Valentine’s Day this year was a little different than normal for lots of reasons… one of which was baby girl was with us for the first time! This was her first Valentine’s Day.
The night before we had a photo shoot with her in a Valentine’s Day outfit then sent the picture off to be printed and bought photo frames for all the grandparents as a Valentine’s Day present.
While I worked on the grandparents presents, hubby put together his own presents for my mom, his mom, and 3 of our friends we’d be seeing the next day. They each got a chocolate rose and 3 different types of chocolates in their bag.
Then it was time to head off to dream land but not before I set out baby girls Valentine’s Day present so it would be ready when she woke up the next morning!
The next morning my mother-in-law was coming over around 8:15 to watch baby girl for us because a dear friend’s father passed away and the funeral was Saturday morning so while baby girl was eating her breakfast I got my workout in, then it was time to give her her present. She seemed pleased :).
From there we went and met up with our “convoy” to head to our friend’s father’s visitation/funeral. When we got there we walked up to talk to her and she had her back to us. Amy pinched her butt and she turned around and laughed at us. We decided it was great to know our group is always inappropriate. Other stories from that day was when I went up to a water fountain to get some water to take some ibuprofen for my headache and the water squirted over the fountain and into the corner of the wall, Dan looked at me and asked if I’d been squirting long. Then when Pokey gave Kimmy a hug she said something about filling her up. And finally Kimmy talked about how her dad’s favorite drink was 7 & 7 and how she thought she should have brought some with her so that her family could have a drink in his honor so Pokey and hubby left and went and found the only store in the small town that sold liquor to get some Segrems (sp? don’t know I’ve never even had it) and seven up so that the family could have a drink in his honor. Kim started crying when they walked in to bring that to her. Kimmy kept referring to us as her friends from “down south” which kept ticking us.
From there our group left and drove to Lambert’s for lunch and then took off to Bass Pro for the afternoon.
Zebra Girl may have gotten stuck in the tree…..
While we were in Springfield my parents met up with my Mother-in-law and got baby girl. They took her to my grandma’s (baby girl’s great grandmas) and gave her the Valentine’s Day present we put together for her.
I live in Southwest Missouri. That means that we could go a whole winter without snow or we could get a SW MO style Blizzard and get 18″ of snow dumped on us. And if you don’t like the weather, stick around 30 and it will change.
Last night they were calling for 5-12 inches of snow. That’s a pretty big difference really. So we all laughed and said we’d probably get nothing. Well we woke up to snow this morning. I’m guessing (and by I, I mean hubby) 5-6 inches of snow. Plus it was still snowing this morning.
Baby girl hasn’t seen snow yet so we put her in the snow suit that her auntie gave her and out we went to play for a total of approx 2.3 minutes. We stood, we crawled, we lost a glove, we ate snow, we grasped snow in our bare hand. We screamed and went in doors. And that was our first experience with that white stuff in the yard.
Stats: My scales won’t work right now so I can’t even do a rough estimate on what you weigh. We’re going for your 6 month appointment after the first of the year. so I’ll have official weight/height measurements then.
Wearing: You’re wearing 3-6 and 6 month outfits for the most part. There are a few 6 month outfits that are too large for you, but for the most part you’re wearing 3-6 month outfits. Diapers are still size 2 but we’re almost to the point of size 3. Shoes… well you still don’t like shoes nor do you like socks. Shoe size is like a 2-3 for what I put on you but again you don’t keep them on so I don’t fuss with them much, yet.
Sleep: Your nightly routine is the 4 B’s. shower (Bath), food (Bottle), (Burp), (bed). You sleep through the night most of the time although this last week you woke up with a nightmare screaming. You fight nap time sleep for some reason and I can’t seem to get you on any kind of a consistent nap schedule. Sometimes you take cat naps of 30 minutes and other times you’ll sleep for 3 hours. You do much better with the longer naps!
Behavior: You’re not afraid to let us know when you’re hungry or tired. There is a difference in the screams too. You should have abs of steel. You’re constantly putting your legs up in the air and then trying to sit up. One of your favorite toys seems to be your feet. You hate shoes and pull them off. You hate socks and pull them off. You love water bottles and paper and I’m pretty sure that everyone could have gotten you that for Christmas and you’d have been happy. You also love to play with the baby in the mirror although the other day I think that baby made you mad. lol.
Eating: You are still eating 6oz every 3 1/2-4 hours. We’ve started trying foods. You’ve tried Sweet Potato, Squash, Cheesecake, Ice Cream, Apple Pie filling (not anything hard, the gooey stuff), Blueberry Jam and some other things.
Appearance: Your hair changes from Red to blonde depending on the color of the lighting you’re in. You have long fingers and long toes. Your stork bite is starting to go away. Your hair is getting extremely long, so far you haven’t lost it. And you still have those pretty blues!
Likes: You like to “talk”. You like to smile. You like your feet. You like car rides. You like going places. You liked Ft. Worth and didn’t mind Santa or the Longhorn steer you rode. You like music. You like chewing on everything in sight. You like water bottles. You like paper. You like to push buttons on mommy’s laptop. You like to be held. You like to snuggle with daddy when it’s bed time.
Dislikes: You don’t care for going to sleep, especially by yourself. You don’t like when daddy leaves for work, but you will snuggle with his pillow. You don’t like to be by yourself. You don’t like Great Grandma’s dog Jake. Dogs seem to scare you a little but you don’t mind looking at them from a distance. Bigger dogs don’t seem to scare you as much as little dogs do either.
Milestones: You can sit up now for a short period of time. You can roll over. Getting close to your first word. You’re laughing now. You love when daddy tickles you.
Mommy: I can’t stand when you’re upset but I’m having to let you try and self sooth which is killing me. I still feel like I’m doing things wrong all the time. Mommy wants you involved in EVERYTHING. Mommy is enjoying the fact that you’re sleeping longer in the mornings. Mommy is enjoying our extra time together although at times she gets frustrated when she can’t figure out what’s wrong. Usually that’s when you’re fighting sleep and NOTHING soothes you. Mommy loves when you smile and laugh and spending time with each other.
Daddy: Daddy loves spending time with you. He loves to snuggle with you and lately you guys have been playing, especially right before shower time a lot. You stick your tongues out at each other and spit at each other (don’t know the best way to describe this… it’s where you have your tongue stuck out and blow air across your tongue and out of your lips…). Sometimes when you are upset, daddy is the only one who can calm you down. You are still his baby squirrel.
Other: Everyone wants to pick on your hair. I’m sorry if you got mommy’s hair. She knows what it’s like to have crazy hair… she’s lived with it pretty much her whole life. Any time you go stay the night with grandma and grandpa, mommy feels lost. She’s getting so used to taking care of you that she feels weird when she isn’t. That’ll probably hit her pretty hard when you get to the point you don’t need her. Wow, typing that makes me even want to start crying. I never truly believed that having a baby would be as rewarding as it has been and it truly is different when it is your own baby. Although wait many years before you have your first, trust me, make your mark on the world. It’ll be worth it! So in other news… your mommy can still put her big toe in her mouth, just not quite like you do… you kick your foot straight back into your mouth… I have to bend a bit… :). I wonder if you’ll know what lol stands for some day… it means laugh out loud in case that is gone out of vocabulary when you’re old enough to read.
Letter:
Dear baby girl,
Well we survived our first Christmas together and I sure hope it was everything you hoped it would be. Although you probably had no expectations :). Santa came to visit so that’s good. Means you were a good girl. You’re daddy and I went to wake you up on Christmas morning and when daddy said, “Wake up baby girl, let’s see if Santa visited,” you smiled soooooo big. You didn’t wake up on that note but you had the biggest grin. You pretty much lived in Christmas outfits this month. I know when you get older that won’t be the cool thing to do, but we had to do it as long as we could :). You also had your very own Santa hat.
I can’t imagine you not in our life. It’s crazy how you go from a life without you to a life with you in no time flat. I’m so glad that God picked your daddy and me to be your parents. Stay sweet and remember that mommy and daddy love you!
To say I’ve been a bit of a scrooge this year might be an understatement. This has been an extremely trying year for my family and I’ve taken it pretty hard… harder than most of the family I think. I wish I knew why… but I don’t. I keep praying for help in understanding. I know things that have happened in the past, now looking back was the best thing that happened, but still…
Anyway usually I’m extremely excited to put the Christmas tree up and I was. I really wanted baby girl to be a part of it but there were other plans… like nap time. I was frustrated. Oh well… life happens, right?
So then I’ve been putting off wrapping presents. Christmas is my favorite time of year but it comes and goes so fast and then you have to wait a whole year for it to come back around. Oh Christmas, where are you? Can you believe it’ll be here next week? NEXT WEEK! So I’ve been putting off wrapping presents hoping I could push it off and keep it going. Hoping I could gain my Christmas spirit I usually have, but I guess I’ve come to the reality that Christmas is coming and I better get a move on with the wrapping of the presents.
Ok one question… So how old does a kid have to be before there are no more Santa presents?
Stats: At your 4 month appointment (a week after you were 4 months) you weighed 14lbs 4.4oz and were 24 3/4 inches long. You saw the Nurse Practitioner and she said that you were in the 60th percentile both in weight and height and that you looked great. She said that you were proportionate for your height and weight as well. She was very pleased.
Wearing: You’re wearing 3-6 and 6 month outfits for the most part. There are a few 6 month outfits that are too large for you, but for the most part you’re wearing 3-6 month outfits. Diapers are still size 2. Shoes… well you still don’t like shoes nor do you like socks. Shoe size is like a 2-3 for what I put on you but again you don’t keep them on so I don’t fuss with them much, yet.
Sleep: Your nightly routine is shower, food, bed. You’re sleeping about 7 hours through the night for the most part. You fight sleep, especially for nap time and I’m not sure why. A lot of times you like to try and do cat naps (10-20 minutes) and they seem to make you more cranky than if you sleep about an hour. When you get tired you start crying, a lot, and you get mad at poor effelhump (your elephant) or your binky fink or a towel or whatever is in your way. What I’ve read said you should be sleeping just shy of 16 hrs per day right now and we’re not getting there sadly.
Behavior: You’re not afraid to let us know when you’re hungry or tired. There is a difference in the screams too. You still love to kick your legs and even stick them straight up in the air if you’re laying on your back. I think your feet are your favorite toy. You love to sit up and you also love to play with the baby in the mirror although the other day I think that baby made you mad. lol.
Eating: The nurse practitioner gave you the go ahead to start trying to add solids to diet. You eat about every 3 1/2-4 hours. We’ve started you with the rice and you’re just okay with it. We’ve also tried sweet potatoes. You seem to like the taste but don’t seem yet to know what to do with it.
Appearance: Your daddy found a stork bite on the back of my neck so finally you and I have something in common. The nurse practitioner verified you have the stork bite. You appear to be long legged like your mommy. Your hair is still bouncing back and forth between the red/strawberry blonde/blonde. Your eyes are still blue and at times almost a steel gray color. That was the color of mommy’s grandpa’s eyes.
Likes: You like the outdoors. You like to smile. You like car rides for the most part. You like playing with your feet. You like sitting up. You like to be a part of the group. You like Christmas music. You do like to chew on everything in sight. You like the baby in the mirror (when she isn’t upsetting you). You like your swing. You like the new play center grandma got you. You like to help mommy with homework or at least help her push buttons. You like to be held all the time (even when we can’t).
Dislikes: You don’t like to lay down all the time. You don’t care for new people at first. You don’t like to be by yourself. You don’t like playing by yourself after a short while.
Milestones: You rolled over on the floor (although mommy missed it because I walked around to the other side of the bed for just a minute… dang it!). Standing in the new play center you got and playing with all the toys. You can almost hold yourself up in a sitting position. The nurse practitioner said you might be an early developer… we’ll see.
Mommy: I can’t stand when you’re upset but I’m having to let you try and self sooth which is killing me. I still feel like I’m doing things wrong all the time. People are trying to make me feel guilty for the way I raise my baby but you are mine and I am the one around you. You are mommy’s shuggy bear! Mommy isn’t a morning person but you smile at her and it makes her morning much better, even if it is 5:30am.
Daddy: Daddy loves spending time with you. He loves to snuggle with you and lately you guys have been playing, especially right before shower time a lot. You stick your tongues out at each other and spit at each other (don’t know the best way to describe this… it’s where you have your tongue stuck out and blow air across your tongue and out of your lips…). Sometimes when you are upset, daddy is the only one who can calm you down. You are still his baby squirrel.
Other: I think you got mommy’s hair when it comes to being crazy but it grows a lot like daddy’s hair. You have this swirly area on the crown of your head where one part goes this way and another that way and yada yada. You’ve cried bloody murder at your Aunt Liss and at Memaw. I’m not sure why… When you’re eating, you like to rub your head on both sides and run your fingers through your hair. You’ve been known to sleep with your hand in your hair and the other with on your foot which is up by your face. You really like your feet.
Letter:
Dear baby girl,
Tomorrow we’re getting ready to celebrate our first Thanksgiving with you. It just brings tears to my eyes when I think of all the first we’re about to experience with you. You break mommy’s heart every time you cry and cry and won’t quit for anything. You’ve stayed the night with grandma and grandpa a few times and I miss you when I wake up in the morning and you aren’t at the house. While we’re kind of on that topic, you need to learn that sleep is okay. You dream a lot and sometimes whimper in your sleep. I’m not sure why. I would really like to know what you’re dreaming about.
I can’t imagine you not in our life. It’s crazy how you go from a life without you to a life with you in no time flat. But I guess I better go because this crying thing we’ve been addressing, you’re doing it. Oh it’s hard to be tough but you need to start self soothing. You’re really tired, I wish you’d take a nap. Stay sweet and remember that mommy and daddy love you!
Stats: You had your 2 month appointment a week after you were 2 months. At that point you were 22 3/4 inches long. 11lbs 5.25oz. I should go in and weigh myself with you and without you and get a rough weight since that was about a month ago.
Wearing: For the most party we’re still wearing 0-3 although you have started outgrowing some of those so your daddy moved you up to 3 month although some of them are still way big on you. You even have a few NB that still fit. It’s funny how sizes are all over the place truthfully. As for diapers, your daddy thought we should move you up to size 2 but I’m still thinking they are a bit big.
Sleep: You have a nightly routine of shower, feed, bed. If we get off of that you get cranky. You also have been fighting sleep, mainly during the day and when you’re fighting you get extra cranky. Some days you nap most of the day and other days you don’t hardly sleep at all. You typically go to bed between 9-11 at night and sleep until around 5. At 5am sometimes you need to eat, other times you need the binky fink and you go right back to sleep for a few hours. There’s not a whole lot of consistency yet… We’re working on that.
Behavior: You absolutely love to kick your legs. You’ve also started working on trying to clasp your hands. Not quite there but you’re working on it. You have a beautiful smile and you use it but definitely not enough. I can’t get enough of it though and I keep taking pictures because here in a few short months that precious gummy smile will be gone and those teeth will start appearing. Some days when you get cranky you have to go sit outside or go for walks and that will cheer you right up. You are a snuggle bug and love to snuggle with whoever will snuggle with you.
Eating: Mommy tries to keep you on your eating schedule but everyone else gets you off of it… Oh well, maybe that’s not the best anyway. You’re eating 4-8oz per feeding, it depends on how hungry you are :). You definitely aren’t afraid to let us know when you are hungry.
Appearance: Some days I think you’re going to have blonde hair. Some days I think you’re going to have red hair. Some days I think you’re going to have light brown hair. So… I’m not sure what color hair you are going to have at this point. Your eyes are still blue. Your eyebrows and eyelashes tend to be more toward the blonde to strawberry blonde colors.
Likes: You love to sit up. You like your elephant toy. You love the outdoors whether it’s walks or just sitting outdoors. You still like your sleep sacks. You like your Bumbo chair You prefer mommy and daddy’s bed to your own.
Dislikes: Oh goodness, you HATE having your nails clipped! You don’t like being cold. You don’t like tummy time. You don’t like getting stuck at red lights when in the car.
Milestones: We’ve been working on sitting up. You now sit in your bumbo seat and love it. You’ve also been working on clasping your hands together. We’re getting closer.
On mommy and daddy’s bed you have rolled over a few times, but not on a hard surface yet.
Mommy: Mommy got pooped on for the first time, just this week. I struggled not to freak out… not gonna lie. Mommy isn’t a morning person and doesn’t really like to lose out on sleep but you smile at me in the middle of the night and all that goes away and I’m happy to be up with you. I do like when we sleep in in the mornings to make up for it, at least when we get the opportunity. Mommy loves holidays but this fall she’s even more excited about the upcoming holidays and can’t wait to spend them with you even though you won’t remember them. Don’t worry, there will be pictures!
Daddy: Daddy still loves his baby girl. He is wrapped around her little fingers. He calls you his beautiful little stinker :).
Other: You spend most Monday with Grandma J since mommy has been at school. You help her make dinner for mommy and daddy. You guys sing and sit outside and do the crossword puzzles.
Letter:
Dear baby girl,
You’re growing up way to fast. Slow down and enjoy these baby moments! Mommy about has a break down every time you out grow an outfit. I do have to admit that it was hilarious that you tried on boots this week and you weren’t sure what to do with them on. You finally kicked them off and it was cute and funny. Just remember that mommy and daddy love you with all our heart. Tbug mother hens you so it’s obvious she loves you too! Slow down and don’t grow up too fast!
Friday Nights: Oh geez, not one Friday night is like the other anymore these days!
Hair Style: Apparently I’m brunette… lol. But I have some natural highlights showing through.
Favorite place to dine out: I still love Zio’s. Longhorn Marshiano’s Olde Time Pizza
Favorite Outfit:
Sadly, my maternity clothes are all to big… My regular clothes are either too small or they fit but don’t look great so I’m lucky these days to find clothes so I’m not running around naked.
Love Life:
My Husband and I love each other more now than we did the day we were married… And that’s pretty hard to top…
Home Life:
My house is a mess right now. Oy!
TV shows:
Still love Friends reruns
Grey’s Anatomy
How I Met Your Mother
Franklin and Bash
Pioneer Woman
CMT Music Video’s (does that count)
Wow I sound like a TV junkie but I’m not
Extra time:
I’m in Grad school… and have a newborn (although she’s about to not be classified as that anymore) who has spare time? But I do love playing with my camera. What can I say I’m a camera junkie and my husband keeps calling me a camera/picture snob. I’m not sure what to think about that…
What excites me:
When baby girl sleeps through the night
When I get to sleep through the night
Hot showers
Playing with my camera (I’m attempting to complete a Photo 365 project, wish me luck)
A moment I never want to forget:
What it felt like to feel baby girl kicking me
What it felt like to hold baby girl in my arms for the first time
Tbug getting Scuba Certified
Going to Mermet Springs to dive as a family
The first time baby girl smiled at me and we knew it wasn’t gas
Baby girl is on the verge of giggling….
The way my husband looked at me after giving birth to our baby girl
Stats: On Monday August 4th you officially weighed 9lb 14oz at the drs office and were 21 3/4 inches long. Unofficially on Sunday you were at 11lbs based on mommy on the scales with and without you.
Wearing: You are predominantly wearing 0-3 sized outfits but a few of your Newborn outfits still fit. We tried a 3-6 month outfit on you for the Chiefs game and it was really big.
Diapers are size 1. We had a few blowouts early in August with Newborn size… so we decided we needed to go up a size. Much better!
Sleep: You prefer mommy and daddy’s bed.
You tried your crib this month. Tried being the keyword. We’ve tried it a few nights but not had the best of luck yet. We haven’t given up yet though.
Behavior: You are a happy baby who likes mornings better than afternoons and then you start doing better again in the evenings. You smile a lot in the mornings and this month you started smiling and we know it isn’t because you’re passing gas.
Eating: You have put yourself off on an every 4 hour eating schedule although you’ll usually go through the night without eating. We didn’t do this, you did… About that 4 hour mark you start screaming your head off until you get fed. You’re eating 4 to sometimes 6oz every feeding.
Appearance: Your eyes are still blue :). Your hair has a reddish tint to it. Your eyebrows and eyelashes are blonde to strawberry blonde in color. You had a huge rash at the beginning of the month that the doctor issued you a steroid cream to clear up. You’ve scratched your face a couple times and you scratched your eyeball one day. It looked awful but it cleared up on its own.
Likes: When you’re crying your favorite soothing song is We Wish You A Merry Christmas. You like evening walks. Your favorite position to sleep is on your tummy, with your chest next to someone else’s chest. You like your sleep sacks. You LOVE showers. (not bath time but shower time) You like Cherry Coke Icee (just not the cold). You like sleeping on mommy & daddy’s bed.
Dislikes: You hate coming from the warm shower and getting cool lotion put on you. (Don’t blame you) You hate cold wet wipes. You don’t like sleeping by yourself. You don’t like being hungry. You don’t like when you have to burp and can’t get it up. You hate when you have the hiccups.
Milestones: Your smiling more. You went to your first voting pole with mommy and daddy. You helped at your first yard sale. You attended your first Kansas City Chiefs Game. You’ve slept through the night a couple times. You’re getting really close to laughing.
Mommy: Mommy is getting better at figuring out your cries, although not always. There are times when you cry that I just want to pull my hair out because I have tried everything to make you better and you still cry. One day I just had to go take a shower and strap you in to your swing because nothing I tried made you feel better. When I got out of the shower you felt a whole lot better. I have learned that you love going for walks outside. I’m not sure if it is the change of scenery or the temperature change or the fresh air you love but you’ve enjoyed going to see the neighbors cows, our dogs and our horses. We’ll get this figured out!
Daddy: Daddy still loves to come home from work and snuggle with you and cover you with kisses. He also likes our little snuggles before bedtime. Now that mommy is back to going to school, you spend Tuesday nights and all day Wednesday at home with daddy. He made his work schedule so he could work from home on Wednesdays to be home with you. Sometimes he’s the only one who can calm you down when you get to crying but it breaks his heart when you cry.
Other: Mommy started back to school the 18th of August. You lucked out because you get to spend time with family instead of a sitter for the first 6 months of your life. On Monday’s you spend the day with your great grandma while mommy is in class. Mommy has a Tuesday night class so you spend the evening with daddy and then daddy watches you on Wednesdays while mommy is in class. Thursday and Friday she doesn’t have class so you stay with her.
Letter:
Dear baby girl,
Mommy couldn’t have asked for a better baby to learn how to have a baby with. She sometimes hates to hear you cry but at the same time loves your sweet little cry. You are extremely sensitive when daddy and I are upset with each other but you still love us unconditionally as we love you unconditionally. Don’t worry, he and I still love each other too! I was saddened the other day thinking that you won’t always be my sweet cuddly baby and someday you might be a teenager that thinks she’s too cool for school or her parents but daddy told me to calm down, don’t make you grow up too fast. He also said you might love us just the same. I can’t wait to see what kind of a woman you grow up to be but please don’t grow up too fast! Stay as little as you can for as long as you can!
