Last Saturday, October 20th, our little peanut became 5 months old. Apparently October was a month of firsts. I have a strong feeling that from here on out, we will begin flying fast with development.
Lydia,
Here are a few things that have happened just this month.
You began rolling over. From your back to your belly. You pretty much hate tummy time, so once you get on your belly, you scream. What babies do when they are awake, they usually do during their active time of sleep as well. This meant we had to transition you out of the swaddle, because it was now a safety issue. That was tough. Nonnie was over on night two of that, and she was not a happy camper as you were crying, but we knew you were ok. You just had to get used to falling asleep without being swaddled. Sorry, Nonnie!
You finally fit into shoes. Let the fashion begin!
You are sitting in a bumbo chair. Your neck still isn't super strong, so we don't let you sit there long. Because you hate tummy time, this is a good time to exercise your neck a little, though.
You are finally willing to take a different pacifier. Your dad thinks these are cuter. You found your fingers and suck on them as well. It's fun to see you watch your hands and feet. You are amazed that you can control those things! You are also becoming a champ at nursing.
**side note for the nursing moms out there. I had to have her on a shield at first, but she is starting to get the hang of things without it now, so there is hope for those moms of preemie babies who learn to eat from a bottle in the beginning! Just don't give up and surround yourself with supportive friends!
Thanks to your Uncle Paul and Mrs. AmERICA, you wore your first costume.
**We are not huge fans of Halloween and dressing up, but you have to admit, she is one cute zebra.
Enjoy some more photos from this month.
This past weekend and even in to this week has been non stop. Last week, Kirk was out of town at R12 (the Resurgence conference) in California. This was the first time that he has been away since we had Lydia, so she and I missed him terribly. In fact, here's the first of many photos in this post. She has been ALL about him since he got back.
Once he got back into town, we all hit the ground running. Saturday our community group at Gospel Community Church helped serve the neighborhood that Kirk, Lydia, and I live in. They are trying to raise money to renovate the pool. As a church family, we long to serve people and share Jesus within our city whenever we can, this was a great opportunity for that. We had a blast and helped them raise close to $4,000.00.
We left from there to go and celebrate our nephew, Conner's, birthday. Can I just say that it finally hit me this year that he is no longer a "baby?" He is 7 going on 17. I mean, the clothes at Babies R Us don't fit him! I was only able to get a toy from there now that they combined that store with Toys R Us. I had to go to Target to get the boy some clothes from the boys' section. He and Brenna have a new baby sister on the way. We can't wait to meet Cora!!! So they are having some practice loving on Lydia and I sort of love it! To see their faces light up around her is too sweet!!
There are some more pictures from this weekend, but I will wait and share them in my next post which will be Lydia's 5 month post. She has had a lot of firsts this month and I was able to catch a lot of them with the camera. 5 months? Really? Someone help me hold my eyelids open so I don't blink!!
Linking up again with Nicole for the first day post!
Mondays are always our fundays, because they are family/date days. We cherish this day of the week! Sometimes we get out and find fun things to do, but yesterday was rainy. So for most of the day, we just laid in our pjs on the couch.
This past week was my mom's birthday, and so we had a small get together at my grandparents' house last night to celebrate. There are always fun stories to share when we leave there. For instance, my grandmother always puts up her Christmas tree early because it takes awhile to decorate, and because it is MASSIVE! The men always have to help them bring it up from their basement, so that was fun!
Enjoy our first day this month!
Our gal was 4 months on September 20th. Now that Lydia is here, I realize how much happens in what seems like such a short period of time.
This month, Lydia, you have grown out of your newborn clothes. Bring on the 0-3month sizes! You have been sleeping thru the night. Dad and I thank you for that. You are also picking out your own nap schedule. I tried to put you on what I thought would be best, time wise, and you just figured it out for yourself. I have cut out all dairy foods, which has seemed to help your belly aches calm down a bit. You're welcome! You still get the gas, but it's easier for you to get it out of your little system. This makes us all happier. You are much more alert, which means more smiles and coos. Granny sang to you and said you guys had a moment. She said it was almost as if you wanted to sing along with her. That will happen one day soon! I bet that was a sweet moment with her! Bath time is probably your favorite time of day. You can be having a melt down, but once you hit the water, all is calm in our house. You are also a fan of dad reading to you. We are about halfway thru the Jesus Storybook Bible. This book has been great because it goes thru each story in the Bible and points everything to Jesus. It's a family favorite!
We love watching you grow. You make our life sweeter and we thank God that He blessed us with you.
Another month's worth of pictures...
Ok. Confession time. I am TERRIBLE at crafts. My close friends are crafty. Most of Kirk's family has artistic talent. Why can't I have that? I mean, if you give me an idea I may be able to follow through with it, but to be able to envision the idea on my own and see it in my mind before it's done?! Ha! I wish! I know you are thinking, "you're a hairstylist, that is artistic." Yes, but that is all I got! And majority of the time, people bring in pictures for me to replicate, in a sense. I do, however, love it when my creative side does show while working with people's hair! I instantly become confident in my small artistic side. Shannon is one of my best friends. She is also a "crafty friend." She and her husband were the couple that opened their townhouse to us while Lydia was in the NICU. They live 5 minutes from Piedmont Hospital. The good kind of folks, those two! Wednesday, Lydia and I headed up to see her in Atlanta. She took us to a place to paint, called All Fired Up. To be honest, I was not really pumped about it, at first (sorry, Shannon). We got there and she told me to pick out something for us to paint. I picked a plate. She instantly got a big, cheesy grin on her face and said she had been thinking of a design for the last few days. If you know Shannon, you know the exact grin I am talking about. Her shoulders move up and the grin is across her face. Gives me joy! We began the painting process. It involved tape, tiles, paint, brushes, sponges, and Lydia's feet. I gotta say, my first impression was way off. I LOVED it!!! It was therapeutic. It was a week day, so only like 2 other ladies were there. It was quiet. Shannon and I had a chance to catch up and just sit for awhile. And our plate turned out to be awesome! Thank you, Shannon, for being a friend who forces me out of my comfort zone. I am thankful for you and love you very much. Lydia, she is the one who wrote you the sweet letter right after you were born. She loves you very much and I am pretty certain you will want to spend a ton of time with her as you grow up.
We love you, Shannon!
