Spirit of Hope National Competition!!

This past weekend we headed to Charlotte, NC for the Spirit of Hope National cheerleading competition. To say Hailey was excited would be an understatement! She has most definitely found her passion. She puts her whole heart into practicing and being the best that she can be. And ,most importantly, as of her report card today, she is maintaining her straight A's!!! We are so proud of her and all of her fellow Thundercats! Such a devoted group of little girls:)

Here are some pictures from the competition....











We love our THUNDERCATS!!!:)

I can say "Mama" and sit all by myself!!

Wow, have there been lots of firsts this week! Bella is now able to balance in the sitting position without any support. She is rarely wanting to lie on her back while she is awake anymore! As soon as she is layed down, she will either flip onto her stomach or strain to sit up. I can not believe how quickly this first year is flying by!







Also, Bella has started saying her very first word this week.....Mama! And she says it over and over. I have been chasing her around with the camera but everytime I turn it on she starts laughing. I did finally get her saying it though!

(Press pause on playlist to listen:)





And, she has grown into her Jenny Jump-up. I think this toy is a winner for sure!:)

Bella is 5 1/2 months!!

One late entry makes way for another late entry it seems! Bella will be 6 months on the 17th of this month. I figured I had better get her 5 month update in before I miss my opportunity:)


Growth-
She weighs approximately 16 pounds!

Feedings-

4-5 ounces of breastmilk every 3 hours.
She is also eating a bowl of rice cereal every night at dinnertime. We have just added homemade avocado baby food and banana baby food since she is almost 6 months. She really loves these new additions and has become a very enthusiastic eater!



Sleep-

Bella sleeps a 1 hour nap every 3 hours during the day. She has made the big move to the crib in her own room and has been sleeping much better than last month. Lately she has been waking around midnight and then again around 4 or 5am to eat but goes right back down with no problem. Naptimes are now spent sleeping on her tummy, but she still likes to be swaddled at bedtime.

Play-

Bella is rolling from her back to stomach and stomach to back....sooo she has now been rolling her way around the living room!! She has pretty much outgrown her playmat. Everytime we put her down she immediately rolls right off it! She is still LOVING bathtime, her new discovery exersaucer, jumparoo, and her swing and bouncy seat. And how can a baby get bored when she has such entertaining big sisters!








Development-

Rolling!, picking up large objects, and putting her paci in her mouth.
Now that Bella is becoming a little more mobile, we have banned barbies and barbie shoes and accessories from the livingroom. The last thing we want is one of those little peices to get into her mouth!

*Favorite thing to do this month*- Roll around the room, play in her discovery exersaucer , and chew on anything she can get her mouth on.


Is that a happy baby or what?!

The Big Move!....

No, we are not moving right now (though living at the beach does hold a certain appeal!) But in our lives right now this move is almost as equally exciting for us. This past week has marked a special milestone for Bella. She has made the big move from sleeping in our room to now sleeping in the crib in her very own room! Since we brought her home from the hospital Bella has graduated from the cosleeper attatched to the side of our bed to the playpen next to our bed and now to the crib in her room across the hall. Over the past few weeks she has grown increasingly fussy and fretful during the night, waking at the slightest noise. So, we decided that maybe it was time she slept in her own room. The very first night she went down at 7:30pm and woke only once at 1:30am to eat and then slept until 6am the next morning. And let me just say it has been so nice to be able to watch tv in our room at night or get up to the bathroom without tiptoeing! It looks like Miss Bella is now finally enjoying the nursery we worked so hard on for her this spring!












What a big girl my Bella bee is becoming! Stay tuned for our adventures in homemade baby food coming soon:)

Our Christmas wrap-up...Welcome to our home...

We sure did enjoy our Christmas this year! Michael was off for the entire week of Christmas, praise the Lord, and we were able to spend it as a family. We had such a good time finishing up our holiday shopping together and visiting with friends and family. By the time Christmas morning came the girls were just about brimming over with excitement to find out what Santa had left them. Here is what our living room looked like after Santa left on Christmas eve.....



Mary Kathryn was thrilled to see the dollhouse she has been dreaming of and lots of presents and pretty clothes.



Does she look excited or what?!





Hailey has been wanting a desk for her room and zebra striped bedding so this is what Santa left to Hailey's delight.



She actually said she is ready to have some homework so she can use her new desk! But then again, Hailey actually loves doing homework!:) (This picture kinda breaks my heart. She looks so old in this picture!)




Here is Hailey's bed after adding the pink leopard and zebra comforter Mema & Grandaddy gave to her to the bedding and pillow Santa left.






And check out the awesome luggage from Aunt Crystal and Uncle Chris!




Santa even left Bella an activity center and some chew toys in her stocking!



And here she is chewing away...




She just loves the Grinch stuffed animal from Abby and Grandma in Ohio!!




And I'm thinking Bella is feeling really pretty in her new minky dot "Bella" outfit from Aunt Crystal!




And no Christmas morning is complete without a great breakfast! Just look at this yummy monkey bread we enjoyed along with Crystal's delicious breakfast casserole. The monkey bread recipe came from several friend's blogs and I can now see what all the hype was about! Michael and the girls finished it up by the next morning! Here is a link to Tara's monkey bread recipe that I used. But be prepared to gain some calories. Once you take a bite of this bread it's hard to stop eating!




Last but not least is a video of the girls coming down on Christmas morning. Hope you enjoyed our Christmas morning tour! Thanks for visiting!!:)

(Pause the playlist to hear the video:)

Snowing, Singing, & Cheering!

What a busy month December always is! I try to post at least once a week but I find two weeks have passed and I am now playing catch up. So here are some of the highlights from our last two weeks:)




Weekend before last the girls had the honor of singing with the other kids in the children's choir at our church's Hanging of the Greens ceremony. It was absolutely beautiful!....the singing and the decorations!

The following Saturday we had a surprise treat of an early snow. To say the kids were excited is an understatement! Here are some of the pictures we took in the snow...





Then this Saturday we traveled to Greensboro, NC for Hailey's first cheerleading competition of the season. Below are the pictures I was able to take between getting Hailey ready and in the right place at the right time. I have to say that it was not as chaotic as I thought it would be. The girls did a great job and placed 4th! Over the next few months they will be competing in national competitions in Charlotte, Myrtle Beach, and Baltimore, Maryland so we will be plenty busy with all the traveling coming up. Thank goodness Bella is a good car rider!:)






Hailey, Taylor and Coach Stephanie


Now that I am caught up I will have lots of upcoming posts on all the holiday fun! Hope everyone is taking time to remember the Reason for the Season!:)

Bella is 4 months!!!

Okay, so this post is a little late. Bella is now 4 months and 2 weeks old! But at least now I have her stats from her 4 month checkup. So here is her monthly update!



Growth-
She weighs 14 pounds now and is 24 inches long!

Feedings-

4-5 ounces of breastmilk every 3 hours.
( She is drinking much better from the bottle now while I am at work.)
She also eats 2-3 spoonfuls of rice cereal. ( She is not a big fan yet)




Sleep-

She sleeps a 1 hour nap every 3 hours during the day. Recently, she has
been waking up several times during the night. We have been doing our
best to get her back on her nightly sleep schedule. And to Grace and
Tara, I am relieved that you both blogged about sleep issues around the
4 month mark! I have also looked it up on the Babywise blog and found
a whole post dedicated to 4 month sleep issues. It must be a common
enough problem for other moms following this method.
Hope this stage passes quickly!!

Play-

Bella is rolling over!! Yay! She also loves her jumperoo and still loves
her playmat. Her Little People Barnyard has also become a favorite. She
loves hearing the different animal sounds. Bathtime and Mickey Mouse
Clubhouse are still favorites as well. And of course her sisters are
always entertaining!

Development-

Rolling over, grabbing at things, and putting her paci in her mouth.
Here is a video of Bella rolling over. It takes her a couple
of minutes, but she finally gets it! (Press the pause button on the
playlist to here the video)






*Favorite thing to do this month*- Roll over, sit up with support, and chew on her
hand!!

Bella has been such a blessing to us and we are just loving her to pieces! As one of her little outfits reads, she is now " Just one of the girls"!!