Gracie May

Here is little Gracie, my niece.

This photo was taken at the hospital.

(She's now 4 days old!)

Such a cutie. 

I can't wait to meet her!

Aunt Abby

I'm an aunt!  Gracie May was born on Oct 15.  This is Aaron's brother's first baby.  We are so excited for them and look forward to meeting Gracie.  She's such a little sweetie.  I love seeing all her pictures.  We love her already.

Ian's baby will be here soon too!  From what I heard, Julie is being induced on Friday.  We're hoping and praying Ian makes it back to CA in time for baby Jackson's birth.  I'll keep y'all posted and will blog this weekend.

As a side note, we're all doing good.  This past weekend we had Emillie and Hannah.  Aaron took them to get some pumpkins to carve.  I was going to go with Riley and take some pictures, etc. but plans changed.  It was a busy day on my end - but I did manage to finally get a haircut!  It looks exactly the same...just a trim.  It's about as exciting as it gets for me, these days.  Ha.  ;)

Riley is on  her way to eating more foods, feeling better, scooting around more on her stomach and gaining weight (buddha belly).  She's healthy and happy - couldn't ask for more.

Enjoy your week! 

First Veggie

I forgot to mention too that Riley now has tried her very first food other than rice cereal...a vegetable. 

It was butternut squash, because that is what I had on hand (thanks to my mom).  

She ate it all up and enjoyed it.

I love this one...Daddy is saying "ahhh"

This morning she tried oatmeal cereal and loved it! 

I'm glad because I want to offer her cereals other than rice (so boring).

Now, we can continue giving her a new food every few days.

We had a delay in all this with her weight loss, but now that we're on track...

...more foods it is!

Gaining weight...

...no, not me...Riley!  We had her follow up appointment today from last week.  Now that I'm supplementing with formula she has gained weight.  She weighs 15 lbs.  Little porker gained 1.3 lbs in a week!  Hopefully now the weight gain will be slower than that, haha.  The doctors are pleased and want us to keep this up.  We're just happy it's a simple matter of her not getting enough calories from me alone, and that all in all she's healthy - no need for further testing.  In one month we go back to just make sure her weight gain is still on track.  Whew, we're relieved and are happy to move forward...with bottles and all!

Riley's 6 month photos

So, I promised 6 month pictures of Riley.  Here they are!

Applefest

We took the girls (Emillie, Hannah and Riley) to Maryland for a visit on October 2.  We enjoyed going to an Applefest and getting large bags of kettle corn (yup, no apples...just popcorn!)  We already had yummy apples that my mom gave us, so no need to buy any on this trip. 

You can see Riley's two teeth!

After the fest, we stopped to visit my parents' friends house.  We got to see some lambs and Riley was pushed in her very first outdoor swing thanks to Ava and Sophia!

Back at my parents' house, Emillie and Hannah enjoyed petting the chickens and Riley enjoyed laying on the blanket outside! 

Also, we were able to visit with my brother who was staying with my parents that weekend.  Believe it or not, this was the first time Emillie and Hannah met Ian!  Unfortunately, we didn't take one picture with Ian in it (sorry, brother).  I don't know what we were thinking.  Next time...

Exhausting Week

So, I haven't written in a week and I thought it time to update you all.

First off, Riley is now 6 months old!  We will be posting her pictures as soon as we take them.  Ha, yes...we're behind on that.  This weekend we will be taking them (only a week late!)

Riley has had another little cold this week, running nose, congestion, cough, etc.  No fever though, thank goodness.  Every day she seems to be doing a little better.

This past Monday was Riley's 6 month check up at the doctors.  She got a number of vaccines, including the flu vaccine.  Who knows, maybe her sniffles this week are because of that!  We were surprised when they weighed Riley to learn that she's lost 1 pound since her 4 month check up.  The doctor isn't overly concerned, because developmentally, Riley is doing great.  Something just isn't right between mother and baby though and we have to figure this out.  So, this week they have me supplementing with formula to see if we can up her weight.  We have another appointment on Monday to find out how she did this week.

It all sounds easy enough right?  Wrong.  Because I've been nursing Riley, she wasn't getting any bottles.  We did try a bottle when she was 1 month old, but only kept that up once a week for like a week or two...then stopped.  It was too much of a pain in the butt.  With me home, what was the point?  Well, after 6 months of nursing she wanted nothing to do with a bottle this week. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday she fought me so much.  Finally, yesterday she took a bottle like it was nothing.  We both smiled.  It was so exhausting hearing her cry and be miserable over this but it was so worth the fight.  I held my ground and she finally gave in - a girl's gotta eat!  She's eating like a champ now.

From here on out we should be fine.  I'm glad she's now used to formula and likes it.  I think I may have to continue supplementing until she's a year old, which I'm actually OK with.  Also, it'll be nice that others can give her a bottle during the day if need be.  I know the Grandmothers will enjoy this.  :)

So anyway, it's Friday.  Aaron is home for a three day weekend, and we both are happy to have some time to relax.  All of us are tired.

More later, enjoy your weekend!