Bluebonnets!

This morning started out just beautifully.  We woke up about 7:00 and got Emily ready to go get her pictures taken in the bluebonnets.  The Bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas and they bloom each year around March or April.  The good Lord chose to bless us with their beauty because Texas is Heaven on Earth.  They cover the sides of our highways and it's common practice for people to take pictures of their children in the Bluebonnets.  We had heard about a nice patch that wasn't on the highway, so we decided to head there for our first annual pictures.  Emily loved playing with the flowers and of course, she was as precious as ever. 

Thank you, Lord for beautiful Bluebonnets and beautiful Emily!

Five Years Together

Before our anniversary dinner

Earlier this month, on the 10th, Lucas and I celebrated our fifth anniversary.  It's hard to believe it's been five years, but at the same time, it feels like we've been together forever.  These five years have certainly been full of their ups and downs as every marriage is.  We've had way more good times than bad times, though, and God has been so gracious to us.  This fifth year has been just wonderful.  We began our fifth year by finding out that our little baby would be a girl and ended our fifth year holding her in our arms.  I can't think of any better anniversary gift in the world!

Our wedding day

We had planned to stay the night at the Omni Mandalay hotel where we spent our wedding night and first anniversary, but in the end, we weren't able to leave Emily overnight.  Instead, we had dinner at The Keg while my parents babysat.  After we came home and put her to bed, we watched our wedding video, which included a fun interview with us the week before the wedding.  It was neat to get to go back and re-live all of that.  I had ordered two miniature wedding cakes from our favorite bakery the day before, so we also got to enjoy a slice or two while we watched the video.  It was a wonderful evening, and although we missed getting to have a night away, things turned out to be just perfect.

Our little family, five years later

Seven Months

It's hard to believe seven months have come and gone with our sweet baby girl.  This month was one of the most fun so far.  There weren't a whole lot of brand new happenings this month, but there were definitely some big improvements on things she had already begun to do last month.  Here are some highlights of month seven:

• First time to leave Texas:  Emily's sweet granny (great-great grandmother) passed away just a few days before Emily turned six months old.  She was almost 98.  Granny absolutely adored Emily and we were blessed that they got to spend six months together.  Her funeral was in Louisiana, where she lived for many years, so Emily got to leave the state for the first time.  She cried as we crossed the state line and cheered when we returned.  A little Texan after my own heart!
• First time in the church nursery:  On February 26, we took our little girl to the nursery at church for the first time.  It was well past time for her to go and I'm so glad we finally sent her.  It was nice to know she was being well taken care of while Lucas and I were doing worship.
• Sitting up:  Emily is now sitting up completely unassisted and doesn't fall over anymore. :)
• Independent play:  While last month she was able to entertain herself in her bouncer or exersaucer, now she can really sit on her blanket and play with her toys by herself.  It's nice for her to have more options for fun!
• Eating:  Emily has now tried all kinds of foods.  She eats sweet potatoes, bananas, peaches, squash, green beans, pears, mixed fruit, carrots, apples, and oatmeal cereal.  She LOVES her puffs and yogurt melts, as well.  For the most part, she is a really good eater as long as the food is warm. 
• Formula:  I am still breast-feeding for the majority of her milk, but we began giving her more formula this month to supplement the breast milk, mostly at the sitter and at night in addition to her nursing.  She has done great with it and has had no tummy issues at all.
• Hands and feet:  This month, Emily has found her feet as far as chewing goes.  I wondered when she would do this, and she finally has.  Nothing tastes as good as toes!  She also discovered a new trick she can do with her hands just last week.  She holds them out in front of her and rotates her wrist, just mesmerized at what they can do.
• Sleep:  She is sleeping wonderfully.  Over Spring Break when we didn't have to get up so early, she slept about 11 hours each night and took two hour and a half to two hour naps each day.  She's been sleeping pretty good this whole time, but we haven't dealt with a middle of the night fussy baby in weeks (other than the week at my parents while Lucas was out of town.)
• Talking:  This month was one the one where she really began to babble.  She can say G, D, B, Bl, K, and M sounds.  At first, it was a lot of Ds, but now she has moved onto Ms and says mamamamama all the time.  I know she isn't talking to me specifically, but I still love it. :)  She also sings "aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh" pretty often when she's in her carseat.  Sometimes it will last the whole trip from one place to another.

We didn't have an appointment this month, but from our measurements, Emily is 17 lbs 9 oz (60th %,) 29 inches long (off the charts %,) and her head is 17 3/4 in (80th %.)  She wears a size 2 diaper and six month clothes.

And our sweet girl's funny faces:

Beauts McGoots,
Don't you just love all the ridiculous names we've come up with for you?  I mean, seriously.  Where on earth do we get this stuff from?  Regardless, you are the light of our lives.  I can never express to you what you mean to us and the joy you bring us.  One day you will have your own little girl and you will know what I mean.  I love you, sweet girl!

Hanging out with Mimi and Papa

Enjoying the Dallas Arboretum

Sitting in the big girl part of my whale tub

My first booboo, courtesy of the coffee table drawer

Spending some time in Louisiana

Just brushing my teeth

I love my Mimi!

And my Papa, too!

Just watching a little Backyardigans on the iPad

Breakfast date with mom and dad

Being silly

Loving the church nursery (Emily is in the middle)

Chewing on my shoe, just like my Uncle Brett

Dallas Blooms

Spring Break is almost officially over and we had a great week!  Lucas took off, so we were able to spend lots of good, quality family time together.  While most of the week was low key, we spent Friday at the Dallas Arboretum with my parents, having a picnic and enjoying the beautiful day.  Each year during the spring, the Arboretum has an event called Dallas Blooms.  There were thousands and thousands of flowers in bloom and almost as many people there to see them!  We had to park about a half mile or so away and ride a shuttle bus to the park.  It actually worked out great, though, because we didn't have to pay for parking and they dropped us right at the gate.  We ended up purchasing a family membership so that we can go back again.  Several times when I was a child we had a family membership, so I'm excited to get to do that again.  I'm especially excited to go back in the fall when they have all of the pumpkins on display!

We had a wonderful picnic under a tree, saw tons of tulips, took a lot of pictures, and dreamed of bringing Emily back in the future when she'll be able to play in the froggy fountains.  We can't wait to go back again soon!

This is the life.

Our shiny, happy baby

Our little family

Staring intently at something

Sitting on the side of a fountain

Sweet girl

First time in the umbrella stroller.  Look at those long legs!

Beautiful flowers

Sleeping like a big girl!

I'm so proud of our sweet baby girl.  She went for an entire week without crying at all when putting her down for bed and not waking up at all during the night!  Last night was a different story, but it was completely our fault for getting her off her napping schedule during the day.  This girl THRIVES on a schedule!  Tonight she cried for about five minutes, but she was still a little off today because of yesterday and last night. 

I was very conflicted about the whole cry-it-out thing, but seeing how well our little girl does now, I am so glad we made that difficult decision.  So much stress and anxiety has been lifted now that she goes to sleep easily and mommy and daddy are much more rested!  While I believe the cry-it-out method is certainly a big part of what helped Emily, I know it was also the Lord.  Each night I prayed that he would give her peaceful sleep and he has.  It's so good to know that he cares about even the little things in our lives.