Half a Year

It happened. 

She's half a year. 

The fastest and most wonderful six months of our lives. 

I am still in disbelief, but I suppose it's time to start facing the reality. 

But I am already planning her birthday, so I suppose I'm not too in denial. 

We thank the Lord, are beyond blessed and filled with joy every day by this sweet little lady.

Of course, as always, this is a bittersweet time.

But we focus on the sweet and it's been lots of fun watching her grow and reach new milestones.

Every day is filled with more personality and bigger smiles. 

Speaking of sweets....

We finished the night with a special little treat.

She wasn't as into her mini cupcake as we expected, she preferred squishing it around in her fingers. And go figure she always has her hands in her mouth and she does great eating other finger foods, but when they were covered in cupcake they maybe made it into her mouth two times! Silly girl! The little bites she did have she enjoyed though!  

We love you, Adalyn Faith! 

Thanks for an amazing first 6 months! 

You Never Know Until You Are

You know the saying "You never know until you try"?

Well, it's true.

Although, sometimes I'd rather not know, never know or just think I am right and therefore there is no need to try. 

Especially when it comes to certain foods!

I feel like being a mom, understanding other moms and valuing and appreciating your mom is something you don't fully understand until you "try"...until you are one. 

This is technically my first Mother's Day. We celebrated a little last year when I was pregnant, but this year being a mom is different. My love for Adalyn now far exceeds the love I had for her in my womb. 

Which was a lot, by the way. 

Through these short, and extremely fast, 5 months that I have been a mom, my own love and appreciation for my mom, my mother in law and my grandmothers has increased. You see them in a different light- a new perspective.

 I am so thankful I am able to experience that. 

All in addition to a new spiritual perspective. A greater understanding of the love that God has for his children. I greater appreciation for the obedience and faith that Abraham had when he was going to sacrifice his son.

 Could I do that?!?! 

A couple days I was going through my baby calendar that my mom had for me. I am so so thankful that she took the time to write each milestone down my first year- at just the young age of 17. I am so thankful that she cared, that she valued those milestones- even the silly ones. 

I am forever grateful that she chose life. 

My life. 

I am thankful for the sacrifices that she made, and I am so thankful for that fact that she also chose joy. She didn't wallow in her new life, she embraced it. 

She noticed the details. 

This time of year I am always reminded and thankful for my Mother-in-law. For her and her husband who did a fantastic job of raising Mr. B. A man who is a hard worker, who values his family, who values the importance of letting me stay home with our child, who is a man after God's heart, who treated me with respect from day one. A man who loves his daughter and prays for her and her heart daily, who always strives to be the best.

 A lot of who he is is because of her. 

Taking the time to love, pray and demonstrate how a godly man should live. 

I am also thankful for the 4 great grandma's that Adalyn has. 

Some near, some far. She is surrounded by so much love. 

{She will be meeting Mr. B's Grandma this summer!}

The sacrifice.

The responsibility.

The balance.

The frustration.

The joy.

The overwhelming unconditional love.

The dependence on the Lord- knowing you can only do so much. 

I am thankful for their validation that I am doing a good job, the encouraging words that I am making them proud, the unexpected gifts "just because", the support, prayers and advice that come when needed. 

I now get the frustration of staying home all day, cleaning, cooking, laundry and child-rearing... only to have it messy again. I understand the need for feedback- for appreciation. To be told "thank you". To be told "You're beautiful", even when you haven't showered and are still wearing your PJs. 

I understand the deep love and the desire for only the best.

 The protection.

 I get it. 

I know as Adalyn grows I will learn more, my love will continue to grow and my understanding and my appreciation will continue to increase with each passing year.

 I am thankful for the opportunity to be a mom and to learn so many things in so many different areas of my life through this one very special "job".

And I am so blessed and so thankful that I never stop learning from the amazing moms in my life. 

Thursday's Thoughts

I am so super proud of Mr. B for finishing his first semester of grad school. Not only with good grades, but on top of being a wonderful l husband, daddy and hard worker to provide for his girls! He has two weeks off and will start a summer semester which will be two nights a week :(  But the summer semester is shorter and this whole MBA thing is for a season in our lives and it's better to do it while Adalyn is still little and we only have one baby!! {I have to keep reminding myself of that from time to time..}

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I finally made a new layout and it's all bright and springy...if only the weather here could reflect that.

This weather is seriously ridiculous. It's really amazing the difference that the sun makes in a day. Rain = lazy, eat everything, bored, PJ day....too many of those make for one scary looking mama. Trust me. 

And btw the phone is lying, it's not sunny right now it's overcast. It must've forgotten what the sun looks like. 

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I don't like how the side bar on the blog is now on the right side. It makes me feel all weird and confused like I'm a lefty or something.

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I know not everyone agrees with letting their babies watch TV, but we do let Adalyn watch a few shows here and there- mostly in the morning when she wakes and at night during her bottle.  Not only does she enjoy it, but I am pretty sure we have the wiggliest worm of them all and it keeps her still, focused on the TV and distracted from everything else that makes her not want to finish her bottle. And at night time I want to fill that tummy as much as I can before bed! Anyways, this week what she was watching really clicked for her and became more than just bright colors. It has been the cutest thing. She loves at the end of Mickey when they do the Hot Dog Dance, but her favorite part is when he shouts "Hot Dog!"- guaranteed smile every time. He shouts it twice and she always smiles, the rest of the song is apparently entertaining, but not as much as that part. 

Her mouth is moving at the end like she's trying to sing along too, ha!

Btw this video was taken this morning and I'm pretty sure over night she turned into a teenager. Ok, maybe not a teenager, but she's not a baby baby anymore. She woke up and she's basically all grown up. Seriously. 

 Sitting up in bed, watching her Mickey, she has a legit neck, longer hair {that happens overnight too} and sucking on her shirt like a big kid.

As she grows, she is becoming a lot more fun and getting more of a personality each day and that makes these spurts slightly acceptable.

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This is usually what tubby time looks like. Both cute and annoying.

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Adalyn seems to be ready for bed lately between 6:30/7, it used to be tubby around 7:15 and bed around 8/8:30. Mr. B doesn't get home from work until 6:30/6:40 so I've been trying hard to keep her up so he can at least give her her bottle and say goodnight. 

But it's not easy!

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The problem with her going to bed so early is she is ready to rock n roll in the middle of the night. This was her last night at 2:30 AM

It's been 7.5 hours of sleep. I get it, but um...go to sleep. 

Mommy has only been sleeping for 3 hours. 

And 4 AM

Thankfully she did what she needed to do and fell back to sleep on her own, but what happened to sleeping through the night?? So we are trying to figure out that new schedule...add in her growth spurt and we have good nights and bad nights.

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I feel like more teeth will be popping soon, although I am not sure where yet. I keep looking, but I don't see any. The only places that are really white are where her molars will be and I don't think girlfriend can be getting those already, right?! I think they are just there, but not coming anytime soon. 

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Roxie sleeping last night.

So classy.

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 I've had instagram for a couple months and never used it because I couldn't really figure it out. It seemed like a lot of work at the time {am I that lazy? yes.} But now pretty much everyone and their mom are using it so I want to too {do I hop on every bandwagon? you betcha.} So I am going to try and start using it, but I don't want to look like I am because everyone else is....but well, that's exactly why I am doing it. So I just want it known that I did have it before it was totally "in" I just was using it, ok? OK. 

Good glad that is cleared up.

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I got the devotional "Jesus Calling" for Christmas and I just love how simple yet profound each one is every day. 
 Highly recommend it!
I thought I would share a little excerpt from today that I found to be encouraging. 
Although I am currently not going through a particularly stressful situation, I have been there and I know I will be there again at some point and this is a great reminder:
"When you start to feel stressed, let those feelings alert you to your need for Me. Thus, your needs become doorways to deep dependence on Me and increasing intimacy between us."

Dates and Dishwashers

A few weeks ago, over April vacation, we got the pleasure of going on a lunch date with Uncle CJ.

I was the driver and he was the treater.

He had a gift card to Quiznos and he searched his room and the house for any extra money. {so cute}

Adalyn was so excited for a special day with Uncle C- she even wore her special Uncle bib!

He had a little over $8 on his Quiznos gift card and I told him that I could just pay for my own lunch and not to worry about it and he said "Well it wouldn't be a date if I didn't pay for your meal."

 So off to the mall we went to have lunch at Quiznos where he used both his gift card and his money.

Since he couldn't buy Adalyn lunch he took her on her first ride instead.

I just love her face in that picture looking at the train- she thought it was the coolest thing.

Then, he surprised us and bought her a cute outfit from Target!

When we got back to the car and I was folding up the stroller, he was standing out there with me and I was wondering why he wasn't getting into the car. Here's why....

What a gentleman! I didn't even tell him to do this! 

Then we walked around Toys R Us for a little and he surprised us again and bought Adalyn a little toy.

And we finished off a date with a Sundae from McDonalds- extra hot fudge, of course!

We had such a great day! He spent every last penny on Adalyn and I and one little toy for himself- and that's the perfect example of the type of boy that he is! It's never hard for him to spend his money on others. CJ has such a good heart and sweet spirit and it was so nice to spend this time with him. We are 11 years apart and between that age gap, being different genders, video games, different houses, and different likes - I am so thankful that I live close enough to make these memories and have the opportunity to go on dates together!

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And now onto dishwashers....we have one in our new place again!

Woohoo! 

No more washing all those dishes and the million and one bottle parts!

But my question is....

What's your favorite detergent??

There are so many different types I'd rather not try them all out to see which one works best. 

Are the little packs any good or a waste of money?

Powdered or liquid?

With Dawn without Dawn?

Do you make your own?

Do you use rinsing agent? I've noticed a big difference with that!

I just bought Cascade Complete with Dawn, but just a little one in case you all could tell me if there is something better out there.

So please let me know!

May Showers Bring...

really

 

cute

flowers.

I know it's typically "April showers", but we are about 2-6 when it comes to sunny days in May!

Yuck!

So it's important that we soak it up while we can!

And when I look at her I am amazed by God and how we are fearfully and wonderfully made, every single detail, in His image.

Weekend Rewind

Today I am linking up with Tami for "Weekend Rewind"

I hope to keep up with recapping the weekends because it's a treat to have Mr. B home with us all day and night. We mix up our schedule a little bit and make some special memories that I don't want to forget. 
Even if it's just hanging around the house or playing outside- it's always nice to be together as a family!


Friday
I am so not a morning person and Adalyn is slowly starting to become one, therefore I am very slowly starting to become one.
For once I was wide awake at 6 ready for her to wake for her bottle and go figure she slept in until 7:30. 
That's just the way it works, huh?
The good thing was she was well rested and happy as can be.

We got dressed into real clothes for the first time in 3 days!
It was still a rainy day, but we had some visiting to do.
We met Mimi & Auntie Ali at Great Grammie & Grampa's house for lunch.
They have been on a 5 week road trip and just returned on Thursday, so there was lots of catching up to do.

And Adalyn has changed so much since the last time they saw her!


We stayed there for a few hours, Auntie Ali came with us and we went to Target to pick up some formula and snacks then we had a little visit at the farm and played with Auntie Julia and Uncle CJ.

Came home had some frozen pizza for dinner and called it a night!


Saturday
The rain had finally stopped, but it was still overcast. 
We woke up, had some breakfast- Adalyn had some toast like Mommy and Daddy, minus the jelly

And by had, I mean attempted to put pieces in her mouth and dropped them along the side of her.


We looked out the window and saw some new neighbors!

{I'm such a nerd because there use to always be two geese walking along the grass, but then for a while there was only one and I felt really bad for it and wondered where the other one went. Seriously. It was a legit concern. So I was so excited when we woke up and saw that the other goose must've been laying on the nest this whole time and they weren't alone after all. Happy day.}


For some reason she didn't end up taking a long morning nap so we hung out in the living room for a while.

Our Saturday Scene.
Mr. B studied for finals, Roxie wished she belonged to a more energetic family, I blogged and Adalyn played.


Adalyn seems to be so hungry lately, 6 month growth spurt I think, so I decided to give her a little bit oatmeal and bananas for lunch before her afternoon nap.

She was a fan.


Thankfully, she took a long afternoon nap! When she woke the weather had warmed up and the sun was shining, we did a quick wardrobe change and we were on our way to the farm to visit other great grandparents that just returned from 3 months in Florida.
Adalyn has changed a lot since the last time they saw her!
We had a nice little visit and pulled out one of her Christmas presents from Mimi and Papa G.

She loved it.
{I know the middle picture is blurry, but use your imagination and pretend it's not and then it's super cute!}
She loved just hanging out and going for a ride and touching everything along the way.
We will definitely be getting something like this for our house, too!


We got back home a little before dinner time and it was so nice out we finally got to go on a family walk! 

Then we had a little impromptu photo shoot.
I have been dying to get some outdoor shots of her since she is sitting up now, but it's been so rainy we haven't been able to.
Plus it's always nice to have an extra hand to help.
So when we walked by the perfect spot-I had to take a few!

 

Sunday
We went to church {worshipped and napped in the mother's room}
Went out for lunch with the fam.

Took a few more picture outside.

Probably our new favorite thing to do!
She loves the grass and being outside and I love taking picture of her. 

I am still in awe that she is ours!


After her afternoon nap, she went grocery shopping with me while Daddy studied a little more.
She sat in the front of the cart for the first time.

She enjoyed looking at everything, but I couldn't get a smile out of her- too distracted!
She did great, but I'm not sure she is quite ready for it because she kept leaning to the side.
I had to hold her hands every once in a while while pushing to keep her straight.


After that, Mr. B grilled some yummy burgers.
Adalyn had a little appetizer of broccoli, kale and cheese puffs and sweet potatoes and turkey {normally I make her food, but decided this dinner would be a tasty treat}

She had tubby time and went right to sleep.

There's not much sweeter than a sleeping baby.


Mr. B and I called it a day and watched a little Friday Night Lights before bed!


I loved our weekend.

Better Late Than Never

Well, I finally did it.

I finished Adalyn's 3 Month Recap. 

Dating back to Feb.21- March 21.

I am so thankful for iPhoto and Facebook to help me remember dates and events.

My memory is nearly gone these days...

So anyways, I don't know if anyone cares to read it.

I write them mostly for myself to look back on.

Sometimes I like to see where other babies are at the same age.

So if you do, I posted it back in time when I really should've written it. 

It gives the illusion that I did it then therefore making me feel a tiny bit better. 

Now to start Month 4 and 5...