"Six Months and Sitting Up Like a Big Girl" Photo Session

We take a lot of pictures of Audrey but I like to have professional photos taken once she reaches certain milestones. Sitting up is definitely one of those milestones! Luckily, my best friend Julie Binger is a very talented photographer and she is willing to take Audrey's photos at no charge. She took Audrey's Easter photos and they turned out so cute! For her six months photos,  I decided to dress her in her 4th of July dress. I figured it was close enough to the 4th at this point and the dress is just too darn cute to only wear once. Audrey's Aunt Jen bought the dress for her from Baby Gap. She also bought her the sunglasses that she's wearing in some of the photos and they are from Carters. I hope that you all enjoy the pictures just as much as we do! I can't wait to frame some of these!

I hope you all enjoyed them! Thanks for checking in!

Nicole

Jack's First Catch

Sam has been teaching Jack how to fish for over a year now. We have a canal behind our home and Sam enjoys going outside on weekends or after work some evenings to toss a line and see what he can catch. It is pretty fun to watch and he always throws the fish back. Jack started going out with him to watch shortly after we moved in and sometimes Sam would let him use his pole. For Christmas, Sam bought Jack his own fishing pole and tacklebox so that they could fish together. It was one of Jack's favorite presents and he wanted to fish immediately after he opened it. Once Jack learned how to hook his own bait on the line, he started fishing after he finished his homework each afternoon. He wouldn't catch anything all day and then Sam would get home, cast a line and catch a fish within 15 minutes. This went on for months but Jack did not give up. He kept trying and even got stung by a bee one day while he was fishing but that didn't stop him. He was really determined to catch a fish!

A month ago, Jack was out back and Sam had just come home from work. We were in our living room and all of a sudden we heard the loudest screams coming from our backyard. My first thought was that Jack had been stung by another bee but I heard him screaming words. We finally registered what Jackson was screaming as we were headed out back, "I CAUGHT A FISH, I CAUGHT A FISH!" with an extreme emphasis on the "i" in fish. Jack was so excited! Sure enough, a little fish was dangling on his pole! The look of pride on his face was one of the most adorable things I have ever seen. Even cuter, I could tell he was searching for that look of approval on Sam's face. When Sam congratulated him, Jack looked even more proud of himself. Then Jack asked for help getting the fish off the hook. Sam helped him of course.

This story means so much to me. Being a step parent is hard and being a stepchild can be even harder. It is not easy to create a bond with a child who already has parents or for a child to essentially adopt a parent. It can be very hard for both to accept one another. Sam's relationship with both Felicia and Jackson has not happened over night. It has taken time and effort from all of us. Seeing Sam outside fishing with Jack everyday was only a small portion of that effort. Jack had never fished and Sam taught him. One day when Jackson is all grown up and he takes his children fishing, he will remember his stepfather teaching him how to fish and that's pretty special. They created a bond and it melted my heart to know that.

Jackson and his first catch!

Audrey's Six Month Update

I am so excited to post Audrey's 6 month update! When I had Audrey I knew I wanted to document as much as possible and I have been sending my family an update via email every two months. This is so much easier and such a great point of reference! I will be doing an update every month until Audrey is a year old and then every few months after that.

Weight: 16 pounds 0 ounces
Height: 25.5 inches

Head Circumference: 16.2 inches

Well Check/ Dr. Appointment: Audrey had her 6 month check up today and the doctor said she is growing perfectly! She had her first "cold" this month. She spiked a fever about two weeks ago and it ranged from 101-103 for about 3 days. We had our first trip to urgent care since it happened over the weekend (of course) and it turned out to be a slight cold with nasal congestion only. We gave her tylenol a couple of times when her fever got above 102 and used saline and a bulb syringe to clear her nose. It cleared on it's own within a few days and she was perfectly fine. I am really happy that we didn't have to give her any antibiotics!

Nicknames: Cheekies, Audrey-kins, Nugget, Snuggies, Baby (how original, huh?) Felicia also calls her "Nakie baby" before and after her bath when she is undressed.

Teething: She finally has a tooth coming in! You can see the very top of it poking through her gums. It is her bottom right tooth.

Clothing: Still in some 6 month sizes and all 9 month sizes too.

Diapers: She is wearing size 3 diapers for the past month and I think she will be in this size for a while. We switched from Up & Up (Target Brand) to Honest Co. diapers when she grew into size 3 (around 5 months) because I started having leaks with Up & Up. I really liked Target diapers but she would still have an occasional leak when she was in Size 1 and 2. I am happy to write that we have had no leaks with the Honest Co diapers! Also, the designs are so cute! I've posted some pics below.

Eating (Breastmilk): I am still breastfeeding and it's going great! I pretty much let her nurse whenever she wants. Generally, she nurses for about an hour in the morning, afternoon, and evening. She also wakes up to nurse around 4 every morning and then she will fall right back asleep until about 7:30.

Eating (Solids): We gave her solids for the first time when she was 4.5 months old. She was definitely ready! She was starting to reach for food and drinks whenever they were anywhere near her. The first food we gave her was organic brown rice cereal (Happy Bellies brand) mixed with breastmilk. Slowly we gave her more foods. Now she eats a large variety of foods- peas, sweet potato, butternut squash, banana, mango, spinach, apples, pear, peach, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, prunes, carrot, and avocado. Her favorites are bananas, mango, sweet potato and peas but she really likes everything. I try to puree most of her food myself. I puree the bananas, mangoes, avocado, and blueberries myself. The other foods are mostly a combination of either Ella's Kitchen, Plum, Peter Rabbit, or Sprout brand baby food. She really loves eating and it makes me really happy to feed her good food and to know that she is breastfed. It makes me feel very proud!

Sleeping (Night): She sleeps anywhere from 9-10 hours a night. She wakes up around 4am and I nurse her and she falls right back asleep within 15 minutes. She is still sleeping in our room and it really works for us, for now. I will probably transition her to her room when she is around 8 months old - just in time to make the next baby! Just kidding haha!

Sleeping (Naps): She generally naps twice a day for about 1.5 - 2 hours. We are on the go a lot some days so she will cat nap here and there on those days.

Social: Audrey is a very social baby! She loves meeting new people and will warm up very easily to most. She loves to smile and enjoys attention. She does make it really clear when she feels like she is not getting enough attention or when she just wants to be with me. This baby can scream! She sounds a lot like a pterodactyl, no joke.

Likes: Eating real food and playing airplane with the spoon, bathtime and lotion massages before bed every night, tummy time with big sister and brother, playing "super baby" with Mom, looking at herself in the mirror, playing peek-a-boo with Daddy and swimming in the pool.

Dislikes: She still really does not care for car rides and being in her carseat, especially around 6-7pm which makes going out in the evenings stressful for us. I am hoping Audrey grows out of the "witching hour" soon. 

New this Month: She sat up for the first time two weeks ago and also rolled over from back to tummy and tummy to back earlier this month. She can also move her body 90 degrees during tummy time. She is already trying to pull her knees up so I think she will be crawling soon.

Fun things we did: Audrey stayed with Aunt Chris and Uncle Frank while Sam and I had our first post Audrey date (and she did great)! We visited the beach club with Aunt Jen, Uncle Eric and cousins Matt, Jake, and Andrew and also went swimming in the pool for the first time at Grandma's house!

Mama: I feel great! Audrey already has separation anxiety so she does not like to be away from me and while I am happy and proud that we have bonded so closely, it can be frustrating at times. I know it won't last long so I try to enjoy it as much as I can!

Daddy: Sam was recovering from back surgery this month. While it was difficult for him and for me since he was unable to bend over or lift anything over 10 pounds, including Audrey, it has been nice having him home from work for the past couple of weeks. He will go back to work next monday and we will most certainly miss him. He has bonded with Audrey even more! When it comes to playtime, it is pretty easy to see who Audrey prefers now.

Siblings: Jack and Felicia are amazing with Audrey! They are so sweet to her and she loves them so much. If it weren't for them I wouldn't be able to get even half as much done and Audrey wouldn't be nearly as happy. Felicia loves to get Audrey undressed while I run her bath every night and she helps me bathe her. It's really a huge help!

Looking forward to: Big cousin Andrew's 4th Birthday party, big sister Felicia's 11th birthday, having Jack and Felicia home all day to play during the summer and Aunt Chris and Uncle Frank coming home from their New York trip! 

Ready for the beach!

Audrey sitting up by herself for the first time

She loves mangoes...

..and smiling!

Felicia is such a good big sister!

This adorable outfit was from Aunt Cathie. It is one of my favorites!

She loves sticking her tongue out now

Big smiles for the camera

This is another favorite outfit of mine. I love rompers on babies!

This picture shows the true color of her hair. It is a strawberry blondish color in the sun. Her ends are still dark like they were when she was born and her eyes are a blend of colors, blue, green and grey. 

Playtime with Felicia

Audrey loves her big brother Jack!

Audrey loves her Daddy so much! 

Tummy time

Audrey loves playing with her toes!

Baby rolls are so cute!

Six Month Photo Collage

Months 1 - 6

I hope that you enjoyed the update! Thanks for checking in!


Nicole

Goodbye Elementary School, Hello Middle School - Five Rules for a Sixth Grader

I can't believe Felicia has officially graduated Elementary School! It seems like just yesterday I was dropping her off for her first day of kindergarten and now in a little over two months I will be dropping her off for her first day of Middle School. Felicia's fifth grade graduation was very bittersweet for me. While I am very proud of the beautiful, smart and headstrong young lady Felicia is growing into, I am sad that she is transitioning into adulthood and leaving childhood behind a little more each day. I know that once she starts Middle School it will  happen even faster. I wanted to give Felicia some "motherly advice" for starting Sixth Grade so I sat down and thought about it.  Here are five rules that I hope she will remember and use as often as possible.

1. Meet and keep the right friends. Don't just choose friends because they are cool, choose friends who are good people, who have goals for their lives, who do their best in school and who you can trust and make sure that they choose you for the same reason.

2. Be nice to everyone, always, even when it is not the cool thing to do. Always put yourself in someone else's shoes. 

3. Always take the high road. There will be several roads to choose from along the road of life and there will always be a "right" road. Choose that one, no matter how hard it is sometimes. The choices you make now will determine the type of person you are becoming.

4. Be a trendsetter. Don't always follow the crowd. Be your own person and like what you like. Don't be afraid of what people will think of you. Remember that no matter how it may seem, everyone is concerned about what other people think about them, it is normal to care but don't let it control your freedom to be who you are. Don't do the cool thing just to fit in. 

5. Always put your studies first. That is the reason you are in school. While it is easy to get wrapped up in what everyone is wearing, who likes who and who doesn't like who, you are in school for one reason and that is to learn as much as you can so that you have a successful life. Always keep your eye on the goal to be as successful as you can be in all that you do.  

I can't believe how grown up she looks in this picture!

All ready for the graduation ceremony and dance!

Felicia reading her "A Reflection" essay

"I graduated!"

Felicia with some of her classmates

Felicia with her teacher and classmates

I'm such a proud mama!

SoFla Saturday! Batten's Farmer's Market in Davie

Today we went to Batten's Farmer's Market in Davie and it was so much fun! My husband and I had not been since we were little. Batten's is known for their strawberry milkshakes and also for their U-Pick Strawberry fields. Unfortunately, strawberry season is over so we could not pick our own berries. We did enjoy the milkshakes though and we were able to pick up some organic apples and bananas. Audrey seemed to enjoy the market but she loves any outdoor activity!

These are jumbo carrots. The picture probably isn't doing them justice but they were huge!

Here is where the milkshakes are made. Their strawberry milkshakes are the best I've ever had and Sam agrees!

They have a cute little petting zoo right behind the market. There is also a play area inside of the market for toddlers with small haystacks and games.

Audrey wasn't sure if she liked the strawberry milkshake after her first taste...

She was sold about five seconds later. We only let her taste a little bit though. 

"Are you going to give me some more of that shake, Dad?"

Moo!

In addition to a milkshake/smoothie stand, they also have an area where they sell homemade BBQ and some other food items.

Dining area

That was a fun adventure!