Halloween

We FINALLY dressed up for Halloween.  I've always been more into planning what we would wear then actually wearing it, so by the time the holiday arrives we just sit around.  But this year I was insistent since we have an awesome prop that is Amelia.  It took awhile and some convincing but we were Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and a Mandrake plant for our ward party.  And on the actual day and at a few other places Amelia was an adorable strawberry.  In the end we enjoyed two ward parties, a pumpkin patch, free Jamba Juice and three dollar burritos at Chipotle.

 Oh Man...this is my favorite photo.  The poof in the costume looks like her own rolls haha. 

We went to the Roloff farms which is owned by the family in the reality T.V show Little People Big World.  We saw the mom but I was too scared to talk to her and she was kinda bossy 

 Making friends

She laughed every time she touched the lamb

Amelia would love it if I let her ride like this every time

7 months

I have not posted something in a looong time.  And this is going to be short with a lot of photos (as usual).  But I have so many awesome photos of Amelia and she is 7 months now so I need to share them.  I love this first photo because she looks sooo annoyed! I have a feeling I might get this look a lot in her life time.  

Tricks

We learned a new trick but sometimes laundry is so much cooler 

Amelia Lucille

We blessed Amelia on Sunday in Boise.  She was really shy around the large family crowds but we did get some pretty great smiles out of her.  She apparently accepts her name. We saw my parents and Jared's family and Amelia didn't cry at all on the way home (definitely was not the case on the way there).  I can truly say it was one of my favorite weekends ever.  There is something about having a baby girl that feels so normal now.

And a great big thanks to Jared's dad who will always be there to take amazing photos 

of Amelia's priceless faces. 

Talking

It took me a couple of weeks to finally get her to do this while I had the camera out.  It's been about 2 weeks since then and she has moved on and won't "talk" anymore.  But that's okay, she is learning some new tricks and is still pretty cool.

2 Months

Feel free to skip to the pictures below instead of reading about my saga of how hard being a mom is.

For the first couple of weeks after Amelia was born family came and helped out with everything.  It was great.  And Jared had his spring break so he was at home most of the time.  The help we had was amazing and I am forever grateful for family.  I remember sleeping a lot and feeling really zoned out most of the time but there were still great moments spent with family.  Then after 3 weeks everyone left, Jared went back to school and me and Amelia were left at home to hang out together...all.day.long.

During the first couple of weeks my old roommate texted me asking how things were going.  I explained things were going pretty good, I was overwhelmed but alright.   She told me how she wanted to return her baby to the hospital the first few weeks (partly joking, partly serious I'm sure) and I laughed, understanding how she felt but happy I hadn't quite reached that level.  But remember that part where everyone left and it was just me and Amelia?? Yeah,  real life began and I was ready to pack her things and head back to the hospital.

I love Amelia, and continue to love her more everyday but that first week alone was rough.  Of course I'm sure everyone feels this at some point (if not, you have a gift and I applaud you and kind of loath you).  I decided that I just needed to make it to the 6 week mark.  Everything and everyone explained that things change at 6-8 weeks.  So I mentally prepared to make it to 6 weeks and then I would have an angel baby right?

It's been eight weeks (which is just insane) and I definitely don't have an angel baby but I sure have learned a ton in that time and we are having some pretty great days now.  And I know I never would have made it without Jared.  I've never been so thankful for someone in my life then when he would take our daughter and love her when I was tired or frustrated (which happens a lot and pretty fast).  But now she is starting to smile. I think I laughed more in the past week at her funny faces then I have in the past eight weeks combined.  In the end I really did just need to make it to six weeks because now I understand that even though Amelia has some pretty rough days I know that it won't last and she won't be screaming late at night forever.  And I feel I understand more why we are meant to have families together in this life.  They are wonderful but also have taught me, and will continue to teach me, the hardest lessons I have ever learned.

On a funnier note...I kept reading how people give their kids a bath to help put them to sleep.  I tried this but Amelia pretty much hated getting her hair dried.  When I was recently with a bunch of moms I asked in desperation how this works and they all paused and looked a little confused.  Of course they explained that their babies didn't have any hair so it wasn't a problem.  Yeah...six weeks in and I didn't even think about how other babies don't have hair.  I need more sleep.  Eventually someone suggested a blow dryer which makes perfect sense.

At 2 months:

• Weighs 14 pound (which was 2 weeks ago so I'm sure it's more)
• Likes to "coo" when she is really happy
• Loves hitting the toys on her play mat
• Favors her left arm, and turning her head to the left
• Still hate the 5-10 minutes before she goes to sleep and lets us know about it
• Has started to regularly sleep a 6 hour stretch at night (this is the only way I've survived)
• Loves taking a bath, really hates right after the bath, even without drying her hair (so much for calming her down)

How we spend our nights...

Now that we have a child we discovered much of our night is spent just watching Amelia and saying the things we imagine are going through her head as she makes random faces at us. Here is the first real video of our daughter being set free after nap time. Please enjoy!

One month sort of

I'm behind.  Our little lady is five weeks today but still I'm behind so we are going with one month.  I can't believe we made it a month.  It was hard, it is hard but one month is pretty awesome.  So far:

• She slept for five hours one night.  Sadly this has not been repeated.
• She discovered her tongue and tries to lick everything.  She still doesn't really like binkies but does like to lick them when we try.
• She is starting to smile more, we are pretty sure she doesn't do it on purpose.
• We are not quite sure how much she weighs but judging by how chubby her thighs are becoming its a significant amount.
• So far her hair is staying strong and her eyes are still undetermined.
• She loves looking at our picture frames and hates going to sleep, she fights it...almost always.  
• We can't get enough of her crazy faces.  She makes cute ones...sometimes.

S'more

So Amelia survived her parents another week.  And yes...we have taken a TON of photos.  So far this is what we know:

• She likes being held tummy side down
• She loves getting a bath and having her hair combed.  I also love combing her hair
• For the most part she likes car rides
• She gained 12 oz and survived her first shot.  In fact she fell asleep two seconds after the shot and stayed asleep when they pricked her foot for blood
• She had her first walk in the stroller and fell asleep like a champ
• She makes an awesome grumpy face.  Sometimes it has a hint of Elvis in it or an old grumpy grandpa.  We laugh every time. 

I'm sure there is more but I can't think of it. And apparently Amelia doesn't like her mom ignoring her and posting pictures on a blog.  Also...just as a disclaimer any photos where it looks like we might be neglecting our daughter...don't worry she's alive she just likes to snuggle and lounge in the weirdest positions.  

And don't worry...Jared has a billion more pictures on his computer that I still need to access.  Get ready for an overload.