Going Visiting

     Thank goodness for Thanksgiving break (especially when all your friends are teachers)! I love being home with Sara Beth, don't get me wrong, but I do miss seeing my friends. This week we did a little visiting while we could. On Monday, we met Diana and Tristen for lunch and did some shopping with them. I love getting to visit with Diana and it's always fun when SB and Tristen get together. We didn't snap a picture (which is sad because the babies had on coordinating outfits), but we had a fun time with them.
     On Tuesday, we went over to visit the Wibbens. Crystal and I have been friends for what seems like forever and we are used to seeing each other every day at school. Since I've been on sabbatical this year, we haven't gotten together as much as we'd like. So, Crystal and I chatted up a storm while SB played with Caden. He sure knows how to handle a baby! I guess he's had lots of practice with his sister, Caroline. John Collier was in the mix too, of course. All in all, we had a great time with the Wibbens! I just wish we could do it more often!

Wrestling with Caden

Sweet Caroline

SB with her "Aunt" Crystal

Sewing Solo

     All of my previous sewing projects have been done under the guidance of people with lots of sewing experience, namely my mom-in-law, Mrs. Jonell, or my good friend, Carol. Well, my 31st birthday just recently came and went and my sweet husband bought me a sewing machine as a gift. Hooray for me! Now I have one of my very own for any project that my heart desires. So, here are pictures of my first two solo projects on my new machine. The first one is a reversible dress and the second one is a pacifier keeper/leash (or whatever you want to call it). Sara Beth wore her new dress today for her first Thanksgiving. She looked adorable in it!

Homemade Baby Food

     I've been neglecting the blog lately. My excuse? No time. Sara Beth is in a very hands-on stage right now. It's not a bad thing, but it does take all my attention.
     For the last 6.75 months, Sara Beth has been exclusively breastfed. No water, cereal, formula, or baby food yet. She's been gaining weight, meeting all the right milestones, and growing strong and smart with just her momma's milk. I'm pretty proud of that! What a blessing!
     Well, she's growing up fast and it's finally time for her to taste what else is out there. (I've put it off long enough!) I'm still planning to nurse her every four hours or so, except during the night when she goes 10-12 hours. The baby food is just for tasting, to get her used to solid foods. She tasted sweet potatoes for the first time this morning and seemed to like them. It was a fun morning for our little family!
     Those of you that know me well, will not be surprised that I'm making SB's food from scratch. No offense to anyone that uses jarred baby food, but here are my thoughts on it. Adam and I do not eat very much packaged food, so why should SB? Baby food is really easy to make, so no worries.
     Here are some pictures from my first time making baby food and Sara Beth's first time eating it. Enjoy!

Sweet potatoes and zucchini from the farmer's market and organic apples from the grocery store



Sweet potatoes ready to steam. I love this little machine (Thanks, Carol!), but you could do the same thing with a pot of water, a steamer basket, and a food processor.



All cooked and blended

My supplies- A cookbook, freezer trays, and Sara Beth's first sippy cup of water

Almost done and ready for the freezer

Her first bite of yummy food-- delicious!

Done. . . Finally!

     I totally bit off WAY more than I could chew with my latest sewing project! But, thanks to Mrs. Jonell's guidance, it's finally done. It took 2 days, but it's done and it's really good too! On this shirt, I learned how to do so many new things--- sleeves, ease stitching, gather stiching, ruffles, yokes, and more practice with button holes. Mrs. Jonell even monogrammed Sara Beth's initials for me. That makes it even cuter! It's too big now, but I'm hoping that it will fit by her 9 month pictures in February.

The finished product. . . a labor of love!

Close up of monogram (Yes, I know it spells "she") and neckline detail

Buttons on the back (not sure why the picture is sideways)

Ric-rac trim on the bottom of the shirt

SB modeling her new shirt

It was a very short photo session since this is what she really wanted to do!

Daddy's Girl

There's just something about daddies and daughters that touches my heart! I love these two!

Cousin Charlie

     Sara Beth met her new cousin, Charlie, for the first time yesterday.  His mom and dad, Carie and Travis, had a super long day trying to get him here, but he is finally here and doing great. Carie labored for over 24 hours before finally having to have a c-section. She was amazing! We are so happy to finally meet this adorable little guy! Welcome to the family, Charlie!

Charles Hudson Hart

7 lbs. 18.75 inches long

November 3, 2010 at 12.23 am 

It's Sara Beth's Half Birthday

Sara Beth on her 6 month birthday

     I can't believe 6 months have gone by so fast! It seems like yesterday that we were waiting for her to be born and now she's half way to her 1st birthday. Crazy! Sara Beth is getting sweeter every day. She is so interactive and vocal now. We love playing with her and making her laugh. Her laugh is contagious!
     She went to her 6 month check-up with Dr. Ritch yesterday. She weighed in at 15 pounds 14 ounces and 25.75 inches long. She's still measuring in the 50% percentile in weight and height. It was vaccine time again. Yuck! She did great, as usual, and afterwards, even stayed at the hospital all day (and night) waiting for her cousin Charlie to be born. He's finally here, by the way, all 7 pounds of him. We are so excited for his mom and dad, Carie and Travis! He and Sara Beth will be close friends growing up, I bet!
     Here are some milestones from Sara Beth's sixth month of life. She. . . . .
- can sit up and play for long periods of time now.
- has great control of her hands and feet. She can grab exactly what she wants and then put it down and pick up a new toy (over and over again). We think it's funny when she plays with or grabs things with her toes too!
- goes to the nursery at church on Sundays now. So far, we haven't had any problems. She seems to enjoy it!
- has recently discovered our dog, Zilla, and our cat, Sasha. She loves to get licked by Zilla and grab her fur. But her favorite is to watch the cat slink by. She'll stop whatever she's doing to see the cat.
- has been quite the party girl this month-- 2 Halloween parties and a birthday carnival. So fun!
- had fun on her first Halloween, dressing up as Pebbles Flintstone and trick-or-treating.
- went on her first road trip without Daddy. My mom and I took her with us to Dallas for a couple of days when Zilla had to have surgery. She also went to IKEA and stayed in a hotel for the first time on that trip.
- is trying to get used to wearing shoes and socks now that the weather is getting cooler. Right now, they look like toys to her and I can't get anything to stay on her feet.
- went on a fun trip to Arkansas where she had her first experience staying in a cabin and watching us rock climb.
-loves, loves, loves to ride in the baby backpack! She's been hiking several times now.
- likes to make the /b/ sound and blow raspberries. It's too cute!

Here are some pictures from this month. Enjoy!

Swinging with Opa

Play time at Eli's birthday party

A family of silly monkeys (at Eli's party)

Precious cutie pie!

Trick-or-treating

Hiking in Arkansas

Patty Cake with Nana at the hotel in Dallas

And the Winner is. . .

     . . . Pebbles! Thanks to everyone that voted in my blog poll a few weeks ago. I loved making our Flintstones costumes and they came out to be so cute!
     For Halloween, we went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood with some family and friends. Thankfully, the weather cooperated and it wasn't too cold. I was worried about that since Sara Beth's costume is bloomers and a sleeveless top. She was really good the whole time, even through getting her diaper changed in a wagon. She even figured out how to grab the candy out of the bowl and stick it in her mouth (still wrapped, of course). She kept choosing the Whoppers, which is funny because they are Adam's least favorite candy. More for me, I guess! All in all, a good time for all! Happy Halloween!

My nieces, Maddy and Shelby

The Flintstones

Daddy and SB

Diaper detour

Eli Spikes, our little cowboy