What Will it BEE?

Well by now most everyone knows that my little sister Adriane is pregnant.  She is due on August 18 and she is the cutest little prego chick out there.  She is now 22 weeks (I think) along and doing well.  She hasn't had the "easiest" pregnancy though.  She is one out of 400 pregnant women to get the Pupp rash.  For those who aren't familiar, it's an awful rash some pregnant women get that cannot be cured.  The only cure is to deliver the baby.  Poor girl has been itching like crazy for weeks now.  Luckily it hasn't spread to her face but it is everywhere else.  I can't imagine having to deal with that for months.  But, she is a trooper!  Much stronger than I am that's for sure.

Anyhoo, I had been planning on throwing Adriane a gender reveal party since the day I found out she was pregnant.  I went along with her and Smitty (her bf) to her ultrasound appointment and had the technitian write down the sex of the baby and seal it in an envelope.  It was tough not to bust it open on the way home but I didn't want to ruin the surprise so I managed to keep the secret concealed.  Last Saturday was the big reveal party and I must say, it was soo much fun for everyone to find out the sex of the baby together and to see Adriane and Smitty's reaction.  We had our parents and Smitty's parents there (they came in all the way from Kansas) along with Smitty's brother and tons of friends to help celebrate. 

I had a baker bake a cake and dye the inside of the cake either pink or blue that way when Adriane and Smitty both cut into the cake, that would be how they discover the news.  It was so exciting and wonderful.  Here are a couple of pictures of the cake and then after it was cut.



It was a Bee theme....get it?



Smitty and Adriane ready to cut the cake and find out what they are having!

ITS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness a GIRL!!  Most eryone in my family was convinced it was a boy.  Why?  Becasue we have TONS of girls in our family and we thought surely, this time, it would be a boy.  Nope! lol I'm so excited that Millie will have yet another girl cousin just around her age to grow up with and be forever friends.  I think that brings our total up to seven girl cousins all within one year of age of each other.  WOW!  And guess the precious name they chose for her?  Charlee Sue Smith.  Sue is Smitty's mother's name.  I absolutely love it.  Millie + Charlee = BFF!

I had all of our guests come to the party dressed in either pink or blue to represent what they thought Adriane and Smitty were having.  Here's a picture of all the people in pink and all the losers in blue.  Millie and I both wore blue while Trevor wore pink.  I wonder how he knew?

The winners

The losers

I'm so excited for this next chapter in my sister's life.  I can't wait for her to become a mommy because I know that will bring us even closer together than we already are.  And I know that she will be an amazing mother.  We both have a great role model.  I love you sister!  I can't wait to meet my precious niece.

Daddy and Daughter

Millie helping Trevor water the plants in the back yard.  :)

A post for mommies

I have a question for you moms out there. 

WARNING:  it relates to breastfeeding so if you were thinking about reading this and seeing something sweet and cute, you were mistaken.  No need to read any further.

My precious Millie has turned into a biter.  Yes, she bit me five times while I tried nursing her before her bedtime tonight.  She bit, I freaked out and pulled her off, she cried out of fear, I tried to nurse again, repeat.  OUCH!!  She has bitten me a couple of times before this but never this many times at once! 

So my question to you breastfeeding mothers is: 

Did your baby bite you?  If so, did you continue to breastfeed?

I'm so stressed out over this because I'm not ready to give up yet; however, I don't think I can live with my baby biting me everytime I try to nurse either.  I don't want this beautiful, special bonding time with my daughter to turn into something I dread.  I've made it seven months but my goal was one year or at the very least eight months.  I know I can continue to pump and feed her that way for a while but it will only be a matter of time before that becomes too time consuming and I am an extremely impatient person; not to mention so is Millie.... like mother like daughter!

Any advice you have on what I should do will be greatly appreciated.  

Seven Months

Today Millie turned seven months old.  She is such a joy and makes me laugh until I cry.  It's so thrilling to watch her reach different milestones every month.  At seven months old, Millie:

• can sit up on her own
• can drink from her Nuby sippy cup
• will reach for different objects and twirl them in her hands
• switches objects from one hand to the other
• belly laughs when I tickle her and kiss her (sweetest sound I've ever heard)
• feeds herself from a spoon (well, more like make a mess with a spoon)
• is starting to move her legs while on her tummy as if she wants to get up on all fours.  She hasn't quite figured it out.
• wants to put EVERYTHING into her mouth
• grabs any and everything in sight
• absolutely loves her walker.  I spend a good chunk of my day chasing her around the house in that thing!
• loves her swing outside on the front porch
• loves to chase Max around the house in the walker
• just completely lights up when her daddy walks through the door
• is sooo close to sleeping through the night.  I only get up once around 3:00.
• probably weighs around 20 pounds
• makes a very high pitched squeal that sounds like she is trying to sing.  And actually does it a lot when music is playing.
• is so interactive in our Kindermusik class.  She loves it.
• can play by herself in her crib for a long time and can put herself to sleep
• is almost at the age where she can reach for me.  She lifts her arms up as if to say "pick me up" but hasn't quite reached out.
• is awesome

I can't get enough of her.  I love her so much.

Cowgirl Millie

Happy Friday everyone!  If you were one of the lucky ones who got to enjoy a spring break I hope it was a great one!  If not, at least the weekend is here and you can relax and enjoy this beautiful weather.  As I type this, I am sitting in my rocker on the front porch while Millie is playing in her bouncer and the dogs are perched up in their pin waiting for visitors to drive or walk by so they can bark at them.  The weather is PERFECT today.  I love that my daughter loves being outside.  If she's ever really fussy and I can't calm her down, I simply take her outside and she's fine.  So it's great being able to just sit here and type while she is perfectly happy and content out here with me playing on her own.

Millie and I just got back from Houston yesterday.  We've been there since Monday helping my mother recover from her rotator cuff surgery she had last week.  She can't life her arm at all for any reason whatsoever for at least eight weeks.  Yuck!  I feel so bad for her because she literally can't do anything.  She's so bored!  Anyway, during the day on Wednesday we got to go to the Houston Rodeo with my dad and walk around all the exhibits.  It was Millie's first rodeo and we had the MOST fun!  And daddy and Claudia bought Millie a precious red bandana dress and adorable red cowgirl boots to wear.  She was the cutest kid there.  No doubt!

Proud Granddaddy!

My little cowgirl!

The smiles say it all

Her first pony ride! 

It's LENT people!

Today is Ash Wednesday and it marks the beginning of Lent.  For 40 days we will reflect on the time Jesus spent in the desert during which he was tempted by the devil.  It's a time of repentance, prayer and alms-giving.  Time for us to make our own sacrifices to keep from being tempted by the devil.  What will you be giving up this year?  I'm thinking of giving up pasta.  I have a great love of all carbs and especially pasta.  Noodles of all sorts.  I could eat pasta for all meals of the day, everyday.  It's a tempting gluttony for me so I must step away and focus on the purpose and that way I know I can do it.  Happy Ash Wednesday!



Millie and me with our ashes



Hi!

6 Months Old

On March 3rd Millie turned six months old.  A whole half a year.  Can't believe it.  She's a tiny person now with a personality, manerisms, emotions, and movements. 

At six months old Millie:

• reaches for EVERYTHING!  I can no longer drink my coffee and hold her at the same time.  No way is that happening!
• has TWO teeth!!!  Her bottom front two teeth have surfaced and made for one cranky baby lately.
• is wearing nine month clothes
• is in size three diapers
• can almost sit unassisted.  She can sit up alone for about 15 seconds then topples over.
• blowing raspberries
• loves to eat carrots.  Doesn't like vegeteble medelies though...
• has been having major constipation issues.  Makes mommy hurt more than her but I think we're finally getting over that hump.
• is finally getting some hair on her perfectly round head!
• does tiny sit-ups.  Abs of steel this girl has!

My favorite things about Millie at this age:

• She likes to grab a hold of my lips and face when she's nursing.  She's very curious about everything. 
• When she is happy she opens her mouth really wide and grins from ear to ear.
• She loves watching the dogs' every move.  She giggles at them all day.
• She makes the sweetest sounds when she's sleepy.  That seems to be when she talks the most.
• She is definitely a daddy's girl.  Her face just lights up when daddy is in the room (his face lights up too when he's around her.  I heart my hubby!).

I took Millie to her first Kindermusik class today and we had so much fun!  I signed us up for the Village course that is going on right now and this summer we will do the sign and sing class.  As an American Sign Language student, I think teaching babies this language is very important for communication between baby and adult. 

I started giving Millie her own spoon to play with during our feeding times as a way to keep her hands occupied so she stops reaching for the food.  She's also teaching herself how to eat with a spoon at the same time.  But it does cause a very large mess...