More Pictures

I cannot believe that Sydney is already over 7 months old!! I absolutely LOVE being her Mommy!

At 7 months old, Sydney is:

• beginning to eat finger foods...she's not too sure about how they feel in her mouth and will often spit the food back out. I make a lot of her purees at this point - very time consuming!!
• sitting up well by herself
• rolls from front to back...if she feels like it!
• fake coughs...very cute!!
• does the motor boat sound when she gets frustrated
• recognizes her name, mommy, daddy, Ziggy and Zoey

Below are some recent pictures...enjoy!!

Kicking' back on the sofa watching some baby einstein!

I love her profile and her little faux-hawk!

Aunt Arlene (from Chicago), Nana, Sydney and her cousin Max from New Jersey!

Some good old belly time!

Happy Birthday Pap!

Story time with Daddy before bedtime!

Miss Diva!

Things I Love

This post is LONG overdue. Our lives have just been so crazy lately that when I finally do get some alone time, all I want to do is shut off!

I saw on the Today show yesterday a story on "Momesia". It's what I used to call "pregnancy brain" and I now call "mommy brain". The story discussed how there is actually scientific proof that hormones affect a females brain when she is pregnant and while she is still breastfeeding. This is why we forget so many things...finally, proof that I am not losing it!! The story also pointed out that during the first year of raising a child, mommies lose around 700 hours of sleep!!! No wonder why I am soooo tired all of the time!

Sydney is doing wonderful! There are so many things that I just love about her and about being her mommy. I thought I would share a few of them with you all...

I love the way that she looks at me and the way she wraps her arms around me and squeezes whenever I pick her up. I feel so loved and so joyful, it really melts my heart.

I love our cuddle time after she wakes up from her naps. I will usually lightly tickle her back, forehead and face and sometimes she will go right back to sleep.

I love it when she is finished breastfeeding in the middle of the night and I hold her for just a moment before putting her back to bed and tickle her face and forehead and then kiss her lightly and say good night. She lets out a little sigh and I put her back into her crib and she falls back to sleep.

I love it when I am feeding her solids and she says "Mmmmm" over and over...not sure if it's because she loves her food or if she is just making noise, but is sure is cute! She has started this new thing where she opens her mouth for a bite but the moment I get the spoon to her mouth, she moves it. I have to catch her mouth. We sure do have a mess by the time we are done!

I love her little scowl she makes right before she gets frustrated with something or when she is studying something new.

And, I love her little poo poo face, especially when she turns bright red!!

I especially love the way she looks up at me and smiles every time I go get her out of her crib, no matter if it's during the day or in the middle of the night! Every time I go to pick her up, she is smiling from cheek to cheek and holding her piggy toes!

Lastly, although there are many more things I love about my daughter (and believe me, you will hear about them in posts to come) I love the way she smiles at me every time I say to her "Good morning Sunshine"!! You see, my Mom used to say that to me every morning when I was growing up and now I say it to my daughter every morning when she gets up (and after every nap and whenever I need her to smile for the camera)!!

So many things to love...

as challenging as the first few months were (ok, the first 5 months!!!) it is all worth it. I love being with my daughter in the moment. I love being her mommy!

Goodbye Grandpap...

Yesterday was a difficult day for the Wade family...

Grandpap passed.

I had the honor of knowing Grandpap for 11 years. He was always so kind to me and was so excited when Greg and I got married. Over the years, he often grabbed my hand or put his hand on my shoulder and said he was so happy that I married Greg and that I was so good to him. Although he wasn't a man of many words, he always found subtle ways to say what was on his mind. As the years passed and Grandpap aged, I always made sure to send little cards to him in Tuscon just to let him know we were thinking of him and that we loved him. He loved getting these cards and whenever I saw him he would make a point of thanking me. Last year when we found out we were pregnant he was so delighted. We had a little Birthday party for him at our house and I remember him patting my pregnant belly and smiling. I am so thankful that he got to meet Sydney. Up until the end, Sydney was able to bring him joy.

We will miss you Grandpap....

Congrats Rich and Jessica

What a big day yesterday was! My sister in law, Jessica and Greg's brother, Rich, had a baby boy!!! They already have 3 girls and they did not know the sex of the baby until he was born. They named him Jack, which I absolutely love! Congrats guys!!!

Here is a picture of Sydney and her first Easter bunny...

Her smile just melts my heart...I seriously cannot get enough of it. She is such a happy baby!

More Pictures!!

Well, we didn't get an offer on our house from the people who looked at it 3 TIMES!!! They decided to go with an older home that was cheaper...their loss!! So, another open house this weekend. All we can do is stay positive and focus on our beautiful little girl. Speaking of, here are some recent pictures...Enjoy!

Look at my teeth!

Silly girl playing with her sippy cup!

Mmmmm.....

My little love bug

Rollie Pollies!!

Beautiful Moments

Yesterday was such a wonderful day! No, we didn't hear back with an offer on our house, nor did we win the lottery!

Something more wonderful than all of that...

I was with my daughter, living in the moment, thankful to be her Mother!

We went for a long walk in the sun and later we went to the park where I fed Sydney some pears while sitting in the grass. We then went for another walk and did a little window shopping. As our night came to a close, I sat Sydney on the sofa next to me and read her some books. As I changed my voice to read the pages, she would look up at me and stare. I actually cried...I was living in that moment with my daughter.

And today, well who knows what's in store. I am so lucky to be able to be home with her and share these moments. Now that she is a little older and a little more independent, we seem to have so much more fun together.

As I look over at my daughter who is jumping in her jumperoo, she brings yet another smile to my face...

as she has her poo poo face going which means I need to get her out of the jumper before we have poo poo all over her back!!!

Thank You

Thank you to all of you who emailed me or called me to offer support in regards to my post on our 6 month checkup. I really appreciate the kind words of encouragement. Thank you for reminding me that we all just do the best we can and as long as our children are thriving and smiling everyday, we are doing something right!

At this point, we have decided to not proceed with the helmet suggestion from the doctor. We instead are focusing on rolling over and belly time and we are already seeing improvments on her head placement while she is sleeping. Many times over the last few nights when I walk into her room to check on her, she is sleeping on her side. We will give it a month and see how it all goes.

I have to remember that the doctor is not God and does not know all. He is speaking from his medical education and experiences. In the end, we as parents have the final word and we have something the medical experts do not have...intuition! And my intuition tells me to let this go as it will all be fine!

Again, thank you all and I will keep you posted on how it all turns out.