ELEVEN MONTHS

june woke up an 11 month old and I'm still in denial about it! how can she be THIIIIIIS close to being a year old?

every day she surprises me with a new trick. yesterday it was waving and today it was walking to and fro freely, without me asking her to. she only takes about 8-10 steps at a time by herself, but still, it's so impressive! she is getting more confident each time she ventures out to walk by herself and I love watching the expression on her face when she realizes that she can do it!

she loves saying dog, but it sounds like "dahh". she has two my little pet shop dogs that she carries around the house as she crawls and every time she sees them she says "doh!"

she loves pulling her books off the shelf still. her favorite snacks are cheerios and veggie straws. she's started gagging hardcore on puffs, so i've stopped giving her those for now. her favorite meal is chicken with any kind of bean, or eggs and raspberries for breakfast. she's honestly a champion eater!

she still dislikes getting dressed and undressed but it is what it is. she stays still for her diaper changes like 85% of the time so we can't really ask for much more from her! she's wearing size 12 month, but is quickly growing out of them. she's actually wearing size 18 month pants as i type this!

she understands what "no" means and knows what she's not supposed to do (like bang on the keyboard and open the cabinet where we keep the cleaning supplies), but sometimes she likes to test her boundaries.

the way I keep her busy in the mornings when I'm getting ready is by giving her my makeup bag. she loves emptying it and playing with all the different brushes. it seriously keeps her entertained every morning for like 10-15 minutes!

she is finally okay with being transferred to her cribs for naps! although she only sleeps for 45 minutes to an hour in her crib, it's an hour that I can do something where she's not climbing on top of me or whining! and at night she's only waking 2-3 times.

she loves nursing, but I can tell she's starting to love her new water bottle and binky a little bit more sometimes. it makes me wonder if she'll want to wean on her own in the next few months. otherwise, i think I plan to wean her by 14 months or so. that's my goal for now, anyway.

she is SO happy! she loves to laugh and cuddle and play. she has quite a few ticklish spots and we can really get her going when she's in the mood for playing. if she's not in the mood, she will just grunt until you quit trying to make her laugh.

she has 6 teeth and the top 4 really just came in the past couple weeks. she handled it great - two fevers and a little bit of throw up, but otherwise she's been great.

she loves to give open-mouth SLOBBERY AS HECK kisses! it's the best, but when I'm on the floor trying to get a kiss from her, she seriously gives me like 15 kisses. It's hilarious, and my cheeks end up all soaked from her slobber. another trick she knows is giving a high five. she hasn't quite figured out clapping yet but I'm sure she'll get it soon.

we've been trying to do a little bit of sign language with her. I need to be more consistent with it, but I'm excited for the day she picks up a couple of the words.

she's truly the most amazing, frustrating, magical being there ever was.

8 MONTHS OF JUNE

June is 8 MONTHS OLD as of yesterday! Really, for the past 2 months, I feel like I've been telling people, "Yeah she's 6 months old." For some reason, 6 months was such a big milestone for the both of us and then I kind of froze her in time at 6 months. But now I have an 8 month old. Like a real mom.

Things she loves:

• cuddling
• eating solid food 
• nursing
• climbing on things
• climbing over our legs
• playing with the vacuum
• warm showers
• sleeping in the car
• screeching
• saying dada 

Things she doesn't love:

• getting her nose cleaned out with the nose frida
• sleeping in her crib
• crawling in the grass
• wearing socks
• when I walk out of the room
• having her face or hands cleaned off when she finishes eating 
• sleeping when it's hot or she's sweaty 
• watching people, but not being held by them lol (stranger anxiety is real right now) 

Skills she has:

• crawling super fast now
• starting to understand "no" (but usually continues to do things anyway)
• eats solid food really well, hardly ever gags! *knock on wood*
• crawling over our legs without falling
• pulling herself up on anything
• and then sitting back down slowly without falling 
• knocking the trash can over is one of her #1 skills 
• pinching 
• pulling our glasses off our faces

Wearing some 6-9 month things, but mostly 9-12 months. Still in a size 3 diaper, but they're starting to get a liiiiittle bit snug. We love her so much, and I really can't believe we are closer to being with her for 1 year than her being in my uterus. Haha, love you junie b and so do sooo many others! 

JUNE SAID MAMA!

My baby girl said mama for the first time on the 24th and I was in shock!!

We were just hanging out at home, finishing up some homework. I was sitting at the dining room table while Jake was on the couch. June was crawling around, exploring the living room like she usually does. She likes to explore and play with her toys, but only for about 15 to 20 minutes. Once she's done, she's done. She becomes whiny until one of us picks her up and starts entertaining her a little more.

She started to get whiny and babbling. It sounded like she said mama but I thought noooo, she's too young and I don't try to get her to imitate me that often! But then she did it again and again and again. Jake said, "She's really saying it!" So honestly I let her be a little whiny and cry for a few seconds because I wanted to hear her say it again! 

I was smiling ear to ear. I don't think she knows what she's babbling, but it's so fun to hear her do the "M" sound, and of course, she does it with her tongue out :) As the next couple days have passed, I've noticed she only does it when she's whiny and wants to be picked up. She also will do it when she's crawling to get something, but it's a little farther than she anticipated. When I don't get her out of the car seat fast enough, she just goes mamamamama. Ah, it warms my heart! It's seriously the cutest thing. 

She's just babbling and talking so much more than she has been. Yesterday, I was working in our room while Jake had her out in the living room and I could just hear her saying, "Babaabababababa". You can just tell she's happy when she's babbling and chatting with someone. Our next mission is to get her to say dada! We are so excited she's learning so much, growing so fast, and showing us all her skills. 

June is HALF A YEAR OLD!

How in the heck do I have a 6 month old?!!?! She is precious and sweet and everything good in the world . . . even when she knocks everything off the counters, grabs my pens and food out of my hands, and pees in our bed! Haha she really is the best thing that has ever happened to our family. We love her so much!

I was so sad to go to her 6 month appointment today. Although it's so great hearing that she's developing normally and see her growth on the growth chart, it's sad to see her get shots! And on top of that, she's starting to recognize when she's not with me and Jake and gets a little bit of stranger anxiety! She was just staring at the doctor like, "Why are you touching me?!" Then she, I swear, looked over at my as if to say, "Mom, aren't you going to pick me up?!" 

She did great on her shots. The medical assistant was MUCH more gentle this time around than the guy we had for her 4 month appointment. She still cried and got angry, but she sucked on her dum dum and nursed and then was happier. I was glad to see her smiling and crawling around when we got home, because I know those shots can sometimes make their little legs hurt! 

I swore she weight at least 20 lbs, bur she weighed in at 18 lbs and 3.5 oz! She moved up in percentiles on weight which was funny to see. She's a whopping 28 inches tall which is still in the 99% percentile which we are so shocked about. And it's also hard to believe she grew 2 inches these past couple months! We're glad she's growing and she's such a happy baby, something the medical assistant and the doctor both commented on. 

In other news, she still LOVES to stick her tongue out (all. the. time) and it's people's favorite thing to comment on. She's sitting up like a champ for minutes at a time. She's started to eat food with us, trying everything from spaghetti, white chili soup, peanut butter toast, french toast, bell peppers, and curry! She loves drinking water from her bottle (oops... guess that's how the obsession with bottles start, I may need to get her a sippy cup). She smiles all the time, especially at herself in the mirror. Still loves bath time and showering with us. Mostly still sleeps in our bed, but is great at taking naps in her crib (hallelujah)! Army crawls when she really wants something, and loves to rock back and forth on her hands and knees. Pinches and scratches like crazy even though I swear I trim her nails ALL THE TIME. Jake told me I looked like I own a cat because that's her favorite thing to do while she nurses. 

I could go on and on - she really is the best baby. Of course there are moments when I want to sell her to someone else, but other than that, she is such an amazing addition to our family. I'm so grateful for her and her presence in our lives and how she helps me see the world.  

RECENT HAPPENINGS

Life lately consists of living and breathing June.

It's great and I love it but naturally there are times when I go pretty crazy and think, "That's it. I'm only having one baby." And then I remember how much I love pregnancy, or I see June smile, and then I think, "Okay, I can do this at least one more time." 

We wake up and Jake's usually already gone. It seems like June's new wake time is 7:30. Ever since we went to Ohio and she hit the 4 month sleep regression, her sleeping patterns have been WACK. She is going to sleep earlier than usual (like 8:30 ish), but she's waking up at 6 am ready to go. I usually let her play in her crib for like 20-30 minutes and then I try to get het back to sleep, but she pretty much only sleeps another 30 minutes or so. BUT I REFUSE to have a baby that wakes at 6 am! No thank you!! We will keep working on it...

We go on a walk in the morning before the sun gets too hot. She's liking her stroller now so I put my headphones in and listen to podcasts. Usually I listen to The Birth Hour but I've also been listening to Babes and Babies podcast and Birth Kweens! All things baby and birth, of course.

I've been trying to run a little bit, but that'll be a loooong process . . . I didn't even run before I got pregnant so...

Then I usually put her down for a nap and try to get some cleaning done. I've been watching trash reality TV, AKA the Kardashians, but I'm obsessed and it's an easy-to-watch show as I'm washing the dishes or folding laundry. Then we make lunch and wait for Jake to come eat with us which is always nice.

My goal for every day is to get out of the house once, even if it's just to the grocery store. It feels like June does better when she's not so bored - Of course she thrives when she gets good naps in, but I feel like she also doesn't like hanging out inside all day and likes to visit new places and see people, so we always try to go somewhere at least once a day. We've been pretty successful so far! 

I'm trying to soak up this last month before we start school and the semester from hell begins. I don't know how I'm going to do it, I just know that somehow I am going to do it . . . With help from the village around me, I'm sure. I'm grateful so many people are so willing to watch her when I need help. It'll be an adjustment for the both of us, but luckily I only have to be on campus max 3 hours a day and I don't have class on Fridays. We can do this, June! 

4 Months Old

15 lbs 12 oz - 80th percentile
26.3 in tall - 98th percentile

My baby girl is FOUR MONTHS OLD! It's been the fastest yet slowest four months of my life, full of learning and FULL of love.

Every day I wake up to June kicking her legs and squirming. Once she fully wakes up and I unswaddle her, she starts making the funniest screech sounds and it sounds like she's trying to talk to us. She also has recently learned to spit and she gets it all over the bed. I turn towards her and just smile at her and she returns the biggest smile ever. Mornings are the BEST with her.

She just started rolling over both ways this week! I really felt like she was just going to wait it out as long as she could, and then the other morning she woke up early and I put her on her stomach in her crib and she just started rolling! She was so happy doing it and I was just laughing and smiling and telling her she was such a good girl. Haha being a mom is so weird and exciting!

She smiles all the time, and is sooo close to giggling but hasn't quite gotten it down yet. She makes the loudest screech sounds and mimics the sounds you make to her. She loves to be loud and chit chat with people. She brings her toes to her mouth and sucks on them sometimes which is hilarious to watch and probably comforting for her. She loves her toys and her activity book - they are life savers in the car!

She also really loves her mama and will make sure people know that she doesn't want to be held by them and give her back. She and I both get flustered when a bunch of people are in our faces and we both make that known. She gets a serious grab on things, especially my hair. She loves taking shoulder rides because she can get a bunch of hair in her hands and pull you around. And she is a crazy, crazy drooler! She soaks through shirts SO fast, it's impressive.

We are so in love with June and all that she's brought to our lives. There are a LOT of hard days (probably more than I'd like to admit), but the good definitely does outweigh the bad and I mean it when I say every day gets a little easier and a little better. She's a happy baby and I'm so glad to be her mom.

June's Blessing Day

June was blessed by her dad on July 8, 2018! It was such a stressful day trying to get everyone together after church, but it turned out great and Jake did such an amazing job! It was thoughtful, sweet, and just perfect for our little June.

We decided to do her blessing at home, but in Cincinnati, so we could feel tight knit and close with our family. We tried to make it as low key as possible but it's hard to make things stress free and low key with so many family members. I'm not sure if we'll do our next baby's blessing at home, but we'll see. This one went pretty great and my heart was so full as I was listening to Jake!

We got lucky with her taking a nap on Jake at the time that everyone got to the farm and we were ready to start. He gently moved her over to be held by all the men and they all gave her some gentle shakes. As she was waking up, Jake had began talking and I watched June's little eyes moving around at everyone in the circle - looking at her dad, grandpa, great grandpas, and uncles. It was the sweetest thing and I was SO HAPPY she was not crying. It felt like such a win!

I cried, of course, because that's what I do with all things having to do with June. I just hope that she grows up to be confident and happy in her body and in her mind.  I hope she asks questions when she wants answers, stays strong in the Gospel, enjoys trying new things, is eager to learn, and loves on everyone. I have so many hopes for this little girl and I can't wait to continue watching her grow.

Another fun side thing was June got to wear the same blessing dress that her cousins Stella and Lucy wore. It fit her perfectly even though she's a chunky 4 month old girl and I was loving the way she looked in the little bonnet. She is the sweetest girl - I can't believe how lucky we are that we get to be her parents.

3 MONTHS!

My June baby is 3 months old and I can hardly believe it. Technically she's not a newborn anymore, right?! Oh how sad but HOW GLAD I am to be out of that stage. It was good while it lasted, but now we're on to better days of a better schedule, more sleep, more snuggle, bigger smiles, and hoping to a giggle and rolling over here in the next few weeks.

She weighs 13 lbs 9 oz and it feels like she's taller every day!

She's got the cutest little grin, and sometimes she raises her shoulders up when she smiles. We feel like its her cute way of flirting with us.

She loves to snuggle, and sleeps great when she's in bed with us but thankfully sleeps great when she's in her rock n play too. She's even gotten better this last week of taking good naps in the rock n play!

She still likes to be worn in wraps and carriers, and usually falls asleep instantly when we put her in one.

She nurses to sleep, which is something I really enjoy and am so grateful we get to do.

In the mornings, she and I both love to lay on the outdoor blanket and play with the play mat, read books, or I just try to make her smile.

She doesn't *love* the stroller, but I'm going to keep trying with it so I can go on good walks (and maybe even runs one day lol) with her.

The sun really wears her out. When we're out in the sun in the mornings for a while, she loves to sleep the rest of the day.

Everyone says she's a TALL baby, and she is! I'm curious to see if she will continue to grow at such a a fast rate.

She's still easy to soothe, but has moments of rage like most babies do. When she does that, Jake and I like to call her the monster or say that she's the other person's baby, haha. But mostly we love her and are always taking her away from one another to get more snuggles.

Sometimes I think to myself, "Wow! I'm really a mom and Jake's really a dad and we're doing this thing!" Even though our baby has been here for 3 months, it still doesn't feel real sometimes (until it's 4 in the morning and I hear her making some noises because she's ready to eat again). We are blessed with such a mellow, happy bay and we are trying real hard to appreciate every second with her and never take her for granted. We love and adore you, June! We'll always be on your side!

Sundays with June

This Sunday was so productive which was AMAZING! In the morning, we woke up early and headed to our cousin Chito's farewell in West Jordan. He's going to El Salvador for two years. He's the sweetest, most genuine boy ever.

We went to brunch afterwards at the Bastidas' and hung out with all the family there. In the first picture is June's second cousin (we think), Emma. She's a little less than two weeks younger than June and looking at two of them, June looks like a monster! Haha she is so tall in comparison to Emma. But it's so fun to look at two babies side by side. I'm excited that June will always have little friends and cousins her age. It's also great being in the same stage of motherhood as Jessica. It takes a village not only to raise babies but to be a mom - you need someone to talk to, you need someone to cope with you!!

When we got home, we cleaned the whole house while June took a 3 hour nap (we're spoiled!). We collected eggs together and just sat next to each other on the couch chit-chatting . . . 3 hours of no baby talk from the both of us was pretty special! Jake and I have both been feeling SO happy lately! People will ask how we've been doing and we both say, "We're doing great!" We're out of the newborn funk, we've settled into a routine (that's about to get mixed up pretty soon when Jake's out of school but oh well), and our marriage is genuinely amazing.

At night, we've been getting alone time and Jake says, "No phones, let's just chit chat!" Haha and the best part about it is we're usually in bed by 8:30 or 9:00 snuggling June, getting her in the rock n play, and then just hanging out.

We finally found time to sort out our spring/summer and fall/winter clothes and try to get our closet and dresser a little better organized. We found homes for things in our room that have just been sitting on top of the dresser or laying on the floor for FOREVER, which feels so amazing! De-cluttering makes me feel like a whole new person, and I know Jake feels the same way! I also put a few things up for sale on Facebook Marketplace that I've been needing to get rid of so clearing up shelf space with our limited storage is so freeing!

We decided we wanted to make burgers for dinner on the fire pit outside and that decision was a GOOD one because the burgers turned out amazing! I don't know what it is about food over fire, but I ate two burgers and probably could've eaten three. June slept in this wrap while I cut up tomatoes and onions, sliced cheese, and cooked bacon for the burgers (we went all out)! When she falls asleep on me, I seriously melt inside. She is the sweetest girl, and having a baby in the house really makes you change the way you look at life.

Chunky arms and tank tops :)

The best time of the day is when June is waking up, eats, and then is ready to play! She stays happy for about an hour and then she's ready to take another nap but the hour that she's awake is the best! We generally fill that time by changing her diaper, getting dressed, then going in the living room to play. She'll lay on her mat for a while and stare at the toys, and lately she's started to push them around which is super cute to watch. She doesn't quite giggle yet, but she makes some squeaky noises and babbles and smiles a TON. 

Today she looked especially cute! We went over to the Mauldins where Jake was finishing building some stuff for his research project and Peyton came out to hang with her - took her on the swing, got a ride on the lawn mower (haha). It was so cute! And then I could tell she was getting kind of done with it and I put her in the wrap and she instantly fell asleep. She's the sweetest!!! And the cutest!! 

The first time . . .

The first time I thought I was a bad mom, June was almost two weeks old. All my family had left and it was just me and Jake with our girl! It was Sunday, but we were still staying home from church because she was so tiny and I was a hot mess. Emphasis on the MESS.

Everything was going well, until it wasn't... And I don't mean to sound dramatic, but June would. not. stop. crying. And this was really unlike her. She was really easy to soothe, loved to eat, and loved to sleep. She cried and cried and cried, and I could tell she was feeling uncomfortable. I know early in baby's lives their stomachs are figuring out how to work, but I was worried that I was eating something that was upsetting her or that she might be allergic to something.

I remember I was in my striped milkmaid goods dress that I don't even want to look at anymore - it was most likely covered in spit up, breast milk, and poop. I wore it because it doesn't show my figure at all and it has three buttons that allowed it to open low enough so I could nurse freely. I was sitting on the couch and I just started crying because she was crying and I couldn't get her to stop. I was mostly crying because I felt like she was hurting and I didn't want her to be.

Jake didn't really know what to do. He had never really seen me cry and he was asking what he could do. I told him we should call the pediatrician nurse line to see what we could give her to make her feel a little better.

Jake called because I was literally just sobbing (funny now... not at the time haha) and the nurse asked if her stomach felt tight. It did. Then she asked what I had been eating... She told him I should be staying away from chocolate, dark greens, caffeine, etc. ALL THE THINGS I HAD BEEN EATING. I know now that's not what it was because I can eat those now and feel just fine, but when he told me that, I felt so bad for her. I felt like I was the one who made her feel so sick. It really was just gas.

Jake went to the store to get gripe water and I stayed at home and laid in bed with June. When he left, she calmed down a little bit but tears were still streaming down my face! He finally came back and we gave her a little bit of the gripe water, even though I was pretty reluctant because she was under 2 weeks and I had read some horror stories. But she took it like a champ and she immediately went to the bathroom and then was able to go to sleep - it was amazing and I felt so much relief.

But seriously . . . the feeling was overwhelming. I felt sad and angry . . . I was so ridiculously emotional which I know is very common that soon after having a baby but it wasn't normal for me or for Jake. Having a baby is out of this world. I feel so connected to June and I truly feel everything she feels. I'm still learning the ropes and I know I'm not a bad mom, but that day it was so hard not to feel like it.

I'll always remember the craziness of that Sunday and the overwhelming feelings I think we all felt. Postpartum emotions are no joke. I'm so glad I'm a* *little* less emotional now, even though I still love June with every fiber of my freaking being!

2 Months Old

Our sweet Junebug is 2 months old! We just had her appointment today and she did really well, even when she had to get her first round of shots. I cried. It was pathetic. Luckily I know I'm not the only one who does that. I always told myself I wouldn't be *THAT* mom who cried when the baby got shots, but it's SO MUCH HARDER to watch than you think it'd be. Seriously. That's an extension of yourself . . . a tiny person who relies on you for comfort and love, and then you go and make them get poked with a needle! I felt awful, but I know it's for the best haha. Even this longwinded paragraph is probably dramatic.

But for our two month old girl . . .

WEIGHT: 12 lbs 13 oz - 84.79 percentile
HEIGHT: 24.6 inches - 99.61 percentile
HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE - 15 1/2 inches

Oxygen 98%
Temp 97.8
Heartbeat: 150 bpm
(That's probably a little too detailed haha)

A funny story from Dr. Simmons. He asked, "Remind me, is she breast or formula fed?" I said, "Breast" and he said, "Is she eating well? . . . Obviously she is, never mind." Haha she's definitely going to double her birth weight by 4 months. We love her chunk and find new rolls every day!

After her appointment, we went home and straight cuddled. She nursed and went right to sleep and I didn't even try to put her down because she definitely deserved some cuddles after that. I'm not looking forward to when we go next month for more.

This was pre-shots, probably crying because she was cold. Don't worry, I cuddled her REAL quick after I snapped this picture

Hammocking with June

The week in between winter semester and spring semester was so nice. Jake was at home with us and we just got to cuddle and play with June all day long. One of the days, we went up to Big Springs where we've camped before and found a place to hang the hammock. We got in, I nursed June, and we had the best time because it was so warm and sunny. June pretty much slept the whole time, probably feeling so spoiled getting held for two of her naps!

We are so happy summer is here!

Family Pictures 2018

This weekend Olivia was able to take some family pictures for us and I LOVE how they turned out, even if June screamed the whole time! Ha the weather has been so unpredictable lately - 80 and sunny one day, then cloudy and 60 the next day. Unfortunately it was cloudy and in the 60s and June did not like the wind or the cold at all. We unwrapped her, snapped a couple pictures, then wrapped her back up. But she would only be happy in the blanket and with a little shake of her butt, so we took a lot of pictures with her in the blanket, too.

Either way, I'll love these photos forever! 7 weeks with June, and we're all starting to feel normal and in a regular groove thank goodness!