6 Months

Violet you are 6 months (and 1 week) old!

This had been a BIG month for you! We have so many things to share:)

Stats:
17 pounds 12 ounces
27 1/2" long
80th percentile weight

95th percentile height
You wear size 3 diapers and 9 month clothes

To start off, last month was not your best time:(  You were pretty miserable for most of the time and we didn't know what was going on so we called the doctor and asked if we could come in to just to touch base and she ended up prescribing you Zantac for acid reflux. You've been on it for a month now and we can tell a WORLD of difference! You are so much more comfortable now and such a happy baby:) Thank goodness that's all it took!

 

A BIG milestone we hit this month was you sleeping in your crib! You've slept in a Rock N Play since you were born. Several of our friends swore by this so we registered for it and had you sleeping through the night by about 6 weeks. That has been a HUGE blessing to have a baby that sleeps! We were so nervous to switch you to the crib but you were just too big to be in the Rock N Play anymore so we bit the bullet and went for it. 

The Rock N Play is folded up sadly in the corner behind your crib. Our little baby is growing up!

We were pleasantly surprised when you continued to sleep all night in the crib:) Now you take all your naps in there too and you have learned to put yourself to sleep!

Playing all day is hard work!

 You've also had more cereal this month. We originally tried just Rice Cereal but it doesn't seem to set to well on your tummy so we switched to Oatmeal Cereal and you seem to do pretty well with it. 

You're trying to grab Mommy's hand to shovel it in faster!

We visited with alot of our family and friends this month. You seem to get stressed out in groups sometimes but you've progressively gotten better and by the end of this month you did great!

Visiting with Grandpa Jack, Aunties Phyllis and Trish and Cousin Lucas

Snuggling with Papau and Grampy

Since you've started the Zantac you are doing a little better on your tummy but you still don't like it. We're also trying to work on you sitting up more in your exersaucer and bumbo. 

We have to squeeze those thighs in the bumbo and it takes two of us to get you out. Poor thing has her momma's thighs!

You grab things pretty well and you have really gotten the hang of handling your pacifier all by yourself. Half the time I can't put it in your mouth anymore. You only take it if you do it yourself:)

See Mommy, I can do it!

Our little cowgirl, representing for her Auntie Beth..

Waiting to love on Auntie Hannah when she got home from work...

Looking cute with Mommy and Daddy...

And finally, Thanksgiving Day was your six month birthday. I can't believe your half way to 1 year old! I'm so excited for all the new things you'll do but today I'm glad you're still my baby. 

 The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

The end of a long day...

With Cousin Jameson

5 Months

Violet you are 5 months old!

You weigh 16.8 pounds! We know 1 year olds that only weighed 18 pounds....

You are wearing 6 month clothes and a size 2 diaper.  You are still sleeping 7-10 hours every night and we are SO THANKFUL that you do!

all bundled up for a walk...

 Daddy asked the doctor if you are too big and she said NO! your weight is one of the good things you have going for you:)

This has been a busy month for you...!

This past month we have been so proud of you making progress with tummy time. You still hate it but, you will stay on your tummy for about five minutes without crying sometimes. But you still just lay there and don't try to lift up so we're working on that.

Daddy is trying so hard to teach you how to roll over. He lays you on your blanket and rolls you all over the place!

everything goes in your mouth right now!

You also love when Daddy plays with you. He will blow raspberries on your neck or belly and play airplane with you and you giggle almost every time:)

playing airplane with daddy...

You still love your baths so much but HATE when we put your pajamas on.

You got to eat Rice Cereal for the first time this month. You ate it so good but it didn't seem to sit well with you that night so we're waiting for next month before we try again.

this is my cereal face...

You seem like you can't wait to sit up. We catch you doing "crunches" all the time and you stick your feet up and look at them all the time too.

checking out my feet...

This month you got to go to your first Halloween party at the zoo. You dressed up as Minnie Mouse because your cousin Jameson dressed as Mickey Mouse. You two were so cute:)

Halloween at the zoo...

But the biggest event of this month was your Baby Dedication at church. We have waited so many years to be able to stand on that platform at church and dedicate to raising our child to love the Lord. It was definitely a wonderful, memorable moment for us.

dedication photo...

There were 31 babies dedicated that night and you were the only one crying before we went out! Fortunately you pulled it together and were so good once we got out to the stage.

This was taken right after the dedication. After I took this picture, you fell asleep in my arms while we walked to the nursery where you stayed for the first time. You slept until we picked you up:)

 

 

finally a picture with mommy!

4 Months

Violet, you are 4 months old!

You are a BIG girl this month....!

You had your 4 month checkup today and you weigh 14 pounds 15 ounces
 (75th percentile)

You are 25 3/4" long (95th percentile)

Looks like you are going to be tall like daddy!

Visiting your bubba and sissy

This past month you have changed so much. You took another trip. This time to the beach:)

Myrtle Beach 2013

You loved it and that makes mommy happy because she loves the beach and hoped you would be a
 beach baby.

All smiles at bathtime, until we put your pj's on. Then all heck breaks loose. lol!

You also have learned how to blow raspberries.

You get rosy cheeks.

And your diapers officially stink!

All signs of a BIG girl:)

3 Months

Violet you are 3 months old!

 

Sometimes it feels like we blinked and it's been 3 months and sometimes it feels like we've had you forever.

Last month your doctor said you were doing so well that you could skip this month's visit so we don't have exact measurements on you. We estimate that you weigh about 13 1/2 pounds.

Bundled up for a morning walk in August...what the heck!?!

 This month you have really started talking to us. Your voice is the sweetest sound ever! Sometimes you just lay there and coo and smile and talk and it is just so sweet:) I have a video but cannot figure out for the life of me how to load it...

 You're trying to grab onto things a little more. We've been trying to get you to hold onto the rings on your play gym but mostly you hold onto us which is ok too:)

You've also been really good at following people with your eyes and turning your head to see what's going on. We can tell that you are very interested in what's going on around you and experiencing new sights and sounds.

My Smiley Girl:)

 You are also starting to suck on your hands more and more. You have really taken to a pacifier this past month and when you don't have it you put those hands right up to your mouth. I have a feeling we might have a thumb sucker one day...

Tummy time is still a no go:( We keep trying and you keep crying. One day I was able to distract you for about five minutes but as soon as you realized you were on your belly, the tears turned on.

Last weekend you got to go on your first ever vacation! I'll write about that in a separate post but you did so much better than I expected and I think you are going to love to travel just like Mommy and Daddy!

On a side note, I have been saying for a while that Violet says "momma" when she cries and Steve denies that this happens. When we were on our trip she did this in front of all her grandparents and they all heard it so I'm going to go ahead and record that as a three month milestone:)

You are still sleeping really well. Usually about 7 hours average and every once in a while we get a 9 hour night. We are so blessed that you are a good sleeper right now!

Life is so much sweeter with you in it and we are so honored that we get to be your parents. It's not always easy but it's sooo worth the effort! 

I can't hardly even remember that little 1 month old already!

Weekend Wrap Up

Violet had a busy weekend!

She got to meet some new friends, go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and go to the zoo for the 2nd time:)

This picture is actually from her first zoo trip last week. Most of you probably already saw this on Facebook but before this trip, the last time I was at the zoo was the day I found out I was pregnant. And this next trip I got to finally bring our daughter with me. It was a wonderful realization to have while I was there...

 She also got some really cute gifts...

Some new reading material...

a My Pal Violet...how cute is this!

 

And I still can not get over the cuteness of this next one...

 

 

This has to be the most PRECIOUS piece of jewelry I've ever seen.

 

 She's already got her bling going on... my grandma would be proud:)

 

 

She loves all her new gifts and says Thank You very much!!

Part 1: The Old Black Dress

I promised that I wouldn't let myself go. That lasted approximately 1 minute and then got thrown out the window. I barely have time to pee much less take a shower or, perish the thought, get a haircut.

A couple weeks ago I needed to leave the house to go to the funeral home. I was able to take a shower and gain a slight resemblance of myself  pre-baby.  I pulled out an old black cotton dress that I have had for six years in the hopes it would fit over my post-baby body.

It would have to do.

I get in the car to make a quick stop at the grocery on my way when I fold down the mirror to put on a quick layer of lip gloss. I may or may not have startled myself when I saw my unruly eyebrows in the mirror.  Feeling defeated, I make my way to the store.

I park the car and get out and this is when the miracle happened.

A little girl in the car next to me, with her window cracked, says: "oooh, pretty dress!".

I spin around to see if she could possibly be talking about me. She was.

God had sent me an angel that day.

I carry the sound of that little girl with me and hope that my daughter never sees the unshowered, unplucked, unmade-up mom.

I hope that she only sees the pretty dress and knows that she is loved because I spent the whole day rocking her so she'd feel better.

I hope I see that this is all that matters.

I read an article about a mom who talks about how she is always the one behind the camera and challenges other mothers to "get in the picture". I realize how quickly I became the mom who didn't want to be in the picture. If you want to know why, reread the above post...

There was one other thing that I loved in that article. It said:

"I may not be perfect but, I am perfectly her mother".

I couldn't had said that any better myself.

I have had to let so much of myself go just to get Violet here. I suppose that won't change now that she is.

So, I apologize to those around me who have to endure the messy house, my unbrushed hair and teeth, my only three outfits that I have on a rotation because they are all that fit.

The unfinished blog post....

My daughter just woke up.

I have to go...