Ten months

Leah is now 10 months. I know I keep saying this, but where has the time gone? Seriously, wasn't I just holding her for the first time? It's just too fast for me! She brings us so much joy. She is so fun to watch. She likes to make us laugh and will keep doing the same things to see us laugh again. So funny how we do the same thing to her. She waves at everyone. It's so cute! She waves with the open/close hand method. When we go shopping she starts waving before people even notice her. If they don't wave back she seems disappointed.

We went back for her weight check last week, and she is barely back on the growth chart. She weighed 15 pounds, 3 ounces. So she gained over a pound. She is still able to wear her 3-6/6month clothes, but is beginning to wear 6-9/9month clothes. She can get onto her hands and knees, and she makes you think she is going to crawl. But she will ever so gently lower herself to the floor and roll where she wishes. She has added the "d" sound to her repertoire, and will say dada on occasion. She likes all of her baby food, and is beginning to like table foods better. I think the change in textures has her a little suspicious. Her pincer grip is getting better, and she enjoys playing with the food even if she doesn't eat it. She is beginning to look at objects when you ask her where it is. Her favorite is the ceiling fan. She can find those in any room.

I love her schedule. She wakes around 6:45-7 am. She eats breakfast and then plays in the exersaucer while I clean the kitchen. She brushes her teeth (with max/total assist...that's for my OT friends) and then gets dressed. She has 20 minutes of play pen time while I get laundry started and clean up a bit around the house. We play, she has her cup of formula around 9, we read books and she goes to bed for a nap between 9:30 and 10. She sleeps 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and we begin again. She takes another nap around 2. Dinner is at 5, bath time at 6:30, last cup of formula at 7, and at 7:30 we read and she goes to bed. She loves the bed. That's good for when we are at home, but not so good when we are out. She will sleep in the car, but not so much in the stroller. Oh well!


Greg celebrated his first father's day, and my dad celebrated father's day for the first time with a grandchild. What a special day for all.

Leah and her dad.

Leah giving her Grump his card.


The past month was full of such fun days. We had our friends Ty, Dana and Addie Grace stay for a few days before they moved. We took the girls to a neighbor's house to get photos of the girls together. This was one of my favorites.

A few days later our friends from Texas came to visit us. It was the first time for us all to meet our girls. We had a great time. We found this bow for Leah during a shopping excursion. I have a friend that says a bow can never be too big. I may have to disagree this time.
Now life is back to normal, but I sure do miss all of my friends. God has placed some very special friends in our lives from each of the towns in which we have lived. We are truly blessed with these friendships.

Here are a few more of my favorite pictures from this past month.

Having some fun with bath time.


Leah is being a ham.

Trying to ride her 4-wheeler.

What a sweet face. Makes my heart melt!

Nine months old and off the charts

We took Leah for her 9 month check up and found out that she is off the charts....literally. She only gained 15 ounces so she isn't even on the growth chart anymore. She was in the 10th percentile or so, but not now. So we have been instructed to start her on formula. We will see how it goes. She weighed 13 pounds 12 ounces. The doctor reassured us that her head circumference was normal so he really wasn't worried about anything. We just have to plump her up some. She is still wearing 3-6/6 month clothes. She continues to roll everywhere. She attempts to get on hands and knees when reaching for objects and then decides rolling is the best way to get there. She has begun feeding herself some fingers foods, but still needs some practice with her aim sometimes. It's so much fun to watch her learn new things. She loves to shake and bang objects together. She babbles all the time, but Greg is still waiting on dada.

She is a great little sleeper. I could still watch her sleep for hours. This is now her favorite napping position. I love the little ruffles!
Leah went to the pool for the first time, but could not understand why she needed to wear her swim suit. As far as she was concerned she was just in a big bathtub. She was more interested in the other kiddos running around than she was in the water.

We finally ventured to south Alabama for Leah to visit Greg's family. She got to meet her cousins she had never met. She loved all of the attention she received. She did well on the trip so we are looking forward to going again.

This is Leah with her grandparents and her cousin who is just 3 months older.

Leah also got to meet Nannie for the first time.

Ready to go for a walk.

My family came over for father's day. Greg had a great day.

Leah is giving her Grump his card.

Eight Months

Our sweet baby girl is eight months old. She is the most precious thing ever (I know everyone says that about their child). We are having so much fun with her. It is such a blessing to watch the world through her eyes.

She still continues to roll everywhere. She can sit unsupported and play for as long as she chooses. She will fall forward or backward so she can start rolling to get what she wants. She will support herself with her arms when reaching for an object, but hasn't figured out how to get up on all fours yet. She babbles ba ba, la la, ra ra, ma ma and what sounds like yum yum. Greg is just waiting for da da. She has started waving, but not always on command. She has so much fun waving at random things...like the fan which she has decided is her favorite thing. She loves to watch it and talk to it.

It is so much fun to watch her with Greg. She lights up and just gets so excited when he comes home.

I have started going to a stay at home moms group. It's nice to get to hang out with other moms. On this day we went to the splash pad. Although she can't run around in all of the sprinklers she had a great time watching. We tried out her new shades. She let them stay on for just a little while. We are going to have to work on keeping them on once we start going to the pool.

We just had to show off this cute little outfit our friend let us borrow. She is still wearing her 3-6 month clothes and has started wearing some 6-9 month outfits. What fun we have dressing up. She loves to look at herself in the mirror especially when she has on a bow. She just smiles and waves at herself.
My first mother's day was great! Greg gave me a necklace with Leah's name on it. It was very special. Mom, dad, my brother and sister-in-law came over to visit and have lunch. What a blessing to have such a wonderful mother who is a great example.

Before everyone came to the house for mother's day, we went to visit Aunt Louise. She is my mother's aunt. She is really more like my mom's mother and our grandmother. She has not been doing very well, and probably won't be with us much longer. This was also her 84th birthday. What a special lady.

Leah's first tooth finally made its entrance. One night she woke up a few hours after going to sleep for the night. This is not like her at all. She was crying the most pitiful cry. After a little snuggle with mom and some off brand Tylenol (thanks to the recall), she went back to sleep. Two days later she had a tooth! Now we practice brushing her tooth everyday. She loves her toothbrush.
We are thankful that summer is here, and we get to spend so much time outside. Leah loves to just be outdoors. We like to take strolls through the neighborhood. It's so fun to watch her noticing new sights and sounds. We are looking forward to the pool opening soon. I can't wait to see what she does.

Seven months

When Leah turned 7 months on Sunday my initial thought was, "Oh! She is going to be a year old in just 5 months." It is just so sad to me. Don't get me wrong, I love every single waking moment that I get to spend with her. She brings so much joy to my life. I just get sad when I stand back and truly think about how much she has grown and how quickly time has flown. I'm sure this is normal. I just wonder why they have to change so much in just a year? I really wouldn't mind if she stayed six months old for a year. I love it! She is our precious gift from God.

She is growing, but is still wearing some 3 month clothes, and she can still wear size 0 shoes. Her little foot is so narrow that shoes just don't stay on her feet. The fact that she loves to kick them off of her feet doesn't help. Thank goodness it is warm so she really doesn't need socks or shoes. She is a great eater! The only food she really doesn't like right now is bananas. She actually gags with every bite. She is making progress using a cup and sippy cup. We have been working with a straw and now she can drink with a straw! She still needs to perfect it some, but what a great accomplishment. This is a big deal if you know what we have been through with the bottle. She continues to sleep through the night, and now she does not have to be swaddled to sleep. She also doesn't bury her face in her bumpers anymore. What a blessing to not have to wake up at night to move her away them. She is sitting up better, but she won't stay there long because she prefers to be rolling. She now has playpen time so that I can actually do something while she plays. Now she can roll around, and I don't have to worry that she is going to hurt herself.

She is a good little baby. She is fun to take out shopping. She will just smile at anyone who will talk to her (provided she did not just wake from a nap). We are having such a good time with my friend whose baby is just 12 days older than Leah. We usually get out at least once a week for some girl time. I am so blessed!

Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Leah's "First Fishing Hat" from her Grump.

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.