Just changing like crazy!

We are just learning and growing every single day!  I wake up wondering what new fun things she'll be doing that day.  Here is her latest discovery.  We learned we can shake our head!  Just the cutest...

And our first word is...

Southbound 35

We took a quick trip to Austin for the weekend a few weeks ago, to get away and enjoy some good food and good company.  It's nice to be able to get away, even if just for a couple days.  We were able to relax, and lay low for much of the weekend.  They have 3 kids, one being a few months older than AB.  It is so nice having a friend a few months ahead of me with a little girl.  We did, however, get out for a much needed date night.  What a treat!  So great to go out with another couple.  We really had so much fun!

AB and K sharing toys.

AB might be bigger, but K was definitely using her height and mobility to her advantage!  AB didn't see her coming!

The only pic I got from our date night.  Somebody scored a free flight of amazing reds!  Woohoo!

The Almost Easter

This was Annabelle's first Easter, and we were all so excited about it.  We got her Easter basket, her dress, and couldn't wait to celebrate our Risen Lord for the first time as a family.  Well...unfortunately we ALL were sick.  So sick.  It was pretty pitiful, and pretty bad.  How we all three ended up with different sicknesses is beyond me.  We were able to give AB her Easter basket, and she was so excited!  Well, as excited as a 7 month old can be about a basket with a bunch of stuff.  (I know it's more for me then her, but it's so worth it!)  She loves digging through stuff right now, so she didn't hesitate once we put that basket near her.  I'm pretty sure just giving her the basket would have been enough!

7 Months

The month of March was not exactly kind to you.  It was kind of a rough month.  We started the month with several doctor visits, unfortunately.  We noticed you starting to run a fever, had some congestion, and just not acting quite like yourself around Wednesday.  By Friday you had maintained a 101.7 fever for a couple days, so the doctor wanted to see you.  She said after looking your throat looked pretty red, and you sinuses were a bit irritated.  They ran a couple tests, and all were negative.  No strep or RSV (thank the Lord!).  The huge draw back to those tests coming back negative was we had to then take you to get blood drawn.  I knew this was not going to be a good experience.  I'm a grown-up and I hate getting my blood taken, I couldn't imagine what that would be like for a sweet little baby!

I decided the best place for me to be was holding you.  I don't think I could have handled seeing your face throughout the whole process.  The minute the placed that tourniquet on your arm you started screaming. Brutal.  They kept going back and forth, from one arm to the other trying to find the best vain.  Apparently not an easy task with a cute chunky baby.  I finally looked up at your daddy to do something.  Daddy was pretty helpless, but tried to tell those nurses as nicely as possible to figure it out!  We know they were trying to do the best they could, but hard to see our precious baby screaming.  They were finally able to get the blood (one stick, praise the Lord), and we were out of there.  You passed out pretty fast in the car.  Poor thing had a long, hard day.

After it was all said and done, they never gave us a diagnosis.  Your white blood cell count was about twice what it should be, so they knew you were fighting off something.  They gave you some amoxicillin, which you of course were allergic too.  Daddy and I were not excited with the doctors choice, but after your temp spiked to 102.7 we knew we had to do something.  Got you on a different medication, and by day 6 you were good to go.  Back to normal.  Thank you Jesus!

So, we survived your first real sickness.

You weigh 20.5 lbs and are 26.5 inches long.  You go to bed by 6:00 every night.  You wake up for a feed around 4:00 or 5:00 for a quick feed, then back to bed til about 6:30.  Your sleep schedule was not at all normal for more then half the month with how sick you were feeling and all the medicines.  You will pretty much only nap on mommy.  I might get you to do your morning nap in your crib.  You usually nap between 8:30-9:30 and again around 2:30-3:30.

You want to sit up ALL the time.  You are now really sitting up on your own with no problems.  You weren't really doing a lot of rolling around this month.  I think your tummy was probably bothering you due to the medicine.   You love playing with your toys, but really love playing with you toy basket!

We had to take a break from eating.  With all your allergies, we're slowly having to see what foods you can eat.  You're having severe eczema on your face, and it has started spreading to the rest of your body a bit.  It's just heartbreaking watching you go through this!  We tried peas this month, but you had a pretty bad reaction.  I also gave you some bananas to try, and you loved them.   Definitely a little messy!

Another fun development is you're finally starting to grow some hair!  It's coming in pretty light, so you can't really see it, but it's definitely there.  You're babbling and making new sounds, and chewing on EVERYTHING!  You are still just the smiliest baby!  And there isn't a person that doesn't comment on your big beautiful blue eyes!  We love you soooo much!

Rare Days in Texas

We've had a few of those very rare days in Texas where you can actually sit on a patio and enjoy yourself.  We fully took advantage and headed to a local patio and enjoyed an adult beverage and each other's company.  AB had a great time people watching and sitting in her big girl chair!  It was the first time we put her in a highchair while we were out to eat.  She loved the independence!

These Are A Few...

...of my favorite things.

Here's a all-encompassing list of my favorite things right now.

I LIVE in these pants.  Wish I would have bought a few pairs.  Nike DriFit yoga pants.  These aren't exactly the same pants.  Mine are drifit and have a drawstring, but close enough.

Tanks.  Again, a staple to my everyday "fashion" ;-)

Newman's Dairy Free, Wheat Free Newman-O's (aka oreos).  Eat a few a day.

Jesus Calling.  A lifesaver for my devotion time.  They're short, but oh so good.  Very thankful for this book.  

Sophie.  I call her AB's best friend, because she really is.  AB lights up the minute she see Sophie.  Gives Momma a little down time, and a lifesaver if we're not all that happy.  

One of the few treats I get to enjoy: soy free, dairy free, nut free chocolate chips.  They taste like the real deal, I swear.  

Due to wonderful pregnancy hormones, my skin has been all over the place.  My esthetician carries the Rhonda Allison line, and it's been wonderful!  The line even has a skin brightening facial safe for pregnant women.  I use the skin brightening cleanser regularly.  

Ok, that's about all I got right now.  I'm sure there's more, but this mommy brain can't seem to focus on this one.  I have been trying to write this post for about 3 weeks now.  Just trying to mix it up!

6 (1/2) Months

Hard to believe you are now 6 months old!  It was an exciting month.  We, unfortunately, celebrated you turning 6 months old with a doctors visit.  We noticed you had started to run a fever, were pretty congested, and just not acting quite like yourself around Wednesday.  By Friday you had maintained a 101.7 fever for a couple days, so the doctor wanted to see you.  Not a fun way to end the month!

It seems February started with mommy being sick, and ended with you being sick.  BUT, the in between part was very fun and exciting.  Mommy had her birthday.  Had parent dedication at church. We celebrated your first Valentines Day.  Met some new friends.  The list goes on and on!

We discovered on Valentines Day that you had cut your first tooth!  I couldn't believe it!  You cut that first one so easily, I didn't even know it was there.  The second one, well...that's a different story.  You were needing a lot of extra TLC, and needed to be near me at all times.  We had a few rough nights, and a lot of naps with momma, but we got you through it.  You now have your two bottom teeth!

You are getting bigger and more alert by the day.  People typically comment about how alert you are.  You want to see EVERYTHING that is going on around you.  You want to reach, touch, AND eat anything you can get your hands on.  You now reach out for us to hold you, and it absolutely melts our hearts!   You weight 19 lbs 11 oz, and 27 inches long.  You are one chunky monkey!  You're about 95% in weight and about 90% in height.  And people always comment about your big beautiful blue eyes!

You go to bed so easily!  It's wonderful.  You are definitely down in your crib no later then 6:00.  You go back and forth with your mid night feeding, which usually happens around 2:00.  You got off your schedule quite a bit with the teething and being sick.  You are still an early riser.  You typically get up by 5:30 or 6:00, but sometimes you like to get up by 5:00.  I'll feed you and then Daddy takes over.  Thankful Daddy gets up with you in the morning, so mommy can sleep a little bit more!  And you're now a tummy sleeper!  I knew you would be.

Naps are a totally different story!  You do not love sleeping in your crib for naps.  I think there's been maybe one nap you haven't cried for at least 10 minutes.  You definitely are most comfy napping in mommy's lap.  I have to admit I don't really mind, but know we've gotta figure this nap thing out so I can get a few things done around the house!

We haven't started crawling yet.  Rolling is your mode of transportation these days.  You love to roll!  When I pick you up from the nursery at church they always comment on how much you love to roll.  You army crawl a bit and lunging toward everything.  

Other things you're doing...
- sitting up on your own
- your pencer grasp is so good!
- you're "talking" all the time
- sucking in your bottom lip (so cute)
- you can anticipate when we're about to tickle you
- you love grabbing our faces
- you love to scratch things

6 (1/2) Months

Hard to believe you are now 6 months old!  It was an exciting month.  We, unfortunately, celebrated you turning 6 months old with a doctors visit.  We noticed you had started to run a fever, were pretty congested, and just not acting quite like yourself around Wednesday.  By Friday you had maintained a 101.7 fever for a couple days, so the doctor wanted to see you.  Not a fun way to end the month!

It seems February started with mommy being sick, and ended with you being sick.  BUT, the in between part was very fun and exciting.  Mommy had her birthday.  Had parent dedication at church. We celebrated your first Valentines Day.  Met some new friends.  The list goes on and on!

We discovered on Valentines Day that you had cut your first tooth!  I couldn't believe it!  You cut that first one so easily, I didn't even know it was there.  The second one, well...that's a different story.  You were needing a lot of extra TLC, and needed to be near me at all times.  We had a few rough nights, and a lot of naps with momma, but we got you through it.  You now have your two bottom teeth!

You are getting bigger and more alert by the day.  People typically comment about how alert you are.  You want to see EVERYTHING that is going on around you.  You want to reach, touch, AND eat anything you can get your hands on.  You now reach out for us to hold you, and it absolutely melts our hearts!   You weight 19 lbs 11 oz, and 27 inches long.  You are one chunky monkey!  You're about 95% in weight and about 90% in height.  And people always comment about your big beautiful blue eyes!

You go to bed so easily!  It's wonderful.  You are definitely down in your crib no later then 6:00.  You go back and forth with your mid night feeding, which usually happens around 2:00.  You got off your schedule quite a bit with the teething and being sick.  You are still an early riser.  You typically get up by 5:30 or 6:00, but sometimes you like to get up by 5:00.  I'll feed you and then Daddy takes over.  Thankful Daddy gets up with you in the morning, so mommy can sleep a little bit more!  And you're now a tummy sleeper!  I knew you would be.

Naps are a totally different story!  You do not love sleeping in your crib for naps.  I think there's been maybe one nap you haven't cried for at least 10 minutes.  You definitely are most comfy napping in mommy's lap.  I have to admit I don't really mind, but know we've gotta figure this nap thing out so I can get a few things done around the house!

We haven't started crawling yet.  Rolling is your mode of transportation these days.  You love to roll!  When I pick you up from the nursery at church they always comment on how much you love to roll.  You army crawl a bit and lunging toward everything.  

Other things you're doing...
- sitting up on your own
- your pencer grasp is so good!
- you're "talking" all the time
- sucking in your bottom lip (so cute)
- you can anticipate when we're about to tickle you
- you love grabbing our faces
- you love to scratch things

Catchin up...

I've talked about my college roomie, Ashlie, a few times before.  She's one of my go-to's for any and all advice baby.   A LIFE-SAVER.  She lives in Houston with her family, but comes to Dallas often since both her and her husbands families are here.  We finally were able to mesh schedules and meet for lunch.  She hadn't met Annabelle yet, and I hadn't met her youngest. Audrey yet.  So fun catching up, and letting our two little ones meet!