7 months and on the move!

Amelia is already closer to being one than newborn. Can time really go by this fast?!? Amelia has had a big month for milestones and new things. She is now crawling everywhere! It is fun and hard all at the same time. I can't leave her down on the ground to go switch laundry or get a quick drink of water. I either have to carry her with me or just let the other things be until she takes a nap. Speaking of naps, Amelia loves her naps, I mean loves her naps! She will take anywhere from a 1.5 hr to a 3 hr nap in the afternoon. This also allows me to get so much done. Its amazing what I can fit in a 2 hour span that used to take me all day (procrastination). There is no time to procrastinate any longer. 

We have started more solid food this month. Amelia has always loved her avocado (Steven says she should for how much I eat it). She is a fan of bananas, sweet potatoes and puffs. She doesn't know what to think about carrots, but we have only tried them once. Hopefully she will like them the more that we give them to her. It is so much fun to see all of her faces that she makes with the new tastes and textures. 

One other big thing that Amelia and I have started this month is swimming lessons. She LOVES her bath time so I thought it would be fun to get used to the pool while she is liking water. We have 45 min lessons on Tuesday mornings at Chesterfield Family Center. We have met some other moms and babies and Amelia loves watching the older kids splash. (I do not have pictures from this as I can only do so much! Steven is going to join us in the next couple weeks to capture some of the fun - so stay tuned!)

Amelia's first lesson, I took her under water and she loved it. I learned real quick that my face is going to get wet no matter what. If you remember, last month I said one of her favorite things is to flap her arms - you guessed it, it is that much more fun in the water! Needless to say I get pretty wet in the pool and bath time! 

Amelia's first basketball lesson in the bath with her Dad! 

We decided it was about time to take our Gumball pictures! 

LOVE!

6 Months!

Well we are halfway to a Year! How can this be? Crazy to think about this time last year is when we were telling people we were expecting..... and now she is already 6 months old! I wish I could just slow down time!
We had a lot of firsts this month. Amelia got her first tooth, proceeded by her second tooth about a week later. We have started solid foods and she is loving the avocados (Just like her mom)! She will be crawling any day now. She loves to get on her hands and knees and rock (This is kind of scary - we have so much to do before she is mobile!) It will be fun when she can follow me around the house, yet it was nice to just leave her playing and run into the other room for a second. I think it is safe to say that those days are far behind me now!
Amelia and I are absolutely loving this nice weather! I don't know who is loving it more, as I am loving the fact to get out of the house a little bit, and she is loving the new things to see. We are having a little bible lesson every morning and have really been learning about God's Creation. It is fun to tell her then on the walks that everything we are looking at God created. I don't care that she doesn't really know what I am talking about yet, just to know that someday she will is so encouraging. Along with this, I forgot to list on the picture one of her favorite things is the song "Jesus Loves Me". Every single time I sing it to her she makes one of the biggest smiles I have seen. When she is upset this is my go to song and it makes her smile every time.
Oh, what a blessing this little girl is to us and I as sad as I am that she is growing so fast, she is such a light in our lives. It will be fun to see the person she turns into.

Traditions are what make a Family

Traditions that are already established are going to be fun to teach Amelia with the families. There will also be room for Steven and I to make our own family traditions, which will be just as fun to do. One tradition that we continued today is taking pictures of Amelia being 5 months and 5 days old. Steven's Mother (Gumma as she wants Amelia to call her) has 12 siblings. Her mother took pictures of each of the 13 children when they were 5 months and 5 days old. Pinky (Steven's mother) also took pictures of Steven and Michael (Steven's brother) when they were 5 months and 5 days old. So, I bet you can guess where this is going. I took Amelia's pictures today when she was 5 months and 5 days old. I took her picture to look like her Daddy's and will do the same with the next child.

Pinky (Gumma) at 5 months and 5 days

Steven at 5 months and 5 days

Amelia at 5 months and 5 days

There were too many good smiling pictures to only put one on the blog! 

What are some of your favorite traditions that you do with your family? I am always eager to hear other traditions that Steven and I can start with our own family. It seems like the majority of traditions are around the holidays, but I would like to have traditions that are year round. I guess now is the time to start! 

Amelia Leigh is 5 months old!

I know others have told me, but I can't believe how fast time goes when you are having fun! Amelia is growing like a weed and is beginning to be more fun everyday. She has the cutest little giggle and smile and loves to watch her mommy make funny faces. She also is rolling across the room which is making it harder to get things done around the house. My time of leaving her playing and coming back a few seconds later are now over.
In this past month we have had some new things with Amelia. Steven was gone 3 out of the 4 weekends with Basketball and I kept telling him she is testing me when he is gone. The first weekend he was gone, I had to take Amelia to the doctor for the first time other than her regular appointments. She had a clogged tear duct that I found out is very common in babies. Her little eye just waters more than normal because it has no where to go. :( Then the next weekend Amelia ran her first low grade fever, but nothing ever developed which was a blessing. Even when the poor little girl isn't feeling the best she still is such a happy baby!
Steven and I are absolutely loving this parenthood gig! Yes there are tough times, but it is so worth it to see so much love between the three of us - and love that spills over to the grandparents.
Thank you all for your continued prayers for our little family! We sure can feel them!

4 Months!

           Its so hard to believe that Amelia is already 4 months. Where does time go? We had a great month where Amelia has learned how to roll from her tummy to back and from her back to her tummy. She can also see things and grab them to play with them (She really likes playing with her elephant!) She is becoming more independent and loves to lay on the blanket and play. I also am ok with this so I can get some stuff done around the house. Amelia loves to talk and has a new growl that Steven says sounds like the girl from the ring. It makes us laugh every-time we hear it! 

           She is such a good little trooper and goes to all of the ball games with me. I don't mind her going to the late games because she sleeps the entire night! She really enjoys watching the movement and the game itself. (It will be fun when she runs to Daddy after a game, but we still have a while until then!)

          Steven and I are really enjoying watching the little social butterfly that she is becoming. She makes us the happiest parents and each day gets better and better!

Amelia is 3 Months!

Amelia at 3 months!

Amelia liked Santa!

Amelia is 3 months old today. It is hard to believe but she is. I have learned so much about her, Steven and myself in the past three months than I think I have my entire life. I couldn't love two people more that these two and am so blessed to have them in my life and as my family. It's hard to believe where we were 3 months ago and so glad that we are figuring things out! Amelia is talking more and more each day which is so much fun. She loves to smile, especially when I am talking to her or smiling at her. She is drooling all of the time which makes me think that she is teething, but it is too early for that! She needs to stop growing so fast! I know that I will think that the rest of her life, but seriously, we have lots to do before she is mobile!

Amelia is 2 Months!

Its hard to believe that Amelia is two months already! She has had a pretty big life so far and it will not slow down with Steven and I as her parents! I am glad that she is a good little traveler because with us she will get to see the world!

Amelia at 2 Months old! 

The beginning of this month Drury was invited to play an exhibition game at Duke University. I don't know if I am crazy or what but at the last moment I decided to take Amelia and drive with Steven's parents! Yes I took a 6 week old baby across country!
We learned a lot on this trip together, me and her! I learned how to change her diaper anywhere! I had to change it in the car because not every restaurant has changing tables! Who would have thought that one! Then we learned how to eat in the car! I would feed her while Steven's parents were inside eating, then I would eat going down the road. Amelia took all of this in stride and did a great job! She even continued to sleep through the night in many different places.
I couldn't be happier that we were able to go to see Steven mark off one of his bucket list items. He had only dreamed of going to a Duke game in his lifetime, and better yet, he was able to practice and coach on the floor against Coach K (and shake his hand)! Needless to say we had a GREAT time, but was very ready to get back home.

This is our little family at Duke and Amelia's first basketball game of many!
Not many kids can say that their first basketball game was at Duke watching their Dad coach!

Amelia also was dedicated to the Lord on Steven's birthday, October 27th. We had lots of family and friends there to attend! Amelia doesn't quite know yet how much she is loved, but she will soon find out. We were truly blessed and humbled by how many people helped us celebrate this wonderful occasion. After church we went to my Dad and Lisa's house for chili and cake. This was one day I will never forget and be so excited to share with Amelia when she gets older.

Also one fun fact, the dress Amelia wore the day she was dedicated is the same dress that I wore when I was baptized. The dress was made by my mother.

Pictures from top to bottom: Steven, Amelia and I at Duke. Amelia sleeping through the second half at Duke. Amelia's day of dedication. Amelia at 2 months.