Month #5 continued..

She weighed in at 17.1 pounds and was 26 inches long

For those of you who like to know percentile (I do, even though I don't really get it)

She's in the 90th for weight and the 75th for height.

I thought she would be 20 pounds but I was wrong.

She's starting to level off a bit.

The doc told us she has a little tongue tie but that it might not even be a problem.

I wondered why we had such a hard time with latching at the beginning!

He gave us the go ahead for cereal,  veggies and fruits but I think I will hold off just a little bit still.

She sure is interested in my food but since she's still gaining and seems satisfied, I will probably start her at 6 months unless something changes.

She got her shots like a trooper.

She was MAD and she hurt but recovery time was way quicker than the last batch and the nurse who gave them was better at it. That made a huge difference.

I went back and forth about whether to immunize or not but after thinking about it too much and researching til my head hurt, I conceded to medical science and prayed that God would protect my baby if I was being an idiot. It's hard to know what to do, what not to do. My guts told me to do it.

It's different for everyone, I suppose.

Still, it's hard to see those little tiny holes in her leg. 

She's a healthy baby. I am so blessed.

Month #5

Yesterday Miss Dahlia Jane Culpepper celebrated 5 months of being in the world by being in rare form. She was HY. PER. A very funny girl, who didn't nap but instead wanted to play and giggle most of the day.

I'm thinking, 5 months is very close to 6 months which is half of a year. She may as well be starting high school... My baby is almost in college!!!! AHHH!

Just kidding. It's not that bad. But time does fly, which, I know, I frequently mention. 

(Excuse all my misplaced commas for those of you who count my splices)

And in case you didn't get it the past 4 months, TIME IS FLYING!!

She's so fun, though. I've loved all of her stages just as much as the others..

Talk about personality! This babe is not lacking in that department..

New in Month #5:

This month she rolled over for real.  Last month she rolled but then forgot so I didn't really count it. This week she's been a machine.

Multiple times in a row. Front to back, back to front.

SO it's official, she's a little bit mobile. That's why most of my pictures now turn out like so:

She's a jumping machine..She loves her jumperoo with a passion. Usually before you put her in it, she starts kicking her legs and making fun noises, like she know the party is about to start so she's warming up.

She's very aware. So much so, that she will all but break her neck to find out what's going on. She knows she's cute. 

She smiles her life away..

not a bad way to spend a life

She thinks I'm hilarious (until John gets home)

(pardon the shot up my nose here..)

Her eyes are blue with some green.

Mine are green with some blue.

They don't look like they will go brown so much.

Sorry John, maybe the next one..

(note: this "next one" is not in the works yet.. )

She shows interest in certain toys. She loves Violet! One of the best Christmas presents she got, I think. It says her name, spells, sings...now, if it could just change her diaper and nurse her at 2:30 a.m...

As I mentioned, she thinks I'm hilarious until John gets home then she searches for him anytime he leaves as if to say, "Hey, where did the funny guy who tells me how beautiful I am every five seconds go??"

And as you can see this could possibly be setting the tone for our family dynamic..

"Love him!"

"Uh, whatever, mom"

My family say she is the spitting image of me, looks, personality, the whole enchilada.

She's silly like her daddy though. That's my favorite part.

 So, as you can see..

She's growing a lot. 

She's changing always..

 She's still small in so many ways.

We go to the doctor tomorrow. I am expecting that she will be 20 pounds-ish and 26-27 inches. I don't weigh her or measure on my own. I like to wait and be surprised. Daddy is taking the day off to go with us since it's a shots visit. And last time I was crying more than she was.

I will report back with her stats and how the shots went. 

A fun little discovery

I might be the last to know about these. I'm not sure. I kind of quit looking at blogs there for about 5 months but a fran of  mine shared the wonder that is Subscription Boxes...

Yup!

I'm always mesmerized by all the fun and fancy things at the Sephora or Ulta check out lines. (the whole 2 times a year I am there to buy my Bare Minerals)

And I always kind of hope that I have a little extra to spend at the salon to get fun hair products. Which professional hair products are more than a "little extra" anyway.  I'm convinced if I had the money for either, I would be a walking advertisement for name brand cosmetics and high end stuff. And that's not my bag, baby.I'm cheap. And on a budget. And kind of in love with more natural things anyway.

OH! And I like free things. Man, do I love free things! But I'm still pretty girly when it comes to fun things like this. Unfortunately Fortunately, buying a full size anything professional or high end usually leaves me with a huge case of buyers remorse anyway. So when my fran shared this marvelous wonder, voila! A happy compromise was reached

I recently signed up for Birchbox which is the best idea I've heard of in quite sometime.

You get lots of little samples, save lots of money and feel like you get a present every month.

I like all of these things! It's not free but it's pretty close.

Yes, you pay. $10 to be exact but shipping is free.

When/ if the budget permits and Dahlia is a bit older, I want to sign up for BabbaBox too!

Looks so fun!

and quite affordable for most, I'd say.

Anyway. I'm excited for my next month's box to arrive.

My sample of perfume broke en route and scented the box and my sample of granola quite heavily but that's ok..Hoping it was just the super cold weather that day that made the glass super breakable. I didn't care enough about the scent to call them and complain. If it happens again, though, watch out BirchBox human resource people because I'm sort of obsessed with perfume ;)

I think there were 5 items in all in my box and I've used all but the granola and obviously the samply of Juicy, which I already had anyway.  Love them all so far! 

My favorite

(since I love having my nails painted)

Zoya brand polish in

"Kendal"

its a lavenderish gray color. LOVE.

(it's the second one in from the left)

here is a little somethin' somethin' about it too which makes me like it even more:

Zoya pioneered the “Three Free” movement, creating colors without formaldehyde, tuolene, or dibutyl phthalate. Their shades are so safe that even pregnant women can wear them. Recently, they’ve taken it one step further by also removing camphor from their polishes. Best of all, their polishes last about 50 percent longer than other brands, which means you can sport a chip-free manicure for days and days.

Ooh, this means Dahlia can wear it too!!

(once her hands are OUT of her mouth on a consistent basis..which will be like in 4th grade, maybe?)

Thought I'd share. I'm not one to keep fun things to myself or hoard a good idea!

I'm hardly on top of trends these days either but I thought if you were like me and you like a taste of the fancy stuff but don't want to spend an arm and a leg to get a taste, this is the way to do it!

New blog alert!

Quick post today!

Check out this new blog by Melissa Garner..

I follow her on THE facebook (as my grandpa in-law calls it) and she's always a.) encouraging and b.) making handy-dandy things that are the healthier, holistic option of everyday items.

I .heart. vinegar for cleaning and so does she. Melissas know where it's at. 

If you are interested in 

"... learning about how to make your home and your body a better place for your Spirit to live"

then check her out and show her love!

Go here  =======> http://melgarner.blogspot.com/

Being unreachable

I think sometimes I could be a pioneer woman. Not the fabulous cook and rancherita but like a for real Laura Ingalls type person. Minus I really like air conditioning and heat.  Most other modern conveniences I think I could do without. 

I think..

You know your life is ruled by technology when :

~ People just start in on conversations with you based off their facebook status's, whether you read them or not. Or the phrase "did you see on facebook..."  Then when you are clueless about what they are talking about it's like unheard of .. hmmm. I'm a fan of face to face information giving. 

~  people can't put their cell phones away during serious times. Face to face talks, church, car rides with kids present, funerals... I know it's hard enough at the dinner table for some.  I've started turning mine off at mealtimes or leaving it at home when we go somewhere as a family. I don't carry it on my person at all times and I'm even getting to the point where I forget where I put it! 

I guess it won't kill me to be unreachable for a minute, hour, day or two.  It sure didn't kill my mom and Laura Ingalls was an awesome teacher and author. Oh, the things I could possibly do without my technology present at all times..

So, I am not bashing technology. That would be stupid of me.  I'm pretty sure I love TV also, cars and Skyping. BUT I am sort of bashing it's effect it has on my relationships. The choice to use it or abuse it. Fine line, that one. It's so handy and man, texting is where it's at and also where all hell can break loose.  I love a quick question and answer as opposed to all of the phone preludes involved with a call. I do like a great phone conversation though.. BUT have you ever texted someone and then got a reply where the punctuation or lack thereof leaves you wondering.."oh, man. are they mad??" "did I say something wrong".  OR maybe you didn't get a reply at all. Uggh! Reply time. That's another thing that can leave one wondering..."why no answer?" and if you are a super analyzer also known as a woman, you can get yourself into a tizzy or think yourself an outcast because you've texted the other person  a 5/5 text (which should be a phone conversation not a text!) and there is no reply. 

I guess we all kind of think others should drop what they are doing and pay attention to us when we barge into their daily lives via text or call. Sounds kind of like my baby. She yells or coughs to get attention. And if I don't respond ...well, you know what happens when you don't respond with kids.

 And some people do drop everything, even a face to face conversation to respond. Love it when others are saying "uh-huh" to you as they paw at their phones with glazed eyes. I'm guilty of this..

So. What's my point in all of this. The "rag on technology card" has been overplayed, I am well aware. What my smart phone, computer owning self is trying to say is this: use your time wisely. When you are with your family. Be all there. Facebook, on your phone, can wait. When you are folding laundry, close the computer and count your blessings instead. That 5 part text can wait. It was probably received all out of order anyway and you'll surely have to decode it. Use your technology to encourage, not creep. Facebook and phones, computers and tablets are all fun and very useful inventions. They aren't replacements for real conversations, real relationships or real creativity.  

I'm going to use the trump card here: 

“One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.” 
― John Piper

:) Oh, John. You are correct yet again.

So, yes, I took the time to write this (while my daughter napped) but I think it needed to be written. I am writing to remind myself. To set it in stone in my brain.

I could be drastic and say that I am giving up my phone, closing my facebook account or never blogging again while Dahlia is awake but that would simply be for show on my part. And I'd probably creep using John's account or just hide all my blog posts. Sneaky me. But I won't do any of those things.

The Jist: Take the important calls, reply within a reasonable time to someone but all while being wise. 

As precious as time is especially now that I have a child, I should view it as such  no matter what. There are bigger chickens to fry (that sounds so good right now!) and large mountains to be moved by way of diligent prayerfulness.

Priorities. AGH! why are they so hard to get straight sometimes?

It's a challenge to be unreachable and see how God reaches me. I don't think he'll do it through a text message or on facebook..

Time. It was given to me for a purpose. And while I may not always get that purpose right, I can be mindful of it.

So Dahlia is stirring and my phone has dinged several times in the past few minutes...

Which to chose.

HA! Just kidding.

Or am I...

By the way. I really enjoy indoor plumbing too. I just remembered.

2012 will be challenging

That's not as negative as it sounds. Promise. Read on.


I usually don't do resolutions. Though I do resolve to do things every new year, the word resolution scares me a little. 
But I do enjoy a good challenge.
So this is what I am doing for 2012 I issued myself some "challenges".
Some are light-hearted. Some are heavy.
Either way, I feel like they are doable. Challenging but doable.


Challenge #1 Be better to my skin


with skin cancer running in our family and a skin tone that tans exceedingly fast the pretty tans I get in the summer could (hopefully not) cause a not-so-pretty problem later in life..
So. I will start washing my face more often, spf- ing everyday, wear hats in  the summer and just be kinder in general to the shell I was given. Seems easy enough, yes? Ask me in June when I am desperate for color and warmth!


Challenge #2 Use my fondue pot more often.


I like dipping things. It's fun. Why don't I do it more often? Who knows!?


Challenge #3 Spending more time in prayer for my friends and family.


 I want to be faithful and consistent in this. 


Challenge #4 To not say anything negative about myself.


This may prove to be most challenging. I have a theory. What is it? So glad you asked.. it's that when we speak negative things (true or not) about ourselves, we believe it. When we believe it, we act it. And thus the vicious cycle starts. Part B of my theory is this: when you speak negatively of yourself even if it's just in your mind (this counts too!!) you tend to do it more so about others. Yuck. 
I hope to not have to keep restarting this challenge over and over. 


Challenge #5  View "Do with what you have" differently


Usually we say "oh I'll just do with what I have" as a result of missing out on the bigger, better, seemingly more promising option. I have ANOTHER theory. What is it?? Again, so glad you are asking these good questions.. "what you have" is all you are supposed to have. Not saying you aren't supposed to be able to buy things, receive things, take opportunities. Of course, that's normal and good (needs) but always wanting more and then thinking what you have currently is second rate only develops an insatiable hunger for things. Entitlement. A pretty negative thing these days. 
God's best is perhaps a very tangible thing for everyone and not an unattainable mysterious jackpot of bigger and better possessions and opportunities.  Part B of this theory : this ends the "keeping up with the Jones' attitude and also, leaves more time for other Challenges.  ENOUGH. This is the key word for this challenge.


I might have some challenging times with my challenges but I hope I have more victories this year than not.


DO you have any resolutions? Challenges? Giving anything up or are you incorporating anything new?
I'd like to hear about it!
I love ideas <3

Adored

"They say that from the instant he lays eyes on her, a father adores his daughter. Whoever she grows up to be, she is always to him that little girl ... She makes him feel like Christmas...."