Six months

Leah is now six months old. It really seems like I was just holding her for the first time. I am cherishing every moment I have with her. What a blessing God has bestowed to me. I could not have imagined how great motherhood could be.
Leah is still in the 10th percentile. She weighs 12lbs 13 oz and is 24 and 1/4 inches long. She is rolling all over the place and working hard to sit up. She can sit up by herself but doesn't always stay up. She is quite vocal and has learned to scream when we aren't giving her what she wants quickly enough. She has started baby food and prefers squash to sweet potatoes. Her oatmeal seems to be her favorite. She can't take a bite without saying, "um, um, um." She still sleeps through the night, but I usually have to go in once during the night to reposition her. I don't know how she manages to roll onto her tummy or get herself wedged in the corner when she is swaddled. If I don't swaddle her she starts rolling during the night and wakes herself up completely. We have enjoyed a few days of warm weather so that her Gran and Grump (my parents) could take her for strolls around our neighborhood during their weekly visits. She likes to swing at the playground and then usually falls asleep in the stroller. We are all having so much fun with her. She is pure joy to us. She makes my heart melt every time she smiles that big open mouth smile.
We go see Lori for our 6 month photos this coming week. I hope we get some good shots. Until then, here are some of my favorite photos from this past month.

Chillin' with Addie Grace.

Thank you, Ms. Bebe for my hat.

One of my favorite outfits.

Leah just heard about the Easter bunny.

Sweet potatoes rock!

I'm six month old today.

Can someone please rock me to sleep?

5 months old...already?

Everyone told me that time would fly by once Leah arrived. I really did believe them, but I just didn't think it would go quite this fast. Where has the time and my itty bitty one gone? Oh, she is still little...still wearing her 3 month clothing. I have all these cute 3-6 month winter outfits that I don't know if she will be able to wear. If it continues to stay cold like it has we may have to purchase more!

January 31st, we had Leah dedicated at church. It was a special time for us. It is my prayer that we will be the kind of parents who show her that God loves her and is her heavenly Father in whom she can always trust. What a blessing it will be when she decides to give her heart to Jesus. Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

Leah is now rolling everywhere. I can't leave her alone when she is on her playmat because I don't know where she will end up. She was in her room playing while I hung up some clothing, and when I returned (1 minute later) she had travelled 3 to 4 feet to the doorway. When she saw me, she broke out with a huge grin as if she was so proud of herself. Then while we were playing in the living room, she manage to roll to position herself waist down under the ottoman. I can't imagine what crawling is going to be like. She is also working on sitting up. I put her in her boppy and she can sit for a few minutes and play. She still has some work to do with that though.

Sleeping is going well. She usually sleeps at least 10 hours.She has a new sleeping position which she seems to like. It keeps her from travelling so much in the bed, and stops my worrying about her smothering herself. See the pictures below. We stayed with mom and dad last weekend, but I don't think we will do that again until she can stay without me! She was up from 2 am until 6 am. It had been a very long time since I had been awake at 2am with her. Once we got back home she was getting up at 5:30 for a few days, but is back on schedule again. Although I like for her to sleep later than 6 am, I am so ready for her to wake up so I can spend time with her. I thank God (and my husband) every day that I get to stay home with her. It is so amazing how quickly she changes, and I just cherish every moment with her.

She has been enjoying rice cereal for a month now. We tried oatmeal yesterday, and I think she is going to like it also. She is quite the messy eater. She grabs my hand or the spoon with every bite. It makes me sound like a wimp, but she really can keep me from aiming the spoon where I want it to go. So half ends up in her mouth and the other half is around her mouth. We have started trying a sippy cup, but that works about at well as a bottle does. What in the world am I going to do? She really thinks that she needs to chew on everything that goes in her mouth (except for one thing...thank goodness!). We will probably start some foods at the end of this month.

My friend Dana and I have started making hair bows. It's not as easy as some people make it look, but I think they are turning out pretty well. We are using the headbands now that Leah's hair is so thin. I wonder what color her hair will be when she finally gets it all back.

By the time I post again we will have our basement finished. Although it will probably take us a little while to get it completely furnished, I am very excited about having it for Leah. Upstairs we have all hardwood/tile except for bedrooms and an area rug. Downstairs will be all carpet. I think her little knees and behind will like that better. I am also going to have a sewing/craft room. No more dragging out the sewing machines and cluttering up the kitchen. Greg will really like that!

Here are some photos. Hope you enjoy!

Baby Dedication

This is how I have to position her now.

This is one way she would position herself. She started in the middle of the bed!

Dixie is sneaking in a little smooch.

My favorite bow so far.

Mommy, do we really have to do this?

Four months old

It has been a while since I posted anything. Leah is keeping me quite busy now. She doesn't mind to play by herself, but she is so much fun that I want to just play with her all of the time. Although she is still little, she is developing too quickly for me! At her 4 month appointment she weighed 10lbs, 13oz maintaining her 5-10% ranking. She is rolling onto her tummy more than rolling onto her back, although she doesn't really enjoy being on her tummy. It is just easier for her. She brings everything to her mouth, and gets mad when she can't keep it there exactly the way she wants it. She has started eating rice cereal and seems to like it. The biggest accomplishment (or the one I like the most) is that she now sleeps through the night. Hopefully I am not jinxing myself by writing this.

Greg was in the Dominican Republic for a few days this month. He was recognized for being one of the top managers in the company. They do a big thing every year at some resort. We could have gone with him, but it would not have been much fun with a 4 month old. Mom stayed with us while he was away. She diligently worked on Leah taking a bottle. At the end of the week we decided to give up. Leah would take few drinks and then it was like she realized the milk was coming from an alternate source of which she did not approve. She would then just scream. It's just not worth it. Since I am not working it is really not a big deal.

While mom was here she also got Leah to giggle for the first time. It was so cute. You have to work really hard to get a giggle though. It's the oddest things that make her really giggle. Greg was moving his hands while he was talking and she laughed so much. Now he does the same thing, but she isn't interested anymore.


She is such a wiggle worm at night. I said that she was sleeping through the night, but that doesn't mean I am . Every night (usually around 4:30am) she manages to get her face buried in the bumpers so I have to go move her. She is swaddled at night, too. I thought about taking the bumpers off the bed, but she turns her head so much she will bang it on the rails. I tried one of the sleep positioners and she just took it with her. So I have now found out that I can just lift the bumpers up which gives her nose room to breath and keeps her head from hitting the rails. At 4:30 this morning she had turned herself 180 degrees from where she started and by 7 she was back to her original position in bed. I think I am going to be in some big trouble when she starts crawling!

Life is so good. I love being at home with her. My friend Dana and I are having so much fun taking the girls on little shopping trips. We usually spend as much time shopping as we do in dressing rooms nursing. I'm sure the sales attendants wonder what in the world we are doing! Leah also had her first nursery stay experience. She and Addie Grace (Dana's little one) were the only babies in the room. That made me feel good! We are attending a bible study on Tuesday mornings. According to the ladies. both girls did well.

Here are a few pictures from this month. (I've got to get the camera going!)

I love the bumbo!

Cereal is yummy!But my fingers are even yummier!

Here's video of Leah laughing. At first, it was a cute little giggle, but by the time I could get the camera it was more of a chuckle. You probably don't want to watch the whole video clip, but I don't know how to shorten it. If you do...let me know! She is watching Greg's hands.

Pictures

We received our pictures from our photographer today. These are some of my favorites. Thanks Lori Dill (Appear Photography) for great photos of our little one!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Wow how time has flown by so quickly. We had a wonderful Christmas. It was the best ever so far. We so enjoyed Christmas with Leah even though she had no clue what was going on. To her it was just like any other day when everyone comes to see her. She actually slept while we opened presents. The day after Christmas she rolled from her tummy to her back for the first time. She is reaching for things with more accuracy now. She is also making new sounds which make us laugh. She is just so sweet. It's hard to believe that tomorrow will start 2010. It's been almost a year since we found out we were going to have a baby. It just doesn't seem like a whole year has pased. God has blessed us so much. We surely don't deserve it. I hope that this year will bring much joy and wonderful blessings to my friends and family.

Here are a few pictures of Leah.

The day after Christmas. Leah is trying on her new hair flower that Aunt Dana gave her.

Leah trying out her new 4-wheeler that Grump bought her.

Gran, Grump and Leah
Our first Christmas! She just couldn't stand anymore excitement for the day.
Christmas eve...so excited about Santa.

12 weeks old

I can't believe that 3 months ago I was seeing my little Leah for the very first time. It is so bittersweet to watch her grow. I have been having many teary eyed moments recently. I was holding her and realizing that when she was born the length of her body was about the width of mine. Now her head to waist are that same length. Why can't this time last a little longer. She'll have many more years to be "big" so I want this time to last. I am truly cherishing every day with her despite my house needing some attention. I figure I will always have a house to clean, but I will not always have a baby to hold. Speaking of holding, this past week Leah has decided that she needs a little independence. She doesn't want to be held as much which breaks my heart. She loves to be laying on her activity mat or the floor with some toys. She coos (quite loudly some times) and smiles and has a great time just wiggling and looking around. She still wants to be held in the evenings and when she is tired so I still get my snuggle time. She is amazed by the sight of her hand. She hasn't figured out she has 2 of them yet. Her eyes are filled with wonder as she watches her little hand move around. Life is so good!

We had Christmas/3 month photos taken on Saturday. Go to http://www.appearphotography.com/, click on find your photos, children and families, then Leah to see them. Lori did a fabulous job. I don't even know how to choose. At first, Greg was not very excited about the whole photo shoot. He really doesn't like taking pictures. He told me he did not understand what the big deal was about getting the pictures made. After viewing the photos last night, he said it was all worth it. Leah did pretty well. She had her moments, and I'm amazed Lori was able to get the shots she did. Leah can and does smile more that she did that day, but she was so mesmerized by the lights and the camera that we couldn't get her to smile much. We are going to have so much fun with future photo shoots.

Here are a few more pictures that I took. They don't even begin to compare to Lori's.

Leah with her Gran and Grump.
Our little family
I could just eat her up!

11 weeks old

Oh what joy Leah brings to my heart. I can't say enough about how much fun it is to be home with my little girl. She is so sweet and her little personality is just blooming. She melts my heart every time she smiles. She has found her voice and likes to make really loud noises now. It is so much fun to talk/read to her and listen to her coo and smile. We took her to church for the first time, and she slept through the first half of Bible study. Greg took her out to give her a bottle for the second half. She is loud eater and doesn't take the bottle very well.

The bottle....what a challenge. We had to give her a bottle when we first got home because of her jaundice. That only lasted 1 week. After that she was not given a bottle for quite some time. Here lately we have been trying to give her a bottle so that I can leave the house for more than 2 to 3 hours. It has not been going very well. She fights it! We have made investments in many bottles. She took the cheap ones the best, but that's not saying much. We have been trying to give her practice each day with just an ounce, but it seems more like torture. Then yesterday I got to thinking about what type of nipple was on the bottle. She doesn't like the silicone pacifiers. She takes the latex ones. I thought maybe that would be the case with the bottles. So I made a little trip to the store and got a bottle with the latex nipple. When I got home she was ready to eat. I warmed up the bottle gave it to Greg, and she took it with no problems. I could have kicked myself. I'm just thankful to know what works now. I feel better about leaving her with Greg or my parents and knowing she won't be screaming while they try to feed her.

Greg's parents came for the day on Sunday. It was nice having them here to spend some time with Leah. I know she had changed so much since they last saw her.

Here are some pics from the past weeks.

First time to go to church.

Trying on her shoes which are much too big.

They are only a size 1.

Her first Christmas tree. She loves to look at the lights, but that day was more interested in sleeping.
Her first snow. As you can see, she really didn't care about the snow.

Grandmama and Granddaddy