Wednesday, December 28, 2011

6 months old and just in time for Christmas

Well, we did it. We survived the first 6 months of parenthood and Whitney survived under our care. What an accomplishment considering Andy and I knew nothing about child care. I think she'll keep us, she may want to trade us in for Grandma, but she is stuck with us.
Whitney is 6 months old, WOW.

We had a great Christmas, it was fun and relaxing. Whitney was more concerned and interested with eating the paper than any of her toys, but that is to be expected. She did get lots of great stuff though from friends, neighbors and family. Thank you all so much!!! Lots of new toys that flash and make noise and utterly annoy the crap out of her parents, but she seems to enjoy them so I suppose we'll keep them. We even had to put away the swing, bumbo and playmat since she is now more interested in the big kid toys and not to mention just make room.
We were able to skype with my parents, Andy's Mom and sister and his Grandma. It was great to see them and have them watch her open her gifts. She is sitting so good now we just plopped the computer on the floor in front of her and we were set.

We also had her 6 month check up today and the pediatrician had all good things to say about her. She is healthy and looking perfect, he loves her! She is now 16 lbs 4 oz and 25.5 inches long. She is growing proportionately and he says he has no concerns. It is always so great for him and his nurses to see her. They all know about her rough start and saw her when she was so fragile, and even when she was still connected to the monitor, so they know of her great strides. We are just so blessed to have her in our life.
Rather than rambling, I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking (since I know that's what everyone is interested in anyway!)



Saturday, December 17, 2011

The most wonderful time of the year

Christmas really is one of my favorite times of the year. The lights, the songs, the truly magically feeling you can get. Yes, I DO love Christmas.

Our family has had a busy couple of weeks. We went on a "staycation" to a hotel in North Myrtle Beach for the night to take Whitney swimming. We had the pool to ourselves both in the evening and in the morning when we took her swimming. She loved the water and had a great time splashing around.
We were busy putting up the Christmas tree and getting the house decorated both inside and out. Everything has it's place and looks wonderful. We even had special visitors last week....my parents came to visit!

Since our babysitter was off for the week they decided to come down for a vacation and take care of Whitney while Andy and I were working. It was such a nice treat to have them at our house for the holidays. Whitney got spoiled with lots of Grandma and Grandpa kisses, playtime and walks around the neighborhood. Since the weather has been in the 70's they were able to enjoy lots of time outside. It is so wonderful to see them together. For parents of little ones who don't have family around, I'm sure you can relate. The special time they do get to spend with family is priceless, I sometimes wish I could freeze time so we could all remember the special moments.

As for Whitney, she is so strong. She's been sitting on her own for the past few weeks, just short of when we took our Christmas photos. We all know she's been rolling over for some time now, but now she's getting really smart, realizing she can roll over to reach things. Things she likes to reach for the most....TILLY! They are special friends and she loves pulling at his hair, ears and bandanna. Luckily, he hasn't minded too much and I think he likes the attention. The holidays are even more special with her around and I know each year they will become more memorable. Not a day goes by that a tear isn't shed about just how happy I am to have her in our life. She is truly remarkable and a living miracle showing us how great God really is!
Now to leave you all with some pictures...



Monday, December 5, 2011

5 months and growing fast

So I'm a little past due Whitney's 5 month update, but only by about 2 weeks, so I'm not fretting. Wow, 5 months already, truly, where DOES the time go? I get it, "they grow up so fast", but why yes, they actually do!
The month of November was fairly calm, for what I can remember of it. No doctor appointments, no trips to Wisconsin, just lots of playing and growing. We've got the Christmas tree up, along with all the decorations, so we're ready to bring on the holidays!

Whitney started eating rice cereal on her birthday and has been really taking to it. The first time was really just getting her used to the spoon and something more solid, but each day after that has been better and better. I think we'll stick with the cereal for the month, and next month start on the vegetables. I'm going to try (keyword try) to make our own food. I know it is the best for them, but if you would have asked me 2 years ago if I would ever make my own baby food I would have laughed out loud. Andy really wants to try it, I think just to use the Ninja blender, but maybe I'll just have in charge of making the food, we'll see.

We also celebrated Thanksgiving at our house, and had a wonderful day. There were 8 of us total, all really great friends of ours and had a super relaxing day with lots of football, laughs, and of course a 26 pound turkey. Whitney did wonderful, playing on the floor, sitting in her chair, and slept all through dinner, which made it great for me, I could actually enjoy the meal. Even though we don't have family here, I'm so glad Whitney will get to grow up knowing our friends. They have become such an important part of our lives, we're happy she gets to be share this now.

Probably the most exciting thing that has happened these past 2 weeks, so slightly past her 5 month birthday, is her sitting up on her own, unsupported and not in the Bumbo. She really seemed to get the strength to do this just in the past few weeks. Today I even had her sitting by herself on the ground and was able to walk away for about 30 seconds and come back to her still sitting. She's really rocking back and forth alot too when on her tummy....she's too young to start crawling!!! Hopefully she'll give us awhile yet before that starts. Either way, having her sit on her own is awesome, really incredible how these little things can make us so proud of her.
Her 5 month milestones include:
-Eat 5 oz every 3-4 hours and 6oz before bedtime / I started rice cereal today / I get a bath at 8:30 & bottle at 9pm. I sleep until 7 am / I enjoy reaching for people and objects / I can sit on my own for a few seconds / I like to roll onto my tummy / I like to smile at everyone I see!