Four Month Stats

Annie had her four month check-up today. She weighs 12 lbs, 7 oz (up 3lbs from her two month check-up) and is 24 inches long. She is now in the 50th percentile for height and weight.

A note on growth charts - I really don't like them. All being in the 50th percentile means is that half of babies Annie's age are bigger than she is and half of them are smaller. Who cares?! Every baby grows and develops differently. I know, I know, the charts are supposed to indicate possible problems if baby falls of her growth curve. Eh. I say just evaluate each baby for herself.

Bebe and Papa Rick/Dedication

Last weekend Bebe and Papa Rick came for a visit! I think they had a great time admiring their granddaughter. :) We love spending time with our families. We know we are blessed to have such awesome parents, grandparents, brothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins.





On Sunday we gathered with our families to dedicate Annie to the Lord. It was a special time to publicly commit to raise Annie in the church, to teach her about Jesus, and to model a Christian life for her. We pray every day that she will have her own relationship with God as she grows old enough to understand His love and mercy towards us.

Pictures before leaving for church


Bebe and Papa Rick and their first grandbaby!


Annie and Pastor Keith


Dedication time with Mama and Daddy


We hosted a luncheon after the service for our family who came to attend Annie's service.


Mama Rita (Annie loves her fingers!)


Laughing with her great-grandmas


Aunt Tessie


More laughing with Honey and Poppa


Papaw and his littlest girl


Smiling at Uncle Tyler


Nana's turn


Getting sleepy with Aunt Ne'


Visiting with Papa Gene


Four generations!


Worn out baby

Annie: Four Months

My baby girl is four months old already! This was a big month for us, with lots of visitors and traveling and househunting. Annie has been a trooper through it all. She loves to go and do, as long as she still gets her naps.

A typical day for Annie begins about 8am. We nurse, play, nurse, nap from 10-noon, nurse, get out of the house for a bit, nurse, nap from 2:30-4:30, nurse, get dinner ready, spend time with Daddy, take a bath, nurse, and go to bed by 8pm. We are still doing a dreamfeed at 10pm, then she usually wakes up once between 2:30 and 5am to nurse. I can't seem to get her on a predictable night time waking schedule. One night time feeding is definitely do-able, but I'm hoping that in the next few weeks she will give that up. (Hey, a Mama can dream!) Annie is wearing size two diapers and size 3-6 month clothes.

This month Annie learned to roll over back to tummy. She also loves to practice standing. She arches her back and tries to get to her feet whenever you put her in a sitting position (see photos below for proof!).

Our four month essentials have been:
one-piece rompers and sundresses
rattles that Annie can grab and put in her mouth
her fingers - she loves to suck on them!

The Gent's Manventure

The Gent and his brother went backpacking a few weeks ago. They had a great time. I am definitely glad I did not participate - this was a manventure for sure! I'm glad they were able to get away for some guy time. Even if they did come back a little smelly. :)

Miscellaneous

There will be lots of blog posts this week; I am trying to catch up on all our happenings!

Today you get a smorgasbord post.

Let's begin with assorted Annie pictures.

She has a pack of cute little onesies that were a gift from her Bebe and Papa Rick. They are perfect for these hot summer days when we are just hanging around. She was having a great time playing on her blanket last week. And putting every toy she can find in her mouth!







She still loves bathtime.





I was trying to get a photo of her in this cute little outfit from Aunt Tessie. Annie was having none of the camera. Oh, well.




And now, time for a short househunting update. We got the inspection report back last week, it turned up some issues, not too surprising in an old house. We are waiting to hear back from the sellers on some repair work we have requested they have done. Hoping we can get it all worked out.

On to other news. I have replaced my work wardrobe with a mama one. Mom and I hit a great sale at Loft this weekend. We found some cute knit (read: washable) shirts, casual skirts, and even a pair of shorts (the first non work-out shorts I have bought since . . . um . . . high school). I am super-excited to be able to fit into most of my clothes again. I'm not quite back to where I want to be, but I'm getting close. I have been walking and doing an ab workout Mon-Fri, and then doing Jillian Mon, Wed, Fri and yoga Tues and Thurs. This getting my body back in shape is hard work, yuck!! The Gent helped me purge my closet to make room for the new things. I have two big bags of clothes to take to Goodwill. It really is ridiculous the amount of STUFF we have. And how much of it we really don't need. I am feeling convicted of consumerism.

Moving on.

I love being Annie's mama. I already miss those sweet newborn days. I know, I must be crazy to say that! Sheesh, Annie isn't even sleeping through the night yet! We're not planning on another baby for a while, but we do practice fertility awareness for birth control, which is challenging to do while breastfeeding . . .

Summer Yummies

Here are some recipes I've been experimenting with - these will definitely make it into my recipe box!

Pimiento Cheese (from Garden & Gun magazine)
2 c sharp cheddar, grated
1/2 c mayo
1/2 c pimiento peppers, drained and chopped
1/4 c green onion, chopped
1 t black pepper
1/2 t salt
1/4 t cayenne pepper
dash of Tabasco
Mix well and refrigerate. Great on artisan bread.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Grapes (from Real Simple magazine)
1 1/2 lbs brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1 pound red seedless grapes
3 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 T fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and black pepper
Heat oven to 375. On large baking sheet, toss all ingredients together. Turn sprouts cut-side down and roast till golden brown and tender, 20-25 minutes.

Roasted Potatoes and Lemon with Dill (Real Simple)
2 lbs new potatoes, halved
1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 T olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 T chopped fresh dill
Heat oven to 450. Toss all ingredients except dill on large baking sheet. Bake 25-35 minutes, till tender. Toss with dill before serving.

Low-maintenance Risotto (also from Real Simple)
3 T butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 c Arborio rice
1/2 c dry white wine
3 1/2 c chicken broth, + more if needed
1/2 c Parmesan
2 T chopped fresh parsley
Melt 2 T butter in large skilled. Add onion, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, till soft, 6-8 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add wine and simmer till absorbed. Add half the broth and simmer, stirring once, till absorbed, 8-10 minutes. Add remaining broth and simmer, stirring once, till rice is tender and creamy, 8-10 minutes more (if rice is not cooked through and mixture is dry, add more broth and continue to cook till tender). Stir in Parmesan and 1 T butter. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Jumperoo!

Last weekend the Gent and I decided to set up Annie's jumperoo and see if she was big enough for it. She has been getting bored in the swing lately, and I need someplace safe to put her when I need two hands for a few minutes. She LOVED it. She was grinning and laughing and looking at us as if to say, "you've been holding out on me!"


Her sweet little baby toes wouldn't quite reach . . .


. . . but we found a solution.


Annie thinks this toy is awesome!

First Father's Day

A year ago, here's what we were celebrating! While it was hard to top that, I think the Gent still had a great first Father's Day. We went to church, then to Five Guys with friends, then spent the afternoon at home. Annie and I gave Daddy his cards and a new gardening book, then we all took naps. Huck was glad to have his Daddy close by. For dinner, per the Gent's request, I made homemade pimiento cheese sandwiches on artisan bread. Easy and scrumptious.







I love watching my husband love our little girl. I knew he would be a great Daddy, but he's even better than I thought he would be. He is a pro at soothing a crying Annie, changing diapers, and making her grin. They are so cute together!

On Being Disciplined

My day goes so much better when I get up and moving in the morning. Now that I finally have the all-clear from the doc to exercise again, I've been getting up at 6:30 and spending time with the Lord, walking the dogs, and doing an ab workout before Annie wakes up around 8. Then I do weights or yoga and then shower while she takes her morning nap. I am finally starting to feel somewhat back in shape, though I'm not where I want to be yet. And I just FEEL so much more energized when I get up at the same time every morning. But sometimes--most of the time--when that alarm goes off it is very tempting to sleep in! How did I ever get up at 5:15 when I was working?!

Crib Time

Look who slept in her crib for the first time last night!


She is going to bed around 7:30pm, nursing at 10pm, then sleeping till 4am. We do a "dreamfeed" at 6:30am when I get up, and then she usually sleeps till 8:30am or so.

Of course, all that is "usually." Last night she woke up screaming at 8:30pm, then slept till 3am, 6am, and woke up for good at 7:30am.

10pm to 6am is my long-term goal. Someday.

A couple more photos for your viewing pleasure . . .

Bathtime with Daddy


Snuggling with Mama

Visitors

We've been having fun with company in the last week or two!

Mama Rita and Papa Gene


Uncle Mike


Aunt Rene'


Honey


Nothing like holding a sleeping baby. :)

Nursery Woes

I am starting to dread Sundays just a little bit. Don't get me wrong, one of the highlights of my week has always been Sunday worship - time to join together with other believers to magnify the name of the Lord, study together, and be renewed in spirit.

But I just cannot figure out how to help Annie through a Sunday. Her schedule gets so thrown off. I usually have to wake her up in the morning to get us to church on time, which is not an auspicious beginning, to say the least. I tried to go to Sunday School today and she made it through that hour, but lost it in between Sunday School and the service. I didn't even make it in to worship before the nursery director grabbed me. (And don't even get me started on what Sundays are like when I am singing with the worship team.)

Today when I got to the nursery Annie had big tears pouring down her little face and was screaming. She was screaming because she was exhausted and past nap time, but she will not nap in the church nursery. I get her to sleep in the nursing room and then the second I step out into the nursery she is WIDE AWAKE and has that look on her face that says NO WAY AM I GOING BACK TO SLEEP. She is well past the newborn phase of sleeping through everything. Lights and sound wake her up.

I just took her into service with me today. She was happy as a lark, but it is difficult for me to concentrate on the service when I'm trying to keep her quiet.

Once we get home she is off her rhythm. She doesn't nap well the rest of the day and is out of sorts.

Everyone keeps telling me that this will get easier as she grows, but I'm thinking she's going to be taking a morning nap for the next nine months or more . . . or at least I hope so!

Any suggestions for surviving Sundays with your little ones?

P.S. I think I'm figuring out what my mom meant when I asked her if I was an easy baby, and she said, "You were an easy baby for me." Annie is a happy baby for me and her Daddy and a few other people . . . but she can give others fits sometimes.

Househunting #5

Well, pending inspection, we have bought a house! Red brick with white trim, a big front porch, white picket fence, built in the 1920s. LOVE. Inside it has four bedrooms + office + sun room + enclosed sleeping porch that is heated and cooled. We can live in this house forever!

Next week we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming of Annie pictures. :)

Househunting #4

Yesterday afternoon the Gent and I went to look at a house that just came on the market. It was listed a few months ago when we were looking online, but when we started looking in person the owner had taken it off the market. They put it back up for sale earlier this week and we were excited to look at it. It seems perfect - beautiful brick home in a historic neighborhood, all the space we need for the 5+ kids we're thinking of having, basement, hardwood floors, fireplaces, front porch, a new roof, new HVAC, new hot water heater, etc. We're negotiating on price now, but it seems like this could be the one!

Saturday Tricks

On Saturdays we usually put Annie in bed with us when she wakes up around 8 or so. We snuggle and watch HGTV. This morning she just wanted to practice all her new tricks! Talking, bringing her hands together, standing and sitting with our help.

Jammies

She was having so much fun playing in her jammies, I couldn't resist snapping some pictures of those smiles before we got dressed (in 3-6 month clothes now)!