Better Than I Deserve

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

November 27 Edition of Being Thankful

Today, I am thankful...

that my parents came out for visit. Thanks Dad and mom!
for the sweet moments between momma and baby, like when she reaches up and touches my face while she is eating.
for the pile of laundry waiting to be done because it means 1) we have more than we need and are well clothed and 2) we went on a wonderful vacation and I am still playing catch-up on laundry.
for opportunities to share with others.
that the Christmas season is upon us!
for the reminders of the Christmas season of all that God has provided for us in the way of salvation through sending His Son, Jesus, to save the world!
for high-quality, delicious chocolate chips. Ha ha, but seriously. :)
for our new refrigerator with the water and ice in the door. We missed that when we moved into our new house. Fortunately and unfortunately, the existng fridge died and we had to get a new one. So, once again we have the water and ice and it's amazing how much more water I drink.
for music that encourages and uplifts my soul, drawing me closer to God.
for coupons to save a little money here and there.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

8 Months Old!

Briella turned 8 months old on November 12th. (I'm finally caught up...woohoo) 8 months already...unbelievable!

Life in General
You're bottom two teeth have barely popped through! Your first teeth! Yeah!

You are getting more and more mobile, rolling all over the place in whichever direction you want to go to reach whatever it is you have your eyes on.

You are quite the little jabber-er now. "Da da da da" is your favorite sound. I'm working on getting you to say "ma ma ma ma," but you always answer with "da da da" no matter what. Ha ha. At church, whenever there is music and singing, you like to "sing" along.

This month, we have started feeding you solid foods regularly 2-3 times per day. Yum, yum. So far you have tried and liked squash, sweet potatoes, pears, apples, mangoes, and prunes (which are your favorite). However, you tried and refused green beans. I can't even hide it in other foods. If there is even a drop of green beans in something, you will not eat it.

While you are eating food, you often stop to suck your thumb in between bites. I haven't quite figured out why because you really enjoy eating. I guess you just aren't in a hurry. :) It is really cute, but also sometimes frustrating because you'll take a couple of bites and then suck your thumb for a minute or two, then take a couple more bites then suck your thumb and so on. Guess you are just trying to teach momma patience. :)

You love clapping now and have finally mastered doing it with both hands open. You clap when you get excited, if you like something on TV, and sometimes just because you are happy. Fun to watch!

Firsts

Sitting in the shopping cart! You really enjoy being up and seeing everyone and everything in the store.
Halloween! Grandma Karla made you an adorable purple flower costume and you look so cute in it! (Still waiting for the pics auntie Ash took of you in your costume...hopefully soon)

Pictures from Month 8

Just chillin' on the floor

First ride in the shopping cart as a big girl!

The hood part of your Halloween costume. So cute!

First Halloween

Sucking your thumb...taking a break while eating. :)

Monday, November 19, 2012

7 Months Old!

Briella turned 7 months on October 12th, so still playing catch-up. Sigh...oh well.

Sweet Briella, it is such a joy to watch you grow and learn! It is amazing how quickly time flies and how quickly you change.

Life in General
You are sleeping much better now...yippee! We finally got the new carpet and you were able to move into your own room. You go to sleep every night around 7:00, sometimes you are ready a little earlier and sometimes we aren't the best at getting you in bed by right at 7:00, but overall that is the bedtime you have chosen. You were still waking up once or twice a night even though I knew you could sleep through the night since you had been doing so before we moved. You had just gotten out of the habit of being able to put yourself back to sleep during the night because while you were sleeping in our room, I didn't let you cry too long so as not to wake up daddy on work nights. One difficult night of listening to you cry for about 30-45 minutes around 3:00 in the morning and you started sleeping through the night once again. Your momma really appreciates that. :) I feel so much better getting solid, straight sleep even if it's only 7 or so hours than I did getting 8 or 9 total hours that were interrupted. And I only have myself to blame if I'm not getting 8 hours because I'm going to bed too late.

As quickly as you discovered you can put your toes in your mouth, you have lost interest in them for the most part. Instead, once you are laid on the floor, you'd rather roll around. You roll all over the place now, usually rolling off the rug and blankets no matter how big the space is that I give you.

The day you turned 7 months old is the day that you officially could sit up without tipping over. Of course you have been sitting up for a while, just not for too long without tipping. It was like overnight your balance increased and you sit so well now.

Making high-pitched noises is your new favorite thing. They aren't really squeals, but more like jabbering at as high-pitch of a sound as you can make. So cute and kinda funny!

As well, your cousin Jayla taught you to click your tongue, which you find fun.

Firsts

I gave you your first hair trim. I wouldn't call it your first official haircut, but you definitely needed a trim off the top. The hair on the top of your head (aka your mohawk), never fell out unlike the rest of your hair, which means that it has just kept growing and was quite long with a few rough ends. So, a little trim you got. :)
We went camping for the first time during the Elk Hunt! Yep, we waited until it was cold to go to the mountains and stay, but it was fun anyway! We stayed up there for two nights. The nights were a little rough because I couldn't sleep well without a place that was very good for you to sleep. We ended up putting you in the bed with us, which was probably the best place, but I totally freak out with the whole sleeping in the same bed. So, that's where the lack of sleep came in, but we made it through and it was fun. You were all bundled up in a full body fleece outfit just to go outside, which made you look a little bit like the little boy from Christmas Story. Ha ha!
Daddy even put you on the 4-wheeler with him while we were camping and went for a little drive around the camp. He's been waiting to do that for a long time! At one point when you were very little, he had even told me that he'd figured out a way to put your car seat on the 4 wheeler. I think the look on my face let him know that wasn't going to happen. Ha ha! But at this age you could sit with him holding you for just a little ride.
You and I surprised daddy by visiting him at work! He thought that was pretty cool!

Pictures from Month 7

Happy Birthday, Daddy! (Daddy was out of town so we sent him these pictures)

"Nope, it's not too big to put in my mouth!"

Mmmmmm....peas!

Visiting Daddy at work.

Daddy feeding you in your new high chair.

Sometimes your hair still goes a little crazy in a mohawk. Ha!

With Momma

First camping trip! Yep it was cold, but it was fun!

Daddy has been waiting for this since you were born. :)

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

6 Months Old!

So, I know that it's been almost 2 months since Briella turned 6 months, but I'm going to write about it anyway. :) It's not going to be as detailed as if I had written it when it was a little fresher, but oh well.

Life in General
Just two days after you turned 5 months old you started rolling over, first from you back to your belly and then both ways.

You've always liked to stick your tongue out, but now you like to curl up the tip when you stick it out, which is adorable.

Last month you found your toes and enjoyed grabbing them and playing with them. Well, now, you love to stick them in your mouth and suck on them.

Shortly after your 5 month birthday, you moved into size 3-6 month clothes.

Firsts

Rolling over
Longer trip with momma alone. We travelled to Price, which is 1.5 hours away, to see daddy who was out of town for work. We stayed for a few days and hung out and did a little shopping.

Pictures from Month 6

Playing in the Bumbo

Playing in my bouncer

Yes, I know I'm cute! Ha ha ha!

Mmmmm....toes! :)

Hanging out in the mountains with daddy!

So sleepy!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

October 25 Edition of Being Thankful

I figured since my last post was about "The Lost Summer," I need to make sure and share what I'm thankful for.

Today, I am thankful....

for a hard-working husband who provides for B and me!
that we have a new bigger house (even if it is a lot of work) to live in and raise our baby girl.
for warm, cozy clothes as the weather has gotten quite chilly.
that I get to be a stay-at-home mom and be with my beautiful girl! Watching her grow and learn and change is amazing!
for family on both sides who are loving and caring and supportive.
for the means to take a family vacation.
for God's grace each and every day (well, actually, each and every minute)
that I have a God who cares about me and loves me and who is always there.
for my cell phone because it allows me to keep in touch with friends even when I cannot see them in person.
that Ryan and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on September 26!

Yes, I'm Still Here

Soooooo, it has been a really REALLY long time since I've posted anything! Briella is now almost 7.5 months old and I have yet to post her 6 month post let alone her 7 month post. I'm working on it...

Seems like there is so much to get done in the day and I never get as much done as I would like. I do feel like I am actually getting in to a groove now. Things have fallen more into place since the move to a new house back in July and we have a good routine (dare I say schedule?!) going. I'm actually getting dinner on the table most days rather than thinking "Oh no, what's for dinner?" once 5:00 rolls around. Ha ha ha. Quite an accomplishment I know. I've even started menu planning. Haven't mastered it yet, but I'm working on it. :)

As I'm writing this, I am finishing up the 100th load of laundry this week. Ok, so that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I have done A LOT of laundry this week. Seems like I hadn't caught up since the move. Another couple loads tomorrow and I am all caught up! Yeah! We'll see how long that lasts. Ha ha. Hopefully, I'll stay caught up...fingers crossed!

In all honesty, this summer was kind of a rough summer. Not in a tragic way as a couple of my friends who lost loved ones, but not the best summer for sure. I've been tempted to label it "The Summer That Wasn't" or "The Lost Summer" or any other number of names. Mostly, it just didn't seem like we did what you might call "summery" things. We moved in the middle of summer which was a lot of work. Ryan was crazy busy with work, travelling 8 out of 15 weeks between June and mid-September. Yikes! That was hard on all of us! And when he was home, there was a lot of work to be done on the house. All this means is that there wasn't any camping or fishing or many trips out to Salt Lake (1 to be exact) or a vacation. I don't think I spent much time outside at all (most of that is my fault for sure) and summer is my favorite time of the year. Of course, it wasn't all a bummer of a summer. Tara and Autumn came out to visit for a few days, which was fun and my mom and dad came out a bunch, too.

Let's just say I'm just starting to plan next summer to make it the best summer yet! Any ideas throw them my way! :)

And, needless to say, I don't think I have ever looked forward to fall as much as this year. Ryan's work schedule has slowed (well, mostly), we went camping during the Elk Hunt in early October, we've gone out to Salt Lake a couple times, I saw a bunch of my friends at a fundraiser auction that was a blast, and I'm super excited to be going to Florida in just a couple of weeks as a family on a real vacation for the first time! Yeah for vacation! Mostly, I'm looking forward to spending time together as a family and making some memories this fall.

So, there's a quick catch up. Now, to work on Briella's 6 and 7 month posts...stay tuned. :)

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

August 22 Edition of Being Thankful

Today, I'm thankful...

for a good visit from my dad and mom the past couple days. So great to see them!
for the cooler weather today.
that Briella successfully drank from a bottle yesterday. That means Ryan and I can possibly go on a date soon!
that we are getting a little bit more unpacked and moved into our new house. Little by little... :)

Saturday, August 18, 2012

5 Months Old!

If it's even possible, this month went by even faster than the others so far!

Briella, you are growing so fast and you are such a joy, my sweet girl! Watching you learn and develop is amazing as you change so much each and every day.

Life in General

Ever since we moved into our new house you haven't been sleeping as many hours in a row. You usually wake up once during the night to eat. However, overall, you are still sleeping between 10-12 hours. This may have to do with the fact that since moved, we have yet to set your room up because we need to redo it first. That means you are sleeping in your pack n play in our room. I'm not sure you sleep as well in it.

Daytime sleep is more sporadic, as some days you will take one good, long nap of up to 4 hours, while other days you will take two shorter naps and still other days you don't nap at all. I don't know how you do that and not be grumpy or too fussy, but you do. Eventually, we will get into a nap and bedtime routine that is more scheduled.

You moved into size 2 diapers this month.

Your ability to grab things and reach for things has drastically changed. Last month you began to grab for things intentionally and by the end of this month you are reaching for things and grasp them so well. You also get upset when you drop something and can see it, but cannot quite reach it.

Your newest thing this month is sticking your tongue out. You are always sticking it out and most of the time pointing it. So fun and cute! I really need to get a picture of it.

Talking and jabbering have become a new thing, too. You jabber away sometimes and we love listening to you use your voice. Daddy thinks you'll be singer. When you first wake up is when you tend to coo and talk a lot. You are so happy when you wake up and you'll lay in your crib for quite a while just looking around and talking.

Another new thing is you have found your feet. While laying on your back, you bring your feet up and play with them with your hands. It is so fun to watch!

Momma's friend, Tara, and her little girl, Autumn, came to visit. You loved Autumn and she was so sweet to you and loved picking out your outfit each day.

Firsts

You ate food for the first time and you LOVED it! It didn't take you long at all to get the hang of it and you would lean forward to get the spoon into your mouth. Homemade brown rice cereal was what you first ate. I am looking forward to trying new foods.
When Tara and Autumn were here, we drove over to the rec center in Vernal and you went swimming for the first time! You did so well. We stayed in there for about 20 minutes until you were hungry and then you fell asleep. When kids would swim past you and water would splash in your face, you were not bothered at all. We will have to go more often!
UBIC (Uintah Basin in Celebration) to watch your girl cousins dance.
Concert - Vertical Horizon played at UBIC. It was actually a really good concert and the loud music didn't bother you at all. Perhaps that's because you are used to the loud music at church. :)

Pictures from Month 5

With your cousin Ahlyvia

Eating for the first time!

Daddy bought you a jumper!

I have a few more pictures from my phone, but am having trouble getting them to load on my computer. Oh well. Maybe I'll just post them later in a separate post.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

August 12 Edition of Being Thankful