-Letters to Liv {5 Months}-

Baby girl,

How in the world are you 5, FIVE months old already? I can't even deal. You are the light of our lives and we love you so SO much! You are getting quite the little personality I must say. You have figured out how to cry with "sass" and attitude. You are still the best baby though. You rarely ever fuss unless you have a tummy ache, are hungry, or we're trying to put you down for bed. You went through a long spurt where you didn't go to the bathroom for 17 days. Breastfed babies typically can go longer without having to poo and your Doctor wasn't worried at all. He said I was most likely producing efficient, nutrient rich milk during that time and you were absorbing all of the nutrients and didn't have much waste to get rid of. You definitely hit a growth spurt during that time. You look like a little roly poly. We ended up having to give you a suppository and boy, did that make you go. 4 times to be exact. You were so much happier though afterwards. You are almost rolling completely over from your back to your belly. You get all the way over but haven't figured out how to flip your head or get your arm out from under you. You are on your way to sitting up. You are getting stronger in your core everyday. You usually fall forward rather than side to side now. You have started screaming in a high pitch to talk. That's so good. Reduplicated babbling comes next and I'm so excited to hear your little voice with real sounds. I was thinking about starting baby food this month, but you seem to still be pretty content with milk and I want you to be able to sit up a little better. You are still taking 4 oz. of milk every 3 hours. You are so observant and you try to grab everything. You constantly grab our faces and your Daddy's lips are your fave thing to grab. It's so funny. You love putting your left pointer finger in your mouth and moving it around. you will grab your paci now and take it out of your mouth to talk and put it back in when you want it. You are so smart already. You absolutely LOVE your little teddy bear that Nanny got you. It comforts you so much and you love to fall asleep holding it. Your cradle cap is finally starting go away thanks to coconut oil and your face isn't as dry thanks to Aquaphor Baby cream.

You have taken up with your Daddy so much here lately. You have him wrapped around your little finger and I absolutely love watching you two together. You loving going to his and Uncle B's ball games. You also prefer to watch basketball or football games on TV when we actually let you watch it rather than children's shows. If you had to pick a children's show to watch, your favorites are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and The Chipmunks. You have also taken up with your Papa since he has been down here more for Uncle B's games. You love to walk around the house with him and play Patty Cake.

We love you more than words can describe and we can't wait to watch you continue to grow. Even though we want you to stay little forever.

Love,
Mama

-2016 New Year Goals-

I can't believe it's already 2016! Seriously? The year definitely flies by when you're pregnant and have your mind consumed by that little baby growing inside. Exactly one year ago today we found out that our precious little Liv was on the way. It was the most exciting New Year's we have ever had. I'll never forget the way Bradley reacted when I announced it to him. I'm so glad I recorded it. I can't wait to show her one day.

On to the new year and the goals I have made for myself. I've never liked the idea of New Year's Resolutions because let's be honest, people do well for maybe two months then it's right back to their old ways. So this year I am making 5 goals to try my best to fulfill throughout this year rather than drastic life changing resolutions.

1. Study my Bible daily. I'm so bad at this. I do really well in spurts throughout the year but then there are times that I don't pick it up for entirely too long. Now that I'm a Mama and I have a responsibility to instill a Christian heart and love for our Lord and Savior in her as she grows. The best way I can do that is to continue learning for myself and to help myself grow as well.

2. Lose baby weight/Get Fit. I have seven pounds left to lose to get back down to my pre-baby weight. Which is probably going to be hard since I am exclusively breastfeeding, but I can still try. I mainly just want to get fit and eat better so I can feel better and have more energy. I recently ordered 21 Day Fix and am just waiting for it to come in. I've heard so many good things about it and it is safe to do while breastfeeding. I can't wait to get it started and to track my progress.

3. Improve as a wife. I feel like ever since Liv came I am solely consumed with her and I've been completely okay with that. I love being a Mama and taking care of her, but I also can't neglect my husband and my duties as a wife. He's coaching now and honestly I never wanted to be a coach's wife because of that type of life, but it makes him happy so I'm happy for him. I need to support him more and go to more of his games. It's just so easy to come home after work and spend time with her rather than getting back out and going. I have to be better because I would want that from him.

4. Save Money. I can go on some massive shopping sprees. I'm only working 3 days a week now so my paycheck isn't nearly what it was before, but I love my time I get to spend at home with Liv. I need to do better at planning multiple outfits out of the clothes I already have rather than buying new ones. I either need to learn how to make Liv's clothes or be okay with her wearing cheap looking clothes. It's so hard for me to put her in stuff that is just ugly, but $30 for leggings or shirt that she will grow out of in the next few weeks is not smart at all.

5. Do More as a Family. This kind of goes with saving money. I can get caught up in just being at home. I love to travel and see new places but I also love to be in the comfort of my own house. I can stay home without going outside for days and I'm more than okay. I would like to get better with that though. If we could save more money then we would be able to do more things as a family. I want to make so many memories as a family and I'm ready to get started with that in 2016.

-Letters to Liv {4 months}-

My precious Liv,

You are 4 months old today. How is that even possible? 4 months already? I can't even handle it. You are acting like such a big girl now and do not want to be treated like a baby anymore. :( You don't like being cuddled to rock anymore, you would rather just lay down all alone and go to sleep. The only time I still feel like you are a little baby is when you eat. You still like for me to cuddle you during feedings. Thank goodness! You try to stand up in our laps all the time and want to be turned around to see everything. You are taking in everything you see now. You have noticed your hands and your tongue. You'll spit your pacifier out to suck on your hands or stick your tongue out and make a smacking sound.

You are trying to figure out how to reach and grab things. It's so cute watching you focus so hard on trying to get your little arms to reach out for our hands or toys. You've started wanting to hold our hands all the time. If you are fussy and restless all we have to do is hold out our hand for you to hold and you go right to sleep. When we lay you in our bed you snuggle up as close as you can get to me and as long as I'm right there you sleep so sound. You were sleeping through the night but thanks to holidays and your schedule being thrown off, you have been waking up to eat again at least once a night the past week.

You still nurse like a champ and you look like a little roly poly. Your cheeks are so chubby and so darn cute! You still don't like to burp but when you do you sound like Mama and Nanny. You burp SO loud! You have started losing a lot of your hair. Especially on the sides and in the back. You love to watch your Daddy dance all over the house and you even try to imitate some of his moves with your arms.

You are laughing out loud now and it melts us! Your little voice is the sweetest sound we've ever heard. You are producing all of the vowel sounds now and will occasionally throw in consonants /m, n, h, g/. You bat your eyes when anything gets close to you. We can probably thank Nova girl for that. She's been all in your face since we brought you home from the hospital. You love to play peek-a-boo and patty cake with Papa.

You stare the TV and our phones all the time but I still don't let you around them too much. Your rolling over on both side from your belly and your trying real hard to roll from your back but your not there yet. You still love to take baths and you pull your little legs up to your chest when we change your diaper. You are wearing size 2 diapers and are in 6-9 month clothes.

You had your first Christmas this past week and you absolutely loved it. You just stared at your presents like you knew what they were. We can't wait to watch you keep growing and become your own little person.

We love you so much,
Mama

-Happy Holidays 2015-

We just wrapped the holiday season and once again we have been SO blessed. Spending time with family and letting everyone get to spend time with Liv was better than getting presents. When your a kid and even a young adult, you don't really understand the true meaning of Christmas. As you get older you become more and more aware of the important things. I found myself this Christmas, not caring at all about gifts. I can honestly say that the way I felt this year was a first for me. My heart was so full. All I wanted to do was spend time with my baby girl and my family. We headed up to Branson on Monday and spent 3 days with my family. It was so refreshing and wonderful. We came back home Christmas Eve night to start our own tradition with Liv on Christmas morning at our house.

All I could think about this holiday season was how much my heart has grown in areas that I didn't even know existed. Having a child of my own has opened my eyes and my heart to the true meaning of a lot of things. Especially the true meaning of Christmas. All of my focus shifted away from me and onto Liv. I thought about our Lord and Savior and about the story of His birth. I prayed about Bradley and I being able to teach her the important things and to always love God and Jesus. We read many Christmas books to her throughout the weeks leading up to Christmas, but the Children's book I got her that has 25 Christmas stories from the Bible in it was our favorite. It read about Jesus' birth, the 3 Wisemen, and the Star of Bethlehem.

Watching family love on Liv and everyone showing happiness this season made me appreciate things so much more. She brings out the best in everyone and makes everything bad disappear. I thank God daily for giving us the most precious gift of His son and the blessing of our baby. I hope everyone had fun filled holidays.

Your first trip to Silver Dollar City. You loved watching the parade and all the bright Christmas lights.

-Letters to Liv {3 months}-

My sweet sweet girl,

It breaks my heart that you are growing so darn fast and are already 3 months old. I love being your Mama and you make me a better, happier person. I don't know how I did life before you. You have given me so much self-worth and have shown me a side of love that I have never known before. You are just the cutest and smartest little thing. You definitely know who me and your Daddy are. Every time we go anywhere you are constantly keeping a close eye on one of us the whole time. You are so alert now and are taking everything in. We can tell that your little brain is running 90 mph trying to figure out this big ole world. You kick your legs and flail your arms all the time, but especially when you are being talked to. You have recently started sleeping through the night (HALLELUJAH)! It scared me to death the first night you did it. I woke up in a panic, checking you to make sure you were breathing. You are still sleeping in your bassinet beside our bed. You love to talk! Seriously, once you get started there is literally no making you stop until you get tired. Which makes this SLP mama so happy. I love watching you develop. God is truly amazing and that only keeps getting confirmed the more you grow.

You recently started to dislike yawning and burping. It makes you so mad! When Nana has to burp you in the middle of your bottle when I'm at work, you would think you were being so mistreated the way you scream. Nova girl loves to lick your hands, toes, and head. You don't mind your hands and head as much, but you HATE when she licks your toes. Your feet are so ticklish like Daddy's. You are rolling more often from your belly and still don't necessarily like tummy time, but you do it. You smile all the time and it melts us! You are just so beautiful!

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving and got to meet one of your little friends, Bennett. We can't wait to go on vacation with him and little Kennedy this summer. We love you so much baby! Happy 3 Months!

Love,
Mama

Life Lately Through Instagram

So I recently deleted my Facebook account. I've become way too upset over things that I had seen on my feed lately. I was scrolling through it one morning and just realized that I literally didn't care to see anything that was reading as I scrolled. I used to be addicted to Facebook and I would have anxiety at the thought of not having it. I loved being in the know and seeing how many likes or comments I could get on my pictures or posts. I even got to where I depended on Facebook to assure me of my self worth. Stupid. Just dumb. So last Friday I made the leap to completely delete it out of my life. I deleted it off everything I own so I would not be tempted to activate it again. I can honestly say that I don't miss it at all and I have already noticed a huge difference in the way I feel and my thoughts. I kept my Instagram because it is so much better and here's a little update on life lately.

Your First Halloween. You were a lady bug.

Headed to clean up daddy's office. 

Daddy's first basketball game as a Coach.

You got to meet some of Mama's best friends today. You looked so cute in your buffalo plaid.

Pretty girl in one of the super cute outfits Courtney got you.

Cheering on Daddy and the CAC Mustangs.

-Letters to Liv {2 Months}-

Baby girl,

How are you 2 months old already? Time just keeps flying by and I love it and hate it at the same time. I love watching you grow but hate the reality of it. You are so big and so BEAUTIFUL! Your Daddy and I are so in love with you! You have the cutest little expressions and when you smile at us our hearts melt a million times over. You rolled over the other night and I couldn't believe my eyes. You are only 2 months old, how are you doing that?? I was so proud of you! You are becoming more alert every day and you love to watch your puppy dog run around, ceiling fans, and you really pay attention to your story books. You are not liking tummy time, yawning real big, getting your clothes changed, or when we turn the bright lights on. You have gone through two constipation spells so far and it breaks our hearts. You will just cry and kick your legs so hard because your tummy hurts so bad. Mama tries everything the doctor told her to do to get you to go, but sometimes you just can't. You are going 3 hours during feedings throughout the day and are sleeping 3-4 hours a time at night. Lately you have been sleeping with Mama and Daddy because of your constipation and wanting to be close to us. You were doing so good in your bassinet until you started having tummy problems again. You are beginning to coo and vocalize. You make great eye contact with anyone who is talking to you and you track like a champ. You've started taking turns vocally too. You will coo and I always make a big deal about it and talk to you so excited. Then I'll look away and you do it again to get my attention and you always get the biggest smile on your face. We keep doing it over and over until you get bored. You went to your first Fall Carnival at Mama's work last night. You dressed as a lady bug and were the cutest one we ever did see.

I went back to work this past Monday. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do so far. You were asleep when I left which made it that much harder. Your Nana is keeping you the 3 days that I work and I'm so thankful for that. I don't worry about you because you have the best person taking care of you. You seemed to really miss me, too! You couldn't wait to nurse when I got home and honestly it was the most incredible moment between us, kind of like when we did skin to skin in the hospital right after you were born. Your Daddy is starting to play with you more and more and become more comfortable with you. He's so smitten with you and SO protective. The way he loves you makes me love him so much more. You have blessed our lives more than you will ever know. We love you so much, sweet girl!

Love,
Mama