Bedtime Routine

We have a bedtime routine! That works! The past two weeks, we've done the exact same thing every night to put Beth to sleep, and every night it seems easier and easier to get her down. The routine comes after much recommendation from friends that it really does help get a baby in the right frame of mind for bed. We've tried it before, but I really think Beth was too young to understand it. Now, she doesn't fight me when I try to rock her (I think I had the only kid in the world who hated to be rocked). The whole routine, from start to sleep, is usually about 45 minutes long.

Her routine is this:
1. Bath (usually about 10-15 minutes of play time)
2. PJs and a rubdown with lotion
3. Reading. Mimi's Toes (about bath and bedtime) and Pat the Bunny.
4. Nurse
5. Rock while saying prayers
6. Drift asleep! I may or may not sing "Rock a bye Bethany..."
7. GENTLY place her in her crib with her mermaid

Usually this results in about 3 hours of blissful quietness around our house. She'll wake up and Ryan will soothe her back to sleep (usually takes 2-3 minutes) and she'll sleep for a few more hours. Whenever she wakes up and we're already in bed, she joins us in bed for the rest of the night. This is what I'd like to change, but it's hard since she's still waking up every few hours... Getting her down is now easy, it's keeping her down that's difficult for us. And it seems like it's something she's going to have to figure out on her own!

The results:

7 months old on 7/27/07

7 is the number of the day. :-)

I really cannot believe how quickly time is passing. It's been 7 months since I was in the hospital...cuddling up next to my new girl. :-) So much has changed! Beth is incredibly interactive now, she's showing emotions and understanding what her feelings mean. She's beginning to throw temper tantrums when she's angry, she giggles when she's amused, and she reaches for Daddy to hold her when he gets home from work. She eats "real" food twice a day, and sometimes has a banana for a snack (yes, a *whole* banana). She's pulling herself up into a kneeling position very well, and still working on crawling. She's beginning to sleep in her crib all night, but still waking up frequently. Her naps are getting better- more predictable and longer. No teeth yet though! It seems in the past 2 months, being her mom has become incredibly rewarding!

Holding her when she's happy makes me want to have a million more just like her. :-) Holding her when she's upset makes me wonder if I could do it even one more time! This is *not* an announcement, but everyone should know that we absolutely love being parents and are excited to do it again, God willing!

I am also now working part time from home! I am doing Business Development for MH1 Web Design, my Uncle's company. It's somewhat challenging but very convenient since I'm able to work as much as I want on my own hours. His website is www.mh1webdesgin.com for anyone who wants to check it out. We offer web design or redesign, hosting, search engine marketing and several other services. If you need a website or know of anyone who does, please pass my contact information on to them!

On a mission

Saturday night was a turning point for our family! After a nice evening where Ryan and I were able to go out and celebrate our anniversary (mmmm Tommy Bahamas...)we came home to a sleeping baby. She of course woke up, and I brought her to bed with us. As she was settling back into sleep, she rolled over- while asleep! And stayed that way! So for those of you that don't know, babies are supposed to sleep on their backs, and rolling over means she could fall out of our bed. Not only that, but when she woke up later to nurse she was completely perpendicular to me. So the little critter became a very active sleeper over the course of one night! We've decided it's probably time now for her to start sleeping in her crib. This is a huge ordeal, since she's been a cosleeper since birth. It's going to be a difficult transition, and we're still not sure how we're going to do it, so please pray for us!

A new mesh-feeder bag thing. Fill it with fruit (or some food) and she can gum it to death. It's great!
A day in the city- Mission Burrito!
Nap? But Mommy I want to practice rolling over!
Feed me more!

A busy week!

We had quite a busy week! Or maybe it just seemed very busy because we just got home from vacation (read: lots of stuff to unpack = giant mess) and Ryan and I were sick. On top of that, our anniversary was Monday so I cooked a nice dinner of Ryan's favorite dish- Meatball Soup. Tuesday morning, the three of us went to the doctor to dish out some money only to be told we have a "virus" and we need to take "sudafed". Yay. Later, Beth and I had a lunch with our playgroup, and later that evening we had some very special company! Ryan's aunt flew in to visit and stopped by with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Ramona and Uncle Josh. This was her first time to meet Beth, and I think everyone had a nice time. :-) Wednesday, Ryan and I weren't feeling much better so we stayed close to home. Thursday night we went to dinner with our neighbors and their two boys, the company was great but the service was pretty bad... It always stinks to go to an expensive place and be less-than impressed. And today, Beth and I went to visit my friend Emily and her daughter Hannah. She and Beth played pretty well, or should I say Hannah toddled about and Beth watched very closely. ;-) It won't be long when they'll be able to actually "play" together though! I look forward to watching these girls grow up together!

Tomorrow (Saturday), Grandma and Grandpa are coming back to our house to babysit Miss Beth so we can go out and celebrate our anniversary. I think we'll have a nice dinner and maybe go to Main Event for some games and drinks! I can't wait!

Unfortunately, despite all the events I didn't get very many good photos. Here's a cute one of Hannah Grace and Bethany Grace:

Happy anniversary to us!

Happy 2 year anniversary to us!

From day 1...
Back 1 year later to celebrate.
Today!

Our first family vacation

On Wednesday we left to go on our first family vacation! We went to Port Aransas for a few days with my side of the family. This was Beth's second encounter with the Gulf, but her first time to play in the water and sand! She really had a fun time in the sand, it's a good thing she can sit up now. The water... Eh... It wasn't her favorite part. This is a tradition for my side of the family and something I look forward to every year, so hopefully Beth will continue to enjoy it more and more every year!
First time in the sand.
She loved digging her fingers in!
Not so much liking the water!
Playing in the shade of the pier.

Dolphin Noises

Beth has been channeling her inner dolphin the past 5 days. Or possibly inner dinosaur. The screeches she has been making were sooooooo cute...the first 3 days! She is so much more chatty and talkative, then that quickly moved to the screeching. I'm trying to get a video of it, but it's hard because once she sees me she stops or change her voice. I did get a short video, but she changed to crying and I'd feel like a horrible mother if I posted a video of my child crying! And speaking of talking, she's really enjoying playing with my old cell phone! Just starting the habit early I suppose.

A lazy week

It's been a lazy week! For the 4th of July, we had some family over to grill some burgers, despite the rain! Ryan got to stay home from work that day, it was nice to have him home for a day in the middle of the week. We shopped (more on that later...). :-) And you know, I don't think I took any photos of Beth's first July 4th! Oops. There wasn't much to photograph! I can tell you that my view of fireworks has changed drastically now that I have a baby. Previously, I was apathetic. Just don't burn my house down. Now, I wanted to run outside and scream at all of our neighbors for popping firecrackers until midnight... I mean, hello!!!! Sleeping baby!!!! Did they wake her up? What do you think?!

Today we had our neighbors over for lunch one more time before they move for good to Oklahoma. I hope we get some new neighbors that have been as sweet as they have been! And that let us come over and use their pool! We're going to miss them a lot!

Right now Beth is cruising around outside with her daddy in her sling. The house is clean and I actually got to nap today (with Beth) so I don't know what to do with myself!

"real" food

First bite!

Hmmm...

Daddy why is she feeding me this junk?!

Sweet potatoes!

She prefers to play with the jar more!

Beth had her first attempt at eating "real" food this past Saturday, although we're not sure if she actually swallowed any of it. She was very eager to get that first bite in her mouth, but after that she preferred to play with the spoon! I mixed some rice cereal with some breastmilk, hoping the familiar taste would help her enjoy it more... Not the case this time! Today (Monday) she tried more cereal and a bit of sweet potatoes. I think she liked the sweet potatoes a little more than the cereal- I think she swallowed half a spoonful. We'll stick with those two things until the end of this week then test another veggie on Friday or Saturday.

More laughing

She loves that dog... Sorry it's shaky, it's hard to film and play with Vegas at the same time! Turn your volume up to hear her laugh.

First Astros game!

Last night we attended an Astros game with my dad. I should say that we randomly chose this game- and it also just happened to be THE game of the year! Craig Biggio hit his 3000th run, and we were there to see it. :-) A big deal for Beth's first baseball game! You might think she is their lucky charm or something! She did very well, considering the game started right at Beth's bedtime! She took a quick snooze but was awake for most of the game and most of the car trip home too, might I add! We had awesome seats, the 17th row behind homeplate, thanks to my dad!



Checking everything out.

The noise was incredible!

6 month stats

Beth is 14 lbs 4.2 oz and 26 inches long. That puts her in the 10-25th percentile for weight and 50 percentile for height. She's our little petite girl! The peditrician isn't concerned with her weight for several reasons- the biggest being genetics! Ryan and I aren't exactly the biggest people in the world, and I was also a small baby. Also, she's going to start solids very soon, and that should put some more meat on her bones!

And to brag on myself for a little bit- I am 6 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight. Thank you breastfeeding and morning walks. :-)

6 MONTHS OLD!!!

Our little girl is 6 months old today!!! She is: sitting up very well, taking 2 naps a day, going to bed around 7 p.m. (sleeping better more often than not), cooing and talking, beginning to learn sign language (bye bye, Vegas [the dog], more, all gone, milk), entertaining herself for up to 30 minutes in her exersaucer or crib, beginning to play in her play yard, continuing to love her sling but getting much better about riding in her stroller, very interested in starting solid food, and growing a little bit of hair. :-) She does not have any teeth yet! Tomorrow is her dr. appointment, so I can update with her height and weight then.

a lazy afternoon

she's so happy!

blue eyes!

beingHUMAN

from an email:

EWTN, the world’s largest Christian broadcasting network, will present beingHuman on Monday, June 25th. The program focuses on everyday, ordinary people that by relying on Christ come to the abortion facilities in prayer and fasting. They come seeking an end to abortion and offering assistance to those going in. It is a call to action for the National 40 Days for Life that will occur across our country this fall.

Promo:


Another promo with Fr. David, the priest that married us (in the church Ryan proposed in. :-)

Home!

Ryan is home for good! Woooooohooooooo!

This week my family was in town. They didn't stay with Beth and me, but we saw them everyday. Bethany Grace is very very loved by her uncles and aunt!

Beth also had her first dip in the pool! Actually the first day we just went to the pool and dipped her toes in- she shrieked because it was so cold. She didn't like being splashed either. A couple of days later she was much more willing to sit down in the water, she had a lot of fun splashing while watching Uncle David and Uncle Alex be complete goofballs.

Today we had a belated father's day celebration at my grandparent's house. They brought my Pops over from the home he lives in (because of Alzheimers) for the afternoon and the house was swarming with family! We grilled some burgers and enjoyed each other's company. It seems Beth enjoys days like this because everyone wants to hold her and tell her how beautiful she is. :-)

She's a sitting-up queen!

Testing the water...

She had such a fun time!

Traveling

Well, Ryan has been on the road training for his new job. He's been gone a lot, but luckily Beth and I have stayed busy. Last week we were spoiled at his parent's house for the whole week, but dumb me forgot to take out the camera even once! I know they had a lot of fun with their favorite granddaughter!

This week Ryan is gone again and Beth and I are hanging out at home. My family is in town though, staying with relatives nearby, so Beth and I will spend most of the week with them. It's been so hard with him gone lately, but I have to count my blessings because this job is going to be wonderful for him. Not only that, but it reminds me of our military who don't see their families for incredible amounts of time! I've developed a new respect for the wives that raise children while the husbands are gone.

Beth is becoming very good at sitting, although not perfect yet. She has rejected the Bumbo seat that we introduced to her a couple of weeks ago, I think she'd rather sit alone and not be constricted. We probably introduced it too late... It's borrowed though, so no money lost!

Please pray for the continued safety of my husband while he travels! We miss him so much!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is my hubby's first father's day! Happy father's day to the best husband around. It's been hard while you've been traveling but it makes me appreciate every little thing you do for me so incredibly much. I hope you and Beth have many many fun, relaxing afternoons on your new hammock. I love you with all of my heart! :-)
From day 1...
...to just a few weeks later.
Your girls loves you!
Happy Father's Day!

Loving her jumparoo

Family Shots

My side of the family, at Jenny's high school grad.
Ryan's side of the family

Our cute little family!
Taking a snooze!







This past week Ryan was gone from Monday night until tonight. Hence why I haven't been online much. :-) Beth has behaved nicely for the most part, although last night she woke up every.single.hour. We've been going for morning walks around the block, at around 7:30 before things heat up. She's been doing so much better in her stroller! It's really made me thankful, and now I'm contemplating buying a jogger stroller, although I'd like to find one used! Tuesday we had a nice day- we visited my old office and chatted with the ladies, shopped in the village (so many cute baby things!), visited Uncle Josh and Uncle Tam, and had a lovely dinner with Nicole. I really enjoyed being in the "city" again, and I was so happy to see all of my old friends!

What we do

This is what we do to entertain everyone in our household at once, when Ryan is gone at work:
Our beautiful lawn (I cut it this time!)

Vegas fetches ball

Beth watches Vegas

Nova wishes he could be part of the fun!