My Dad

My Dad passed away on April 16, 2014 at the age of 61. He was a great father and taught me many things growing up. He was always there for us, supporting us in our sports, school, and life. Every time he talked to me he told me how proud he was of me. He was one of my biggest fans. He loved Amelia and Jonathan. My best memories of him are from when we were kids growing up. He loved to take us fishing and hunting and to teach us to appreciate the outdoors. He coached me in basketball and helped me practice softball. He was always there to cheer us on. I'm sad that Amelia won't grow up knowing him but can't wait to teach her all of the things he taught me. We had his memorial service on April 21 (2 years to the day after Grant's, it was special to me that they were on the same day). It was a really nice service honoring a great dad. Amelia wore her Easter dress to my Dad's service.

My Dad and I at my wedding.

My beautiful mom and Amelia at my Dad's service

Some of the flowers from my Dad's service.

Easter 2014

Amelia's first Easter wasn't exactly what I had in mind but it still turned out great. My dad passed away a few days before Easter, a post about him is coming, so Easter was a little different this year. We traveled to Dallas to be with family, which was the original plan, and enjoyed spending time with those we love. On Saturday (April 19) evening we had a BBQ at my brother's house with all of my siblings, nieces and nephews. It was fun to sit back, relax and enjoy the time together. We also wrote my Dad's obituary while there (see, not a normal Easter) which was nice to be able to reflect on his life with my siblings and mom. Amelia enjoyed watching everyone and all of the attention she got. On Sunday Jonathan and I went to my brother-in-law's parents with my mom, sister and brother-in-law. We wanted to be able to spend as much time with my mom as possible. Amelia was doted on there too. She is such a ham and LOVED the attention. Thank you to the Johnson family for including us and for sprinkling Amelia's head with her first confetti egg!

Casey's House. "WHAT IS THIS THING"

First Easter Basket: bunny and book

Easter Sunday. Still trying to eat plastic eggs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Egg Hunts are exhausting!

First Wedding

We went to a wedding this past weekend, Amelia's first. It was an outdoor, western themed wedding and so much fun. We had a great time celebrating our friend's big day! Amelia is such a great traveler. She doesn't sleep well in hotel rooms but she is still such a happy baby. She had little cowboy boots to wear with her dress but by the time we took pictures the boots had come off (it was hot). I think she was pretty adorable anyways! I made her dress and headband out of a mens western shirt and some lace.

2 years...Happy Birthday Grant Oliver

2 years have passed since I've held you in my arms. I think of you every day and miss you always. We had a party to celebrate Grant this year and it was so much fun. So many of our friends came and my sister even drove down from Dallas to be here. I decided that we should make tiny hats to donate to local hospitals so that other families would know that their baby is special and loved. We made over 200 hats that day. Our small group at church got us a card and donated money to MEND in Grant's memory. So sweet. I loved being able to celebrate his life with everyone. I had to work on Grant's actual birthday. I was a little bummed about it. However, at work that day someone I work with came up to me and asked to talk to me later. When I was done seeing patients she came down and met me in my office and proceeded to tell me that she lost a baby earlier this year. They received one of the diapers we had donated to our local hospital and she said how much it meant to her. It was amazing hearing about this on Grant's birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday in Heaven baby boy. I can't wait to see you again.

6 month Pictures

Here are some of her 6 month pictures taken a couple of different days. She didn't cooperate much the day of her "Valentines" pictures but we still managed to get a few cute ones. As always, I have a pretty amazing photographer in my sister :)

6 months...1/2 yr....HOW?

HOW is she 6 months old already? I don't understand how time has gone so fast. She is growing and changing so fast. I'm loving this age. Watching her learn new things all the time is so fun, and a little sad, all at once.

Weight: 15lbs 8 oz (40%)
Height: 25 inches (11%)
Head: 41.8cm (32%)
LOVES: playing/rolling all over the floor, jumping in her jumper, sucking on her two middle fingers on her right hand (think I Love You sign), baths
HATES: being still
SLEEPING: 11-12 hrs each night, 2-3 naps each day ranging from 15 min to 2 hrs depending on the day
EATING: 4 oz every 2 hours, some baby foods and some regular foods (she prefers to self feed regular food)

She now has TWO teeth and boy are they sharp. She rolls all over the floor and is very quick. She is trying to crawl. I'm not ready for her to be that mobile yet. She loves playing with her toys and making lots of noise. I love hearing her squeal and laugh.

If you compare her growth stats from previous posts you'll notice she isn't growing very fast and is actually losing some of her chub. We have to go back to the doctor in a month to see if she is growing appropriately. She's always keeping us on our toes.

Here is her usual monthly picture in her chair with Grant Bear.

Lets Be Honest.....I Don't Love It

Warning: Talk of breastfeeding involved. Don't continue if you don't want to read about it :)

I love, love, love being a mom. I love sweet baby cuddles, smiles, giggles and squeals. She is precious and perfect and I wouldn't trade this for anything. What do I not love then? Breastfeeding/pumping. I really really wanted to, but I don't. I actually despise pumping. I can't wait until she is no longer taking breast milk. I want to give her breast milk until 1 yr, that has been my goal. I don't hate breastfeeding as much as pumping but I don't love it. I like that it's our quiet time. Only me and her. I don't like how she has a terrible latch (always has) and that I still have to use a nipple shield. I don't like that she is super distractible so what should take15 minutes takes 30 and instead of it being a relaxing experience I am always having to try to get her attention again to get her to re-latch. I'm sure some will say that I should enjoy this because I'll miss it when it's over, and you know what, maybe I will. I've learned to never say never when it comes to parenting. I may miss our early morning sessions where she is still sleepy and looks at me and smiles. I know that I most likely won't miss being attached to a machine for 15 minutes at a time every 4-6 hours when I can't breastfeed.