Scarlett :: 4 months!

Can't believe this little one is 4 months old! It feels like she's been with us for way longer and yet, she's still just our little baby girl! She's changed so much since her birthday back on January 20th! We haven't had her official 4 month appointment yet, so these are approximates until then when I'll update this with the real stats.

Stats (approx)

Weight: 18 lbs (7 lb 5 oz at birth)
Length- 27" (20.5" at birth)

Update: Real Stats at 4.5 months old
Weight: 17 lbs 1 oz
Length: 25 3/4"

Details
Eating: She still eats every two hours during the day, about 4 oz or so at a time. And wakes up once or twice at night to eat. Not much has changed in this area. We're going to delay introducing solids to her for the time being. We will re-evaluate this at 5 months.

Sleeping: She is a little cat napper! When put down to nap, she won't sleep longer than 40 minutes but her norm is about 20. She does, however, sleep for over an hour if someone is holding her. This means she takes about 5-6 naps a day. She's relatively consistent. She always takes a morning nap about an hour or so after she wakes up followed by an early afternoon nap around 11 or 12, another afternoon nap around 2, another around 4 and then another around 6. She then goes to bed around 8pm. In month three until month four she had been waking up twice a night, maybe 3 or 4 times during that month she would only wake up once. Now that she's four months, she is starting to be more consistent with only waking once but I am still up another time to put her pacifier in so that she'll go back to sleep. But it's progress! Like I said, she goes to bed around 8pm and usually sleeps until 7:30 or 8:00am. She sleeps on her tummy like she has been for a couple months now, this helps her to not startle herself out of sleep but transferring her from arms to crib can be challenging!

Activity/Skills: Whew, she made some big leaps in month three. She started sitting in her bumbo and at first she was a little slouchy but now is a pro! She rolled over for the first time while I was in the shower but now consistently rolls from her back to her tummy. She hasn't mastered from tummy to back yet, but that's actually a good thing, I don't need her knowing how to roll all over her crib just yet! She props herself up well on her arms when doing tummy time and loves to grab at her toys and shove them into her mouth. Sometimes her aim is off but she keeps working at it! If we put her on one end of the activity mat with a toy she wants on the other end she will get there. She scoots and trys to get her knees under her body so I'm sure this is the beginning stages for crawling. She is a mover and a shaker! My parents gave us a little car that she can sit in and push around with her feet. She loves it! She scoots all around in that thing! She is definitely not a sit still for long kind of girl which will surely make her toddler years fun (and probably tiring). She likes to sit in our dining room and look out at the backyard and she likes to take walks around the backyard and around the neighborhood in her stroller! She is a very smiley little girl and she likes to laugh. She follows us around when she's sitting still and we're moving around the room. She definitely knows who her mommy and daddy are when she's in a group of people which melts our hearts. It feels like she's growing up so fast because she can do all of these new things in such a short amount of time! Soon, we will start teaching her baby sign language, which she won't be able to sign back right away but will know what they mean when we do them. Then once she perfects her fine motor skills, she'll be able to sign back at us! How cool is that!?

Other: Let's see, what else. She will get some shots at her upcoming appointment, and we're not really looking forward to those but we gotta do what we gotta do. I'm looking to buy a glider if anyone has one for sale? I used one this past weekend at Alex's Aunt's house in Richmond and it was awesome! Our rocking chair is good but it can't hurt to have both, right? :) We're headed to the beach soon for Scarlett's first beach trip and we already know she loves the bath so she'll love pools and swimming and hopefully the beach and the water! This summer is going to be a fun one!

Scarlett, you are a beautiful and fun little girl. We love you so much and it just keeps growing every day. You honestly don't know how much love your heart can hold until you have a child. Our hearts are practically bursting at the seams daily. We savor the little moments we have with you as a little family of three. You're the best thing we've ever done and we can't wait to guide you through life and see where it takes you! ♥

Play date!

We got together with two of our favorite couples a couple weeks ago and I remembered to get out the camera and take some snaps! It's going to be so fun watching these three little beauties grow up together!

10 Things :: Volume 6

Jumping right in..

10 :: The cats. Their winter hair is shedding and our one particular kitty, Domino basically refuses to groom himself properly which has resulted in an enormous amount of mats, mostly on his back leg area. So I have resorted to cutting them out. This makes for a very weird looking cat. Alex and I really want to get his hair buzzer and just buzz his whole body, minus his head but I don't know how well he'll tolerate it but really, something has to be done. Ugh!

9 :: I got my legs waxed last Wednesday by my sister, Nicole. All seemed fine except that I sweated a lot over the weekend while outside in the heat (duh) and now they're irritated. Gah!

8 :: Revenge.. the show. Can you believe the season ended like that? First of all, I didn't know there was going to be an episode 22, so I was surprised to see that but glad because then we could find out what happened to Nolan, obv they couldn't kill him. I kind of wish she would've killed the white haired guy, then he couldn't have blown up the plane! I'm surprised they killed Victoria, unless she's not really dead? Won't they need to keep her around for flashbacks at least? Season two is going to be awe-some. Alex said he kind of wished they would've killed off Daniel at the engagement party, but I think they took it in the right direction. In order for a season two to work, she still needs to want revenge, which now she does, plus her mom? Wow! They could take that in so many directions!

7 :: Scarlett is definitely ticklish in her belly. It is hilarious to make her laugh. We need to get it on camera here soon so that we have it! Her laugh is infectious!

6 :: We bought this coleman beach shade for our upcoming beach trips! We cannot wait to try it out when it arrives on Thursday. It will also be perfect to sit in the yard and watch Alex in the garden or the birds at the water bath! I also plan to get her a little inflatable swimming pool for this summer. She loved the pool at Richmond so much so why not get a little one here she can splash around in this summer and keep cool!

5 :: Father's Day is coming up, I need to get on my planning for Alex's gift that Scarlett and I are going to make. Oh pinterest, you are too awesome!

4 :: I've decided I'm going to do push-ups and the plank plus take a walk everyday starting today. Yesterday evening I did push-ups and the plank and thought that it's a good way to keep moving this summer, even if it's hot outside! Scarlett will enjoy the walks as well so it's a win win! Maybe i'll get up some courage to do some interval training with C25K as well!

3 :: The Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop that we're a part of has been giving us some yummy greens. We've made kale chips twice and lots of other fresh veggies including strawberries. The fruit share starts this week and I can't wait to make this recipe next time we get strawberries. Alex's garden has also been producing some yummy foods including broccoli and sugar snap peas!

2 :: Volleyball has started back up and I'm super excited about it! I love playing and I love my teammates and it's so fun to play! Thank goodness for them!

1 :: Summer is officially here. I feel like after Memorial Day weekend, it's official summer. Not to mention the hot hot weather we've been having. I can't wait for the cookouts and the bonfires and swimming at the pool and spending time with family and friends, going to the beach and going to the mountains and showing Scarlett what summer is all about!

Mother's Day Photoshoot

Check out these sweet images we took while we were enjoying the great outdoors in the beautiful weather on Mother's Day. (this was around 10:30am, after we'd been up since about 7:30!)

Mothers Day via iPhone

Waffles for Breakfast! Only the best!

Fresh picked Roses from the bush outside! (from Scarlett)

Fresh picked Iris from outside! (from Alex)

Little bit of fuss.. excuse my face please! :)

Homemade stromboli for lunch!

Some champagne with a splash of Peach Mango V8 splash! Yum!

I have some more pictures to share from our actual camera in our little backyard photo shoot which i'll put into another post!

My first official Mother's Day was very nice. Very relaxing! Alex made homemade waffles for breakfast, I snuggled a lot with Scarlett and held her most times she napped (other than her morning nap), we laid outside under a tree for a while, Alex made stromboli for lunch which was delicious!, we popped some bubbly, I made risotto for dinner and Alex added in some collards for good measure, we relaxed indoors and played with Scarlett all day.

Scarlett has been teething, or whatever the beginning stages of teething are so she wasn't happy all the time. We wanted to go take a walk somewhere but the logistics were difficult to plan around Scarlett's cat nap schedule, or non-schedule really. So relaxing at home was the best idea and we took full advantage.

I hope everyone who is a mother or a mother to be had a fantastic day filled with love!

10 Things + 1 :: Volume 5

11. The Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop starts this week. I am so excited to see what we get! We got half of a veggie share and a fruit share. Yum yum yum, organic and fresh and healthy. Perfect for making baby food, am i right? Speaking of baby food.. we got some asparagus seconds from the farm yesterday and I'm definitely going to use some of it to make baby food to freeze now, since asparagus won't be in season when Scarlett will start eating it. I have a feeling she's going to love it!

10. I'm currently obsessed with a new salad that Britt introduced me to almost a month ago now. It's called an Oriental Chicken Salad (i think?) and it is delish. I've since took it a couple of places to share and it got great reviews. I'll post the recipe soon!

9. Super excited for some upcoming trips! First to Richmond to see family and watch some volleyball and soccer. Scarlett is super pumped to meet her aunts, uncles and cousins! And then to Rehoboth Beach with friends where Scarlett will put her feet (and probably hands) in the sand for the first time. I hope none of it ends up in her mouth but who am i kidding? I'm sure it will.

8. Honestly, I'm regretting not getting the iPhone 4S.. just for the camera. The camera on the 4 is fine but I take so many pictures with my phone that the 4S would've been worth it. Oh well, next upgrade is in December, looks like i'm either getting the 4S or waiting a little bit longer for a potential iPhone 5!

7. Hoping for good weather for both of those trips above!! The weather this year so far has been interesting to say the least. No snow or really any super cold weather, which has been nice. I hope it gets warm and stays warm soon. The flip flopping and not knowing whether to wear a coat in the morning is getting a little old.

6. Scarlett will turn 4 months on the 20th and I'll do a whole post on it but one big thing she did a couple weeks ago was she rolled over! First huge milestone accomplished! We also hope that at her 4 month dr appointment we'll be able to start some kind of solids. Maybe then she'll consistently sleep longer at night!? :)

5. Alex got a charcoal grill for his birthday and let me just say, food cooked on a charcoal grill really does taste better. It's kinda crazy but so so yummy. Alex is looking for any and every opportunity to use it. I see lots of backyard cookouts in our future for this summer!

4. Post baby bod update. The weight is coming off.. slowly but surely. I'm trying not to rush it but the last couple of weeks I've been trying to eat healthier and that killer salad in #10 has been helping! I try to take walks on my days off with Scarlett and starting this week I'm going to try to get a pilates sesh in everyday. My core is definitely in need of some toning.

3. Speaking of post baby bod.. I'm gonna need some new swim suits for this year. More mom-appropriate but also stylish. I think I might have to search pinterest for this. These days I search pinterest for everything!

2. Mothers day is this coming weekend! My first official, baby outside the womb mothers day, since last mothers day I was pregnant but didn't know it. We're excited to spend the day together doing lots of fun things! A yummy breakfast, maybe a picnic lunch.. fun!

1. This blog design still needs a lot of work and I'm working on it when I get a chance. I need to look into the coding of some other blogs I follow to see how they get things arranged so nicely because I don't really like the spacing on the right between the different pages. I should really just hire someone for a new design.. I'll be pondering that now.

Life after Baby :: Working

I've been back to work now for 8 weeks at the end of this week. What?

My baby will be 16 weeks old on Friday. Double what?

Time is moving so fast now that I'm back at work. I have so much to do at work that the days fly by and before I know it, I'm home again, settling down for the evening.

It's staying lighter later which is great for some things and bad for others. After returning home from work we have about 3 good hours until we lay the little one down and unwind for the night ourselves. Three hours isn't really enough but somehow, it is.

I love my half hour lunch breaks where I have just enough time to eat and write a blog post, or read some blogs, or catch up on perezhilton (less and less these days). I try to get these things done while Scarlett is napping at home, but her naps never last long enough for me to get anything done and our home computer is getting slower and slower. Not to mention, computer time falls behind cleaning time and laundry time.

But before I know it, she will be 6 months old and then she'll be crawling and then walking and then talking and then I'll wonder how she was ever so tiny. Tiny enough to fit neatly inside my body. I both dread and look forward to those days. It's a delicate balance I guess.

I'm thankful that I can work part time currently and spend a couple days a week caring for sweet Scarlett. I wouldn't trade that time for anything in the world. When she smiles at me (and she does so quite often), it melts my heart in a giant puddle of love.

So I guess since I can't slow time down.. I'll continue filling it with all the moments I hope to remember forever.

iPhone Photo Adventures v3

Left to Right and Top to Bottom

A birthday gift Alex recieved from his buddy Dan, love the BLL!

Tayden! Steph sent me this picture of the outfit we got her. She is the cutest strawberry ever!

Baby blue eyes staring me down.

Sitting on Daddy's lap when he got home from work.

Happy Birthday to Alex!

Peaceful sleeping baby.

A half smile for me.

Just chillin with our hood up, laying on our tummy.

Asleep after some hardcore activity mat time.

Tiny lips pursed while on the changing table.

Half death stare. Tired of the pictures I'm sure!

Samsung smart tv. More of a want. Saw it at Sears and snapped a pic to remember it.

I take all my photos with my iPhone and edit them using Instagram. Follow me! mbru15!

(Tid bit I just learned. To edit but not post to instagram, work in Airplane mode!)

Stay tuned for the upcoming iPhone Video Adventures!