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.