Tidbits

I am blessed to be surrounded by some really smart friends and family, and I have learned a lot this week from them. Here are some extremely random tidbits- please bear with me! :)

• I LOVED MY SMOCKING CLASS! Ok, I am officially an old lady, but I’m proud to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my smocking classes at the Lace Cottage in Germantown. I’ve always admired my Bubba’s talent for smocking, and since it seems to be a dying art, I wanted to do my part to keep it alive. (Yes, I know I am terribly cheesy, but you love me anyway.) We met from 6:30-8:30 on Monday and Tuesday nights, and I feel moderately comfortable to start on my first project- a pastel pink Bishop dress for HG. I am so ready to get going!
• Some Infants’ and Children’s Tylenol products have been recalled. Check to see if your product’s lot number is included here.
• Have you ever heard of www.diapers.com? I just discovered it and wish I had known about it months ago! On your first purchase, you get $10 off diapers or formula and 10% off of other gear, as well as free 2-day shipping. I have been looking for the Fisher Price Rainforest Jumper for HG since she is so “busy” now, and after all the discounts on Diapers.com, I got it for $20 cheaper than any other place I had found it. ANDit will be here in two days- yay!!!
• I learned today that Snapfish doesn’t automatically keep your pictures forever, but Shutterfly does. In order to keep your pics on Snapfish, you have to order one picture every year. That should be easy to do, but I just don’t like the idea of my pics disappearing if I get out of the habit of uploading and printing. This does not do anything to help the breakdown I had about deleting pics off my camera’s memory card!!!
• I am getting JAZZED about the fall weather and the arrival pumpkin patches- my favorite time of year! HG has some of the cutest pumpkin/fall festive dresses, and I can’t wait to get her all dressed up and take some pics! I polled my Facebook friends for the best pumpkin patches in the Memphis area, and here are the winners:
• Priddy Farms on Germantown Parkway north of Wolfchase
• Cedar Hill Farms in Hernando
• Emmanuel UMC at Kirby and Messick
• Our Lady of Perpetual Health Catholic Church on Poplar in Germantown

I have discovered that there is a whole underground world of activities to do with your baby- I just had NO idea! Please let me know if there are any other ones that I am missing out on. (I have every intention on signing HG up for Irish dancing as soon as she can walk, but we still have a little while for that one. She LOVED Riverdance when she saw it in utero!)

• Kindermusik:  “Kindermusik is a classroom learning experience. It's not about making little Mozarts. We teach children music so they can become better learners.  And research proves that music is the best activity for nurturing every area of a child’s development.” How fun to dance and sing with your baby?! This sounds like a wonderful bonding experience as you swing your baby along to a song or dance with them around a may pole. Maybe a little cheesy, but I’d do anything to make HG laugh and she loves music. You and your baby can go for FREE until the baby is 5 months old. Also, you can attend a preview class for free. ‘The Village’ is the youngest class, and it’s for newborns through 18 months. (Wish I had known about this before now!) Classes are offered all over town and all days of the week. Check out Ms. Annette’s website here for more details. I am going to try Friday’s class at 11:00 at Germantown Pres. Can’t wait!
• Little Gym:  This is a parent-child class as well, and it targets babies’ motor and social skills. To quote their website, “together, you will practice a variety of gentle moves that help develop your child’s balance, body awareness and coordination. And the accompanying music helps your child develop rhythm while stimulating the parts of the brain involved in reading and math.” Although the website says that babies can start at 4 months, my local Little Gym said they started at 10 months. There is one in Southaven and one in East Memphis. Have a look at their website here.
• Hope Young Moms:  My friend, Doty, has introduced me to the moms groups at Hope Pres in Cordova. Each year, they begin a new class for first time moms of that year. Then, each year they move up into a class for moms of toddlers, moms of preschoolers, etc. For the first year, our babies stay with us for our meetings, and we meet from 9:30-11:30 on Wednesday mornings. We chit chat and play with the babies for the first hour, and then we discuss a book we are reading for the second hour (The Bathtub Is Overflowing but I Feel Drained: How to Defeat Mommy Stress by Lysa TerKeurst). With all the new things going on in my life, church has gotten pushed to the back burner, so this is a nice way to devote some time to the source of all this joy and love surrounding me now. It’s also nice to talk to other moms who are going through the same things I am or have the same embarrassing questions I do! See Hope’s website for more info, or find the Hope Young Moms Facebook group. We’d love to have you and your baby!

Helen Grace and I had fun watching her daddy play soccer on Sunday afternoon and score TWO goals- way to go, John!!!

Four Months

Helen Grace turned four months old on September 25, 2009. Every day we fall more deeply in love with her (how is that even possible?!), and it’s wonderful to see her growing so much more alert and interactive. Can’t wait for her to give me a kiss back!!

What’s Helen Grace up to these days?

• trying to hold her bottle by herself- can do it for a few secs
• yelping out loud just to hear herself
• smiles and laughs all the time- on the verge of being flirtatious
• wants to be held looking outward and sit up straight on your lap- no cuddle unless she’s sleepy
• the ‘sleep hold’ works like a charm- laid across you with her head in the crook of your arm, facing in, held tightly, patted on the bottom, and jiggled- she’s out like a light in under 5 mins
• still doesn’t like the swing and only the Bumbo for a little bit
• still drinking formula- haven’t tried any more rice cereal because she’s been sleeping fine
• really alert- watches books and tvs, loves crunchy toys, will watch you walking around the room
• does NOT like to be left alone- must be attached to someone at all times
• starting to hold onto toys or burp cloths and seems to think about reaching out for stuff…but that might just be her flailing
• puts almost everything in her mouth but only drooling a very little bit
• loves her paci, but we have learned the importance of a paci clip. she spits it out ALL the time now
• wearing 3-6 mo clothes. she has a huge head and long legs, so most 3 mo clothes are too small because of the neck and the length of the legs.
• goes to bed around 8:00-9:00 p.m., sleeps until 5:30-7:00 a.m., takes a bottle, back to sleep until 9:30-10:30 a.m.
• cannot get her to take a real nap in her bed in the afternoon. she’ll cat nap in my arms, on the couch, or in the car, but she doesn’t want to miss anything
• starting to realize when she’s not being held by her mama or daddy and has the potential to pitch a fit- crocodile tears that break my heart
• still not much hair on top- just a ring around the back- and it seems to still be copper colored. seems like more is starting to come in on top, but that might be wishful thinking.
• rolls onto her left side in her sleep almost every night
• loves her bath
• loves to watch football and futbol with her daddy
• hates to change clothes- is she related to me at all???
• think she weighs around 14-15 lbs- our 4 mo appt will be in 2 wks, so official stats will be coming soon!

Nature Walk

Helen Grace and I had a great time today getting some fresh air with some very nice moms and their babies! We spent the afternoon at Lichterman Nature Center, walking on the nature trails and checking out their fall scarecrow exhibit. HG was wide-eyed as we walked under the trees beside the lake. She was taking in every little thing!

P.S. If you plan on taking your baby there anytime soon, please note that you need an off-terrain vehicle for the trails at the back of the lake. They told us that the paths were either paved or covered in pea gravel. In actuality, most of it was covered in huge chunks of rock, and I was worried HG was going to come home with Shaken Baby Syndrome from all the bouncing around- eek! Luckily, it didn’t seem to scar her!

 

One other new thing in my life lately…a favorite new necklace. Through my blog stalking, I came across Lisa Leonard Designs, and I treated myself to a Helen Grace necklace. I haven’t taken it off since it arrived in my mailbox, and I am glad there wasn’t a camera to witness my happy dance when I checked the mail that day!

Random

Please forgive the lack of creativity on this post’s title. I tried and tried to think of a common theme, and I just couldn’t come up with one! Here are some pics from our week.

She makes my heart melt when I open the back car door to find this adorable sleeping face.She can sit up pretty well as long as she’s supported well.Well….maybe I spoke too soon! TIMBER! Luckily, we were on the bed and she thought it was hilarious!  She’s worn this outfit twice and both times she has puked on it before I got a picture, but I have learned that a washcloth solves everything! ;) John and I went to see A Chorus Line on Wednesday night for my birthday. The show was great, and we enjoyed a nice dinner with wine and grown-up conversation! Thanks to Ben and Spif for keeping Baby Girl for a parents night out! Why does she always pull her paci out?? If only she could get it back IN her mouth! Helen Grace was not really excited about watching the Ole Miss – South Carolina game on Thursday night…she must have known what was coming. Bah humbug on the Rebs! She watched most of it from behind her eyelids- as usual.You know those days where it’s just easier to not get your babies dressed until you run out the door? Today was one of those days!She LOVES to stick EVERYTHING in her mouth. Bunny is getting glommed very quickly.

Sunday Brunch

On Sunday, we met Edie, Gene, Jeanne, and Peg for brunch before Edie and Gene hit the road to go back to New York. HG got all dressed up in a dress that Bubba made years ago- way before we thought about kids and possibly before John and I even got married. (Bubba thinks she is going to die any day now, so she went ahead and made a little girl outfit and a little boy outfit for us. And thank goodness, she's still here with us all these years later!) We had such a good time getting to visit with Edie and Gene, and Helen Grace enjoyed meeting them!

She's done with pictures already- "Give me brunch, woman!"

We have finally finished HG's room- the crowning piece is an absolutely wonderful cross-stitch from Auntie Em that we have hung over her crib.

Isn't this amazing? She even tailors the letters so that it's personalized, and I'm still surprised she didn't sneak an anchor in there. ;)HG and Daddy at brunch

Flurry of Family

Last week, we had some great family time with both sides…my cousin, Suzanne, and her kids, Worth and Grace Ann, came from Jackson, MS, and Ms. Jeanne’s sister, Edie, and her husband, Gene, came from New York State.

The kids love to play with Helen Grace. It’s really neat to watch them. When I was born, I was “Suzanne’s baby,” and then Worth was “my baby” when he came around. We’re still waiting to see who will win this contest…will HG be Worth or Grace Ann’s baby?

Here are some pics from last weekend! (When I get the pics with Edie and Gene off Ms. Jeanne’s camera, I’ll post those as well.)

Worth had worn her out Friday night!She’s starting to hold her bottle on her own. Worth thought it was hilarious to put Bunny on her head. HG obliged him but kind of looked at us like we were crazy. Grace Ann, Worth, and HG at lunch on Saturday. Grace Ann was really getting Helen Grace to giggle! I wish I had gotten a pic of all the faces GA was making too! The girls

Rainy Day

A smiley, cuddly baby girl makes any day wonderful- even a dreary, rainy one! We have stayed in our pjs all day and have been just plain lazy. What a nice way to start the weekend! John and I have family from both sides that will be in town for the weekend, so we are looking forward to having some fun times with them in the next few days. Enjoy some pics from our week…

Helen Grace has been blessed with some very special gifts recently. The Oglesbys gave HG her first piece of Reed & Barton- a food pusher in our silver pattern. How creative and special! And the Russells gave HG her first piece of Peter’s Pottery- whoohoo!- and the most adorable HG-size bunny lovie monogrammed with her initials. I know this is the beginning of Helen Grace’s lifelong pottery addiction!

Some pics from our rainy day spent on the couch in our pjs…

Sleeping and Shopping

As I looked through our pictures from our week, I noticed two themes- sleeping and shopping! Check out what we’ve been up to this week…

I love this face! She was throwing a fit, and John was trying to calm her down. Didn’t work so well to make her happy, but we got a good laugh out of her reaction! Zonked out as usual- I love lazy weekends! This was also her first time to wear socks. It’s been so hot since she’s been born that socks seemed cruel, but it felt a little chilly in the house that day. They didn’t seem to bother her, so I guess wearing shoes every now and then helped get her feet ready for socks. So fun! (Thanks, Aunt Sharon, for the cutie patootie socks!) One morning this week, I found Helen Grace like this in her bed…are we nearing the end of her immobile stage?!Dressed up for First Time Moms Group on Wednesday, and no, this is not UT orange. It’s just cute, stylish orange that is not affiliated with any collegiate sports team. Go Rebs!We all met at Newk’s for my birthday dinner on Thursday, and apparently, HG was just exhausted! She fell asleep sitting straight up in my lap. So we laid her on the bench between my mom and me, and she had a nice nap…while we all stared at her, of course! :) When we got home from dinner, I held her for another two hours before I finally let go and put her in bed. Before I went to bed, I went back to check on her to find this…I just wanna eat up those cheeks!! My parents and I always look forward to the Germantown Festival each fall, and this year, we were very excited about our new addition to the shopping expedition! Helen Grace slept for the first hour or so, and then she woke up and joined the party. She was entertained people watching with my dad, and my mom and I were thankful that he kept an eye on her so that we could shop! :) P.S. Anyone else think she gets that mischievous look from her daddy?!