Choose to be Happy

solids!! they are a whole new world. once ansley turned five months we felt comfortable getting her started. she was interested and our pediatrician gave us the go ahead so go ahead we did! after some researching and preparing we kind of just crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. new for her and new for us!! i was telling my girlfriend, i was feeling like i had gotten the hang of this whole baby thing and now its all changing with the introduction of foods and knowing soon she will be sitting up and mobile! so i guess its true what they say, just when you think you have them figured out, they change on you and are in a new phase!! so far, ansley's experience with food has been so good. she really impresses me. she is working on trying fruits and veggies and has loved everything so far, but there have been those initial bites where she is trying to figure the new taste out. we started with avocado, then sweet potatoes, then prunes and it was the introduction of apples they she was like what? is? this? much more tart compared to the sweetness she had had! but she soon discovered just how good apples are. an apple a day baby girl!!! keeps yo momma away!! (i probably should take my own advice because my fruit/veggie intake these days -um, months - has not been very good!!) after apples came pears and carrots and that's where we are at now!

so for my fleeting memory's sake:

to feed ans we have been using the 4 moms high chair which has been great. magnetic tray and very easy to clean, we also use the bumbo floor seat. ansley was not really a fan of the bumbo until we bought the tray that goes with it. if you sit her in it, with the tray and a spoon she is a-okay

solids! we have been making some and buying the rest pre-made. to make we have just used our magic bullet - no baby bullet - a girlfriend of mine told me she didn't really use hers for long so we didn't both. so we grind and then mixed in some breast milk and stored in ice cube trays and froze. thanks mom's before me for such an idea! i believe each cube is about an oz.

utensils: we've used the munchkin soft tip infant spoons from target and bowls

constipation: my googling and chatting with other mommy's has taught me about how their little tummies can get constipated. one great piece of advice i was given was to give them prunes to help which quickly solved the problem ;)

nursing: i am still nursing every 3 hours (7, 10, 1p, 4, 7) and feeding two meals in between. i know eventually ill drop a nursing feeding and add in a solids one but so far this is what is working for us

all the wipes! good is messy and i am working on giving into the mess! rip onesies.

... to be continued!! and any and all tips always appreciated!!!

oh hi!!! anyone out there? no? okay, cool. oh how i've missed this space of mine and getting to look back on the years and years of happy mems!! i kind of neglected it for a little (or six months) but i've been busy raising a human!!! the very best human. so moving right along.

our baby is one! i don't know how we got here so fast. and there are so many bits of ansie at this age that i want to freeze for one day when she's like ugh, mother!!

ansley at twelve months:

her eyes remain blue. our blue eyed baby. i did not see that coming. i thought surely they would change. but weeks turned into months and well, here we are and the eyes? blue! the prettiest blue my goodness. i love that she gets her blue eyes from her great grandmothers (austin's dad's mom and my dad's mom!) she also has two little dimples (austin's mom had two, my mommy has two, and i have one = dimple club, accepting candidates)

i see baby me in her face so much these days.

she is so busy and so curious. she's not walking just yet. but will crawl with her legs directly out at times and will stand for moments. throwing her hands in the air and squealing at times because she knows the WOOOO ansley!!! praises are coming. we make a point of it. 1. because i'm proud and 2. because it helps her feel more confident (flexing muscle emoji, where you at???)

when she's up to no good and called out by her lame parents (hi!) she puts her pointer finger to her mouth like ohhhh, this is awkward. was i not supposed to touch this glass pitcher you have at eye level on display right in front of me???? (not the worst argument, note to self move glass pitcher)

she mimics so much of what we do and its amazing to see. she is such a sponge. i would scowl at her and then laugh because she would giggle and then one day she started doing it back at me. it is the best.

she is still nursing and i think if you told postpartum me of a one week old newborn i wouldn't believe it. oh nursing!! it was so painful for me in the beginning. so many TEARS! but i am so so so so thankful that my mom told me to just give it another week and see how it felt. and with each day it got easier until one day the pain was just gone. it has been the best experience i love getting to snuggle my girl

running errands are a bit harder these days. pre-baby me could get so much STUFF done in a one hour lunch break. ha. it was kind of ridiculous. so i may have lost my "super errand girl" title (that i just gave myself) but i gained the best little sidekick. lately she no longer likes to sit in the buggy which is just plain annoying! sure i can strap her in, but she is a magician and will try her hardest to get out. so if you see us she will probably be sitting in the basket or strapped to me in the ergo carrier.

speaking of the ergo!! she loves to be worn. and i love it so much. my back doesn't love it for long periods of time now that shes getting heavier which is sad because i love having her close to me.

speaking of closeness!! ;) she especially likes to be close to me lately because dun dun dun teething. she is a slow teeth sprouter. only had three for a long long time. but the fourth is making its way and that has kind of thrown her for a loop. more needy (hate writing that because duh, she's a baby. baby's are needy. but its more in a I NEED MY MOMMY ASAP way lately)

she loves animals. real or stuffed, she doesn't discriminate. and she loves to give them kisses. she attempts to pet charlie (pet=grab hair) but he then always gets up and moves far away from her. so its really a one sided relationship at this time.

she gives the best hugs!!! its the best feeling!

she loves the song "summer on you" so i guess i had a alexa play that a bit too many times this summer. but its so happy and summery!!!

she loves to sort STUFF. whether its clothes, austin's socks, mail, etc etc. baby toys are cool and all but have you ever played with water bottles and remotes??? fascinating. also, i apologize if you come over to our house and the remotes don't work. so many batteries have been taken out so that she wont change the channel :)

bath time is her favorite. her daddy is usually the one in charge of this! (amen!! thanks APH!) i usually hear a lot of happy squeals so i think we are all good with this

our baby girl is so funny. expressive. curious. beautiful. i can't believe she was the wiggly baby in my belly. i will forever thank God for blessing us with the her. she is the greatest gift. we are so undeserving. i don't know why we get to be her parents, but I AM SO HAPPY WE DO. its not always rainbows and sunshine and happy giggles. HA no not at all. but of course its always, always, worth it. we are so in love with you, ansley mary hyatt! as long as i'm living, my baby you'll be, happy first birthday!!!