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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Sadie is 8 Months Old!

We are at 3/4 year old...only 4 months away from the big 1 year mark!!  EEK!!! Sweet girl has her first cold, so her little eyes and nose are a little more rosy than normal in her 8 month pics, but it certainly hasn't kept her down! :)  

What is Sadie up to these days?
  • She weighs 16 lb 5 oz (30%), and is 26 inches (13%) long.  
  • She is in size 2 diapers.
  • She still wears some 6 month clothes, but is mostly in 6-9 months. 
  • She eats 4-5 times a day.  She takes a 3.5 ounce bottle with 2 meals a day with solids, and the other 2-3 feedings she either takes a 4.5/5 ounce bottle or nurses.    
  • She has been such a good eater!  This month, we have introduced her to blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, peaches, avocados, broccoli, yogurt, cheese, chicken, and oatmeal.  She also loves Baby Mum Mums for a snack. The ONLY thing so far she hasn't been interested in is chicken - she has loved everything else!  
  • How has sleeping been this month?  Well...it's been a little rough.  Sadie has struggled with sleeping since the 6 month mark.  She's had a little bit of separation anxiety and will only be consoled by Mommy at night, usually wanting to nurse or just be snuggled close.  We are still transitioning her to her bedroom from her bassinet in our room.  Hoping for more sleep filled nights soon!  
  • New things she has started doing this month - a big milestone - Sadie has her first tooth, which means lots and lots of knawing on anything she can get in her mouth!...She is so so very close to crawling - she rolls pretty much to where ever she wants to go, and scoots around.  She WANTS to get up and go sooo bad - I suspect she'll be on the move before the 9 month mark!...She's also trying to figure out how to pull up in the bath tub and her crib - she loves to stand up, and her little legs are so strong!...She is holding her bottle more independently, and is so proud of herself when she does...She has also started a little game where she laughs when others are laughing too...it's the sweetest thing!
  • Some of her new favorite things - she loves to play peek a boo, be tickled, play with paper/napkins, and her favorite toys right now are her stuffed tiger, Blabla baby, any remote!, her Sophie teether, and xylophone.          
  • I know she will probably change when we hit the toddler stage, but right now she travels well and is so easy to take to restaurants or shopping.  I'm so thankful for how content and laid back our girl is!            
Sadie still loves books so very much, and loves to hold them and look at the pictures.  Her favorites are Brown Bear Brown Bear, 10 Little Babies, Goodnight Moon, and Kisses...but, she'll sit and listen to pretty much any book!
She is really starting to show a lot more of her personality these days.  She has started turning her head to her shoulder and grinning, like she's being bashful.  It's precious!
Little Priss has decided that getting to stand up in her crib is about as good as it gets in life!  She hasn't figured out how to completely pull herself up (she can pull up on her knees, but can't get to a standing position quite yet) so we put in her crib standing and she holds on to the rail.  She just laughs and laughs the whole time!

She finally got her first tooth on the bottom, but it's very rare for her to let you get a peek at it!  She knaws on her fingers, teethers, and her stuffed tiger ALL THE TIME, so I'm sure there's more to come right behind it!  She did very well with cutting her first tooth - she had not been overly fussy at all, I just happened to see it right as it began cutting the gum.
We hit a big medical milestone for Sadie this month - after having a routine check up with her TEF doctor, we only scheduled another check up in 3 months instead of a surgery!!  Sadie has had a surgery every 2 months up to this point of her life.  We are so very thankful for this progress!!!
My, how this sweet girl has grown and changed in the last 8 months!!



 Happy 8 months, sweet Sadie Hope!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

It's a Girl (One Year Later)!

On this day last year, Brad and I went to the doctor in anxious anticipation of finding out what gender our Baby Powell would be...
After 10 years of marriage and waiting for Baby Powell to arrive, we didn't care if it was a boy or girl...
 we just wanted to KNOW what it was!!!!
And, OH MY GOODNESS how excited we were to find out Baby Powell was a GIRL!!!!  
Today, one year later, we spent the day at the doctor again but this time with our sweet girl for a check up on her TEF progress.  We got a very good report, and are so thankful!!!  This is our first doctor's visit that we left without scheduling a surgery for the near future!  
On this day last year, we had never heard of tracheo-esophageal fistula (what a mouthful!!) and there wasn't a thought in mind of anything but having a healthy pregnancy and baby...and, knowing that I was going to decorate a nursery for a girl!  I've tried to imagine what life would have been like if things had been different...no scary prognosis at birth, no hospital stays, no surgeries.  How much easier that would have been, right?  Yes, of course!

But.

We would have missed out on the blessings the Lord has poured on us through Sadie's story.  The miracles we have gotten to experience and share with others.  The people that we have met.  The heart change that we have had because of what the Lord allowed to happen.
How thankful I am for a God who sees the bigger picture that I do not see.  For a God that created this precious angel exactly how He NEEDED her to be to fulfill His plan.  That those 9 months that I carried her, praying for every part of her to be healthy and perfect, He was knitting her together in my womb, perfect in His sight to prepare her for a plan much bigger than my own.  
And y'all, how humbled I am to be her Mama and be a part of her story.  

Monday, March 3, 2014

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

After 10 years of teaching little ones, March 2nd means one thing to me - Dr. Seuss' birthday!  Sadie is like her Mama, and loves any excuse to have a celebration, so we had to dig out my Dr. Seuss books and Cat in the Hat characters out of my school tubs for her to play with! 
What did she think of the Cat in the Hat, you ask?  She did the first thing she does to everyone these days - put his hand in her mouth!  I think that's her way of saying she liked him! 

To celebrate the day, Sadie got her first set of Dr. Seuss board books!
My girl LOVES books.  I have read to her every day since she came home from the hospital.  Reading ranks right up there with splashing in the bathtub for Sadie ;).  We read at least 4-5 books every night (we have our favorites that we have to read, and then we try a new one or two.)
She has learned how to turn the pages of the books, and thinks she is so big!  It just tickles me that she's so interested in reading!
Today, we read The Foot Book, and Sadie really liked it...I have a feeling this one will be in our "favorites" rotation!  
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!