Like Mother, Like Daughter

Six Months!

Weight/Length- Forgot to check your weight this morning, and you are currently asleep, so I'll guess we'll just have to wait and update this after your 6-month doctor's check up on Friday!
 **Update!  At your doctor's visit you weighed in at 16 lbs., 7 oz. and are 26.5 inches tall!  Still in the 50-75 percentile in everything!  My sweet little "average" sized girl! (for your sake, I hope you stay that way! lol)

Eating- You're primarily formula-fed now... and eating a LOT of it!  Especially, for some reason, at night-time when Mom and Dad are trying to sleep. =P  You still get a couple of ounces of breast milk at daycare, and nurse once with mom in the evening, at night, and then first thing in the morning, but even some of those feedings are followed up with a bottle.  You're healthy and happy though, so I'm not letting the transition stress me out. 

Sleep- Sleep is still not the best, but it's *slightly* better than last month.  You go to bed at 7, generally wake up sometime before 11, then again at 3 and around 6-7 am.  You regularly "sleep" for 12 hours (7 to 7), but you are still waking up to eat constantly during that time.  I'm hoping that it's just a growth spurt and that you'll start sleeping for more than 3-4 hours at a time soon!

 Clothes- You're wearing 6+ clothes for the most part now.  And you have a LOT of them!  Between consignment sales that mom has gone a little nuts at, and hand-me-downs from some of your Dad's coworkers, you have a very nice sized wardrobe.  Mom is starting to think about buying you some shoes... mostly because you take your socks off every chance you get, and it's COLD outside!  I don't want your toes to freeze! I have discovered that, if I put you in 12-month sized pants, they still fit around the waist and are just long enough to cover your toes. ;)  Ha!

Personality- You are soo happy!  I love it!  I get lots of smiles and laughs.  You make a lot of really cute/funny noises.  I have a feeling that you're going to be a real talker!  You are also very focused and determined about things.  Being in the water is serious business for you... whether it's a tub or the pool.  You also REALLY want to get at the cat.  I have a feeling that when you are finally at the crawling stage, that poor Scout is going to be the first thing you take off after!

Likes/Dislikes-

• You like playing with your toys.  For the most part you are perfectly ok hanging out on the floor rolling around and playing with your toys while mom and dad do chores around the house or talk.
• You like exploring new things.  Whether that's putting the cats tail in your mouth, or looking all around you in a grocery store, you love new things.
• You like being up high in Mom's arms.  I think you like the view... and maybe a little of the cuddle, too.
• You like playing with mom and dad.  We tickle you, blow on you, do raspberries on your tummy and lay a blanket over your face (peek-a-boo style).  You LOVE it and you laugh and laugh.  It's adorable... just makes us want to do it more!

• You don't like not being mobile.  You REALLY want to get places... especially if there's a kitty involved!
• You don't like... I don't know.  Your dad and I can't think of anything else!

Milestones-

• You are now able to sit up on your own for the most part.  You still topple over from time to time if you try to move to fast, reach something too far away, or sit up to quickly.  But you are doing REALLY good on your own!
• You have figured out how to get yourself up on all fours!  You are also starting to perfect the wiggle/army crawl.
• You started swim lessons just this last weekend.  You loved it!  You're a big fan of the water.

 

My Poor Baby

This is another post that's been sitting in my "drafts" for months now.  I'm slowly catching up. =)

One night back in late July/early August, Emily kept waking herself up coughing.  When she coughed she acted like she was in pain... not just an annoyance like coughing generally is.  And then she would pass gas, and that appeared to be painful for her as well.  We made it through the night, but the next day Jacob took the day off and took her to the pediatrician.  Turns out she had some kind of stomach bug.  That day, after leaving the doctor, she developed a bit of a fever.  We monitored it, and it didn't get that bad, but she was definitely not her usual self.

This is what I came home to that evening... my poor little girl looking so pathetic. =(  

The next day I stayed home with her.  She was feeling a LOT better, and we probably could have taken her to daycare just fine, but 1) I didn't want to risk getting any of the other kids sick, and 2) I didn't get the chance to cuddle/take care of my sick little girl and kind of felt guilty/jealous/disappointed about it.

I'm not looking forward to the cold/flu season and the inevitable sickness.  =(

Famly Beach Reunion!

Here's another belated post... this one from September. =)

Every year Jacob's family has a bit of a reunion on the Oregon coast.  This year our little family was 3 instead of 2!  Emily got to meet several new aunts, uncles and cousins, and we got to have a great beach vacation!  (This was also right around the time that Emily learned to roll over... so she was ALL over the place!)

Trying to convince her to roll back the other direction... using her Sophie as a bribe. lol

Flying baby!

Chillaxin' with Dad!

Napping on the beach

On the same beach where her mom and dad tied the knot!

Whoa! lol

It's just ridiculous how adorable she is. ;)

Just two years ago something completely different was photographed in front of this book case!

Sophie

So.... this post is about 2 months over due.  It's been sitting around as a "draft" since August.  I have several others in there too, so I'm going to try to finally get them written (I finally just deleted the one that I was going to write back in February... when I was still pregnant... oops!  =)).

Anyway, a couple of months back I cracked and bought Emily a ridiculously expensive chew toy.  That's right, none other than Sophie the giraffe.  I don't understand it, but the thing was/is a hit!  Here are some adorable, slobbery photos to prove it. =)

Thank goodness... the squeaker inside has now broken! lol

For Love & Money

I got my first SLR camera 17 years ago as a birthday gift from my parents.  Olympus OM10.  I LOVED that camera and it served me well all through school.  In high school and college I dabbled in portrait photography for friends and family (mostly senior photos and some couples/engagement stuff), but never charged for services or advertised for more gigs.  For a little while when I moved back to Eugene after undergrad I advertised on Craigslist and got a booking or two, but it didn't really go anywhere.

Last fall my brother and his then-fiance asked me to take their engagement photos.  I hadn't done a shoot in quite some time, and I couldn't believe how happy and energized I felt after that shoot.  I realized that, for my own sanity, I NEEDED to start taking more photos.  And, better yet, with a little one on the way, maybe I could actually add a little somethin' somethin' to the household income.  So, I got to work and created my own little "business". 

It has been almost a year now that I've been advertising and seeking out gigs.  Thanks to family, friends and social networks this first year has been AMAZING!  I have had 13 shoots since last November and have another booked for next month.  I currently have TWO in the post production stage (I actually felt the need to take a day off of my "real" job in order to work on editing!).  I love, love, LOVE this!  I am so happy that I have found a way to do something that I love and something that makes people happy.  I love seeing the comments that people leave on photos on my photo FB page, and seeing people using my work as their profile pics... and, of course, love seeing my photos hanging up in others' homes! I have yet to make a "profit" (still paying off the camera I invested in at the beginning of the year), but I only have to book 3 more shoots before I am out of the "red".  =)  Love.

Here's a link to my website (www.puresimplephotography.com/).  I really did write this post simple to express my gratitude for the people in my life who have helped so much with this over the course of the last year (word of mouth is the BEST kind of advertisement!), but, hey, if you live in Portland/Eugene areas and need some photos taken... let me know. ;)

(P.S.  Looking forward to taking Emily's 6-month photos in a couple of weeks!  She's gonna be absolutely adorable in some of the cute little outfits up I picked up for her this last weekend!)