Almost 6 Months

So I know I say this in almost every blog, but sorry it's been so long! I've had a crazy couple of weeks and haven't really had the time and when I was free I was spending time with family or cleaning! I decided that I needed to be more productive, so I made myself a chore list! I've always wanted to do it so I finally did it!

Here's how mine goes:
Monday-Laundry/Kitchen
Tuesday-Upstairs Bedrooms (Vacuum/Dust)
Wednesday- Downstairs (Vacuum/Dust/Clean Allison's toys)
Thursday- Bathrooms
Friday- Stairs/Hallway (Vacuum)

So each day takes about 20-30 mins to do, more if I'm REALLY cleaning, but mostly I just vacuum and do the basics and I have the weekends free to not clean! So I started last week and by Thurs I was catching up from Mon, Tues, and Wed. And this week I haven't really done anything but vacuum the upstairs! Yeah, so for 2 weeks I've been really productive! I know it will work once I get all the kinks out of it... like moving the vacuum upstairs/downstairs daily or until we buy a new vacuum!

So in Allison news, she's growing like crazy! We go to the Dr. in a couple of days for her 6 month visit and I can't wait to see how big she's gotten! She feels extremely heavy, but we'll see what the scale says! She finally mastered the art of rolling over (when she's not too lazy to do so) but I'm trying not to help so much, so hopefully she'll be more independent soon!

I've also been making ALL of her baby food, like she hasn't had any jar food in 2 weeks! I feel so much pressure trying to decide what she eats every time that it's a little overwhelming! I know it's stupid, but I think about things like, "she had that for lunch, so she shouldn't have it for snack... or maybe I should mix it with something else" or "she had that yesterday, so maybe she'll want something different today." I know, she doesn't care about what she's eating, just as long as she eats... it's me with the problem!

Well I'll let you know next week how big she's gotten and what all fun things she'll be able to do once she turns 6 months! For now, enjoy a video of her playing with Elmo... I'm not sure which is more fun, watching her or Elmo! They're both super cute! I'm hoping Elmo will rub off on her, teaching her how to sit up on her own, but she is flapping her hand like Elmo!

Spring is in the Air

We've finally had some lovely weather and I'm so excited because that means that I can FINALLY put Allison in all her cute dresses I've bought her! It's been great! Saturday Chris and I took Allison to the park for a walk and then went to a town event and walked around and shopped! Allison looked SO adorable in her outfit it was crazy! Then we went to church on Sun and she had on another outfit from her Great-Aunt Sondra! Again, she looked so cute she took the attention away from the pastor and onto her! (We'll be trying out the nursery soon... at least I hope to... if daddy has anything to say about it we wont until she's able to talk!)

Anyway, so other news I thought I'd give the stats on Allison since I missed that last post. She's 5.5 months old and she's wearing some 6-9 clothes, and some 9 months. She's apparently tall for her age, so her onezies are too short, but of course dresses are fine. She's eating like a grown-up and seems to love all her new foods. She eats about half a jar of food before her bottle and then drinks 5 ounces of formula! She's getting a little Buddah Belly, but we love it! I've been making some food for her and I have to say that mine tastes better, and I think she would agree, although she'll eat anything you put in front of her (except carrots... still can't get those to go down smoothly)!

Last post we were very excited that Allison had gotten her first new tooth! Well, I'm happy to report that Allison now has 2 new teeth! They are her bottom 2 middle teeth! They are getting a little bigger, but still look like white specks in her mouth! She's also not complaining too much about the pain, I guess now that they've broken through it's not so painful? I don't remember, but I do know that she's not crying and biting her fingers anymore!

She's also doing amazingly well with sitting up! She will sit up and play for 10-15 mins without falling over! Just put some toys within arms reach and she's happy! The video shows her talent and Ab muscles! She's also very energetic while eating too! She's discovered that she likes to bounce while eating... I'm hoping to invest in a high chair soon! I've got it all picked out, just waiting for a coupon to come so I can buy it! (I'm cheap like that, but it'll save about $30!)

Until next week...

Allison sitting up and playing

5 Months & Growing Like Crazy

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. I would like to say we've been so busy that I haven't had time to, but that's not the case. I guess I've just forgotten about it and when I want to do it Allison is awake and it's hard to type with her... she's at the grabbing stage and getting really good at it! We went to the Farmer's Market and she decided that we needed some rice, chips, and cookies... not that we kept all those in the cart, but she loves the crinkling noise! 

So Allison is officially 5 months old, and she seems to be loving it! She is doing so well and learning new things every day! She is getting really good at eating, and she LOVES sweet potatoes and peas! The only food that she doesn't seem to like are carrots... not sure why, but I've tried jarred and homemade and she only eats half as much as the sweet potatoes or other things. I guess it's the texture because they seem good to me! 

She is also becoming a pro at sitting up! She sat up for about 3.5 mins the other day without falling over, she just reaches a little too far and tumbles over... See video 1! She really likes sitting up and she can lean over to touch her toes and then sit back up... Baby Girl has got some abs on her! It's time to start buying her some new toys too... she has 2 that she really likes, but I would like some more that are interactive.... like helps her learn or improves her hand-eye coordination (which by the way is getting really good)!

Oh yes, I've saved the best for last! Guess who has her first tooth!!! Yep, it started coming through Sat (my mom pointed it out to me) and Sun I saw a little white speck in her mouth. It's on the lower left gum and she doesn't seem to like it so much! She has been busy chewing on her fingers/tongue whatever she can get in the mouth but it started to really bother her yesterday so I bought some Baby Oragel and that seemed to do the trick! Helped out a lot! I also bought her a finger toothbrush and she likes that... she can chew on my finger, but the bristles seem to feel good on her gums! Also getting in some good oral habits early! 

Allison is getting really good at sitting up.. BTW, she was fine.. just needed some cuddle time afterwards! 

Still sitting up and playing! 

Another Dr. Visit and More...

So for the last couple of weeks Allison has had very dry/cracked skin on her face and I used Aquaphor and diaper cream and both cleared it up for a day or so and then it came back... and after the Aquaphor, with a vengeance! It started as a little spot on her right cheek and then moved to her left cheek and a little on her forehead! Well, Friday morning I woke up and looked at her and she had dried blood all over her pajamas and sheet from where she had been rubbing/scratching. So I decided enough was enough, time to go to the Dr! Well, the Dr said that it was just some eczema and gave us a prescription for a low-dose steroid ointment (which was available over the counter!). She said to use that 2 times a day and keep using the diaper cream/Aquaphor to keep it moist all day! I also realized that it started right around the same time Allison started rice cereal, but the Dr said it was probably just a coincidence, but said that she didn't need to be on that since she's getting most of her vitamins through her formula, so stop the cereals and go ahead and start her on fruits/veggies!

Allison has seemed to enjoy her upgrade! We started with bananas because that's my favorite and did that for 3 days, making sure she didn't have a reaction to it, which she didn't! She seemed to enjoy it, no horrible faces or shakes or spitting it out, and actually looked forward to her next bite! Today we finished up the bananas so I decided it was time for some veggies.... Sweet Carrots in fact! Allison did NOT like those... she made the face, did the shakes, and instantly pushed it out of her mouth! I think the bib got more of the carrots than she did! Well, tomorrow is another day and I'm sure that she'll eventually learn to love them!

So this weekend we went to Birmingham for a girls weekend. It was great, Allison slept the whole way there and then I got my hair cut! Allison did NOT like that... I think she was a little freaked seeing me without my long locks! That and she really hated the hair dryer! I usually dry my hair in the other room so it's not too loud, but my hairdresser and the one next to us were both using it and she cried/screamed! It took a long time for me to console her, but once she settled down we were back to styling my hair! We spent time with my brother, aunt, and of course, mom. And Sunday I woke up extremely sick! Not sure if it was something I ate or a bug, but I was NOT felling well at all! I stayed on the couch all day while Allison and Grandma played... Grandma was looking forward to her Allison time, but I don't think that's as much as she wanted! She was happy to take care of her and me too! Needless to say, our trip was extended by a day, which didn't make Daddy too happy, but he understood!

So this post has taken me a long time to write/post, so Allison is now 5 months old and as cute as ever! I'll make it short, but she weighs 15 pounds, wears size 6-9 months, and LOVES her green beans and bananas (not together of course!). She is also getting very good at her hand/eye coordination and loves to grab mouths! (Beware if you hold her)! She's also excellent at sitting up, can do it by herself for short periods, but then tries to reach too far and tumbles over.

So that's it for now, Allison's face has almost completely cleared up... only a couple of red patches here and there, but not half as bad as they were!

I'm having problems with my internet or something again, so no pictures, but I do have a cute video! This is the song I sing when I put her to bed... as you can tell, it doesn't make her sleepy at all!

Pictures FINALLY!

I finally got the pictures to upload! Hope you enjoy! Hopefully next week things will be back to normal in the blog! 

Chillin' in the Excer-Saucer

Sleeping in the carseat (after her 4 month shots)

About to eat some rice cereal

Yummy (not so much) 

This is how she loves to lay (even when sleeping)! 

Napping with Patch

So cute together

Hmm... what to dream about? 

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Allison's loot (new bibs, toys, socks, and a book)

Allison's gift to Daddy

Such a big footprint! 

Cute Valentine's Day Outfit! 

Happy girl! 

So cute!

Chubby arms!

I bought this outfit when I found out I was preggers! 

 1 year later! (almost to the day!)

All ready for church! 

So sleepy! 

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

So last week we had a couple of new events at our house. First, Allison got her first cold, which then spread to me and eventually Chris... we were all miserable, fortunately it was at separate times! Allison and I had our colds during the week and Chris got his on the weekend. At least A and I were able to be snuggly together and then we let daddy be. As you can tell by my last post, it wasn't easy trying to clean Allison's nose, and as the week progressed it didn't get any easier! She got more upset every time we cleaned it and it was apparent that it was becoming raw. I kept hearing about Aquaphor for her cracked/chapped skin, so I finally went out and bought some. It's like a miracle! It cleared her skin up almost immediately and after 3 days, it was almost completely gone! So now I know, Aquaphor will be a staple in our household!

We also celebrated our first Valentine's Day together! Well, last year she was around, just not where we could celebrate with her! Chris had to work late, but insisted on cooking dinner, so we had a lovely evening at the house together. He arrived home at 8 and we didn't end up eating until around 9, but Chris made a fantastic salmon pasta with a nice glass of wine! We also traded Valentine's presents and we all got something that we loved. Allison got her links that she's been wanting for a long time. Chris got a super cute tiger that sings a song that makes us laugh every time we play it! And Chris got me flowers and a beautiful heart necklace! All in all a very nice night!

Nothing else really happened last week. It was our first weekend together in awhile, so I decided to go walking/shopping. I thought it would be best to get my workout on before I get too bundled down with shopping bags, and it was a good thing! We power walked through the outlet mall for 30 minutes before finally stopping to shop. It was nice because I got to quickly window shop and find all the places I wanted to go and then shop. Osh Kosh was having a 50% off sale with an additional 40% off sale, so Allison got a couple of shirts for summer and a very cute hat for next year! Then Carter's was also having a 50% off sale, so we had to stop in (also because I had a coupon). Well, it was a good thing I did the power walking before... Allison has A LOT of new clothes for summer, and some wonderful bath soaps/lotions that work well on her skin!

So something is wrong with my computer/the blog, and I cannot upload any pictures! I've been taking lots of them, so one day there will be a post devoted only to the pictures! I don't know what's wrong, I've tried for several days to upload them and I've tried clearing my computer and trying a different computer... nothing seems to be working! I promise, I'll keep trying though and I'll post them as soon as I can!

See y'all soon!

A sick baby

So not too much has been going on this week. Allison started rice cereal, and she's not particularly impressed by it! You can check out the video to get the WHOLE experience... sorry it's so long... I told Chris to take the video and he just never stopped! I've been giving it to her about once a day (usually right before we eat dinner since she ALWAYS wakes up then). She's getting more and more used to it, and I think she might actually be enjoying it! I can't wait to start cooking for her and seeing how she reacts to all the different foods in the world! 

This was my last weekend to work! Chris and I looked at how much I was getting paid, less the gas it takes to get there, and how much I hated being away from my family and we decided that it wasn't worth it! I hardly ever saw Chris, maybe for like 3 hours a night and we were both so exhausted we would just watch tv, and I hated not being able to make plans with our family (like going to the park, or hang out with my sisters-in-law). So, of course, we had to make a run to the outlet mall to see if there was any last minute items that I need (or really want!). I got some stuff for Allison and a couple of must-haves from William-Sonoma for myself! 

Yesterday Allison came down with a little cold! She woke up crying around 1am and was having trouble breathing through her nose. I calmed her down and gave her a bottle and it seemed to clear up. She fell back asleep and I thought all was well! Not so much... She woke up screaming again around 4 and was really having problems breathing, so I turned on all the lights and cleaned out her nose (which wasn't fun) and then gave her another bottle and she was perfect. She was still congested when she woke up, but it wasn't that bad. She was very snuggly this morning, like she just didn't feel good and needed her mommy! I had to clean her nose out about 10 more times yesterday, and none were as easy as when she was swaddled! Apparently she is abnormally strong for a 4 month old! I was trying to snuggle her to hold her down with one hand while trying to clean out her nose with my free hand! She finally got to the point that when I pulled out the aspirator she would start fidgeting and get fussy! 

Well, to keep this short, I'm going to save all the Valentine's plans and continue the saga of her first cold! Until next week... 

Allison getting her first taste of Rice Cereal! 

Allison making some new noises that she's picked up from somewhere.... I'm guessing Chris

P.S. 

Having problems uploading pictures, so next week there will be lots!