Double Digits!!!

I can't believe my little Layla Bug is already ten months!!! She has her four front teeth in now, but still won't eat solid food. She will even bite saltines, crunch them a little with her front teeth, then spit them out. Though it is rather messy it is quite hilarious to watch. She will usually end up with a saltine goatee.

I decided to introduce meat to her, however, the idea of pureeing meat is rather nasty to me. I finally found some jarred meats that were just meat and not mixed with other stuff, as they are the highest in protein. Man, is that stuff nasty smelling though. She gags on it unless I mix it with her other foods, and I have to say, I don't blame her at all. She is a pretty good eater for the most part, it is getting her to drink that can be tricky. She mastered one of her sippy cups, but then seem to take a step back and is having trouble with it again. She used to just guzzle her milk down, now it is like she forgot how to swallow properly. I am trying to teach her to drink through a straw, but she just ends up chewing on it. I have about four different types of sippy cups, though, so hopefully we can find the one that works best for her.

We took some pictures on her ten month birthday, but she wasn't much in the mood. She did enjoy blowing bubbles for part of it, though. That is her new favorite thing to do. She looks very serious when she does it.

Love that sweet face!

Blowing bubbles

So serous

Cutest smirk

Silly girl

Six Months!!!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post, but we were without internet for a month! It is amazing that a company can have that long of a wait period to reestablish service. Our roommate moved out and as the cable was in his name we had to cancel it and start it again. So stupid the way those cable companies work. Anyway, we are up and running now, and I am sure my little Layla bug will be soon, as well!!! She is growing up so fast. It is amazing how much she changes from day to day. She finally hit the six month mark, and I can't believe it has already gone by. I was watching a video of her when she was about a month old and it's like she isn't even the same baby.

Just in the last month Layla has started saying her first word, "da-da," and just two days ago she said "ma-ma" for the first time!!! Although, I have heard that only three or four times since, and she says da-da all day long. It is quite cute though, especially when she yells it when she is frustrated. I tell her that is what I do when I am frustrated too. =) She has also started sleeping in her crib in her room at night. I miss having her in the bassinet right next to me, but it is so nice not to have to tiptoe around when we are going to bed. It was a very easy transition for her too. Probably because her crib has to be so much more comfortable than her bassinet was.

She has also mastered sitting up. I just decided the other day that she was going to sit up on her own, so we went outside and I propped her up on the blanket and gave her some blocks. After about twenty minutes of constantly swaying and me having to steady her, she had it down. It seems that all I needed to do was just let her try more from the beginning instead of holding her up all the time. But she is sitting up quite well now and is loving it. She especially loves that she can see out from her stroller so much better when we take our walks. It also makes it much easier for her to entertain herself, which is important, both for her and me. =)

I'm sure the crawling is going to be just around the corner now. She will lunge forward on all fours every now and again and then rock a bit before doing a face plant. It is pretty comical. I must say that I am really okay, though, if she wants to take her time with that. I wouldn't be surprised, since it seems like she isn't a fan of being on her stomach much anyway. She is funny because she will roll over from her stomach to her back all the time, but she refuses to roll the other way. She will turn as far as she can to reach something, but if she starts to roll over she will immediately roll back. It is kind of nice though, cause I don't worry about her as much that way.

She is a noisy little bugger sometimes. She loves to shout, and babble, and moan. I love it, unless she is doing her shrill shouts indoors. She is beginning to become more attached to toys and will sometimes fuss when you take something away from her. Yay... She is also starting to cut her first tooth. I don't know if that is to blame, but she seems to be a bit of a fuss bucket more often these days. She will seem fine then just scream bloody murder, yet nothing seems to be wrong. I'm sure this is just a small portion of the feisty little red head she is going to be! =)

Layla's doctors appointment was the other day and he said she is perfect!!! Well, he didn't have to tell me that, I already knew it. =) She was 14lbs 13oz and 25 1/4 inches tall. That puts her in the 25th percent isle, which is awesome. I am so happy that she is maintaining her weight and not loosing.

She has been on solids now for quite some time and she is loving it. Pretty much all of the veggies I give her I have been mixing with sweet potatoes or yams, and that works out great. She loves the avocado, green beans, butternut squash, and zucchini that way. Not so much on the artichoke, carrots, or peas. They make her gag. (Carrots always made me gag too) But we will periodically keep trying. She also recently started getting a fruit in the morning with some oatmeal. She has had pears, mango, and nectarines so far, and she loves them all. I love making food for her. It is quite therapeutic for me. Although I am running out of freezer space for it all.

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for, mainly for the little blessing growing inside my belly. Pete and I did a quiet Thanksgiving this year with just the two of us. I am okay with cooking that meal for two cause that means more leftovers!!! I did miss my family though.

I am extremely traditional when it comes to my Thanksgiving dinner. We had the turkey, of course, which I do a yummy brine for and it comes out so amazing every year! Then we had the mashed potatoes, stuffing, with Stove Top, of course, cause frankly I have never had a home made stuffing that I like as well or at all really. Green bean casserole, a must, then some rolls, cranberry sauce, gravy, and of course, Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. My favorite. I forgot to heat up the corn this year, which seems to be the case every year that I forget something, but it will definitely be utilized in the leftovers when I make what I like to call slop. I am sure you can all guess what that entails. Since it was just Pete and I, we kept it pretty simple. It was so delicious.

It is nice that even with a big ol' belly you can still fit into an apron! And believe me, I needed it, it is amazing how many more food bits are attracted to a stomach that is sticking right out there.

For Pete's second helping he decided to make himself the ultimate pileup. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a crescent roll. One delicious sandwich. He was very proud of his creation.

And of course, we didn't forget about Audrey. She got her own bowl of Thanksgiving dinner. She was a good girl and stayed out of the kitchen while we ate, and she waited patiently as we loaded her bowl up with yummy goodness. She came back to lick the bowl three times after she finished it so I think she liked it.

Pregnancy Eating Anxiety

So I find myself getting a slight bought of anxiety based on what foods I am eating or not eating, if I am getting enough protein, or fiber, or vegetables, am I drinking enough water, am I consuming too much sugar or carbs or chocolate, did I remember to take my prenatals or my iron, or my calcium today???????? It is really starting to drive me crazy. Since every pregnancy article, book, or magazine you look at reiterates that eating healthy and drinking plenty of water is of the utmost importance for your growing baby, it makes you feel so guilty if you have a piece of chocolate or some bacon with your breakfast. I truly feel the anxiety it makes you experience has got to be way worse for the baby than anything else. As if we don't have enough issues to be scared, anxious, and unsure about.

Is it okay that since it was just Halloween I have a mini 3 Musketeers or mini Twix during the day? Is it okay if I forgot to take one of my three vitamins today? Is it okay that I don't have vegetables in my every day diet? How much is all of this really going to affect baby? Do they really even know that? I don't drink, I wouldn't smoke even if I wasn't pregnant, I do eat and drink every day, multiple times, and though I have missed a few days with my vitamins I have been quite good about taking them regularly. Is that enough?

Doctor says her heartbeat is strong, she is growing at a perfect rate for how far along I am, and she kicks and moves all the time. So I have decided that based on the fact that she seems to be perfectly healthy I am just going to continue to do what I am doing and not worry about it anymore. Babies are like parasites anyway, they just suck all the nutrients they need from you. I don't know if any other moms get anxiety from the eating thing, but because I am such a worrier, I do and I just had to get it off my chest.

24 Weeks

I am 24 weeks along this week and I definitely feel like my belly is very much pregnant now. It is quite round and hard as a rock most of the time. Baby is still moving and kicking a lot. I think she likes to mess with her Daddy because every time she is kicking and he puts his hand on my belly she will stop. I tell him that it she is probably just so comforted by his touch that she calms down when he is close.

So I have found that watching food commercials is dangerous for a pregnant woman now that I have my appetite back. I was sitting there watching tv and a commerical came on for Pillsbury advertising not only their delicious Grand's biscuits, but also there yummy, gooey cinnamon rolls. It was like torture!!! I find myself easily swayed by what they are advertising, well, unless it is a commercial for something like that nasty double chicken breast with bacon and cheese thing they have at KFC. Are you kidding me? That thing looks so disgusting; I don't even want to imagine how gross it is when you order it, considering things look their best in advertisements.

To all my favorite people up north, I have booked a ticket to come home for a week in October!!! I will be there from Wednesday the 20th through the following Wednesday. There will definitely be some good times to be had, so try to keep that weekend open! =)

22 Weeks

I hit 22 weeks this week and I am starting to love my big ol' round belly. It is still small enough to be cute and big enough to look pregnant. Baby is moving around a lot, as usual, and her movements seem to feel stronger and stronger; I'm guessing because she is slowly running out of space to kick and punch in.

My nausea has gotten so much better over the last couple weeks. I still have some nights where I just don't have much appetite, and I definitely still get those "vurps" as they are called. I do hate those, cause if you aren't careful it could turn into something a lot worse. I'm just happy that a lot more food is sounding good to me. My favorite these days is a grilled cheese with some sort of soup to dip it in. Yum. Now I'm hungry! I hope Pete hurries home with dinner from Panera!