Daddy's Glasses

Baby girl was very curious and wondered what that funny thing on daddy's face was, so she decided to pull them off and investigate. The results were inconclusive.

 Day 62

Baby Shower for a friend

We were helping with a baby shower for a friend. I forgot to take a good picture of us, but you can see baby girl sucking on her pacifier while in the ring sling. We can't wait for this new little one to arrive. This is the 3rd shower baby girl has attended. Most of my friends have decided this was a good year for having kids.

Day 61

Coloring

We celebrated Mawmaw's birthday today, so baby girl make her a picture. She used her hands and mouth to draw.

Day 60

Baby Feet

We were super busy today and I almost forgot to take a picture. Here are some baby feet after she was baby-ritoed.

Day 59

Bumbo Sleeper

Many days baby girl will sit next to me at the table when I am having breakfast or working at the kitchen table. Today I got too boring and she fell asleep. It was super cute. Unfortunately, it was a very short nap since she woke up as soon as I tried to move her.

Day 58

Giraffe Noms

We have tried making tummy time more fun by using her pillow pet. She liked noming on the osacones, which kept her happy for a little while.

Day 57

Bouncing

Baby girl really likes sitting in her jumper. Its one of her favorite things to do. She is even starting to figure out how to bounce in it.

Day 56

Petting Baby Chicks

 My mom has chickens and each year she orders a few new chicks. Since they hadn't feathered out yet, she had them in the living room. She also watches them to determine which ones are roosters and which are hens. Baby daughter loved watching them hop around and hearing them peep. Grandma and grandpa even let her touch one, but she wasn't sure what to think.

Day 55

Columbia

We went to Columbia today to visit some friends. We got a little bit of snow, but they got a little more than a foot. It was pretty cool. Baby girl didn't get to go play in it though.

Day 54

Swing Sleeper

My wonderdul daghter decided to get up at 5:30 today. While I enjoy early morning, I don't necessarily enjoy getting up quite that early. I really can't complain though, she sleeps well at night cuddled up next to me. I had to take the dog out this morning and when I came back in, she was napping sweetly. I need to figure out how to take an 8:30 am nap, too.

Day 53

Blizzard

We don't get a lot of snow here. It falls just a couple times each year and normally melts within a day or two. Baby daughter got to play in the last snowfall, but today she just watched from the window. She really enjoyed seeing the big flakes fall.

Day 52

Recreated Baby Picture

When I was a little baby my mom didn't own a camera, so she was good about taking me to get professional pictures taken my first year. The first one I have is from when I was 4 1/2 months old. I decided to recreate these pictures with my little girl. I tried to do it as similar as possible. You can also see the original.

Day 51

Laundry Day

Today baby daughter really wanted to be together. She wasn't going to be content unless we were looking at each other. I really needed to do laundry, so we took over the kitchen table to do the folding. She really loved it. Now I just need to continue her enjoyment of laundry folding into the teen years.

Day 50

Movie Night Cuddles

We decided to do something fun, so we rented What to Expect when You're Expecting from Redbox. Having just had a baby, it was pretty timely. Baby daughter decided to cuddle with Matt and then he fell asleep as well.

Day 49

Napping

Baby girl decided to take a super long nap today. At one point Matt decided to nap with her. It was pretty cute!

 Day 48

Diaper Sale

Today we had fun going to the Cotton Babies $1 diaper sale. We picked up a few new to us Freetimes for a really good price. Our friend found a whole bunch, which is great since she is just starting her cloth diaper stash.

 Baby girl had some fun time playing with her giraffe in the baby crib. 

Day 47

V-Day Pt 3

We went out on our first baby-free date. It was kind of odd being alone together, but it was really good for us to enjoy being together. We went at 4 pm with all the "old people", then stopped at the grocery store after. What happened to us? We used to be young.

Since Matt was out of town and returned late on Valentine's Day, he bought flowers for baby daughter and I today.

Day 46

V-Day P 2

Day 45

V-Day Pt 1

We went and delivered Valentines to many of our friends today. One of my goals this year is to be a better friend. Matt is my best friend and my mom and I are also close. I have a lot of good friends, but very few that I feel really close to. I feel like the best way to change that is to be a better friend.

When we got home baby girl had a package from her great aunt.

 Day 44

Sophie Giraffe

One of baby girl's favorite toys is her Sophie giraffe. Here she is noming on it and she can even make it squeak it sometimes.

Day 43

Review - Lily Padz

One of the very profitable target markets is new parents. When a family welcomes a new child they are opening up their house (and their pocketbook) to new things. Many people will make changes to their house in preparation for a new baby. They spend money like its going out of style and they get their friends and family to do the same. Since I am a new mom, I want to provide some useful reviews of new products that I have found.

I decided to purchase some Lily Padz. No, they aren't some type of bath toy, they are "milk  leakage preventors". I've learned that milk leaks out when you don't want it to, for no reason at all. It can be really annoying to walk around with wet shirts and bras. Since babies spit and drool, you will probably always have some type of liquid on you, but I really try to limit it as much as possible.

These basically hold pressure on your nipple to keep you from leaking. Although you can expect a few drops to collect in the center if you have had a let down while wearing them. They are slightly curved like a contact lens and have a slightly sticky/tackyness on the inside. So you take them flip them inside out and stick them on, then turning them right side out and they stick like magic. They smooth things out nicely giving you "barbie boobs". I've found as long as you wear a bra or shirt over them they don't really leak. 

So far they have been working well. They sell special Lily wash, but I have been using dish soap which works well. Mainly you want to clean them well so they don't collect lint and oils from your skin causing them to lose their tackiness. The package says they last up to two months, but since they are kind of pricey I am hoping they last much longer.

I wouldn't wear them all day everyday, since they don't really let you nipples breathe, but I think they are a good option. The regular disposable nursing pads feel scratchy to me. 

One last final note. If you have a little milk pool up in the middle, be careful when removing them. I've ended up with milk dripped on my shirt when taking them off to nurse in public. I usually try to keep a burp cloth handy just to have a place to empty them.

Hot Air Ballons

This morning I decided to get out a special onesie from my baby shower. As an activity many of my friends decorated them. This was one of my favorites, I think the hot air balloons turned out really cute.

Day 42

Pretty for Church

Baby girl decided it would be fun to dress pretty for church, so we got her Valentine's day outfit on a few days early. I'll do laundry this week so she can wear it on the actual holiday, too. Isn't she cute?

Day 41

Saturday

Saturdays are typically a lazy day for us around the house. We don't do too much and just relax and enjoy hanging out together. I'm glad we didn't have anything planned for today since I woke up with a cold. Matt's been really nice and filling me full of vitamins. He even had some good daddy-daughter time, so I could take a nice relaxing bath.

Day 40

Smiles

Matt has had a couple of rough days at work. Nothing majorly bad, just small things that are frustrating. In an attempt to cheer him up, baby girl send him a smile. Baby smiles make things better.

Day 39

Tummy Time with Friends

Once a month we get together with our old Sunday School class and have a Bible Study. What used to be a group of "young marrieds" is now a group of newish parents. Over the past two years everyone has welcomed a new baby into their house. This is really good for baby girl, since she will have a lot of friends to play with. This is one of them. Just to show you the wide range in baby sizes the little girl on the left is 2 months older.

Day 38

Napping with the Puppy

I spend a lot of time on the couch since that is where I feed baby girl. She tends to fall asleep often when I feed her, so I keep supplies for me handy as well - laptop, book remote, etc. The dog also likes to get in on the cuddle action. I often refer to myself as a pillow since everyone likes to sleep on me.

Day 37

Dentist

Today I had a dentist appointment, so baby girl got to spend some time with grandma. They had a lot of fun playing then she fell asleep in her carseat and took a 3 1/2 hour nap. It was so long we kept checking on her to make sure she was okay. I appreciate when she takes good naps and I can get things done around the house, but whenever she starts sleeping too long I miss her.

Day 36

Tummy Time

Baby girl does not like tummy time. She will put up such a fuss, but I make her do it anyways. How else am I supposed to see her roll? Today she was actually happy for a few minutes before the crying began.

Day 35

Snow Angels

We finally got some good snow. I was so excited to take baby daughter out to play in it, so we all bundled up and we went outside. I gave her some clean snow to touch and taste. We then helped her to make a snow angel. I'm not sure she really enjoyed the snow, but I'm sure that will change next winter.

Day 34

Hanging with Daddy

Baby girl has been hanging out with Matt today. They are starting to bond more. Its so cute to watch them together. Seeing Matt as a father has made me fall in love with him so much. He is such a good daddy.

Day 33

Worn Out

We had a busy day today. I went to 3 different grocery stores to get the best sales. I am slowly turning into my mother. After putting everything away and making dinner baby girl was tired. She had her head resting on the steering wheel of her exersaucer and was watching me. I ran to get the camera and so I could take a picture before she fell asleep. As soon as the camera flashed her eyes closed and she went to sleep.

 Day 32

Haircut

I decided it was time. Since I graduated high school I have gone through this cycle of growing my hair out for a few years then I get a major haircut. It was 14 inches this time. Since it was last cut two Superbowls ago and I have been pretty much putting it in a ponytail everyday, I figured it was time.

My friend Rachael was nice enough to watch baby girl for me (It was only the 2nd time I left her.), and I had a nice hour at the salon. I was given a gift card for Christmas,  so I got a great cut from Cary O'Brien. Its totally worth every penny.

Before

After

Day 31

17 Weeks

Each week we take a couple pictures of baby girl, so we can see how she is growing. I do one close up and one full body shot. I think her eyes have turned green or maybe hazel. I am curious if they will stay that way or if they will change to brown. 

 Day 30

Sleepy

Since I took a picture of a sleep fighter, I decided I'd take a picture of baby girl sleeping sweetly. She peeked her eyes open when I snapped the picture. I am trying to un"babyrrito" her at night, so she won't be addicted to it.

 Day 29

Working with Daddy

They were doing some work at Matt's office that filled the place with fumes, so he got to come home to work. Baby girl was just being so cute that Matt decided to have her join him at his desk.

Day 28

Sleep Fighter

Baby daughter usually sleeps well, but on occasion she decides to do some fussing first.

Day 27

Aunt Tracy

Baby girl had some visitors today. One of her Aunts and MawMaw came to visit and brought a bunch of new clothes. She had fun playing and gave some great smiles.

Day 26

Driving her Toys

After the busyness of the past few days, I decided that today we would stick around the house. I think baby girl appreciated it too, because she took at two hour nap this morning. We started the day with some playtime. She was having tons of fun with her driving toy. Its been neat watching learn. She understands playing.

Day 25

Banty Chicks

Today we went to Grandma's house. She just got some new banty chicks that morning in the mail. Yes, they mail chickens. Who knew? Baby girl loved watching them and we loved watching her. 

Grandma also tried giving her a bottle again with a different style. She finally managed to drink a whole ounce. I didn't really want to give her a bottle at first, because its just easier to always breastfeed her. I want to get a haircut soon and I need to go the dentist and I realized that whoever is watching her may need to feed her. Sometimes when it comes to parenting decisions I have to remind myself that there are no trophies. We won't get a reward for never having given our child a bottle. It doesn't mean I love her any less. 

Day 24

Busy Day

Today was a super busy day. We brought dinner to one of my old coworkers who also had a baby. It was so fun getting to see her newborn and it made me a little sad that baby daughter is growing so fast. My friend has had several difficulties since the birth of her child, but has been doing great and is so strong. I am really proud of her.

We also had book club this evening and baby girl got to see more of her friends. We read the 19th Wife. It wasn't my favorite book that we have read, but it was an interesting look into the founding of Mormonism and the current day Firsts.

Day 23

Library

My friend texted me this morning and asked if I wanted to meet up at the library. It seemed like a good reason to get out of the house. Especially on a cold, snowy day like today. Baby girl loved watching her son chew on his Sophie giraffe.

Day 22

Fireplace

One of my favorite things about our house is the fireplace. Its been really cold lately and we had a nice fire. Matt had a nice fire going so we put some blankets on the floor and all cuddled together.

Day 21

Sunday

Baby girl woke up super early again, like 4 am early. Fortunately I got her back to sleep at 5, so we decided to sleep in and go to the 2nd service at church. The best thing about weekends is having Matt at home.

Day 20

Lazy Day

Today we decided to just stay home. This past week was pretty busy, so it was nice to just stay around the house and relax. Baby girl got some time with daddy and had some great play time. She even decided to roll over again. The cutest thing is she has been wanting to taste everything. She opens her mouth to put things in it whenever she can.

Day 19