfect way to end our day.
So far month 5 has been pure joy. You are still nursing a couple of times a night but every now and then you will sleep through the night and I wake up feeling amazingly refreshed! Gramma Cindy and Grampa John bought you your first chair! You weren't sure what to make of it at first but now we have fun sitting you in it and helping you develop your muscles in preparation for sitting up on your own!
Grandpa Dale and Grandma Diane bought you an exersaucer. It lets you play while standing up and you have already figured out how to bounce in it! The sudden noises on the toys still startle you but you are beginning to figure out how to play. I love watching you during play time.
Yesterday we took you to brunch at the main office of the Cascades and our friend Donya made the observation that you are like the Jason Bourne of babies! You are extremely alert. Whenever we take you somewhere you are "looking for all the exits" as Donya put it. Just about everyone that meets you comments on your alertness. We are so proud of you and of how calm and happy you are.
We live so far away from your extended family but you are starting to recognize faces on Skype and that is very fun! We still don't let you watch too much tv, but we figure a little computer screen time with family is ok every once in awhile!
Bath time is still one of your favorite times of day. Although I am starting to wonder if play time is creeping in for your favorite activity! Part of play time always involves the puppies. You smile at them, giggle and love to stare at them. I can't wait until you can chase them and pet them!
One of my favorite developments is how you sing when I come in to pick you up after naps. It's a sound much like an owl, "hoooo, hoooo, hoooo." You tend to sing most when you first wake up and when you get tired and are ready for bed. You also love it when mama sings. I love singing to you and I love your smiles and giggles even more!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Brenna Rose: 4 Months
Oh sweet baby girl, how on earth are you four months old already?! Weren't you just inside my belly like yesterday?
I love watching you develop as you grow. When I go in to pick you up after naps you turn your head and smile knowing I am there. Then I pick you up, squeeze you tight and say, "Good morning Brenna Rose, I love you!" You respond with another big gummy smile. We go to the changing table and I get to spend precious minutes with you as you stare up at me with your beautiful big brown eyes. Changing diapers isn't the fun part but getting that face to face time with you is priceless. You kick and stretch and talk to mama. By the end of the diaper change you are ready to eat! Thank goodness we have the eating thing figured out now :)
Nap time is still very inconsistent. I try to put you down after a little over an hour but sometimes you fight sleep and we end up rocking for a long time. I pray over you and ask God for patience as I rock your ever growing little body to sleep. And then that moment comes where you give way to sleep and close your eyes. Your breathing is rhythmic and I know I can gently put you down without waking you. After every nap battle I always find that I miss you just as soon as you close your eyes. I rush to take a shower, eat, check email and maybe have time to work on some projects before I hear you coo signalling my cue to come start our play time again :)
These days you spend time on your floor mat. You talk to your toys, kicking them with your chubby little toes. We also do tummy time for a little while but really you would much rather be in mama's arms. You are so curious of the world around you. You love watching the puppies as they play. They sniff your sweet head and Lola tries to sneak in kisses. Stella wants to be in the bedroom when you are napping. I think she knows you are her little sister and as the alpha dog it's her duty to protect you. When we go outside you are perfectly content to sit on my lap and stare out at nature.
We try to go on walks when the mornings are cool enough. You stare wide eyed at the trees and scrunch up your face when mommy forgets to adjust the sun visor. By the end of most walks you are ready to nap and I speed up my steps a little more to get you home as quickly as I can. I always feel terrible when I discover you have a sweaty head. These TX summers are too hot!
As for really getting out of the house, we don't go out too much- daddy's big truck scares me and it's usually more work than it's worth for me to window shop or pick up one or two items. Thankfully daddy is great at doing the shopping for us! Plus that way mommy doesn't spend too much money.
I need to take more video. I try to take some every couple of days and I know it's been awhile since I videotaped you. I hope to watch the clips on your 1st birthday. I already know I'll be boo-hooing the entire time. There are so many challenges to taking care of an infant but somehow I know I will miss this time tremendously once you are walking and talking and no longer nursing. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it. I work hard to consciously be aware of the time you are little. I want to cherish these days when I can simply scoop you up into my arms and that is enough to make you smile. I want to kiss your toes at every diaper change and give you butterfly kisses as I hold your cheek close to mine. I want to sing Do-Re-Mi, ABC's and count to 10... you love it when I sing to you.
Bathtime!! Oh how you love your baths. You are content and quiet and then I start singing, "Splish splash we were taking a bath, all on a "insert day of the week here" night! Then you giggle and we play. By the end of bathtime you are hungry and tired and oh so ready for bed. Bedtime is still 10pm. I tried to move it up last night and it didn't go so well. We spent an hour and a half trying to get you to go to sleep. Then like magic, 10pm hit and you were out! Maybe we will try moving bedtime up again in a few weeks.
We still haven't found a pediatrician for you. I pray every night before you go to bed that God would protect you and keep you healthy. I also pray we find a pediatrician soon as I would like to take you in for your 4 month checkup! I'm curious to see what your weight and height stats are. Here are some of my favorite recent shots of you!
You are doing lots of smiling, cooing, singing and talking but still no rolling over for you baby! I don't mind. I like that you aren't mobile yet. You take your time and when you are good and ready you can roll over. It's almost like you enjoy keeping us in suspense! Or actually, it's more that you are perfectly content on your back. With your pleasantly plump little bod, rolling is probably a lot of work anyway. We don't want you to overwork yourself!
God is good, so so good. You are a happy, sweet tempered, quiet but yet talkative baby. I thank God every day for blessing us with such an easy baby. We are growing in our roles as mommy and daddy but you make it easy sweet girl.
Grandma Cindy will be here tomorrow. I can't wait to show her all the new things you can do. The last time she saw you, you were only 5 weeks old! I pray it's a wonderful visit filled with lots of wonderful memories.
Thank you Jesus for our beautiful, beautiful baby girl!!!!
I love watching you develop as you grow. When I go in to pick you up after naps you turn your head and smile knowing I am there. Then I pick you up, squeeze you tight and say, "Good morning Brenna Rose, I love you!" You respond with another big gummy smile. We go to the changing table and I get to spend precious minutes with you as you stare up at me with your beautiful big brown eyes. Changing diapers isn't the fun part but getting that face to face time with you is priceless. You kick and stretch and talk to mama. By the end of the diaper change you are ready to eat! Thank goodness we have the eating thing figured out now :)
Nap time is still very inconsistent. I try to put you down after a little over an hour but sometimes you fight sleep and we end up rocking for a long time. I pray over you and ask God for patience as I rock your ever growing little body to sleep. And then that moment comes where you give way to sleep and close your eyes. Your breathing is rhythmic and I know I can gently put you down without waking you. After every nap battle I always find that I miss you just as soon as you close your eyes. I rush to take a shower, eat, check email and maybe have time to work on some projects before I hear you coo signalling my cue to come start our play time again :)
These days you spend time on your floor mat. You talk to your toys, kicking them with your chubby little toes. We also do tummy time for a little while but really you would much rather be in mama's arms. You are so curious of the world around you. You love watching the puppies as they play. They sniff your sweet head and Lola tries to sneak in kisses. Stella wants to be in the bedroom when you are napping. I think she knows you are her little sister and as the alpha dog it's her duty to protect you. When we go outside you are perfectly content to sit on my lap and stare out at nature.
We try to go on walks when the mornings are cool enough. You stare wide eyed at the trees and scrunch up your face when mommy forgets to adjust the sun visor. By the end of most walks you are ready to nap and I speed up my steps a little more to get you home as quickly as I can. I always feel terrible when I discover you have a sweaty head. These TX summers are too hot!
As for really getting out of the house, we don't go out too much- daddy's big truck scares me and it's usually more work than it's worth for me to window shop or pick up one or two items. Thankfully daddy is great at doing the shopping for us! Plus that way mommy doesn't spend too much money.
I need to take more video. I try to take some every couple of days and I know it's been awhile since I videotaped you. I hope to watch the clips on your 1st birthday. I already know I'll be boo-hooing the entire time. There are so many challenges to taking care of an infant but somehow I know I will miss this time tremendously once you are walking and talking and no longer nursing. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it. I work hard to consciously be aware of the time you are little. I want to cherish these days when I can simply scoop you up into my arms and that is enough to make you smile. I want to kiss your toes at every diaper change and give you butterfly kisses as I hold your cheek close to mine. I want to sing Do-Re-Mi, ABC's and count to 10... you love it when I sing to you.
Bathtime!! Oh how you love your baths. You are content and quiet and then I start singing, "Splish splash we were taking a bath, all on a "insert day of the week here" night! Then you giggle and we play. By the end of bathtime you are hungry and tired and oh so ready for bed. Bedtime is still 10pm. I tried to move it up last night and it didn't go so well. We spent an hour and a half trying to get you to go to sleep. Then like magic, 10pm hit and you were out! Maybe we will try moving bedtime up again in a few weeks.
We still haven't found a pediatrician for you. I pray every night before you go to bed that God would protect you and keep you healthy. I also pray we find a pediatrician soon as I would like to take you in for your 4 month checkup! I'm curious to see what your weight and height stats are. Here are some of my favorite recent shots of you!
You love your little Lamby!
In your adorable denim dress from Auntie Ashley!
OK mama please no more pictures today!
I had to get some baby in a basket shots! Still fits into the newborn hat Auntie Ashley made!
And of course my favorite, nakie baby!
Oh, be still my heart.
Oh how I love you baby! We have a new carrier now so no more forward facing for your little hips!
Auntie Kate got you this precious onesie! Mama's little photography helper!
Oh you are a whole lot of love sweet girl!
And again, baby in a basket! Thanks Mechele and Jeff- more than just a picnic basket!
One of my favorites! I wish this dress would grow with you! Thank you Auntie Ashley!!
You are doing lots of smiling, cooing, singing and talking but still no rolling over for you baby! I don't mind. I like that you aren't mobile yet. You take your time and when you are good and ready you can roll over. It's almost like you enjoy keeping us in suspense! Or actually, it's more that you are perfectly content on your back. With your pleasantly plump little bod, rolling is probably a lot of work anyway. We don't want you to overwork yourself!
God is good, so so good. You are a happy, sweet tempered, quiet but yet talkative baby. I thank God every day for blessing us with such an easy baby. We are growing in our roles as mommy and daddy but you make it easy sweet girl.
Grandma Cindy will be here tomorrow. I can't wait to show her all the new things you can do. The last time she saw you, you were only 5 weeks old! I pray it's a wonderful visit filled with lots of wonderful memories.
Thank you Jesus for our beautiful, beautiful baby girl!!!!
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