Thankful, thankful, thankful..... Laney is 6 months!!!??!!

I have been so bad about updating my blog these last few months.  All it took was an ice day with nothing to do!!!  So here goes. I'm going way back. What a fun way to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Each year we write something on our thanksgiving tablecloth that we are thankful for.  Of course, we wrote Laney in big letters.  God has been so good to us. At 6 months Laney started sitting up much better by herself.  We still put pillows all around her.  She had her first sickness.  She got a mild case of RSV. I think everyone in her class at school was sick.  Thank goodness it wasn't that bad. She had a lot of congestion and had to spend a few nights back in the rock and play instead of laying flat. Laney is not a picky eater so far.  She loves sweet potatoes.  I am trying to make her baby food and have been able to keep up so far.  I hope I can continue.  She will eat as much as we give her.  She eats cereal in the morning and a vegetable at night. She still wants her bottle every 3 hours and is drinking about 4 ounces each time.  She is still a pretty good sleeper. She still loves the bath and her toys. She is getting a lot more hair and we can put bows in it now.  YAY!!  I can't believe she has been around for 1/2 a year.  These have been some of the best months of our lives- even when it's hard....... she is so worth it!!!  Enjoy some pictures of our sweet baby girl.  Thanks be to God for his indescribable gifts!!!  I hope when others see her and how God orchestrated our family that it will only bring glory to HIM!!

Laney got to sit at the table this thanksgiving~ The Turners didn't get to come because of sickness in their house:( 

 She looks scared here but she really likes it!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! 

 

Baby Dedication

This has been a busy weekend!!!!  Emma and Evan's 3rd birthday party was Saturday.  They had an art party.  It was a lot of fun.  Then Sunday, we had Laney's baby dedication.  I will not get voted for mom of the year on this one..... I did not stop to take a single picture.  They took lots of pictures at church and somehow the pictures were lost or deleted!!!  I am so sad!!!  It was such a wonderful day.  I guess I will just tell about it and hopefully the pictures will be found. I have a few terrible ones but none of Laney!!  We had all of our family here.  Even the Charleston crew came.  We went to the 11:00 service.  They told a little about each child and then we had to repeat a prayer dedicating to do our best to tell Laney of God's love for her and to raise her is a safe, Christian environment.  She wore a little white dress with smocked crosses around the collar.  When Lisa was introducing Laney, our family was asked to stand.  We had two rows of people stand.  That just tells how much this little girl is loved.  Lucia, Sam, Millie and Hannah were all dedicated together.  After church, we all came back to our house for lunch.  We had pork tenderloin, apple/pecan salad, carrot salad, brown rice, develed eggs and fresh apple cake for dessert.  I made cross sugar cookies for everyone's favor with Laney's life verse.  We had a prayer~ Matt and I both prayed for our sweet Laney and for ourselves.  Then we had a wonderful lunch.  One of the best parts of the day was K came.  She got to meet all of our family.  I must say she is pretty independent to come here and meet all 21 of them.  It went so well.  She fit in and we never missed a beat!!  We were so excited to have her be a part of this special day.  Laney got a new testament bible, a bracelet, an angel Christmas tradition doll and a storybook bible. Hopefully we will find the pictures but until then, at least I have the details documented. 

5 months

I can't believe that another month has come.  They are coming too fast!!  I talk often about how excited I am for what is to come with her, but I just want to cherish this time with her.  She is changing so much!! I can see her personality starting to shine through. She smiles a lot and often squeals out loud.  Today in Moes she was so loud.  Just squealing and laughing at us!  She often will grab your face (or hair) with both hands and she seems like she is going to take a bite out of your face. It's hilarious.  She loves the "sit-n-play".  An attitude will come out if she can't get one of the toys to reach her mouth.  She reaches and grabs things now.  She can switch from hand to hand.  She can entertain herself for longer periods of time.  She loves playing with Ellie (her elephant lovey), Sophie, the giraffe, and her rattles.  We wonder if she is going to be left handed.  She does everything with her left hand. Her hair has thickened up a lot.  She can even wear a bow now!!!  She has rolled over a few times.  She is getting better at sitting.  She still has to be propped but she has so much more balance.  For about two weeks, she seemed to be crankier than normal.  When we noticed that she was getting two teeth in the front on the bottom.  So we survived our first teething experience.  She is much better now.  I hope the others are like these two.  Laney has started eating cereal now.  She eats in the evening when we eat dinner.  She does really well.  She seemed to know exactly what to do.  She will be on cereal for several weeks and then we will move onto vegetables.  I am going to attempt to make her baby food.  A friend let me borrow her baby food maker.  She is still swaddled at night.  We never know how we will find her in the morning though.  She starts out laying vertical.  Many mornings she has somehow wiggled into a horizontal position.  She moves like a little worm in her crib.  She loves the bath!!  Everyday, I find myself checking the clock.  I get so excited to go and pick her up (even though most days she is cranky and sleepy by that point).  Never would I have imagined that I could love her this much!!!  At her last doctor visit, she weighed 15lbs 8 oz. (50 percentile).  She was 26 inches long (80 percentile- up from the 34 percentile at our last visit).  Lots of "firsts" this month.  It's been a fun month!!

 This little girl likes to swing!!

 Ready for school!! 

 My two teeth!!!

I could eat her up when she smiles like this!!!

Dear God- Thank you for placing this precious little girl in our lives.  She has brought us so much joy!!! Thank you for allowing me the privilege of parenting her.  Thank you for the love that I feel. I pray that we will sing your praises all the days of her life.  So that she will know just how much you love her!!

 

Tigers, ghost, and the wild wild west..... A Scary Halloween night!!

Happy Halloween!!  What a week of celebrations. This year, I decided to make Laney's costume.  I knew it couldn't be much and it needed to be comfortable.  So I saw a precious ghost costume on pinterest and decided to get crafty.  We had such a fun night.  We had a fire and hot dogs.  The whole family came over and waited for the trick-or-treaters (which we didn't have any this year :( .  It was still fun.  Here are some pictures of our night. 

 

The next morning we woke up to find 2/3 inches of snow on the ground!!!!  Laney's first snow.  She already had a little cough so we did not get out in it or take pictures.  We will have to wait for the next one to come.  It was beautiful and short lived.  What a great way to start November.   

 

3......4 shut the door!!!!!!

I can't believe our baby is 4 months old.  I am not sure where the time has gone.  I am going to have to combine 3month and 4 month pictures.  I never updated at three months.  We have been really busy and I have now started back to work.  It is harder than ever to get everything in.  It seems that I just get the necessities accomplished these days.  Anyway Little Miss Laney is sweeter than ever.  She smiles often, sleeps like a champ, and is the love of our lives.  I can't even believe how much we love her.  She is changing so much.  I don't realize it until I look back at pictures.  I am excited for what is to come with her..... but I want time to slow down so I can enjoy her right now.  She likes to be held, she sits still, she needs me for everything.  These days won't last long and before we know it, she will prefer independence.  I thank God for what he has given us.  I never in my wildest dreams would have thought we would have gotten such a perfect match.  God does know what he is doing and I'm not sure why I ever thought anything different.  Not that I doubted him..... just didn't realize the love that is felt between a child and parent.   It just makes me sit in awe at how much God loves his children.  More than earthly parents/child????  I just can't fathom it!!  Anyway..... here is what prissy is up to these days. 

Well she has started sleeping all by herself in her own crib!!  It was hard for us but she is just fine.  We put her down about 9:00 and she usually sleeps until 6:30 ( I am so thankful she is a good sleeper).
*She prefers to sit up but still loves to lay on her pallet and kick.
* She drools uncontrollably - no signs of a tooth, just the age
*She loves to eat and is a formula snob - we must get the most expensive premixed stuff.  Don't even think of giving her the powder kind.
*She is ticklish under her chin  She seems to get another roll everyday. 
*She occasionally will laugh out loud~ the highlight of my day to hear this!!!
*She loves Ellie the elephant
*She weighed 14 lbs and 8oz at our last visit to the doctor
*She sits up in the highchair at the table with us even though she is not eating solid foods yet
*She loves the bumbo seat and loves to sit in one of those sit and plays with all the toys surrounding her
*She will watch Baby Einstein
* She wakes around 6:30 then goes back to sleep after eating until about 8:00.  She takes a nap in the morning, afternoon, and evening before bed.
*She still loves a bath!!!
*Her expressions (especially in her eyebrows) are hilarious
*She sucks her fingers and seems to want to eat them.  She makes this loud smacking/sucking noise when she does it (will have to work on that smacking later on down the road)

I love being with her.  She puts a smile on my face~ I sometimes just want to bite her (but no worries, I control myself).

 Ellie the elephant

Look at her holding her head up!!!

 

Until next time.... enjoy whatever season you are in.  God has you there for a reason!  Don't spend your time thinking of tomorrow when you have today!!!  I pray that I will savor every moment and make the most of every opportunity I am given.  I am so thankful as I look back at where God has brought me.  I have learned so much through the hard and easy times!! 

 

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven .Ecclesiastes 3:1 

School days

As the summer draws to an end..... I am so thankful to say that I am so comforted by the plans we have for Laney when I have to leave her.  We originally enrolled her at Learning Vine.  We have friends with kids there and it was ok.  I told myself she would be fine at a nursery..... but in my heart it wasn't what I wanted for these first months.  I wanted someone to continue holding her and loving her like she is used to.  I prayed that God would make it clear where she was supposed to go and I would be okay with wherever that was.  After several other opportunities didn't work out, I accepted that she was supposed to go to Learning Vine. I just felt like every time I told someone where she was going, in the back of my mind.... it wasn't what I wanted.  So one Sunday, I picked her up from the nursery at church and someone asked where she was going.  Jennifer Hudson just happened (yeah right) to be in the room and heard the conversation of Learning Vine and my ,what I felt to be, needed explanation.  The next week, we had a call on our answering machine from Jennifer.  I knew she wasn't calling to ask about us keeping the nursery at church because she didn't mention it on the message.  I immediately thought..... maybe she will keep Laney!!!  When I called her back, that was exactly what she was calling for.  She knew she didn't just happen into the nursery to hear my conversation.... she felt that God had opened that door for her.  So with happy hearts and a sense of relief, it was evident that God had other plans.  Laney gets to go to Learning Express two mornings a week and then Jennifer picks her up on those days and she keeps her all day on the other days.  We are so thankful!!!!!!!  Laney started Learning Express a week early just to get her used to it and I wanted to be able to take her a few morning before going back to school.  She has a precious teacher, Mrs. Linda.  The first morning, Laney just smiled when Mrs. Linda talked to her.  She is also loving Jennifer.  I have to get a picture with Jennifer.  I didn't realize that I don't have one until I started this blog. 
I'm back at school now and it's going well.  It's been an adjustment getting up at 5:00 but good.  Last year was hard because I didn't have a break scheduled and I had training all year.  Well this year, training is done and our literacy coach scheduled me a break during the day.  That gives me an opportunity to plan for the next day!!  So I don't have so much to do at home.  This was another concern that I had.  I didn't want to come home and spend the time that I have with Laney doing school work.  Guess what I prayed and God has taken care of that concern as well!! PTL
  This was just another reminder that prayer DOES work.  I love that my God is interested in every detail of our lives.  I love to see him at work.  Only he could have orchestrated these plans and given me the peace that I have!!!

I've got my toes in the water... toes in the sand

Our first beach trip was so much fun!!!  We had a house full!!  I just can't believe we have two new babies in our family within two months.  I feel like I'm dreaming at times!!  We spent the week at Edisto.  It was the perfect time.  We had nice weather and practically the beach to ourselves.  Laney liked the beach.... it put her to sleep!  So she slept under the tent and we were able to enjoy nature (God) at it's finest while she napped.  As I listened to the waves coming in and out and watched the sun rise over the ocean, I just couldn't help but be reminded of God's perfect timing.  Here we are after waiting a year for our daughter, I am still able to be with her at 4 months old ( I am able to be with her all of the summer then 6 weeks after school started back). His timing was perfect and still is!!!!

Bikini babe - her daddy say this is the only one she will ever have!!  It sure is cute!

The cousins.... Reid is catching up!!!

Evan wanted a hole and this is what he got... Matt went a little overboard.  So much so that Evan was scared to get in it at first!!

I love being a family of three!!

What?? 2 Months Already???

Miss Laney is now two months old.  I can't believe how much she has grown and changed.  I can't say how much I love her smiling.  IT.MELTS.MY.HEART!! She does it regularly now.  She thinks it is funny when you play peek-a-boo with her and she thinks it's hilarious when you kiss her lips.  She will hold her mouth open like a little bird if you even get close to her. She seems to have found her tongue.  She smiles if you stick your tongue out at her.  She seems to try to do it back.  I'm not sure if she is doing this on purpose or not.  Matt says no...... I say she is!! We can tell she is ticklish but she just squirms to get you to stop. Laney likes to have her elephant close by when she is going to sleep and she wants her paci.  She is starting to grab at the toys hanging on her play mat.  She just stares at the mirror with a confused look.  She is still sleeping in the rock-n-play. I am trying to transition her to the crib.  I have started by putting her in the pack-n-play for naps.  I am trying to get her on a schedule for the day.  She does well at nighttime.  She gets bathed and a bottle.  I try to read her a bible story every night.  Sometimes she is just ready to go to sleep.  She goes to sleep around 10:30 and sleeps until about 6-6:30.  I think that is great.  I hope she will continue.  The dreaded day came S-H-O-T-S.  I was not looking forward to them.  She screamed.  The nurse commented that she thought she got the maddest award.  I cried!!  I felt so sorry for her.  She had no idea.  She trusts me and her daddy and we let that happen to her.  I get teary eyed just thinking about it.  She was fine that afternoon, but she has been running a fever and has not been herself.  She hasn't eaten and she has been fussy.  I'll be glad when it passes.  Here is what we found out...
Weight........11lbs14oz- that puts her in the 60th percentile
height.........22 1/4in- that put her in the 36th percentile (she is going to be short but it was up from the 32nd percentile last visit:)

Her head was in the 60th percentile as well.  So she is growing and  healthy.

 

 This picture cracks me up..... she looks like she is ready to punch the nurse~Poor

baby.  She had no idea what was about to happen.

 Well that's Laney's status.  Until next time~ Three months will be here before we know it!!:(  I pray that I will make the best use of my time with Laney.  It goes by so quickly. 

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” – Ephesians 5:15-17, ESV

 

Tweetsie Railroad

Laney experienced her first out of town mini vacation.  I wanted to get out of the house and go somewhere.  Matt and I decided to go to the mountains.  We invited Alison and Nick (but obviously that didn't work out) and Marcie and Justin.  We stayed in a cabin in Blowing Rock, NC.  We decided to go visit the Tweetsie Railroad on Saturday.  I was thinking it was going to be old and run down considering my dad went when he was little. I was pleasantly surprised.  We walked around, road on the chairlift, (made me nervous!!) watched Emma and Evan feed the deer and other animals, and of course we road the railroad.  We also rode another small train.  After we left there, we went to walk downtown Blowing Rock.  It was a neat little town.  Then back to the cabin.  We were so tired.  We grilled that night and enjoyed each others company.  Laney did really well.  She slept during most of the Tweetsie Railroad.  She also did well adjusting to a new house.  She didn't even realize it probably.  The weather was so nice.  When we left Sunday morning it was 67 degrees and when we got back home, it was 97 degrees!!!  Wow, the mountain air was so nice!!!  So glad we got to get away for a few days!! 

 Laney slept the whole way.  Woke up to eat at Chick-fil-a.  Then back to sleep she went.

 At the Tweetsie Railroad

 Sleeping Beauty

 Us on the chairlift.  Thank goodness for the Moby wrap that we were given.  She loves being snuggled up.  It made it easy to hold her.  She rode in the stroller and in the Moby Wrap.