Hungry Hungry Hungry Girl

Lately Magnolia has been absolutely transfixed with food. She stares at everything we eat or drink and looks at us like "Hello, what is your problem? Gimme some of that now." So her Gee Gee got her some little spoons and bowls for her Valentines present and today I went and got her a box of rice cereal and we decided to give it a whirl.

She's like, "What? This is not pizza."

We got her all ready and Rob was so excited to feed her for the first time. Unfortunately Nolie was too distracted by her cute new bib and wouldn't pay any attention to her food.

Then we got distracted by her incredible cuteness.

Finally we got down to business.

But then she just wanted to grab it.

So we had to hold her hands down. Which she thought was pretty funny.

Then she tried to eat the bowl.

And finally (hooray!), she took a few bites.

But then she went back to the bib.

So, since she was hungry and we didn't want the milk to go to waste, we threw it in a bottle and Rob gave it to her that way (her first bottle ever!). I know you're not supposed to do that, and it was only a one-time thing, so the Parent Police need not be all up in my business. I think she'll get the hang of it pretty quickly.

I can't believe how big my baby girl is getting. Before I know it she really will be eating pizza.

Such Silliness

So tonight Magnolia was playing on her little play mat while I was doing something and all the sudden she started to laugh. I looked over at her and her little play rings were covering her face. I thought it was so cute that it made her laugh, and then when I looked closer, this is what I found:

There's a mirror that hangs from her play mat; apparently she wanted to see how she would look as a bespectacled baby. Oh Nolie. Your adorableness warms the cockles of my heart.

Four Whole Months (and then some, since this is a little late)

Four Month Old Magnolia:

- Has discovered the fascinating wonder that is her feet. She's always grabbing them.

- Laughs when we hold her up high over our heads, or sometimes when we change her clothes.

- Loves to stick her tongue out. Sometimes over and over again, which is hilarious. She even blows raspberries sometimes.

- Loves to yell and talk in funny voices (that's what she's doing in this picture).

- Sits up almost all by herself.

- Loves to sit with Mama in the kitchen while she cooks dinner.

- Has the sweetest baby mohawk.

- Had her four-month appointment and shots. She did a little better this time, and I'm proud to say I didn't cry.

- Weighs in the 72% and is 98% for length.

- Is currently being sleep-trained. (A BRIEF note on this: I didn't want to have to try the whole crying-it-out thing, but her doctor strongly recommended it. I've tried alternative methods to get her to go to bed on her own but it's not happening, and if we don't correct some bad sleep habits now, I think Magnolia and I will soon be nocturnal, and she will likely still be sleeping in my bed when she's 13 years old. We're doing a modified version of crying it out; we don't like the idea of letting her keep crying until she gives up, so we go in often and pat her and wipe her tears and reassure her that it's okay and we love her. We're currently on the third night, and while it's torturous for me to hear her cry, since she's not a big crier in general, it seems to be getting a little better each night. It also seems to be helping her to nap better, which will make life way easier for all of us.

- Loves grabbing and holding and eating her little toys. Sophie the Giraffe, Owlie, her little Ikea rattles, and her play mat are her favorites.

- Is ready to start eating solid foods! I was going to wait a month or maybe two, but the doctor said that since she sits up so well we could start any time, especially if she seems interested in food. She's been staring at everything we eat for the last couple days, so as soon as I buy some baby spoons and baby bowls and a box of cereal, I think we're going to give it a whirl.

- Wears 6 month clothes in jammies and pants, but still fits into 3 months for shirts.

- Is a happy, sweet, smiley, beautiful baby girl. We are constantly amazed by her and thinks she just gets cuter and more delightful every single day.

Girls' Week Out

I have been MIA on here for a bit because Magnolia and I were busy having ourselves a grand adventure. My dear friend Sammy invited us to come stay with her and sweet little Violet for a week in Colorado. They moved to Highlands Ranch a few months ago and we have been missing them something fierce here in Logan, so it was so great to spend the week hanging out, going shopping, eating delicious food, and gabbing the days away, just like we used to do when we were neighbors.

I even got to be there to celebrate Sammy's birthday with them. Erik drove with us into downtown Denver and it was a really cool city. We walked through the chilly streets, got some caramel apple ciders from Starbucks, and paid a long and lovely visit to H&M. I had a gift card from Christmas so I got a few cute things for Miss Nolie and even something for myself.

Violet LOVED Nolie; she wanted to be near her at all times. She'd come right up to her and say "No? No?" and it was just so cute. She loved picking up Nolie's blankets and toys and all her little things and she would bring them to her. Nolie would just stare up at her and smile; they were so sweet. Violet is going to adore her baby sister who is coming in a few months!

Here we were on another shopping adventure to the outlets. Violet was such a nice girl and let Magnolia use her stroller, and lots of her old baby things while we were visiting. She was so nice to share and she never got jealous; she just thought it was so fun to have a baby around.

This is how she would give Nolie loves. She'd lay her head on her and say "Awwwwww." It was hilarious. I wish I had gotten some better pictures of them because it was so cute.

Here' s a cute picture of Nolie for fun. Also, those stripety orange flats I'm wearing were another little purchase I made whilst there. I haven't really bought anything for myself since Nolie was born, so it was fun to get a few things.

Thanks so very much to the Obergs for letting us stay! It was such a great and relaxing week and the company was fabulous! We miss you already!

Miss Magnolia was such an incredible traveler. I was nervous at first, but she was good as gold. On the way there I was pretty flustered and Nolie had a really bad cold so she was kind of fussy while we were waiting to get on the plane. I wanted to get some pictures of her first flying experience, but between her fussiness, plus making sure she was changed and fed before we boarded, I didn't get any. But I did manage to snap these ones on the return flight, which was much more relaxed:



Nolie was PERFECT on both flights. Both times the person sitting next to me was all rude because they thought she was going to cry and be annoying. Seriously, they were way rude. The first one was an old guy and he was like, "Are you nervous, because babies can tell when their parents are nervous, and then they get upset." and also "Babies don't like flying because the altitude change hurts their ears." He said all of this in a pretty mean and grumpy voice. But Nolie barely made a peep and so then he decided pretty quickly that he loved us and was super nice instead of super rude as he had previously been. He even gave me his free TV privileges because he was a frequent plus flier or whatever. And he handed me my diaper bag and helped me when it was time to get off. Also, he gave me lots of weird and really irrelevant advice about babies and talked about his son who's like 30. Weird and irrelevant, but strangely sweet nonetheless.

And on the way back there was this mean lady who was like "Wow, some on flight entertainment," in a quite rude tone when she saw Nolie. Then she kindly informed me that babies get upset because the altitude change hurts their ears. I don't know why everyone thinks it's effective to point this out. I also don't know why they've got to be rude to someone just because they have a small baby. People with babies gotta travel too. And that lady had to eat her mean words because Nolie did NOT get upset or act naughty or interrupt that lady's word searches in any way. And she herself admitted that she hardly knew that a baby was next to her at all. So take that.

Anyway, after our travels came to an end, Magnolia and I were both pretty happy to see one person in particular...

Daddy!!!

Nothing in Particular

We've had a lovely lazy day here at our place. We slept in late, spent the day watching movies and eating cookies, and did not much of anything else. It was sure a swell day.

I felt a little unproductive by the time evening rolled around so I decided to make Miss Magnolia some new headbands. A lot of her old ones are getting too small and she's transitioning into the next size up in clothes so naturally I've got to make sure she's got the accessories to match her outfits.
Of course I took some frequent breaks to snuggle my little gal and laugh at her crazy antics. She keeps doing this weird scream thing that's super funny when she wants attention (which is, naturally, all the time), and she was laughing a lot when we would give her said attention. She sure is a delight. Although it is really hard to operate a hot glue gun when a needy baby is constantly whining at you. I don't think she understood that I was working in the name of baby fashion and it would all be to her benefit.

You've gotta love those three-day weekends, am I right? I hope you all enjoyed yours too.

Little Miss Learns to Sit (Kinda)

"Hello, my name is Magnolia. I really like sitting. Especially with this Boppy here for moral (and actual) support."

"By the way, look at these fabulous ruffles. Not only are they fun to grab, but I also look darling in them."

"I can totally ace this sitting business. Take away the Boppy and I'll show you. I'll show you real good."

"Told you. I don't mess around. Straight up."

"Okay, I know it may look like I'm about to fall over, but I promise you I'm not. I just like leaning forward a little."

"On second thought, maybe I lied."

"I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Hey, while I'm down here, I might as well eat me some hand. Next to sitting of course, hand-eating is my favorite thing."

"Now I will lay here and think about how I can achieve a bit more finesse when it comes to sitting. Also, I'm pretty sure this pose makes me look very cute and picture worthy, so I'll humor my mommy for a second but if she takes too many more I'm going to have to start whining, because let's face it, I'm pretty much stuck in this position until she picks me up."

I Resolve:

To try to use what little free time I might have to exercise once in awhile. I know that's really unspecific, which is against the rules of goal setting, but my baby's pretty needy and she doesn't take naps. So I have to use the rare 15 or 20 minutes when I can trick her into falling asleep to do things like shower or tidy up a bit. But I would really like to shed some more baby weight as this year progresses, so I aim to try to exercise if and when I can.

To go to the temple at least once a month. Last year I was terrible about going. I had all sorts of weird excuses when I was pregnant (What if I faint? What if I get hungry/sick/fall asleep/have to go to the bathroom/my dress doesn't fit????). I feel really bad about that and need to make up for it.

To make another quilt. I decided like two days ago that I'm going to make a queen-sized quilt for our bed. Yeah I might be crazy, but I already had most of the fabric and I've been wanting something new for our bed for awhile. So I'm going to attempt it. Yikes.

To crochet a full-sized throw. I've only ever done baby ones before, and they get kind of boring, but I love those gorgeous afghans and every time I see pictures of them my heart longs for one. I think I want to do a zig zag, but I'm not 100% set on that. In fact, I have a huge suspicion that this resolution will probably not come to pass, but I really want to do it, so I'm just putting this out there.

To plan dinners and grocery shopping. I really hate deciding what we're going to have for dinner, and even more, I hate deciding something and then realizing we don't have stuff for it, which results in us having hot pockets for dinner or else getting McDonalds or pizza or something. I've wanted to plan menus for awhile, but when I was working I did not want to use any of my free time to do that. But now, I think that I will.

How's that for a list of super wishy-washy resolutions, eh? In some ways I dunno why I bothered. I should have just said, "Happy 2012, hope it's a good one, cheers!" and been done with it. But there are just so many things I want to do, like make awesome and pretty things, write, be skinny and fabulous, cook delicious food, read all the books on the endless list of books I want to read, learn new skills, be more spiritual, have a better attitude, etc. etc. etc. I want to do everything that's good, and be way better than I am, and feel like I am living a full and well-rounded life. So I always make too many goals. And I get overwhelmed. And when I don't accomplish them, sometimes I get sad, and think that if I was better, more disciplined, less lazy, then I could do them all. So maybe I should resolve something else this year.

To do the best I can with who I am and what I've got. And to be darn happy about it.

So come next December, if I haven't lost a single pound and there is no hand-made, zig zag afghan on my couch, I resolve to not feel bad about it. Because I'm sure that if I don't do those things, I will have instead taken care of my daughter, tried my best to be a good wife, and did other things that made me happy because I wanted to, and not because I said I was gonna do it on this blog.

Maybe I should resolve not to be a hypocrite by making resolutions that I openly admit I may not bother to keep. I'm so plagued by these inner struggles. I'm sorry I'm crazy. I now resolve to go to sleep.