Tummy Time

"So NOT my favorite, but mommy makes me do it."

"A boy and his dog"......A girl and her SOPHIE!

Before Juliet liked her Sophie.  Now she is obsessed with her Sophie.  If you squeeze Sophie (she makes a squeaky sounds) in front of Juliet she grabs her with both hands in like .001 seconds.  She will chew/suck on Sophie for quite a while before losing interest.  Never would I have ever bought a chew toy that costs so much (Sophie was a gift to us), but I am seeing that now it is worth it for Juliet!  You can see Sophie in Juliet's hand below.  She OFTEN falls asleep holding Sophie. :) 

 I LOVE living in a place with four seasons.  My favorite season is summer with fall being my second; but I love having change every few months.  We have had a really mild winter that would normally make me a little sad, but it has been SO nice to be able to get Juliet out of the house for walks here and there which we would not be able to do if it were snowing.

Here we GO!!!

I am starting to get out more.  I went out probably too much when Juliet was first born and overwhelmed myself a bit.  Now I'm starting to feel like a normal person again, so we get out more.  So, here she is all ready to go out to dinner...

Isn't she a DOLL BABY!?!?!

Yes, I am aware that it is like the same picture over and over, but she is just so cute, and it's my blog. :)

Happenings

Just in the last week few days Juliet's sleeping habits have really been improving!! Last night she went to bed at 8:30, slept until 11:30, ate, and then slept until 7am!!!!!!!!  SO many people have been praying for her at night (really, for me!) and for that I am thankful.  Also, sticking with a good daytime schedule really seemed to help get her nights in order.

I am feeling bad that I described Juliet as "cranky" in her 4-month Post, but that really is a word that I felt described her during the day.  Now that she is sleeping better she is a lot less cranky.  My mom has made the observation that Juliet's odd months are much better than her even months.  Her first month of life she was so "out of it" that she pretty much just went with the flow.  Month two was rather challenging (to say the least) because we had not figured out the dairy allergy.  In month three she was an angel baby.  This past month was month four and somehow it was like she flipped her days and nights again...so we were ALL cranky.   Now we are a week into month five and she is turning back into her little angelic self!  I'm hoping this pattern is all just coincidental and month six with bring nothing but positive improvements.  :)

I am back into the swing of things with two graduate classes (only ONE more class to go after this semester!!!!) and I'm teaching one class.  I drive to Appalachian State in Boone on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I teach a class and then take a class right afterward.  My other class is mostly online with a few of the class meetings in Hickory.    ....and that pretty much sums me up these days.  I wish I had more exciting things to say about myself but baby and school is about all I do. :)

Memory Monday

1 Peter 3:8-9

⁸ Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. ⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 

4 Months

Juliet is 1/3 of the way through her first year.  Crazy!  A few things she does these days....

-giggles/laughs (SO cute!)
-entertains herself better (like in her exersaucer) but not for really long periods of time
-wears 3-6 month clothes, except for onesies which need to be at least 6 month size because she is so long
-weighs at least 15 lbs
-ate rice cereal once a day for about a week but was not a big fan
-switched from a three hour schedule to a four hour schedule
-still not anywhere near sleeping through the night
-now sleeps in her own room (see above comment!)
-is on a pretty strict schedule in attempts to help with sleeping habits (again, see above comment!)
-often cries or is not happy when strangers hold her
-wakes up from her naps smiling!
-grabs at toys and then puts them in her mouth
-stays in the nursery during church
-nurses great!

Words I would use to describe her: smiley, alert, aware, cranky/high maintenance, sweet, funny, particular

Memory Monday

Ephesians 3:20-21
 ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Efesios 3:20-21
 ²⁰ Y a Aquel que es poderoso para hacer todas las cosas mucho más abundantemente de lo que pedimos o entendemos, según el poder que actúa en nosotros, ²¹ a él sea gloria en la iglesia en Cristo Jesús por todas las edades, por los siglos de los siglos. Amén.

My mom and I are doing a memory challenge with one of her friends to memorize a verse each week during 2012.  Join us! 

Sweet Little Girl

Splish Splash I was taking a bath...

Splish splash, I was taking a bath
Long about a Saturday night
A rub dub, just relaxing in the tub
Thinking everything was alright

Well, I stepped out the tub, put my feet on the floor
I wrapped the towel around me 
And I opened the door, and then
Splish, splash! I jumped back in the bath
Well how was I to know there was a party going on

They was a-splishing and a-splashing, reelin' with the feelin'
Moving and a-grooving, rocking and a-rolling, yeah

I sing this song when I give Juliet her baths.  It's an oldie but I know it because

my dad use to sing it to me.  Juliet usually cries the first 10 seconds of her bath

but then settles down and smiles for the rest.

Hanging-Out

Around here this is how we like spend our Saturday afternoons!

 

(Juliet may or may not be watching TV.....   :) ..... don't judge.)

New Year's Resolution

I think New Year's Resolutions are great.  It's great to identify an area of our lives that needs work or improvement and then set a goal to work toward actually improving.  And it's even more fun when you have the whole nation (world?) as your accountability partner!  I don't think all of the motivators behind New Year's Resolutions are great and therefore some resolutions are not so great, but in general I think goal setting is good.

My New Year's Resolution for 2012: spend more time meditating on scripture.

I need it.  I have days where I just "lose it" emotionally.  I get so caught up in hopelessness and sorrow that I forget all the wonderful promises God has made to me as His redeemed child.  The enemy really knows how to catch me in my weak moments, so I need to have more scripture fresh on my brain and active in my life to cling to during spiritual battle.  Also, for the "good" days I need to be grounded in scripture so I am reminded where my blessings come from and that they are pure grace and mercy!  So, either way I need to spend more time "sitting" in scripture instead of only reading larger passages.


The Plan (all goals need a practical plan) : 
-I spend most of my "down-time" either in my car or nursing a baby.  So, I will select a scripture or short passage and put a copy of it on a note card by my bed (where I nurse) AND in my car.  I will leave this particular scripture there for a few days to a week while I meditate and pray through it.  Then I will replace the cards with a new scripture.  
-I will use the following questions to help me mediate on the scriptures.  These questions are questions that Sue Cortese uses as aids to meditation on Scripture.  

How do I fail to realize this truth in my life;  what do I believe instead?

What am I like when I forget this truth:  What do I feel? How do I act? How do I treat God and others?

What are YOUR New Year's Resolutions????