5 Months

I'm not really sure how this happened... but Emberly is 5 months old today.

Yikes! Slow down little one!

Goals

Dear Life,

Well I guess telling people your goals really does increase your motivation to accomplish them. Some of my goals are super measurable (pass or fail) and others are a little more gray. The gray-ish ones I tended to slack on more. Funny how that works, isn't it? But either way... here is my goal update.

1. Write to our compassion kiddos each month. January: pass

2. Lose remaining pregnancy pounds (eating healthy/working out): mostly fail... but working on it! I have spent a large portion of my day today planning out meals, figuring out what healthy calories look like, and figuring in our budget how we can spend more on fresh produce and less on packaged convenience foods. My new mantra from the Less is More book is, "I have more time than I have money!" which means I can shop around more, plan more, and cook more. *Bummer* :)

3. Read one book each month. January: pass (I finished Living With Less so your Family Has More and would HIGHLY recommend it. It's a little cheesy in written form, but the content is practical and challenging. It will probably be a re-read each year.)

4. Send one fun card to someone each week. January: pass (although I had to double up last week to catch up!)

5. Read through the bible in a year. January: I averaged 3 chapters daily. In order to finish the bible in a year I need to read 3.25 chapters a day. I am kicking it in high gear through the rest of Genesis to catch up. Jordan and I have read through Matthew, Proverbs, and most of Genesis. The best part of this is that before I would turn to the bible with (*don't hang me out to dry, I'm being really honest) not much charisma. I felt a little bit at a loss with what and where to read and felt like I was doing my daily duty in order to check it off of a list. This time, though, it is completely different. I am not as maxed out at the end of the day or so early in the morning so I am able to focus on what I am reading and through God's grace and a lot of prayer, I can figure out what I am reading and how it applies to my life and what God intends me to understand through it. And I'm enjoying it. Yikes - I have been asking the Lord to change my heart, and I can tell he fully intends to provide.

6. Spend money wisely. This was not an original goal, but Jordan and I have been working on this, so I figured I would add it. We have been sitting down and budgeting out every penny each month and man-alive it is hard and it is awesome all at the same time. Thankfully we didn't get super used to my full-time income considering I only taught for one year... but even in that year (and in our lives in general) we have been so used to just buying whatever our eyes lay on that we desire. Yikes. We actually had a conversation this week that went something like, "It's actually kinda fun to live with less money. It feels like a challenge to ourselves to see what we really need and don't need, and it feels like we're setting healthy boundaries in spending that we'll teach our children about what is really important in life." Um... never saw that coming.

So there is my update. February means more of many of the same things. I. can't. wait. I just love my life.

P.S. - I got a sewing machine for Christmas and it is the bomb-diggity. I mean... I know I'm in my 20s and a sewing machine isn't the *coolest* thing a person could get for Christmas... but it is practically my new hobby. I tell Jordan that it's my form of hunting. Or working on cars. Or guns. Or something.

Anywho... I made some bibs for a baby-shower gift... and then I just couldn't stop. So I made this little buddy this week:

Almost too cute to drool on, isn't it?

So... you should probably start having children if you don't have some already. And then I can make you baby one too. That is, if you invite me to your baby shower. Just saying.

Yours Truly,

Molly

Love

Emberly got the giggles after her bath tonight. I LOVE when she laughs. It seriously made my whole day. If you're wondering about her unorthodox outfit... I was in the process of putting her PJs on when the laughing spurt developed. Don't judge. :)

I also LOVE when Emberly...

1. rubs her little nose all over my shoulder. I *think* it's how she gives me a hug and tells me she loves me.
2. licks me or starts gnawing on my fingers. Teething anyone??
3. gives the "baby in the mirror" giant smiles.
4. sleeps 6, 7, or 8 hour stretches at night.
5. babbles and talks to us. This is pretty much a constant lately.
6. plays with her toes.
7. rubs her eyes to tell us she's sleepy.
8. does pretty much anything.

Recap on the working world

Dear Life,

We made it through the week last week in spite of the fact that Emberly and Jordan both had nasty cold sickness all week. They are both still on the tail end of it, but I believe they are in recovery mode.

I had a love/hate relationship with working... depending on the moment and my mood I will tell you that I had a blast or it was lame. Well... a blast might be a stretch because I read the same tests all.day.long to K and 1st grade students. But it was fun to be in the schools and work with students. Believe it or not, I honestly believe that it is easier to be away from home than it is to be a stay-at-home mama. You may disagree, but it's a little bit of an escape and I know exactly what my job is and someone gives me feedback and I get to talk to adults and I don't feel like I'm constantly guessing. Being home with Emberly (though wonderful) does not produce the same results. I'm at her whim. And I'm happy to be. Easier isn't always better. And though it was *easier* to be at work, it didn't make coming home any easier. I felt awful for leaving her when she was sick. I felt really behind all week. Plus I missed Miss E something terrible.

Yours Truly,
Molly

Toes

Guess who found her toes??

She loves her toes. And Ollie, her crinkle toy. And yelling/screaming over and over again because it is super interesting to hear. And rice cereal. And baths. And smiling at her dad. And snuggling with her mom.

And we just love all of her.

Day 2

Dear Life,

I survived Day 2 of the working world. I think I could even say that I enjoyed it... not just survived it!

Emberly had no melt downs. She slept until 10:15 this morning (I am not making that up) and then Jordan loaded her up and brought her to the school I was at for me to feed her on my lunch break. We have given up on attempting to bottle feed her. It is not worth the tantrum for 6 days of work. (2 down, 4 to go!)

Dare I also admit that I could totally see myself doing something very part time next year when Angel Baby is not attached to me in quite the same way? Very part time... it would have to be the perfect job... but I truly had fun today, and let's be honest - it's not because benchmarking is so fun!

Sweet girl got a little more rice cereal tonight and loved it. She just opens her mouth right up and gulps it down. So funny. Um... are we those creepy parents that take videos of stuff their children are doing that people really don't care about and is really not that great? Sure we are. But we're proud. I know that a bite of rice cereal is not that exciting to you all - but it was to us... so... who cares about you anyway? ;) (wink)

Yours Truly,
Molly

Rice Cereal, Planners, Diapers, and Goals

Emberly got her first taste of rice cereal yesterday and thought it was quite tasty. She was quick to catch on to what to do with her tongue and managed to swallow more than she pushed out. We are pumped because we are thinking that since she won't take a bottle, she could at least have a little rice cereal in the mornings next week when I am helping with benchmarking.

I ordered this fancy "lovelace" diaper last week and it came today! Is it not the most adorable diaper you've ever seen? It is a freetime diaper... which means you do not have to stuff the inserts, they are sewn on the sides with a 'stay-dry' cover. Um... that probably means nothing to you... but I am super excited, so I had to share.

See this beauty? This is my Christmas present from Jordan. It is probably my most favorite gift of all time. (Jordan said that my reaction when this came was better than my reaction to my engagement ring... but I think he's exaggerating... *slightly*.) It is an Erin Condren life planner and it has month tabs and stickers for events and a folder in the back and it has wonderful colors and cute fonts and a place to put my goals and lists and it is going to organize my life. Yes. I think I love it a little.

Speaking of goals... here are a few of mine for 2012:

1. Write to our sponsored kiddos from Compassion International once a month.

2. Write a fun letter/note/card to someone every week.

3. Lose the rest of my pregnancy weight by eating healthy and doing Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. (For more than 30 days. :) ... who am I kidding... for more than 2 days!)

4. Read one book for fun each month.

5. Read through the Bible. The whole thing.

Wanna know which one will be the hardest? Reading through the Bible. Ugh. I didn't even want to write that one down because I just feel like I am destined to fail. I think I have made this goal every year since middle school... and I'm embarassed to admit I've never done it.

So... here is my fresh start once again. I read a little comic that had two dogs on it and one was asking the other, "What are New Years Resolutions anyway?" and the other dog said, "It's a to-do list for January." I laughed... but I do not want this to be true of my life this year! So... I wrote them in my life planner and I am going to revisit them every month. I will try to keep you updated. That means I have to work on them, right?

So far I have written my fun card for the week, I am in the middle of my fun book for the month, I am on chapter 7 of Genesis and Matthew, and I am totally failing at eating healthy.

WELL... Emberly has not cried for about 10 minutes now, so I think she is finally asleep. The last two nights she's been up at 4:00am and hasn't really gone back to sleep until much later in the morning. She has a cold and is a mess and that means by default I am a mess too. SO I have learned my lesson from the last two nights and am going to bed early tonight too. Hopefully we will be up and moving in time for church tomorrow if angel baby is feeling better.

*Molly*

Diapers

So you're supposedly supposed to bleach your diapers once a month.

I have not done this yet.

Today was the day...

I just hung the covers and dried the inserts... and when I went to take the inserts out... they smelled!

I did a prewash. Heavy wash with extra rinse. Soak cycle. AND another rinse, soak, spin.

Seriously - what did I do wrong?

Pear Juice

Dear Life,

I. Am. So. Tired.

So. Tired.

I'll admit - I'm a total wimp. Today was my first day working for WFPS to help with benchmark testing and it wore.me.out. I am not used to getting up at 6:00am (and staying up for the day)... or being away from Emberly and worrying about her (although I am SUPER thankful she was with Jordan because that took so much of my worry away)... or coming home and only wanting to cuddle and talk to Emberly and give her all the loving of the day that I'd missed out on, but feeling so very torn because I needed to make dinner and do laundry and all that jazz *which I opted to save for once she was asleep, for the record.* I do not know how you 'work outside the home' mamas do it.

ANYWHO... Emberly did not take a bottle today. Nope. She continued her flat out refusal. I'm not really surprised... but boy did it bum me out. I was really hoping that if I wasn't around she would just gulp it down. No such luck. Jordan put up with several screaming sessions (he told me it wasn't that bad, but I'm not really sure I believe him. Bless his heart, I think he's trying to hold me together) and ended up driving her to the school so I could feed her on my lunch break. Next week is going to be a long week if we do that every day. Just saying.

She's wimpering in her sleep right now and I have this awful mom-guilt thing going on that makes me wonder if she's having nightmares about me not feeding her all morning. Yes, I just went there. Oh boy.

Pear Juice experiment...

Anyway... in happier news: Emberly pooped today! It had been 5 days. FIVE. That is a long time for a baby to not poop. Especially my very regular *at least once a day* pooper. If you told me 4 months ago I'd be rejoicing over pooping, I wouldn't have believed you. Yesterday I tried giving her pear juice to see if that would help her along... and she liked that just about as much as she likes a bottle of breastmilk (oh I wish you could have seen the faces she made at me!). But she did get a little in her tummy. Maybe that helped. Maybe it didn't.

I'm a little worried as I re-read this that I am not making any sense at all... but maybe that makes my tired-ness seem more real. Haha.

Well... my diapers are just about ready to hang to dry and then I am quickly tucking myself into bed. Those fluffy diapers were the only thing preventing me from crashing the minute Emberly went to sleep, which happened to be at 7:45 tonight. (That and my ego that whispers, "Molly, don't be so lame.")

Goodnight!

Yours Truly,
Molly

4 Months

Sweet Baby Girl turned 4 months old on New Years Eve. We thought of picture taking late in the day... so Emberly didn't have too many smiles left, but I thought this was a sweet sleepy expression anyway . I will work on a smiley picture tomorrow.

Her coordination has sharpened - especially in the past 2 weeks. If you hold a toy in front of her she uses both hands to reach for it and tries to hold it in her hands and ultimately get it in her mouth.

She loves to blow bubbles and make "raspberry" noises.

She wants to lick or chew or get her mouth on everything.

Lately she'll pant like a dog with her tongue hanging out... not so sure what that is about!

She makes lots of talking noises - but her coo has changed to sound more like sounds. It is stinkin' adorable.

She throws a tantrum when is offered a bottle. She loves her mama best for the feeding department (uh, er... exclusively).

She is generally super content and chill, sleeping 12-14 hours at night waking up only once or twice.

She has the BEST laugh ever. Seriously. I think I've stated that before, but I mean it.

She is wearing 9-12 month clothes and is on the middle rise of her bumgenius diapers.

I still swaddle her at night and I will be very sad when that comes to an end.

We couldn't get in to see our doctor at 4 months, so we will wait until she's 5 months to see him... but when I took her into lactation to have her weighed this week she was 16 pounds and 5 ounces. Good job Emberly!!!

Christmas Messes

Jordan and I were apparently a mess when we packed to go to Page for Christmas. We forgot LOTS of things... including the pack-and-play. Sooo... Emberly got to sleep in a suitcase.

This is what happens after you've slept in a suitcase all night and get passed from arm to arm with very little daytime snoozing.