100th Post!

Wow I cannot believe this is my 100th post on the blog. Where has time gone? I started this blog almost 4 years ago just as I was packing up my things getting ready to get married and move to a military town with my military husband. So much has happened in these past 4 years!

There is not a week that goes by that I don't reflect back. It's especially helpful now that Facebook has that "On This Day" feature that places a randomly selected memory of yours to post on your wall as if to say "if you didn't feel old yet, look, this happened 4, 7, 9 years ago". Just the other day it popped up a picture I took while my folks and I were apartment hunting down in North Carolina. 5 months after that I was in North Carolina with a husband unloading a truck full of our belongings with family members into our townhouse. It took me months to get my bearings straight in that crazy town. I used my GPS to get to Walmart for the first 3 months. No joke. I kept thinking "time is going so slow, I feel like I'm going to be here forever".

Fast forward a year in military life later and I had my dream job, with dream colleagues. I knew shortcuts for getting to Walmart. I was 1/4 mile from a coffee shop and 5 minutes from Target. I felt special going to the base where my husband was. We had a good life and then before I knew it I was driving those same roads that confused me in the beginning thinking "I cannot believe I'm leaving this whole town next week/tomorrow/today". I am forever grateful for that year we spent in NC.

Then we move home and I spend the next year living alone while my husband was deployed for the 2nd time. THAT was a rough year. Patchy phone calls, care packages, trying to balance it and smile through the tears. I kept thinking "this deployment is lasting forever, I'm never going to be reunited with my husband, no one here has any idea what I'm going through!" Then poof that deployment was over and he was home. FOR GOOD. He was home and had a good job. That year I kept thinking "ok he'll be called away for another deployment soon." "Oh wait, no he won't, this is our new lives. He's home for good. Forever" Then in May we found out we were expecting our first child and that whole rest of the year we spent preparing ourselves and our finances for a baby. I embraced and loved every minute of being pregnant becuase I knew "this won't last forever".

And that quickly brings us here today. Life with a 7 month old. I have to remind myself that "this won't last forever" because honestly sometimes it does feel like it will never end. But then I look back on every other time I thought something would last forever and it was over in a flash. bang. poof. And another chapter begins. This chapter has been the hardest yet because I liked our lives before having a baby and it took me longer than I care to admit to get used to life after a baby. I still wish I could sleep past 7am. I still wish I could prepare dinner in peace. I still wish for a longer shower. I still wish for a lot of things but the fact of the matter is this life is also what I wish and prayed for those past 3 years. In NC, in OH alone, in OH married I hoped for one day to have my husband home with a baby in my arms just living a Hallmark type life. And we are. A beautiful yet sometimes flawed Hallmark-esque life. Like a Hallmark knock-off. Maybe more of a Norman Rockwell painting which sometimes comes out Picaso. What a ride it has been.

Anyway, here are some pictures of our sweet babe who is now crawling and trying to pull herself up on anything. Her favorite activities these days still include being outside, being in the jumper play set thing and exploring everything at crawling eye level.

 

For Christmas all we're getting her is a magazine subscription. 

We recently had a play date with Audra's second cousin who is 3 months older than her. Audra stole Liam's toys. Liam stole them back. It was adorable.  

In other recent events of eating, Audra has enjoyed a cracker. Besides gagging on the larger pieces she would not put it down for nothing. 

And back in the beginning of Summer we tried out this swing and she was not ready for it at all. I just kept thinking "OK by the end of Summer she'll be ready for it" and here she is. She still leans a little but she loves it. 

When you have toys but grass steals the show. Every time. 

                                  Stripes AND tie-dye. Be still my heart. 

To wrap up this 100th post I'm so glad I started this blog 4 years ago. I love that I can look back and reflect back on my life at any given point. As can anyone reading this blog. Thank you all of you who follow along with me in this life. From those of you who I met in NC to those of you I've met after becoming a mommy and all of those who have been around a lot longer than this blog has. I look forward to many more posts about life with a baby and balancing life as a mom and life as a wife and life as myself. Join me if you wish!

Seven Months Strong

I almost hate that Audra is 7 months old. Not in the "I can't believe how time flew" way but in the "I don't want her to be done with being 6 months old yet" way. Yes I admit I want her to stay 6 months for a few months longer. I'm not ready for her to be 7 months old. I not ready to tell strangers she is 7 months old, I want to keep saying she is 6 months old. Weird right? I prayed to hit the 6 month milestone for weeks and months. I prayed that I would survive until then but now it's come and gone and here we are at 7 months. I don't like the number 7. It's an odd number, I don't like odd numbers. But somewhere inside me is trying to convince my heart that the 7th month will be even better than the 6th month. I just find it hard to believe. Prove me wrong Audra?

At 7 months Audra is just cruising along. Loving life. Loving her activity jumper. Loving this Summer weather with all her might. If we stand by the sliding door for a moment and then walk away...she fusses because she realizes we are not going outside. This child is serious about being outside. Cannot get enough of it. I used to bring us a blanket and half a dozen toys so she wouldn't get bored easily but now sometimes we just walk out without anything but maybe a sun hat and just sit in the grass. The grass (that is not dead from lack of rain) is her toy. Clover flowers are her jam. She is a pro at picking them and putting them in her mouth. No first-time-mom syndrome here. If she wants the flower in her mouth and doesn't gum it off the stem and the flower is not dried or covered in bird poop then she gets the flower. It keeps her occupied and happy. Who am I to complain or take it away? Hashtag crunchy momma wannabe.

But when my child is not chewing on leaves and flowers she is loving the Move and Crawl Ball from V-tech. We borrowed it from my mother-in-law and she loves it. She also loves tupperware in the same manner. She's easy to please like that. When she isn't rolling all over the floor trying to get a toy or the cat she is begging for me to sit down with her so she can pull herself up on me. Shirt, knees, hair, anything that is grab-able she grabs. She will just stand and sit for as long as I sit there with her. She is also rocking back and forth on hands and knees these days too when she is in the mood. And if she is near anything with a tag, she will find it, she will talk to it and she will suck on it...forever.

"Hey, you've got a different number on your tummy today"

This is a glimpse of my future. At.ti.tude. 

Weeeeee! This chair moves!              Holy zebras...this chair moves.     

Tags. Nom. Nom. Nom. 

In other news we are 7 months into breastfeeding and I'm still proud of myself for making it this far but sometimes it's still so frustrating. When it doesn't hurt Audra moves non-stop. Scratch that, it still hurts sometimes AND she moves non stop. Some babies may prop up a leg or an arm on mom but Audra tries to grab her feet when she eats. And then she tries to grab my hand and pull it down in between her legs and then hold it there while she again, grabs her feet. If I lay my hand anywhere on her body she pushes it off. It's a circus. A breastfeeding circus. And she, of course, is the ringleader. 

I guess I can finally say that Audra has been sleeping through the night for about 3 months now. I still hope I'm not jinxing myself but lately she gets up at least once every other night from either bad dreams or hunger. I try my hardest not to nurse her at night anymore. I've only done it twice so far. It's time to fill her tummy super full before bed so she is not waking up at night. And also so she is not waking up at the crack of dawn starving. I would love to sleep in past 6am these days! But either way I'm getting a full nights rest and that is nothing to complain about at all. 

And just for fun...I love looking at how she's changed and yet stayed the same

Happy Tuesday Friends. Smile, just because you can

The Adventures of Solids

Feeding Audra solids has been such a learning experience for both of us. Some days she is great and gobbles down almost a whole pack of baby food. Other days her lips are pursed closed all day and solids don’t make it in. Then there are days when she is perfectly happy just to play with her food and lick it off her fingers.

Banana and avocado day. A bath soon followed. 

We are still getting the hang of food. I have tried to make my own baby food but I cannot get it smooth enough for her liking so I’ve frozen it so we can revisit it in a few months. She really likes have huge chunks of apples, pears, green beans, waffles, bananas, cantaloupe and avocados to hold on to but they are slippery (not the waffle but everything else) and often make it onto the floor before long. The mesh feeder things are just as fantastic as everyone has said. She loves apple, frozen blueberries, peaches, cantaloupe and carrots in them but again she loves to fling and drop everything these days so they end up on the carpet at least once.

It is a great season to get mangoes and Aldi's has them so dirt cheap right now. I've read that she can have them but I'm too stingy at this point to share. I know...I'm so selfish.

Eating a canned pear. This worked better in the mesh feeder thing. 

Apple. Carrot. Waffle. The apple was her favorite. 

Although there is the rare occasion that she sits happily sucking out the juices of her fruit staring out the window just happy as a clam. And then I snap a picture of these serene moments. 

And since it's the season for gardens to begin busting out all sorts of yummy goodies, we snagged a bean from grandmas garden and she just loved it. 

I cannot wait to have her try all the fabulous foods this life has to offer. Especially during the holiday season that's not so far away. OK I'm excited to eat all that food too. Let's be honest. Turkey and mashed sweet potatoes for days. 

Enjoy your week and all the fresh and delicious produce this season has to offer! 

P.s. I promise to learn the proper name of those "mesh feeder things" by my next post. 

Summer Bucket List

This summer is already half over, how can that be? I'm so glad Audra is at a good age where we can go outside for 20-40 minutes a few times a day to pass the time but I also think it's cool when moms have bucket lists for the summer so they can have things to do to pass the days a little easier and make memories in the process. I wanted to start our bucket list last month but June got away from me and so here we are halfway through July. Never too late right?? Since Audra is still so little I need to keep our list simple. We've already done a few things that I wanted to do before officially documenting this list. I have placed a "\/" by the things we have already completed.

2016 Summer Bucket List

\/ Spend lots of time outside

\/ Introduce her to playing in the water outside (I placed her in a huge Tupperware container with a few inches of water and a couple toys. I thought it was adorable. She was just happy to, once again, be outside)

Eat lunch outside - no clean up!

Make 1 or more mommy friends whose kid(s) are near Audra's age

\/ Do "mommy and me" things in our area and actually go to them. Not plan to go and then chicken out with the "my baby might make a peep or loose it" excuse.

\/ Start solids

Eat more homemade ice cream than store bought (this is mostly for mommy and daddy...when Audra goes to bed)

\/ Play in Great Grandpa's pond

\/ See fireworks

\/ Go berry picking

Introduce Audra to a fire fly

Make s'mores over an open fire and maybe let Audra lick the chocolate off my finger. 

I think that's a good starter list for now. It's already been a busy and hot summer. Audra is like me and does not do well in the heat so sometimes we stay inside until I go stir crazy. I don't like to wish time away but I am also anxious for Audra's first Autumn and Winter. But that will also bring her first birthday and my baby will be turning 1 and I'm just not ready for that yet!

Audra loves her Daddy but her Daddy loves her more!

Sweet Summertime

And we have a roly-poly on our hands these days. She can be so content just laying on the floor and rolling anywhere she wants. Until the dining room table gets in the way, then she tries to hurdle it. Horizontal running!

And I'm convinced that other people pick out cuter clothes for Audra than me. This dress was bought by Liam's Mommy and I just adore it. I should get a picture of the back because the turquoise bow just makes me swoon!

Happy warm and sweaty summer my friends!

Sixth Month Summary

I know I kind of touched on Audra's six month stats in my last post but I didn't post her official six-month photo with Zeka the Zebra. One day I was scrolling through my phone at the hundreds of pictures I've taken of Audra over the past 6 months and I came across this one of her in her swing. This was 1. when she fell asleep in her swing with no pacifier, no swaddle, no noise other than me shuffling around. In other words she fell asleep completely on her own. And 2. This is the last time she was in her swing. Ever. *insert sad music here* I didn't know this was the last time she'd be in her swing at the time but I'm glad I snapped this somewhat stealthy picture of it. She's been napping in her crib ever since....my babyyyyy

If anyone can tell me where the last six months went I would be greatly appreciative. 

We have more and more fun with our photo prop every month

 So I finally gave up and just used the picture with her best smile. Zebra on her lap. That's how we do. 

Audra is also completely and utterly fascinated by tags. 

Audra weighs about 14.5 - 15lbs. She wears 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes. She is in size 2 diapers. She naps 3-4 times a day. She sleeps pretty well at night. She chews on everything but her teeth have yet to poke through. I was sad about it one day think that it'll take forever for her to get teeth but then I realized when she does she will never have that gummy smile ever again. So now I'm hoping they show up late to the party because I love love love her gummy smile. She loves when daddy comes home from work and when he plays with her. 

We are enjoying each other these days. I almost want time to slow down but I also want it to speed up just the same. Weird I know. 

Thanks for reading and watching our six month old grow either in person or through these posts. 

Fourth of July Week/End

"Just make it to six months and then you know you're going to live" - This is what my mom told me from week one and momma was right. We're going to live. 

Well we've made it to the halfway mark. Raise your hand if you're surprised. *raises hand* Raise your hand if your excited about this. *raises both hands*
 I knew we'd hit this point eventually but it definitely came faster than I thought it would. Those newborn days are behind us and part of me misses the squishy snuggles and newborn scent. But as I told someone the other day "our first 3 months sucked. Like really sucked". The next 3 months is where we finally found a rhythm and a schedule and sleep! Now here we are halfway through Audra's first year of life and already on solids.

Green beans. Before the mess. 

I told myself I would wait until she was a solid six months or later. She has her whole entire life ahead of her to eat, so why push it? Nursing is now getting easier and better (when you don't factor in nipple pain or clogged ducts or a super distracted baby) so why not just keep doing it without having her on solids? All this and more went through my head week after week. I bought some small things of food "just to have so were ready". Then I got out her high chair from storage. "I'll just put it on the chair so we can get used to having it". "I'll just put the straps in so it's ready to go" Ours was a hand-me-down from my sister in law so it needed a new cover. So I told myself "once we get a new cover she can get used to sitting in it". That held true but she hated her high chair the first few times I put her in it. Especially if I dared to strap her in. "What sweet craziness is this!? You sit me in a chair and then strap me in? Nope. Sorry. Not happening" Well it all came to a point one day when she finally was used to her chair, she had her favorite toy to play with while sitting in it and we were both sitting at the table while I ate lunch and I got THE LOOK. That "why are you eating and I'm not?" look. The "I'm ready Momma, I'm really truly ready" look. I got the puppy dog eyes, the baby face from my baby.

I melted and gave in. "Tomorrow we will start you on solids." Two weeks shy of her six month "birthday". But let's be honest for two seconds. From the time we are little girls we are given baby dolls with all the accessories. They have diapers and bottles and tiny little clothes. Then we get little spoons and plates for them and pretend to feed them. It's something that is imprinted in us from a young age and we anxiously await the day until we have our own real baby that will sit perfectly in a chair and open nice and wide for a tiny spoon filled with baby food. Then we have a baby and once we make it to the point where solids can be introduced if we feel that's what we want to do; it's even harder to wait. It's like sitting there on Christmas morning surrounded by presents and being told "OK you can open them if you want because it's the appropriate time to do it but you really don't need these gifts so we can wait 4 or 5 months". Tell a kid that on Christmas and see what they do. So all this to say that once we got closer and closer to her six month mark it became harder and harder to wait. Ants-in-the-pants wiggling may have occurred.

The next day I had it planned out that we would start around lunch, after her morning nap and we would start with green beans. If you know anything about me you know I don't eat a ton of veggies. OK I barely eat them. I eat them once a week if were lucky. I know I.Am.Horrible. But I'm planning to get Audra good and used to veggies so she can get the nutrients from them that she's not getting from me. So green beans it is. She loved it! She has also had sweet potatoes which no surprise she likes more than green beans but I'm trying to give her more beans than potatoes for now.

So aside from starting solids Audra greets six months with sitting up to play more than lying down. She also got to sit up in the grocery cart in the same week - it was a monumental week for sure! She loved just watching everyone and taking it all in. I'm pretty sure we could have wondered around WalMart for an hour and she would have been content the entire time.

I also sit her up after her bath so she can splash in the water a little bit. She loves it!

 We are down to 3 naps a day about an hour on average for each of them. Most of the time she'll wake up from her last nap around 4 or 5 pm and then we don't put her to bed until 9pm but it's growing harder for her to wait that long so recently I've stopped fighting it and put her to bed around 8:30. It has seemed to work out so far. She barely lets me hold her chest to chest for any reason except going down for a nap or bed time. She is too interested at looking at everything that she doesn't want to be held facing any other way other than out. Ha. She is not crawling yet but loves to push her butt in the air and use that to scoot her way towards something of interest to her. Her pincher grasp is getting better every day thanks to all the tags on every toy we own she goes directly for it with her pincher grasp. I cannot get enough of watching her grab the tag with her thumb and pointer finger. Seriously. Watching her teach herself this brand new thing is fascinating. I don't even know how else to explain it but I love watching it!! Audra also loves watching and lunging for our cat.

This weekend we celebrated (Audra's first) Fourth of July. She did well with her first fireworks but her second time around was a little rough and she was more ready for bedtime then fireworks.

Audra loves her Aunt Jackie who took this photo. Liam loves Audra. I love them both. 

Three generations. Finally. 

Totally obsessed with this picture of Audra. Despite her tired eyes she is perfect in every way. Oh and my hand on her lap keeping her from falling forward. Which she did the other day. Forward and onto the floor. Kid you not I about peed my pants. Scariest moment ever. 

She loves her Aunt Jackie. Can you tell!? 

And of course I was too busy with all the weekend's activities to take pictures of her outfits so we had to do that this morning.

 Sweet and sassy Firework of ours

Happy almost 6 months my sweet and spunky baby girl. I cannot believe how time is flying now!