Not so sweet potatoes

So we have officially given Miss O baby food (other than rice cereal).  We gave her stage 1, Earth's Best sweet potatoes.  She was not a fan.  Of course I was on hand with a camera to snap every moment... looking back she did not smile at all.   I have to say... I'm not the biggest fan of sweet potatoes myself.  I enjoy sweet potato fries or the occasional baked sweet potato.. but it is definitely not my favorite choice.  

We have been traveling and trying to catch up on life in general so I apologize for the delay in a new post.  Hopefully once we get in our schedule/routine we can get better on updating this little ole thing. :)  Enjoy pictures. xo

Beach Baby

Last week we had to joy of heading to the beach for a lovely get away with family.  Miss O & I rode down Tuesday and the Mr met us there Friday evening.. we left Sunday afternoon.  It was so lovely to be at the beach... the first time for Miss O & the first time in over a year for myself.  I was going to jump out of my skin if I didn't make it to the beach soon!!!  We got to spend time with so many family members... at one time!!!  Miss O has changed so much!  As of today:
* she can roll herself silly and has started sleeping on her stomach with her bottom up in the air
* she has started saying "ma" and "ba"... ESPECIALLY when she is crying or fussy
* she has 2 bottom teeth coming in. we can see them coming and feel them but they haven't broken through the gums yet
* finally grew out of size 01 shoes
* mainly in 6-month clothes... but she can still get in some 3 month outfits.
* sucking her thumb like crazy- one or both at the same time.  I try to get her back on the paci... tough habit to break if she gets hooked on her thumb! That is always a tough thing for me... it soothes her.
* has started laughing but it is hard to find the exact cue for her.  Her Titi Hilary is winning the contest for getting her to laugh... she has it 3/4 times I think.  It is a sweet little giggle!

Here are some photos from the last week or so. xo

first morning at the beach. rise & shine

loving the ocean breeze and the sights from the porch

enjoying the breeze

hanging out at the house

hard life for this girl

Who wouldn't be happy at the beach?!

happy, happy girl!

wind was taking over... blowing her hat & ruffles!

taking it in... first time seeing the ocean. it was very windy the first day.

sweet baby girl

every morning started like this. wake up.. have a bottle and sit on the porch.

sunshiny day

she takes after her mommy.

also takes after daddy

my little mermaid.

you can see the 2 bottom teeth about the break through... it's been a tough couple of days because of these bad boys!!

Love these days



you just never know what you could see when she is sleeping in her crib.

i love capturing her facial expressions.

the hair is coming back nice and thick. bows beware!!

another fabulous face. where does she get this?!

you are my sunshine.

loves playing and jumping

this thing is supposed to spin and make noise.. however, Miss O uses it to catch all her drool. she can now reach the ground sitting in this thing... growing up!

I love these days of just playing with Miss O. She loves to play and she needs to be constantly entertained or she will get a little upset.  She is fabulous and we love her stinkin guts! She is the apple of our eyes.  How can you not want to give this girl the world?!

We are headed out of town for the rest of the week to catch some rays at the beach- visit with Grandma, Grandpa & GG! Exciting stuff.  xo

SOPHIE JR!!

We have a black cat named Sophie Jr.  We named her Sophie Jr because Original Sophie died after an unfortunate accident with some lilies.  When we got the new cat we couldn't decide on a real name but kept calling her Sophie- so we just named her Sophie Jr.  Well, Miss O is obsessed with Sophie Jr.  When the cat walks by, no matter what Miss O is doing, her attention is immediately drawn to Sophie Jr.   There was one incident where Miss O grabbed a handful of hair off Sophie Jr's back and the cat was pretty traumatized.  She doesn't care too much for children or babies.  So anyway... we were playing and I was calling Sophie to come over and play... the video shows how silly Miss O was about the cat.  She loves the cat. {please ignore the poor quality... the video was captured on my phone!} xo

movin and shakin

Miss O has started rolling and moving and rolling and moving.  Here is just some documentation of her recent movin and shakin! :)
xo

Busy few days

We have had an exciting and very busy past few days.  Miss O & I went to the mountains to visit one set of grandparents, came home for one day and then headed up to Northern Virginia to visit another set of grandparents for 6 days. Of course during that time I had my camera but did not have any battery life so I have no pictures to show for it.  Other people took pictures but I did not.  Miss O has been excited to be home with her daddy and show him all the new things she learned over the last week.  Rolling over and over and over... she just rolls and rolls. It is crazy how different she is after just one week away from home.  I don't have many pictures to show but I do have some I've taken from before and after our trips. xo



How is it possible our baby is 5 months old?!

Reunited after almost a week... so happy to see her daddy!



play time fun

more play time fun

a new teething blanket from great grandparents in VA

trying to bite the blanket and figure out how to get out of the chair. trying the twist

ate up her dinner in 2.5 seconds. she loves rice cereal.

ready for another spoonful

rolling around on the floor..  nothing could be more fun for this girl

recent obsession is her feet. took long enough...

All I Need

This week is VBS for our church and the Mr & I were asked to lead the missions part for the youth.  This task is not as easy as it seems.  We are to come up with ideas for the youth to be involved in some way or another with someone else's life... to sum it up... but to do it from the space of the youth room.  This leaves us with writing cards, drawing things, etc.  I have been praying about ways for God to use our limited time to impact the lives of these children- not just the youth but every child who enters the doors of the church for VBS.  Last night was incredible for me... and it's not because it was all happiness and flowers.  Working with the youth can be daunting because they are at an age where they are trying to figure out life and make friends and fit in.  Last night I met one kid (i say kid but he is going into high school next year) and I was touched by his story, what little he shared with me.  It got me thinking that there are so many people who we meet everyday that we think we have pinned a certain way because of how they look on the outside.  I remember learning in 2nd grade that we "Don't Judge a Book by It's Cover" and although it didn't really make sense to me at the time, it began making more sense as I got older.  A lesson my friend at VBS learned last night...
I was humbled that God would use me for such a small lesson last night with just one person.  Then this morning I was answering the call of civic duty, jury duty.  We gather in one court room for people to look at us, hear what we do and decide if we are good enough to sit before them for a court case.  There were 10 rows of people and not one of us was alike.  One man asked me how I was doing, to which I responded "I'm fabulous, thanks. How are you?" And he said "You can't be fabulous.. you are in jury duty."  I just felt like God had called me to be there that day... I nicely told that man I could be in places a lot worse than where I was and I have to many blessings not to be fabulous.  But as I sat in that room, I began to hear about people in my community.  Their names, their jobs, if they had a spouse and what their spouse did for a living... as many know from being called to jury duty.  So many of us were "unemployed" and my heart broke for a man who said he was unemployed and his wife was a stay at home mom... which meant they had children.  My how we take for granted every little penny we receive at times for our own materialistic needs and desires.  I pray that this gentleman will get a job and be able to take care of his family like I'm sure he wants to.  One thing I've learned, after having a baby, is that men have such a strong desire to lead their families and want to provide but it is so easy for them to get discouraged from one bad comment or an interview with no call back.  Today just went completely opposite of what I anticipated and for that I am thankful.  I have realized that when I stop worrying about my problems, like I always do, I am able to be focused on where God is leading and what God is doing.  When I focus on just HIS will I can truly be the servant he wants me to be... He is all I need. I am so thankful to have a husband who loves me and tells me every day, a baby who is sooo stinking precious I could just eat her up, a church family that prays for me and with me and allows me to serve in the ways that I can and I am thankful for the people I meet along the way...  they all make this possible, the realization that I am always in need of my Savior's love.  I know this was random but I just wanted to share.  I should have new pictures of Miss O soon!! XO