5 Months Old

5 Month Birthday and Playing Outside

Lila is getting so big! On February 20th, she was 5 months old! I cannot believe how the time has flown. She can sit up on her own, although she still learning how to balance side to side. She's got the front and back stuff down, but after a couple of tips to the left or right, she a goner. She still isn't crazy about tummy time and I'm starting to get worried that her shoulders aren't getting stronger. I know she'll probably be ok, but we are going to start working on it every night...I hope! I'll need some help from Daddy though.

Lila Jane is an eating machine! She loves her some sweet taters, bananas, avocado, applesauce, and carrots. She had peaches for the first time this morning and she loved them. She's been very distracted while eating lately. She will take a couple bites then she's into something else and while she tries to eat, her head in moving in ALL directions and she'll spit some of her food out. I have a fear that it's becoming a game! :(

Mommy is getting a complex that Lila will never roll over. She gets all the way over on her side and acts like she's going to, but then she'll just roll back on her back. When she's on her stomach, she just flies like Superman or buries her face into the blanket. Sheesh! I don't know that she'll ever get it!

We went back to my Dad's Psychology class last week to "show off" her skills. She is perfect on all of her reflexes. She turns to familiar voices, and turns to sounds that are "different" than what's going on. She grasps objects and of course puts everything in her mouth. She is trying to get teeth. Her gums are hard, but I have yet to feel buds. I think we'll just wake up one morning and she'll have a tooth! :) It will be so weird to see that!

Sitting up and playing with the dogs. She LOVES them.

We don't have very many pictures together so I just had to post!

Post #2 - 30 Day Challenge

Meaning behind your blog name.

This is pretty easy. I named my blog "Here Comes Baby" (I added the "Girl" when we finally found out baby was a she). I thought that this name could really grow with the blog experience. When I was pregnant, of course, Baby was on her way. Now it still fits because we're gone A LOT. We're always on the go to ballgames, outings, family stuff, etc...so "Here Comes Baby Girl"!

When she gets to moving on her own, it will definitely apply.

Post #1 - 30 Day Challenge

Yikes....Sorry it's been so long!

Let's get started on this 30 day challenge.

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

I don't think I need much introduction, most of you already know who I am. 26 year old mother of 1 and wife of an amazing husband! My daughter's name is Lila, my husband's name is Neil, and my two dogs are Jasper and Ringo.

Recent picture

I don't have a recent picture of just me, so this is husband and daughter referenced above! :)

15 Interesting Facts: (this will be hard for me)

1. I have 2 brothers and 1 sister

2. I make my own baby food

3. Every year in the spring, I get an itch to color my hair blonde and every year in the fall, I'm ready to go back brown. My hairstylist/good friend is constantly rolling her eyes at me. :)

4. I was a 10 Letter winner in high school; the only girl in my class with the honor

5. I broke the school record for the 1600 meter run when I was in 7th grade, first on record to do so. I still hold that record 12 years later.

6. I switched colleges 3 times, BUT still graduated in 3 1/2 years.

7. I sometimes give up on things too easy.

8. I expect way more out of myself and others than is truly realistic.

9. I have a slight addiction to Facebook.

10. I have some of the greatest girlfriends in the world whom I genuinely consider my sisters!

11. I could eat plain chips and french onion dip every day for the rest of my life. :)

12. I love taking baths. I would take one every night if time would time would allow.

13. I suck at decorating.

14. I am beginning to LOVE cooking. I have developed a sense of what can be thrown together and what can't. I hope to only get better.

15. My family is the most important thing in my life. If you mess with them, you will mess with me and that's not always a good thing.

I'll try VERY hard to get this updated more often! Thanks folks!

Another...

...30 Day Challenge

I think this one is really cool. It involves a lot more of variety of information than my 30 days of love. I was reading another mommy blog and came across this idea. I really liked it and told her that I would be doing this, just in case she came across my blog and totally thought I was copying her (which I am, I guess!)

So here's how it goes.

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3-Your first love
Day 4-Your parents
Day 5-Your siblings
Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7-Favorite movies
Day 8-A place you've traveled to
Day 9-A picture of your friends
Day 10-Something you're afraid of
Day 11-Favorite TV shows
Day 12-What you believe
Day 13-Goals
Day 14-A picture you love
Day 15-Bible verse
Day 16-Dream house
Day 17-Something you're looking forward to
Day 18-Something you regret
Day 19-Something you miss
Day 20-Nicknames
Day 21-Picture of yourself
Day 22-Favorite city
Day 23-Favorite vacation
Day 24-Something you've learned
Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26-Picture of your family
Day 27-Pets
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture

I will start this tomorrow or the next day. I just wanted everyone to have something to look forward to when they read this one. I'm also just going to do it when I can so it will take me longer than 30 days. Just an FYI!

I hope this will keep everyone interested! Happy weekend!!

Me

I had someone contact me the other day through email and as I started to email her back, I realized that I had never, in the history of this blog, gave any background about myself. I jumped right in to the pregnancy and all that went along with that. From there, we had our beautiful baby girl and we've been talking about her since then. I'm going to take one post for myself. I want to tell you a little bit about me and how I came to be where I am now.

I am 26 years old and I grew up in a rural town in Southern Illinois. I was always very athletic and competitive; I still am. It drives me every day.

I have a sister and 2 brothers. I have a Mom and step-dad and a Dad and step-mom. We are one hell of a family and all love each other very much.

The person that emailed me asked for my parenting advice. I'm not kidding, this really happened. I guess it was more like wanting to know about what I have done and what I'm doing now. I felt so honored that someone would ask my opinion on something that I really haven't been doing that long.

I started thinking about my life as a mother and how easy, yes easy, it has been. I'm blessed with a daughter that is pretty low maintenance and easy therefore easy to take care of. I remember when Lila was just a couple days old and my mom was over "helping out" (that's code for wanting to see Lila again). I caught her kind of watching me and she just told me that I looked so natural at what I was doing. At that particular moment, I was actually breastfeeding. I started thinking, I have been a mom all my life. Well at least since I was about 4.

My sister was born when I was 4 and I quickly became my mom's little helper. I took charge a lot. I was about 9 1/2 when my brother was born. I definitely thought I was the mom here. I could basically do everything. My mom could maybe say that I was more harm than I was help. :) I also have a half-brother and I was almost 21 when he was born. I was away at school for the first bit, but since then, I've loved being involved with him. He is a little squirt!

My wonderful Dad is a teacher and we got to spend all summer with him. This was another great lesson in mommy-hood. As I got a little older, I would be in charge of lunch at home when my dad was either working on the patio or in the yard or doing one of his many "summer projects" that he had. I would take care of them like they were my own. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that my dad would never come inside or anything, I'm saying that I was THAT responsible and reliable that he was comfortable with me inside or outside with them.

My parents will probably remember it a different way...me complaining about HAVING to babysit EVERY weekend or me NEVER getting to do anything because I had to stay home and watch Hannah and Capel. Yeah yeah yeah...get your own blog guys and tell the story your way! :)

So naturally when my own little girl came into this world, I really felt like I knew what to do. There were/still are many questions that I ask my mom. I don't know everything and I don't think that any mother does. I'm just saying that I feel like I know more that a lot of first time mothers and the credit goes to my parents and grandparents for teaching me all of this at such an early age!

I also have to give mad props to my sweet, loving husband who will admit, before Lila, he didn't really know much about babies. He has trusted my judgment and learned (for what it's worth) some stuff from me. We both continue to learn every day and since no two children are the same, we will continue to learn throughout the rest of our lives how to raise our children. Yes I say children because, God willing, we would like to have more. :)

This blog is kind of a ramble, but I decided that there's not really any rhyme or reason to anything. I hope you all enjoy this very different post from me!

XOXO

Over the Rainbow

Lila's Great-Grandma Jane and Great Grandpa Jack got her this book for Christmas.

This is the second book of this kind that she has. The first is Puff, the Magic Dragon. They come with a CD in the back that has the song (and some bonus tracks) on it.

The Wizard of OZ was always one of my favorite movies growing up. One summer, I remember watching it EVERY night while sitting in my parents bed and enjoying a bowl of orange sherbet.

That was the life!

Now I'm so blessed to be able to watch the movie with sweet Lila AND have the bonus of being able to read, ahem, sing the book to her. It's one of her new favorite songs and it really calms her down. We don't read as much as I'd like to, so this week I'm going to try to read a book to her every night.

I'm pretty sure she doesn't care about the words, but the illustrations in these book are absolutely GORGEOUS! She will just look around at all the different colors on the pages and then look at me like "Wow Mom, are you seeing this?". It is truly the sweetest thing.

Over the Rainbow

music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high,

There's a land that I heard of

Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow

Skies are blue,

And the dreams that you dare to dream

Really do come true.

Someday I'll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far

Behind me.

Where troubles melt like lemon drops

Away above the chimney tops

That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow

Bluebirds fly.

Birds fly over the rainbow.

Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly

Beyond the rainbow

Why, oh why can't I?

Baby Food

Neil and I had big plans to go along with baby Lila. We just knew we were going to save so much money being able to breastfeed and pump my milk. Wellllllllllllllllll, that didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to. I am still so bummed (and bitter) that I was not able to produce enough milk. I felt (and still feel) so inadequate that I couldn't provide my baby with the essentials as far as food is concerned. We all know formula is expensive and that was a cost that we were trying to avoid.

The next big plan was to make our own baby food. This is actually working because I don't have to depend on my body to produce it. I went to Target Sunday and used our gift card from Mamo Paula and Papaw Bill to get myself a little present. I got a food processor. I can't tell you how excited I was to finally get this.

I got the Giada de Laurentiis food processor.

After reading the reviews on SEVERAL of the more affordable food processors, this one seemed like it was best for me. There is a pulse option and two speeds. Something that the others in the same price range didn't have. Absolutely LOVE it. If you are thinking about purchasing a food processor, I would definitely recommend this one.

I did a lot of research on the mechanics of making your own baby food. www.wholesomebabyfood.com I thought it was going to be such a chore and a mess. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that you just cook the food like you're going to eat it yourself.

I boiled some sweet potatoes, steamed green beans, and also did bananas. Once you have cooked them soft enough, you simply just put them in your food processor and puree away! I also learned a cool trick about freezing and storing them. You get ice trays and once you have blended the food, pour it in the ice trays. This makes for about 1 oz of food per cube. Stick the tray in the freezer. Once they are frozen, you can pop them out and store them in a ziplock baggy in the freezer for future use.

(above)sweet potatoes and bananas

(below) sweet potatoes and green beans

I CANNOT believe how easy it is. I honestly don't know why more people don't do this. It really does save you money, PLUS it doesn't take that long at all. I think I spent about an hour, including clean up.

Costs:

Food Processor @ Target: $49.99+tax ($50 gift card used) = $0

Groceries:

5 Bananas $1.07

1 Avacado $1.18

2 Pears $1.65

1 Can of Green Beans $0.96

1 Large bag Carrots $2.88

Total $7.82

5 Bananas = about 29 oz of baby food

1 Can of Green Beans = about 8 oz of baby food

2 (relatively small) Sweet Potatoes (already had, no cost shown above) = about 9 oz of baby food

In total about 46 oz of baby food made so far.

If I was to go purchase pre-made baby food at the store, I would spend about $12. This is JUST on the stuff I've made so far. Keep in mind, I have not yet made the pears, avacado, or carrots. I think we're definitely coming out ahead in this deal. And top it all off, it's kinda fun.

I'm really excited about this and if anyone is interested and would like advice on how I'm doing stuff or how it's all going, let me know. I'd be so glad to help you save!

"Mom, I'm so tired after eating all that big girl food" It took a little persuasion, but she really liked the sweet potatoes once she got into them. I think tonight I'm going to have to thaw out 2 oz because last night she destroyed 1 oz and was still going strong! Big girl!