Sweet Mely turns ONE!!

I don't know why taking a few minutes of my day to sit down and write about my family seems so daunting at times?! I think I have definitely been caught up in the busy-ness of life and feeling the ever mounting pressure to "get it all done" before I can take some time for myself, thus preventing me the simple pleasure of journaling about life. But my sweet sweet Melody turned 1 yesterday and dang it I'm determined to write about it!! (even if I am frantic that she will wake up early from her nap and distract me from the computer)

So yesterday was Melody's 1st Birthday and I found myself thinking back to the day she was born and how much she has really changed our lives since we first laid eyes on her. We delivered at St. David's North 12/22/10 and were out of the hospital by Christmas Eve. Even though last year was her first Christmas, I was so exhausted from labor and was completely sleep depraved that it was all kind-of a blur! I'm definitely looking forward to being fully present this Christmas! Without trying to sound too sappy, I really cannot believe how God has blessed me and Ryan with such an amazing little girl. During my entire pregnancy I would try to hard to imagine what she might look and be like, but she is more amazing than I could have ever dreamed up! She is such a good-natured baby and always smiling and laughing. Melody's giggling just makes me laugh right along with her, it's infectious! She has developed quite the little personality the past few months and is so animated and silly with her sounds and faces. 

  We had Melody's 1stBirthday party last Sunday and here are a few of her in her cute little birthday outfit! This is the first tutu I ever made so I was very proud that it actually turned out like it was supposed to :) She fussed for a few min when we first put it on her and then she wore it well the rest of the day. Thank you to all of you who made it out to celebrate her big day!!

Melody and I got to spend her actual birthday together...just mama and baby time :) We started off the day getting all dressed up to see Santa (which she was terrified of) and having lunch with our good friends Kristie and Kaleb. After a few errands we spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing (aka her taking a nap and me frantically trying to get our house cleaned before Christmas). That night Ryan, Melody, and I went to see Christmas lights up in Round Rock. This one house was ridiculously decked out...I think Mely really enjoyed it. I might have enjoyed it more but it's okay to still love Christmas lights as an adult right?! Overall it was a great day and a chance to reflect back on the year, trying to really soak it all in.

I love you sweet Melody and can't wait to see what this next year of your life will bring!

Been too long

I promise I did not give up on my blog...it's just been on hold a few months while I watch my daughter grow up before my very eyes! Any time I think about sitting down to write I find myself being distracted by email, facebook, to-do lists, work, tidying up...but mostly by Melody moving around the table towards me wanting my full attention or eagerly pulling herself up on our entertainment center trying to put cords in her mouth. Yes Melody is officially mobile, crawling all over our house and pulling herself up on anything sturdy enough to hold her weight. She is about to turn 9 months old and I'm excited to see her "stats" at our doctors visit this week. It has been 3 months since our last visit and I'm dying to know how much she weighs...my guess is about 21 lbs. She's definitely been packing on the pounds since I stopped nursing at 6 months. Her best features are her thigh rolls; I can't get over how chubby her little legs are! Here are a few pictures from the past couple months of what she's been up to lately:

reading & toys

 standing up in her crib...we lowered it the next day!

 her favorite sleep position, butt up in the air

 her "gerber baby" pose

 having fun with her mirror

 practicing standing with shoes...doesn't keep them on for long

 nice roll shot...almost too many to count!

 pool time in the front yard

 one more backside shot :) I couldn't resist!

 Oh yeah, and Melody loves to make this new face where she's really excited about something! I can't believe I actually caught in on camera because it's so sporadic. Not really sure what to say about this look except it makes me laugh every time! And of course Bentley tried to get in the shot.

 my little munchkin

Lately we have been spending our time adjusting to her new Mother's Day Out program twice a week, which has allowed me to see clients or have a few hours to myself. She is one of the only girls in her class of about 10 other babies. She seems to be enjoying it but has been pretty clingy lately as she's moving into the "separation anxiety" stage. When Melody wants her mama she wants her mama! It's been both frustrating and humorous at times to see her throw a fit from just putting her down and walking into another room. I find myself becoming more hesitant to pass her off to people because I don't want them to feel like they might be upsetting her. But I know this is a natural and healthy progression for her little developing self and secretly enjoy all her attention. There's something very comforting about knowing your child wants/needs you so badly that they are upset by the mere thought of separation from you. I wonder if this is not anything less than a perfect reflection of what our desire should be towards our Father in heaven...wanting to cling to Him to badly that the thought of being separated from him would bring us great distress.

Ma-ma-ma-ma

Mely thinks she's pretty cool :)

Melody has begun babbling sounds that are starting to sound like words, but don't think we can make it official just yet! In the past few days she's starting to say Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma over and over again...so we'll see if it sticks. Melody is 24 weeks and has really started to become more vocal and expressive. It seems like she always has a smile on her face which makes it hard for me to take my eyes off of her. She loves to watch people's lips move as they talk to try and mimic a similar face. I might be a little biased, but she's a pretty amazing 5 1/2 month old with a fun personality. Here are a few highlights over the past few weeks:

- Melody had her first long trip away from the house and took her first flight to North Carolina. She flew like a champ and seemed very content for being confined to such a small space for 2 1/2 hrs. We took her to N.C. for her uncle Mike's wedding and to meet her new aunt Jamie. She definitely loved being the center of attention and did well adjusting to a different schedule all week.




- Melody can sit up on her own if placed just right for a few minutes! She favors being upright (either sitting or standing) over lying down...which makes her Baby Einstein exersaucer an excellent toy at this phase. She can stand in that thing forever without getting bored. Mely also enjoyed trying out a Johny Jumper while we were in N.C. Hmm, maybe it's time for us to invest in a jumper!



- Melody can roll...well, kinda! She started to be able to roll from stomach to back around 22 weeks and liked showing off her new talent during our trip. She doesn't seem to mind when I help her roll from her back to stomach but doesn't quite have the abs for it yet. Thankfully she enjoys tummy time most days so we're still practicing.

- Melody likes to splash. Whether it's in her little baby tub or in the pool, she enjoys being in the water. I am especially thankful for this new interest so I have an excuse to work on my tan for the summer!

- Melody loves other babies! It's like she knows they are her size or something, but when we're around her little friends she wants to reach out and touch their faces, hands, belly...anything really.

meeting her friend Emry for the first time!

- Melody can lunge her body forward now so we really have to be careful about holding her. She's got some pretty strong muscles and grip so I also have to be careful to not let her get a hold of my hair!

- Melody is eating solids. So far her favorite is sweet potatoes and green beans! I've made a few meals for her with avocado and banana, but for the most part she prefers eating Gerber 1st Foods (i think the consistency is better that what I've fixed). I need to go ahead and invest in a better food processor so we can make some yummy baby food! She's really got better in the past 2 weeks of opening her mouth when the spoon gets close and swallowing without too much coming back out!


I'm sure there's more to update on but that covers a lot of what's been going on the past few weeks in her life. We are in the process now of finding childcare for her as I begin to build my client load at the Austin Stone Counseling Center. I have been so blessed to have her with me all day long with nannying, so I'm not looking forward to having to be away from her. However, I am excited about this next step in my career and feel better about being gone now that she's almost 6 months. One thing I know for sure is that Melody is a flexible and chill baby so she'll adjust well...it's me I'm worried about!

a little behind

So I've realized it's really easy for me to lose track of time and to keep pushing off updates. Honestly I feel like Melody has been changing so much over the past two months that every time I think about doing an update something new happens and I get so caught up in just enjoying my time with her! She will be 5 months this weekend (5/22) and I can already understand why moms say their babies grow up so fast. Melody is not mobile yet (thank goodness) but she's getting close to rolling from stomach to back and it's only a matter of time before she'll be crawling all over our living room floor. One of her favorite things to do is stand up, look around, and really take in all of her surroundings. Her beautiful big dark blue eyes seem to always be wide and curious, as if she's trying to make sense of the world. She has the most amazing smile and laugh which always brighten my day.

her favorite!

loves her teddy :)

showing off her "cheeks" @4 months

my two rockers

playing/eating her toys

This past week Ryan and I felt it was time to start introducing solids, so after reading up I began her on avocado (mixed w/water and formula). She didn't totally reject it so I felt like it was a good start. It was quite the experience watching your daughter spit up green slime all over herself, ha! I've been trying to give her at least a little solid food a day to help her learn how to swallow...it seems like she manages to get a few bites down.

thought she'd share with Bentley!

I'm sure there is so much I'm leaving out but you might start to get bored with all the details! One thing I will post, though, is my job update. Over the past two months I've started back to work throwing together a few part time jobs doing serving, nannying, and babysitting. It was not what I hoped to be doing when I started back but no counseling opportunities had really panned out. However, I had been in contact with the director of the Austin Stone's new counseling center off and on since October and was still hoping that I could partner with them. Well as of a few weeks ago I was finally offered a position as an LPC-I and will be able to start seeing clients once the center officially opens in the next month! While I am a bit nervous about having to find some sort of part-time childcare for Melody, I am truly excited about this opportunity to continue to work towards my counseling licensure hours in a Christian setting. God is so good!

Melody turned 3 months old today and we celebrated by taking it easy at home just the two of us :) Her personality has really started to show these past few weeks and I love how vocal she's getting.

Couldn't resist with the bow...homemade by Brenda (Grammy)!

Melody loves to put her hands in her mouth and especially loves to suck on her thumb! Oh boy...

She is still a really great sleeper and we've gotten a better routine for taking naps during the day. She's also a big eater, sometimes eating 5-6 oz before bed! We are still nursing but she gets about a bottle a day since she's so hungry at night (it's also a great way for Ryan to continue to bond with her). I started back to work at the Melting Pot 2 nights a week, so Ryan is able to watch her and put her to bed. While I hate being away from them, it's nice to know she gets to have some special bonding time with her daddy :)

Melody's Dedication

Melody was dedicated this past Sunday at our church, Austin Bible Fellowship along with about 12 other infants! Both sets of parents came into town to celebrate this special occasion and my mom's parents were able to make it as well. Melody's life verse that we read for her was from Psalm 139: 1, 3-4. Ryan was also able to play a song that he wrote Melody, which he sang and dedicated to all the infants. It took everything for me to keep it together! The song was absolutely beautiful...a big thanks to Jason and Ali (our worship leaders) for singing and playing along with Ryan. I can't wait for Melody play it for Melody when she gets older :)