Baby Girl Update :)

Baby Child is now 10 months old!! One more step closer to 12 months! EEP!

Getting photos of her this month was tough as she kept trying to throw herself off the couch. Thanks to her daddy for teaching her that one. 

Well she is a crawling, yelling, standing, eating fiend. Sometimes she fusses over eating with a spoon and only wants finger foods so I am having a stressful time trying to find a safe variety of foods for her. No hubby, peanut butter toast is not okay. 

She is getting smarter and smarter. Baby Girl recognizes 'eat' and 'more' in sign, but still refuses to do them back. Once I do the sign, she gets excited and then goes into whinny mode til she gets her 'more'. We watch Baby Signing Times 1-2x a week together.

Another sign she is growing up: she has been wanting to put herself down for her naps and bedtimes. But only sometimes. So suffice it to say, naps and bedtimes have been a bit stressful for me lately. I never know when she wants to put herself down, and when she doesn't, she resists like the devil. 

Baby Child is making friends left and right. She loves other kids and babies and tries to hand them toys and smack them on the face out of love. I am glad she already has a little 'network' of friends, a little boy younger than her and a girl older than her and yet the same size. I am also looking at a MOPS group and mom's group at a local church where hopefully she can make more friends. 

Next month I am going into full out birthday planning mode because I won't be able to wait much longer :))

Have a lovely weekend friends!

Baby Girl 9 Month Update!

So happy to see you all!!

Today I just want to share my lovely child, who turned 9 MONTHS on Monday! Wow! Such a big kid :)

The last update I gave on Baby Girl was her seven month updated! Whoops! Well as you can imagine, a lot has changed since then. She is eating all sorts of foods and foods mixed together (she was actually a fan of Nana-cado!), but she has also started eating puffs. Oh. My. Goodness. The puffs. She is a puff eating fiend. She can go crazy for those things! I also introduced her to some organic yogurt melts I bought at Target and although I find them disgusting, Baby Girl loves them! 

Baby Girl also has her first tooth poking through but not all the way grown yet. As you might imagine, this made for some tough times around the household. It wasn't as bad as I suppose it could have been. I found it mostly frustrating because I couldn't find a solution that helped relieve her pain beyond Tylenol. I tried everything: cold chew toys and not cold chew toys just got throw across the room, the frozen washcloth was too cold, she didn't want to chew on my finger wrapped in a towel, and other soft items also seemed disfavorable to say the least. If I turn desperate during the next tooth, I might spring for an amber necklace. I would hate for it not to work after spending money on it though.

 Baby Girl is also CRAWLING!! Eep! She was army crawling for about 2 weeks, but never going far just toy to toy in the living room. And then she got all the way up to hands and knees, and then in one morning she realized she could go anywhere. Just like that. Hubby and I ran out that day for a baby gate! We still have to do some minor baby proofing. For instance some of the kitchen cupboards' childs locks are not functioning properly so we want to replace them. Luckily for now she ignores them. Crawling also means I have to vacuum daily because she now tries to pick up any and every piece of dirt or food found on the floor!

Because of her new found freedom, Baby Girl has also discovered how to pull herself up on furniture. Crawling over to mommy and daddy and clinging to their legs is a favorite pasttime. She isn't cruising yet, mostly she just wants to pull up to bounce or eat the couch cushion. 

Favorite toys right now are not many. Most toys are cast aside in favor of standing and crawling. We still love the jumperoozie and I think that is one of the best purchases I have ever made! She also has a fondness for a Lucky Bear care bear I used as a kid and the one dolly we seem to own. Noting that this is me, a girly girl, how do we only have one dolly?? But really that is all she needs. Every now and then I see her put Lucky or Dollie up against her face and I wonder if she is trying to hug them or kiss them. SO CUTE. 

Other toys she has given a passing interest in include a whip cream container, her orange and yellow ball, and the Barnyard Dance book which mommy eventually had to take away because she was eating the cover to pieces. 

Can't wait to see what this month has in store!!

Have you ever tried an amber necklace? What other teething remedies have you tried? 

My Bingo Blog

Folks. I did it. I blacked out my Bingo board.

The scariest part for me was the book rainbow. Most of my books are white and black it seems! Or ....dare I upset a lot of you??...ebooks. GASP. I have waaaay too many ebooks. But I managed to pull off all the colors without touching Baby Girl's books. So Proud. In fact. We will do that first. Please indulge me and say "oooo fascinating!" Thank you :)

Back to my Bingo Board...
Going straight across.

• The first book I read was Valor (review pending over at Sunrise Avenue). 
• You can find 2 of my challenge posts here and a separate post here.
• I tweeted @_RaTCentral_  probably too often :)
• Here is the tweet about what I was reading: "Trying my hand reading Dorothea Benton Frank. Folly Beach inrl is beautiful!! #summerlovin13" (ps I am @am_zech)

Next Row:

• I did all the participation posts! My fave is probably Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On because I got to announce my new blog and I enjoyed the book title scramble!
• I was following Greased Lighting on Twitter all day! I even won a prize! "And....the #SL6 trivia WINNER is......Alyssa @am_zech!!! Congratulations and check your DM for info. #SL24 #SummerLovin13"" SO HAPPY!
• Here are all the authors interviewed through the week. The links lead to the interviews: KA Tucker, Jennifer S. Doktorski, Sarah Fine, S.T. Bende, Jessica Gunhammer, Ardash Vartparonian, and Karla Nellenbach.
• I follow Read-a-thon Central on both Twitter and Facebook!
• And I read PLENTY of blogs this week!! New book blogs and old faves in my Feedly.

NEXT!

• Eat something sweet? Duh. It's me.
• A picture of something I love: 
  
  Chocolate via my instagram (@amzech18)
• I shared a favorite author with Read-a-thon Central on Facebook:

For the Bingo!!::I haven't been huge on following certain authors, but I do have 1 that I've been a fan of since 8th grade: Terry Brooks. I love his epic fantasy world and can't get enough!!

• Picture of the book I am reading..and my coffee...and Greased Lightening :)

via Instagram

MOVING ON:

Of course I checked out all the host blogs! Multiple times! I read all the author interviews and I really enjoyed reading their take on the participation posts. 

LASTLY:

• Read another book! "Okay!" I says. I accidentally read The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back in one day!!
• Do something outside:

 

I was outside reading and walking with Baby Girl a lot this week. Sorry its sideways :((

• And last but not least-a picture of my fave snack while reading. Lately. Trying to stay away from the aforementioned chocolate. 
  

I did it!! I BINGO BLACKED OUT!! 

And, even more amazing......I made it through this post! WHEW!

Night ya'll!

BVW.2 plus Baby Update!

Hello World!

This is my It's-Still-Wednesday Wednesday post! I will share this week's Bible verse first so that if you don't want to see pictures of a cute baby, you don't have too. But that would be pretty odd. Also, check out the first installment over here.So here it is:

This right here is some good stuff. David was being hunted down by Saul at this time. He spent the first part of Psalm 57 lamenting, scared, anxious, questioning. But then, in usual David fashion, he suddenly turned his attention back to the Lord singing praises. I was having a down in the dumps day when I stumbled upon this verse, and I knew just what I needed to do to turn it around like David did---worship. Crank it up and sing!

"Father, I sing your praises, marveling at your works. Let my songs awaken the dawn to sing with me! Everywhere I will worship You!!"

SELAH.

***********

And now an abrupt change to Baby Girl! 

A lot has changed since our six month birthday. Well, that is probably just me talking as a mom. Baby Girl is now eating oatmeal, avocado and carrots like a pro. Sweet potatoes have been introduced but she is not liking them so far, which is a big bummer for me since I recently discovered how much I love them! 

She is now sitting completely on her own and we have had very few falling over incidents. This kid was pretty much born to sit, becoming a fan before she was even three months! Also, she is now a foot chewing pro! Nothing can stop her! 

The only other 'big' developmental change is she started to say the 'D' sound, so 'da da' is quite common and I even heard a 'daddy' once! Speaking of which, she is ENAMORED with her daddy. When she sees him walk into a room she just lights up and starts flailing even more than usual. Daddy IS pretty awesome, but it sure is setting a spike of jealousy in me! Besides Daddy, her other favorite toys of the moment include her first Ipad app and measuring cups. 

One last picture for the road: 

Thanks for stopping by the CSA! See you again Friday for FMF!!

Baby Update + Goals Update

Howdy Mr. Bloggy

Well it is time for updates all around!! Starting off first with my precious Baby Girl!! She is SIX MONTHS OLD TODAY! Oh my gosh. I have had this blessing with me for half a year. Wow. Just wow. 

We went to the doctor today for her well check up so the next few days will be rough after those shots. She weighed 16# 2oz and was 25 inches long. She even managed to smile at the nurse through tears after the shots! What a cutie! Heck, I know you want another picture!

SO ADORBS

This month we didn't accomplish much. She still won't roll from her tummy to her back, but can't seem to stop herself from rolling back to tummy! Blowing raspberries seemed to come back full force after disappearing for a few weeks. That one could have stayed wherever it went! 

She has become an oatmeal eating pro managing to eat 2 ounces at a time. Then we both get bored and quit. Oops. Yesterday she also received a few tiny bits avocado. That was a good time. For the parents that is. Not sure she is ready for so much flavor but hopefully with time :)

We also bought her a jumperoo. And oh.my.goodness. Now the kid can't stop bouncing! Constantly, constantly bouncing. Glad she loves it so much! 

Lastly, she has *almost* gotten her foot in her mouth twice. Centimeters away and she gives up. I guess this means I should clip her toenails more often....

Well.......my #AwesomeApril goals for this last week went largely unaccomplished. Review them here. 

Walking the baby was out of the question with the SNOW. I managed to finish my two books Jellicoe Road and A Thousand Gifts, so look for possible book reviews in the future! I also ate more sugar than I wanted because Hubby was trying to convince me to relax. Eating well, much less clean, is always a little harder when he is on days off because then we both just want to relax and kick back. We did still manage to work out; I only missed one day of both the daily blend in the morning and a Body Gospel workout. I picked up where I left off the next day, but now I am set back by a day. So! That being said, here are the new week's goals, much the same as last week...

Fitness:
1. Continue to alternate APY60 and Body Gospel workouts
2. 5 'real' pushups daily (stemmed from Hubby making fun of my girlie pushups)
3. 15 pound kettlebell swings at the gym

Food:
1. Eat healthy snacks! (I am generic with this because it still isn't a good habit)
2. Cut out High Fructose Corn Syrup wherever possible
3. Use the rest of my Shakeology (2 dinners)

Spiritual:
1. Read a chapter of the Bible daily (I totally accomplished this goal from last week, making it to 2 Corinth          10. Reading the Message NT straight through)
2. Write out my 1000 gifts daily, 2 minimum
3. Pray before every meal and bedtime (trying to make it a habit now to teach Baby Girl good habits!! Good for me too :))

Personal:
1. Finish reading Age of Miracles
2. Begin organizing my Compassion binder


What are your goals for this week? For April??

Baby Update + Graphic

Hello Bloggy Blogs,

My baby girl just turned 5 months and I think everyone deserves to see an adorable picture of her!

 

She accomplished A LOT this month. Uff-da.

• Rolled over in both directions twice, but of course won't repeat it!
• grabs her feet
• sits almost on her own, up to a minute
• raspberries. WOW did we like raspberries!!
• Our tummy time strength has really improved

Baby girl is also just now outgrowing her 3 month one piece outfits!

For me, I am slllloooooooowwwwwwllllyyy learning patience through baby tantrums. This past month was a toughie. The baby tantrums could be the result of all that learning, a cold, or the beginning of teething. I am also trying to fight and find my way to learning how to be a mom, but also still be me at the same time. 

Going forward: we are looking at giving baby oatmeal cereal a go sometime soon. Baby G is showing a lot of signs of being ready, so we will be trying it sometime soon. I was going to start with avocado, but since she still might not be ready, I didn't want to waste one until we were sure. I also didn't want to start with boring old rice cereal since it can possibly cause constipation, and sweet baby child doesn't need any more of that!! 

Before heading out, I wanted to leave you with a graphic. This verse has meant so much more to me know that I have experienced the gift of life firsthand, and I am sure the same is true for a lot of new moms! Feel free to enjoy it/use it however you want! Right-click and select 'save-as'