I guess I could blog

Of course there are always a nice list of things to be doing... but these days I find myself having a lot of extra time! I guess it isn't exactly EXTRA time, but time I haven't had since before Brynlee was born.

So here's the deal. Before James left for a youth trip about 2 weeks ago he began some hardcore sleeping bootcamp with Brynlee. Basically his goal was for her to be sleeping through the night before he left. She had been waking up 2 times each night and was still not taking any naps at all.

So for three nights he was up in the middle of the night for about 2 hours, trying to get her to go back to sleep without nursing. He is pretty amazing, especially since he made it possible for me to sleep through the entire ordeal each night! So the night they left it was my turn. For two nights she woke up and cried for 30 minutes and went back to sleep. Then on the 3rd night she slept from 9-9 without waking up! It was pretty amazing. She has been doing awesome. Sometimes she wakes up but only for a few minutes before she is back down!

And the other amazing thing... since she has been sleeping through the night, she is also napping. Which is why I have so much extra time! She takes at least one nap for a couple of hours, sometimes twice a day!

So I get to clean, workout, take a shower and basically just not be stressed out all the time! Sleeping is a wonderful thing!

Lake Days

I am pretty positive I have spoken often of my desperate attempt at going on vacation this year... and while a week long trip to the beach won't be happening, we did get a mini-vacay thanks to a wonderful, generous family from our church!

she looks SOOO big!

They were so wonderful to let us ALL stay at their lake house for a few days! So us, mom and dad, Abigail {tyler had camp} and the Smith clan went to the lake for a couple of days. We hung out, rode on the boat and I think everyone's favorite part was the jet skis! I could have stayed on those the entire time!! {not really a budget friendly way to spend the day though!}

 

 It was so so nice to just hang out... not worrying about laundry or dishes or much of anything! It was also really nice to have some uninterrupted time with James since he is gone again {for 8 days}. I am also thankful for my parents who let us crash on their getaway!

I love my family and had a blast just hanging for a time together!

Seven

Brynlee-

I really can't believe you are 7 months old! The crazy thing is that now, instead of working up to being six months old, you are going towards 1 year! Crazy! Well, let's start with some stats... You are just over 19 pounds and 26{ish} inches long. You wear 6-12 months and size 3 diapers. 

You are sitting up {even in the crib in the middle of the night... kinda freaked your daddy out on that one}. Crawling is a new found love. You are faster now, so army crawling is out the window. And you have been trying to pull yourself up all over the place!


Some things you love...
- the water
- remotes
- Hadlee {our puppy}
- your jumperoo
- swinging

You are starting to have issues with strangers. You can go from laughing and smiling to all out panic and crying in about a second. This is no fun. You are such a happy girl. Unless you are hungry or tired you love to laugh and play! You have the absolute sweetest smiles that will light up any room! You have even taken a couple of naps recently! Mommy really loves this, so keep it up!

Let's talk about food. It is not your favorite. So far you have had some mashed carrots, bananas, lettuce and ham. You actually ate some of the ham but showed your disgust the entire time! So we are still just nursing. We give you some food when it seems like a good idea but not on any type of schedule or pattern! We will just try things as we go until you start to like it!

This month you took two trips, one to Branson {to a water park} and one to the lake! You did pretty well, although sleeping was a little rough! But that's okay!

We love you so much chick pea! You are so precious and bring joy to us each and every day!

Padre

There are a lot of things I could say about my dad but there are a few things I will focus on:

1. He loves God
2. He loves our family
3. He loves people

There is not a single person in the world who could deny that my dad loves God with all of his heart and strives everyday to show that love to everyone He comes in contact with. He shows his love for God in an authentic way that is undeniable.

I know without a doubt that my dad loves our family. I know that he loves and cherishes my mom and us kids, along with our spouses and kids. He shows his love in such practical ways by taking care of random things for us all the time. I love love love watching him with Brynlee, Grace and Graham. He loves those kids so much and they ADORE him!

Lastly, he loves people. His heart is for all people to come to know and love God. He has devoted his life to ministry and helping others the Know, Love, Serve, and Share God's love with other people. Even with all the stress that comes with ministry, he loves it because he is focused on the purpose of reaching others for Christ.

Thank you dad for everything you do! I know we could never tell or show you how much you mean to us! Love you dad!!

6 month check-up

I am so far behind on blogging it's pretty ridiculous... I don't think it will be much better for a couple weeks either. Oh well. This is what summer brings in our house. What little schedule we did keep before is out the window because of camps and James traveling. So this is what I got:

Today we went for Brynlee's 6 month check-up. The sad thing is we were just there yesterday because Brynlee is sickly... 

Monday night she started having a runny nose, but nothing major. Then Tuesday it was like the flood gates opened from her nose {too much??}. Anyway, she was miserable. Her nose was running, she was grabbing at her ears and not sleeping or eating really at all. And it continued to get worse throughout the night. So Wednesday we went in to the doctor to find out she has a sinus infection and a double ear infection. To make matters worse, James left yesterday to be at Senior High Camp for a few days. Oh and my parents went to Mexico. Not so great timing. But we got some medicine and she actually slept about five hours total last night. Pretty good considering.

Then to torture her some more we had to do shots again today. I felt so bad for her. She was finally starting to feel better and then that. She is still kind of fussy from the shots and runny nose but she is doing better tonight.

Back to the check-up. She weighs 18.3 lbs and is 25.75 in long. According to the doctor she is looking just perfect. And we couldn't agree more!

Half a year

Happy 6 months to my chick pea! I can't believe you are so old already! It has gone by so fast {although days that you don't nap sometimes go on and on and on...} But of course we love you so much!

Things you are loving right now- swimming, swinging and shopping! I think if we only did these things every day, you would be a happy camper! You love to splash in the water {in our tiny pool in the back yard!}. We recently tried to the park since you can now sit up completely on your own. And you LOVED it! We have been back many times since- especially on those no nap days! Oh and shopping. Once again, since you can sit up, we pulled out the cart cover and headed to Wal-Mart. You are so proud and happy each time we go! You love getting to see all the people and action around the store.

You are so incredibly close to crawling it's a little scary. You started popping up on all fours about 2 weeks ago. Now, you rock and lunge and turn all around... sometimes even moving on your hand and toes. You're so silly!

You have also been busy this month: Abigail's college graduation {seen below}, a couple of zoo trips, and FX at church!

 

You still wear size 3 diaper and 6-12 month clothes. Sleeping is still touch and go. We did a little more of trying to let you go back to sleep on your own and it actually worked... for a couple weeks. The last few nights haven't been as peachy. You have been waking up a lot more. But I am getting better about being more laid back about things. We just watch for all of your cues about being hungry and tired and go from there.

Our lives have changed SO much in the last 6 months it is ridiculous! We love you so much chick pea! Happy 6 months!

6-2-06

 

So today is our 5 year anniversary! I had the best intentions of doing a nice, long post about the last five years but Brynlee's "nap time" was just long enough for a shower and breakfast... and then the day just kind of got away from me. And since we have been attempting to put her down for over an hour, it just isn't going to happen! We will see if we can somehow still manage to stay up to watch the movie we got from redbox! Oh well, I guess this is life with and almost 6-month old!

 

Anyways! Just for the record I do have the most amazing husband. I am pretty sure he is the only person who would put up with all of my shenanigans! Love him!