Our first road trip w/out Daddy!

So, I was very brave this past weekend... I took Elizabeth on her first road trip...alone.  A good friend of mine, Tammy, lives in Kerrville and it was her little girl's birthday party this past weekend.  I had told Greg that I planned on going and I would be taking Elizabeth with me, of course.  He works on the weekends so he now misses out on a lot of parties and things.  So, Friday when I got off, I packed us up.  I was going to be leaving bright and early after Elizabeth finished her morning bottle at 8am.  I wasn't getting myself worked up about going without Greg because I knew I could do it, but that morning when I was loading up, I realized I sure could have used the help!  The trip wasn't too bad, Elizabeth had two little crying spells but she slept most of the way there.  The party was great and it was good to finally see Tammy and Taryn.  I haven't seen them since my baby shower the week before Elizabeth was born.  We stayed in a hotel room on Saturday night so Elizabeth didn't have a whole day of riding in a car and I could get some rest.  When Elizabeth finally started stirring around at 6:15am on Sunday, I turned on the TV and started watching the news.  Turns out they were expecting some nasty weather on Sunday with a very good possibility of snow!  I jumped up and got myself and Elizabeth dressed because the last thing I wanted to do was drive in nasty weather!  I really wasn't planning on leaving that early but I am sure glad I did after seeing the weather around there on the news.  Elizabeth did great on the way home and I decided to stop in El Campo for a while since it was early.  That afternoon, we headed home and I was going to get settled in, when I realized we were out of formula.  After a trip to Target, we got home and did Elizabeth's usual routine of bath, bottle, and bed.  Of course, she decided that bedtime would be a little delayed and she just wanted to fuss.  By this time I was so physically and mentally exhausted from the trip, driving, taking care of her, and just plum tired, that I was upset.  I was rocking her (while she cried), trying to get her to go to bed, and crying myself.  I felt so guilty that I was upset but my little sneaky daughter knows how to make Mommy feel better.  She had already stopped crying, she lifted her head and looked at me and smiled, laid her head back down and fell asleep.  What a weekend it was!  Even though it was exhausting having to make a trip like that on my own, I wouldn't have changed a thing.  I definitely commend any single parent out there that has to raise kids on their own because it is is tough work.  I am thankful everyday for such a great husband and a great father to Elizabeth. 

I didn't have a camera with me to take pictures but I stole some from Jessica (sorry Jess!).  Here are our little one's at the party:

Us girls with our babies... all born in 2011!

Me & Elizabeth, Tammy & Taryn, Jessica & Paislyn

 The girls...

 Hi Paislyn! (so cute!)

4 months

Elizabeth turned 4 months old on Sunday the 5th of February.  She has been such a blessing and everyday my heart just melts when I see her smile at me.  I never knew you could love someone so much!  Even though the fourth month didn't go by as fast as all the other months, when I look back, I realize that they really do grow up fast!  She has really started to develop her own personality.  A lot has happened over the last month but I will try and remember as much as I can:

She is such a happy baby.  She is very content and doesn't need to be held.  She is so observant, she loves to look around and watch everyone around her.  They tell me at daycare she is like that too.  She is not too active in the terms of always moving her arms and legs... she will just sit and look around and watch.

Just finished the size 1 diapers this week so she made it all the way through four months with size one diapers.  Now we are in Size 1 1/2 diapers!  We had gotten a lot (and I mean A LOT) of diapers before she was born so I am using what we have.  I shouldn't need to buy diapers until she is probably a year old!  

Anything and everything will go in her mouth.  If she can reach it, she will put it in her mouth.  She just started drooling quite a bit but I know this is just the start of teething...

I packed up her 3 month clothes, but she did make it to four months in three month clothes.  I am still using almost all the pants in three month because our little one is short and they still fit really good.

She is now a pro at rolling over.  Put her on the floor and she will roll over like it is nothing.  Of course she still hates to be on her belly when she gets over but she has gotten a lot better.  I think they work with her at daycare. 

For some reason, our little ray of sunshine does not like to ride in the car.  Some days are better than others, but for the most part, she does not like to be in that seat facing the back of the seat.  Mommy has listened to a lot of screaming the last couple of weeks!  Then, when I open the door, she just looks at me and smiles... I think she is telling me "ha, ha... I knew you would come rescue me!"

Here is our four month photo shoot.  (Normally I take these in the morning when she is the happiest, but I forgot the onesie and had to do it after her bath on Sunday.  That explains the lack of smiling.)

This was her telling me enough... I am going to bed...

More pics!

This is how we unload groceries from the car!  It is the best way to have your hands free to do whatever you need to and they still feel as if they are being held.  Love it!

Sitting in my new high chair at Grammy's.  Since she loved our high chair so much, I bought one for my mom's house also (we spend a lot of time over there!).  She is so freaking cute! 

Pictures of our growing baby!

I haven't posted many pictures in a while so I thought I would load some that we have taken over the last couple of weeks.  She is getting so big and so alert. 

Check out my cute shoes!

 First time in the big girl highchair!  Now we use it everyday because she loves to sit and play in it.  This has become a blessing because it makes it easier to cook and clean when she is happy in her highchair!

Another toy that we use often is her walker.  Even though she can't touch the ground yet, she will play in this for a long time.  It amazes me how she knows what to do with those toys on there.  She knows how to make them all turn.

Just because Mom thinks I am oh so stinkin cute!

 I think she was telling me "Enough, MOM!"

 "Seriously?"

Our sick little one...

If you would have saw Elizabeth last week, you would have never known she was sick.  She was just as happy go lucky as she always is.  Of course, her parents were scared to death when she decided that she didn't want to eat anymore!  It really started last Monday.  Monday's are always so hectic for us because Greg and I both work on Monday's and Greg doesn't get home until really late.  I usually have her bath and bottle done and she is sleeping by the time he gets home.  Monday night she really didn't want to eat her bottle before bed, but me not knowing better, just chalked it up to her being tired already.  She went to bed and slept through the night.  The next day, she still couldn't finish a bottle.  I told Greg that if she was still not eating by Wednesday that I was going to take her to the doctor.  The daycare called on Wednesday morning (I told them to call if she didn't eat) and told me she only would drink two ounces of formula.  I decided to set up an appointment and they got us in that morning.  Just a side note... I had decided to change doctor's because I just didn't like the place we were going before and her first appointment would have been her 4 month check up on the 7th.  So, here I was, trying to explain to the doctor's office that we had not been there yet but we were scheduled to start the following week.  It was a bit hectic but she got in and was checked out.  It turns out she had an ear infection.  This really didn't explain why she wasn't eating but she told us maybe clearing up the ear infection would help her feel better and she would start to eat.  She had only weighed 12lbs 13ozs (25th percentile) which really shocked us because we thought she would be bigger than that.  We got her medicine and went home. 

Now came the fun part of trying to give an infant medicine... nearly IMPOSSIBLE!  As soon as we gave her the amoxicillin, she started vomiting... plus she was still not eating!  I had never experienced an infant vomiting like that before and it was not fun.  Actually it was really scary... so with me crying and holding my baby over the kitchen sink, I told Greg to call the doctor.  The doctor told us to make sure that she is staying hydrated with pedilyte and not to give her any formula or medicine.  He also said to bring her back into the office to get re-examined.  So, Thursday morning it was back to the doctor.  Of course by this point she is really starting to act better and she actually was wanting to eat.  The doctor told us to resume the medicine to clear up the ear infection and just monitor her.  As soon as we start giving her the medicine again, she starts vomiting again.  What a roller coaster!  So, needless to say, we think Elizabeth may be allergic to the amoxicillin.  The doctor switched up her medicine and she seems to be doing OK with everything.  She finally started eating and back to normal we went! We go back to the doctor on Valentines' Day for Elizabeth's 4 month check up and she will also be getting her ears pierced!  YEAH!

Happy Thursday!

As we get ready to round out three months and move on to four we also lose all the newborn that was Elizabeth up to this point.  She is getting so big and is such a joy to be around.  As I mentioned before, it just amazes me everyday how smart babies really are.  She already knows how to get out of her swaddle... no matter how tight I put it.  I just can't figure it out.  I thought that if she got out of her swaddle that she would wake herself up with her arms but that really hasn't been the case.  She is still my sleeping beauty, going to bed between 7 and 8 and not waking up until 4:30 or 5.  It is so different then just two months ago where I thought I would go crazy from sleep deprivation.  Lets see... now that she is rolling over from her back to her tummy, it is hard to leave her on the floor by herself because as soon as she gets over, she gets MAD!  Silly girl.  Right now she is only rolling over on her right side (and I must say, she is a pro at it now) but she will kick her legs over to her left side like she wants to roll over that way but she get enough strength to go that way.  So, to help her out, she thought the blanket would help her and she grabbed the blanket for leverage and then got none when the blanket just came off the floor.  It was funny to watch her try so hard and be so smart and then in the end, still not get it.  I think she is definitely her mother's daughter in the since of getting frustrated when she can't do something.  You can see it in her face when she is trying to do something that isn't going her way, she gets mad!  They even mentioned this to me at daycare this week about her being strong willed and trying so hard to do something.  She has gotten to the stage now where she wants to sit up all the time.  This makes putting her in the carseat really hard and it makes Mommy sad that she doesn't want to lay in her arms anymore, but it is so fun to watch them grow and learn.

I have officially put Elizabeth's three month clothes away (well, except the pants).  That was a hard and very sad day, even Greg was a little sad that day.  I knew she could probably fit in some of them still but I figured it would be best to make a clean break from them.  So, I got all the 3-6 month clothes washed and put away where once was the little clothes my sweet baby girl wore.  Thanks to my cousin Crystal, we have a good stock pile of clothes to wear because Elizabeth didn't have many new clothes in that size.  There were so many cute dresses and spring/summer outfits in there and I can't wait for Elizabeth to start wearing some of them.  So on to the new waredrobe and lots of new things in our life... including a new CAR!  YEAH!  

The weekend is so near and I can't wait to spend it with my sweet baby girl!  I will leave everyone with a couple of pics I have take over the last week or so.  

I have to mention that Elizabeth loves that ring in both pictures... she sucks on it and just holds it all the time.  We take it everywhere we go.  They even told me at daycare that she loves to hold on to something at all times.  It is such a great toy and we thank Grandma B for giving it to E!   

Rolly Polly

So, at 3 1/2 months, our baby girl can roll over from her back to her tummy.  It is funny because the first time she did it was on Monday the 16th and I missed it!  I had gotten home from work and put her on the floor in the living room while I went to change out of my work clothes.  When I came back into the room she was on her stomach and trying desperately to get back on her back.  I was so excited and got my phone ready to catch her doing it again but then she just got mad so I picked her up.  It wasn't until yesterday that I was able to be ready with the phone when she was rolling over.  When Elizabeth does get over on her belly she gets so mad because she can't get back on her back.  I wish she would learn to roll back over but I am sure it will come in time.  So for now, we just put her back on her back and she will roll right back on her tummy... a never ending game!  I told Greg that I think she goes to school on Mondays' and comes home to show us something new.  It seems like every Monday she is doing something different!  It also amazes me at how smart they really are.  She focuses on everything like she is learning all the time. 

(please excuse the upside down video... Mommy is new at this!)

Elizabeth has also learned to screech really loud.  It is so funny but now I am going to be scared to take her to church!  Really it is only when we are talking and playing with her but it is so funny.  I just can't believe how fast they grow up!  She will "talk" to us in her baby talk and I only wish I knew what she was saying and thinking.