Wow I'm a slacker.

I can't believe I haven't posted at all this year! What the heck is up?? I am really busy, that's all. But I really want to keep up with this so I am going to try my hardest! I will try to summarize what has been going on.

End of 2011:
Bella's first Christmas went really well, she of course did not care at all about anything she got, but it was fun for me :) We had a great time with family and friends and we brought in the new year in a great way - asleep in bed. :)

Bella:
I totally missed her 4 month update but today I am the mother of a FIVE month old! I know everyone says that time flies but I never knew it could go by this fast. At her 4 month appointment she was 15.2 lbs and 25.25 inches long. Still 90th percentile for height and weight. So now I am gonna say she's at least 16 lbs and 26 inches. Growing so much!

She has now eaten peas, apples, bananas, and sweet potatoes and seems to like them. I think she just likes to eat in general, she's pretty chunky. She takes four 6 oz bottles a day, but I am going to increase it or give her more baby food/oatmeal a day because she is still hungry after her bottle most of the time.

She rolls from belly to back all the time now, pretty much every single time I put her on her back for anything. Then she is on her belly and acts like she has no idea how she got there. She has rolled back onto her belly once, but I don't think she remembers how to lol. She sleeps on her belly in her crib now, she likes it better I guess. It's so cute seeing her little butt stuck up in the air.

She makes all kinds of noises and plays with her spit a lot. Cute, I know. She almost sits up on her own. She will sit there for a few seconds before toppling over. She grabs onto everything now and also puts everything in her mouth. So that's fun. :)

Me and Joe:
Joe is now in his last two classes for his masters degree, so that has been keeping him really busy and really stressed. I am so glad he will be done after this semester. It is hard not getting much time with him, but I know this is really important.

I started a new job at First Citizens Bank. I am really excited about working again and getting to know people. My best friend Stephanie got me the job basically so I get to work with her so that is fun too! Working and having a baby is so hard and tiring though. My house is pretty much a wreck. Oh well!

We are also getting a car next week and I can't wait! We have had one car for months and I am tired of juggling that around. That is pretty much all that's going on and I promise to keep this more updated!

Firsts

I am updating this now because I don't think I am keeping track of all the things Bella is doing well enough. Yesterday we noticed she is actually reaching out to purposefully grab things, like toys or things that hang from her little piano thing. (You like how vague that was?)

Today she had oatmeal for the first time. It was my third try, but the other two times she was really crabby so she wanted nothing to do with it. I gave her a bottle beforehand tonight and it worked. She was so funny because she had no idea what I was doing and had this awful look on her face, but she did consume some of it, I know!!! :)

She has also started smiling so big at people that she laughs. Joe used to be the only person who could get her to laugh, and he had to kiss her neck to make it happen. She also mimicks sounds we make. It's so cute.

We got her ears pierced on Monday. She cried, I cried, it was traumatizing. But five minutes later she was asleep, and when she woke up all was right in the world again. They haven't bothered her since. I'm glad I did it, she looks freakin cute.

I switched all her clothes over to 3-6 months today. She can still fit into some 3 month things, but she fits into six month pretty well too, and 3 month clothes are too short on her legs and arms. And honestly I was just getting really exciting about changing out her whole wardrobe!! Babies are fun.

Bella is 3.5 months old as of today, or 14 weeks and 4 days. I am having a hard time keeping track of her weeks!!! I keep having to go back to September and count....

I can't wait until her first Christmas! Only 3 more days...

Update

I'm ashamed to say it has been entirely too long since I posted a blog. I would get to the point where I wanted to talk about something, and then realize I had SO MUCH to talk about, and then get lazy and not wanna do it. I'm awful. So this is going to be information overload since my lovely mother-in-law has Bella for the day and I actually have some free time. :)

Let me start with her two month check up. She went on November 16th and she weighed 12 lbs, 3oz and was 23.5 inches long. She grew an inch and a half in one month! And she has been gaining an average of 1.5-2 lbs a month. Fatty! Around 8 weeks old we started attempting to put her in her crib at night, and now she sleeps in it every night except sometimes we put her in the rock and play because it elevates her better and she has been having acid reflux issues. She gets up one time a night, around 3-4 and is back asleep within 30 minutes. This started around 2 months old, and we are very very blessed. She also had her first laugh around that time, and rolled over (not for us) right around then. She has rolled over once for me, and none for her daddy. He is not happy. Here are some 2 month pics.

I love her onesie. My friend Kayla's mom Patty made it! She has made Bella a ton of stuff, I love her!

Early on in November, we went to joint birthday party for my cousins, Brock and Sarah.

Okay next I will skip ahead to Bella's first Thanksgiving!! It was fun and she had the cutest outfit on, until she threw up all over it, and the next one, and the next one. She never seems to care about the clothes I put on her...odd. Anyways we went to Joe's parents first and I got some adorable pictures of her laughing at her daddy! He is the only one who can get a good laugh out of her, the rest of us she just smiles mischievously at.

Okay, now Bella turned 3 months old on December 11th! I am going to guess her at 24.5 inches and 13.5 lbs. I haven't tried to weigh or measure her so that's a very rough estimate. She doesn't go back to the doctor until Jan 11th so I'm on my own until then. She eats 4 times a day and once during the night. She is eating 6 oz every 4 hours with a little rice cereal in every bottle. She has been having acid reflux problems so one of the nurses at her pediatricians office said putting rice cereal in every bottle would help. She holds her head up so well, but can't sit up on her own at all. She just slumps over haha. She is "talking" all the time now and she smiles all day long. (Until the evening, when she gets pretty cranky.) She also chews on everything and drools all the time. I love her so much and she is growing and changing daily. 3 month pics:

Side note: Blogger is being extra stupid when I try to upload pics. Blah.

So that is the goings-on of Bella's life. And I just realized I never talk about myself anymore. So now I will. :)

Basically I need a job, so I am trying to get that all worked out. Also I have 11 more lbs to lose until I am at my "when I got pregnant" weight. And I'd like to lose 40 more after that, at least. I have been doing weight watchers for 2 months now and have lost like 14 lbs so I will take it! Um yeah that is really all with me, my life is boring. What did I ever do before I had a baby?

October in a nutshell

I want to summarize last month because we did a lot of fun things! And a lot of firsts for Bella so I don't want to forget them.

First of all, we went to Gatlinburg the first week of October (fall break) and it was Bella's first vacation! My parents, sisters, and grandparents went with us, and although Bella was only 3 weeks old and her colic was in full force, we still enjoyed and appreciated the extra help!

Our first family picture since the hospital!

Such a big girl.

My mom, me, and my sister Emily

My other sister Bree, me, and Emily

As soon as we got home from Gatlinburg, we had a busy weekend ahead, because my friends Stephanie and John got married, and Joe and I were both in the wedding party. It was a very fun weekend!

Steph and Bella, who got all dressed up for the occasion.

Daddy and Bella <3

Later in the month, Joe and I went to a family reunion for the Honakers, and it was a beautiful day. It was very cold and windy though, so we didn't stay long, but we got some good pictures. However, blogger is not letting me upload them right now. :( Lame.

Halloween weekend we spent time with some good friends from our church. On the actual day of Halloween, we left Bella with my parents and went over to our friends Cole and Ashlee's, and our friends Paul and Angie from church came over with their kids and trick or treated and passed out candy. It was fun!

And now I cannot believe it's November and my baby girl is almost 2 months old! She is changing so much every day. Right now she is trying really really hard to roll over lol. It is so cute. November also means the holidays are near! I CAN'T WAIT!

The Many Faces of Bella

Hello.

It seems like it has been forever since I blogged, but at least I am doing more than one in October lol. It is Halloween! Bella has decided to be Tigger for Halloween. I dressed her in her outfit the other day, but for some reason she didn't seem to enjoy it.

Aww she's cute even when she's mad.

Today I had to take her to the doctor. She has had a problem with blocked tear ducts since she was about a week or two old and in her left eye it was getting a lot worse. Really red, swollen, etc. So I took her in to get it checked out. They weighed and measured her, and at 7 weeks old she is 11 lbs, 8 oz and is 23.25 inches long. She is in the 90th percentile for height and weight. Such a big girl!! Here is a picture of her from today.

I bought her those shoes yesterday at Old Navy. I love them!!



I have a million more things to talk about, but I just wanted to do this quick update. I have to go do mom things now!

One Month Old

Woah I haven't blogged in forever. I need to get back into it though, and there are like 3 different things I want to blog about so hopefully I can do that in the next few days. It makes me happy. :)

However, this post is all about my little lady being ONE ENTIRE MONTH OLD! Can you believe that? I can't.

Technically she was one month old yesterday, but we went to the doctor today. I wanted to see how much she weighed. She was 8-10 at birth, and Joe guessed her at being 10 pounds exactly today. My dad guessed 10-3 and I guessed 10.5 pounds. She was 10-12 so I win. :) Two whole pounds! She is also 22 inches long, putting her in the 75th %ile for height and weight! She is finally starting to get a little chunky, and has a cute little double chin to prove it.

Bella eats 4 ounces (usually, sometimes she gets bored or falls asleep before she's done) every 3-4 hours. She must be going through a growth spurt because lately she can barely make it 3 hours without eating again.

In the sleep department we are not doing so hot. Not only does Bella completely have her days and nights flipped, but she has colic, so the nights are hellish around here. I think the colic may be subsiding, we have had a few "good" nights lately, where she isn't screaming for 4-5 hours straight, so that's good. Plus starting tonight she is going to be sleeping in her crib at night. I have been letting her sleep in there for naps the past couple of days, so I think we are okay to start doing it at night. She doesn't sleep well in her bassinet anymore, which means one of us is always sleeping on the couch while she sleeps in her bouncy chair/the swing/the boppy/on me. Not a great night. I would feel better about life in general if I could at least get a couple hours in my own bed.

Okay, now that I have been a mother for one whole month, I have unending insight into motherhood and child-rearing and am now an expert on both. I have learned and mastered any and all challenges thrown my way. :)

Which of course is untrue.

Being a mother is HARD. People always tell you having a baby changes everything, but what you don't realize while you are rolling your eyes at those people, is that they are right! It changes EVERYTHING! It changes when you eat, sleep, bathe, pee, get ready in the morning, leave the house for anything, what you take with you anywhere, what you WEAR!

This has been a very hard month, to say the least, but a rewarding one as well. I love watching Bella change everyday, and watching Joe be a father makes me love him even more. We will see what the next month holds. :)

And now, some lovely pictures of my sweet pea, taken on her one month birthday:

I know I know, she's freakin adorable.