insta-weekend

Hi friends! How were your weekends??

Our besties Jerrod & Julie were supposed to come stay with us this weekend, but unfortunately Julie ended up getting pretty sick, so they couldn't make it. We were bummed, but totally understood and were glad to keep the sickies away from Jaqs. Hopefully we can reschedule soon because we love having them come visit!

So instead of spending Friday waiting for our buds, Jaqsy and I just played, ran some errands, and waited for daddy to get home to spend his last weekend off with us!

errand running will wear a girl out!

On Friday evening, I handed the bambino off to her daddy after dinner, and I went over to my friend Cassi's house for a girls' night! We had Mary Kay makeovers and just spent some quality time together. We had a great time! Nights with friends are so necessary, and they're really good for the soul. I've learned that being a mommy can kind of cause you to let other things slip by the way-side, but it's so important to nurture your relationships. It's really easy to let yourself become a hermit when working around nap-times, etc., but that can make you a little crazy, too!

On Saturday morning, Rob woke me up with my sweet girl's face in mine...is there anything better? We had some family time 'talking' in bed and getting woken up before we decided to head up to the school. The locker-rooms and offices have been given a facelift, and an all new weight room was added over the summer, so Rob wanted to give me the tour. If you're interested in seeing it, just click over to the Temple Football blog.

Can you tell how impressed Jaqs was with daddy's new office?!?! ;)

And on a side note, my baby-daddy is a stud. Just saying.

 After we got home, we practiced our newfound rolling skills before it was nap-time!

After the angel baby got up from her afternoon nap, we headed over to Waco to spend a couple hours. I wanted to hit up Carter's and eat at Pei Wei. I had never been to a Carter's store because, well, I've never needed to go to one before, but I loved it! I need to go back...right now. They had an addition 30% off all their clearance, so I stocked up on comfies in bigger sizes for baby girl. I didn't even get to look at the cutesy stuff because there was so much, and my 2 sidekicks were getting impatient ;) Anyway, I got ALL of this for $40!! I was pretty happy with that. Jaqs mostly wears onesies when we're just at home, and theirs are by far our favorites! So soft and easy to get on and off.

Sunday was mostly spent just hanging out. I made one of my favorites, gluten free chicken spaghetti! Mmmm, I'm already excited to eat the leftovers for lunch ;)

We also had program pictures, so Jaqsy girl was looking all sporty in her Wildcat garb. How cute are her little feet in her tennies?! I die.

Program pictures only mean one thing...the season is upon us. 2-a-days are here, and daddy will now be gone from home 7 days a week. So sad! We're trying to put on our brave faces, but truth be told, it's always a little hard to get into the swing of things. Of course, this year will bring a whole new aspect with the addition of our bundle, but we will certainly get through it! The days will be a little longer for all of us, but it will make our time together that much sweeter! And of course, there's nothing quite like Friday Night Football!!

Rob--

You are an awesome daddy, and we are so grateful for all the hard work you put in both on and off the field. Thank you for providing for us and giving me the opportunity to be at home with our girl. We know there will be long days, but we also know that you'll be coming home to us each night (or morning). Good luck this season! Go CATS!!

We love you!!

outtakes & a new trick!

Taking monthly pictures of Jaqs is always fun and a bit of a challenge!

We had some cute outtakes this time that I just had to share..

"are we really doing this again, mom?"

"ah! i love this baby!"

"mmmm...i think i'll eat her foot..."

"achoo!"

"maybe if i pretend to be asleep she'll stop..."

"i'm not loooooking!"

And in other news, I mentioned yesterday that Jaqs was getting close to rolling over. She did it that very same day! August 7th goes down in the baby book (aka the blog) that baby girl rolled from her belly to her back for the first time! YAY angel! We're so proud!

Have a happy Wednesday, y'all!

4 months!

Oh Jaqsy girl...you've really got us right where you want us. We are so head over heals in love with you and think you are the BEST little thing ever! You are such a sweet girl, and we melt with every smile, laugh, and even cry. This month went FAST and has been a lot of fun!

At 4 months old:

• Remember how I said you had become a finicky eater last month? Well, we figured out the culprit this month. You had some reflux going on :( My poor girl...it made me feel awful! Thankfully you have been on baby Zantac for about 3-4 weeks now, and you have been a different baby at feeding time! You eat great and are happy afterwards. I'm so, so glad for this! Seeing you miserable was breaking our hearts, and we can tell you just feel a lot better all around. You were unsure of the medicine at first, but now you gobble it right down.
• I have moved to mostly pumping and bottle feeding you because my supply had gone way down in the midst of all this reflux business. So far I have been pumping enough and we haven't had to supplement. Hopefully that will continue!
• You eat 5-6 times a day, 4-6 ounces at a time. We have been given the go ahead on cereal, but I think we'll hold off for awhile longer. You seem to still be satisfied on breast milk alone, so why fix what's not broken, right?
• Your bedtime routine is one of our favorite times now! You still love your bath and enjoy your little massage every night. I then give you a bottle and put you down between 8:15-8:30. You'll then sleep until 5 or 6, wake to eat, and sleep until 8:30ish.

• Your napping is pretty much the same as last month, although we've had some hiccups along the way when you weren't feeling well. You take one long nap, 2.5-3 hours, and cat-nap the rest of the time. Works for us!
• You started LAUGHING this month!! SWEETEST sound I've ever heard! We do anything we can to get giggles out of you, and you're doing it more and more often. So fun!
• You continue to smile all the time...makes me think you really enjoy your fun little life!
• You have improved with tummy time. You still don't necessarily love it, but you do a lot more of it now than you ever have before! You are trying so hard to roll over, so I think it will happen very soon.
• You do love to sit and pull-up from laying to sitting! We stabilize you, of course, but you are really strong!
• You also love to 'stand'! You are constantly pushing up when you're being held. Your little legs are powerful and BUSY! People always comment on how busy you are.
• Another thing you love to do is grab our faces and pull us into you. It feels so sweet! It can also be a little painful when you squeeze our lips or grab our eyes ;) We know it's out of love though!

• You are really grabbing at your toys now. We don't have to put them in your hand anymore; you reach for them all on your own. You swing at the toys on your gym constantly. Everything that you do grab goes straight to your mouth, so they're all soaked most of the time :)
• It seems like your drooling has slowed down a little bit, but you still love blowing bubbles ALL.THE.TIME. That's usually how you wake up. Ha! Goofy girl.
• You haven't been interested in your paci as much lately, so that's been nice! I think it's because you feel better, so you don't need the constant soothing it provided.
• You are doing a lot better in your car-seat too! Once again, I attribute your past hate for it to reflux. I'm sure the bouncing of the road didn't feel good when you had a throat full of acid. Poor thing...I definitely don't blame you for that!
• You still love to gnaw on your hands or keep them folded across your chest.
• You get a major kick out of looking at yourself in the mirror. I understand that...you're stinkin' adorable!! I could look at you all day long.

• Your favorite toys include: your 'football man', Sophie, the O-ball, and rattles.

• Recently you've been using a lovey. This started off as you always wanting to cuddle up a burp rag or blanket to your face, but now you have a specific lovey that you may still be dragging around in 4 years ;)
• We have been working to break the need for the swaddle, but we still swaddle you from armpits down for warmth and security. We may transition to a sleep sack or just stick with the half swaddle...we'll see!
• You don't go to the doctor for your check-up and shots until the 13th, but we estimate your weight to be about 13.5 lbs and your length to be about 24 in.
• You are in size 2 diapers now.
• You are wearing mostly 6 month clothing. Your sleepers are 9 months though because the others were too short! Your little toes were all cramped up.

Baby cakes, we love you so very much and are excited to see what new things you'll be doing next! We're blessed beyond belief to call your ours forever.