nursery update

well, since she is 9 months i thought i could post some pics of what her {finally} finished room looks like! I just put up the coop wire thing this past weekend and had her monogram up last week! We will be adding a few more crafty things soon but this is her room....

This is the face we get when we go in to get her out of bed. Big smiles and pats

Good Morning Sunshine!

She also likes to gum on the crib...no teeth marks because she has no teeth:)

her lovie and favorite blanket

While we change her diaper, we let her hold onto an empty tylenol bottle...

...but she still is always reaching for something...

you really have to have ninja speed to get her diaper changed before she rolls over

part of her changing table...her noise machine/fan, lotion for after bath and tylenol bottle to hold while getting changed

her changing table area

coop wire board

that corner of her room

playing in the floor

view from the door

shelf and monogram

artwork i did at a "pinterest craft party" about this time last year

time to read!

Come over and play with us soon!
Dannis

9 Months!!!

Our baby is growing like a weed! At her NINE. MONTH. checkup last week, she was doing well. AdaReece is 27inches long(30%tile) 18.14 pounds(51%tile) and her head circumference was 44.5cm(65%tile). She still hasn't started walking(but we are close) or cut any teeth(although one of her lowers is riiiiight there). Her favorite things to do are laugh, chew on EVERYTHING, she especially loves the metal clip of her pacifier, she loves music and says mama and dada a lot. She squeals and blows her tongue all the time. She just started raising her hands above her head and we will play peek-a-boo if she has a blanket. She still loves acorn squash and sweet potatoes the best but applesauce is getting pretty tasty too! She waves and has almost mastered bye-bye. or hiiiiiiii:) She is an absolute joy and smiles all day. She is sleeping better and I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of being a mommy! {it was kinda rough there for a while...} Here are some photos we took:

yall ready to get this shoot started?

Promise to post more this month!!
XOXO,
Dannis

8. months.

EIGHT MONTHS OLD! It cannot be possible that this little cutie patootie was born 8 months ago...
As an 8 month old she is: sitting up really well. crawls easily. pulls up on EVERYTHING. reaches and grabs for EVERYTHING(especially remotes, cell phones, cords, outlets, and flip flops) smiles and flirts. squeezes my face. squeals. says DaDa (and babbles). cries when she wants something. sleeps from 6:30-7pm until @5-6:30am... has eaten carrots, green beans, pears, and her fave is ACORN SQUASH. She LOVES bath time and had fun swimming the other day. She is wearing 6-9month sized clothes and can ALLLLMOST clap. she loves slapping her crib, the floor, the couch...and we have been OBSESSED with the Olympics lately and thinking she could be a gymnast(but may be too big) or a swimmer(but may be too small) so maybe a diver or synchronized swimmer...or a volleyball champ...whatever she decides to be we know she will be a rock star:)

More soon!
Dannis

YOU DONT EVEN KNOW

{you don't even know}
the phrase above is somewhat of an ongoing inside joke between me and my michael. we started saying it when i was pregnant and EVERYBODY. EVERYBODY. would be like "you are about to have your WHOLE WORLD upside down...you are going to be soooooo different...you have know idea how much your life is about to change..." etc etc etc.. IT. DROVE. US. CRAZY!

*sidenote to self: NEVER SAY THAT TO PREGNANT COUPLE!!

Anyways...we would say {you don't even know} to each other because we felt like so many people were telling us that. And They Were Right. We didn't know...we had no idea... how could we...how could anybody? How could you know? How could I know that eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch like it was my job and never working out would make me gain 30 pounds that I STILL need to lose? How could I know that breastfeeding was not sunshine and rainbows, it was no milk, lactation consultations, crying, stress, bleeding, infections, then no dairy for a month and then throwing away 100+ ounces of frozen blood sweat and tears...How could I know that I would spend the worst two weeks of my life in the hospital and then the next 2 weeks in Hawaii on the best vacation ever... How could I know that I could be so proud of her growth and development and TERRIFIED to give her green beans and carrots? How could I know that sleep was so important and so hard? HOw could I know that when I did finally try to work out I'd pee myself all the time? How could I know that a nice long hot shower is the best place to cry?
How could I know that the Lord has a perfect plan and I should trust in Him and not worry myself into a nervous breakdown?

The only answer is I need to "be still and know" and that is my goal for my 31st year. 

That is my new mantra. Psalm 46:10

So, next year when I'm blogging about whatever stage I'm in I'll have to look back to this post and see if I accomplished my goal...I also want to mention some other things that I didn't know just for others that are parents, caretakers or future parents...just some stuff I've been meaning to share:

This is something I found when I was not sleeping and wondering why AR would scream(turns out it was her GI problems but still this is interesting)

http://www.purplecrying.info/index.php?

a good blog:

http://www.babyrabies.com/2012/07/a-letter-to-my-51-year-old-self/

another good article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kara-gebhart-uhl/phases-moments-parenting_b_1651288.html

and another:

http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2012/02/motherhood-depression-and-weaning.html

ok. that is all. for now.

Dannis

Study of James

A few Tuesdays ago, I started going to a womens bible study at my church, ChristWay. They have a nursery so AR gets to play while I learn about Jesus with other moms. One of the four Tuesday's I missed because AR took a REALLY long nap but the other 3 have been so close to my heart that it has pinned me back with conviction. **If you have an iPhone, get the holy bible app by you version. It's awesome. You can read every different translation or even have it read to you and it's Free! (I don't know about other phones...) **
Anyways. Read James. It's a short book. Written by Jesus's brother. Filled. FILLED. with calls to action. Convictions. Applications. Read a chapter a week. Read a chapter a day. Read the whole book in 10 minutes. Just read it, REALLY read it.
Just this one book, week by week has really opened my eyes and made me bow down (on my knees) and realize the need for me to change, realize, be better, do better, talk less and listen more. I could go on and on but I'd rather let you have a minute to grab your bible and flip to the book OR just google it right now on your phone or computer and read it. Then read it again. Read the new living translation or the message translation. (not the king james unless that's your thang;)
Seriously. But if you don't want to go read it on your own i'll just quote the verses I read this morning that really struck me and made me write this whole post to begin with. These verses sum up what has been eating at me since many headlines have been making me mad lately. Before the tragedy at the movie theater happened which I can't even bear to watch.... "Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor? (James 4:11, 12 NLT)"
Love each other. Don't judge. Don't compare. Don't be so critical... That's what I hear...
Have to get ready for church now. Wonder what I'll hear there. Happy Sunday people!!
~this post was made possible by My Michael who put AR down for a nap while I sat drinking coffee on the back porch:)
XO
Dannis








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what can i say...

Welp. What can I say...everything is pretty good. We have been really busy lately. Michael went to Honduras and made it home (he built houses in the same area I went 2 years ago to do women's and children's ministry) AdaReece is doing awesome! She is starting to crawl and really starting to communicate in yells and facial expressions. She should be getting teeth any time now...
There were a few times that I thought she was getting sick or something was making her fussy but I took her for her GI checkup last week (a week early because I thought something was going on) and he said she may have had a little cold and he wasn't telling me the symptoms weren't there but there was nothing 'wrong' with her. There have been lots of little things that have been bothering me lately but nothing to really get into. Just mommy hood stuff. I am very blessed and need to quit worrying about every little thing and enjoy this precious angel baby...
Here are some recent pics of her. She really is the best thing ever...

Cousins...My brothers' kids and AR

MawMaw and her 4 grandchildren:)

Izzy and AR in matching dresses

Sink shot... a family tradition

sink shot framer:)

PaPa!!!

Great Granny Holland

Four Generations...my hair looks really dark... must be the auto correct...

Me and Sarah and her 12 week old Joshua(6th baby, 4th boy)

Hanging with Jack P. Bell!!!

7 Month Shoot

stinker

More soon:)

Dannis