5 months!

Hadley how is it even possible that you are 5 months old?! Time is FLYING by! I feel like we just came home from the hospital with you a few weeks ago! You are growing and changing so fast!

Here is what you are up to at 5 months old:

- You sleep consistently from 8PM-7AM on the dot. Not a minute past or a minute before 7AM. Its hilarious. No need for me to set an alarm clock anymore!

- You weigh 17 pounds!!! You don't miss a meal.

- You are wearing 6 month clothes.

- You wear size 2-3 diapers.

- You are still nursing exclusively 5 times per day, but this month we will start you on some rice cereal! Can't wait to see what your reaction is the first time you taste that!

- You still have not cut your first tooth!!! Its been a LONG month of chewing, drooling, and fussing. I am SO ready for you to be out of pain!

- You have started to notice Bear, and you always smile when you see him. He makes you laugh when you watch him play with his toys.

- You still love your swing, and bumbo seat. You like your Johnny Jumper but have not quite figured out how to jump in it yet. I don't think it will be long though before you figure it out.

- You take 3 naps during the day from about 1-1.5 hours each.

- You like your car seat a whole lot better recently than you have in the past. It makes riding in the car so much more enjoyable!

- You have started 'singing'. Its HILARIOUS. You have this HIGH pitch squeal/scream that you do about 1000 times a day. I laugh every time. You especially like to do it when you are watching TV. I wake up to you singing through the monitor every morning. I love it.

- You can sit up alone for bout 30 seconds. Your a little hunched forward but still your muscles are getting so strong!!!

- You have rolled over once or twice but not consistently. You are not a huge fan of being on your tummy.

- You are such a happy, easy baby! We are so thankful! You are such a joy to be around! Everyone comments on how good you are!

We love you SO much Hadley and can't wait to see what the Lord does with you!

Life

"Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day."

Psalm 39:5-16 The Message

January is National Sanctity of Life month. Every year in America 1.3 MILLION babies are aborted. That is unbelievable. There is no doubt in my mind that abortion is murder. There is also no doubt that life begins at the moment of conception. Unborn fetus' are humans just like you and I. I saw this video here on abortion. The video is really graphic, but really important to see. It shook me to my core to see the reality of what abortion really is.

A fetus has a heartbeat at just 18 days after conception. So before a woman even knows she is pregnant, the fetus has a beating heart.

I know this is a really heavy subject matter, but I just feel obligated to share. Abortion is a heinous and evil thing that is sweeping our world. It is so easy to turn a blind eye to it and not think about the 3,562 babies being aborted EVERY single day in our country. After seeing this video, my eyes have been opened. I can no longer turn a blind eye and pretend it doesn't really happen. Every single child, born and unborn, are precious gifts from God.

I know women get pregnant in non-ideal situations-rape, incest, young girls, etc. BUT that is no excuse to have an abortion. There are thousands of people that would LOVE to have a baby of thier own and would be overjoyed to adopt a precious baby from a woman who couldn't care for it.

I am praying that in my lifetime I will see the END of abortions.

"If my people, who are called by name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from thier wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

4 Months!

(I think I take too many pictures of you-you are all smiley and then as soon as I pull the camera out you stop smiling and get all serious!)

Hadley how is it possible that you are 4 months old already?! Time is flying WAY too fast!!!

Here is what you are up to at 4 months old:

- You sleep through the night! Hallelujah! You go to bed around 8PM and sleep until 6:30 or 7AM.

-You are wearing 3-6 month clothing.

-You still breastfeed exclusively. You eat 6-7 times per day. About every 3 hours

-You smile and talk ALL the time. You are the happiest baby.

-You LOVE your bath. When we put you in the water you almost immediately start kicking your legs and trying to swim. Its so cute.

- You are wearing a size 2 diaper.

- You weigh 15.5 pounds (90th %) and are 25 inches tall (75%)

- You got in the Johny Jump Up for the first time this month. You haven't quite figured out how to jump in it. but you like to hang out and be upright.

-Still LOVE your swing and activity mat. You like to sit in your swing and watch Praise Baby DVDs. You get so focused on all the colors.

- You are very observant. When we go someplace you look all around at the lights, fans, stuff hanging on the walls.

- You have decided this month that you HATE your car seat and riding in the car. You usually scream for about the first 10 minutes we are in the car and then you either fall asleep or get distracted by something for a few minutes, and then go back to screaming. Needless to say I try to keep errand running short or just leave you home with daddy.

- This has been a big month of firsts for you! You celebrated your first Thanksgiving, and your first Christmas! You also met your Grandpa for the first time when he came home from working in China for Christmas! You also met your great-grandparents (Daddy's grandparents) for the first time when we went to visit them over Thanksgiving!

- For about the last week you have been working on cutting your first tooth. Your poor gums are swollen, and you are constantly messing with it and chewing on things. Its so sad! I want that tooth to come in already!!! I hate seeing you in pain!!


-You laughed for the first time at 15 1/2 weeks. It was so cute. You haven't done it since, even though we have made fools out of ourselves trying to make you!


-You can sit in your bumbo seat now! You tolerate it for 15-20 minutes at a time, but after that you have had it.


-You still don't love tummy time, but you tolerate it better now. I try to put you on your stomach for 20-30 minutes throughout the day.


- This month I quit my job, so I can stay home with you full time!!!! Mommy is SO excited about being with you all day, everyday!!!

- You are still not a great napper. You take 2-3 naps a day but usually they only last 45 minutes or so. Occasionally you will get a good 2 hr. nap at some point in the day.

Hanging out with your Grandpa!!

This month we dedicated you to the Lord. We pray that you will come to know Him at an early age and walk with Him all the days of your life. (Notice my finger in your mouth, trying to keep you from screaming because your teeth were hurting you!)

Meeting Santa for the first time!
Playing with you Lion(AKA your best friend). You LOVE him and smile every time you see him!

Hadley you are such a JOY. We love you SO much and are so excited to watch you grow up!

3 months!

Hadley how is even possible that you are already 3 months old?! I can't believe it!!! These past 3 months have gone by entirely too fast and you are getting WAY too big! Slow down!

Here is what you are up to at 3 months old...

-You weigh around 15 pounds (guesstimate) and are 24 inches long!

-Still wearing size 1 Diaper

-Wearing 3 month clothes

-You are getting to be a GREAT sleeper! Praise the Lord!! You sleep 8-10 hours every night! Such a huge blessing!

-You are taking 2 good naps during the day. One from about 7:30AM-9AM and another from about 11AM-1PM. After that its kind of intermittent until you go to sleep around 7:30PM.

-I went back to work this month so your Gigi and Grammy have been taking care of you during the day. You have done SO great!!! I have missed you terribly though!

-You are still exclusively on breast milk, and eat about 5 oz per feeding.

-You have decided you hate your pacifier and would much rather suck on your thumb. It is so cute to watch you sleeping with your little thumb in your mouth!!!

- You have become much more social this month. You smile at us all the time, and talk and kick your legs constantly.

-You follow us around the room and turn your head when you hear our voices.

-You love to "stand" up and are getting great at holding your head up.

-You still love your bouncy seat and swing.

-You have discovered your hands and love to stare at them. You have also started grabbing things more and holding on to them.

-You also LOVE your bath! Yeah! Its so fun to watch you kick your legs in the water!

-You are such a happy, easy baby! We are so thankful!!!!

We Love you so much Hadley and cannot wait to watch you grow up...just slow it down a little! :)

Free Christmas cards for Bloggers!

Shutterfly is an awesome site that I use often to create photo books, note cards, and other fun things! They are offering 50 FREE Christmas cards to bloggers! FUN!

Check it out: HERE.

My favorite design is this one. They have hundreds of options to choose from here. You can also create other fun stuff with your favorite photos! I am thinking of creating a calendar for the grandparents of all their grand kids! What a great way for grandparents to get see their grand kids all year long!! Another fun gift would be a photo mug to take to the office so you can see your favorite picture everyday!

This year our Christmas card will be extra special because it will be our first Christmas as a family of 3! We are planning on having some special Christmas photos taken to use on the card. We are so excited!

I will be sure to show off the finished product!

2 months!

Hadley you are 2 months old! Time is FLYING by! Here is what you are up to at 2 months old....

-You weigh 13 pounds (75th percentile), and are 23 inches long (75th percentile)!

- You have moved to Size 1 Diaper

-You are in between sizes....your newborn clothes are too small but 3 month clothes are a bit too big....

-You are the happiest in the morning. After you wake up and I feed you, you are SO happy. You smile and coo and kick your legs. Its so cute!

- You smile all the time. Its so sweet to see you look at us and smile!

- You are such a happy, peaceful baby! We are so thankful!

- You are a wiggle worm! You are always moving your arms and legs! We have to swaddle you really tight at night so you won't flail your arms and legs and wake yourself up! I have a feeling you are going to be BUSY once you can move around!

- You love to lock your legs and "stand up". You turn your head from side to side. You are so strong!

- You are starting to like your bath! As long as you have warm water being poured over you, you are ok. After about 10 minutes though, you have had it!

- Your hair is getting redder by the day!

- We just got back from a trip to Houston to meet your great grandmothers! You did GREAT in the car! It was alot of riding in your car seat (about 20 hours in 3 days!) , you were such a trooper! I am SO glad you got to meet your great grandmothers! Such special memories!!!

- You are a good sleeper at night. You wake up once around 4AM, so not too bad! You still are not a great napper during the day. I am lucky to get one morning nap and one afternoon nap out of you (usually about an hour each).

- You recognize my voice and your daddy's voice. When you hear us, you turn your head to where we are and look at us. It makes my heart melt!

We love you so much Hadley! It has been so fun to watch your personality come out a little more this month!!! We can't wait to watch you grow up!!!

ONE Month!

Hadley you are ONE month old! Here is what you are up to at one month...

-You weigh 9 pounds (75th percentile), and are 21 3/4" (50th percentile)

-You finally fit into your newborn clothes!!!

- You are still in Newborn diapers but I have a feeling we will be moving to Size 1 really soon!

- You are starting to be much more alert

- You are officially a "cat napper". You HATE taking a nap during the day and fight it SO bad. We are working on this...

-You love your pacifier and are getting better about keeping it in your mouth for more than 2 minutes.

-Your neck muscles are getting stronger and you like to lift up your head.

- This past week when you were having tummy time, you lifted your head and turned it from one side to the other!

-You are a very content baby. When you fuss it is usually only for a minute. We are so thankful!!!

- You LOVE to be held!

- You like to be swaddled at night so you don't hit yourself in the face and wake up!

-You are getting to be a better sleeper at night. You usually go to bed around 9PM and then wake up at 1Am, 4AM, and 7AM to eat. You usually go right back to sleep, but sometimes you want to play!

-You are starting to smile more and more. It is so fun to see!



We love you SO much Hadley, and cannot wait to watch you grow up! You are so much fun and bring so much joy into our lives!!!!