300 and 8 months

Today is my 300th post, whoa! I believe I started my blog in 2007 and now 300 posts later, it's still kickin'. My blog has been a place for me to be transparent, real and honest ( pretty much, all those words mean the same thing but listing them makes it look better, ha!). I'm sure there have been times when I have said things that people haven't agreed with, liked or I might have offended someone. But it's my blog and I feel that I can say what I want and when I want, so there. But most of all, I truly have enjoyed documenting my life via blog form and also adding pictures along the way. I think it will be neat to look back at this in 20 years and see where I was and how far I have come.

More importantly that my 300th post, my baby turned 8 months old on April 15. My oh my, how time is flying by. Bristol is the light of my life and I couldn't imagine my life without her. Just over the last couple weeks she has gotten a little personality full of giggles. She loves to play peek-a-boo, grab her puppies, go outside, roll over and watch mickey mouse. Her face lights up when daddy walks in the door from work. Lately, when we go on walks, she falls right sleep in her stroller, which by the way, she barely fits in. Bristol is still very tiny. People often think she is only 5-6 months old. I love that she is tiny, it makes it easy on me, especially with her clothes, she has been getting to wear a lot of them and the same with diapers.

My sweet girl is still a great eater. So far, out of all the food she has tried, she has loved everything except avocado. She still eats about 2 meals a day with bottles in between. She still cries when she is finished eating but will stop quickly once she gets her paci. Once she is finished drinking her bottle, we have to take away very fast and hide it, because if she sees it, she will want it and then throws a fit. She has some good eyes! And ears! Both of those body parts work amazingly!

She still wears a bow or flower on her head when we are in public. In fact, one time, I didn't put a bow on her head before we left the house. Brandon noticed and looked at me and said " Babe, she isn't wearing a bow.... are you ok?" HAHA! He knows that she HAS to have a bow on her head or flower. She has beautifully long eyelashes, JUST LIKE HER DADDY. Before she was born, actually, before children were even in the picture, I always told Brandon that I hope our baby would have long eyelashes like him. :) God heard my request.

Loving this weather lately so we've been going on some walks. She was tuckered out from a hard day of rolling around. She has mastered the art of rolling and it makes me so happy. Therapy has been a saving grace and I am so thankful she goes. She loves her therapists and has adapted so well. The other day I was changing her diaper on the floor in her bedroom, I took the diaper off and turned to the right to get the new diaper, before my eyes, she had rolled over and her tooshie was sticking up in the air! I laughed soo hard. She kept rolling back and forth and then I realized that she might pee so I got the new diaper on FAST.

We are teaching her to wave hi and it's precious when she does it. Of course, she will only do it when she wants but that's ok. In the picture above she is waving :) This was with her daddy at his school ,they had their school carnival, daddy was in the dunk tank. This was in his classroom before we ventured out to the carnival. We wanted to eat in peace and quiet :) She still has to wear a bib 24/7, except when she is sleeping. She has been spitting up more lately because of teething. I think it has caused her some discomfort because she hasn't been acting herself lately.

Her feet FINALLY touch the ground in her bouncer. This has been a LONG TIME coming. Now that they can touch the floor, she has realized that she can bounce. It makes her so happy that she can move and groove in the bouncer. She loves to spin things, it's so cute. She has several toys that you can spin and she goes to town on those. Bristol still takes 2 naps a day and her sleeping has gotten better. KNOCK ON WOOD! She loves to read books, pat them and smile when she is being read to. Loves mickey mouse and minnie mouse so much! She has a minnie mouse doll and when she sees it she goes crazy! It's so cute! Bristol loves to be in the baby bjorn when we are in public.

My little girl is growing up so fast. It's hard to believe that August will be here before I know it! I can't wait to see what the up and coming months have in store for Bristol Elaine!

leaving on a jet plane

Bristol, my dad and I will be taking a trip to Oklahoma at the end of May. We are going to the Women's College Softball World Series! This has been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl. I grew up playing softball. I started when I was 7 years old and played through college, well only 2 years at ACU. We are going from May 30 - June 3. In fact, a couple of girls my dad and I used to coach might be going to WCWS this year.

This will be the first time that Bristol will be traveling a far distance, let alone on a plane. The real reason for this post is to ask ANY of your moms who have traveled via plane ride with your baby.

I need suggestions for what to bring on the actual flight and what to pack for the trip. I mean, I know the basics but Bristol isn't known for being the easiest baby to just sit on your lap and be content. So this plane ride is making me nervous.

So please , let me know some items that you packed for the plane ride to keep your baby happy and content. Right now, the only thing I can think of is food and mickey mouse. ha!

busy bee

We have been quite the busy bees lately. I've been taking pictures non-stop WHICH I LOVE, but we have been on the go so much lately that we are all running on empty. We had a great Easter spending it with family. Of course Bristol got spoiled. She got 5 Easter baskets full of goodies! Books, toys, a new rubber ducky blow up bath tub, sunscreen for her fair fair skin, puzzles, 4 outfits.... oh the list goes on. She is so blessed to have amazing grandparents who spoil her.

I just love getting to celebrate holidays with her but for some reason, I always FAIL to get a good family picture at the start of the day. Either, we don't get a family picture OR its at the end of the day when we all look like a mess. At least we got a picture right? Anyway.... we went to church Sunday morning and Bristol usually does well but she wasn't feel well at all. I think she has been running a fever. She is teething pretty bad and has been spitting up at least 2-3 a day which NEVER used to happen. I'm thinking since she is spitting up to much the acid in the spit up is hurting her because she will arch her back and fuss and fuss. Poor baby. I called the dr. yesterday and she called her in some medicine so I'm hoping it will help.

My mom got this owl hat made for Bristol and her soon to be cousin Maddy. They have matching hats and I can't wait to take their pictures together! Of course I had to do a little photo shoot with her modeling the hat, it's just too cute not to take pictures. She never tried to pull it off either, must be the " she has worn bows since she popped out of me" thing.

She is sitting up so well and it makes me sooooo happy!

We went to Brandon's parents house in the early evening to do an "egg hunt" in their backyard. At this point, she wasn't wearing her easter outfit but when I wanted to get some pics of her sitting in the yard with the eggs, I ran to the car and got her outfit and did a little wardrobe change. She didn't give us one smile the whole time but that's ok, she is still cute! :)

I hope all of you had a wonderfully blessed Easter like we did!

7 months of pure joy

Bristol turned 7 months old on March 15. These pictures were taken today, April 1. I've been so behind over the past several months with taking her pictures on the actual day she turns a new month. I am determined to take her picture on the 15th of every month starting when she turns 8 months. So although she is "older" than 7 months in this picture, she is still in the 7 month, so it still counts. At least I'm not taking her 7 month picture in her 9 month. Yeah, this has become too confusing. ha!

My sweet baby girl has developed quite the personality. She loves to giggle at momma and daddy, full of smiles, kicks those little legs and is a little ham. She get more fun each month. I really feel like when she turned 7 months her little personality has blossomed. Like I said, she is a little ham around her momma and daddy but when we get into public, that's a whole new story. More times this month I have heard this phrase " wow, she is so serious". It's true, this chick doesn't like to smile for strangers or anyone she doesn't know very well. At times, I feel bad when she doesn't smile at people because I don't want people to think she isn't a happy baby, because she really is. But truth me told, I was THE.EXACT.SAME.WAY when I was her age. I would NEVER smile for anyone or the camera. At least I can get Bristol to smile for pictures.

She is definitely gainging more weight. You can see it in her arms, legs and cheeks. She has always had a chunky set of cheeks, which I love! Her hair is getting thicker and longer, it grows over her ears which is toooooooooooo cute. I always get a good little laugh when I see her hair over her little ears. We are still not sure what color her hair is. It can look blonde, brown, strawberry blonde, red.... depends on the lighting. Bristol likes to pull off her bow/headband when she is in her carseat. She will then usually put it in her mouth after ripping it off. But when we are out and about in public, she never messes with it. Out of sight out of mind.

Bristol is teething and it still no teeth. We have had some rough nights over the last month or so. Her poor little mouth is red and swollen. I can see the tooth buds but none have cut through the gums. I swear, I wake up everyday thinking at least 5 have popped through. Sounds dramatic I know, but really, teething has been the PITS in the Barron house. I know it doesn't get any better either for awhile. Bristol likes to chew on anything but she specifically loves beaded necklaces. At therapy they give her necklaces to motivate her to roll over, turn her neck a certain way, etc. Brandon brought home a few necklaces awhile back and I work with her on rolling over with them. She loves to put them in her mouth, but don't worry, I never leave her alone with them and they are the kind where if the necklace breaks, no beads come off. I bought her a bead teether and she LOVES it.

Rolling over is getting easier for Bristol along with sitting up all by herself. I am so proud of her for both milestones. It's been something that we work on every single day. Although she still doesn't like to be on her tummy, we still work on using her neck muscles which help her roll over. We are also working on bearing weight on her legs. She can do it, but only when she wants. I'm working hard on different positions for her to be in to straighen her legs and get her feet flat on the ground. Therapy really has helped her and I am so happy we decided to put her in it. I enjoy watching her "work out" every Friday. I also get to participate which makes me happy.

Bristol still loves to grab her feet and now she can put them in her mouth. It's quite funny. She still loves bath time. Boy does she love bath time. She could sit in there all day if we would let her. I can't wait till she is sturdy enough to sit up in the rub and play with toys. It will be a whole new world for her and well me too. Her sleep is still rocky. She usually takes 1-2 naps during the day, depending on what is going on in our busy schedule. But today, she is going on her 3rd nap, which NEVER happens. But I will take it! She sleeps anywhere from 45 - 1 hr and 30 min. She has been suprising me lately and has taken 2, 2 hour naps. I was jumping for joy. Night time is a different issue. She will either go down perfect but then wake up an hr later screaming and crying or she will scream and cry when she first goes down and then will cry herself to sleep. She still wakes up 1-2 times a night which has taken a toll on me lately. I miss the days where she slept through the night.

Tink Tink ( i gave her this nickname when she was itty bitty and she was having poopy problems, sorry if thats too much info) loves to scrunch her nose when she smiles, it's the cutest thing ever. She is making all sorts of noises, screaming, squealing, humming, growling, fake coughing, grunting... the list goes on. I love every single noise she makes. It's precious. It also tells me how much she is growing up and changing which makes me a little sad. I do not see her crawling anytime soon and I am perfectly ok with that. I actually enjoy not having a mobile baby.

Bristol still loves all her food! We tried mum mums for the first time this month. She really likes them but we have to be extra careful with them because she literally can bite a huge piece off and it doesn't dissolve right away. She also likes puffs which she has had 1 time. I am slowly going to introduce those, since she can't grab any food out of my hand yet. So far, the only food she didn't like was avocado, everything she loves. I am still making mostly all her baby food. I'm not going to make the meat. Too hard and too time consuming. She will be eating organic if I buy it. She likes the chicken and sweet potatoes and turkey ( and something else I can't remember).

She made her first art project the other day at the Easter playgroup. It was fingerprint flowers. So cute! Something else that is SUPER CUTE that she does it reach for people. I can put my arms or hands out and she will reach for me and I.LOVE.IT!!! Makes me feel sooo good. Bristol loves when daddy comes home, she gets the biggest smile on her face and gets sooo happy. Sometimes she gets shy and it's precious. She still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse :) She loves her bouncer more and more and is less into sitting in her lamb chair. I am going to put that away soon.

Bristol loves to be outside. She is very interested in her surroundings and has found a love for the outdoors. We took our first trip to the park by the house the other day and she loved it. She was a beautiful day and our park has a shade cover over it so it was perfect for us to sit on the ground on a towel and play with toys. Brandon and I also took her to Oyster Creek Park awhile back and she LOVED it. We have a problem with her in her stroller, since she is soo tiny, she has a hard time being comfortable in it. It's a City-mini jogging stroller. Either I don't have the straps right or she is still too tiny for it. Oh well, we use it and she will slowly get used to it. I have also taken her on our back porch with her toys and set up a towel and brought her bumbo out there so we can enjoy this nice spring weather.

I've really been slacking on taking pictures of her in our everyday life. I've been so busy with my little photography biz that I often forget to grab the camera and snap a few for her. My goal for month 8 is to really slow down and focus on her and capturing sweet moments of thing she loves, loves doing, etc.

Well, that's about all I can recall. This post as taken me 2 days to write. My mind is on overdrive and I can barely form sentences, correct ones at that.

I can't wait to see what month 8 has in store for my sweet baby girl. I love Bristol Elaine, to the heavens and back.