7 months: little love letters

Hadley Ruth,

You're getting so big and I'm loving every minute of it. Most Mommy's start to get sad when they realize their baby is growing up and moving towards a new "stage" in life, but not me! I love watching you change and watching your little personality develop. You're so independent and nosey. You like to do things on your own and make sure you don't miss a beat. You are so active and keep me and Daddy on our toes! We love you so much little girl.

-Growth: You didn't have a well-child check up this month. You won't have another one until you're 9 mo.
*You are weighing 16 lb. 5 oz.
*You are still wearing 3-6 months clothes and the occassional 0-3 months.
-Eating
*You are eating only about 3 bottles a day now.
*You are really starting to enjoy more foods. You don't really enjoy fruits as much as you do veggies.
*We introduced you to Strawberry / Apple "Little Puffs." You love them!! You're still working on your fine motor skills of being able to pick them up between your index finger and thumb. You're getting there.

-Sleeping:
*You start winding down at night and get ready for bed about 8 pm. You usually sleep until 8:30 am the next morning.
*You usually take a small morning nap in your swing.
*You like to take your longer afternoon nap about 1 pm or 2 pm.

-Developments:
*You are officially saying "bye bye." You said it for the first time on Jan. 11, 2011 and you haven't stopped since :)
*You are sitting up on your own now too.
*You're still crawling (your own version) really well. You're getting up on your hands and knees and rocking more often. I think it's a matter of gaining enough strength for you to crawl on your hands and knees.

-Play time:
*Your favorite toys right now are your stack of rings (particularly the blue ring) and the rattle phone that goes to your toy table.
*You mostly say "bye bye" while your are playing. You crawl around and play with toys and say "bye bye bye bye bye" all day long.

-Events:
*You had your first trip to the doctor this month for being "sick." You've had a cough for about a month. We wanted to take you in to get checked out and make sure it was nothing. Luckily, you are just fine and it's just a little cough. So thankful for your health!

-Funny / Cute Moments:
*Since you've started crawling well, you are getting pretty fast. You are so ornery. You like to explore the entire house. When you see me coming to get you from somewhere you shouldn't be you take off even faster and laugh. You're such a stinker!
*One night, Daddy gave you a bath and was rocking you to put you to bed. He rocked and rocked and rocked. He tried to put you to bed for thirty minutes. All you did was scream the entire time. He gave up and just laid you down hoping you would just go to sleep on your own, thinking maybe you were just restless. Well, you didn't. You stayed awake and played. He went back in there and tried to rock you again. And again, you cried and cried and cried. Daddy insisted you were looking for me. I came in, sat in the rocking chair, and he handed you to me. The minute you hit my arms you were OUT LIKE A LIGHT! Apparently, only Mommy is allowed to put you to sleep. Daddy thinks its because I hold you differently and I sing to you. I loved this and thought it was adorable. You made me feel so special and happy. I don't think Daddy would agree that the crying fits were as cute as I think they were!

I'll love you forever and ever. I promise, baby!

Love,

Mommy

Resolutions

I know I'm way behind on posting about my New Year's resolutions. I think that mostly is because I had not a clue what my resolutions were going to be this year. And by this year I mean ever ;) I never make New Year's resolutions. I don't really have a reason as to why I don't, I just never have before. I thought I'd "give it a go" this year.

When thinking about resolutions I Googled synonyms for the word resolution. This is what Thesaurus.com tells me: (the ones that stuck out to me, at least) Resolution - aim, boldness, declaration, fixed purpose, intent, stubbornness, & willpower.

I decided that I wanted to have a few resolutions this year - for myself. I want to have realistic expectations. I know a lot of people make resolutions and then fail at them on January 3 and they give up from there. I think that's the "mindset" of all resolutions. Maybe that's the way of thinking attached to the word resolution itself - "do well everyday or fail and give up"???

So here are a few of my goals.

1)Be healthier.
This goal encompasses a couple different things. My aim is to start making healthier decisions with food and working out. Such as, I'd like to drink less pop and more water. I think it is unrealistic for me to say I'm going to stop drinking pop because I don't see that happening :) My real goal is to start a couch to 5k program and become a runner. If you know me well then you know I've always desired to be a runner. But the truth of the matter is I'd rather pull each of the hairs on my head out one by one. I hate running. But now that I've had a baby - I need to be healthier. I don't want to say I want to lose X amount of weight in 2012. I just want my goal to be to be healthier than I currently am now.

2) Read my Bible more often.
I've never been good at this one. It's terrible of me to say but at least I can admit it. I even have a Bible for Hadley laying out thinking I'll read her a story every day, but I even forget to do that. I need to just start making it a part of our morning routine.

3) Blog more often.
I want to blog more often because I feel better when I do. I feel like things I've been thinking or things that have been bothering me are suddenly gone. Everyone needs some sort of a escape or release. Some people's escape is exercise. Some people's escape is working / their job. Mine seems to be writing things down. I always feel clear headed when I press "Publish Post."

4) Clean some part of the house at least once a day.
I'm a messy person. No surprise there! I get things out and I don't put them away. When I change clothes I throw the others on the floor. When I take off my shoes I leave them wherever I take them off all over the house. It's a problem - REALLY! I need to get this under control. My house would be neater on a daily basis if I would just put stuff away :)

5) Fold & put away laundry daily so it doesn't pile up.
Laundry! UGH! Laundry is the biggest thorn in my side. I despise it. I despise it so much so that I won't fold or put it away for weeks days. Yes, I am admitting this on the WORLD WIDE WEB! My problem with household chores is anything that is a multi-step-process. Laundry is a FOUR-step-process. You have to wash the clothes. You have to switch the clothes to the dryer. You have to fold the clothes. Then you have to put the clothes away!! And you have lost your ever lovin' mind if you think I iron them! I mean COME ON! By the time I actually fold "Gibson clothes mountain" it takes me about two hours or longer to fold it all and put it all away. I'm not even lying. Just thinking about it crawls all over me. My goal this year is to do it little by little. I always tell myself I will fold the clothes as soon as they are dry so they don't pile up. Yeah - never happens! But this year I'm really hoping to change that problem. I can't live like this... LOL!

Well, since this post has now turned more into a confession list than a resolution list - I'm done. Who knows what I'll say at this point!

Hadley's first Christmas - 2011

Holidays are such a whirl wind. They get so busy and then we rush to break down decorations and get the house back into running order. This holiday season in particular seemed extra crazy. So crazy that I just now realized I haven't posted about Hadley's first Christmas!!! How did I miss this? Let's start at the beginning.

We had family pictures done this year to give out as Christmas gifts. We kept them a secret until Christmas, hence why we didn't send out Christmas cards. Please, don't be offended that you didn't get a card this year. We enjoyed getting everyone else's cards, though. Hoping to send them out next year! :)

Lee's grandparents on his Dad's side celebrate Christmas the weekend before (12/17/2011) Christmas every year. They do a big breakfast and the whole family comes over all day. We eat, open gifts, and play dominoes. Well, I don't play dominoes. I don't really understand the game. But everyone else plays, if they want to.

Since Lee's schedule, with Paramedic school, has been completely all over the place he did not get to come to the big family Christmas that Saturday. We planned to RE-celebrate with his grandparents on the following Monday (12/19/2011). This is the day Hadley was able to open her gifts from Nanny and Papa.

Hadley digging into her stocking with Nanny Wanda & Papa Ronnie

Christmas morning was so exciting this year! Hadley was very excited too. She always seems to know when something is "up." That morning I got up and made breakfast. We ate breakfast and right as we finished Hadley woke up. We went to get her from bed and we all came in the living room to open gifts. 

Hadley Christmas morning - 2011

Hadley enjoying her Christmas gifts from Santa Clause, Mommy, & Daddy.

After we opened gifts we got ready for the day. We headed to church for the Christmas service that morning. After church we headed to Lee's parents house. We opened gifts there then we headed next door to his grandparents house for lunch and more gifts. 

Hadley in her Christmas dress - 2011

Hadley opening gifts. This is a baby doll she got that laughs. It's very cute. I'm not sure what she thinks of it.

The next day Lee had to go back to work, but he got off work at a decent time. We went to my grandparent's house to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family that night.

Hadley opening her big gift from Grandma and Punkin - an exersaucer. She isn't too sure about this yet, since she is really into crawling right now.

Lee's Great - Grandmother had her gallbladder removed about three weeks before Christmas. The surgery did not go well. The family was given bad news and everyone played it day by day. Grandmother made it through Christmas, but she ended up passing away Dec. 29, 2011 about 10:30 am. She lived a long, good life. She lived 97 years. Luckily, we were able to go over to a few times to see her and spend time with her before her passing. We got a few pictures of her and Hadley together. What a treasure these pictures will be for Hadley when she is older.

Hadley & Grandmother - 3 weeks before her passing.

 

Slow Cooker BBQ chicken and cheesy bacon potatoes

I found a recipe for slow cooker steak and baked potatoes. I tried it out and it was amazing!! It was so easy and so yummy!!!!

To put it all in the slow cooker you need to either spray cooking spray on the bottom or (like I did) lay a piece of foil on the bottom. Place meat on bottom. Then lay a piece of foil on top of the meat. Then wrap your potatoes in foil and place them on top. Put the lid on and cook ALL DAY on LOW.

The next week I started thinking about the same "concept" of that meal. I replaced the steak with some frozen chicken breasts and added BBQ sauce on top. Same meal - different meat! Also, instead of having baked potatoes, I cooked the potatoes the same, but I made them "chessy bacon potatoes." These are just a little concoction a whipped up one day. They are a mix between potato skins and cheese fries. They are not heart healthy to say the least so I don't make them often. But for the night BBQ chicken and cheesy bacon potatoes were a good splurge that night. Here are a few pictures of that meal.

This is how it should look all piled in the slow cooker.

Lee suggested this BBQ. It's really good!

Fried bacon for the potatoes

After the potatoes are cooked a spread a tiny tiny bit of butter on each half. Then I sprinkle each half with Seasoned Salt.

Add shredded cheese. We like them extra cheesy. Don't judge us!

I said it wasn't heart healthy!!!

Finished product! Soo yummy and so easy since it all basically cooks in the slow cooker.

Expressions of the heart

I've always been a writer of some sorts. By "writer" I don't mean perfect grammar and proper punctuation all the time. Maybe I should say journal-er? Is that even a word? I don't know... 

Anyway, I've always been comfortable writing. While in school, high school or college, I was never the student to complain of a writing assignment or essay of any sorts. It was something I was relatively decent at doing. I was always the nerd that loved essay questions on test because if you didn't know the exact answer you were at least given the opportunity to gain some points by writing what you did know, at the very minimum. 

When I was a Sophomore in high school, my mom became very ill. She was in and out of the hospital for months with phenomena. It never really seemed to go away. To make a really long story short she was diagnosed with Wegener's Granulomatosis. During those months she spent in the hospital my grandma kept a very detailed list of: medication she was given, doctors visits / diagnosis's, questions she had, improvements she made, or the times she got worse. She also kept a separate list of: people who visited, people who called, and people who brought food or gifts.

At some point in time and for whatever reason that I can't even remember now I began compiling and typing my grandma's personal lists into a "journal" to save to the computer. Many months later this journal almost became therapeutic for me. It turned into a place I wrote how I felt about what was going on at that time. It was an outlet I had to myself to express myself without feeling like I was going to hurt someones feelings. About two years later (2006) this personal journal became Fighting the Fight, to Finish the Race. My church decided to publish this book that I had written.

My mom was a big part of our church. She was the Early Childhood Director. She was the one who coordinated Benevolence Fund, which is now called Neighbors in Need. When she passed away there was a big piece of the church that was now gone. The church staff decided we should self-publish my book. They decided to sell the book during the annual Ruth Pope dinner at church and the proceeds would go to Neighbors in Need.

To many people who are "self proclaimed authors," self-publication is no big deal. It's nothing they really strive for in life. But the thing about me is, this is book is too personal. I bear too much of my heart to publicly publish something like this for the world to read. Self publication...to give a book to people who know me or knew my mom was different. It was enough.

Since 2006 I haven't written anything significant. I mean I've written some big time college papers ;) but nothing as raw as Fighting the Fight, to Finish the Race. But I find myself in that same place when blogging. I keep finding myself opening my heart wider and wider the long I blog. But I'm also finding that I feel better when I do. There are days that while Hadley is napping I have a list of 265 million things to do, yet I sit down and just start writing. Honestly, I will sit here for hours. Hours I will read blogs, comment on blogs, write my own, or jot down ideas for other blog posts. But these hours are hours I get to say things I would get to say or probably wouldn't say otherwise.

All of this to say, I'd like to start blogging more. A New Years Resolution perhaps?...Today is Jan. 1, 2012 you know! Maybe if I blogged more often I would spend less hours at one time doing it. I'll try for more, starting today. Even if it is 10:35 pm! :)

2006 - last picture me and my mom had taken together

6 months: little love letters

I'm so behind on your 6 month letter, but that's a pretty good indication of how life has been. I feel like from Thanksgiving to Christmas time has flown by so quickly. You are changing so much every day. Learning new things every day. I feel like I can't keep up with it all.

-Growth: You had your 6 month well-child check up this month.
*You are weighing 15 lbs. 9 oz.
*You are 28 inches long.
*You are in the 100 percentile for height and 38 percentile for weight. The doctor said you "couldn't be more perfectly on the curve of development." Go baby, Go!
*You are wearing a size 3 diaper now.
*You are wearing mostly 3-6 mo size clothes. You wear the occasional 6 mo size.

-Eating:
*You are really starting to enjoy food. Actually, for a few days you refused to take a bottle. I guess you think you're too big for a bottle now? You got over that, thank goodness.
*Foods you eat regularly are: Peas, Broccoli, Carrots, and your absolute favorite - Sweet Potatoes!!
*You take a 6 oz bottle between "meals."
*We introduced you to your sippy cup. You aren't really into it. You would rather drink out of a regular cup. You do pretty well out of a big girl cup so I don't mind letting you drink from one - with assistance of course!

-Sleeping:
*You're still all night long :)
*You take a nap in the afternoon for about 2-3 hours, usually. There isn't a specific time of day you take a nap, though.

-Developments: I feel this this past month you've developed so much.
*You are starting to sit up better. Your little back is getting stronger everyday.
*You sat in a high chair at a restaurant today for the first time. You had some assistance with a coat wrapped around you for a little more support since your little body was so tiny in the chair.
*Just yesterday (12/22/2011) you started crawling. Well, your version of crawling. You get up on your hands and your knees. Then you push off with your feet. You are still a little bit wobbly. But it definitely gets you where you want to go.

-Play Time:
*Now that you are moving you biggest "interest" is exploring the entire house.
*You also enjoy just laying in bed with a few toys - mostly teething toys.
*Your absolute, most favorite "toy" is our dog, Copper. He is big so you can see him at your eye level. You think he is the greatest! When he walks by, or gets close to you, you giggle and kick with excitement!

-Events: Within the past month you've experienced your first Thanksgiving and your first Gibson Christmas.
*This past month we celebrated Thanksgiving with Mommy's side of the family. We were most thankful for you this year, baby girl!
*Thanksgiving was the first time you ate sweet potatoes.

*You're grandparents on Daddy's side has Christmas the weekend before Christmas. We celebrated that this past weekend (12/17/2011). You thought wrapping paper was the greatest thing ever! Since Daddy couldn't be there Saturday we celebrated there again on Monday (12/19/2011). You loved opening all your presents. You get so excited that your little body and hands shake!
*You met Santa Clause for the first time! You weren't too sure about that man. You didn't cry, but you didn't really smile either. Maybe next year?

-Funny/Cute Moments: This past month you've developed quite the little personality.
*You have started playing "Where'd Hadley Go?" (Peek 'a' boo) by yourself. When someone is changing your diaper you always grab a wipe and play while they change your diaper.
*When I carry you in your car seat you have started holding on to your diaper bag or the lanyard on my keys. It's like you're holding on for dear life!
*This month you discovered that people sit in the front seat and you sit in the back. Meaning: You've always heard people talk to you, but you would always just smile and look around. It was like you could hear us, but had no idea where we were. One day you turned around and saw me!
*One day you were playing with my keys. You became interested in the lanyard. Then you started to try and put it around your neck like a necklace to wear around. I don't know where you learned that, but it's pretty cute!
*You do this thing where you lean into someone slowly and touch them forehead to forehead. You do this with everyone, BUT me! Daddy thought it was because I was holding you. He picked you up, then you would lean into me, but then you would pull away really quick and start laughing! You little stinker!
*You saw me blow my nose so you picked up a wipe and tried to blow into it! I about died laughing! You're too smart!
*Since we've had our Christmas tree up you like to spend most of your days hiding playing underneath the tree!

Hadley girl, we have got our hands full with you...especially since you're moving all around now! But you're such a joy and we wouldn't have it any other way! :)

I'll love you forever and ever. I promise, sweet girl.

Love,

Mommy

Words of the soul

I had this theory that if I listened to a certain playlist of CD at the exact same time everyday (night time, before bed) that when she was born she would associate this music with sleeping. With every intention and every attempt... I failed! I never seemed to remember to listen to the music. Well, I shouldn't say never. I did sometimes, but never at the same time. Fail.

Since Hadley was born at night and I had been in labor all day, we decided to send her to the nursery for the night so I could rest up for the days to come. During the days, while I was in the hospital, we would keep Hadley in my room all day. We only sent her back to the nursery for night time. This meant that she took her naps in my room. So we started then.

I whipped out my cell phone and turned on her "Night Time" playlist. I know that quiet, classical music is peaceful and serene on its own, but I felt like she remembered. If she was ever fussy and/or started crying we would turn on her music and she would fall right to sleep. That is still true to this day, now five and a half months old.

A couple months ago, Hadley and I went to OKC by ourselves for a few different occasions. One trip we went with my grandparents. During this trip, there was a day that was extremely long. Hadley has a habit of not taking a nap (at least a good, long nap) unless we are at home and she is sleeping in her bed. Luckily, even without naps she never really gets fussy. She is usually just pretty content as long as there are people and kids for her to watch. She really enjoys people watching. And by people watching I mean people starring. She gets that from me :-/ Anyway, this day had been long. She hadn't had a nap. And by this point it was way past her bath and bed time. By the time we got in the car to head to the hotel she had come unglued. We were riding with my grandparents so I sat in the back with Hadley trying to soothe her and convince her we were headed to the hotel to go to bed. I talked to her. I played with her. That ten minute drive felt like ten hours because she was so upset. I had tried every everything. Nothing worked. So once again, I whipped out my phone and turned on her "Night Time" playlist. Once she quieted down enough to actually hear the music she was done crying. She didn't fall asleep. She just became calm. Everything was so new to her. New city. Car ride for two hours. Being at family's house all day. No nap. Her music was the only "normal" thing I could offer her and it worked!

Hadley has always been very particular about the music she listens too. I go through phases where I listen to a specific CD for months. I never realized it, but about three months after Hadley was born I had been listening to the same CD's in my car since the day we brought her home. One day while driving down the road she started screaming. I turned the radio up louder because she has been known to cry if she can't hear the music. Louder didn't work. Turning it off didn't work. Talking to her didn't work. So I turned the radio back on and started the CD over. Instantly she stopped. This was the day I discovered she likes tracks 1-7 on JJ Heller's Pretty and the Plain CD. Anything after track 7 is no good for her, I guess. So picky!!!

Even though I never really tested my "theory" there is no doubt in my mind that she recognizes her music. Music is important to her and her little 5 months of life. She is a little girl after her Momma's own heart.

"I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water.-Ray Charles"