Well it's March 2012, which means it's been almost a year since the last time I posted which is horrible... I know. But... I'm back. and dedicated to make more of an effort to capture the sweet memories my little family is making through an awesome technological advancement known as... blogging!
New Attitude:
So my best friend Katy decided to deactivate her Facebook for an indefinite period of time and asked me to take the challenge with her. I have to admit, I've done this before... it didn't last long, and I could think of 47 reasons off the top of my head why I needed Facebook. However, I accepted her challenge, because deep down - I know I have a problem. Although Facebook isn't necessarily bad in and of itself, I don't always use it for productive and edifying things. So, I'm taking a break from Facebook, making my blog public, and making more of an effort to blog about our lives and my sweet Ada Laine.
New Posts:
Start looking for several new "update" posts here in the next few days... I've got about 10 months worth of updates to throw at you!
Boy oh boy... where do I start. Basically, I've totally put off blogging for oh... 3 MONTHS! I'm sorry... I truly am. I could give you a laundry list of excuses, but let's just get straight to the updates - because honestly, I don't really have much time :)
Ada - 5 Month Update:
Ada got the rolling over thing down pat. She started rolling over both ways.
She started making the "da-da-da" sound.. Jordan's heart melted...
She started eating veggies - she loves them all, but sweet potatoes are probably her favorite (again... just another way she is her Daddy made over!)
Ada - 6 Month Update:
At 6 months - I could hardly keep up with her rolling! She really started to get her balance sitting up. She could sit up for a few minutes at time without falling over!
She got into a "fake cough/laugh" phase - It still comes and goes :)
She learned to "blow bubbles" a.k.a. spit. We took a cute video of her - she still loves to do this. She focuses so intensely - it's hilarious!
She got her 6 month check up / vaccinations - She weighed 19.5lb. and was 27 inches long!
She started eating meats - and she hated them - she still hates them!
And now we are at seven months, and my little Monkey is growing like a weed! She's just as chunky and chubby as ever! She's weighing in at 21.6 pounds. She loves to laugh. It's not very hard to make her laugh. She still loves to say da-da - she's yet to say ma-ma :( I'm pretty sure she knows her name now - and I'm starting to think she recognizes herself in the mirror. I don't think she has any self-awareness, but I think she sees a familiar face. She LOVES to look at herself in the mirror. It's so funny. She is trying to army crawl, but no success yet. She's sitting up all by herself now. She has been swimming - multiple times - she loves it! I knew she probably would. She loves her baths, but she literally has NO FEAR when it comes to the pool. Her first time in was the day before Easter! We go to the beach in three weeks - I have a feeling she'll love the ocean, but i'm curious about the sand. Ada has also started using a sippy cup. We're letting her drink her juice out of it. I wanted her to not get so hooked on the bottle - so we started her a little early. She's done great! It's been really helpful to be able to just put her in the floor with her juice.... it's allowed me a lot of time to get stuff done!
Ok... on to another big update. I went to work! Before you start freaking out about how I could leave my precious little bundle of joy to go work... let me explain.
A good friend of mine and Jordan's - Amado Ortiz - started a promotional product company last Fall. Amado was previously the marketing director at Anniston Country Club. Anyway - I started doing some graphic design work for him on the side last Fall, and then took a break when I had Ada. Anyway, in February, we teamed up for a project - Amado realized we made a pretty good team and offered me a position with the company. He understood my desire to be a wife and mother first and foremost, so we worked together to develop a schedule that was very flexible with my other job - Jordan's wife and Ada's mommy! My office is in Jacksonville, one mile from my house. I work two days a week while Ada stays with both her great-grandmothers (side note: my two grandmothers absolutely adore this time with Ada - I am so thankful that they are still here to enjoy her!) The other two days - Ada goes with me to work because I only work half a day in the office and the other half at home. I'm home before Jordan gets out of school every day and we are able to enjoy our afternoons together as a family. Me going to work is helping us pay off our student loans so much faster than we would without me working. We have so many things we want to do (adoption, overseas mission trip, buy a house) All of these things, we can't do until we are out of debt! So - here's a little plug for our company - O Brand Marketing. Basically, we do any kind of promotional product you can think of, including t-shirts!
I think I've pretty much brought you up-to-date! I'll leave you with a few pictures of the last few months!
Long time... no posting. I have to confess that over the past few weeks, I have thought about blogging.... I just couldn't pull myself away from kissing and loving on my sweet little bundle of joy! Ada is truly a joy. I know it sounds cliche, but I truly didn't expect to love this little person SO much!
Everyday, Jordan and I are amazed at how God has worked in our lives through the life of our daughter. I don't believe I've ever had a sweeter picture of my Heavenly Father's love for me. This past Sunday, Ada and her cousin Hope were dedicated. I've sat through dedications before.... they were sweet... but standing up there next to my husband as we made a public confession to raise our daughter in a way that glorifies God and to teach her about Christ so that she would fall in love with Him if He so calls her to Himself was humbling and sobering all at the same time.... what a responsibility we have been given!
Okay... on to Ada's 4-month update... and I don't think I did one at 3-months, so we'll just go through both! Over the past two months, Ada has started rolling over. Well... that me rephrase that... she can roll over, but she's not always interested in doing it. Ada has continued doing well eating cereal with a spoon, and we're now adding in some fruit. We started with applesauce, and although she wasn't too sure about the texture at first... she's LOVING it now! As you can tell from the pictures... Ada is packing on the pounds too! At her 4-month check-up, she weight 16.13 and was 26.5 inches long! Ada is still really talkative... very talkative. Some nights, when we're watching TV as a family... we either have to just cut the TV off or Ada has to go to her crib because she is talking so loud! Ada is such a happy baby... she's smiling most all of the time! She loves to make funny noises and she makes herself laugh all the time. She's ticklish on her belly... especially when you kiss it. That pretty much takes place during most all diaper changes. :) Ada is sleeping through the night... she's actually a great sleeper! Most mornings she sleeps until 7 or 7:30 and let me tell you... that makes for one HAPPY MOMMA! Well... that about wraps it up... I'll try to post more often... try... but I'll leave you with some sweet pictures of my "Monkey"!
Hey guys... just thought I'd drop in and post some pictures of our trip to TN over New Years. We had such a good time. I'm horrible at remembering my camera, but thankfully... our sweet friends Abigail and Anna Lee had theirs...
Hiking at Bald River
The whole crew!
Oh my goodness! There's no telling how many times a day I kiss these fat cheeks!
Sweet little gummy smile!
We also had some snow.. which I'm sure most of you had! I'm telling you, Ada has seen more snow in her short little three months then I have in a long time! I'm usually one to freak out during bad weather, and this time was no different. My sister-in-law called me to tell me about what they were saying (and keep in mind... she's just like me :) Needless to say, when I got off the phone with her, I was F-REAKING out! Jordan walked in the door and immediately I was like "WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!? A BLIZZARD'S COMING!" He assured me there would be no blizzard, but there may be some freezing rain... so we needed to probably go stay at my parents since they have a gas stove, gas water heater, and gas logs... all I heard was "food, warm bath, and heat"... I was sold, and so to my parents house we went! I have to say that we had SO much fun. We never lost power, but that was TOTALLY fine with us. We stayed Sunday night and Monday night with them. The snow they got at there house was mainly ice, so it made playing in it... not too fun. However, when you get the Weathers and the Haynes together... you're going to find something fun to do. So... me, my dad, and Jordan loaded up in my brother's truck and headed to my grandfather's... we found an old tractor tire... tied it to the back of my brother's truck and my dad pulled Jordan back to their house... it was funny.
Dad and Jordan carrying out our brilliant "fun in the ice/snow" plan!
Mom and Dad
Mommy and Ada
Daddy and Ada
Bella and Ada
Papa and Ada
While we were there, Ada started this new thing... yelling and screaming! Not crying screaming... but screaming... a mad scream and a mad yell. It started when Jordan was playing with her in the floor... he would kiss her on the neck and she was getting so mad... I ran and grabbed the Flip (video camera) and made Jordan do it to try and catch her screaming again. I missed the best one, but got a little one. Her whole body shakes and she screams as loud as she can. She also starts acting like she's trying to bite him... I know, I know... I've said from the beginning I have a little diva on my hands :) Enjoy the video... don't forget to pause or mute the music player at the bottom...
Ok.. so I've debated back and forth on whether to post this video or not... but since the blog is private now, I've decided to share! It's too funny not to. I will warn you... you will see poopoo!
Christmas Day we were at my parents and my mom was changing Ada's diaper. All of a sudden, we heard gagging and yelling... I grabbed my video camera and started filming it. If you decide to watch it (you've been warned about the poopoo....) pay attention to my Pawpaw... his reaction is hilarious... and the questions he asks... well, you'll just have to watch.
Ok. For those of you who have seen Ada, you wouldn't think that we've had trouble getting her to eat... but we have. No.. she hasn't lost weight, or become dehydrated... we just have to work and work to get her to eat so she won't have those problems. I just assumed that she was a lazy eater and that we would just have to continue working with her until she got better at it. Well... one night last week, my SIL Aimee was feeding her and realized that Ada might be tongue-tied... her second was and it made it hard for him to nurse. The way she was describing her son sounded just like Ada when I tried to nurse her... so, the next morning at 8AM, Ada and I were at Dr. Caballero's office to get her tongue snipped. I was so thrilled and relieved to finally have an answer. You guys have no idea how stressful it could get... I felt like I was feeding her all the time... just to get an adequate amount of formula down her so she wouldn't lose weight. We'd tried different bottles, nipples, stretching out her feedings.. nothing seemed to work. So... you can imagine how excited I was to find a solution.
Well... unfortunately, Ada was NOT tongue-tied... I was shocked. I think I asked Dr. C at least 10 times... are you sure? He assured me that he was sure and then gave me some suggestions on how to make feedings easier for Ada and for me. I was already giving her a cereal bottle at night (which she LOVES), but he told me to start introducing cereal with a spoon a couple of times a day. I was floored... I thought.. there is NO WAY my 2 1/2 month old can eat out of a spoon... she's just now getting to the point she can hold her head up on her on! But... I tried it. She had her first spoon feeding while were gone to Tennessee for New Years. I was glad, because I had my mom there and her friend Debbie who could help me..
Ada had gotten a Bumbo chair for Christmas, so we took that with us. I fixed the cereal and a bottle (for her to wash the cereal down with), and we dove right in. She did AMAZING... and she just keeps getting better and better at it. We are now able to finally get on a schedule. I am planning on working 2-3 days a week, and I really wanted Ada on a set schedule for when I leave her with people. So, here it is:
Between 7:00 and 8:00AM, Ada takes a 5-6 ounce bottle. She usually wakes up sometime around those times... but she doesn't eat before 7:00 and she doesn't eat after 8:00 :) She will take a short nap around 9:30 and then at 11:00AM she eats her first spoon-fed meal. I mix 2oz of formula with 4oz of oatmeal cereal. Then, I fix a 4oz bottle of formula, and let her take as much of that as she wants... but usually she takes the whole thing! Then, around 2:00PM she takes another 5-6 oz bottle. She will lay back down around 3:00 or 3:30 and sleep until 5 when she eats her 2nd spoon-fed meal of the day. She eats the same portions... Finally, around 9:30 or 10PM she takes another bottle with a couple ounces of cereal in it... just to help coat her tummy for bedtime!
I can't tell you how thankful I am for a feeding system that works with Ada! I was going crazy demand feeding... in my opinion, it's just not what I felt was best for her or for me... but I had to do it for her to get the amount of formula she needed.
Well... I just wanted to share! I've been so excited! Here's some pics of her first spoon-feeding! Enjoy!
Wow... today is the first day I feel like I've really been able to sit and write something down. We have had an eventful past few weeks. We've done a lot of last-minute shopping, traveling, packing, unpacking... it's been a whirlwind.
We had two full weeks with Jordan home with us, and we LOVED it. It was so nice to have an extra set of hands here around the house during the day. Even though we did a lot of traveling and spent time with family and friends, we also had some great time together just the three of us. Jordan started back to school today, and we won't really have that kind of time with him again until Spring Break. We miss him, but I am so thankful for a husband who sacrifices and works so hard to provide for Ada and me.
Ok.. I'll start with Christmas. This was obviously Ada's first Christmas, and I was so excited that it was a white one! We started celebrating Christmas Eve, at my Gran's house. It was our family, my parents, siblings, and my mom's parents (Venson and Marie).
This is tradition. My Gran hosts Christmas Eve every year at her house. We ate Coop DeVille wings (yes I know it looks like a hole in the wall, but the Honey BBQ and Lemon Pepper wings are out of this world!), chicken fingers, and other finger foods, and I have to say it was one of my favorite Christmas meals yet! We ate dinner, opened presents, and then had some dessert and coffee and enjoyed making sweet memories with my grandparents. After that, we drove out to my parents. We started a tradition several years ago of drawing names among the seven of us, and then we Jordan and I got married... he joined in too! So, every year, we purchase a gift for the person who's name we drew... we swap them Christmas Eve night, and my Dad reads the story of Christ's birth every year.
Next year, traditions will change a little bit. Traveling to both my grandparents and parents in one night with a baby is a little difficult. I think next year, we may do more here at our house on Christmas morning so that everyone can see what Ada got for Christmas! Christmas morning, we woke up and started cooking breakfast casseroles to take to two shut-in's here in Jacksonville. After Ada woke up and saw what she got for Christmas, we loaded up as a family... in the SNOW! and delivered breakfast.
Sweet girl on Christmas morning. She was in the best mood!
Ada and her gifts from Santa... two rattles/teethers, a snail that plays music, and an activity mat.
Our first white Christmas
This is something we plan on doing every year. No matter how busy, or how many kids we may have.... plans will be set aside for us to serve in some way on Christmas. We don't want to be extreme, we just want our children to not be focused on the selfish part of this holiday only, but to be selfless... because Christ humbled Himself.... the One who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf!! After we delivered breakfast, we loaded up and headed out to my parents once again, to see what my sisters and brother got for Christmas. Then we went down the road to my Memaw's (Dad's mom) and had Christmas with that side of the family. We had the traditional meal... turkey, dressing, etc... and some YUMMO desserts my Memaw baked! After lunch, we headed out for Columbus, MS to have Christmas with Jordan's family. We enjoyed our time in Mississippi. We had dinner at Jordan's grandmother's house (Mawmaw Betty) on Sunday. We left Monday morning and got home just before the last of the snow had melted.
Ada and Mawmaw Betty
Ada and Jordan's Aunt Karen
For New Year's, some sweet friends of ours invited us to go with them to Tennessee. We had a blast! It was so relaxing and so sweet to fellowship with everyone. Ada loved it, and slept better than she has really EVER slept! Ada also tried eating her cereal with a spoon. She loved it, and I think everyone else loved watching her try! More about that later...
In honor of the new year, I thought I'd sit back and reflect over 2010 and write down some of the big things that happened!
January: I took my first round of Clomid, and Jordan and I prayed that we would get pregnant... Jordan started his first official teaching job at Tenth Street Elementary!
February: It was 6 days early, but I had a hunch that there was a little baby in my belly, so I took a test and lo and behold... I WAS PREGNANT! Jordan didn't believe me at first... I finally had to take a digital test!
March: We had our first sonogram and heard Ada's heartbeat. We felt comfortable enough, so we finally shared with everybody our news! We also brought our first baby home... Sawyer :)
April: I spent most of my days in the bed or on the couch with morning sickness... every now and then, I got myself up to go walk with my SIL Aimee, who was also pregnant. Jordan was still teaching and then taking care of me when he got home... Dr. Daniel (my OB) also let us sneak another peak at our sweet baby... we were thrilled!
May: I lived at my parent's pool... I was determined to get a tan before my sweet friend Jessica's wedding. I was going to be the only pregnant one... I definitely didn't want to be the palest! Jordan looked forward to school ending... he'd had a tough semester. We also found out our sweet Peanut was a girl! Ada Laine Weathers...
We got a sneak-peek at Ada in 4D!
June: Jordan started working for a friend of ours just to earn some extra money, and started on a job hunt. I again... lived at the pool. I also taught my niece and nephew how to swim... I was so proud of them!
July: Jordan kept working... I kept swimming... and my SIL had her baby... Eden Hope Weathers (Ada's BFF) was born and we were all in awe at the sweet sovereignty of our Lord! We spent sometime with my family and the Acker family in Tennessee to celebrate my brother and sisters' 20th birthday! It was so much fun!
August: It was HOT... very HOT! Jordan found a job, and I pretty much stayed at home. I was very swollen and very miserable anywhere but my air conditioner.
September: Football season started, and the countdown to D-Day began... I began counting by Alabama's football games vs. the actual days it was until Ada was born. I had my first baby shower that my friend Katy threw for me... it was the beginning of the "shower" season... and oh how blessed we were for all the sweet gifts we received!
October: Ada Laine Weathers made her debut on October 13th.... forever our lives were changed and we couldn't be any happier!!!
November: I celebrated my 23rd birthday, and Ada spent her first night away from home with her Bella and Papa.
December: Jordan and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary, Christmas, and New Year!! Here is a video of Ada's first Christmas... please excuse Jordan and me... we understand we sound like idiots, but we'll do anything to make that little girl smile!
God has been so gracious to us this year. May He continue to be glorified in EVERY aspect of our lives in EVERY season....
I am first and foremost a sinner saved by the unmerited grace of my Heavenly Father. I am the wife of a selfless leader, mother to a sweet and spicy one year old, and graphic designer by trade. This is supposed to be my place to journal, blog, and keep precious memories recorded so they are not forgotten. We'll see how well I do...
