Tilly - 7 Months

 

7 months old!

 

 I think these were the hardest pictures yet to take! She was either trying to climb off the chair, rock it back and forth (nice, blurry pics), or smash the elephant in her face. It was a challenge!

 

 

 

 

(the only one with the elephant by her! haha)

 

Month: 7 - January 21, 2015

Height: (didn't get this month)

Weight: 14 lbs 10 oz

We only had a nurse visit to get the flu booster and they weren't going to measure or weigh, but I did ask for a weight check so I don't know the percentiles for this month either. I won't get all that again until her 9 month check up in March!

Diaper Size: Size 2

Clothes Size: All size 6 month tops & pjs. Mostly 6 month pants, but some 9 month fit.

Sleep:  Still awesome! Average night is 8:30pm-7:30am. 3 naps a day that average around an hour or so.

Eat: 6oz bottle when she wakes up, and then 4 more 5oz bottles that average around 3 hours apart.  She has a jar of food around 2pm each day.  I was going to make all her baby food, and did make some, but it's so much easier to just buy- especially all the mixed flavors.  I buy the BeechNut brand that is 100% puree foods with no add-ins. So far she has had Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Bananas, Apples, Pears, Peas, Green Beans, Pumpkin/Apple, and Banana/Blueberry/Green Beans.  The only one she wasn't a fan of so far has been peas. 

 

 

Likes:  She loves chewing on anything and everything, crawling, rolling (anything that keeps her moving), her door jumper, her stationed jumper, playing either by herself or with mommy or daddy, and just blabbing away. This baby is "talking" and/or moving ALL day. She also loves to watch back videos of herself on my phone, it's hilarious. She will super grin and just stare at herself.  She also loves our cell phones and the remote.  If those things are in the middle of a pile of toys, she is going for them. Sigh.  I just ordered her her own little "baby" phone. Hopefully this helps her not slobber all over ours!

Dislikes:  Nothing really here. She is such a happy, smiley baby!

Firsts:  We had our first Christmas and she loved tearing open the presents. It was such a fun morning and I can't wait for next year when she's older and understands a bit more what is going on.

 

 

 

(The only picture I got in her cute outfit.. oops!)

 

She also officially got past the rocking and is now a CRAWLER.. Ah!!! She started by being on her hands and knees and just rocking for weeks.  She finally figured out how to go forward and now it's non stop! She used to just stay in the living room and play while I would go start laundry or make lunch.. Not anymore! Now she immediately wants to follow me everywhere. It's fun, but exhausting and a bit nerve racking!

 

She also is saying Mama and Dada way more. Unfortunately she normally says Dada around me and Mama more around Lance! haha


We recently put her in the top of the shopping cart and it was too cute to watch her look all around and get so excited to see everything in the store.  I had to make the strap as tight as possible since she's still so tiny and was flopping around.

 

 

Extra Updates:  We are just moving right along. I feel like each week I have a new baby because she is constantly learning new things.  It is amazing to watch how much she grows and how independent she is becoming.  She loves to sit and play with all her toys now.  Sadly, she only likes to cuddle when it's time to put her to sleep.  She can't sit still long enough to do it other wise (just like her constantly moving daddy!)  She loves to super scrunch up her face and laugh all the time.  When she gets really excited or focused, she'll scrunch up her face and start breathing really loud. She is a determined little baby, that's for sure.  We are so thankful for this amazing, healthy little bit! 

Oh, and still no teeth!!

 

We love you Tilly Ann!

 

 

Pineapple Sweet Tea

I actually have quite a few healthy recipes I have been meaning to post, as I finally started meal planning and decided after 7 months I should probably lose the rest of this "baby weight".  Well, that can wait a bit because I wanted to share this simple recipe.  I love to watch Trisha Yearwood's cooking show on Saturday mornings and everything she makes look so good (it's all Southern and not healthy.. of course it looks good!)  She made a Pineapple Sweet Tea last week that I just had to try.  If you like Peach Tea and other flavored tea, you should love this!

((I didn't make the pineapple ice cubes like they suggest, but it sounds like a good idea!))


Ingredients:

• One 20-ounce can pineapple chunks
• 4 family-size tea bags
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1/2 cup sugar  (on the show she said 1 &1/2 cups so I'm not sure if this is a typo or not.. I started with a 1/2 cup, but it was too bitter for me, so I ended up using 1 cup total)

 

Directions:

Drain the pineapple chunks and reserve the juice. Place the pineapple chunks in 2 silicone ice cube trays and fill the trays with cold water (it's ok if the pineapple floats up). Freeze overnight.

Pour 2 cups boiling water over the tea bags in a heat-safe measuring cup and let the tea stand for 10 minutes. Into a large pitcher, add the reserved pineapple juice, sugar and 1 cup cold water. Stir to mix slightly. Remove the tea bags from the tea mixture. Pour the hot tea into the sugar mixture and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add 8 cups water to the pitcher and refrigerate until serving.
When ready to serve, drop the pineapple ice cubes into the tea

Recipe courtesy of Trisha Yearwood ~ source 

Jamberry Nails - A Review

A few weeks ago I was contacted by an old high school classmate, Brandi Thompson, about doing a review of a product that she sells, Jamberry nails.  I love doing my nails so I thought, sure!  I am a nail polish junkie and told her I would love to try them as an accent nail, that way I could compare it to my polish. I normally only use OPI or Essie, so I never really have a problem with my polish staying on unless I am just really rough on my hands that week.  My thing is my nails grow SO fast- I only keep my polish on a week max because the growing out drives me insane.

 

I got my kit in the mail and was ready to go. 

 

 

 

I went with the floral strip since I was in the mood for pink and girly.  I was able to do 2 nails with just one strip.

 

The application process was very easy, just heat up the strip for a few seconds with the blow dryer and apply on your nail.  I cut the strip in half first since I was using it for 2 nails.  Once you have it on your nail, just trim down the excess and file it down. Simple as that! I took some pictures to document my week.

Day 1 - Monday, December 22. Applied and ready to go!

 



 

Day 4- Christmas, Thursday December 25 (excuse my dry hands and cuticles! ha)

 

 

and the day I took them everything off.. Day 7- Sunday, December 28.

 

 

As you can see from the side few, a bit of chipping from my polish, but the Jamberry nails still looking great besides growing out!

 

To remove, all you have to do is apply a little bit of heat and they peel right off. There was no damage to my nails or any weird sticky residue.  Overall I really enjoyed using these products and think they're a great way to jazz up your nails without worrying about your polish chipping or having to change them too often.  They are made to last up to 2 weeks!

 

 

 

A little extra information:

A sheet will give you 2 manicures, 2 pedicures, plus accent nails.. and only cost $15!

 

If you are interested in hosting a Jamberry party, you are able to get many amazing exclusive incentives, like FREE wraps!

 

If you would like to learn more about these products you can check out Brandi's Facebook page or her Direct Jamberry page.  You can also reach her at 901-305-2931.

 

You can also click HERE to request a free sample kit to try them out first.

 

Brandi has also offered to give away a free half sheet of one of her personal wraps to the first person who would like to book an online party! Contact her for more details.

 

 

Thanks again Brandi for letting me try out your products! :)  Happy Monday everyone!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Crock Pot Dishes

I've mentioned before I never used the crock pot much since my husband thinks it's bound to burn our house down if we aren't home. Well, now that I am home I decided I need to start using this handy little gadget.  Last week I tried out 2 Pinterest recipes and both were AMAZING, and of course easy.  I thought I would pass them on for yall to enjoy! :)


First off I tried this Cheesy Tortellini Soup.  After I already got the ingredients, I read the comments and saw how a lot of people added sausage to it.  I am definitely going to try that next time to add a little kick.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

16-19 oz bag of frozen tortellini

1 small bag of spinach  (I used fresh spinach)

2 cans (15 oz) Italian style diced tomatoes

1 box (4 cups) Vegetable broth

1 block (8 oz) cream cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

 

 

Put all ingredients in the crock pot (breaking up the cream cheese) except the tortellini, and set on low for 4-6 hours.  I think I did closer to 6.  The last hour is when you will want to add the pasta so it doesn't get too mushy.  This made enough for us to have dinner, 2 more days of lunch for me, and a big Tupperware bowl to freeze.

 

 

 

 

Next, I tried out these Smothered Pork Chops.  I only got a finished product pic here because Tilly was waking up so I was just throwing everything in quickly! haha

 

 

Ingredients:

 

4 pork chops (I used boneless)

1 envelope (1 oz pack) Onion soup mix

1 (14 oz) can low sodium Chicken broth

1 (10.5 oz) can low sodium Cream of Chicken soup

1 envelope (1 oz pack) Dry Pork gravy mix

Garlic Powder

 

Mix everything into the crock pot except the garlic powder and stir well.  Sprinkle both sides of each pork chop with the garlic powder and place in the crock pot.  Make sure all pork chops are completely covered with the sauce.  Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.  I did around 7 hours.

 

These turned out delicious, and I am not a big meat eater! We ate 2 for dinner with some seasoned butter beans, and then reheated the other 2 the next night.  They were just as good reheated as they were the first night!

 

 

 

Enjoy! :)

 

Any other easy crockpot favs you want to share?  I am always looking for new ideas!!

 

 

Tilly - 6 Months

 

 

 

 

and we're down... 

 

 

Oops, we found the sticker.. and want to eat it! Photo shoot is over! :) 

 

Month:  6 - December 21, 2014

Height:  25 3/4th inches - 50%

Weight:  13lbs 9oz - still Ms Itty Bitty in the 10%. But she is staying consistent, so all is well! :)

Diaper Size:  Size 2

Clothes Size:  Moving on up! PJ's & pants are all in the 6 month range.  Onesies can be anywhere from 0-3, 3-6, or 6 month.. just depends on the brand.

Sleep:   She is still our little champ here, thank goodness.  Bedtime is around 8pm and she sleeps 11-12 hours at night.  Then she takes around 3 naps a day that range from 45-an hour and a half.  She is also a belly sleeper now.  Once she made that first flip, she must've realized how much she liked it!

Eat: Her morning bottle is between 5-6oz, and then mainly 5oz bottles throughout the day around every 3 hours.  An average day now is 24-26oz.  We also started solids on her 6 month with some sweet potatoes.  She loved them, and sucked down a ton!

 

 

Likes: 
She still has to have something in her mouth at ALL times. No teeth yet, even though everyone that sees her says "Oh, she's teething!"  No.. she's not.  The doctor checked this morning and still no signs!

Also, I mentioned before she had only rolled once or twice, well literally on her 5 month she became a super roller and never stopped! She rolls every way possible.  Now she loves to roll herself over and over across the whole floor.  You can't leave this baby for long by herself anymore unless she is securely strapped into something, or you don't know where she'll be when you get back. She is FAST!  If she sees something she wants, she'll roll her way right to it.. it cracks me up!

Oh, and she loves to grab at your face and hair.  I guess we shouldn't have let her get so excited by pulling Lance's beard, because now she wants to pull on and slap everyone.. including other babies. Not good.

While we were in MS, my brother's girlfriend let us borrow her nephew's Johnny Jumper and oh my goodness.. my crazy baby LOVED it.  We skyped Lance to show him, and he said we were definitely getting on of those ASAP. Well, we got one as soon as I got back and Tilly is in baby heaven in that thing. I'm sure it's because she loves to constantly move, so she goes to town in that thing! It's perfect when we are eating dinner because we just hang her in the kitchen door and let her have her own little dance party while we eat dinner.. win, win for everyone!


Dislikes:  I can happily say that she no longer hates her crib during naps, and all sleep happens in the crib.. woohoo!!  Still hit or miss with the carseat.

Firsts: 
Rolling. As I mentioned before, it was game on when she started.

She also can push herself up now on her arms and knees! She's got the rocking motion going on, so I am wondering how soon crawling is.. ah!  I asked the doctor this morning and she said some babies that are super rollers like her sometimes skip crawling because they can roll to what they want, but since she's at the rocking stage it might be soon!  She will start rocking and then you can tell she gets mad, so she'll just lay down and roll to what she's trying to get at.  Silly girl.

Also, she is doing so good at sitting up! She still gets excited and will push her self backwards or try to stand, but she can sit there for quite a while now all on her on.  Such a big girl! :)

We had our first long car ride (6 hours), and first plane ride.  Luckily, both went very smoothly!!! The car drive didn't take any longer than normal, just one potty break where we fed and changed her and then on our way.  Our almost 16 year old dog did worse than she did! ha  She got to meet a ton of her family while in VA. Then the plane ride went soooo smooth.  Unfortunately she was pretty cranky on our trip back to MS from traveling and not getting her naps in, sorry to everyone who met her for the first time and she just cried if you held her! lol  I hate that she is such a happy, playful baby at home and then when she met so many people, she was the complete opposite.  She definitely does better in her own environment.  She is for sure a mama and daddy's girl when she isn't feeling good or tired.  It was so good to see everyone back home and have Tilly meet all her little boyfriends!! (ALL my friends with babies now have boys!!)  Middle of next year though, she will have a sweet little girl to play with back home.. I'm so excited Lauren just found out she is having a GIRL!! :) :)

On the plane ride! haha

With my best friend and her 3 boys

 

Knox and Tilly.. future Mr. & Mrs. :)

 

My brother's girlfriend, Claire, my mom, me, and my Grandma

 

Tilly, Knox, and Jameson

 

Oh, I can't take the cuteness! Tilly loves Mr. Knox

 

Tilly and some of her buds. Knox, Canion, Harber, and Jameson

And of course.. we met Santa! She did so great and I'm so happy she didn't freak out!

 

 

Sadly, she also had her first little cold the past week, but luckily things are much better. I got the NoseFrida, and as gross as it seems.. that thing can suck some major snot out! haha Between that, Baby Vicks, and her humidifier, it's moving on out!!  The doctor checked this morning and everything in her chest sounds normal, and ears look good! So it didn't spread anywhere.. yay!

Extra Updates: 

I can't believe my little baby is half a year old! Ah! She had brought so much joy to our lives and is so much fun.  If this baby is awake, she is moving and grooving. She keeps us on our toes for sure!! She is still babbling a lot, and lets out a few Mama's and Dada's here and there, but I don't think she really knows what she is saying! haha

She continues to grow and show improvement almost each and every day. She reaches for toys now, grabs them and pulls them to her, throws them down and then picks them back up, etc.  She's rolling, pushing up, and getting better at sitting up.  It's amazing to watch her learn so much and become such an independent little baby.  She loves to just lay on her mat now and play with all her toys.  We are suckers and have given her a lot of the stuff we got her for Christmas, because we were too excited to wait. Plus.. she won't even know what's going on anyways that morning! I did wrap quite a few things, so she will get to enjoy ripping all the paper off! :)

Oh, and her reflux has been HORRIBLE lately and the doctor let me know it is at it's peak now (ugh), but hopefully should be gone in the next 2-3 months.. I sure hope so!!  This baby spews constantly and we all need a break from smelling sour. Eh.

Overall things are going wonderful and we have a healthy, very happy, yet sassy and a bit of a drama queen little princess!

Oh, look at her grow!

 

Happy 1/2 a year Ms. Tilly!!!!!

Holly Jolly PJ Party

 

Today I am linking up with the Christmas Pajama Party!!

 

 

 

Tilly has a few Christmas PJ's, so I thought I would share a few pics from my phone, plus her in her snowmen ones this morning. Cuteness overload! :)

 

 

I'll be back tomorrow with her 6 month update once we get back from her doctor's appointment!

 

Merry Christmas!!

Tilly's 1st Christmas

 

 

Shopping for a 6 month old for Christmas can be a bit tricky since they aren't asking for anything yet.  Since Tilly has most of the "big" items she needs right now, here are a few of the small things on our list for her this year. Between us and family/friends we have gotten most of these so far, and I am still deciding on the others.  Any other infant favorites you recommend for the 6 month age group?



First Steps Baby Walker //  Baby Banana Toothbrush  //  PipSquigz  //  Skwish Rattle Toy  //  Laugh and Learn Love to Play Puppy //  Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Rock-a-Stack //  One two squeeze blocks // Tambourine