I'm terrible

I'm terrible, I know. I haven't posted in forever! I have been so busy/tired. Mia grows up so much every day. She is so fun to be around now! I never get on the computer cause I'm always playing with her. Lets see... where to start. We went on our first road trip to my cousins wedding in Dallas. For as much as Mia hates the car, she did great! She was the cutest baby at the wedding. :) It was her first hotel stay. We took her swimming for the first time in the pool. She liked it. I think she kinda just thought it was a big bath. But it was very cute. She has a big open mouth smile that just make you want to squeeze her! She gives sweetest kisses. She loves to talk and she sings everytime we are in the car. She is taking her bottle like a champ (big weight off of my shoulders). She isn't sleeping through the night yet but we are working on it. We used to swaddle her for every nap and at night. She can now roll over so we quit swaddling her. That took some getting used to! But she really likes being able to sleep on her tummy now. We also used to bounce her to sleep for every nap then take her to bed. We are trying to stop that and let her put herself to sleep. We lay her down and let her cry for min (which seems like an eternity) then we go back in and put the binky back in her mouth. Then she usually falls right to sleep.

We are going to Dallas in September for the UFC fights. We have decided to leave Mia here with her Gran Gran and Pa Pa. I am very excited to have some "us" time, but also VERY anxious. We are flying down sat afternoon and flying back sun afternoon so we won't be gone very long. I really want her to be sleeping through the night by then. I just can't stand the thought of her waking up and not seeing mine or daddy's faces! She will be 6 months old so SURELY she will be sleeping all night!
I will try to be better about posting!

Going to the Wedding!

Mia loves her jumper! I love that smile!

Going swimming. How cute is her little bathing suit!

Our little lady

Callie loves Mia's toys too! (this one is for you, Missa)

12 weeks!

Mia is 12 weeks old! We got her 3 month pics and they are soo cute! We are doing a re-shoot because she got kinda upset so we didn't get just a ton of pics. I can stare at her for hours. Sometimes I still can't believe that I am her Mommy and she is my daughter. She is definitely going to be a talker (I wonder where she gets that from?) She talks all the time! It is so adorable.

UPDATE: My last post I was really stressing about the bottle. Well, I worked one full day and Mia stayed with Daddy and....she took the bottle all day! We now try to give her one a day to keep her used to it. She still isn't crazy about it but she does it. Thank goodness! (Thanks Sarah for the tips.)

Pics by Carol Mckinney. www.photosbycarolmckinney.com

All Smiles

Mia is smiling and talking all the time. It is the cutest thing in the world. I have a few pictures of her smiling but they are hard to get. It seems like when I take out the camera, she gets shy. Maybe she is like her Daddy in that way. We went to the doctor and Mia weighted 11 lbs and 10oz. She is in the 75th percentile for height and weight (healthy girl!). We have almost completely quit the nightly screaming and are starting to get into a nighttime routine (thank the Lord). But now we have a new family drama.....the bottle.

Mia just flat refuses to take the bottle. We are blessed enough that I get to stay home with Mia but in the nursing field, things change very quickly. So I am still working prn (not full or part time). We thought this would be a good way for Mia to bond with Dad and for Mom to get a little break. I am only working a few days here and there but when I do work, Mia will not eat! We try everyday to give her a bottle. It ticks her off! We have spent a small fortune on bottles (not to mention a ridiculously expensive breast pump). We have looked up tips online. Everything. Our doctor said that if I am not here to feed her, she will not starve. She will eat eventually. It is just a battle of wills. Well, in Mia's 10 weeks of life, she has proven that her will is much stronger than Mommy's or Daddy's. If anybody has been in this situation or has any suggestions- I would love to hear about it!

Laughing

Daddy's girl!

Smiling for Mommy

After the flash (LOL) "What was that MOM?!"

Beyond the ceiling

It is 10:00pm. So begins our all too often ritual of crying, screaming, pacing, bouncing, swaying, singing, rocking.... Nothing is pleasing this child, so I go to my fail-safe. The bathroom. I turn on the bath water and begin my patented bounce/sway motion. Mia begins to calm. I am holding her upright by my shoulder, the way she likes. She stops crying and leans back into my hand, her arms limp by her side. She stares at the ceiling. She is staring so intently. Her eyes don't move and for the first time in 45 mins, she is completely calm. What is she looking at? What is so interesting about the ceiling? Maybe it is the bright white color. Maybe it is the ugly popcorn. Or maybe, she is seeing something beyond the ceiling. Something that my eyes are to cynical, too worldly to see. Maybe she is seeing the angels that surround her. Maybe she is seeing her Jesus smiling down on her. Her blinks are getting longer and longer until she doesn't open her eyes again. Then she gives a sweet, half smile. As if to tell me and everyone else that I can't see, good night. With that smile all of my frustration, exhaustion, and self pity melts away. Lord, I pray that Mia will always have the innocence to see you. I pray that she will always be sensitive to your presence. I pray that she will be able to discern good spirits and that she will use all of your good gifts. Oh yeah, and I pray that she STAYS ASLEEP!

Thank heaven for best friends

What a difference a year makes!

I was thinking this weekend about what I was doing this time last year. I was in Dallas. I flew to Dallas for Jennie's baby shower. She was very pregnant. I was not even pregnant yet but was trying very hard to be! We had so much fun that weekend. We went shopping. We hung out and napped. We went to a Ranger's game and then after the game we watched Robert Earl Keen in the VIP section (nice to have friends with connections). I sat next to Kevin Millwood (Ranger pitcher)and even got my pic with him! I could have never imagined how different both of our lives would be in one year. I could have never imagined how consumed and in love we would be with our little girls! From now on, when we have weekends together, our girls will be playing too! I hope they will be best friends like we are. I don't know what I would have done without Jennie to talk to, vent to, brag to, cry with, and get advise from during this time. I am so thankful that God put her in my life. Love you, Jenn.

Me and Kevin Millwood

Jenn and me and the Ranger game

Isn't she cute!

Baby Wise?

We had a wonderful weekend and I had the BEST Mother's Day. Now that I am a mother- I love love love Mother's Day. It is just special. Daddy did good on my present! (pic below). Mia had her pcis made with her beautiful cousins and some of just her. She is too cute!

I read a book called Baby Wise. Anyone heard of it? It has some very good principals and we started Mia on a new schedule based on the book. It says to feed the baby but don't let them fall asleep right after eating. They have a wake time right after eating then it is nap time then repeat. She was happier the first day we did the schedule. I can already tell a big difference! I think maybe she wasn't getting enough sleep during the day and it was making her cranky. One thing that the book says to do (that I don't do yet) is to put the baby down to nap while still awake. This way they learn to fall asleep on their own. It says that it is normal for baby to cry for up to 20min before falling asleep. It says it will not hurt the baby to cry and in fact-babies need to cry some. I just can't do it! 20 min is a long time!I have heard that you shouldn't let a newborn "cry it out", but at what point are they not a newborn anymore? I know I ask alot of questions to the blogging public (and I really appreciate your input!) I just want to always be doing the best thing for Mia and for our family.

Did you let your babies cry?
For how long?

Now....pictures
Mia and her beautiful cousins. Britlee and Brooklyn

She spit up on her dress right before the pic. LOL

We just think she is so beautiful!

Mother's day present. The stone is Mia's birth stone

Mia's Kentucky Derby party outfit. Floppy hat and all!

Tagged

I got tagged by Sarah to write 7 things about me that no one knows and then tag 5 other people to do the same. Thanks Sarah!

1. I'm a cowgirl. Yes that is right, a cowgirl. Not by birth but by marriage. I fell for a very hot rodeo cowboy! We have a beautiful home on 2 acres (thank goodness for riding lawn mowers). We have a horse. I ride him and help feed him. I have even been know to show up at work with hay in my hair. oops!

2. I LOVE my cat. Probably too much. She was abandon as a kitten and was the runt so she was very small (still is). I had to bottle feed her for 3 weeks. She thinks I am her mommy and I am! She lays on me like a baby. It is so sweet. I have enough love in my heart for both my babies.

3.I'm not really that "wife-y". I try to be. I would love to keep a perfect home and cook big meals. I will go through spells where I figure out what I'm going to cook all week and go to the store to buy all the stuff. But most of the time Jaden and I end up standing in the kitchen about 6:30pm staring into the fridge trying to figure out what I can cook. Or, Jaden has to run to the store in the middle of me cooking because I am missing a key ingredient (which is not easy when you live in the country). Does anyone else have this problem?

4.I love to pick at things. Zits, hair, whatever! Gross I know! I long for Jaden to get a Zit or an ingrown hair so I can pick at it. Mia has a couple little white heads on her face and I have to hold myself back!

This is hard!

5. I watch some really embarrassing shows. Jaden works a month of days and a month of evenings. So, when he is on evenings (esp. before Mia) I got really board. I'm hooked on things like "The Hills" (OMG I can't believe Heidi married Spencer), "Real Housewives of New York/OC/Atlanta", Real World/Road Rules Challenges, "Dancing with the Stars", American Idol. The list goes on. Get a life? I know.

6. I like opposites. I just recently figured this out. My husband and I are opposites. He is very quiet (at least in a crowd) and I am, well....not. My best friend (Jenny) is also very quiet and reserved. What is funny is that she and Jaden are alot alike and me and Jordan (her hubby) are alot alike! Funny huh.

7. I have broken 2 bones in my body. A very small one, my nose. And the biggest one, my femur. I broke my femur when I was 7. My brother dared me to get on my grandmother's roof. I never back down from a dare. I had 2 surgeries. I was in traction for 6 weeks and a full body cast (arm pits to toes) for 3 months. The doctor said it was a miracle that I didn't walk with a limp!

OK, now I tag- Jordan, Melissa, Mandy, Elizabeth, Ashley B