Happy Birthday Skip

It was Skips 80th birthday last week so to celebrate we met up with his family in Bonita Springs. Mike and Brenda were gracious hosts as always. We had a delish dinner and got to hang out with Julia's buddies.

Brantley and Colton are 8 and 4 weeks older than Julia and are so cute! Julie, Courtney, and I loved seeing the kiddos together for the first time. The boys are so much bigger/older but soon the weeks difference will seem like nothing. We hope to keep documenting their growth together and hopefully they will grow up to be good friends :)

7 Week Photo Shoot

A few quick pictures I snapped earlier this week.  I have developed a love of all things pink and girly :) 

 She is very tolerant of my photo obsession - to a point...

7 Weeks

Not much to report this week...

Julia is making more sounds and is starting to use facial expressions to initiate contact with Chad and I. She doesn't just wait for us to smile, she will start first. It's especially tough to resist her grins after the 3 am feeding. I know I should just put her in her crib, pat her, and walk away but she is so darn cute and sucks me in for extra kisses every time...

Chad was out of town for work for 2 nights last week. It was the first time J and I were on our own. (Chad has been gone before but my Mom was visiting then.)  We did fine but boy were we glad to see him on Friday!  He even surprised us by coming home midday instead of dinnertime.  J is an EXCELLENT baby but it's mentally exhausting not having another adult to back you up occasionally. I am awed by single moms. My hat is off to them!

A few random pictures from the week:

Julia Video 6 weeks

6 Week Party Girl

Julia is getting more active and animated every day.  She turned 6 weeks on Sept 28th and we celebrated with a yummy lunch at Red Robin with Guido.  She slept through the whole lunch even though the restruant was VERY loud.  We have had the beginnings of beautiful fall weather (which means temps in the mid-80s instead of 90s) so we decided to stroll Downtown Winter Garden.

Daddy has a convertible ZL1 Camero as his company car for a while.  While a very hot car, its not designed for car seats and I wish we had a picture of me sitting with my knees touching the dash so Julia's seat had enough room in the back!  Honestly it was easier to put the top down to get her in and out that through the door...  After a diaper change on the trunk lid we had a lovely time window shopping while Daddy carried Julia in a mei tai (carrier).

Another 6 week note is that her hair is getting longer and curlier every week!  Its a medium brown, not super dark but definitely curly!

The faces she makes are hilarious and she is starting to interact while we talk and make faces at her.  She is ready for her screen debut.  Anyone know a good agent?  :)

Uh oh, I think they're on to me. We better scram...

Who? Little ol' me...?

hee hee, that was fun!

I'm not happy with this story line...

Mommy, you are so silly...

Party on!  Girl power!

Beer and Lighthouses - St Augustine

 For Daddy's birthday (32 again :) we decided to undertake our most ambitious baby-adventure yet... 

Chad wanted to hear a world respected brewmaster speak at a reception in St Augustine.  Something about ancient beer archeology...  Our friend Forrest wanted to go too so we decided to make a day of it.  We toured the St. Augustine lighthouse and grounds and learned about how they are discovering and preserving shipwreck artifacts found in 'The Nations Oldest Port'.  Then the beer reception started at 5 and proved to be a good time for all... except for Julia... 

After the 2 hour drive and 3 hours touring the grounds she was hot, tired, and DONE!  although we were prepared to meet all of her (admittedly simple needs) we didn't account for her basic annoyance at being hot and generally disgruntled with her lack of familiar surroundings.  She and I decided to skip the reception and just wandered around killing time and waiting for the boys to finish.  Not a roaring success but not too shabby for her 5 week birthday and Chad had a great time so it was worth it. 


A few interesting tidbits from the past week: 

• She coughed for the first time.  She has always sneezed to clear her airway but coughing is new and so cute!
• She is playing on her playmat and holding her head up for many minutes at a time.  When she is done though she is quick to let you know.
• She is sleeping 2-3 hours during the day and 4-6 at a stretch at night.  There are some mornings I am pretty groggy but if I get one 6 hour stretch I feel great. I am very lucky in the sleeping department, I have friends who are up every 2-3 hours all night long.  I pray she doesn't regress from here.

 

 

 

Mama and Julia at 5 weeks

Visit with Oma

We have had the best week with my Mom (Oma)!  Julia loves having Oma around to hold her and give her bottles. Since Chad was in Miami for work for some of the week it was wonderful having her here so I can get a few things done around the house and actually shower! The biggest struggle I am having right now is needing to pump 8 times a day.  Its impossible when I am home alone with Julia to get it done because once I feed her, play with her, and put her down for a nap I have no time left to pump.  Oma really helps me relax and not feel like I will go crazy trying to cram everything in and Julia get extra love and snuggles - we both win!

Since it takes an act of Congress to get Julia and I fed, dressed, and out of the house we spend a lot of time at home which can get pretty boring.  With Oma here we were able to get out more and plan some stuff around town. 

Tuesday we went to a Le Leche meeting to help me work on Julia's nursing.  She seems to latch and nurse well it just doesn't seem like she is transferring much so we are still going to visit the oral motor specialist for more help.  I really want to eliminate having to pump and feed bottles...  Afterwards we went out for a yummy Thai lunch.  Julia slept through it but Mom and I enjoyed it!  Then we were feeling very ambition so we went to Cheesecake Factory and met some of my mom friends for a birthday lunch for Ana.  We split a piece of cheesecake and then had to make a hasty exit when Julia woke up crying.  We did more that day than I had in 3 weeks :)

Wedneday we took Oma to the salon and she got a haircut.  Since my mom is very particular about her hair and has had some bad experiences (stylists who had no idea how to handle curly hair...) we were glad she tried Holly, who has been cutting Chad hair for years.  Holly did her magic and cut mom's hair giving her a fresh shape and removing some dead ends and didn't make it too short.  Julia was an angel during the visit!  She slept most of the time and just peeked her eyes open a few times when people were talking to her.  Everyone said she was adorable!  Because we were all feeling so good we took some pictures of Oma and Julia when we got home. 

Thursday we went to a consignment sale and I got some stuff for Julia and Mom got some stuff for Suzie!  We stayed just the right amount of time and Julia didn't get fussy until the last 5 minutes.

Overall this has been a wonderful visit with Oma.  She is so helpful and and makes the days fly by.  This infant stage can be a bit tedious and boring and having Oma here makes it much more fun!  We will miss you when you go back to Atlanta tomorrow Oma, hurry up and buy a house in FL so we can see you more often...