27 Weeks

There is no motivation on earth to get me working quickly like this little 27 week love:

Man do I MISS this little face when she's at daycare.  But being at daycare today means something we are so happy about: she's feeling GOOD again!  Our sweet girl fought the nasty viruses for three weeks+.  What a breath of fresh air for our family to be back to our healthy normal selves again!  Windows have been open and I have bleached/lysoled/steamed the house like crazy!  Good riddance to all germies and bugs.

27 Weeks was an exciting week for you!  Namely:

• Your FIRST TOOTH made its debut!  After 3 months of drooling, gnawing, chewing on everything around, fussing, slight fevers, swollen gums, etc...a tooth appeared on Monday, after a coma-like nap (over 3 hours)!  Since this is a BIG deal, I will note that you were exactly 6 months and 2 days when your first tooth showed up! :)  And might I say, taking photos of your tooth isn't a piece of pie. 
• You are giving us kisses and hugs when you know we will put you down.  Manipulation?  Coincidence?  I don't know, but I think it's ridiculously adorable, and you usually get to stay in our arms for a little while longer.  
• You are learning to be a "big girl" and sleep on your own more.  We are pretty much not fans of crying it out in our family, but last night we started "Sleep Boot Camp".  This means we are going to work on you learning to self-soothe a little more, and fall asleep out of our arms on occasion.  It's tough, but we are going to slowly ease this program into your routine...without letting you cry it out more than a few minutes at a time.
• You are loving blocks and a toothbrush to play with!
• You can't be contained if you are on a "roll" (literally)!
• You caught your first stomach bug this past week.  I don't even think I need to comment on what a cold with the addition of a  stomach bug is like.  :(
• You have been working on "talking" more.  Most of your 'words' are forms of a squeal or a scream, but I love listening to your [loud] stories.  You also make a "huhuh" sound that is sweet and quiet and you vary the tone to it when you are sharing.  Precious sound...and it's even more precious to hear because it is usually right when you wake up in the morning that you talk like this!  I need to record it so I can always hear it!

I wrote the above blog yesterday, but am just now sitting down to post the pictures we took last night on here: :)

 We had a dinner with some Holden Uganda contacts at a gorgeous ranch.  Grey enjoyed her first "rock climbing/hiking" experience. 

 We had a VERY quick "weekly photo shoot" since we were on our way out the door to the ranch!

And while I'm posting, why not two from this morning:

Morning stretches start a rainy day off right!

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.  Matthew 5:9

6 months!

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  John 10:10b

Today marks 1/2 year that we have been getting to know our little princess!  What an abundant 6 months!!

The "1/2 Year Birthday Girl" was feeling a little sluggish today, and her photos have red eyes, but I am so happy she was in a good mood for them despite our lingering cold/allergies.  :)

Momma quickly decided that 'grey bear' was too tempting for us, so we had to move.  Such a busy 6 month old!

New location...but still the size comparison. 

PURE JOY

Since it was her 1/2 year birthday, the day wouldn't be complete without a couple gifts from Momma.  I had it in my mind on the day that she was born that I would buy her this toy for her 6 month birthday (random, I know, but some friends' babies loved it, so I was set on it!)...so we loaded up and went to Wal-Mart in search of our gift.  

It proved to be quite a success!  Score!

I didn't have it in my mind that my teeny tiny newborn 6 month old would be excited about ice water and drinking from our cups already, but such is the case.  Thus Grey also received two sippy cups as gifts today.  She was thoroughly spoiled. :)  

I thought I would have to "teach" her how to use a sippy, or that today would just be practice, but she drank every ounce right down.

"Momma, bottles are for babies.  I am a big girl." 

[Disclaimer: she does not drink water very often, and obviously still drinks her breastmilk/formula from a bottle!  Don't turn me into CPS!]

At 6 Months You:

• Weigh 14 pounds, although I think you may be less than that.  Only a Momma's eyes and arms can notice the little differences, but I think this cold has made you lose a few ounces.  I may re-weigh you tomorrow.  
• Can sit completely on your own.  
• Love baby food vegetables and ice water.  So far we have tried sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, carrots and peas.  You squeal the most for green beans, so I assume they are your favorite.  You like oatmeal cereal too, but not near as much as your veggies.  You are comical and our "nightly entertainment" when you have devour baby food.  Let's just say you come by a love for food honestly. ;)
• Give kisses and hugs on your own.  Need I add a comment?  Oh my heart.
• Are starting to understand "peek-a-boo" and similar games.  You cover your face and laugh, even if it's not exactly "on cue".  
• Eat about 5 ounces per bottle.  You are very scheduled with your bottles.  Your internal "hunger clock" is as accurate as the atomic clock I think.  3 hours on the dot = need a bottle!
• Wear 6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.
• Are our world.

26 Weeks!

I am in denial that my little newborn will be 6 months old in 2 days!

This week, including today, our sweetie pie has been under the weather.  She has had this cold for almost 3 weeks now, so I am really praying it leaves our house SOON!  Poor girl!  I didn't even attempt to use a real camera for her 26 week photos, since our temperament was a little under the weather.  Here is a sampling (or all) of today's photo shoot:

Oh baby, I'm going to have to take your binky-pac out! :(

Momma, are you sure these weekly photos are important?  Even when I feel icky?

Well, okay then Momma!  For you I'll be sweet!

Right when she smiled, I couldn't hold my phone straight. ;)

Different outfit - after a little nap.

This face is all her lately.  And I love it!

My heart.

Laying in my arms...sometimes we just need to hold our Momma to feel better.

Our cast of characters lately. :/

Grey, at 26 weeks:

• Your favorite thing is ice water.  You drink it like a cat, sticking your tongue in and giggling.  I don't think you are really drinking much, but you think it's awesome.  We let you try some in Brady a couple weekends ago, and you are now a little cup and water bottle thief! :)  If we get a cup or water bottle near you, you grab it and pull it towards your face.  This has proven dangerous with my coffee cup...we are having to be EXTRA careful now!
• You are still battling this nasty cold.  As soon as I am confident you are well, we wake up to lots of coughing and snot.  I am looking forward to a healthy week, although you are super snuggly when you don't feel good.  It just hurts and frustrates me to see you in pain or unhappy.  
• You had your best day at daycare on Tuesday.  Yay!  It made me SO happy to hear from your caregivers that you seemed to enjoy playing more.  I kept you home today since you were very congested and running a slight fever this morning, but I hope on Tuesday next week daycare will continue to be an enjoyable experience for you.
• You are confident in your sitting abilities, and even reach far for stuff when you sit.  Three times you have pulled up to a sit from laying down...at any time I expect you to be able to get into the sitting position on your own. You like sitting so much that you try to sit up in your carseat, and when you feel the restraints you get angry.  :/  I hope this is a passing phase and that you enjoy the ride laying down again!  It'll be a long few months of car rides if not.  
• You are about to be out of size 2 diapers!  We have had some 'messy incidences' recently that are telling me we need to go up a size soon.  I am holding on to each size as long as I can though...so maybe we can make it through the weekend. ;)
• You are able to ride in your umbrella stroller now!  You have always loved walks outside, but now that you can ride like a "big girl", you are especially happy about it.  The fact that it's not 110 degrees out might be a factor in your excitement too.  You are super adorable sitting in your stroller.  (But then again, when are you not super adorable?)
• You cracked us up by laughing for 45 minutes straight this weekend.  I don't know what got you going, but every time I made a funny face or sound you laughed and laughed and laughed.  It was contagious and I felt like I had a workout after laughing so hard with you.  Sweet sweet memory!
• Our scale said you weighed exactly 14 lbs with a diaper and clothes on yesterday!  Today you only had 7 ounces of your bottle total (boo sore throats!), so I am guessing you haven't gained anything today.  Your 6 month appointment is not for another couple of weeks; I bet you'll be close to 15 lbs. by then.

I am sure I will cry on Saturday morning - your 6 month birthday.  Daddy and I talked about how impossible it is that it's been 6 months since we were anxiously awaiting your arrival on bed rest in the hospital.  And how we didn't even know what to expect day-to-day, trying to protect our hearts, trying to remember you are the Lord's and not ours.  And that our faith was tested many times before you were born.  Every day is a beautiful treasure with your happy spirit in our family.  I love you more this minute than last, and that has been the case every minute of your life.  You are so fun to get to know.  You are FULL of personality, and know exactly what to do to make us cater to your every need.  Your expressions are limitless and you seem to understand us very well lately.  We are entirely wrapped around your sweet fingers... they say you can't spoil a baby until they're 6 months old (or maybe that was 5 months?!) ... any ways... we have had too much fun spoiling you, so I think we may be paying for this down the road. ;)  We keep changing that "spoiling month" date to a further month, so I am going to say now that we can't spoil you until you are 7 months.  You are a little beam of happiness and I kind of don't care if you're spoiled.  ;)  Daddy and I keep saying it's because you are so darn cute.  As I think about the last 6 months, I still can't believe this isn't a dream.  I remember celebrating Holden's 6 month birthday in heaven...and how hard it was to accept that I will never be able to celebrate with him in person until we are reunited in heaven.  It feels surreal to get to celebrate each milestone of yours, with you in my arms.  It is a gift to get to be your Mommy.  I hope and pray I never even for a second forget that.  xo

This makes me remember a Scripture that I especially held dear 6 months ago:

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

Relish the charms of the present

24 ... 25 ... and lots of FRIENDS & FAMILY!

I used to think a day late was bad...sorry Grey...this is your 24 week and 25 week blogs together! :)  And a little recap of the first half of September.  September?!  Crazy.  These past two weeks have been a blur.  A wonderful blur, but a blur nonetheless!  Grey has grown up so much these past two weeks that even Daddy noticed all her changes.  She has also experienced many firsts that I will try to remember!

Trudging through two weeks of photos kind of frightens me.  Now I know why I don't let my blogging get behind like this; maybe this post will be limited on photos!  No fear though - we certainly have photos of these past two weeks, they just won't be blogged.

At 24 weeks:

• My favorite:  You met your awesome Uncle Joel, sweet Aunt Charity and precious cousin Hannah for the first time last Thursday (your 24th week birthday)!  You were pretty enamored by Hannah and definitely made it clear to her that you don't know what a personal bubble is during their entire stay.  ;)  There are some pretty cute photos of you reaching for Hannah and her giving you the "please leave me alone face".  I know you two will be such sweet friends growing up!  Cousins are such gifts!  
• You also proved you didn't have any personal space issues when you met your friend Zane your 24th week.  :)  You rolled all the way across the floor to get to him every time we would set you both down.  You LOVE babies, even if your love for them isn't quite as reciprocated.  ;) 
• All the company staying over meant you were a little off your normal schedule, but I think you enjoyed getting to sleep with us while we had the Kohlbachers and Rockeys visit!  We heard no complaints out of you when you were able to snuggle with Daddy in our bed. 
• You teethed a lot this week; complete with drooling and little fevers!  Teething has yet to produce teeth, but they've GOT to be right around the corner, right?
• You have been "happy screaming" a lot.  It cracks us up, and makes me wonder if our voices are too loud?  Where do you get this?
• You are taking formula mixed in your bottles.  This is a big step!  You like to show us how strong-willed you are when it comes to your tastes about breastmilk vs. formula. ;)

At 25 weeks:

• My favorite: You are an official "SITTER"!  Yay for you, sweet girl!  All of a sudden in the last couple of days you have been strong enough to not tumble over!  Daddy didn't believe it, so last night he gently pushed you on all sides to see if you could remain sitting.  And YES you did! :)
• My least favorite: You have your first "cold/sickness".  :( :(  With sickly little guests for two weeks, your body finally succumbed to a cold.  We took you to the doctor yesterday to make sure it wasn't anything more serious than just a cold (yes, I am that mom, who takes her daughter to the doctor for sniffles).  It is just a cold, but it is incredibly sad to hear and see you miserably congested.
• You seem to have a special bond with all toddlers, but especially little boys.  I believe this is a gift from God to my heart.  You always laugh with and reach for 2 year-old boys, so you LOVED your cousin time with Cohen this past weekend.  You and him spent a good 30 minutes  giggling together at lunchtime and share a beautiful bond.  I love it!!  
• You have become obsessed with Henri.  She has not become obsessed with you.  Oh to see you discover animal behavior soon. lol
• Your first "self-inflicted" injury occurred today:  I set you down on a comforter in the middle of the living room floor so that I could do some dishes.  You roll even quicker than I thought, and by the time I placed my hands in the sink I heard a loud "bang/thump" - and you drawing in your breath to let out a huge scream.  You had rolled off the comforter and right into a coffee table leg within 1 minute of me setting you down.  I felt awful!  So sorry precious girl! :'(
• Speaking of injuries, you have also experienced your first diaper rash ever this week.  It was short-lived (thank goodness), and we are blaming it on trying carrots for the first time.
• You are beyond blessed to get two REAL PROFESSIONAL photo shoots this week!  Shuffield Photography (we have yet to come up with a name for you to call Tisha and JJ, although you say "Nana" a lot, and I am sure you mean Tisha by it) was incredibly generous to take our family photos with Joel and Charys' families this weekend!  Aunt Charity with Rockey Photography also snapped some adorable photos of you while she babysat you on Monday!  Check this cutie patootie out: 

I am very excited to see all the photos from the Shuffields and Charity.  This past week of having Joel's family fly in from California was so very special.  Having my sister and brother's families here, all together, was a blessing indeed.  Holden and Grey have amazing cousins, and I hope that Grey will be close to them her whole life.  Grey and Hannah were both under the weather during the Shuffield's photo shoot, but since Tisha and Jimmy Jim are the BEST at what they do, I have no doubts that they captured a few great ones in spite of how out of sorts the babies were. (By "out of sorts" I mean Grey had her biggest breakdown to date!) ;)  It was a dream of mine to get our three families together for a photo shoot after these past ten years...

We are trying to get back into the swing of 'normal' life today.  The laundry stack has finally disappeared, bathrooms and bedrooms are cleaned, and we are working on battling this nasty cold. :(  The weather is rainy and perfect for extra snuggles.  These past two weeks were filled to the brim with friends, Ugandan visits, family, long talks over coffee and delicious food, making new and remembering old memories, lots of laughs, our first MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) ministry of the year (I am stoked that this awesome ministry exists in Snyder!), birthday parties, etc etc etc.  I should probably blog all the photos, but that will have to be for another day.  My little [25 week old] love is needing me.  God is so good.  SO GOOD.

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  How precious to me are your thoughts, God!  How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand - when I awake, I am still with you.  Psalm 139:16-18