To my sweet 7 month old....

My dear sweet Annaka,
I can't believe that I am sitting down to write your 7th month blog. For some reason this month seemed to fly by faster than the others. Maybe because we had a lot going on this month. We threw a 30th birthday party for you daddy. Your dad's traveling has slowed down and we traveled with him one week so that was nice. We also are currently under contract for a two unit apartment in Portland Maine. So I guess that is a lot on top of the normal day in and day out events.

You are changing and growing so fast. I simply adore you. You do things all the time that I never want to forget. Things that I don't quite know how to capture. you recently started to do this smacking noise, it's not with your lips but with your tongue, I love it! When you sleep you hold on to your tiny little clammy feet with your sweet little clammy hands, we bought a monitor this month and your father and I love to just watch you. At first when we realized we could hook it up to the TV I said "Why would we do that to just sit and watch her, lame." and then that is exactly what we did. We don't have too many pictures of you sleeping since we don't want to wake you (the sleeping beast). One day we will have to be brave and snap the once in a lifetime shot of you in those adorable positions and suffer the consequences before we miss our opportunity. When you were very, very tiny still sleeping on our bellies you use to make this face when you work up it was like a stretching face, you would press your lips together and move your head side to side like Steve Wonder then your head would collapse back on to our chest like your head was the heaviest object you had ever lifted, it probably was at the time. It was adorable I hope I never forget since every time I pulled out the camera that was the time you decided not to do it. When I am watching Gilmore Girls I mean, when we are watching Gilmore Girls, you always stop whatever you are doing and stare at the TV while Carol King plays and the credits roll. I hope never to forget this sweet little things that make you so special.

So this was a big big month for our little angle. We moved you from the co-sleeper bassinet to a full size crib, well a pack and play until we move and you get your own room. You stopped using your baby bath and are using the WHOLE tube. you love it! You started solids, we are taking a baby led weaning approach which I will post about in more detail in a later post. You love avocados, zucchini, strawberries, watermelon cantaloupe, sweet potatoe and bananas. You try everything that we put in front of you. I think that your all time favorite is the avacado though you have one everyday! You also tried an egg for the first time yesterday made in coconut oil with some pepper and spinach. You are also learning to express yourself with your voice. You had a little tantrum the other night in front of your dad and I, we couldn't help but laugh. You have also gone down to two naps. We'll we just started that yesterday. I am sure I will have more to say about it next month. You also are getting your two bottom teeth, very exciting!

I love your relaxed personality you go with the flow, are never really fussy unless you are tired, wet or hungry for the most part. You are smiley and loving. You love to cuddle with people you are comfortable with. When you enter a room or come across a new space I love how you need a minute to asses the environment before you leave my side. Even though you don't rush into anything you never shy away from new experiences.

Annaka your father and I adore you, We are so grateful to God that he picked us to be your parents. We pray everyday that God will give us wisdom when it comes to making choices for your sweet little life. Thank you for being you, we love every single bit of you and we are already so proud of the little person that you are turning out to be.

With all the love in the world,
Mommy

This is us at the Alabama Zoo. You seemed to enjoy yourself.

You love your avocado. 

Our little girl getting bigger!

A glance at my breastfeeding adventure

Most women who think about having babies, talk about having babies, are trying to have babies and never want babies know exactly, well maybe not exactly, what they will and will not do once they become a mother.  I had my fair share of things as well. So far many of them have come and gone, I have given some of them a try, some I never attempted and others I have stuck with, breastfeeding is one of them

Breastfeeding, I DO NOT enjoy it, some of you mom's out there are gasping at the thought. Sometimes I think that I may be the only mom in the world who is looking forward to the day that my little angle is weaned and I no longer feel that my only purpose in life is to me milked by my sweet little girl. Now it's not that I want her to get any older I still want to enjoy all her first and soak up all the baby time I can get but without the breastfeeding. Now is it possible that one day I will look back on these days and wish for them back, it's possible but feels unlikely most days. There may be something wrong with me, I'm okay with that.

I wanted to breastfeed for a few reasons: breast is best, it's FREE and all my mom friends said it was convenient, all positives for me. So like anything I did my research, talk to other mom's, took a class, found useful websites. I wanted to be successful at this and be prepared for what I was about to do. Of course you can never be completely prepared for anything that has to do with baby but I felt that I had all the knowledge I could find. Of course I had to make sure Kyle was full of all this knowledge too because I knew I would forget half of it because of my baby brain, which I have yet to get rid of. 

Now it started off like most things when you are a newly sleep deprived walking corpus wondering how in earth you are surviving off of and hour and a half of sleep, I mean parent. It had it's up and downs times I cried, yelled, swore at my poor infant daughter, wondering if my breast would ever look the same and begged my husband for formula. But like most things as a new parent after a couple weeks, and many calls to the wonderful Lactation Consultants at Wentworth Douglas Hospital, we all got the hang of it and mommy began to heal both physically and mentally and we were on the road to success, it was a long road with a few detours but non the less we were making progress. It's hard to move forward quickly when you are tired. 

Annaka is still exclusively breastfeed at 6 months and we are starting to introduce yummy veggies and fruits. I still don't get warm and fuzzy when she is nursing, I don't look down and wish for that moment to last forever and as amazing as it is, the fact that God made my body to nourish this little one, I still feel unattached to breastfeding. I feel that this is my job I am her mother and that is that. 

I have wondered if it is because Annaka and I get lots of time alone together, I am grateful for this, so It's not that in the midst of a busy day we are searching for time to connect. We still have plenty of opportunity to be close. We play together while she is awake during the day. For this I am so thankful for and love every minute of it, well maybe not EVERY minute. 

Maybe if/when we have more children when things are crazy and hectic I will cherish the time that I get to spend with a little one. Maybe it is now you go into it. While I was doing all of my research I looked at breastfeeding as a job that I mother does if she is able. I was able so it was my job and I like to do my jobs with excellence. For now I am thankful I can feed my daughter for free and give her lots of healthy antibodies. But I don't think that come a year I will be sad to say goodbye to breastfeeding. 

Stay tune 6 months from now I may be eating my own words. 

No longer and infant

I am not sure when a baby is no longer an infant but I would say that our darling little Annaka has reached that point. I feel that she has grown so much this month. You can tell that she has been watching and learning but this month, WOW!

This month Annaka has:
~Started Solids
~Stopped Solids (I think it was a little too early for rice cereal)
~Found her thumb
~Discovered where she is ticklish
~Had her first very bad diaper rash, Yikes!
~Went to her friend Logan and Zephan's birthday parties
~Really gave her head a good smack on the hardwood floor
~Rolled off a bed
~Decided her schedule was not working for her anymore (she has yet to tell me her new schedule)
~and.... Drum roll please...... SAT UP without assistance!!!

The last one was the big one and I guess when I look at this list it isn't full of a ton of firsts but for some reason our little lady just seems so much more "grown up". Everyday more and more of her sweet little personality is developing and blooming. She is such a happy little girl she loves to stare at people and stare and stare. She does not give her smiles away easily. She is always watching and listening. She loves to dance around to music. She loves to play with seltzer bottles. She is so much more interactive and has become so much more fun.

I think that I am finally starting to feel like a mom. Annaka will prefer me over other people get upset when I leave the room or leave her with someone that she is not familiar with and believe it or not it makes me feel good. It makes me feel like I am not just some lady with the "liquid gold" aka breast milk that plays on the floor and makes funny faces at my daughter. I am glad for that, maybe one day I will just want a minute of peace away from my children but when that day comes I hope that I can look back on this blog and remember what it feels like for Annaka to want me over other people. Right now I also want to remember that one day when she is cool and out and about I will wish that she still preferred me over anyone else.

Dear Little Annaka,

You are so sweet. I do wish you would sleep a little longer at night but I am thankful that you have healthy lungs and a healthy appetite! I really delight in you and your sweet, sweet smile. I am thankful that with me your smiles are never limited and always come in abundance. I love that you love people, I hope that you never loose that. I pray that you use your sweet little life to always glorify your Creator.

I really, really love you so much my darling little girl.

Mommy

5 months already?!

This month flew and with Kyle being gone so much I thought it would DRAG! When I look at the calendar it doesn't feel like a very busy month. We took a trip with Kyle to Chicago which was fun and of course Annaka was a champ! She had her first vaccinations and of course was a champ. We visited friends and family and waited for Daddy to come home. Our little Annaka is growing so much and becoming so much more fun. I don't know what age that a little one passes from infant to baby but I would say that Annaka has entered babyhood. Annaka is also napping all on her own now and only waking one time at night to eat. This is WONDERFUL for mommy! I think that my daughter is fantastic. Everyday I watch as her little personality unfolds more and more. She really does bring such joy to my life.

I think that the lesson that I learned this month, well the biggest lesson, is to follow my gut! I tend to read lots of information and ask several people for advice and take the person's advice that seems the most confident. But I need to follow my gut. No one else knows my daughter or the dynamics of our family. I have learned that if I pray for wisdom use some common sense and deliver with love we will figure it out. I also need to remember that raising children can really be trial and error. So I am going to try and listen to that still small voice more often when it comes to my family.

We are looking forward to Kyle's traveling being done, a trip to Minnesota and California to visit family and friends. We are also really looking forward to moving, hopefully back to Portland ME for now.

Kyle and I love our little girl more and more each passing minute and I think that we are starting to "feel" like parents as she grows. We love the beginnings of our little family and look forward to each and every day as we are blessed with the opportunity to watch our little peanut grow into a beautiful little lady.

Our Baby Girl

Family Shot

Mother's Day with my little lady.

Four months and Fabulous

When I look back at this month it feels like it flew by and wasn't too eventful. Kyle was gone most of the month for work. His little family missed him, including Gus and Blazer! For Annaka and I it was pretty much the same. We are on a 3 hour schedule. We eat, play and sleep until about 8pm when my hope is that she just sleeps. This month Annaka has been extra hungry so she has been eating every 3 hours around the clock. Very exhausting for this mommy. Maybe because I was without my partner in crime. Absents doesn't only make the heart grow fonder but it also reminds me how when Kyle isn't here I just don't work well. I am beyond thankful for my wonderful husband. Kyle is so good at making sure I have eaten and rested and am showered. He always puts my needs before his own, I am just lost without my husband. That cheesy line "You complete me." really rings true.

This month our adorable girl had some big first, I guess she does every month. It is just so amazing to watch a little human grow, learn and develop. Kyle and I try to guess what she will be like all the time. We think she will be polite, quiet, observant, sweet and a cuddle bug. Just a few things, we shall see.

~Make bubble with her spit (I only write this down as an accomplishment because the book says it is)
~LAUGHED!!! This has been one of the most exciting things I think!!!
~Her mouth found her hand
~Let Mommy and Daddy go on their second date. (Thanks Uncle and Auntie Melissa)
~Was part of "The Great Cloth Diaper Change" and was in the news paper!!!
~She has grown out of the majority of her newborn diapers
~Sat up all by herself in her Bumbo (Thanks Uncle Nic and Auntie Allison)
~Her first set of vaccinations
~Had some quality time with Uncle Nic!
~First Easter Egg hunt and she also received her first 3 baskets and a lovely book and long with 2 beautiful dresses.

A Special thanks to Miss Annaka for being so patient with her mommy this month who missed her husband. Thank you for forgiving me every time I lost my cool. You are one special baby!!!

Learning so much in 3 Months

I was never a person who wanted to hold every little baby that I saw or adored all little children and thought that they were precious. Of course I always loved my family and my friends children but it was just different. Since I had Annaka I feel more warmly towards all children they are ALL precious in there own way and they all have a mother that loves them like I love Annaka and they were all these tiny little babies once that there mothers put so much love into. I also finally understand the "Mother's Club" that I heard about before I had my baby. Every time I see a pregnant woman I want to do whatever I can to help her out! I want to hug them and offer them any words of encouragement that I can. All ultrasounds melt my heart even if I don't know the person, that little person that God is growing inside of their mommy is just beautiful! I guess little miss Annaka has turned me into a big softy. I love being her mom, learning compassion, patience, learning to see things a little differently.

This month was an extremely busy one for our little angel. She was of course such a delight to Kyle and I. Even with all the traveling that Kyle had to do they still got lots of cuddle time in, which was important for both parties. I feel like it went by so fast! Maybe now that I am getting a little more sleep this is when time begins to fly by? I hope it doesn't fly by too fast!

So these are some milestones for our little sweetheart:

~First Basketball Game, the Blazers of course

~First airplane ride across the country to visit her Uncle and Auntie and cousins!

~Started making bubbles with her spit!

~Doing lots and lots of grabbing and bringing objects close to her face.

~Found her foot (Daddy saw this one not me)

~ROLLED OVER!!!! Rolled from her little tummy to her back.

~First babysitter that was not family, Thanks Tyler!

~Sleeping in crib more and we don't have to swaddle you anymore.

~Holding your sweet little head up all on your own.

~You can now sit in a sling facing out.

Annaka,

You are so much more alert. I have so much fun with you, we have tummy time and story time. We go for walks with our puppy when it is warm enough. I love how you are always looking at everything around you. You never miss anything! I think that you are going to be the silent type like your dad. Which means when you have something good to say you say it! You love to watch your daddy cook. You also love to chat with him, just today you were talking so much! You are so sweet and so happy we love you so much. Your Daddy and I love you more and more each day. We are already so proud of you and the things that you have accomplished. We love watching you grow into the young lady that God has given us. Your Daddy and I delight in you and in our family time. We could not be more grateful for the joy you bring into our lives. We love you sweet girl.