Bouncer Fun

I was holding out on buying Lila a bouncer because (1) They are expensive and (2) She has PLENTY of other toys to play with around the house, including a walker to use to help her with her motor skills. However, she couldn't get enough of the Fisher Price bouncer that my mom had for her at their house when we visited last week. When we got back home, I decided to break down and buy her one, the same cute ocean bouncer that my mom had for her. She doesn't quite touch the ground all the way yet (even with it on it's lowest setting), so we had to put a pillow underneath so that she could actually bounce. I've got to add this to the list of baby things that we are LOVING these days!

 Loving Life in her bouncer

All bounced out! So sleepy!

Volume Control

Lila has yet to learn volume control...Actually, I think it's just the opposite. She has learned that her favorite volumes are LOUD and LOUDER. It's all funny and cute when were at our house, but not so much when we're in the grocery store, out to dinner, or really any place that we go in public. She wants everyone to know that Miss Thang is in the building!

Mesh Feeder

So I've seen these mesh baby feeders in stores and in pictures, but they always looked so silly to me, not sure why. But, Lila loves food so much that I decided to buy one to see how she'd like it. She loves bananas, so I put a banana in there and let her have at it. She made some curious ans sour faces at the beginning like she wasn't sure what the contraption was, but I am thinking it might also have been because the bananas I used aren't quite as ripe as the bananas used in the baby food jars. I love my bananas on the greener side of yellow, so I might should have waited a bit before giving those to her, but she seemed to get over the bitterness of them and had fun exploring the mush that they made in her mouth and fingers. I put some fruit in the freezer so that tomorrow she can bite down and suck on the frozen fruit. I'm hoping it will help her teeth feel a little better!

 Is this what I'm supposed to do?

What is this?? 

I don't think I like this very much! 

Maybe it's not so bad! 

MMMmmmm Yummy! 

Busy trip to Atlanta

Lila and I got back to our Texas home last night after being in Atlanta visiting friends and family for a week. We started the week off with a birthday party for one of my best friend's little girl, Presleigh. She was so funny with her smash cake, and she loved playing with Lila. 

Thursday, Lila got to see her Great Papa, Great Grandmother, Mamu, and Big Pop at lunch. We had a good visit and great food! Friday, Lila and I both started getting a cold that lasted us the rest of the trip. Poor thing didn't sleep very well the whole time we were there, but we both feel much better now, and she's back to sleeping her 9 hours at night. We spent Friday afternoon at my grandmama's house in Stone Mountain, and had a huge lunch at a local restaurant there. My grandmama loves to order appetizers, and she ordered 4 for the table...there were only 3 adults eating! It was so delicious, and we were stuffed to say the least! My grandmama got to hold Lila for a long while, and Lila loved feeling her face (she loves to touch faces!)

Saturday we both weren't feeling well so we took it easy and relaxed around my parent's house. My friend, Lauren, got married that evening, so Lila stayed with her Grammy while I went to the wedding. Sunday, we had Lila's 6-month portraits done by Laura Negri at a park in Atlanta. She was pretty sleepy for the first half of the session, and then gave some good smiles towards the end. I can't wait to see how they turn out! Monday, my friend and college roommate, Rachel stopped by my parent's house to visit.  Lila fell asleep in her arms as we were talking (which she NEVER does). She loves her Auntie Rachel! We took her to eat at a Mexican restaurant and devoured our weight in cheese dip (love the white cheese-all we have is yellow Tex-Mex cheese here in Texas). That evening, we met Lila's Mamu, Big Pop, and Josh's cousins, Bill and Vickie, down at the Cheesecake Factory at Perimeter Mall. The Cheesecake Factory is my favorite restaurant, so of course the food was delicious, and it was so good to see Lila's other grandparents once more before we headed back to Texas. 

Lila spent most of the day on Tuesday with her Grammy while I had a dentist appointment (boo!). After that, we met her granddaddy at my other favorite restaurant, Thai Spice, at the Forum. I have to make all of the favorite restaurant runs when I'm in town! We had a great visit in Atlanta, despite being sick, and look forward to coming back in a few weeks so that we can make a trip to Auburn for the weekend! 

Half-a-year old! *February 3-August 3*

Happy half-birthday to my baby girl!!! Lila is six months old today! She has grown and changed so much in these last six months, and we've loved every minute of watching her learn new things and become more and more independent each day. 


You are a little over 25 inches long (25%), and you weigh 15 pounds and 13 ounces (50%)-I will apologize in advance for your height issues, being only 60 inches myself! Your head is 17 inches around. Your doctor's appointment was yesterday, and she said that you are just perfect and developing right on track.  You took your shots like a champ, only crying for a few seconds, and not very loud at that. Those are definitely harder on me than you!


Here's what's going on in your world at 6-months old:


*You are sitting up really well now. Your balance is becoming much better, and you can catch yourself when you are starting to lean over when you are sitting. 


*You're finally sleeping a consistent 8-10 hours a night, going to bed at 9 and waking up usually around 6 a.m. Thankfully, you still fit in your swing, and that's where you go from 6 a.m. until around 8 or 9 when you wake up for the last time (buys me a couple more hours!).


*You love grabbing at things. You love to pull on the bugs that dangle from your car seat, as well as the animals on your bouncy seat. You also love to reach for anything that lights up, cell phones, toys, etc.


*Can take your pacifier out of your mouth, and you love to hold it and chew on it. 


*You still love to stand up, and you do a pretty good job of standing up alone when holding onto something. 


*You love to make noises with your mouth. You are also getting good at making consonant sounds. The 'd' and 'g' sounds are your favorites. You will most likely say "dada" first, and I'm okay with that :-)


*You are eating solid foods twice a day (around 1p.m. and again around 7:30 p.m.). We mix rice cereal with breastmilk and then mix in a combination of either bananas, apples, pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, peas, squash, plums, or green beans. So far bananas, apples, and sweet potatoes are your favorite. You are still nursing every 3-4 hours, and when given a bottle, you drink between 5 and 8 ounces at a time. 


*You love to roll, and somehow roll yourself in a circle all the way around in your play mat with walls.  You want to crawl so badly, but just can't figure it out. You scoot like a little inchworm across your play mat on occasion. 


*You love to be tickled, and you think that belly kisses are the funniest thing in the world. 


*When you get tired, you love to climb whoever is holding you. You also get very squirmy and will arch your back and wiggle all over the place. 


*You recognize our faces by big smiles, and get slightly upset when we are out-of-sight. I really hope it's not early separation anxiety, but rather just boredom of being by yourself?? We shall see!   

Here are some comparison pictures to show how much she's grown and changed (although she still looks pretty similar to how she did on her birth day!)

Sweet Lila faces (birth day in the hospital versus present day-six months old)

Chubby baby out of her bath

She's almost grown out of her whale tub now! I'm glad she likes her baths much more now also!

She's almost too big for her pink bouncy seat now.

She takes up so much more room now on her pink play mat. 

That belly has gotten much bigger! Thankfully, mine has shrunk :-)

Daddy wishes she still slept all day on his chest!

She still loves to stick out her tongue (in the hospital versus six months old)

I can't believe that she is already halfway to a year! We are enjoying our precious Lila so much! She is such a good, happy baby and we are so lucky that she is our daughter!!! 

Stupid Oil Spill

As if this oil spill hasn't caused enough problems, it's now uprooted Josh's entire boat for two weeks to check out the clean-up efforts. Every news station around town is talking about how the oil-cleaning efforts are working and that there is hardly any oil left in the gulf. However, the Coast Guard still thinks it's a great idea to send Josh's boat, the cutter Skipjack, to attend to the crisis and make sure that the clean-ups are still being conducted and that all of the correct safety precautions are being done. He's gone for 16 days minimum; however, he told me that they may get called in to stay longer. UGH! Oh well, I have lots of activities planned for Lila and me while he's gone. We're also traveling to Atlanta for my friend's daughter's first birthday party, a good friend's wedding, and Lila's sixth-month portraits. I'm really looking forward to the visit in Atlanta, but I'm not looking forward to getting through security with the stroller and our bags by myself! God doesn't give us more than we can handle, so I think I'll be just fine! I know that Josh is doing something positive by going over there, it's just frustrating to think that idiot humans caused this environmental crisis which has effected so many other areas of life for many people and animals.  It makes me sad to see what we have done, and continue to do, to our environment. I just hope that Lila's children have clean air to breathe and clean water to swim in! ...And that's my environmental sermon for this beautiful Sunday!

Two Years Ago Today...

...I married my best friend! July 26, 2008 was, by far, the best day of my life (tied with February 3, 2010 of course! Love my baby girl!). The ceremony was at the beautiful Peachtree Road United Methodist Church at 2 o'clock. It was such a beautiful and special ceremony! My grandfather was even able to sing at the wedding which was such a blessing. Not a lot of girls can have their grandfather sing at their weddings! My childhood preacher was able to take part in the ceremony as well, which was so special. He even writes us a letter each year around our anniversary. He's such a sweet man! Luckily, we were inside most of the day, because I heard it was a hot one. Even though we took some pictures outside, I never felt hot, just excited and happy! The reception was at the Atlanta Athletic club and was so much fun! It was the one time in our life that everyone that we love and care about were in one place together with us! I keep asking my dad if we can throw another party like that, but he just doesn't go for the idea! 

Today is our two-year anniversary, and the traditional present is supposed to be cotton or straw, so I'm guessing we need to go shopping for some clothes, even though we always just end up buying Lila clothes instead of clothes for ourselves. Her outfits are just so darn cute to resist! Our day this year falls on a Monday, which isn't all that exciting, and since Josh has to work today, we are just going to go out to dinner (no cruise planned for this year...bummer!). Josh wants to bring Lila along with us to dinner since he didn't see her all day Sunday or while he was at work today. They are so obsessed with each other, it's just the cutest thing!

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive husband, who is also an amazing father! We have such a great time together, and I cherish everyday we spend with each other! Happy Anniversary, Josh! Love you!

Life in Texas so far

We've been in Texas now for a month now, and, to tell you the truth, it feels just like Florida. It's hot, humid, and rainy on most afternoons. If you don't like the weather here (or in Florida), just wait 30 minutes, and you will have something different! The heat hasn't been quite as intense as I'd prepared myself for; however, I don't have to work outside in it like Josh does! I also think that living in Florida prepared me for the heat. 

Lila's new roommate...didn't have to deal with these creatures in Florida!

We've been enjoying ourselves, getting the final touches finished on our house (Josh is glad that all the pictures are finally hung), meeting new friends, and trying to find a church home. Josh is getting used to his new job in the Coast Guard cutter, Skipjack and is getting all of his qualifications signed off on so that he doesn't have to stand duty on the boat every third day anymore. When they are in port he currently has to work a normal 8am-4pm workday in addition to standing duty (which is staying the night on the boat to make sure it doesn't sink) every three days. After he is "broken in," he only has to stand duty every 6 days, which will be so much nicer! I feel like he has had to work so much in the last three weeks! They also have to get underway one-two weeks out of the month and are on a recall status, which means if they get home after being at work for 8 hours, they might be recalled back to the boat to go off-shore again. When he first told me this, I thought, "yeah right, how often is that going to happen??" Well, let me tell you, A LOT! The first week that he started work, he got recalled at 10 o'clock at night! UGH! Try planning anything when your husband's schedule is like that! 


I'm sorry, I'm finished complaining about my husband's job! I know every wife and mother gets frustrated with her husband's job. If I had it my way, he would only work 2-3 hours per week and still get paid the same! Doesn't work like that though :-( 

Ready for a day at the beach

After being home alone with Lila for two weeks with a husband who has to work all the time, I decided to join several different mom's groups to meet some new moms in the area. So far, I'm younger than most of the moms, but I could care less. They are adults, and can actually converse with me using real words (not that I don't love Lila's "googoo's", "gaagaa's", "daadaa's," etc)! 


With the mom's group, Lila and I went to Moody Gardens in Galveston. It is a really neat place with different attractions located in the same area. There is a water park, aquarium, IMAX theatre, and a beach/splash pad area. I met a couple moms at the Palm Beach area which has a pool designed to look like a beach, as well as sand, beach chair, and fountains.  Lila had so much fun watching the big kids dig in the sand and make sandcastles. She also had a great time playing in the sand herself. She would pick up big clumps and throw it or drop it, and she even tried to eat it. She is such a beach baby and loves every minute of being in the water or playing with the sand. 

Loving life at Moody Gardens

Josh finally has a whole weekend off (even though its Friday-Saturday, and has duty again on Sunday) so we are excited to spend time as a family. We are going over to one of his new co-workers houses for a cookout on Saturday. Their family just had a baby girl a few weeks ago, so I'm excited to meet them! 

Silly face to leave you with

Sunday Thoughts

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.


Ephesians 2:10


This was the verse used as the basis for the sermon today in church, and it really spoke to me. Josh and I moved to Texas about three weeks ago and have been struggling to find a church home. We came from an AWESOME church, Niceville United Methodist, and it has been really hard finding something that even remotely compares to it. The first two churches we attended were very small and didn't have many young people our age. And sadly, Josh had to work this morning, so I had to attend church, League City United Methodist, this morning alone, which I don't mind doing. It's just that I really enjoyed this church, and I wish that Josh was able to worship with me here this morning. 


We had driven by this church when we first moved to the area, and it looked really old so we were hesitant to try it (I know that's ridiculous, but we're products of the mega-church generation). Anyways, I decided to try it this morning, and I'm so glad I did. 


The pastor is a young guy, probably in his 40's, and is full of energy! He just got there in June, so he is new to the rest of the congregation as well, and everyone really seems to like him. But, going back to the verse at the top, the first phrase, "For we are God's masterpiece," spoke to me in two different ways. First, because I was putting all of the pictures that we took of Lila in the hospital when she was born in an album yesterday.  I was reminiscing of her birth and what a wonderful experience and blessing that day was. Every time I look at her I am amazed at how awesome God is and how He can create such perfect humans in His image. She truly is a masterpiece, as we all are! The second way it spoke to me was also the central them in the pastor's message today: none of us are perfect, and none of us see ourselves as perfect. But, "God doesn't make junk!" Of course there are many things about ourselves that we want to change, but we need not compare ourselves to others. We ,instead, should compare ourselves to God. Magazines (I do love my US Weekly, People, and In Touch) and television create a "perfect" image that many people strive to be, which in reality, God wants us to look more like him (by the things we do, not in our physical appearance), not an actor or actress on the screen or in a magazine! We are His masterpieces, and we should aim to be closer like Him by doing good deeds and serving Him as He has mapped out for us. 


Love yourselves, for you are God's masterpiece! And remember, God doesn't make junk! :-) Have a great Sunday!

Videos of our life lately

Daddy and Lila taking a nap together one afternoon:

Lila discovering her wrist rattle:

Lila's First Time Eating Peas (I don't think we can add them to the list of her favorite foods):