I have a 7 month old - with a tooth!!

Why is it that when you're anxious for something (i.e. school to be out, Christmas to get here, to FINALLY get pregnant) time drags so slowly by that you're not sure a week will ever pass; but when you're trying to savor every moment, every second of every day, time flies by so fast you're sure to miss something? That's how I feel! I'm having trouble accepting that my teeny, tiny preemie is 7 months old! 7 months have passed! That's 28 weeks. 210 days. 5040 hours. Wow!



We had a great day today. Molly Grace woke up at 6:30, which meant her Daddy got to get her up and see her before leaving for work! She got in bed with me and we slept until 8:00! There is absolutely nothing better than snuggling up with my little sweetie and sleeping! We went to eat lunch with Jamey at work. Then we went to pick up a Nettleton Rocks t-shirt that a local boutique made her for free! It's so cute! She took a great nap and is now sitting in her Daddy's lap eating a bottle.




The biggest news of the day is that she finally has a tooth trying to come through! She's been teething since 3 months. I was starting to wonder if all the crying, drooling, gnawing was getting her anywhere! Today I finally felt something in there, though! That totally explains the last few nights of crying and not wanting to sleep. All I can say is thank the Lord for teething tablets!



Molly Grace - I can't believe you're 7 months old! You are the sweetest, smartest, prettiest, funniest, sassiest kiddo I know!

*Your favorite TV show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You'd watch a whole episode if I'd let you! Sometimes it's the only thing that makes you happy!

*Your favorite song is "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and we just found the book this week! It's our new favorite!

*You love your blankie and still love your 2 middle fingers on your left hand. They are always in your mouth - happy, sad, sleepy, playing...they're always in there!

*You sit up like a pro, you are so close to crawling - you can actually get anywhere you want to go now! Everytime I leave the room and come back you're on the other end of the room! You are SO close to going from the crawling position to sitting. All you need to do is get the confidence to pick that hand up!



*You talk and laugh constantly. You say so many sounds - ahhh, huh-uh, rarrrr, maaaa and you're newest thing is saying MMMMM when you take a bite! It's so funny!

*You love food! You've tried just about everything now. Your favorite is definitely peaches and sweet potatoes. You are eating 2 meals a day - a fruit in the morning and veggie in the afternoon.

Success!

Molly Grace's first night in her own room, in her crib was a success! She still slept all night! I woke up at 1am, 3am, and 5am to check on her! Thank goodness for video monitors, though! I just hit the button, saw she was fine and went right back to sleep! She woke up in the best mood this morning. I could hear her talking in her crib so I peeked in her room. All I could see was a little head above the railing! She was talking to the butterflies on her bumper pad again! She finally looked over at me and her face lit up! I love that look!







She's in her crib again tonight. She was in bed and asleep by 7:45 tonight - that never happens! Instead of rocking her (which we LOVE to do!) we read her stories together, loved on her then laid her in bed awake and she was out within 5 minutes! We sure do miss rocking her already, though! But if it means she sleeps better, I guess it's worth it...we'll see how long we last! ha!

Movin' on Up

Molly Grace's crib was recalled so we ordered her a new one from Babies-R-Us. We've had it since Monday, but just got around to putting it together today. It's so pretty - I love it even more than the other one! She's been in her Pack-N-Play beside my bed since she was born - but tonight, she's moving on up to her own room! I know it's time. That Pack-N-Play can't be comfy, it's hard as a rock! I wanted to get her transitioned in there before I went back to work, too.

I don't know if it's teething, a growth spurt or what, but she's not wanting to go to bed lately. We'll rock her like we always do, lay her down, she'll lay there and talk and play for the longest time then start crying. Last night it was almost 11pm before she calmed down and went to sleep! I'm praying it's just a phase!

We've been watching her on the monitor for the past 30 minutes. So far she has rolled onto her back and tried to catch the butterflies on her mobile, found one of the ties on her bumper pad and tried her best to eat it, crawled to both ends of the bed, and talked up a storm! She's finally still and quiet I'm hoping it lasts! I'm also hoping I can sleep with her gone - and without her sound machine! I've kind of enjoyed the rain storm we listen to every night!

And just because she's so darn cute, here are some pictures of her before we went to Memphis yesterday!

29 Weeks

My baby girl is 29 weeks old today. Wow! That's almost as long as she was in my belly! It seems like in the last couple weeks she's really started changing and growing into a little person. Her personality has really come alive and she's started doing so many things. I have to say that this is definitely my favorite age/stage so far. She's playful and learning some independence, but she still loves to snuggle and cuddle. It helps that I'm her favorite person right now, too!

At 29 weeks, here's what you're up to Molly Grace:

*You weigh 17 lbs, 1 oz

*You are wearing size 2 diapers - size 3 at night

*You are starting to wear some 6-9 month clothes, but they're so long on you! You do best in a straight 6 month

*You still sleep all night long! You usually go to bed between 8 and 9 and sleep until 8 or 9! You usually stir around 7 then get in bed with me and pass right back out! This morning you slept until 9:30! Your poor world is going to change when mommy goes back to work and we can't sleep in!

*You are eating 2 meals of solids now. 1 tbs oatmeal and a jar of fruit for breakfast and a jar of veggies and sometimes 1/2 jar of fruit for dessert.



*You take 5 bottles a day with 6-7 oz each.

*You still nap between every feeding. You love to sleep! You get that from Mommy!

*Your favorite toy is a lion that "rarr's" and sings. I has 3 balls that you're supposed to hit with a mallet (like the old "Wak-A-Mole"), but you just love to knock the balls in with your tiny little hands! You were scared of it at first and flinched or cried everytime you knocked a ball down! But now you love it!



*You are a pro at sitting up!

*You will be crawling very soon. You can do the army crawl, scoot or roll anywhere you want, and are getting up on hands and knees and rocking! You're never in the same place for very long.



*You love Bandit! You will stare at him, smile and reach for him! It's so cute. If you ever get a hold of him, you go for his ears! He loves it, too!



*You had your first teething biscuit today for a snack and you loved it!




I love you more today than I did yesterday! You are Mommy's girl 100%!

Summer Mornings

...are GREAT!!! Molly Grace and I are being lazy bums and it's wonderful! It's been raining and thundering - the perfect morning for sleeping! We got up at 8:00 am and let her eat a bottle then she fell asleep on me in the recliner so we moved to the bed and napped together until 10:30! We just got up and now we're lounging around in the living room in our jammies! I wonder if we'll get dressed today?? I love summer!

Nighttime

There's something magical about nighttime. The world is dark and quiet and cozy. At night, things change. It doesn't matter how much my baby has grown or what she has learned to do - at night, she's still tiny, still new. There is something so sweet about holding and rocking a sleeping baby. Her arms around me, her tiny hands holding on, and her soft breath in my ear. In that moment, the world is right. Perfect. Peaceful. I love how she fits perfectly on my chest, head on my shoulder. Like she was molded to fit. She's a part of me - the part that was missing before. I know it during the day, I love her during the day, but at night it's different. In the daylight she's a whirlwind. She came into this world as a whirlwind - in a hurry to get here! She blew in and changed our world forever. She's wild and she's silly. She's crazy and she's happy. She's the epitomy of joy - her smile, her giggle, her squeal. She is joyous. At night, the whirlwind stops. The world slows down. Time stands still. As I hold her and rock, there are no worries, no concerns, nothing more important. In those moments I'm not a teacher, I'm not a daughter or a friend. I'm a mommy - the best thing I've ever been. The thing I was born to be. The thing I waited so long for. My heart is full as I watch my angel sleeping. She's curled up with her blanket - the same blanket I curled up with when I was young. Her face is angelic and so peaceful. In those quiet, still nighttime moments, I'm reminded what a miracle she is. I know how blessed I am - I never forget. But at night, there is time to just stop and stare. There are no bottles to make, diapers to change, dishes to wash or laundry to do. There's just time. Time to watch, time to listen, time to breathe it all in. Time to thank God for the miracle He blessed me with. The miracle I get to hold and mold and teach and love. I've never loved like I love her. I am a lover - I love with all I am. I love deep and I love hard. I love easily. I've known love. But not like this. This is a love that there are no words for. A love that drives you, consumes you, frees you and scares the crap out of you all at once. I hope and I pray that my sweet little miracle always knows how loved she is. I pray she knows how wanted and prayed for she was. I hope that she looks in the mirror and knows she that she is beautifully and wonderfully made.

Vacation's Over

We had a great weekend - and a great week with Jamey home! We're all sad that today's the last day of our "vacation" together! We've always gone somewhere on vacation, but I have to say that I have LOVED just being at home everyday with my little family! Jamey wants to take all of our savings and buy lottery tickets in hopes to win enough to stay home forever! ha! Here's our week/weekend in pictures...

Napping with Daddy


Sitting in the cart like a big girl - shopping for flowers at Home Depot



Testing out Highchairs at Babies-R-Us


Swimming at her friend, Essie's 1st Birthday Party




Supporting our Cards (and sitting up like a big girl *tear* lol)


Worn Out!


Giving Daddy a hard time!


Check out the mohawk!


Closer and closer to crawling

Walkin' in Memphis

Jamey's been off on vacation all week and we've had such a great time hanging out at home being lazy! Today we headed to Memphis to do some shopping, though. Our crib was recalled and MG needed some toys so we wanted to hit up Babies-R-Us. Jamey got a ton of Bass Pro gift cards for his birthday so he wanted to go there. So we just made a day of it! It was the first time we'd been to Memphis since Molly was born! I have to say that the ride over today was much nicer than that bumpy ambulance ride at 7 months preggo! And the ride home with a 6 month old was much less nerve-wracking (and a lot noisier) than the ride home with a 2 week old!

We all had a good day together. Jamey got some things he'd been wanting forever and Molly Grace got several new toys. I got nothing! ha! It was really hot today and by the time we finished all our other stops I didn't even have the energy to hit up the mall - or the heart to drag poor, tired MG one more place! We did have lunch at our favorite spot from our long December stay - Perkins! We even had the same waitress that we had everytime we were there before! Molly Grace sat in a highchair like a big girl for the first time out somewhere. It was so cute. She's so stinkin' short that she can barely see over the table! She got to eat some peaches while we ate and she tore them up! She'd open her mouth like a little baby bird! She also got really loud (a happy loud) while we were there! She's got this new thing where instead of mimicking words or making word sounds, she just yells - 'ahhhh' or says 'uh-uh'...really loudly! But it's so stinkin' cute! She had a great time flirting with everyone who would look her way! She's a little social butterfly for sure!

We got home and she was so tired. We let her play with her new toys for awhile and she absolutely cared nothing about them! I'm hoping tomorrow when she's not so worn out she'll care a little more! Overall, a great day!

Little Firecracker

Jamey has always called me a firecracker and Molly Grace is just like me so now she's the little firecracker! ha! And she is the cutest little firecracker I've ever seen! Last 4th of July I was 8 weeks pregnant. This 4th of July I spent it with the sweetest little girl! Life is good!

We had a great holiday weekend. We headed out Friday when Jamey got off work to go see his family. We had a good visit with everyone. Molly Grace got to swim in the river with her cousins, we drove around Jamey's old stomping grounds, and we visited Jamey's home church this morning for a great worship service. Molly Grace even got to meet her Great-Great Aunt and Uncle!

Molly Grace with her Great-Great Aunt


Mommy and Molly Grace at the river


We came home today and headed over to my parents' house for a cookout with my parents, my aunt and grandma. Molly Grace was worn out! We got home, read her night-night books and she fell asleep within 5 minutes and we haven't heard a peep out of her since! Fireworks are going off like crazy in every direction, but she hasn't stirred! I used to love fireworks - until I had a 6 month old who was trying to sleep! ha! I only hope she's tired enough to never hear them!

I love the 4th of July because it gives us a chance to remember how great our country is. I am so thankful to live in a country where I am free and where I can worship my God and raise my daughter to do the same! I am so thankful for all the men and women who are fighting for our country. I admire not only the soldiers, but the families they have left behind.

6 month check-up

Today was Molly Grace's 6 month check-up. Our regular pediatrician was out of town so we saw the nurse practitioner in his building. She got a great check up. She didn't gain much weight and dropped from the 75th% to the 60th%, but she wasn't too concerned. The poor girl is grew a little taller, but is still in the 25th%! I don't know if she'll ever get any heighth! Her daddy and I are both pretty tall so I don't know where she got that! The best news is that her little head finally grew!!! She's been in the 5th% for her head size since day 1, but today she was in the 70th%!!! Her brain must have had a growth spurt! ha!

She's met all of her developmental milestones for her actual age except 1 which is really exciting! The NP said she looks perfect! She was a trooper when she got her shots, too. She took the oral one pretty well. She screamed when they gave her the ones in her legs, but as soon as I picked her up and loved on her she settled down. She passed out in the truck when we left and slept all the way through Target!

The NP said we could start feeding her baby food 2 times a day so we headed to get some more! We tried sweet potatoes yesterday and today and they made her belly hurt a little so tomorrow we'll move on to something else!

In other news, my sweet little baby sat up all by herself tonight! I was shocked, amazed, happy and a little sad! We had her on a blanket outside playing with her ball and dolls and she sat up straight as could be, started to topple over, caught herself and sat back up - more than once! I'm so proud of my little girl!

She's super fussy, clingy and worn out tonight. I think the shots took their toll on her! I gave in and gave her a dose of Tylenol and she finally settled (after crying then wimpering forever!) and fell asleep!