A dose of 5 months!

It truly is amazing the changes in E every single day! What is new with her this month?

• Bottle just doesn't suffice, we are onto Gerber stage 1. I have been putting rice cereal in her body for nearly a month and a few weeks ago she finally started taking to the spoon. It is crazy the messes we make when we eat now.

We have 4 bottles throughout the day, breakfast, lunch, dinner and nigh time bottle. The three during the day are normally 7 to 8 ounces with at least an inch of rice cereal to thicken it. The nighttime bottle has a bit more rice cereal so she doesn't wake up starving in the morning. Daddy does bedtime every night and brings her to me in her room for bottle and rocking. She really is quite a lovely baby because it doesn't take too long to get her to sleep. Most of the time she is asleep even before she finishes her bottle.

• Clothes...She is finally in 3 to 6 months clothes, but is nearing 26 inches long but is only 13 lbs.... This means 6 months is too big but is long enough for her. Such a predicament. I manage to go through several outfits every day before we find one that fits right. Too small or too large, but occasionally we run into something that fits perfect. :)

• Talking... She talks up a storm and has such a sweet disposition. I guess with two extravert parents who were told to be quiet for years in school would result in a talkative child. We have started hearing wa wa wa, which is a new sound that is quite fun to hear.

• Playing... She has started reaching for toys, bottles, cups, plates, tables, watches, hair, you name it, she will reach for it. She loves anything that makes noises and she adores music. She loves putting things in her mouth, especially hands, toys, cups, spoons. Quite hilarious. She plays with her toes more than anything and I think her hands taste as good as the bottle some days. If you leave your shirt near her mouth, it will become her chew toy. My granddad's shoulder get's soaked! She is incredibly curious about her surroundings and it is precious to watch.
  

• Teeth... she has a couple teeth you can feel if you push against her top gum. This would explain the enormous drooling and the fact that a bib is apart of her wardrobe not for spit up purposes but to catch the drool.

• Movement... she is so close to sitting up on her own, but she prefers rolling all over the floor over sitting up, right now. If a Disney movie is on she will turn, twist, sit her body in any way so that she can see the TV. Pretty cute! She has become quite ticklish too

• People... she will look if you around if you say Elizabeth, Momma or Dadda. When Daddy gets home from work, its Daddy time and she makes it known. She loves people to talk to her and will smile at anyone. She can't get enough of Mimi's long hair, she loves Gran's glasses, she watches everyone as they eat (Wondering...where's mine) :)

• Sleep... She has slept through the night since she was two weeks old, which was incredible!!!! Occasionally we will have a night where she will fuss around 3 or 4, but a pacifier will easily put her back to sleep. She typically goes to bed around 8:45 and wakes up around 7:15 to 8am. It depends on how much she has played the day before.

SICKNESS... For nearly a month she has been battling bronchitis and a now a sinus infection. I am amazed at what she can catch even when she is staying at home with me. But she has been quite the trooper and I have been in awe of the fact that she still has fun and plays during the day despite her not feeling as perky as normal.


She is a complete joy and HUGE blessing in our lives! We adore her and can't get enough.

Just a little dose of baby Elizabeth!

Itty Bitty Teenie Weenie Polka Dot Bikini

Whew! Life has been a bit hectic lately!

Today I continued to think about where I am wanting to take my career once E starts school full-time. I thought my mind was set on teaching elementary, but it seems that isn't the case, for the moment anyway. Although I absolutely adore being a stay at home mom, I have been desiring to find something to do outside of my precious munchkin. My degree from the University of Arkansas was in Kinesiology Education K-12, which gives me a lot of options career wise....I can choose the grade level I want to teach and take the Praxis examinations for that particular area or I could do virtually anything within the health and nutrition arena. One thing that came to my mind today was personal training. I thought back to my days of competing in Miss Arkansas and realized that outside of interview and talent, one key area of VAST importance is looking your absolute best in that teenie weenie bikini! My last year competing in Miss Arkansas, I realized it wasn't about having the best body, but about truly shining from the neck up and being confident in who I was. Yes, I had worked incredibly hard to get into the best shape I possibly could and was still doing lunges up until the moment I walked out on stage, but I was finally at a point where I was just trying to be me. I knew where my weak areas were with swimsuit and I worked on those up until the very last moment I could. This realization today caused me to think...Maybe I could give back to the organization that gave so much to me. I have had my own personal struggles with disordered eating, so as I prepared for Miss Arkansas I never was going to be apart of the starvation diet, but changed my lifestyle so that I could be in the best shape for me. Things I adore, working with people, seeing people achieve there goals while maintaining true to themselves and pushing people to reach beyond what they think is possible. One thing I thought about....I would not be a trainer that would sit back and let you do all the work while I watched, but would join in with you. I'm all about active participation. Right now, I am trying to figure out the feasibility of wanting to be a personal trainer and also the reality of would those girls going to compete at Miss Arkansas even want me as a trainer. . We have to all reach a point where we realize showing an airbrushed magazine picture and saying... "Make me look like this", is unrealistic. But I want to be able to help those I work with to realize that your own perfected bikini body isn't out of reach. Right now, I am thinking, personalized workout routines to fit that individual girl, working on the walk, poses, finding the perfect swimsuit, and how to eat "real" food as one prepares to walk out on stage with a smile from the inside out. What I am applying to those girls competing for MA can also be applied to anyone, minus a few points here and there ha-ha! :)

My degree has given me the education on what working out and healthy eating does to one's body; and my personal experience with countless personal trainers and competing gives me much insight into the fact that a one size fits all mold doesn't work. Even though I did win a swimsuit award at MA, this isn't about winning awards, but about being able to help girls of all shapes and sizes be truly confident in who God designed them to be :)....Obtaining a personal training certification could be quite a fun venture for me!

Just my thoughts from today....