Sally Jean's Year in Review

 

 

30 WEEKS

 

 

39 WEEKS

 Well, here I am...having no idea what a cute little thing was growing inside of me.  I would have never imagined the amount of cuteness I was to behold on February 18th.  But, oh my goodness!

 Here you are, just a few minutes old.  Those cheeks!  I can't! Such a little smoochy face!  Sally, I had you through a C-section.  It was such an easy process since I had to go that route with your Big Sis.  I could not wait to lay my eyes on you.  And when I did, I was speechless and brought to tears.  You were absolutely perfect. Oh, and loud. 

 I had such a great bonding time with you in the hospital.  This stay was different than when I had your sister.  When Ava came, your daddy stayed with me the whole time.  He couldn't do that this time because we had little Miss Thing at home.  So, it was just you and me, babe, at night.  I loved it.  You were so cuddly and sweet.  I am truly thankful I got that time with you.  Honestly, it was very peaceful. 

 This was your first ride in the car seat on our way home from the hospital.  You were a champ and slept the whole way.  I don't think my eyes looked at anything else except you the whole 40 min. drive home. 

 Month 1...

 At one month, you were already attached to a pacifier and had such a sweetness to you.  At 9 lbs. 6.8 oz. you were caught up with your sister's birth weight and you were really resembling my brother.

Month 2...

Month 2...I call this picture my Buddha baby.  Look at that belly!  I love it!  The biggest thing from this month was you were sleeping in your crib.  You also began sleeping longer stretches through the night and you started really smiling! 

 

 

Month 3...

Month 3 you were weighing in at 11. 8 lbs. You were becoming quite a fickle sleeper.  I remember thinking that every time I thought I had you figured out, you would throw a curveball at me. 

 

 

Month 4...

At month 4 you were 12.8  lbs.  You started sitting up in the Bumbo and giggling.  Your sleep tendencies were becoming more predictable and doable. 

We dedicated you to God at Team Church in your 4th month. 

 You visited your namesake.  Your great grandmother who is 91 here. 

 You began enjoying tummy time!!!!!!

What a beauty!

 

Month 5...

Wow!  In your 5th month you got to go to 4th of July festivities,  begin eating solid foods, started sitting in your bouncy chairs, go to the pool and hang out with your cousins.  This month you became quite the wiggleworm.

 

Month 6...

 You enjoyed taking walks on the greenway.

 You loved to swing on the swings!!!

 You started sitting with a little less support using the Boppy.

You got to go to Ohio and visit family.  Here you are with Addy and Kaylee. 

 

Month 7...

 You tried sweet peas for the first time.  Let me just say that this is the only sweet looking face I got from feeding you those.  You were NOT a fan!

 We attempted giving you water in a sippy cup.  Not really getting the hang of it. 

 You started playing the piano like Mozart.

 You got to go to a Labor Day Parade!

 You started really enjoying toys and have a natural curiosity about them.

 Uncle Bert got to snuggle you.

 You were taken on many a walk!

Your sister passed on Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease to you....pitiful!

 

Month 8...

 You started the crawling phase by rocking on your hands and knees.

 You loved to play in your booster seat with it's tray toy.

 You got to be the cranky bumblebee for Halloween. 

 We all got a good laugh at you in this wig.

 You played in your cradle so mommy and daddy could get a few more minutes of sleep. 

You bounced so hard you dozed off.  

Month 9...

To be perfectly honest, your 9th and 10th month were a blur.  We were so busy celebrating and preparing for the holidays that the months just quickly passed me by.  I do remember you were having more of a difficult time sleeping through the night.  Somewhere in these 2 months you started crawling, standing up, and cruising. 

 

You would find the most boring thing fun to play with.  

 You would still fall asleep in our arms!!!

You continued to be a content and happy baby!

 

Month 10....

 You were still as cute as ever!

 You liked to play with the baby dolls.

You loved playing with Ava!

 

11 months...

 

You are sleeping through the night most nights.  But, on the nights that you don't, I have to be honest and say I do not mind getting up with you.  Cuddling with you is one of my favorite things to do.  It is such a blessing that I can enjoy those sleepless nights because I know I don't have to rush anywhere in the morning.  And I thank God that I can stay home with you girls.  It truly is a blessing!

 You learned to clap and say uh oh. 

 You enjoyed playing in your play kitchen with Ava.

 

You preferred to sit in a high chair when we ate out. 

 

Month 12...

 

In this month, you have become so active and you are figuring things out constantly.  Your natural curiosity for things is really cute.  You love to go on walks, spend time outside, swing, and play.  You love to listen to music and you bounce on your bottom when music is playing.  You try to climb stairs when mommy isn't looking.  You struggle with sharing toys and do not like it when a toy is taken away from you.  You enjoy getting into the cabinets and dog water bowl.  I have even caught you attempting to get into the trash.  You are a stinker.  I love it!  

You and your sister are great friend, already, but that doesn't mean that every minute of your relationship is all sunshine and roses.  You definitely can be the one in charge in that relationship and Ava is usually more than willing to let you have your way.  She also looks after you and keeps you out of things you are not supposed to be in.  She comforts you when you cry.  And she just generally loves you. 

And, well, Sally Jean, we all love you so much!  You are a sweet, cute, cuddly, at times moody little girl.  You make cleaning and getting things done around the house close to impossible because you just hang on my every move, but I wouldn't trade any of it.  Ever.

I can't believe your first year has come and gone so much faster than I anticipated, but I am so thankful that you are a healthy one year old, with spunk and curiosity abounding.  But, could time please slow down?!?!?

Love you Sally Jean!






January 2014

Ava is such a pill.  She is becoming so creative in the way she conveys things to me. 

For instance,
I told her to go to timeout and she said she couldn't go to timeout because she was sleeping and then she proceeded to pretend to sleep.  She's 2, people! 

She has done this a couple other times when she was told to do something she didn't want to do. 

The other day, Sally was fussing because she was hungry and I was getting her lunch ready and Ava says, "You're going to eat too, sugar."

Ava loves to say " I don't want to." 

She didn't like me pretending to drink her milk and told me "No drink. Put on table!!!" with a strong attitude. 

She is a mess.  I have my hands full with these two!!!  Goodness!

Ava has now also become a backseat driver. She gets quite upset when you don't go "dis way."

Ava was helping feed Sally her bottle and she said, "I wov my shister."

Ava loves to sing  Jesus Mommy (Jesus loves me) and Bingle Bells (Jingle Bells) IEIE (The BIBLE) and Stronger (My God is so Big) before she goes to bed. 

She is quite polite.  She caught on quickly to please and thank you and often uses them appropriately without prompting. 



Sally got her feelings hurt when Curtis took something she shouldn't have away from her.  So she started crying and was so pitiful.  Curtis put his arms out to her to hold her and she turned her back on him and laid her head down on the ground and continued to cry.  Drama!!

Sally Jean 11 Months

Mustang Sally! Girl, you better slow your mustang down!  I mean that... You are something else!  Your personality is exuberant.  You are an opinionated little thing.  You make all your likes and dislikes known.  You are going to put up quite a fight with your sister when she irritates you and you give THE.BEST.SMILES.AND.GIGGLES.  Everytime I look at you an instantaneous grin appears on my face. 

You enjoy tummy tickles and when I tickle you with my hair.  You enjoy bath time.  You get all giggly when you see your bottles being prepared.  You love toys and studying everything.  The kitchen cabinets are a source of contention for me.  You are way more determined to get into them than Ava was and I told Daddy that we HAVE to do something about them. 

You are getting much better at sleeping through the night...AGAIN!  We decided that I was just going to have to let you cry it out.  After doing that all last week, I was able to stay in bed all night long going on over a week now. 

You take 2 naps per day.  One around 10 and one around 2pm.  Your typical wakeup time is between7:30 and 8 am. 

You eat about 22-24 ounces of formula per day and 3 meals per day.  You do not enjoy any food that comes in the color green. You know where some of Ava's snack foods are and you can open the drawer. Just today, you opened the drawer, grabbed a fruit and veggie pouch, and crawled over to me with it in one of your hands and you knew that you were suppose to eat it.  I opened it for you and you sucked it down and got very upset when it was all gone.  From then, we moved to the high chair and you had a container of fruit and about 2 tablespoons of cereal mixed with some bananas, mangos, and carrots.  You like to eat, I think. 

You wear 12-18 month clothing.  You are a little chunky but I love it! You have rolls in all the perfect, most adorable places!

You celebrated your first Christmas this year.  You were very blessed with your family's generosity. 
You were also a participant in your  big sister's 2nd birthday!  This time last year, we were anxiously awaiting your arrival and mommy was extremely big and a bit uncomfortable. 

You prefer to be held, but you don't want us to sit down.  That would mean you aren't going to be on the go and that is just not okay in your opinion.  And believe me, you make that WELL known.  You pull up on everything and you are getting very brave by letting go.  It is only a matter of time when you decide to take some steps.  You like to talk.  You jibber jabber all the time and you say uh oh.  It is so cute.   


Fun Facts about you:

• you love to play peek-a-boo
• you don't like toys being taken from you
• you enjoy the Tupperware cabinet
• you HATE being put in the car seat
• you can soothe yourself to sleep
• You despise socks and tights
• You still suck on a pacifier
• You are like changing 10 octopi all at once
• You love to tip Winston's water bowl over
• You are obsessed with getting ahold of the dirty diapers

We just love you so much.  You are a light in our lives.  There is never a dull moment with you because you are such a curious little thing and get yourself into predicaments quite easily.  You watch Ava like a hawk and want to do all the "big kid" things she is doing.  Sally, we are blessed beyond measure.  I put a chalkboard in your room and I wrote that "you make me happy when skies are gray" and I picked that out especially for you because you truly do.  You can lift my spirit anytime.  I love you. 

xoxoxo,
Mommy

winning the battle over fear

Can life get any better than that?

Are there ever times in your life where you are just breathing in blessing after blessing.  You know, when you look around at the toys strewn all over the place, the plates in the sink mounting, trash that hasn't ended up in the trashcan for one reason or another, blankets tossed all over the family room floor, miscellaneous items not put in the place, but you find yourself loving it? 

That is where I am this morning.  I am so blessed.  I have a loving, kind husband who is so patient with me.  Who loves me for me, moodiness and angst ridden included.  I have 2 beautiful, healthy, growing, developing normal, and well loved little girls.  I have had constant companion in my little dog who can't seem to stand being anywhere but in the same room as me.  I have my parents, sister and her family and brother and his family who all live within 15 minutes or closer to my house.  I am surrounded my loving friends and I get to go to a church where I have met so many kind people who accept me for me and help me to grow spiritually and in so many other areas.  I have a God who knows my sin but calls me by name.  I have a God who will fight every battle for me and my family. 

I tend to get wrapped up in the scary and evil things going on all over the world.  I tend to dwell in those things and forget all of the loving kindness God has shown me.  But I am fighting alongside God right now and He is winning the battle for me.  Because this morning, I am seeing the great and wonderful things that I am surrounded by...so much of it is within the very walls where I live. 

I am blessed.  So.Very.Blessed. 

Thank you God for helping me to fight the battles that loom over me when I hear the evil news of this world we live  in.  I thank You that this is not our permanent home.  I thank You for blessing me immensely in this temporary home You have given me.  Father, help me to win the battle over fear and anxiety and to trust in Your ever-present help and Your powerful and loving arms. 

Ava starts Tot school

 

First Week of "Tot" School has commenced! All in all it was descent.  I realize that homeschooling looks so different than teaching inside a classroom.  The schedule with a 2 year old is not going to go according to plan. Hardly.Ever.  That is ok.  I am already seeing Ava learn new things and talk about the things we are learning.  So, this week we did several things. 

We color sorted buttons. She found this activity a lot of fun.  She still seems to struggle with recognizing her colors, so it is a work in progress.

 We did creation days 1-4 this week.   Not sure where my picture of day one is. But it is a number 1 with the top half white and gold glitter for the day and the bottom half is covered in construction paper for the night.  Ava put the gold glitter on the day part. 
Day 2 is the sky and water.  Ava dot painted the sky and glued cotton balls on for clouds.

Day 3 is the creation of plants and flowers.  So Ava placed all the stickers on the number 3.  This was one of her favorite activites. 

 Day 4 God created the Sun, Moon, and Stars.  This activity went south when Ava got mad when I helped her shake the glitter on the dots of glue.  She may have ended up in her room for timeout. 

 Here are days 1-4.

 Ava also covered a snowman in little sequins.  She loved this too. 

 

She also started drawing lines this week.  It use to be just a bunch of scribble and circles, but yesterday she was intent on drawing lines. 

She also did some dot paint art.  A favorite.

And I can't forget her sticker art for daddy and Mimi and PopPop.

Because they feared God

In Exodus 1, the Hebrew midwives were instructed to kill all the baby boys they helped to deliver.  But BECAUSE THEY FEARED GOD, they did not follow the king's commands.  And because they feared God, He blessed them with families of their own. 

It is amazing the blessings we receive when we fear our maker.  Fearing the Lord doesn't mean fear in the sense that we are scared of Him and His power.  It means we submit to Him, revere Him, worship Him, respect Him, stand in awe of His power, majesty, glory and sovereignty. 

I think that we often forget (or at least I do) that following God will always turn out best.  We may not understand it, we may not believe it, we may even fight along the way, but we always end up in a better place when we do what He says and wants for our lives. 

It means we may have to make choices that go against what the rest of the world is telling us to do.  It means we may get weird looks, or put our jobs on the line for the sake of our faith in God.  It means we may have to look unpopular or unsuccessful in the eyes of the world.  It means we may have to trudge through a storm to get to the promised land.  It means we may have to embrace our weaknesses so God can redeem us through them.  It means we may have to give it all to God and let Him take the reins. 

It is not always easy to take the narrow path and Jesus warns that the few people will enter through the narrow gate.  But, the narrow road is the road less traveled, but it will get you to best place you could ever dream to be. 

Fearing God reaps unfathomable blessings...

Fear God and let His blessings wash over you!