Amelia's 4 year old interview

We asked Amelia the same questions we asked her last year.  :) so much fun :)

http://youtu.be/Gmvv-nAMOQ4

Amelia's 3rd birthday

Here are some pictures from Amelia's birthday celebrations and also the 20 questions interview we asked her and plan on asking her every year.  (Thanks Pinterest ;) )

Birthday dinner with friends 

Jc Penney pics 

Writing her name now

Birthday party with family.  Blowing out her candle.

Her face while we sing happy birthday to her :)

Decorating her birthday cupcakes 

Using her $10 birthday coupon at the toy store.  She bought a doctor's kit with it.

Trying out her new scooter and helmet.  She loved these gifts from mommy and daddy!

Third birthday interview:

http://youtu.be/1vs_Zse4BBU

Making an appearance :)

I haven't been on here since January!  Anyways, there are 2 big pieces of news to share.  First, we are moved into our new house.  It sits on a great wooded lot and has a lot of space.  We painted the entire upstairs, trim included and will be painting the main floor in the next month or so.  We had a leak from the main bath that went down into the kitchen, that we are making an insurance claim for.  We'll be getting new wood floors and new floor in the master bath.  This house has been good for the most part...even though we've had pest issues like ants, mice and random dead frogs.  I think it will be a great house to raise our kids in!  We had our whole family over for Colette's first birthday and it was a perfect house for a large crowd.  

Outside house pics:

Pics from Colette's first birthday, You are my Sunshine:

Pic of sisters visiting big brother Liam's grave on his 4 year anniversary/birthday. We miss you Liam!!!!!!

And my brother got accepted into CRNA school down in Florida and will start in October of this year...which means they will be moving for 28 months :(.  I'm happy for them but sad and will miss them terribly!  Amelia will miss Adam and nataleigh so much!!  I'll miss my sister-in-love Emileigh like crazy!  She's one of my best friends :(

And the final news to share is this;

It's still super early in the pregnancy and I haven't been to the doctor yet, but yeah, pregnant again!  Complete surprise!  Can my body handle this??  I'm still nursing Colette!  I'm 7 or 8 weeks and feel tired and queasy here and there.  I'm taking it day by day :) and am excited for another sweet baby.  I'd like to be team green this time around but pat's not sure about that.  Praying for a healthy baby and good pregnancy.  Ok, well off to bed.  I'm one tired mama lately ;)

16 weeks and 16 months

I am 16 weeks into this new pregnancy. I had an appt. this past week and all seems OK so far. Heartrate was in the 140's. We talked about future appointments and the appointment with the MFM doc. I have an ultrasound set for this Tuesday to check my cervical length and he said they'll take a peak and see if we can see 4 chambers of the heart...and maybe see the sex too :)

How far along?: 16 weeks
How big is baby?: no clue and too lazy to look it up
Weight Gain?: 10ish pounds.
Maternity Clothes?: Pants and some tops
Sleep?: I've had insomnia and hate it! Just toss and turn.
Best moment this week?: Amelia NOT getting chicken pox!
Food Cravings?: Not really craving anything.
Gender?: I had one pregnancy dream and I had a boy in it..he was the size of a six month old and was wearing black glasses. In the beginning of the pregnancy, all I could think about was having another girl...now all I think about is having a boy...we'll see!
Stretch Marks: None
Movement?: maybe little things, but nothing definite. Wondering if the placenta is anterior again.
What I miss?: Having energy and getting a break
Belly Button?: Still in
Labor Signs?: none
What I'm looking forward to?: Finding out the health of this baby
Nursery progress: There is no nursery here in our small apartment! The baby will be in with us :)
Main symptoms this week: Fatigue, blah feeling, food doesn't taste right, emotional, round ligament pain

I wanted to do a little update of Amelia too. She had a check-up this past week. Her height, weight and head circumference all are in the 30-40th percentile. The doctor said she is very proportional. For some reason she seems bigger than that to me, but she is just below the average I guess. And the biggest news, today is day 1 of weaning her. It's surprising how sad I have been today about this. It's a stage coming to a close, I will miss my time with her. Thankfully she still likes to rock and cuddle, but again, this is a time I will never get back with her. Pat said, well you'll be nursing another baby in July...yeah, that's true, but not Amelia. My milk had pretty much dried it and it was really painful. The doctor said it would probably take 4 days of cold turkey for her at her age. Today she actually did rather well. I think thought that I may kinda have cramps from not nursing, not really sure. Never thought I would've made it 6 months...we had a such a rough start and the first few months were bad. We made it almost 17 months though! God answered a lot of prayers and we persevered. It was worth all of the struggles!

I'm back...kinda :)

I've been busy and haven't had an interest in keeping up with my blog lately. When Amelia turns 9 months, I'll do a post and let you know how she's doing. Here's a recent picture of her though. I love this girl sooooo much. Seriously. There are no words!
Sportin her 2 bottom teeth. This picture captures how silly this girl is. She does a fake little chuckle like half the day now too.

quick update

Hi guys!

Amelia had her 6 month check-up yesterday. She is now weighing 18 lbs and 15 ounces...with a diaper on. She measured at 26ish inches. It was a good appointment. Doctor said she is healthy and seems to be right where she should be for everything. We asked her about her head being kinda flat. Basically it's not a big deal, it's only a cosmetic thing. She said her's is in the mild-moderate category and that her soft spots are still a good size, which means her head is still taking shape. We just need to keep her off it as much as possible. She did pretty good with her shots. No fevers or anything.

These last few weeks she keeps doing new things. It is so exciting and fun. She sits pretty good and just today she waved bye-bye. My mom was holding her and I was walking away, and we said "wave bye-bye to momma." She did! I called Patrick right away ;). We've been noticing how she checks out little things on everything. She will explore her toys and she even notices things on the wall when we're walking with her. She likes to touch light switches and our thermostat. She can pick up small objects with her thumb and index finger on her left hand mostly (pincer grasp I think??). She still loves kicking her legs and folding her hands together. She loves for us to hold her, walk around and show her new things. She also can say baba and mama now!! She prefers saying baba mostly though. Still waiting for her to say dada. She loves her jumperoo so much that she gave herself a blister on her pinky toe :(

Just a little check-in! She will be 7 months in 2 weeks, can't believe it!

1/2 a year already?!

Amelia turned 6 months old on March 21st. I can't believe it! She's been sick, again, so I was behind on taking her pictures.

Weight: over 18 pounds
Height: maybe 26 1/2 is my guess?

Eats: The past few weeks we started introducing some solid foods. She has tried rice cereal, oat cereal, bananas, avocado and sweet potatoes. I plan on making my own baby food. I will just steam the food and use my mini food processor. I bought ice cube trays and will freeze the food for later use. This might take some work, but hopefully I can find some time to do this. I think we can save alot of money this way, and the food will be better and more fresh for her.

Sleep: Terrible. She has been sick twice this past month!

Milestones: She can sit! I'm kinda in a hurry, so I'm not going to ramble on here.

Loves: Lots of things :) Not being sick :)...eating, babbling, playing with her feet.

Dislikes: Getting her face cleaned off...getting her nose suctioned and wiped. Being sick :(

Clothes: She is pretty much in 6-9 for everything now. Her thighs and behind are so chunky now, that she has to wear alot of 12 months pants. Even some of her 6-9 months sleepers are snug around her thighs and waist. She still wears a size 1 shoe though!


Sorry this was so brief. I thought I needed to put at least something on here instead of skipping by 6 months completely. Just been really busy lately! My main goal was filling out her baby book.

Day 6 of challenge

Day 6-- A picture of something that makes you happy.




My daughter! Enough said!

5 months already?!

Weight: 16 lbs 10 oz!!! She is just so big now. I want her to slow down!
Height: not sure
Diapers: Still doing the cloth diapers. Wearing size 3 disposables. I put them on her when we go out and sometimes for overnights.

Clothes: 3-6 months are tight now. Wearing more and more 6-9 months. I just washed a load of 6-9 months that had never been worn. Alot of it is for summer though....hopefully we can layer with sweaters.

Milestones: She has been rolling again this past month from belly to back. She has not yet rolled from back to belly though. She can kind-of tolerate tummy time. Amelia loves to kick her legs and move her feet. When she gets excited she moves her arms and legs and makes cute noises. She also has belly laughed! She giggles alot now too and babbles alot of her awake time. She is constantly chewing on her tongue, lips or hands. She still drools up a storm. She is really liking sitting with help. I think she will soon be sitting on her own. She also is taking baths in the big bathtub! She loves to splash.


Eats: 100% momma still. Breastfeeding has been so good! My supply has pretty much evened out. I usually feed her on one side every 3-4 hours. Sometimes she will eat from both sides. My goal was always 6 months...can't wait to go longer! I'm so thankful for all of the support I've had from family and friends on keeping up with breastfeeding! She loves momma, but still doesn't take the bottle. We probably will just jump straight to the sippy cup when the time comes. She really likes to eat when it's quiet and she is easily distracted. This really bugs her sometimes! She still likes to make sure I'm watching her eat and she has to grab onto my hair, clothes, skin...anything.

Sleep: Eeeeek....sleep....hmmmmm. Well the positive part is that she usually falls alseep fairly easily/quickly in her crib at night, anywhere from 8pm-10pm. Most nights, she ends up in bed with us. We are so tired, that it's just easier for me to feed her in bed and not have to get back up to take her to her crib. She sleeps 11-12 hours each night...but gets up at least twice in the night(I'm hoping it's a teething thing and that she will get better soon!) Her naps have been OK. Her morning nap is her best nap, usually 1-2 hours. She has been taking an afternoon and early evening nap as well. Those are usually 30 mins-2 hours.

Loves: Jumperoo, bumbo, playmat, sitting on our laps, catching a glimpse of the television, looking in mirrors, bath time, being nude :), getting her diaper changed, being flat on her back, having us sing to her, momma's milk, daddy and momma's bed, music, reading books, watching us eat, watching us talk, being held and walked around to look at things, rolling her feet around.

Dislikes: her carseat, hats, tummy time, being woke up when she isn't ready, having to wait to eat, (she can really scream now....) having her nosed suctioned, (she can sometimes tolerate it) the bottle, hot feet

Since she hates her carseat (but she has been better)...we purchased a Britax Marathon that she will soon get to be in.

I go to a bible study on monday nights, and Amelia stays home with daddy. (except once, they both came to the church) This has been up and down, because she really likes nights with me to sometimes "cluster" feed. But it's been really good for me to have this time away. I also work in the afternoons and my mom watches Amelia. This has been working out really well.

This past month has been so nice for me! I finally am comfortable and loving being a mommy. She has developed such a personality, that I can't help but be joyful everyday. I am so thankful to be able to have this special opportunity to have a daughter. I just love her more and more each day. I can't wait to watch and be apart of her life this next month! I will probably say this every month, but I seriously think that this is the best and most enjoyable stage right now!


Here is the bow holder I made. I really don't like it too much...oh well! It serves a purpose :) I bought a stencil and painted the birds and flowers on it, and then added the ribbon to the bottom.

4 month well visit

Weight: 15 lb. 8 oz.....75th %
Height: 25 inches.....75th %
Head: 41.8 cm....75th %

Just a little update :)

She did pretty good with her shots. She only cried for maybe 10 seconds. She was fussy in the evening and just wanted to nurse and sleep.

The doctor said to start her on food after she turns 5 months. The APA recommends babies be eating at 6 months, so she said to get her to be "eating" by 6 months, you start around 5 months. Does that make sense?

Can't believe she once weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz!! She has more than doubled her weight. And she was 19 1/2 inches when she was 6 days old...she has grown 1/2 a foot already!

I just want time to stand still sometimes. Love her soooo much!!

4 months

Weight: She weighed just over 15 lbs. a few days ago. I will update after her appointment in 10 days.

Height: Not sure...will update.

Diapers: Using cloth about 90% of the time. Wearing size 3 disposables (we had 2 packages from my showers). I am washing a load of diapers every 2-3 days. The cloth diapers actually contain her messy diapers better than disposables. She poops 1-5 times a day.

Clothes: 3-6 months...but with a cloth diaper on, some things are snug. Probably will be in 6-9 months in the next month.

Milestones: Imitating mommy and daddy a lot now. Turning head all the way to the side when she hears us. Follows us around with her eyes. She knows us for sure now. Grabbing things and putting them in her mouth...teethers, rattles, etc...we have been trying to get her to like tummy time, I prop a small pillow under her which helps for like 2 minutes. She can raise herself onto her arms. But, she usually just screams. So, she has not rolled over in awhile. I guess she'll do it when she's ready. She can sit with support really well now too. My guess is that she's a little heavier now and it's hard for her to lug her weight around :) Another issue is that her head is kinda flat in the back and she has rubbed alot of her hair off. We are going to talk to her pediatrician about this at her 4 month appointment on the 31st. I have been trying to get her to sleep on her sides when she lays next to me. I know that this is common though, because we put babies on their backs now to sleep.

She also celebrated her first Christmas and New Year's this past month!

Eats: 100% momma. Breastfeeding is finally better now (for the most part). I am so thankful to have made it! My goal was to make it at least 6 months...almost there! She gets distracted sometimes when she eats. She'll pop off and look around, or make sure I'm still here. Or she just wants to smile at me. She grabs at whatever she can while she eats. Just likes to have her little fists full :)

Sleep: A was sleeping better, but she got a cold and it has been downhill since then. She had a few nights where she woke up every 2 hours. I think I am partly to blame though. When she was sick, I propped her up next to me on the couch. I have been extremely inconsistent on where she sleeps. Sometimes I put her in the swing, because she loves it and falls asleep in a snap...other times I rock or nurse her to sleep. And then sometimes we shush her to sleep in her crib. I bring her to bed with me on occasions as well. So, yeah, I need to stick with one thing if I expect her to get used to one thing. Pat thinks that I am more attached to Amelia being right next to me, than she is to me. Probably true. I'm just trying to suck in every moment with her. I love to hold her and be with her!

Loves: Baths, playing on her play mat, greeting daddy when he gets home from work, singing with mommy and daddy, being held, watching TV, her swing, getting her diaper changed, gnawing on her hands or anything that she can get her hands on, babbling, drooling, her jumperoo, bumbo seat, (her legs are getting almost too big for this though already) loves nursing, reading books.

Dislikes: her carseat, hats, tummy time, being woke up when she isn't ready, having to wait to eat, (she can really scream now....) having her nosed suctioned, (she can sometimes tolerate it) and the bottle.


January 23, 2009 was the day that we found out I was pregnant with Amelia. January 23, 2010, Liam would be 18 months old. So, January 23rd is a bitter sweet kind of a day. But, man, I miss him! Having Amelia to hold and love on makes me realize how much I am missing out on with Liam being in heaven. I just can't wait to hold and love on him again! I love my kids sooo much...never thought my heart could love anyone like this.

Here are a few pics from today. She was sleepy and not really into this little shoot. She also kept trying to rip the sticker off of her onesie. Her drool got on the sticker and created a bit of a mess....hopefully next month will be better!

Amelia's dedication

We held a special dedication for Amelia at our church on my birthday. Here are a few pics!

Christmas 2010

3 months

Wow! Amelia is 3 months old today!

**She weighs 13 lbs. 4 oz and is 24 inches long.

**She is wearing size 2 disposable diapers when we are out, and cloth diapers at home (most of the time now.)

**She can still fit in some 0-3 month clothing, but 3-6 month sizes fit a little better.

**She loves to have her diaper changed and to lay on her changing table.

**She loves laying on her playmat. She can bat at the toys now and can grab and hold onto the rings.

**She still hates tummy time!

**She does little laughs, but no belly laughs yet.

**She is still breastfeeding. I am still dealing with soreness though. Not sure what the problem is...hope to make it at least 3 more months.

**We have taken her off of the zantac for reflux. She is gassy now and still spits up...but she has been waaaay less fussy PTL! I'm thankful to have her on no meds though.

**We have learned that she sleeps alot better being swaddled. I tried a few nights without it, and she just didn't sleep as well. She does break free from it though sometimes.

**She is officially in her crib every night now! Patrick said, "no more swing or rock n play...she is sleeping in her crib!" The mattress was propped up, but it is now flat and she does fine with that too.

**She has been in a growth spurt, waking up a few times a night to eat. She has good nights and bad nights.

**We have been able to get her to bed earlier lately too, so that's nice.

**She loves her hands and sucking on them. We usually have to keep a dribble bib on her because she drools up a storm!

**She loves watching T.V. We actually googled this one night to see if it was OK for a baby her age. I guess she just loves the colors and shapes. We do not want to get her into the habit of this though.

**Amelia was dedicated unto the Lord on my birthday, December 12th! This was the best birthday present ever!! We had a nice dinner after and she got some very nice gifts.

**Her left eye still has a clogged tear duct. We tried drops, which did not work. Hopefully this will clear on its own by 6 months.

Wordless Wednesday: Amelia and Santa at the mall :)

2 months old (11-21)...late post

She loves her mobile in her crib!


Big smile!


Chillin in the rocker in her room.



Close-up



**Miss Amelia is 2 months old!

**She weighs 11 lbs. 12 oz. and is 23 inches long. Her lowest weight after birth was 6 lbs. 4 oz...so she has gained 5 1/2 lbs in 8 weeks.

**She still hates tummy time.

**She still hates the pacifier. I am still determined to get her to like it. I went out and bought 5 different kinds. She will suck on the NUK kind for maybe 2 minutes tops.

**She no longer crosses her eyes, but actually can follow objects now. I love seeing her watch us.

**She is still in size 1 diapers (probably could wear size 2) and 0-3 month for clothes.

**Breastfeeding has had its ups and downs. My supply has been plenty, which can be hard for Amelia. I also think I have an overactive letdown. I have dried a few different methods to make this easier for her. She has only taken a bottle of breastmilk 3 times. I need to start pumping to get a supply again for the freezer...eeeeek!!

**Amelia comes along with me to work. We usually work Monday through Friday in the afternoons. Not quite sure if this is going to work though. It gets kinda complicated trying to get stuff done, talk to people that come in, and tend to her.

**She has struggled alot this past month with being fussy and having digestive issues. There have been a few nights where it has taken us 4-5 hours to get her to go down at night. We now have a routine where we bathe her, swaddle her, feed her and turn on the kitchen fan to high. Patrick usually rocks her to sleep. This seems to work for her.

**She sometimes sleeps for 5 hours stretches in the night. But, with some of her stomach issues, she seems to stretch, squirm and grunt alot in her sleep.

**We are just starting to give her Zantac to help her with her reflux. I pray this helps her! The poor girl has been congested alot, has painful hiccups and just seems to be uncomfortable most days.

**I am in love with her smile! Even though she is in pain sometimes, she will still show us a smile. She smiles a ton in the morning. She squeels and coos now too. Her smile is so cute because she scrunches up her nose and almost shuts her eyes completely (she looks like her daddy when she does this)!

**We are trying to transition her to her crib. We lay her down for her naps in it. She usually just stares up at the mobile, smiling and squeeling. Then after about 10minutes she starts to fuss. We will hopefully have her in her crib full-time by the end of the year.

**She was a lady bug for halloween. Her friend Kilah was a ballerina and spent the evening with her passing out candy and watching a movie.


**UPDATED...the Zantac seems to help her. She is sleeping alot better and is overall more happy. I'm thinking that part of her issue is from foremilk/hindmilk imbalance (overactive supply) from what I've read. I hope to meet with a lactation consultant soon to get this all squared away.

Graydon Robert

I am still catching up on here. I hope to post some nursery pics on my next post!

On Oct. 2, Anne delivered a beautiful baby boy Graydon Robert. He weighed 8 lbs. 7 ounces and was 22 1/2 in. long. I am so proud and happy for her that she had a drug-free, natural delivery...and it was fairly quick for her first time. My mom was able to be there for his birth.




This was our first visit meeting Graydon. The kids did not like getting their pictures taken. It was comical :)










So Amelia has a cousin only 11 days apart from her. He will be here to play with her again this weekend!