7 Months (and 2 Days)

Dear Lynnaea,

It's a busy time of year to turn 7 months!  But having you is definitely the best Christmas present I've ever had.

Another month has passed so quickly, and you've grown and developed so much.  I know I say that every month, but it's true!  You are learning every minute of every day, and you never cease to amaze me.

You now sit up wonderfully!  We still keep the boppy around you most of the time, just in case (though when you do fall back and bonk your head, you don't seem to get upset about it... so I guess the boppy protection is mostly just for Mommy's heart ;)).  You love being able to sit up and play with your toys.  And for some reason, you get lots of enjoyment from when we put your toys on top of your toybox when it's sitting on its side.  You love to pull the toys off one at a time and play with them.

You also enjoy standing (with a lot of help ;)).

You hold your bottle all by yourself now, so most of the time, I let you.  And sometimes I do other things while you drink your bottle.  But sometimes I still snuggle you while you eat.  And I always snuggle you in the mornings and for your bed-time bottle.  There are some things mommies just don't want to give up.  And there are days when you let me know that you still want me to snuggle you when you are eating.  And so I do.  Because I know there will come a day when you won't want it... ow when it won't be an option.

You're also eating more and more solid foods!  After almost 3 months, we finally gave you some fruits (Mommy wanted to help you have a taste for vegetables so you aren't like her (hopefully) later on and not like many vegetables).  So now you like applesauce and apples and bananas mixed with cereal.  You still love squash.  We introduced you to oatmeal, but you didn't seem to like it.  You gagged and threw up twice.  And that was enough for Mommy!  So we just do rice cereal for now.  We'll try the oatmeal again later.  Because maybe it was just a result of you being sick.  Because you have been sick this month.  Twice.  No fun!  The first time you couldn't breathe hardly at all through your nose, so we had some rough nights.  The second time, you had nose congestion, but not as badly...  The second cold settled into your chest and  you had yucky coughs.  And we all found out that you really don't like the booger sucker.  And you also had your first real bout of diaper rash.  It broke my heart to hear you cry as I changed your diaper.  We think it may have been the peas and carrots, so we haven't given you more of those yet.

And this month you met your cousin Vivienne who is only a month older than you!  You thought it was really neat that she was here.  You flapped your arms and squealed and smiled a lot.

It's certainly been a full month, little girl.  You're such a good, sweet baby.  A mellow baby.  A happy baby.  You go with Mommy everywhere, and you never put up a fuss.  And that impresses everyone who sees you.  I feel so blessed that you are mine.  Sometimes I wonder what you will be like as a little girl.  But I don't wish away the time we have now.  Because it is already passing so quickly.  As I look at your little chubby arms and legs... your chunky chipmunk cheeks, your little eyes that look like sunshine when you smile... my heart just swells up and so do the tears in my eyes as I realize the miracle you are.  And I know I am the luckiest mommy ever.

I love you baby girl.

Love Always,

Mommy

 

This one is Lynnaea in her Christmas dress on Sunday :).

Emily Turns 5.

Well, I finally ordered our Christmas cards.  Hopefully they make it on time.  I am such a slacker.

In other news:  I still haven't figured out how to invent more time ;).

And here's a great news flash!!!  *Lynnaea is over her cold*!!!  Happy dance Happy dance!  We won't mention that both Jeremy and I have sore throats today... :/.

But, we have our Christmas tree (though I still need to buy at least one more strand of lights -- this one is much bigger than the ones we've had the last two years).  We got it from my in-laws' property again -- and it didn't look so big when it was out there!  I've lit and decorated the bottom half of the tree already.  I was just way too excited not to.  

And!  Drum roll please!  After a couple months of deciding she didn't care anything about rolling over, Lynnaea started doing so (from back to tummy) in her sleep in her crib.  And then, last Saturday, she figured out how to do it on purpose, completely conscious.  And scooting herself backwards.  Watch out world!  Here she comes!

And I've been slowly -- but surely -- chipping away at all the Christmas baking.  I got an early start and it still feels like I'm behind.  Maybe this is mommyhood?  And I should just get used to it?  Anyone?  Anyone? 

Anyway, to the point of my post.  Emily turned 5 today.  I took Saria, Samuel, and Benjamin to the little party.  Plus she had a little neighbor friend there.  It was nice to celebrate this sweet little girl.  I can't believe she's 5.  Wasn't it just yesterday I was holding her in the hospital?  Yeesh.

(I guess not, since it wasn't even just yesterday that I was holding Lynnaea in the hospital...).

So here are a few pictures.  Life is good.

We went to a Nativity exhibit our Stake put on.  It was lovely.  500+ nativities from around the world.  Kind of cool to see the variety and the different cultures depicted.  And Lynnaea wouldn't be Lynnaea without a little spit-up on her dress.  Haha... 

She likes to help with the laundry.  And static cling is great stuff for her hair.  Haha.  I love this kid.

Our tree...  In its half-decorated state.  (It's a little more decorated today -- and the lights are slightly better placed.

Sweet Emily -- in a dress that was Desiree's not that long ago...  Sigh. 

 

All the kids.  The one in the front was Emily's little friend. 

The Booger Sucker

Today the booger sucker has been my best friend.

I've used it before (including the last couple days), and thought I was doing some impressive nose cleaning (on Lynnaea, not myself -- just to be clear ;)).  Today showed me what real boogers actually are. 

And yuck. 

But many oh man am I glad I have that thing! 

Poor Lynnaea has a cold.  I thought she'd had a cold before.  Ha!  Not compared to what she's dealing with now!  Plugged up nose = can't suck thumb = can't go back to sleep = no sleep for mommy either!  And I feel so bad for her.  I'm hoping that today's icky boogers are a sign that we are getting over this thing...  But she's already had a rough sleep tonight, earlier than usual.  So we shall see.  So I should probably hit the sack so as to optimize my sleep opportunities. 

One Big Batch of Pictures

I am consistently amazed at how quickly each day passes.  And that turns into weeks. 

So here are several pictures from the last several weeks.  With brief captions to explain them.  And if some are repeats...  Please excuse that ;).

This picture is about a month old.  In her high chair, ready to eat!

She's smiling at her daddy while sitting up.  She loves sitting up.

These are her little buddies...  And their moms are my friends.  We were all expecting at the same time.  Lynnaea is the oldest by about 2 weeks.

Sucking on a carrot.  This was hilarious to watch.  At first she was holding onto it and sticking it into and pulling it out of her mouth.  Then she just started sucking on it.  Look ma!  No hands!

I LOVE when she holds her little feet.  Seriously one of the cutest poses ever.

One of her new favorite activities is looking out the window over the couch.  Unless Mommy distracts her.

Or unless she wants to look at Daddy.  I just love that little body.

In her outfit from my friend Donna.  I put it on her for Thanksgiving.

We walked to my mom's for Thanksgiving, so we bundled her up in a cute bunny coat that my friend Tawni gave us (it once belonged to one of her girls).

Hanging with her cousins Desiree and Emily at Thanksgiving.  We took the high chair so she'd have a place to call her own ;).

Ready for church on Sunday in a crocheted top and bonnet.  The bonnet didn't last long.  She doesn't like hats.  But she sure did look cute!

Here she and I are all ready for church.

And here she was, riding on Jeremy's shoulders.  And sometimes sucking on his head.  Which impressed him greatly. Haha.

Also, we had her 6-month check up last week.  She's healthy.  Got more shots (which I hate having to hold her down for, but believe are good for her).  She's only grown 3/4 of an inch, but she gained about 3 pounds.  So she's now in the 85th percentile for weight and the 50th for height.  But the doctor still says not to change what we're doing, as she's about to get mobile and she'll slim down some.  I'm not worried.  She's happy and healthy. 

Well, it looks like another night has passed, and I haven't managed to order the photos I need to.  And the Christmas cards.  Sigh...  Where does the time go, exactly?

6 Months and a Day

Dear Lynnaea,

I simply cannot believe you've been with us for half a year.  On the one hand, it seems like longer -- like I've known you for so long and you've been a part of us for forever.  On the other hand, it seems like it can't possibly be this long.  We can't possibly have brought you home longer than a couple weeks ago... 

Oh my sweet baby girl!  Every day is a new adventure.  But every day you bring me so much joy. 

You've had a big month!  You, Daddy, Grandma, and I all flew down to Alabama so you could meet your grandpa.  You did amazingly well on the airplane!  You are a traveler!  You met so many people in Alabama and you did a lot of traveling by car while we were there.  And you were a trooper the whole time!  You helped our trip be awesome, and everyone that met you just thought you were the sweetest baby! 

You've pretty much figured out sitting up.  Usually we use your boppy to help support you; but you can even sit up without it for quite a while now!  It is amazing to watch you grow and develop.  And very exciting!  You still haven't rolled over.  I guess you just aren't that interested in that yet.  We know you'll get there eventually :). 

As for food...  We introduced you to squash while we were in Alabama... and you LOVE it!  So Grandma and Grandpa here in Washington gave us a big squash they grew in their garden, and we turned it into a lot of baby food for you!  You get very excited about eating it.  You are a great eater!  You also still like your rice cereal and, most recently, green beans.  We've given you raw carrots -- and you like to suck on those.  We also gave you a ritz cracker, but you managed to chomp some of it off and then proceeded to gag on it and puke.  So, mommy took that away.  We'll save that for a later day.

You are still such a happy baby.  Your smile makes my day.  And Daddy's too!  And oh how you love your daddy.  And he loves you too!

It's true:  I can still remember what it was like before you came to be with us.  But I can't imagine life from here on out without you.  And I'm so glad you're here and adding so much joy and fun to our family. 

I love you so much, sweet baby.  Happy 6 months. 

Love always,

Mommy

So There Was This Squash...

The day after we got back from Alabama, Jeremy headed out to his parents' house for a little visit.  And when he got home that night, he was hauling a humungous squash.  Hubbard or winter squash.  I don't know how much it weighed.  Easily as much as Lynnaea (which is probably close to 18 pounds).  It sat on the floor by the table for a couple days and I accidentally kicked it a couple times.  And it didn't budge.  If that tells you something about the massiveness of this squash. 

So we knew we had to use it up pretty fast.  And I figured I could roast it all and make it into baby food (Lynnaea loves squash) and "pumpkin" for pumpkin pies.  But I told Jeremy he needed to bust that bad boy open, because I didn't want to attempt it.  I'd seen his mom go after these in the past with a butcher knife.  And perhaps that should have been a lesson to us...

Because this is what happened to the knife Jeremy tried using first:

It was crazy!  I watched it snap...  I wish I'd taken a picture of this squash.  Because it takes quite a squash to kill this knife!

In the end, Jeremy had to break out the big guns:  his hatchet.  And he took it out back on the porch.

The end result -- after cooking and everything -- was this: 

And those aren't even all the pieces.  Just some that I put on one of the pans.  But on the left you can see my home-made baby food :).  Lynnaea loves it.

And she also loves eating in her high chair.  I think she feels like a big girl.  And she is!  I can't believe how much she has grown.

These were this morning.  She likes to sit up.  And smile at her daddy when he plays with her.  I so love this baby.

Now That We've Flown...

Let me just say that Lynnaea was awesome.  On the flight from Seattle to Atlanta, she slept the whole way, only waking up every hour and fussing a very small amount until we put the pacifier in her mouth and she would go back to sleep.  Then the flight from Atlanta to Panama City was golden.  She fell asleep before we were in the air and slept until we landed and we roused her from her sleep.  What a good baby she is!  And even on just 5 hours of sleep, she managed to still be happy. 

So I'll mostly just upload a bunch of pictures to tell the tale of our vacation.  But I will say this:  it was awesome.  I managed to do everything I wanted to do -- and more!  The weather was beautiful.  We got to use some of the short-sleeve cute outfits we otherwise wouldn't have been able to...  Yep, just a wonderful time.  And I got to see almost everyone I wanted to.  It's so sad that the trip had to be so short...  But I'm uber-happy that I got to go.  It was such a nice break.

Here we are...  Ready for our first flight!

Lynnaea's new pastime...  Sucking on Grandma's chin...

Here's our cutie, out for a stroll with her grandma and grandpa.

Those walks wear her out!  So she needs her naps -- even on vacation.

She likes to be included in the fun (of course), so she hung out at the table with the rest of us.  With her bug.

Here's one of her outfits that I'd wanted to see on her, but that wouldn't have happened without a trip to Alabama!  Isn't it cute?  Rolls and all ;).

Her first Halloween...  We borrowed the onesie from a friend in Washington!

After lunch in Tuscaloosa at Swen's Chinese with Virginia and Annie...  I sure do miss them!

 Hanging with April and Julie and Alysha and all the family :)!!  Such a great night!

Juliebean and Nilla Wafer and all their kidlets...  Oh how we've grown (or gotten old...)

After lunch with Julia-Ann in Montgomery.  Chick-Fil-A YUM!

 Sitting up like a big girl and chewing on her toys!

We had to pose with the golden peanut after church on Sunday :)!!  You know, for the Christmas cards!
 

Enjoying the nice Sunny day with Mommy outside!

Definitely one of the best nights ever!!  Hanging with so many of my wonderful Dothan friends at Becky's!!  After a really delicious dinner of Alice chicken (I think that's right) over rice, salad, rolls, green beans, applie pie, and apple nachos.  Oh my goodness.  And so much laughter! 

I should do a "before and after" thing here, but I'm too lazy.  These two fabulous women are the two with whom I served in Young Women's in Dothan before I left for Tuscaloosa.  I love them.

Jeremy should be more tolerant of my picture taking, because then I wouldn't have to post his goofy face pictures.  Oh well...  He carried around Lynnaea all night while I was gabbing with the girls, and she got tired and fell asleep like this.  She really is a good baby.

Here's that sweet baby girl in a high chair playing at Italian Express.  While I snarfed up a slice of heaven in the form of the roast beef sub.  With gravy on the sandwich and on the side, as always ;).

Isn't that just a little bit of awesome?

And while Anne and I were eating at Italian Express, in walks Kristin!  How crazy!  So she joined us too :).  And that was awesome.

Me and Anne with a delicious menu in the background :)...

Lynnaea playing with her grandpa.

I got a special tour of the new library being built!  Now that was awesome.  And isn't it great that I always have a burp rag on my shoulder these days?

Had to make sure I visited Miss Hilda!  I miss her.  She still makes me laugh :).
  

We introduced Lynnaea to squash.  She loved it.  Daddy was unimpressed that Mommy was trying new things on vacation.

All of us before heading to the airport to head home.  Sigh...

Lynnaea hanging in the airport with Grandpa before our flight.  We miss Grandpa!!!

Anyway, it was awesome.  I want to go back.  Sigh...  Until next time...