Many Firsts!!

I know ive been slacking at this lately but Ive been very busy visiting family all over! Autumn and I are finally back at home before we head out again in about 3 weeks! Over the last 2 weeks or so, Autumn has had some firsts....

First Highchair: About 2 weeks ago, I decided to see if Autumn could sit in a restaurant highchair. A dear friend of mine gave me her old highchair/grocery cart cover. Autumn did fairly well. This particular highchair seemed to be a tad wider than most so she would slide down some but she did great and loved being able to play with the table and the things on it! We're still working on sitting in the grocery cart! She's not quite big enough for that yet!

First Flight: On Thurday, September 27, Autumn and I flew from Lawton to Knoxville to visit my parents and attend a friends wedding. Autumn did really well flying for the first time! She fussed for about the last 5 minutes of our first flight until she fell asleep and did the same at the beginning of our second flight.

Waiting in the Dallas airport for our connecting flight

First Wedding: On Saturday, September 29, my mom, Autumn and I drove down to Cartersville, GA to attend a friends wedding. We were seated in the sanctuary about 20 minutes before the ceremony and Autumn was doing great. About 5 minutes before the bride walked down the aisle, she started to fuss. She fussed while the bridesmaids walked down the aisle so because I was sitting on the aisle, I was easily able to jump up real quick and move to the back. But of course, as soon as the bride started walking down the aisle, she started fussing even more. So, I quickly moved out into the foyer of the church and watched the ceremony through the glass doors. She did behave very well during the reception though!

With Mary Beth at the reception!

First Runny Nose: The morning we flew to Knoxville, Autumn woke up with her first runny nose. It wasnt anything real bad, just really runny when she sneezed or after she woke up. She still has her cold or allergies now but it seems to almost be gone.

First College Football Game: On September 5, my parents, Charles, his friend, Autumn and I went to the OSU v UGA football game in Stillwater, OK. Once again, Autumn did great! It was very hot out yet she somehow managed to sleep, twice, during the game. We had to take her under the bleachers for a while to keep her cool and I also gave her a cool, wet washcloth to put on her head and to play with. I cant wait to take her to an ECU game this season! :)

Asleep at the game!

Her very first UGA outfit!

First "words": About a week ago, Autumn started saying "mamamamama" all the time. As of yesterday and today, "babababa" and what sounds like "dadadada" have been added to her vocabulary. I love hearing all the new sounds and words shes coming up with and cant wait to hear more!!!

6 month check-up!

Autumn had her 6 month check-up yesterday. And as usual, the Dr said she looks fantastic! :) She is now 26 inches (65th percentile) and 14 lbs 10oz (20th percentile). She gained over a pound in 2 weeks! I guess thats what fruits and veggies will do to you! So far we've learned that she LOVES sweet potatoes, applesauce and bananas. She is NOT a fan of peaches! She's starting to sit alone but when she reaches forward for something, she falls over. But we're getting there! She's getting so big! She's talking up a storm and every tells me she's going to be an early talker. I guess we'll see!

Eating Peaches for the first time!

Our little talker!

Apple Juice AND a Sippy Cup!

Autumn tried both last night and it went great! We've been giving her a "training" sippy cup where the spout is the shape of a nipple, not the typical sippy cup spout, and we would give her some water. She was doing well with that. We decided to try her out with a real sippy cup and put some apple juice in there. She LOVED the juice and took the cup without hesitation!

She's growing up WAY to fast!

6 MONTHS!

My baby girl is 6 months old today! Hard to believe! She doesnt have her check up for another few weeks but she's as happy and healthy as she can be! She's eating vegetables now and we'll start fruits in the next week! She talks to stuffed animals, her rubber ducks, Major and just about anything else all the time. She's rolling over all the time now and we almost always find her rolled over after her naps We're working on sitting alone but still have a little ways to go!

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY Baby Girl!!

The POOL!

We took Autumn to the pool for the first time on Saturday. She did FANTASTIC!! We had a blow up turtle for her to sit in. She stayed in there for almost an hour without a single sound! She didnt fuss until Charles took her out of the turtle to get out of the pool! 

Autumn and Ethan in their floaties!

Major the guard dog??

This picture is funny to me. If you notice, Major has his paws over his "slinky dog" (as we call it). While Autumn was playing on the floor he didnt pay any attention to her. As soon as he heard her playing with HIS toy, he came running. A few minutes later I noticed that he was "guarding" his toy! Silly dog!

Happy Birthday Charles!

Not a whole lot has been going on around our house.  The most exciting thing to happen recently was Charles' birthday on July 17. He's the big 24!! I baked him a cake, made his favorite dinner, deviled eggs and bran muffins. I was in the kitchen almost all day (but he's worth it!). When he came home from work he had his cake and candles waiting for him then opened his presents. He got ALL tools. That's all he's been asking for since Christmas!

Here are some pictures of his day! :)

With his "Super Dad" sticker from Autumn

Helping Daddy open his presents

She was mad at me because I moved the presents away from her and she couldn't play with them anymore!

5 Months Old!

Autumn turned 5 months old a few days ago! I still cant believe its been that long since she was born! She changes and does something new everyday and I love it! She's not rolling over a whole lot yet or sitting up alone yet but we're getting there. She has however, learned to spit and does it when she's mad. Hopefully we can nip that in the butt! She's sleeping 10-12 hours a night and is taking 3-4 naps a day. She is still only eating rice cereal but will probably start on vegetables in a few weeks. She hasn't quite figured out how to move the rice cereal from the front of her tongue to the back but she's getting better at it! She has also recently found her feet. She doesn't play with them all the time but when she finds them, she sure does love them!

On July 4th, a good friend of mine came and took pictures of Autumn. They turned out great! Here are a few of my favorites! :)

New Pool and New Bathing Suit

After searching the internet and every store in this town, I finally found Autumn a bathing suit at the PX. The smallest size they had was 12 months and after holding them up to 0-3 month and 3-6 month outfits I realized that childrens bathing suits run small. I ended up getting her an 18 month one. Its a tad big but it'll definitely last her all summer! While out shopping for a bathing suit, I also bought her a little blow up pool. We put her in it last night while Charles grilled out. She really seemed to like it, even though the water was a little cold.

Videos!

I finally figured out how to get movies off my camera and onto my computer and then post them online. So here's a few of Miss Autumn! :)

Eating Rice Cereal for the first time

June 17, 2009

Playing in her new toy

June 21, 2009

We did it!

About a week ago I said something about looking to buy a new car. Well, we looked at a Honda Pilot last weekend and had been talking to the guy for this entire week. We kept throwing around numbers, trying to figure out if we should sell my car privately or trade it in, etc. We went into the dealership yesterday to see how much they would give us for my car. We talked more numbers and they came back with a pretty good deal. So, we took it! We are now the proud owners of an '09 Honda Pilot! Im pretty excited, since ill be the one who gets to drive it all the time! But let me tell you, making a purchase that large it rather nerve racking! Other than our furniture (that we ended up getting for free), this is the largest purchase Charles and I have ever made. I kept wondering if we were making a mistake, if we were being taken advantage of, etc. Everyone I talk to says Honda's are great cars and that we made a great choice. I guess only time will tell! Charles drove it home from the dealership yesterday and then again when he went to get his hair but, so other than test driving it, I have yet to drive it, but I take it back in tomorrow for them to clean it.

So, here she is. I think im going to name her Rhonda. Rhonda the Honda!

The poop problem!

On Tuesday (the 16th), I called Autumn's Dr about the fact that she had not pooped in 10 days. The nurse told me that we needed to take her to the ER for x-rays to make sure there was no sort of block. We got to the ER around 5:45 that night. They felt around on her belly, did some x-rays, never took blood, and finally came back with "She's fine. There is no block". We were out of there by 7! I made a follow up appointment the following day to see her Dr. He felt around, etc, and said she felt fine. He did tell me to give her Karo syrup to help her go. He also noticed that she had only gained 1.5oz in 15 days where as a baby her age should have gained around 3.5oz. So he told me that we could start feeding her rice cereal. So after her appointment, I went to wal-mart and shopped for Karo syrup and rice cereal for the first time. (PS Mom, Karo syrup isnt with the cooking/baking supplies. Its with the syrup!) Later that night we gave her some syrup and her first feeding of rice cereal! If you have never fed a baby food for the first time, let me tell you, its a pretty hilarious scene. She had it all over her face and bib and couldnt (and still hasnt) quite figured out how to get it off the spoon. She's learning. A few more days went by and still no poop. We continued to give her the syrup until yesterday morning! Charles changed her diaper and somehow it all managed to stay in the diaper but she finally went! And ended up going 4 more times that day! So by the end of it all, she finally pooped on day 14! That has to be some kind of record or something!

To buy or not to buy?!?

Yesterday Charles made an appointment for me at a spa in Wichita Falls, TX for my birthday. I spent 4 hours being pampered while him and Autumn drove around and looked at cars. With the problems my car has been having lately, we're trying to decide if we should keep paying, sometimes large chunks of money, to replace things on my car or if we should just suck it up and buy a new car all together. We've been looking at "crossovers" and trying to decide what exactly we can afford and will be the best choice for us. We feel like we should have a third row to fit carseats, extra people, a dog and all the things a baby/child needs when you travel. But at the same time, the cars with a third row are more expensive. We looked at a GMC Acadia yesterday and the salesman tried everything he possibly could to sell us that car. I know its his job but why push so hard when we tell you what we're willing to spend yet your trying to sell it to us for is a good bit more than what we can afford? He tried everything from getting his boss to lower the price, trying to get us to take it home with us for the night, etc. We of course walked away. We're starting to think that we can't afford what we want. At least not right now. Fingers crossed my car makes it another year when we can afford what we want!

In Autumn news, she's rolling over more and more these days. On the 9th she rolled over twice and did it again this morning. When she does roll over she just looks around like "im not sure I was supposed to do that". Its really funny. Im starting to think it wont be to much longer before she's sitting on her own either. She loves it when we pull her from laying to the sitting position and when you let her sit in her bumbo seat. We'll have to wait and see...

Here are a few new pictures

She sleeps like this

These are from the night of my birthday

Oh what a night...

Charles has been working on my car for a few days now. Last night he took the battery out, took the alternator out, etc. He ran to Auto Zone to get a new battery and some other stuff. I didnt go because it was time for Autumn to eat. After feeding her I put her in her jumper seat thing and started washing dishes. I heard her farting but didnt really think anything of it. A few minutes later I smelled something...there was poop all over the floor under her, it was dripping down her leg, was all over the bottom of the jumper and was all over her socks and outfit. I called Charles to see where he was so he could help me clean up if he was on his way home, I called him 6 times, and of course he left his phone here. So I get her in the tub because she somehow managed to get poop in her hair. At that time Charles calls me from Auto Zone and informs me that he left his wallet and phone here (DUH!) and that he needs me to bring it to him. I told him what happened with her and that I was giving her a bath and would get there ASAP. As soon as I was done with her bath, I realized that I cant go take it to him. I DONT HAVE A BATTERY IN MY CAR which is why he's at Auto Zone in the first place! So I had to get my poor neighbor who had JUST taken his hamburgers off the grill to run his wallet and phone to him! 

*Sigh* Then it took me about an hour to clean her jumper, the floor, the tub, the bathroom floor, and start laundry because of all the poop!! Amazing how much such a little person can produce!!

4 MONTHS!!

Thats right, Autumn is 4 months old today! Man how time flies!

She had her 4 month check-up this morning and the Dr said she's perfect! She now weighs 11lbs and 4oz and is 24.5in. That puts her in the 10% percentile for her weight and 50% for her height. The Dr. said her graphs are perfect and she's growing exactly how she should! She got her second round of shots this time and did FABULOUS! She cried for about 20 seconds after each shot and hasn't made a sounds since then. 

We have been having and issue with Autumn only being able to sleep while being swaddled and the Dr said "break her of it!". So we're going to start her out with naps unswaddled and as those get better, we'll start unswaddling her at night as well. 

She's a happy, healthy girl and goes back at 6 months for some more shots and another check-up!