Kate is 5 months old!

How is it time for this again? The months go by faster and faster! Baby Girl is 5 months old today!

This month has been a challenging one, there is no way to sugar coat it! Her sleep schedules fluctuating like crazy and she doesn't like to be on her own AT ALL during the day. That makes for an exhausted momma, but on the bright side, it makes me even more excited to see Blake at the end of the day! "Take her! Take her!" are often the first words he hears when he gets home! 

Of, course, it isn't always a rough time! She'll have her moments where she looks up at me with her big eyes and smiles at me and of course my heart melts every single time.

 Her swing continues to be my best friend during the hard days! Actually... who am I kidding... 

it's our best friend every day! Also... it just so happens that her swing is by my computer and I discovered that Youtube has full episodes of Barney and all kinds of other song and lullaby videos that help us when we get desperate! I'm learning how to prioritize things like bible study and prayer, exercise, and cooking so that I can still feel like myself amongst my new role as "Mom". The swing and Youtube help me out a little bit so that I can take care of myself. I'm learning that when I take care of myself, I have more to give to my family! 

She is also getting really close to a giggle every now and then. Sometimes it practically is one, but often time it becomes a little shriek. 

She is getting stronger! She still needs support to sit up, but she can hold her head up much more steadily. She's even spent some time in the big chairs at Bible Class! Class is getting a little harder for her these days, as she is usually sleepy, hungry, or both. We might try going to 2nd service to see if that helps at all. 

She is still not enjoying her tummy time very much, but every now and then if you are laying down right beside her she will have fun for a few minutes! She also enjoys being on her back when you lay next to her. She stopped rolling over this month! I did get her to roll once last week, but it's almost like she forgot how. I hear it's normal to regress a little, so I'm not too concerned. We just keep encouraging her the best we can! 

She LOVES books! Many times we've been able to calm her cries with a book. She likes turning the pages in her board books. The pictures are really intriguing to her, but she also likes hearing us talk or sing along with the pictures. It's quite fun! 

We've stopped swaddling her this month because she kept breaking out of her little swaddle pouch, and it was waking her up. She loves to chomp on her hands and spread out her arms. So we've moved her into these wearable blankets. 

She's figuring out more of her toys- specifically rings. 

Her Hungry Caterpillar is by far her favorite toy. 

On February the first, Kate got her first bite of food other than momma's milk! We made her some carrots and she loved them! I try to give her an "ice cube" of carrots every day... some days it doesn't happen though! I'm hoping to add peas, avocado, and squash this month. 

We set up her high chair but she isn't quite ready for it... 

She's gotten a bit more used to it, that was right before bed when we first set it up! She isn't quite ready for it though because she doesn't sit up well enough. It's really not supposed to be used until 6 months, so that's normal! 

We've been enjoying some nice weather this month. Kate really enjoys sitting outside and looking at everything. Sometimes if she's fussy, it helps when we go outside for a bit. 

We also had Kate's first Valentine's Day! Now, I'll admit, I haven't done the best job at documenting holidays because we'd been exhausted or sick. We all felt pretty good for this one, so we had a good time! Blake got Kate a pink rose, and we gave her some books, a towel, and a TY Minnie Mouse beanie ball (that she LOVED!). 

MiMi and Gramps bought us a ZOO membership for Valentine's so we went with them to the ZOO in the morning. Kate didn't really know what to look at, but she enjoyed being outside. The ZOO is a nice place to walk around and I look forward to taking their often!

This motherhood journey is not an easy one, but it's so rewarding. There are hard parts and really fun parts. Every day Blake will ask her, "What are you going to learn today, Kate?" And it's true- she is learning something everyday. We never know if we'll see her grab a toy in a new way or hear a new sound out of her mouth. She's recently starting saying (quite loudly), "Ahhhhhhhhhhh" all day long! You just never know what's going to happen next! 

We love this girl! 

Life With Kate... 4 months old!

What a month it’s been! Our baby girl has been growing and growing!
 She now weighs in at 14 lb and 10 oz (61%) and is 24.76" long (65%).

The month started out on a not so fun note, as Kate had just been diagnosed with an ear infection. She had a couple of grumpy days and so we had lots of cuddle time! It only took a day or so for the antibiotic to kick in and she was back to her happy self for the most part. (With the help of the occasional dose of Tylenol!) She did not like that Amoxicillin though! It took some major prayers to get that down twice a day for 10 days!

Kate getting some sick time cuddles.

Our happy girl just a couple of days after being on her meds. 

We took our first trip with Kate when we traveled to Bartlesville for Christmas. We were gone for 8 days! Kate handled the driving like a champ and though we made longer stops to care for her, it went really well!

While in Bartlesville, Kate got to meet her Uncle Nick and Aunt Heather!

Of course, her Grandpa and Grandma had lots of fun with her too!

Our sweet Grandma Genie drove from Ponca City to meet Kate and it was so much fun spending time with her and introducing our baby girl to her!

After Christmas, we drove to OKC to spend the day with my Uncle John and Aunt Janine, and my cousin Jenny's family.  So Kate met 8 more people! It was so much fun to watch the kids love on Kate.

As we were getting ready to leave OKC the next morning we realized that it had been snowing! So Kate experienced her first snow. She was a little bit confused by it!

On our way home we stopped for lunch in Burleson, Texas to see my Mema, Papa. Kate also met my Uncle Jim and Aunt Sherry.  It was fun to see them!

Once we got home, we headed to my parents house the next day for Christmas with my folks! 

More fun!

 On December 28, Kate rolled over from her tummy to back for the first time! That was super exciting for us! Around that time she started to really pick up on how she played with her toys. Her Hungry Caterpillar toy has been her favorite toy to play with so far. 

She is starting to grasp more and really play.

New Years Eve was a big night for us. We began the transition of putting Kate to sleep in our room in her Rock and Play to in her crib in her nursery. We were fully prepared for how to teach her self-soothing with our pediatrician’s instructions in our hand! Much to our surprise- she didn’t make a peep! She slept from about 10:00- 4:45. I fed her and she went back to sleep for a few more hours! She continues to sleep really well with hardly ever an issue.

After the New Year, my Aunt Mary came to visit us at my parents and Kate got to meet another very special person in our lives! (Do you think she was loved on enough this month?!) Kate started to be very fussy that day and was fussy for a couple of days after. I even thought she might be sick, but her pediatrician said that she wasn't. Just a lot of change going on! 

Here she is in her first pair of overalls!

She got a new toy with some of her Christmas money. She loves her “exer-saucer”!

She is also starting to talk to her toys more and it’s really really cute!

She also talks to us more! I promise the other day her little voice said, “Uh-oh!” I know she wasn’t trying to say the word or anything, her sounds just happened to make that word.

She is doing well on tummy time… when she actually stays on her tummy!

And of course… she LOVES her bath time. We had to move her little whale tub of the counter and into the big tub because with her splashes and trying to wash her hair we were getting water all over the place. We've started doing a night time bath every evening as part of our bed time routine. She is drooling all over the place these days so it's nice to get her cleaned off. 

By the way… the tub is where I can tell just how much my baby has grown. Take a look at how big she’s gotten from her first bath!

She is starting to stay in our church nursery more. This past Sunday I actually took her into the nursery during The Lord’s Supper because she wanted to make her presence known a little too boldly! Yesterday I left her in the nursery during Ladies Class and I left her for almost the whole time! From 10:00-1:30! (Our church offers child care through 2:00 to allow ladies to go to lunch or run errands… such a blessing!)

I love this girl! It wasn’t very long ago that she was just a bit over 5 pounds getting photo therapy and that I was having to wipe her with cold clothes to wake her up enough to eat. She has come a long way! Clearly she doesn’t miss a meal these days!

God is so good!

My Word for 2015... "all about that grace"

It's taken me a lot longer to get around to writing with the holidays, the responsibilities that motherhood has brought about, and my fancy wireless key board needing new batteries that I didn't have, but writing continues to be a positive outlet for me so I enjoy making time for it when I can.

Over the years I've sort of done away with resolutions and instead focus on one word for the year. It's been 2015 for a few days, and I hadn't really considered what the best word might be for this time in my life. Last year I completely forgot about my word challenge after a few months. (Pregnancy is distracting I tell you!) A friend of mine posted her word challenge, and it encouraged me to start fresh with a new word for 2015. 

Grace. 

That is my word for 2015. Let me tell you a little bit about how that came about. 

The past couple of weeks I've been dwelling over a recent situation in which I was offended. I felt everything from anger, insecurity, jealousy, pain, sadness, and frustration. All the meanwhile I felt  guilty for feeling that way toward a couple of people whom I should be feeling love. 

I began to hear a gentle whisper from God every now and then when I found myself lost in my victimization, "See them through the eyes of my grace." 

Earlier this year I read that we should view our spouses through the eyes of God's grace and it really made an impact on how I've treated Blake. I felt so thankful when I was reminded of this and realized that my husband is not the only person I should be looking at with more grace! 

I'm not completely over the situation that caused me much grief, but once I began to look at the situation with a little more grace, I've found a better sense of reality about it. I've realized it wasn't as big of a deal as I made it out to be in my mind, and I'm accepting possible reasons for why it may have happened, and I'm starting to find forgiveness in my heart. 

Philippians 1:3-7 says this:

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me." 

The people who offended me share in God's grace with me. Just as I mess up, and have even offended others, I'm forgiven and covered through God's grace. So are they! God's grace is extended to all of his believers and I need to view others through that grace. 

There is another verse that is a gentle encouragement on this topic:

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians: 4: 5-6

Here we are told that it is wise to show grace. I think it's interesting that with grace we will know how to answer everyone. I might be stretching this a little bit but, won't we all answer to God one day? I don't want to have any anger or resentment harbored when I answer to Him! 

Grace. It's a beautiful thing. Grace toward myself, toward my husband and daughter, toward my family and friends, strangers, my church family... grace. Wouldn't the world be a happier place if everyone looked at each other through eyes of grace- seeing past the hurt or judgement to understand where the other is coming from. Grace leads to forgiveness after all. 

So... 2015... is "all about that grace".  

Life with Kate~ Kate is 3 months old!

Sweet Kate is 3 months old! 

She is getting chunkier and oh my goodness is it cute. (I can't say the same about myself!) She still has her blue eyes and long blond hair, though I do think her hair might have a tent of red in it. She's talking in her sweet baby language a little more every week, smiles bigger, and is on her way to laughter. She loves eskimo kisses, and when we blow on her tummy! 

She's playing with toys on her activity gym, but so far those are the only toys that peak her interest. She is letting me read longer books to her, which is a lot of fun this time of the year because I have so many wonderful Christmas books. She loves looking at the pictures. 

Bath time is still her favorite time of all! 

She is enjoying play time on her back a little bit more, and she is getting back into her tummy time. She is pushing up a little bit more this month. 

I think what excites us the most right now is how much sleep she's been letting us have lately. She's been sleeping a good 7-9 hours every night! 

I know this won't last forever, but we are so grateful for it while we've got it. 

Here are some of the month's highlights! 

Kate started things out with her 2 month Well Child Visit, which included an exam and of course... vaccinations. She handled it all like a champ. We were so proud of her and thankful to the Lord!!!

Kate had her first Thanksgiving! I wish I could say it was so much fun and we did all these fun things, but Blake and I had horrible colds and were sick leading up to Thanksgiving and the whole week after. I actually got an ear infection myself! It's definitely challenging to care for a baby when you feel bad, but thankfully Kate stayed well! 

My grandparents came into town for Thanksgiving though and that was so special! Kate got to meet them for the first time. 

 

Kate has still been really good during church. This picture is from a Sunday where she wore one of my dresses from when I was a baby. She has however started to get a little more active. She is usually good through worship service, but class is harder. I wasn't sure what to do because I knew our church nursery was very crowded and so I was nervous to take her in there. So I prayed about it on Saturday evening, and then that following Sunday morning there was an article in the bulletin about a new cradle roll class for the little babies under 7 months- and I knew 3 of the ladies who were in charge of the class this quarter. My heart rejoiced!! We went into the class and Kate loved it! I know that it shouldn't be a problem if I want to leave her in there now, and I just feel so blessed! 

And of course.... it's Christmas time! It took awhile, but Blake and I finally got around to decorating for Christmas. It's a lot different decorating when you have a baby! I'm thankful to have a husband who loves it as much as I do. 

We went to Lunch With Santa at our church and Kate got her picture taken. She had no clue! I have a feeling she'll have more of an opinion on this next year because all of the 1 year olds were crying! 

Now... promise not to make fun of me on this next one! I wanted us to have a little Christmas morning of just the 3 of us and our own tree and last Saturday was the only morning we'll have together that can be relaxed before the New Year. We had so much fun! On Friday night I made steaks for Blake and we took Kate out and looked at lights. We read her the story of Jesus's birth before bedtime. Then in the morning we opened up our presents and made waffles! We watched Disney's Christmas Carol (with Jim Carry) and then headed over to my parent's house for more fun! 

It was fun having my brother home! 

 We drove out to West Houston Church of Christ to go through their Celebrate Jesus hayride. They had different scenes set up acting out different parts of Jesus' life- starting from his birth and ending with his ascension into Heaven. It was a lot of fun- and apparently a very popular place to be. We waited around an hour in line... and the line to drive through in your car was even longer! Kate handled it like a champ though. 

 We also visited my parent's church this past weekend. It was fun for Kate to meet all of our Westbury family! "Uncle Calvin" held Kate for children's time. 

And last but not least.... Kate begins her fourth month with another doctor visit! She was so cranky last night so I took her in to see the doctor this morning, turns out our poor girl has an ear infection! She's got her medicine now so hopefully it will only get better from here! Her usual pediatrician was out today so she got to see my old pediatrician, Dr. Kline. 

It was fun to see him again- he's still going strong! 

It's been quite a month, with many new experiences! Difficult and yet incredible at the same time! We love our baby girl!