Wordless Wednesday - 9 Months

Brinn 7 Months

A couple of days a go, Brinn turned 7 months. At 7 months, Brinn:

*can sit unassisted
*can roll both ways, (and keep going :)
*can side army crawl, but hasn't put the arms & legs together yet. Take your time baby girl!
*is having 4 4-6 oz. bottles a day, and rice cereal mixed w/ baby food 2X a day. Brinn also likes the "pinwheel" finger foods from Gerber. She will gnaw on those until they disappear.
*Sleeps from 8-8, with 2 1-2 hour naps. Lately it has seemed like Brinn has her morning nap, and gets up as Raylee is going down for her nap. Once Raylee wakes up, Brinn is headed down for her next nap. If Paul was not home, it would be tough to get anything done like this. Just another phase I'm sure!
*Loves Mickey Mouse. Brinn is not really interested in the TV, but when Mickey Mouse comes on she starts squealing w/ happiness.
*loves her sister. Brinn loves to watch Raylee, and try to grab her when she gets close. Now that Brinn can sit up, they spend time playing on the floor together.

There are many more things about Brinn at this time, but I wanted to write down some things that I might otherwise forget. Brinn is such a happy, content baby. She makes this Mommas job a breeze most of the time. I mean look at this smile.....

Her Daddy took this picture. She saves these smiles for him ;)

Here are the pictures of Brinn on the day she turned 7 months old.

We love you Brinn. Thank you for being exactly who you are!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Two years ago today...Raylee's Birth Story

*This post has been edited & added to from its original post.

John 16:21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

Read more: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-about-joy-20-uplifting-scripture-quotes/#ixzz1rsSkKQT5

Because I started this blog when Raylee was 6 months old, I never got a chance to write down they story of how she was born. Seeing as it was two years ago today that I went into labor w/ her, it is fresh on my mind. At the time it was such an overwhelming feeling, and even two years & another sweet baby later, it is still a little surreal.

If you're not interested in reading that, check back tomorrow for Raylee's Birthday post & here is the link to the post about Raylee last year, on her 1st Birthday!

The story of Raylee's birth starts the day before she was born on February 19,2010. Paul was laying floors at the time, and he was in Louisiana doing a job where he did not get cellphone reception. It was a Friday, and he was finishing up the job then heading home for the weekend.

I was 39w4d pregnant w/ Raylee that Friday. Everything was ready for her arrival, we were just in waiting mode. I thought I would take a shower and get ready, because this big momma wanted some Chili's! About 4pm after I had taken a shower, and was watching Oprah I started to feel some tightening in my stomach. It didn't really hurt but it was noticeable. I decided to write down the times. The next few times I felt it were about 11 min. apart, but that was consistent in my book. Since Paul was unavailable for a few more hours, of course I called my Mom. She told me to keep timing them & keep her informed. By the time Paul got home the contractions were 8-10 min. apart. After telling him this, he didn't think that Chili's was such a great idea, but I reassured him that I was fine. Before we left I lost my mucus plug. Maybe this was it!?  There was about a 20 min. wait at Chili's, and as we sat waiting for a table I could feel the pressure of my contractions increase. By the time we got to the table, and got our food ordered, I had Paul writing down my contractions, which were now 3-5 min. apart. We got out of Chili's pretty quickly, and headed home. Something told me we would be back in Beaumont that night.

When we got home, I started trying to relax. The contractions were getting stronger, but I really didn't want to go to the hospital to be sent home. After getting some advice from my Auntie Susan & Mom, I tried to lay down for 30 min. & sip some water. I made it about 20 min., with Paul packing the car the whole time, and at about 9:30 I knew it was time to go. The ride to the hospital was long, and once we got there they told me I was dilated to 2cm, and needed to be at a 4cm in 2 hours, or I would need to go home. That was all the motivation I needed. Paul & I made a few laps around labor & delivery before I could tell the contractions were getting stronger. The nurse came in and sure enough I was 4-5cm, and would not be going anywhere.

After we knew it was really go time, our family started showing up. I was informed it was past midnight, so we knew Raylee's birthday would be 02/20/10. By this time my contractions were very strong & frequent. I quickly dilated all the way, and was beginning to feel urges to push.

My sister showed up from Austin shortly after that, which made me feel much better. After the nurses finished getting everything set up, I was ready to have this baby. There was only one problem. The doctor was not at the hospital yet! As I tried to stay calm, the nurses tried to distract me with questions on paperwork I had not had time to fill out yet. I knew it was almost time.

About then I heard one of the nurses say "He's here!" Then I took some deep breaths, and knew it was going to be ok. I could here my family outside pointing him in the direction of our room. Once he came in, things moved fast. He broke my water, and 2 pushes later, at 1:19 am,  Raylee was here! I saw a glimpse of her before they whisked her away to get cleaned up. She looked healthy & beautiful.

While I was getting fixed up, Paul got to hold her & showed her to my Mom, before she got to meet her hallway full of admirers. Finally, he put her in my arms, and I got to see my beautiful baby. It all seemed to happen so fast that I was having trouble processing that this was my baby.

They took her to the nursery for a few hours, while we got moved to our room, and everyone headed home. As Paul & I lay there, in the early hours of the morning, we could not believe the events that had just happened. I laid down for a few hours trying to get some rest, but the adrenaline would not let that happen. My mind kept replaying the events over & over, remembering something new each time. Finally, I dozed off for about an hour, and woke up to them wheeling in Raylee. :)

She had a bath, was really calm, and had a little purple bow in her hair. Looking at her,  I felt a tidal wave of love. Everything clicked. She was here! I looked at her all over. Her long fingers, and toes. Her ears, and little nose. She was perfect. She ate for the 1st time, and then her Daddy & I changed our 1st dirty diaper. That was an experience.

About 8 hours old.

 We had visitors on and off Sat. & Sun., and by Sunday afternoon it was time for us to go home. The ride home was nerve racking, and then a few miles from our house the song "Remember When," by Alan Jackson came on the radio, and I lost it. "Remember when, old ones died, and new were born. And life was changed, disassembled, rearranged." I had mascara running all the way down my neck. Looking back the post baby hormone swing was in full effect.

6 days Old.

Needless to say, having Raylee was life changing. Taking care of her little self was intimidating at first, and I spent a lot of my time second guessing myself. To be honest, I still do that. Anyways, Raylee will be TWO tomorrow, and I love her more than I ever thought possible. Her birth was an exciting start to her life, and I'm glad to get to get to be along for the ride! I love you Raylee Michelle!

Happy Valentines Day!

After I wrote my last blog post, and spent another hour searching, I found my camera cord! That has been a series of good things going on around here. We will take it! Up first are Brinn's 6 month pictures in her chair.

This girl has also been around, but not that interested in pictures.

Today is PawPaw Kenny Ray's Birthday! Happy Birthday! We celebrated on Saturday, and had a great time eating, and visiting.

Silly Girls

I will leave with a few pictures of my tiniest Valentine, on her 1st Valentine's Day! Her sister is sleeping, but will hopefully get pictures when she gets up.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Have a great day!

Camera Issues & Brinn at 6 Months

Sorry about the long blog break. We have been traveling, and some how I lost the cord that connects my camera to the computer. This post has some cell phone pictures, until it's found or I can get that replaced. :/

Yesterday, Brinn turned 6 months old. Anyone that knows Brinn will tell you that she is a laid back, go with the flow girl. She loves to be held, and will sit contently in your lap for long stretches of time. Of course, she does have her moments of being tired, hungry, or cranky. For the most part though, she is her happy little self. Happy 6 months Brinn! We love you!

At 6 months Brinn:
* Can pull self up into sitting position, and balance for a few minutes
* Can roll from tummy to back, and back to tummy; she loves to roll!
* Can take an object from one hand and pass it to the other hand; uses her hands to grab(see below).
* Loves the walker; doesn't care for the jumper. - Opposite of Raylee
* Still trying to find rice cereal, oatmeal, or fruit this girl likes. So far no luck. :/ Still takes the bottle well, and has started trying to hold it by herself.
* Bed time between 9-10. Only waking up once at 5am for a bottle then sleeping until 9am.
* Taking two, 1-2 hour naps a day
* Size 3 diapers, 6 months clothes. Loving be able to use Raylee's hand me downs for lounge wear. ;)
* Uses her hands to grab what she wants. Her favorite thing to do with Momma is get up real close and grab the most sensitive hairs right at the root. Woo that hurts!
* Favorite toys are musical seahorse(for bed), Hungry Caterpillar Butterfly, Teether "bling" Ring, and of course her beloved Sophie the giraffe. :)

Daddy's girls

Raylee & Brinn hanging on the couch w/ PawPaw

Grandma & Brinn relaxing

Happy Girl!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Brinn 5 Months

Yesterday, Brinn was 5 months old.

This month Brinn loves standing up. She is already making laps in her walker. She only goes backwards, but she uses her little legs to propel herself all over.

I put Brinn in the same dress Raylee wore in her 5 month picture. Here they both are for comparison.

I think they look different, but still like sisters. It is hard to believe in 1 short month she will be 1/2 a year old!

We love you Brinn Danielle!

Have a great day.

Raylee at 22 Months

Today, Raylee is 22 months old. It is hard for me to believe that in 2 months she will be 2! Raylee is strong, happy, fearless, sweet, curious & helpful. She is a good big sister, and beautiful on the inside and out. We love our Raylee Roo, and she makes our family happy & complete.

Raylee is strong and fearless. It has been almost exactly a year since she took her 1st steps, and she has learned so much in the past year. She will flip things over to climb on, stand on any surface (if given the chance), and loves to spin until she is dizzy, and then do it again. That does mean there are falls and tears, but she is one tough cookie.

Raylee is sweet & helpful. She loves to carry Brinn's boppy into the living room for the day & bring her things she needs. She loves to put the groceries in the refrigerator, and get her juice out. Hopefully soon her co-ordination will allow her to help around the house even more. :)

Raylee is a great eater. She will try most any food given to her, and most things she likes. The other day we had some hummus, and when she tried it she said "Mmmm!" She loves mac-n-cheese, crackers, beans, rice, cheerios, eggs, potatoes, apple sauce, & lots more. She will not drink apple juice, but loves her white grape juice. We still mix about half with water. She has milk in the morning, and at dinner. She doesn't get many sweets. We give her mini vanilla wafers as a snack, and sometimes she has ice cream with Daddy. I know the day is coming when she will be much more vocal about what she wants to eat, so we are trying to help her try as many new foods now as possible.

Raylee still sleeps good. She goes to bed between 8-9 & is up between 8-9. She takes a 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon. She still has her p-a-c-i, but hopefully its days are numbered.

Raylee is talking more and more. She can identify almost all her body parts, and can say about half of them. She has started saying "bless you!" when we sneeze, and it is pretty cute to hear. She calls Brinn "Sissy," and when she accidentally bonked her in the head with her cup, she said "Sorry Sissy." She has been saying "amen" & "Jesus." It is sweet to hear it come out of her mouth. More & more she is getting confidence with her words, and we are trying to be encouraging!

We are so blessed to get to be Raylee's parents. She keeps us on our toes! We love you Raylee Michelle!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Brinn at 4 Months

Today, Brinn is 4 months old. I can hardly believe the time has gone so fast, and being in the middle of the holidays makes it seem even faster. I don't have any stats for Brinn at 4 months yet, because we go to the Dr. on Monday for her well baby check up. I will post those when I get them. Everyone in this house is having issues with runny noses, coughs, and congestion, but Brinn seems to (thankfully) just have a stuffy nose.

At 4 months Brinn:
*Is in 3 months or 3-6 months clothes
*Still in size 2 diaper
*Has had some issues w/ the 4 month sleep regression, so we are working hard to get back to those 5 hour stretches!
*Is a good eater, and will start infant cereal in the coming weeks.

*LOVES her feet. She will try and grab them both with her hands, and roll all around. It is pretty cute!
*Still has dark blue eyes.
*Is a drooling machine
*Big sister still gets the most smiles, followed closely by Mom & Dad.

We love you so much Brinn Danielle. You make our family happy and complete!

Hope everyone has a great day!

3 Months

Today Brinn is 3 months old! As much as I want time to slow down, I love this age! As I write this, Brinn is exercising her vocal cords in the background. She has found her voice, and she is not afraid to use it! She has also started giggling, and seems to be pretty ticklish. Her little personality shines through more & more everyday, and it is truly amazing.

At 3 months old Brinn IS:

*Still a good sleeper. With Raylee it took 10 weeks before she slept through the night (5 hour stretch). I remember very clearly, because that was the 1st time I got that much sleep in a row. Brinn has been sleeping 5 hour stretches since she was about 4 weeks old, and this Mama could not be more grateful. It has made the transition from 1 to 2 kids so much easier. She also takes a morning & afternoon nap about an hour & 1/2 each.

*A good eater. Brinn always seems to get hungry when it is time for us to eat. It's like she thinks she is supposed to eat then too. I don't like to eat in front of her, because she looks at me like "Where's mine Mom?" We will be looking forward to trying some rice cereal next month, and I think we are going to do whole grain, because she could use the extra fiber.

*A growing girl. She moved up to size 2 diaper, wearing 0-3 months clothes, and all her 3 month clothes almost  fit.

*Doing good at tummy time. She has started really picking her head up, and turning it from side to side. We are still working on rolling over, but it won't be long. She also discovered the Bumbo and she loves being able to see everything.

*Loving her big sister. Brinn is so happy to see Raylee every morning, and vice versa. She watches her all day long, and smiles and laughs. I am looking forward to them being able to play together.

Brinn is a happy, content baby. She does have times where she cries, fusses, and wants to be held, but for the most part she goes w/ the flow. We love our little Brinn girl!!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Happenings...

This weekend Grandma & Grandpa came to visit us for a while on Saturday, and took us to lunch. We had fun getting to spend some time with them! Here are some pictures from their visit.

                                                            Raylee giving Brinn some kisses

Grandpa got to wear Raylee's necklace!

We have also been working on all the details of our house. I am working to get pictures of those, but for now here is Raylee's room.

We will be putting up some shelves here

Here is a couple of the girls in their Texans' outfits.

& finally, I started this blog when Raylee was about 6 months old. We had just had her pictures taken. The morning we did that, we went to Bealls to find an outfit, and the one we liked was a 2T.  I had some 6 months black pants, and we made the shirt work for the pictures. Well, now that Raylee is a size 2T, I pulled out that outfit, and lo and behold, it fit!

Here is Raylee wearing the outfit at 6 months

& here she is at 20 months in the same outfit.

Hope everyone has a great day!