Looking Back a Year

November 6, 2010

It is so hard to believe that I have been the mother of such a beautiful baby girl for a whole year now.  I love the posts that share pictures of how babies have grown in a year so I decided to do one of my own.  Here is a look at how Mary-Brenna has changed this past year.
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December 6, 2010

January 6, 2011

February 6, 2011

March 6, 2011

April 6, 2011

May 6, 2011

June 6, 2011

July 6, 2011

August 6, 2011

September 6, 2011

October 6, 2011

November 6, 2011

It has been a wonderful first year as a mommy and I am looking forward to see what the next year brings.

7 Months

I cannot believe that Mary-Brenna is already 7 months old!  She is doing so much and has gotten so big.  She is now 17 pounds and just over 26 inches long!  She has her first tooth (bottom right), and is now getting up on her hands and knees all by herself.  This past Saturday (June 4th) she did a push-up!  I was so amazed, I cannot believe I didn't get a picture.  

Mary-Brenna is eating rice cereal, peas and she tried sweet potatoes today.  I am making my own baby food which is going really well.  I love that I can get 20 days worth of baby food for $4.00.  Mom has a great big food processor that does wonders for pureeing her food.  I simply cook the peas (or sweet potatoes), let them cool and puree them in the food processor with water to the consistency that I like.  I store them in freezer bags in 1-2 servings.  

Mary-Brenna has now had 2 bike rides on my bike.  I got a child seat for my bike that goes in front of me.  Mom also got Mary-Brenna a sweet bike helmet!  Mary-Brenna does wonderfully on the bike, she sits really well and doesn't bobble around.  

 

  

Uncle Michael is also home for the summer!  It is wonderful to have him here.  We have missed him so much!  The house dynamic has changed with him being here, but in a totally awesome way.  There is a new kind of silliness that happens.  It is fun!  It will be fun to hang out this summer.  

 

 

Here is a sweet picture of Mary-Brenna and her friend Britta!  Britta is just a little bit younger than Mary-Brenna and I know they are going to become great friends.

Mary-Brenna is getting to know her cousin Max!  Max is almost 11 months old, and the sweetest little boy!  It is a lot of fun seeing Max grow and do things I know will be coming up for Mary-Brenna.

Dad has made it to Afghanistan now, he got a little delayed on his way there due to a broken airplane.  But they got everything fixed, and headed back off to Afghanistan.  We miss Dad so much.  I know Mary-Brenna is wondering where her Papa is.

2 months old and growing strong

Mary-Brenna is now 2 months old! She is getting so big and is learning to do so much. She is very strong, and can hold her head up. She has found her fingers, and loves to chew on them. This results in a very drooly baby. She is so sweet.

Mary-Brenna had her two month doctors appointment, which meant shots (no fun). She did so well. I was so proud of her little self. She also was weighed and measured during that visit. She is now 11 lbs 10 oz. and 23 inches long. These numbers are around the 70th percentile, which her doctor is really happy about.

My sweet little girl is also a very talkative little girl. She loves to tell Grandma, Papa and I various stories, ranging from very happy to very mad. She is getting better at focusing on different things like faces and toys. She now has a play mat with toys that hang above her. She loves to lay there for a while and check out the different toys we hang above her.

Mary-Brenna wearing Uncle Michael's hat

Mary-Brenna has finally developed a fussy time. She really doesn't like the hours between 9 and 11 at night. My mom has been awesome in wanting to help get Mary-Brenna to sleep at night, but these past few nights Mary-Brenna is having none of it. I feel honored that she wants me, but it is still hard when I am so very tired and she won't settle down for Grandma. The only upside is that when she finally does fall asleep, she stays asleep for at lease 6 hours.

She likes to show us her attitude and we love her even more for it. I am excited to see what this next month brings us! Love you my dear sweet girl!

1 Month

I cannot believe that I have been a mom for a month now. My sweet Mary-Brenna turned one month old yesterday! She is getting so big and we are learning so much about her sweet little self.

Mary-Brenna is an amazing sleeper. She has been sleeping so well, usually getting up no more than once in the middle of the night. I truly am one blessed momma. She is funny about taking naps in the middle of the day though. She likes to be held during the day. I don't mind, but I don't get that much done throughout the day.


Mary-Brenna also loves her food. She is a great eater, sometimes too much so. She gets so excited about eating that she eats too fast and starts to choke or she gets a fierce case of the hiccups. She is gaining weight very well and is thriving!

Mary-Brenna loves her grandparents so much already. Everyday she gets to have special cuddle/snuggle time with Grandma and Papa. I am excited to see the special relationships she builds with my parents. I know that they will have very close bonds for sure. Now it is just time for uncle Michael to come home so he and Mary-Brenna can start to bond as well.

My sweet little girl is getting so strong. Grandma calls it starch. Mary-Brenna is working on holding her head up, and she is exercising her legs by pushing up on everything her feet get close too. Often times that is her momma.


I am so blessed to have Mary-Brenna in my life and I don't know what I would do without her. Thank you Lord for blessing me with this little miracle.

Spoiled Momma

I am a seriously spoiled momma! My sweet little Mary-Brenna loves to eat (she takes after her momma at that age), and also loves to sleep! She has blessed me with a couple 4-6 hour stretches at night. Thank you Amanda for the tip on swaddling, she absolutely loves it and it helps her get some great rest.


I am also spoiled in having my parents here to help me out. Mom and Dad have been wonderful! They have been willing to step in and watch her for me while I have been able to take some naps. I have to say that is a blessing. They have also been a wonderful support system. We are turning into a great team! Thanks Mom and Dad, I couldn't do this without you!

The wait continues...

And so the wait continues for little miss Mary-Brenna to make her appearance. My due date of October 24th came and went without the addition of a sweet little girl. But hopefully that wait will end soon.

This past week I have been feeling a lot more happening inside, which is great. I am getting nice and uncomfortable, which Mom loves! Walking has become an interesting task, in that I no longer walk, I waddle! Mom has long since past me in the speed department in walking. I have to ask her to slow down when we are out walking around. I think she is really enjoying her new knees. I am looking forward to being able to keep up with her again here soon.

The past couple nights I haven't been able to sleep like I normally am. Contractions keep waking me up. I have to consciously try and relax and breath through them so I can go right back to sleep (well kind of).

I am 11 days over due as of today, and only have until Sunday to have her at the Midwifery (their rules, not mine). If I have her after that then I have to go to the hospital. My midwife seems to be pretty happy with what she is seeing however, and is hoping that either today or tomorrow is the day. If I don't have her sometime tonight, then I get to take Castor Oil tomorrow morning (not looking forward to that) to see if we can encourage things to pick up their pace.

As my friend Joe put it, Mary-Brenna's lease is up and it is time for her to move on out. It is just a matter of finding what is going to persuade her. Pictures of this sweet little girl will come soon. I know I am super excited to meet her (I am just really tired right now).