6 months:)

 Our baby girl is half a year old today! Happy Half Birthday Sweet Ainsley:) 

It is so hard for us to believe that she has been in our lives 6 months already. It has gone by so fast yet at the same time it feels like she has been in our lives forever. 

She is really starting to get a personality and we are so in love with it:)
* her photo shoot this month was not her best. she has a little cold and for some reason was just not her happy self this morning!* 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

weight/height: weight:16 lbs 3.5 oz (67%)
length: 26 1/4 in (70%)
OFC: 42 1/4 (46%) 

size: mostly in 6 months clothing. 3 months are just too tight. luckily it is summer and she can wear a lot of dresses so she doesnt outgrow them too soon:) 

is still wearing size 2 pampers during day but size 3 night time diapers. 

nicknames: (still) bean, beanie, monster, big girl, beautiful, silly girl, stinker

physical: baby still has blue eyes. a deep gorgeous blue. hair is sort of a light brown, and sometimes looks like a reddish tint (random!). she now has two teeth on the bottom (man was teething a fun experience) 

her eyeslashes are so long and gorgeous. lucky girl;)

her hair is still growing and looks a little shaggy at times (definitely her father's daughter haha) 

eating: we introduced solids around 4 months (mostly because she had that virus and couldnt suck on her bottle). I am still making her baby food and so far she has had: sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, squash, avocado, bananas, and apples. peas were her least favorite:) she gets a fruit with her 1130 bottle and a vegetable with her 530 bottle. she always eats her 'real food' in her highchair, and usually eats her dinner at the table with us. sometimes she falls asleep. 

she has started blowing raspberries, aka spitting, when she doesnt want her bottle or food:) 

sleeping: rolling over and teething threw her for her first loop in the sleeping department. but this week she has started getting back to normal. I only had to give her her paci once last night:) she goes to bed around 8-830 and sleeps until 8-830. she takes a little nap around 10 and around a 2 hour nap in afternoon. sometimes she takes a cat nap after dinner. she plays pretty hard so needs her sleep:) 

play:

where to even start! she is doing so many fun new things! 

• her biggest milestone is she can sit up on her own now. every now and then she will topple but she takes it well and doesn't usually get upset. 
• she loves sucking on her feet. it's the first thing she reaches for when I take her out of her sleep sack in the morning
• she has started blowing raspberries (philip said that's not what it's called, but you know when she blows air between her tongue and lips?) anyway, it is so funny and cute, until you are trying to feed her. and end up with carrots all over you:) 
• she is giggling and laughing so much. she loves to babble and just talk to herself, especially in her crib at night and when she wakes up. 
• she is so AWARE of everything around her. she is just so observant and watchful of things going on around her. 
• she does not like to be on her stomach. 
• she loves the exersaucer her friend Harper let her borrow. and for a half-birthday present we bought her a jumperoo that she is having so much fun in! 
• she loves bubbles and reaching out for them and popping them. her hand eye coordination is getting much better. she reaches for things all the time; like my diet coke can, coffee in the morning, your phone, etc. basically if you have it, she wants it:) 
• she got stung by a bee, twice. once on her finger, once on her head and then it stung me too. i flipped out, luckily my mom was here. all is well, she is fine and we now know not allergic:)

swollen finger

pic we sent to philip saying 'we're ok dad!' 

 

 

 

 

playing drums at music class

 

wearing daddy's hat 

 

 

Her six month check up went pretty well. It was in the middle of nap time and he was running late so the combination of being tired and getting shots made for a nice nap and tylenol when she got home:) He was very impressed she was sitting up so well! My dad said it will be no time before she is 'driving his zero turn mower!' haha

chicken salad recipe

ok so y'all know I love food (clearly from the weight I still haven't lost...), and if you have read my blog through my pregnancy, you know I LOVE chicken salad. my friend erin shares my love and shared this recipe with me, which I in turn want to share with you. because it is soo easy and it is DELICIOUS. Like, I might not ever need to go to Josie's again. (just kidding) 

anyway- here it is ( i adapted a little bit).

Rotisserie Chicken Salad

1 rotisserie chicken (buy them precooked at Kroger or wherever)

1 onion, chopped

3/4 cup mayo

2 oz cream cheese

1 tbs lemon

2 tbs chicken broth (or drippings from bottom of packaging) 

celery salt to taste

dill (depending on how much you like dill, I used a lot of it) 

salt to taste

pepper to taste

*celery , diced, optional* 

pull the chicken off the bone and put in large bowl. (if you have kitchen aid mixer, I will give you a secret in a minute)

add onion (and or celery)

in separate bowl mix mayo, cream cheese, lemon and drippings (or broth). add mixture to chicken. add dill , salt, pepper, and celery salt. mix it all up, refrigerate. eat best chicken salad ever. 

NOW, if you have a kitchen aid mixer, let me introduce you to this handy little attachment. 

my mom told me it will shred up your chicken and philip and I looked at it and were like 'no way' .but it did!!! the first time I made this I bought my own chicken breasts, cooked them and shredded them. and it was good, but not as good as the rotisserie chicken. 

asleep at the dinner table. she ate her carrots and was out. 

I hope you all make this and enjoy it!

oh, and if you dont follow me on instagram...

Life and Love

Facebook was covered in 'It's a Boy' statuses today and I realized I didn't even know that Kate wasn't finding out the sex of her baby. 

Last week facebook was all about George Zimmerman and I asked Philip what that was all about. To which he immediately downloaded a USA Today app and gave me strict instructions to check it every morning to stay up to date with the news. and told me to quit getting my news from facebook. 

*in my defense it is actually usually very up to date!* 

So maybe I have been living in my own little world lately. I am trying to get better and more aware:) 

Ainsley and I went for a walk this morning and about 10 minutes from home got caught in a downpour. Luckily Philip was home and even more lucky for us, he was actually awake:) We sought shelter under a tree that didn't really keep us dry. Ainsley laughed as she got hit with rain under her canopy while I got soaked through until our hero came and picked us up :) 

I have been making my lists of the hundreds of things we will need for our beach trip in a few weeks. Trying to work out the details for our trip to Michigan at the end of next month. 

And of course still trying to find my niche in life at home with a baby. albeit the cutest baby in the world. 

our first trip to the swings! 

We got lots of good time with philip this weekend:)

first walk facing forward!  

Speaking of Philip, I read this blog today and I loved it. I heard a sermon years ago on how there is no such thing as falling in and out of love, and it made an impact on me and my way of thinking. Because I believe love isn't an emotion. it's a choice. and this woman articulated it all so well in her blog here. 

As far as food endeavors go, we can now add carrots, apples and bananas to the list:) 

I have finally started reading again. Reading is something I have always loved to do but since Ainsley arrived I just haven't been able to do it. I don't know if I couldn't concentrate, couldn't sit still that long, or she never napped that long enough. either way, during her afternoon nap or once she goes to bed I have started reading again and it makes me happy :) I read the new Jodi Piccoult (thanks for letting me borrow rachel), the Snow Child (thanks for recommending pammy), and am now reading Night Circus. Next on the list is the Good Nurse. 

Tomorrow night Philip and I are going on a real date and we are soo excited:) it's been awhile. We are hoping to try a new restaurant! 

Hope everyone is doing well!!!