Life is full of up & downs

There's a lot going on in my life right now - And it all hit at once.

 

My mom's BFF since 7th grade found out she has cancer about 3 weeks ago - She starts chemo and radiation next week. About a week later, a 4 year old of a mommy who also has a March 2010 baby was diagnosed with Leukemia. And while surfing around on Facebook Monday night, I ran across an old friend that I grew up with & then grew apart from. . . Saw on her page that she found out in May of this year that she was Leukemia. 

I was in shock.

I still am.

I am not sure how to process all of this. I don't know why said friend and I lost contact. . . I sent her a friends request, but so far she hasn't accepted it. We were friends on there - But she deleted me [I am guessing, I didn't]. Normally I wouldn't care - But we were really good friends through middle and some of high school.

 

I guess this is all a part of growing up.

Marriage is hard.

 Getting married young is even harder.

Being married young and having a spouse in the military is even harder.

Add in a kid.

 

DH and I have had our up's and down's over the past 2 years. . . And it's been either good, or really bad, this past year. I won't go into much detail - But things are a little rocky right now. We seem to pull out of these hard times - And we're working on things we said we would. But it still sucks. My heart was broken again Sunday night and I was a mess. Marriage is hard work. And sometimes, it plain ol' SUCKS. But it's all worth it in the end.

 

 

My little girl is pretty awesome. Scratch that - She's pretty amazing. Or how about - Amazingly awesome? Yeah, I think that's fitting. I love her more then life itself. She keeps me going when I don't wanna go any more. She may give me rough days - But those pass. We have more good days then we do rough - And for that, I am thankful for.

She's growing up way too fast. Getting big and doing big girl things. She amazes me with the things she learns on a daily basis. Her new thing is sitting up. She wants to sit up EVERYWHERE. I've had to start using the over the shoulder straps on things like her swing & high chair now - Because she just keeps trying to sit up and lean forward. She's sitting up on the floor unsupported for some time. Though not perfect. It won't be long before she has it perfected.

 

Seriously - What happened to my itty bitt?

She'll be 5 months next week - WOW!

 

With all that said, we're going on vacation - Emmersyn and I. Daddy is staying home to work. We're going camping at the lake with my parents. . . And other various family. We'll be gone 8 days - Camping for 6. I am excited. But nervous. And anxious. All for different reasons. And this time, it [should] be an actual vacation for me - As my mom knows Em better then anyone else outside of DH and I and helps a ton with her. So that's awesome & exciting. I am ready. I need it.

I would love a date with my husband one of these days soon. I love my daughter - And she's such a great baby when we're out and about. She loves being at restaurants. But I think we need a date, just the two of us. But I still haven't left my princess for longer then 45 minutes. And really, the only person I feel comfortable leaving her with for more then 30 minutes is my mom. And she's 2 hours away. Not that I don't trust anybody with her - But as I stated above. . . She knows Em pretty darn well.

 

Maybe when we go to the desert at the end of the month, we can get her to watch her while we go out, even if we're just hanging out with friends who'll be in town. . . We'll see. We'll see if I can do it.

With that said. . . I'll be back to our house on the 7th of August. I am sure sometime that following week I'll have a nice long post filled with pictures for y'all.

 

August 13th is my birthday!

Have a great week!

 

 

Coffee

Lets talk about Coffee. . .

 

 

Truth be told - I was never much of a coffee drinker. I enjoyed a cup here or there, and the occasional Starbucks coffee as well. But it never did anything for me. As a person with ADD, it shouldn't do much for me.

I was always told that when I'd have kids, coffee would become my best friend.

 

I never believed them. Because well, coffee has never done anything for me.

They were right. For the most part.

 

We've always had a coffee pot. . . And we've had the same thing of coffee in our house for a while now. Why I bought a big ol' can of it, I still have no idea. But we're going through it now. When ever my parents come, they always make coffee in the morning. But again, I just was never into it.

Until about 3 weeks ago.

 

When I started on a morning routine with Emmersyn, where sleeping in until 10 am was no longer an option. . . I started making coffee in the morning. The first day I had a cup of coffee with breakfast in the morning - I was full of energy. I got so much done, was in a great mood and thus - Had a fantastic day. All because of a simple cup of coffee. Amazing.

Now, most mornings, when giving Emmersyn her breakfast I sit at the table with her drinking my coffee and eating my breakfast. I haven't been on any of my ADD meds since I got pregnant as they weren't safe during pregnancy & breastfeeding - And I just don't feel like I need them any more. So coffee gives me that bit of caffeine that was in my meds that kick my butt into gear every day. I only drink it during the week, though, when I am alone with the baby all day while DH is working. He isn't much of a coffee drinker, either, so I don't bother with it on the weekends.

 

I like my coffee sweet. I use Hazelnut creamer and sugar. Mmm Mmmm! I make a fresh pot every other day, since it's just me drinking it. I most defiantly prefer fresh coffee - But I am not gonna waste it so I'll just heat it up in the microwave the second day.

 

Do you drink coffee?

When did you start drinking it?

How do you like your coffee?

 

 

Have a fantastic day! 

All American Girl

Business first. . .

:)

My first ever guest post! I'll be featured there tomorrow [Wednesday]! I am pretty excited to get to guest post and hopefully this'll be motivation enough to get me posting more.

To be honest, I am still lost and confused about where exactly to 'fit in' in this blogger world. I am use to blogging about our day-to-day life, but that gets boring. And I find not many people tend to be drawn to that. At least, not in the boring way. I need to find a way to keep it fun and creative. . . 

For now, though, it's all about my little missy. Of course.

The song I'll be posting through out this post reminds me so much of DH & I. . .

Since the day they got married,
He'd been praying for a little baby boy.
Someone he could take fishing,
Throw the football and be his pride and joy.
He could already see him holding that trophy,
Taking his team to state.
But when the nurse came in with a little pink blanket,
All those big dreams changed.

This week has been a fun one for Emmersyn - And an exhausting one for mommy! My little piglet figured out how to foll from her back to belly. And she's a champ at it - Loves doing it. Yay! Right? Wrong. She doesn't like tummy time. And thanks to her reflux, I often find her in a puddle of spit up after only a few minutes on her belly. She insist on rolling over, though. As soon as I lay her on her back, she is rolling her little hiney over. I give her a couple minutes - And then she starts getting frustrated and screams at me. So I go to roll her over. . . Half the time, she'll resist and scream at me, but STILL doesn't wanna be on her tummy. The other half, I can get her flopped over without issues - But then she is right back onto her tummy and frustrated at me within minutes.

Exhausting.

And now he's wrapped around her finger,
She's the center of his whole world.
And his heart belongs to that sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American Girl.

I normally end up with her in my lap. Which all she wants to do then is stand. I know they say babies don't know what bored is, can't get bored, ect. . . But this kid gets so antsy and isn't digging anything we have for her. I've spent most my days the past week bouncing her back and forth between her play gym, a blanket on the floor with toys all around her, her jumperoo and my lap. 

What in the world am I suppose to do with a 4.5 month old?!

Sixteen short years later,
She was falling for the senior football star.
Before you knew it he was dropping passes,
Skipping practice just to spend more time with her.

My good friend out here, who's daughter is 10.5 months older then Emmersyn, will be home from a month old trip back to her home state of VA. And now that Em is getting older and summer is here, we're hoping to get together more often for the girls to play. A library out here has story time on Fridays, infants-2 years old, that we're wanting to go to together. We do Gymboree on Tues & Thurs, which last 45 minutes and always wears her out. . .  But what in the world are we suppose to do at home to keep her happily occupied?

The coach said "Hey son, what's your problem? Tell me, have you lost your mind?"
Daddy said "You'll lose your free ride to college. Boy you better tell her goodbye".

Another new & exciting thing in Emmersyn and mommies world is - BABY GIGGLES! Ahh. . . I love it. And the look on her daddies face when he heard it? Absolutely priceless. I wish I had a video camera. Or just a camera, period. It was amazing and melted my heart. She giggled at me. . . So between his look/reaction and her giggles, I was grinning ear to ear with tears in my eyes. She did it again last night and it was just as adorable and awesome. It's still hit or miss, but it's amazing!

But now he's wrapped around her finger,
She's the center of his whole world.
And his heart belongs to that sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American...

Gymboree is going great. Emmersyn is starting to show her little personality more and more each week, and I love it. Everybody gets a kick out of her little screams and grunts and cracks up each time she lets a shriek out. She doesn't seem to be a shy one by any means these days!!

And not to jinx things *knock on wood* but the past 2 nights she's slept through the night again!

And when they got married and decided to have one of their own,
She said "Be honest, tell me what do you wanted?"
And he said "Honey, you oughta know... Sweet, little, beautiful... one just like you. Oh a beautiful, wonderful, perfect
All-American..."

[Trey Ryan]

Emmersyn is no longer the baby on DH's side (though she'll always be my baby). His sister had this little cutie, her 3rd boy, on July 12th. Weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 2oz. And yesterday we got to meet him, as they took a day trip out here to see friends & stopped by for dinner and to hang out for a couple hours. It was great to see my 2 older nephews & meet the youngest little monster.

Now he's wrapped around her finger,
She's the center of his whole world.
And his heart belongs to that sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American Girl.
All American Girl. 

Emmersyn looked like a monster next to him -- And he felt light as a feather when I picked him up. It's hard to believe that she was that small just 4 months ago. Seriously - Where has the time gone?!?

She's amazing. I love her so much and absolutely adore being her mommy. . . Even if it's an exhausting job - It's the most rewarding jobs out there!

Here's all the kiddos. . . Ely is almost 10 (L), Ty is 3 (R) and then little Trey at 1 week old and Emmersyn at 4.5 months. She may be the only girl, but if she's anything like her mommah -- She'll be keeping up with them and then some in no time at all!

Emmersyn will be on vacation with completely no internet the 1st week of August. . . We're off to spend a week at the lake with my parents! 

Love Like Crazy

They called them crazy when they started out
Said seventeen's too young to know what loves about

I have a new found love of mornings. Especially now that summer is here, and I don't freeze when I walk out the door. But honestly, my new found love of mornings comes from my little girl. Who could not love mornings when you wake up to a gorgeous smiling angel? Even on the mornings [most since we gotta take DH to work] where I have to go in and wake her up. She greets me with the sleepiest smile, and then stretches that cute little body and gives me more big ol' smiles. I love it.

Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I Love You
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common since
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy

Every morning when we get home from dropping DH off at work, I plop little miss in her high chair at the table. I then go around and open the doors & windows and open the blinds near the kitchen table. And we say "Good morning Mr.Sunshine!" And when the kitties come out to see us, we say good morning to them, too. I get her breakfast made and get my coffee going. If she's patient enough, I get my breakfast made and coffee poured. And then we eat. We sit at the kitchen table and eat together. I wake my computer up while I feed her and she watches a little big of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I eat if she's being impatient.

I love it.

 
Always treat your woman like a lady
Never get to old to call her baby
Never let your prayin knees get lazy
And love like crazy

Every morning she's stripped down to her diaper - She's a bit of a messy eater, and I am okay with that. She spends the remainder of the morning in her diaper - Not getting dressed until after her nap, if she gets dressed at all. 

Yesterday I let her play in her birthday suit for about 20 minutes. I laid a towel down and let her have at it. Oh my - She had a blast. And when I put her on her tummy? Massive smiles. Lots of them. She is not a fan of tummy time (thanks reflux monster) but she was digging it this day. Maybe it was because she was naked? I'll tell you what - This kid doesn't like clothes. She's fine when I take clothes off her - But when I go to put them on? Oh boy is she mad. 

Let's be honest here, though - I don't like clothes, either. And if I were a baby, I am sure I'd dig chilling in my diaper all day. 

I got some adorable photos of her playing naked - I wish I could share them, but that just isn't the smartest of ideas this day & age. 

I really want to get her a kiddie pool. We live upstairs. We have a private garage. We're attached to people. However, the lady to the right of us in the 2 story 3 bedroom place is super nice - She's been here since we moved in. We talk occasionally. They have a small patch of grass between their driveway/garage and ours. I am sure if I were to ask - She'd let us put the pool there and would even let us use her hose to fill it up, since we don't have a faucet thing. But getting the 'guts' - Getting past the shyness - to ask is a task in itself. Who knows if I'll get around to it before the summer is up.

 

Sunshine & Summer Time

I've been wanting to post a blog all week. . . But it's been impossible. We're just too busy - And I don't like blogging when DH is home. I can't concentrate as much. Today is a duty day and a non-Gymboree day - Which means that we aren't rushed to get things done in the morning and I can sit and relax [and blog] during her morning nap!

It's summer time & the sun is shinning - Finally! Though last week, you wouldn't of thought it was summer time out here - It was cloudy & cool all week. I had Em in pants some days! I am loving this warm, sunny weather we have here now!!

I have a water baby - And I love it!! She loves the beach, and as we found out this weekend - She loves the pool! She was kicking away and just sitting back and hanging out.

I feel like we are constantly busy around here - Which isn't a bad thing. But oy - Mommah is exhausted! I am constantly cleaning the house. I've got a new found love for cleaning. I use to hate it - But boy do I enjoy it now. I think know it has to do with the fact that I have a baby now and I want to keep a good, safe, clean environment for her. . . But it's amazing how much has changed in the past 4 months!

Emmersyn is growing so much and way too fast. . . I cannot believe it's been 4 (almost 4.5) months since I had her. Since I could barely walk. I almost, almost can't remember what it was like trying to get around after I had her. . . Oy that was rough! Emmersyn had her 4 month well baby appointment on Monday - Poor baby had shots which she wasn't thrilled about - But has done great since! She even slept through the night Monday night - I missed that but it was short lived, as I figured.

My little monkey is 14lbs 14oz (71%) and 25.5 in (91%). . . And her little big nogging is in the 87%. I was shocked to hear she's in the 91st percentile for height. . . Not that DH and I are short - But she just doesn't look that long. I am not way tall, I am only about 5'4 - But I have long legs. DH is about 6 feet. So we'll see how tall she'll end up being. She's just perfect, though!

This week little miss tried pears. They were a success. So she's now eating bananas, applesauce & pears! She loves her food. . . Though she's still only getting it once, sometimes twice, a day. I have also decided to make her food. . . I got one of those 'Slap Chops' from my parents house, since they never used it. . . And am just making her food with that. So far I've made bananas and carrots. She is still a little iffy about the bananas. . . They taste fine to me, but I think the different texture of them, compared to the Gerber food, is a little shocking to her. She finally chowed down on them last night - But then this morning wasn't so into them. Today I am going to attempt to make her sweet potato & apples. I still have to look into how to do those, though. I've heard different ways, so we'll see.

Has any of my readers made their children(s) baby food? If so - I'd love to hear how you did it and any tips or pointers.

I've obviously never done this before and am kinda figuring it all out as we good - So I'd love some advice or tips!

Gymboree yesterday was fun. Emmersyn, of course, spit up everywhere. . . Which is a little embarrassing to me that she spits up so much while there - But what can I do? We're trying a new formula that's thicker and specifically for spitting up. . . Not sure if it's making much of a difference other then the texture of the spit up. Hah. She showed her little personality yesterday, though, by talking and squealing away. I loved it! There was another new mom, with a baby 5 days younger them Emmersyn who normally goes to the other Gymbo location - And she seemed really nice. She said how she's looking for other moms and such to hang out with. . . And her daughter is way adorable. I wish I wasn't so shy so I could reach out to her and see about getting together outside Gymbo or something. She seemed to like our class a little better, because we always have a parent discussion - Whereas, she said at the other location they don't. So I am hoping she'll come back tomorrow!

That brings me to another exciting milestone! Her daughter was flipping from back to stomach like it was nothing yesterday during class. . . When we got home, Emmersyn was playing on her play mat on the floor when DH says "There she goes!" I thought she was spitting up - So I grabbed the cloth and went to clean her up. . . Nope - She was trying to roll onto her tummy!! She got all the way over, but she couldn't figure out how to get her little arm out from under her - So I helped her out.

Yay Emmersyn!

Now once she puts two and two together - We're in trouble!

 

Family

[Christmas 08 - My parents, brothers, husband and I]

Family means the world to me. I know a lot of people say that - But it's so very true to me. I absolutely love my family. It's big - But not huge. And I love it. And we're all very close.

[Scanned picture - The majority of my family & DH and I on our 'big wedding']

My immediate family consist of: My mom, who is an amazing woman. My dad, a recovering alcoholic. My half brother - Danny, who is 30 [the dark haired guy in the xmas pic]. My brother - Garrett, who is 25. And then myself. The baby.

And then my mom has 1 brother & 1 sister. . . Her brother has a wife & 2 kiddos - Evan, who's almost 16, and Sydney who is 12. My Aunt & Uncle are on the left of this pic - Evan is the red head & Syd is the big girl in the dress - She was a Jr Bridesmaid. Then there is her sister & her wife - And their amazingly beautiful little girl, Gabby, who is already 3. She was my flower girl at just 13 months! And of course, my awesomely adorable Grandpa.

On my dads side. . . Eh. There's nobody as far as I am concerned. He has a mom still around who has a husband whom she married sometime when I was in my early teens. She is a trip & is a whole blog post in itself. A very angry blog post, at that. I have nothing nice to say about her any more. I do not refer to her as my Grandma. Because she isn't. To me, she is Judy. My dad also has a brother who has 2 kiddos whom I haven't seen since our big wedding in 08. And before then - It was a while. So as far as I know - There's nobody there and I was surprised they came to my wedding.

Now - I do have a wonderful Great Aunt & 2 2nd cousins (who are the same age as my 2 brothers - So we don't think of each other as '2nd' cousins) who we are close with. There's a whole lot of people from there that are family in some way or the other. Be it they're just REALLY good family friends for YEARS. Their family. My mom has aunts & uncles and cousins still around - And they're great people, we just rarely see them. Her mom died when I was 10, so she is sadly no longer with us.

Straight up - My family is awesome.

[Halloween 09 - I was pregnant and just starting to really show. We convinced Evan to let us dress him up as a girl. It was awesome. He was embarrassed at 1st but loved it as we got going with the night. Probably because people REALLY thought he was a girl. . . Until he spoke. And then his sister, Sydney)

These kids are the best. I love them to death [as well as Gabby, but her & her moms moved back to NY in Oct]. Evan & I have always been really close. . . Sydney and I are close too, just not as close. I miss them. Terribly. Before I moved to San Diego, the 3 of us went to the water park and had a great time. I will never forget that. Since moving, our time spent together has been few & far in between.

Well today we spent all afternoon together. Swimming. Being kids. And having a blast. And I enjoyed every minute of it. My mom, Emmersyn, E (Evan), Syd and I went out to the pool. Emmersyn had a blast. She was enjoying it greatly. My mom even dunked her. I was nervous at first - But my mom has done it to many babies and I trust her, so I let her do it. [Blow in babies face hard/fast and dip them under water REAL fast. Blowing in their face makes them hold their breath]. Emmersyn wasn't a fan of it the 1st time - And the 2nd time was still a bit unsure, but it wasn't bad. But she just loved being in the water. After about 30 minutes my mom took Em in and the 3 of us 'kids' just hung out.

It was nice. A ton of fun. I acted 16 and had fun. We were ganging up on E with the pool noodles and attacking him with them. Yes. Probably sounds dumb and immature reading this. But yanoe what? Oh well. My child was in great hands. And my mom knew I would  get her if needed. But she was fine. It was nice to get a little break. Some time away from Em. Without being away from her. I love her to death - And I LOVE staying home with her. But sometimes, mommah needs a breather. And I got that today. And I got to spend the time with my little cousins. And it was awesome. Every minute of it.

[Desert sunset - Oct 09. I truly believe the desert has better sunsets then the beach a lot of the times]

I love my family. And I miss being just minutes away. But I am so, very thankful that we're only a 2 hour drive. It could be a million times worse. My family is the best. And even with us kids all grown up - We still spend a lot of holidays together and get together at times just because.

Tomorrow my brother & his fiance are coming over for more pool time and to BBQ hot dogs & hamburgers.

With that said. . . I miss my little family.

DH is camping - I haven't heard anything from him since they left at 2pm today. I am sad. I know he has reception - My texts are getting out to him. I am not asking for much. Just a simple 'hello, I love you' would be nice - To know that he's thinking about me, or at least Emmersyn, like I'm thinking about him. Yes, I can be a bit insecure. But that's okay. We've been through a lot & are still working through it.

I cannot wait to get home to him tomorrow. Sometime. Hah.

Gymboree!

 

We love  Gymboree!

 

 

 

 

 

We've been at Gymboree (Gymbo) for 2 weeks now and we love it. Emmersyn & I go every Tuesday & Thursday at 1:00pm. It's a bit pricey - But worth it, to me. It gets both of us out of the house twice a week doing something other then grocery shopping or paying bills - And it gets us socializing. Even if it's just for 45 minutes each time.

 

I've always been a bit of an 'out-cast'. I've never been in the popular crowd. And I have a hard time fitting in. It's my own fault. My own thoughts. It's because I care too much about what others think of me. . . This started even before I became a mom. It's a long story as to why I am this way - But as usual with things like this, it is because I've had some bad things happen to me. So yeah. . . It can be kinda awkward/weird for me some days if I think too much about it - But I try to interact with the other [super cute] babies & talk with the other moms. But once again - I just feel I don't belong.

 

 

 

 

We don't have a lot of money. I don't wear expensive clothes. I don't drive a super nice car. We're a military family - Working with a tight budget most the time. And you know what? That's a-okay for me. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my life just how it is. I don't need a fancy car. . . My little Escape does the job just perfectly.

It's really hard for me to make friends. . . And once I make them - It's hard for me to keep them. I sadly just keep waiting for the epic fall out that I feel is bound to happen, just because it's happened before. I really want to make friends through this experience. I have some wonderful childhood friends and some wonderful high school friends. But most them are childless & not married - Living up the single college life. And frankly, that is far from my scene. I have a great friend out here, though. Another Navy wife. She's got a super adorable little girl who is 10.5 months older then my little piggy. We get together as much as we can and I greatly enjoy my time with her. I love her daughter to pieces. . . We've been friends for the past year so we've gotten to know each other pretty well. She's met my mom & I've met her parents. We've seen each other probably at our worst (or near it). [I helped her w/ her daughter after she had a surgery & she came to visit me just 2 days after I had Emmersyn, so I was pretty 'beat up']. But with the age difference of the girls right now - Getting together is hard.

 

Her little one is interested in Em. . . But Em is still too little to play with. And her lil one is just over a year, so she doesn't quiet understand "Shh" and "Gentle" - Though we're working with her on the gentle part. She wants to play with Em so bad. I feel bad. Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love hanging out with them. She knows a lot about me. . . A lot about what's happened these last few years with my marriage, ect. . . She was there through my whole pregnancy and then some. She was there for me during the whole deployment - Her and her husband helped me a ton. But it'd be nice to also have someone to hang out with who's little one is closer to Em's age.

So I am hoping that I can stop caring so much. . . And start letting loose a bit more. Not that Gymboree is exactly the place to 'let loose' - But you get my drift.

 

 

 

 

I know there's a lot of people out there who are like this, as well. I've heard about it before. 

If you're one - How did you over come it? How do you make friends? I know the obvious to the 2nd question - But for me, it's harder then that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's late - I have an early morning. I think I'll go join my little love.

[Another plus to Gymboree - It wears her out! She takes a good 2 hour nap when we get home every time]

I parent by heart. . .

Man I love my daughter!

She's currently on her play mat going nuts with all the toys & as one gets close to her mouth, she starts smacking her lips. Cutest thing ever! I took a video but haven't uploaded it yet. I do, however, have a super adorable video uploaded of her making the Indian noise. I love it!

She is a fantastic little girl and I am a very blessed mommah! I am so in love with her. . . And with being a mom. She's the best thing that's happened to me since I met her daddy.

Being a mom in general is so awesome. So much fun. So rewarding. Simply amazing. I parent by heart - Not by the books. "They" change what's right or wrong every so many years, I really don't know what's "right" and what's "wrong". So I do what I feel is best for Emmersyn - And I follow her lead.

When she was younger, I found one day that she slept better when she was on her belly. It was the only way I'd be able to put her down when she was asleep. . . So we brought her pack-n-play out to the living room and for the 1st week - She took her naps in that on her belly, where I was close by and checked on her constantly. I noticed just how much better she slept - So we moved the PnP back into our room and we started night time on her belly. Yes, it was very nerve wracking. I checked on her often those 1st few nights through out the night. . . But I left it up to the man upstairs. I knew he would watch over my precious baby girl. . . And he did. Now she has out grown her tummy sleeping.

Around that same time - We found that she slept better when she was in her pack-n-play next to our bed, in her own space. . . Not in bed with us (it's a CA King so she did have her own space, but not enough I guess). So we [sadly] weaned co-sleeping.

She doesn't like tummy time - So I don't force it. We try it at least once or twice a day - But when she starts fussing, we stop right away. I know a lot of babies don't like tummy time and have to learn to like it - But I am not worried about her. She has gotten the neck strength from other things - Like standing - So we don't push it.

Now we're already on solids. . . She was ready - Constantly watching any and everything that went into our mouths. We started oatmeal cereal about a week & a half before she turned 4 months old. That Sunday - 1 week before she turned 4 months - We went ahead and introduced bananas. This girl loves her some bananas. She got it mixed in with her cereal every morning for 1.5 weeks. Sometime in that time frame - We introduced peas. But she threw up from them. So I made a mental note that her little tummy just may not be ready for veggies yet - So we'll hold off. [Side Note: My mom started solids early with my brother & I and did all fruits 1st then veggies closer to 5-6 months]. No biggy. She's young still, I won't push it. About a week ago we introduced applesauce. She seems to like that as well. . . So now she's getting that mixed into her cereal. Her applesauce will be gone tomorrow morning - So next week we'll introduce a new fruit and do that for a week-week and a half.

I am simply going off her cues. Some people don't agree with solids this early. They wanna wait until 6+ months. That is fine. I can respect your decision & I won't bash it - I ask that others do the same for me. I had someone say that I was going to kill my daughter by starting her early. Excuse me?! That is absolutely ridiculous!

Emmersyn isn't laughing yet - But she just started rolling tummy to back. I don't think she's behind, but I believe she does things like that in the later months of the time frame. And that is perfectly okay. She's like her mommy - She likes to do things on her own time. Things here now run on Emmersyn time - And I am a-okay with that!

I have a very healthy & very happy little girl who I love so very much. And she just loves her mommy & daddy. Oh boy, does she love her daddy! I know babies can't get "bored". . . But I truly believe that she does get tired of me during the day, because by night time all she wants is her daddy. She stares at him all night long. . . If I have her & she fusses, he'll say something to her and interact with her and she's all smiles!!! She loves her daddy to pieces - Already a daddies girl!