And she grows up!

Jeff and I spontaneously decided one morning to just pack up and leave for Colorado Springs so I could meet the brother-in-law and his new wife I've never met. Marcus and Tabatha agreed we could come and it was a really nice trip! We both enjoyed ourselves. We spent a few hours doing what I love which is sitting outside on a back porch and just chatting. This is the only picture I took. It was right after Faith had her bath and Tabatha was holding her while I made a bottle. They look so peaceful. 

On the way back we decided to stop at Applebees as I hate fast food. Besides Faith really needed to get out of her car seat. She did so well though. She would just play with her toys and then when it was nap time we turned on the CD she listens to when she goes down and she would drift right off to sleep. I just love her for being such a great baby.

She has really grown up so fast. She is starting to show a personality now. She smiles so big whenever I sing the song, "How much is that Doggy in the window". Now she even starts to smile when the FBI warning sign comes on before Einstein begins.

Lately she now will take in her bottom lip and suck on it. I'm not sure where she learned to do that but she just started to. 

She began to sit up in her swing. This was the start of what she does now which is sits up all on her own!!! I can't believe she does that now! She is so grown up!!!

We started her on solid foods a week before she turned 6 months. I was so excited about it. I make my own baby food by steaming the vegetables and then sticking them in a food processor. The fruit is easier because I just have to cut it up and puree it. Its nice to know I'm not feeding her a bunch of preservatives and pesticides because she is eating organically.

The bananas seemed to go over really well. She loved them but peas on the other hand didn't do so well. I think it was more the texture as I can't get them quite as pureed or creamy as the store can. But that picture is just classic, isn't it?

We took her to the doctor's office for her six month check up. The Ped said she looked like a 9 month old baby and her measurements were just that as well. She was 27 inches and 20.3 lbs. I knew she was heavy but I had no idea she was that big. He said she is perfectly proportionate. She is in the 95th percentile. I love every bit of her!!! She is so amazing!!!

I went to the doctor's today and they had an ultrasound done on my new little one. He/She is doing great and it was so awesome to see the baby inside me again! I loved it and fell in love instantly. 

Riverton Half Marathon

I have been trying to talk my friend Mary into running a marathon with me for years. She always said she wanted to but never thought she could run that far. Boy was she wrong. She is much better than I am. I never claimed to be the fastest runner but I can finish. And that is all that has ever mattered to me.

 We began training before I found out I was pregnant and because I registered for the San Diego Marathon which she won't be able to do, we decided to do the Riverton Half Marathon on March 26th. That morning was soooo cold. The wind was blowing crazily which made it even more cold. I wish I wasn't so huge running this. I have a good 33 extra lbs on me which I never had before running. I didn't get to lose all the weight before getting pregnant again and I was upset about that but at least I could still finish even with the weight making me slower.

Mary stuck by me throughout the race and we were pretty much last. There were only 11 people that finished after us which was awful but oh well. It took us 3 hours, 1 minute, and 58 seconds. 

 The wind taxed a lot of my energy very quickly but I didn't stop running. I ran to the next mile marker and then would walk for just a little bit and run to the next mile. But when we hit the 11th mile I was DONE. I knew I had nothing left in me. I had just finished walking up the third ludicrously steep hill and it wore me out. These hills were so steep I could feel it in my thighs and glutes! I wish they had a rope I could have held onto to pull me up. I ran the next two miles but was running so slowly I might as well have been walking fast. The mojo had left me and I could feel my heart start to hurt a bit. Knowing I was pregnant I knew I needed to take it easy. I turned the corner and saw the finish line but I didn't begin sprinting that last quarter of a mile until I saw my husband and darling baby right there waiting for me! They gave me this unknown strength to just start running as fast as I could.

 

When I got to the runner's only area I quickly grabbed some water but didn't feel the need to eat anything. After all, I ate an energy bar an hour before. But shortly after my calf muscles began seizing and cramping up so bad I leaned against a pole trying to stretch them and holding back my tears. It hurt so bad. Jeff immediately told me that was a sign of dehydration and that my potassium levels were most likely low. Mary grabbed me a banana and I ate that quickly. I just wanted to go home but was scared to get in the car and have them seize up in that tiny space. But Mary helped me stretch them again and then I started to feel better. I got home and realized that with my being pregnant I should be going to the bathroom a lot and I wasn't hardly at all. I knew that was it and that I was in fact dehydrated. I think I drank 6 quarts of Gatorade the rest of the day and finally started peeing normal again. Yikes, lesson learned. I've never had that happen to me before. Baby must be taking what little I was drinking. Well after my second half marathon finished I am onto training for the full marathon in 2 months! Excited and hope little baby will let me get through it!

Some VERY Unexpected News!!!

A little more than 6 weeks ago I began rocking Faith to sleep in a chair and I would sing to her some songs. Some were Disney, some were lullabies, and some were church favorites of mine. I was all of a sudden overcome with the feeling that there was a little boy waiting for Jeff and I. It was so overpowering that I told Jeff later that night what I had felt. Roughly two weeks following that on a Saturday I was at the gym running as I was supposed to complete 4 miles that day. I was struggling. I had been on a fruit diet and had been complaining of being extremely tired for the last week. I was beyond tired that day and truly didn't want to be running. I could barely make it through this run. I was walking a lot of it and just could barely get through it.

I had made it 3.15 miles and suddenly the thought entered my mind, "You're pregnant!" I immediately wrestled with my thoughts thinking I couldn't be. But then I counted back and I was over a week late. I came home and told Jeff and it was the first thing that I said to him when I opened the door. He didn't think I was right but I was lying on the floor feeling horrible after the run. We went and bought a test. Not even 2 seconds afterwards the test clearly stated I was pregnant. I sat down on the ground and smiled thinking "I knew I was right". Jeff couldn't believe it. The next few hours were spent in a hysteria of crying and laughing. They would be only 12 months apart.

I am now 9 weeks and it has been a journey thus far raising Faith and being sick and tired all the time but I am now getting excited to bring a new little one into this world. I think it will be easier to get the pre-school years done with all at once rather than space it out and drag it out longer. Besides, now they will be best buds and can play with each other. So once again, Jeff and I are expanding the family.

Faith turns 5 months!

I can't believe my little girl is now 5 months old. That's such a short time yet so long ago that she was born. I am amazed at all that she has accomplished in just the last 2 months. She is still learning how to really be coordinated when holding things up to her mouth but every day she gets better at it. 

Her new favorite person is her dad right now. He of course loves it when I say that. She doesn't hardly see him that much so I think that has a lot to do with it. However he can just look at her and say "hi" and she is all smiles. I do the same thing a minute later and she just stares at me like she is thinking, "what do you want, mom?" I love that she knows her daddy though. It makes me happy. She has giggled a few times for me but I usually can't get her to repeat it a second time. The other day Jeff was playing and bouncing her and she giggled a few times in a row! I must admit I was jealous a little bit. Maybe she has too much mommy time. I guess I should take off and enjoy some "me" time so I become the new favorite person to her.

Her hair has started to really grow and thicken up. Sometimes I think she is about to have bangs. :) She loves to grab her toes. She does it all the time and that's how she moves herself around and rotates 180 degrees in a few minutes when she is lying on her back on the floor. I left the room for a few minutes and her head was on the right side and when I came back that's where her feet were. Silly girl!

She constantly is piling air up in her mouth and then blows it out to make almost a "farting" noise as it escapes. I call it blowing bubbles even though only a few times has bubbles come out of her mouth when she does that. Its soooo cute!! Sometimes when I try and put her down for a nap she will decide she doesn't want to go down and do that. A week ago I tried putting her down a half hour early and we are rocking in the dark (just a little light from the hallway) and all of a sudden I hear the bubble making sound and can feel air on my face. She was doing it again. I just looked at her in what little light I could and she was smiling at me. It was so cute I couldn't be mad at her for not going to sleep. She ended up not going to bed until 9pm.

My baby now sleeps through the night. I love it! She still wakes up an hour after I put her down which annoys me slightly but I guess its better that she does that than wakes up 5 hours later to wake me up. I just give her another bottle and she is back in bed. She is sleeping 12 hours total and I love that! So she is down at 7:30 at night and then up at 7:30 in the morning. I can't handle a 6am baby. That would be a little much for me and I get kind of grumpy when she does wake up early if I happen to put her to bed early.

My sister-in-law, Katie made her these headbands. I think they look amazingly cute!

I think they look amazingly cute! On another sleep note, I stopped putting Faith in a swaddle weeks ago. I was sooo beyond thankful for that because I hated that thing. I know it works and keeps her from the startle reflexes but I always felt like I was putting her in a baby straight jacket. So the last few weeks I would just cuddle her and then lay her down and wrap a blanket around her to keep her arms from flailing. However the last few days I stopped wrapping the blanket around her and she has still been sleeping through the night. Hooray! Tonight I went in to check on her a few hours after she had been down and both her hands were above her head. She had even moved her hand like she was circling her head. So cute! I just love babies when they sleep. They are so peaceful!

Faith has really showed how much she loves her Baby Einstein shows. I do limit them but she gets so excited. It first starts when the "Disney" music begins and she sees Tinkerbell bring on the words of Disney. I think its because she knows its about to begin. I could be holding her away from the TV so she can't see it but if she hears that Disney music she will search for it.

Its then followed by another big smile of excitement when the caterpillar crawls onto the screen. I sometimes rewind it so that I can see it again because it makes me happy to see her so excited!

This is a video of Faith being a "super baby" with her dad. 

And here is the excited face as the Baby Einstein caterpillar comes onto the screen. I bet you watched it more than once! :)

Faith is grabbing her toes and blowing air from her mouth in this one.

Oh, and something exciting happened today (March 23rd), Faith rolled over for the first time by herself without any help from me!!!! I was sooo excited to have witnessed it. I tried to get it on video but she wouldn't do it again. The exciting thing is that I have been taking Faith to the chiropractor to be adjusted. The doctor is working on making sure she is realigned so that it can stop her excessive spit up and that she doesn't poop. I've heard that chiropractic care can help fix these problems but never took her in until now. After the first visit that day Faith could lay on her tummy for 4 times as long as she used to. Before she would cry after a minute or two and put her head down into the blanket. She never reached for toys or anything. I thought it was because she just didn't like being on her tummy but now I know differently. It was because her back was out. Actually she was out in 3 different places. In her neck (right behind her ear lobes) she was out and it was pulling her head to the right. In the middle of the back she would arch away from the Doc when he would just lightly touch their with some pressure. He adjusted that and told me that it was really tight there and that's linked to the spit up region so it could be why she is so excessively spitting/throwing up all the time. Then both her hips were out so he adjusted those and advised me that those can also be linked to the colon region. So now that we are working on realigning the body, those nerves can now communicate correctly. However I take her in for a total of 10 visits ( 3x a week) to be readjusted so that he can loosen up those areas that are tight and hopefully by the end she will be pooping on her own and not spitting up. So far she has pooped 2 days in a row (only once) but I'll take what I can get. Her spit up is still occurring but it seems to have lessened a bit. I am hopeful since the other MD doctors don't seem to be able to tell me anything other than "wait it out". I must admit I love that I don't always listen to what ever doctor tells me. I so believe in natural methods and not a bunch of pills and surgeries (not that they aren't needed sometimes) but try alternative methods first.

Anyway, I love being a mom and Faith is the greatest daughter I could ever ask for!

And... She Sleeps!!

Life is absolutely wonderful!!! Maybe its because I just got back from the temple to do Baptisms for the Dead for the first time in my life! But I just love being there and the spirit that is there! Its like you walk in and just forget about the world. I love my husband and all that he does for us! He is amazing and I am so thankful that he holds the priesthood and can bring that into our home!

Yesterday was a rough day for us. We had been trying to plan a trip to the temple but Jeff needed to renew his recommend. He finally did and so we planned to go yesterday. My mom agreed to watch her and everything was all set. We hadn't been since Jan of last year!! So yesterday morning we got up and Jeff and I were fighting pretty bad. I remember thinking I don't want to go to the temple like this and not with him now. A few minutes after I thought that my mom called to say she forgot about a meeting she was going to go to and could no longer watch Faith. So great! Now we really couldn't go.. I couldn't find anyone to watch her last minute so I finally resulted to call my brother who does NOT watch babies. He plays with them but does NOT watch them. I told him I felt like we should go since we had been fighting and I felt like the adversary was really trying to keep us from going. To my surprise he agreed as long as I had her down for the night so she would most likely not wake up. Well that meant she would have to be in bed at 5:30pm and she woke up at 1:45 so that was nearly 4 hours for her to be up. WAY too long! She can barely last 1 hour and 45 minutes of being up. But I decided we had to do what we had to do. So after making up with Jeff we decided to take Faith to my brother's/mom's house so she wouldn't catnap in the car when she got tired. Once we got to my mom's I couldn't find my keys since Jeff drove. I knew that I had brought them but they were nowhere to be found. We couldn't get in and had no place to go. What more could go wrong? So I called my mom and asked where her spare key was. She didn't remember where she put it after she had moved the garage around. I looked everywhere. So I guess there was nothing left to do but go home or risk Faith falling asleep which if she did we wouldn't be able to go. My mom finally called back and suggested a window that might not have been locked. We tried it and thankfully got in!!! It felt as though every trick the Adversary threw at us the Lord would help us overcome it in some way! We were so blessed!




We went to do Baptisms for the Dead as I have never done that. It was an amazing experience and even better to have my husband do the baptising for me! I loved it!!! and we both came out almost as though we and our relationship were renewed! We could both feel the difference watching each other in the temple. I was so overjoyed and thankful that we had the opportunity to go and partake in something the Lord has provided to each of us if we just use it.

Faith has begun to sleep nearly 9-10 hours straight this last week! Not sure what started it but she has done it 5 days in a row! I wish I could say I stay asleep until she wakes up but my "mommy clock" has been waking me up when she used to wake up. Hopefully I will get used to it soon!

She still hasn't rolled over and I think I am going to stop encouraging it and just enjoy her as she is. Besides, I won't have to worry about leaving her for a split second.

I have begun to use the jogging stroller with her every morning. She is so awesome as she sleeps right through it all. She will wake up in the morning and about an hour and 15 minutes later she is ready for a short nap.. so that's when we buckle her up and head out the door! I get to train and she gets to nap. Its wonderful! Multi-tasking.. its so easy... ;).

Doesn't she look just like an older person sitting in a chair with her arms on the arm rests and napping??? I think she looks so cute when she sleeps like this. Well she turned 4 months last week and I'm surprised that she is nearly grown out of her 3-6 months. Most don't fit her very easily. She is too tall!!! Soo.. I guess I'm going to have to go shopping again! I have no problems with that other than it would be nice to have her wear some of those cute outfits I bought a little longer than only 7 weeks.

The other day after we went to "Baby and Me" at the library, as I was driving home, she fell asleep holding onto the straps for the toys on her car seat. I thought it was so cute.

Life sometimes gets boring playing with the same old toys but she never gets tired of me! I really don't think I'm that fun but she sure seems to think so.

She has begun to chew on her tongue. I don't know if she is aware that its her tongue or she just thinks there is something in her mouth but its really funny to watch her do it.

Here is proof that she thinks I am so much fun! Enjoy!

Faith's Accomplishments

Faith has had an eventful day today but the last week or two has been leading up to these accomplishments. Its been exciting. Here she is watching Einstein but a new dvd which is introducing her to the water world and animals. I bought the 26 dvd collection which can be found online (not at stores) for around $50 rather than buying each dvd at $15 each. So another way I have learned to save money.

About two weeks ago I noticed that she was trying to grab and hold onto the toys on her play mat. She wasn't very good at keeping them in her hand but she did at least get a hold of them as you can see above.

The other day, Jeff noticed her smiling and cooing at the tv.. it was showing a picture of a cow and making cow noises. He rewinded it for me and she did it again! So cute!!! That was the mark of her love of animals. She must be learning from her mommy. She has become obsessed with watching the dogs, Nala and Minnie run around. She is always staring at everything they do.

She has learned that mommy can make a new sound where it almost sounds like Donald Duck talking. She thinks it soooo funny and here is her smile to prove it.

Faith poops on her own now about once every 2 weeks. She will go twice in one day which is fantastic and I think she is getting better. My friend, Mary suggested I take a pic of what I was looking at today as I tell you my crazy thought I had but I have decided that you couldn't possibly look at her poop filled diaper with as much joy as I did. When she pooped on her own I picked up the diaper, opened it, looked at, and a smile creeped onto my face. It was that moment the thought entered my head that I was wishing I could frame this wonderful accomplishment my daughter made. Its so beautiful!!! Okay, well its not beautiful but this is what becomes a wonderful thing to a mom whose baby doesn't go on her own. You become fascinated with your baby doing things that others will do normally on their own.             

I did have a video of the next best thing but its having problems uploading... maybe because its too long.. But I captured Faith taking the plastic rings that hang down from her playmat and she put it in her mouth on her own and would hold it there while she sucked on it! I usually help her but she did it on her own! I was so proud of her!!! We are now working with her on rolling over. I'm sure I will eventually regret that as I wont' be able to leave her for even a split second on my bed or anything but I can't wait for that milestone! I uploaded a different video of her grabbing the toys above but it doesn't end happy because she is actually just waiting for me to make her a bottle... she is impatient at the end... probably because I keep snapping photos of her rather than actually getting her bottle ready. What a bad mom! :)

A Thrifty Addiction!

Coming to terms that my daughter is 3 1/2 months old is hard. She has grown so much!!!! Her smiles have become a constant companion in my daily routine and I love every minute of my time with her. We have gotten to a point of boredom with her and I. She can only stand to look at the same toys for so long. I have to rotate her from different playmats and then play with her toys at different times during the day. Otherwise I end up with a very bored and fussy baby. No fun!

My favorite time has been the library's "Baby & Me" and "Baby Bookworm". I will randomly go to 3 different libraries 3 days a week. My constant is the West Jordan library where I now go with a neighbor and lady from my ward and her 18 month old little girl. Its nice to have someone to go with. The first time we went Jeff came with me though and this is us at the Taylorsville library. Faith might be a little young to get into it. She seems more focused on staring at all the other kids rather than the songs but when we go home and I sing the songs and do the actions with her she is all giggles.

I have started to take her on walks with the dogs during the day. Its a bit difficult with her strapped in the baby harness carrier on my chest and my trying to control two dogs on a leash from getting tangled and from pulling on me but at least she gets to look around and it gets the dogs out. I can't wait for spring when its warmer and I don't have to put her in a snowsuit and hope its 40 degrees or above.

I went to Grandma Meservy's one day and she introduced us to bathing in the sink. She looks so big in the sink and so small when she is in the tub. I think she is to the point of needing some bath toys though. She loved to stare at the cork bobbing in the water and the floating duck we have in our tub at home.

I don't really know why adults like to put infants sitting up in big chairs and couches. I think its because they look so grown up but I love to snap photos of her doing it.

She has begun to suck on her fingers and drool alot. I actually think she may be teething earlier than I would like. I will miss her toothless grin if that's true.

I have become a thrifty shopper. I go to at least one DI store once a week on average. Its ridiculous but I love it! Not only does it get my need to spend money and shop out of the way but it also is great because I save so much money at the same time. I used to go to buy children's books. I love to read and I have already started to read to her at 3 months and she loves to look at the pics. I went to one DI a few weeks ago and got the below 18 toys for only $25!!! Most of these are preschool so she will use by or before she is 18 months old.

The next week I went and bought the below kitchen set for $15. I know she wont' use them for a couple years but it will just stay in the basement until Santa brings it to her in two Christmas's from now. 

Most of the toys I buy cost $2 or less like the below toy which was only $2 and she can sit on it and it rocks slightly and will make music as well. The others are like $1 or $1.50. Now who can argue with that. I do have to be a bit picky though and buy things that are pretty clean and kept together.

Jeff thinks its funny that she is 3 months old and her library consists of 143 books already and I am soooo not done adding to it!! I love books and when you can buy them for a quarter or two it makes it really easy to not feel guilty about it. Ahhh, I love love love being thrifty!!!!

Faith has learned recently to grab for a few things. She is grabbing onto the playmat toys and holding on. I don't know if she is actually consciously doing it but when she feels it she grabs and doesn't let go. She has become obsessed with the song of Humpty Dumpty in which I have her fall back when Humpty falls off the wall and then when I place her back on my knee I bounce her fast and sing fast "all the kings.... " and she is a giggly mess after that. Its sooo much fun! I can't wait for her to roll over and start doing all her other accomplishments!!!