Adventures in Rice Cereal

We began the adventure of introducing Lindsay to solids with rice cereal last week.... I mixed it with breastmilk. We have just been giving it to her in the evening before bed. I haven't seen any of the magical rice cereal sleep properties yet.. but I am still hopeful! Overall, I think she did pretty good! Here are some pics...Pre-Dinner time Rice Cereal
Daddy giving the first bite... she was pretty interested...Of course, she had to touch it. She REALLY wanted the spoon..I let her play with it for a minute, but she almost poked her eye so it went bye-bye fast.
A question for Seasoned Moms..Lindsay wanted to put her hands all over the spoon and rice cereal got everywhere (which was expected:) but, do I keep letting her suck the rice cereal off her fingers? Does that impare the spoon eating skill?Yum! She is not quite sure what to think about it... a few seconds later she motioned for some more and tried to grab the bowl....lol

Since she was a MESS.... she went straight into the bath! Scrub-a-dub-dub...
All clean! Got all the rice cereal out from my double chin....whew! Ready for bedtime Mama!

Swimmin' in Grandpa's Pool

Grandpa Rich and Lindsay.... Roxy was just hanging out with us on the side of the pool trying not to get splashed!

Grandpa and Lindsay :)

Mama and Lindsay... I think I went a little overboard on sun protection... hat..check. Sunscreen..check. Giant umbrella over where she would be....check. LOL.

Jackson was next to me wondering what was going on... he did not jump in the water.lol.

A few days before Father's Day, Lindsay and I made an impromptu trip to Bakersfield to celebrate Father's Day with my Dad and Lindsay's Grandpa! We ate Rusty's Pizza and christened Grandpa's pool! Thank goodness the weather was warm the past few weeks of 100 degrees so the pool was really warm.

Being in the pool with my Dad reminded me of precious memories of spending the summer at my Grandpa Clay and Grandma Rosie's house. They had a pool where Grandma taught me how to swim, and Grandpa would bravely protect us from wasps with his trusty fly-swatter, which he kept on the side of the pool for good measure. My sweet Grandpa is in heaven now, but I know he would smile if he could see how our pool fun was being passed on through my Dad & Lindsay.

We love you Grandpa Rich!! We had so much fun! Happy 1st Grandfather's Day!

Happy 1st Daddy's Day!

Happy First Father's Day to the most wonderful husband and Daddy in the world! Lindsay adores her Daddy, and her special time every night when he gives her a bath and snuggles! She always has a smile for her Dad, and loves when he flies her in the air! Jarrett is so patient and gentle with her, and she has responded to his voice since the moment she was born, turning her head and watching him!

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful man in our lives... I know that he will impart his sense of humor, patience, integrity and most important, his love of Jesus to Lindsay. I am so proud of Jarrett, and love that he is the head of our little family and BEST Daddy to our girl!

Wearing her shirt "I love Daddy and Daddy loves me" in honor of Father's Day!
Father's Day presents... a subscription to GQ magazine, sweet treats, a Sinatra CD, a book, "Daddy Loves His Little Girl" for the two of them to read together and a coffee mug decorated with her foot prints!

Fun story about the mug... while decorating it at Color-Me-Mine, a pottery painting studio in Calabasas, I was painting Lindsay's feet and putting them on the mug and this man's voice nearby said, "What a cute idea. I like your mug!" Me being the nerd I am, said "Thank you" and just glanced up quickly and who did I see, only DAVID BOREANANZ....celebrity and star of show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bones, etc... Swoon! He was there with his son to make something and sat down at the end of my table. I turned red and pretended like I didn't know who he was and finished my mug to boot scoot out of there. LOL. A much cooler person would have chatted him up... he just made me nervous....lol.

Bringing his daughter home... We love you!

Four Months

Our super dooper long girl :)I love her shirt it says, "Watch me Grow!"... we are watching in amazement Lindsay Loo!

Got back from the Dr.'s and here are Lindsay's four month stats:

26 inches.....97th percentile

13.8 lbs........50th percentile

4 shots...:(

*Noises... She has been finding her 'voice' if that is what you want to call it! She has been making all sorts of crazy noises- screeches, whines, moans, sighs etc... that are getting increasingly loud and cracking Jarrett and I up!

*Standing on your lap... When we were on the plane Lindsay began really trying to stand on our laps. She would do it infrequently before, but now its her favorite way to be held. She will lock her legs when I try to lay her flat to change her diaper or put her in her bumbo seat, making it hard to get her to sit!

*Laughing...We have caught her laughing a couple of times. Her laugh is too funny, almost a throaty-giggle? I can't figure out what was making her laugh, but she tends to laugh if everyone around her is laughing...peer pressure! LOL

*Sleeping... Still sleeping 3.5-4 hrs stretches at night. Hoping the next couple weeks we'll turn a corner to maybe FIVE hours...woo hoo!

*Eating... The Dr. told us she's ready to start rice cereal when we are ready. We are probably going to start it in the next few weeks. Video and pics we will post! Not sure if I am quite ready..she's really growing fast!

*Drooling... Still a slobber machine. No teeth, but they are working their way on up.

Lindsay has been a joy to us! Her personality is so sweet; she is inquisitive and gentle and oh so patient with her Mama and Daddy. She doesn't want to miss a thing around her, and would stay up 24/7 if we didn't make her go to sleep. She lets her needs be known and can be stubborn and a pistol at times (always near bedtime). Every day she greets us with a sweet smile, or will touch our faces with her slobbery hands and lean in for a kiss... what a precious blessing she is!

Fun Times in North Carolina

Jarrett, Lindsay and I just returned from a fun-filled week spent with the Morris's and Grandma Carol! This was Lindsay's first airplane trip and she did fabulous... she was SUCH a trooper and did fantastic with the time change and being carted around to all of our excursions. The weather was hot and humid on some days, but not as bad as what we were planning for. We had a blast and are looking forward to going back. Here are the highlights.... The reason we made our trip to NC... Our precious nephew and Godson, Nathaniel was baptized on June 6th. Here is Jarrett (Godfather), Peter (Dad), Sarah (Mom), Nate, Cindy (Godmother) and their preist. Such a special moment we were so happy to be there!

We visited a southern fave... Cracker Barrel. Or as Jarrett referred to it our ENTIRE trip and while we were in the restaurant as "Crate and Barrel"...lol. We got some funny looks from the waitresses...

For all our west coast friends, Cracker Barrel serves good-ol'-country food like biscuits and gravy, grits, chicken and dumplings etc... attached is a cute old fashion general store where Jarrett and Lindsay took a picture in front of some candy. They sell Moon Pies there!

Rocking Chairs.... were on so many front porches that we saw! If I had a porch you'd better believe I would have one on mine here in Malibu.
The Biltmore in Ashville, NC.... the largest home in America! We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but it was so beautiful. Jarrett and I agreed that our favorite room was the library- it was huge and had a chess set once owned by Napoleon!

Jarrett and I in the gardens... so pretty!

Auntie Sarah, Grandma Carol and Cousin Nate in the rose garden...

Jarrett and I on a balcony inside the Biltmore...Lindsay took the picture...just kidding...lol.

Koi Pond... Jarrett, Grandma Carol and Nate checking out the fish...

Sarah and I in the conservatory... there were so many beautiful flowers... my favorite were the hydrangeas.

Lindsay like the colors and the air conditioning..lol.

Nate and Lindsay were checking each other out the entire trip. Nate was so cute- whenever Lindsay would cry he would look at her and point and start to cry too! He is so smart-we would ask "Where are her eyes?" and he would point to her eyes, nose, ears and mouth!

We visited the Discovery Science Museum in Charlotte and here was a water exhibit that was kid-sized. Nate loved the water!

Sweet Cousins!

The Latta Plantation...We visited a restored plantation while in NC. We were on our tour and Lindsay had an explosive poopy all over Jarrett and the floor of the 200+ year old house. Miraculously, none of it got on her clothes, but it did get ALL over Jarrett and the house. Thankfully, we had baby wipes and the tour guide was understanding. Poor Jarrett- it was so humid that day, thank goodness he was wearing a black shirt! Yuck!

The green, green forest of NC...

Swimming! We took Lindsay to our indoor pool for her first dip in a pool! It wasn't the main pool but the warmer whirlpool tub... weeeee!

Daddy and his girl...

Cousins in the pool! They splashed and splashed!

Thank you so much Morris family for hosting us and sharing Nate's speical day with us! Thank you to Grandma Carol for flying with us and helping us with all the baby gear and being a wonderful soft set of arms Lindsay loved to sleep in! We love you Morris Family! Come see us soon in Malibu!

Three Months

She would not smile for the camera, no matter how many silly faces Mama made! Already a mind of her own... :)

Our sweet girl turned 3 months last week! I am having so much fun being her Mama! She has been growing and changing so quickly this month... I am so excited for the new stages, but a little sad too! Here is an update on what Lindsay's been up to this month:

**Her hair has been growning... it's still a light brown, dark blonde color. Her mullet has receeded, and her 'old man' spot is slowly going away ie more hair is falling out!

**Eyes are still blue.

**She has been giving me a run for my money when it comes to sleep... after my milk supply ran low she was waking up every 2 hrs around the clock to eat. Now that my supply is back, she got used to the habit of waking up... we are working on extending the time between her feedings again so she's not just 'snacking'. I am hoping that she will turn a corner soon! *yawn*

**Lindsay has discovered she can use her hands to put things in her mouth! Previously she would surprise herself when she would catch a hand/finger in her mouth, but now she has some hand/eye coordination! A few days ago she surprised me by reaching and grabbing a toy and bringing it back to her mouth for a taste! This is her favorite toy to munch on...

**Rolling! She has been able to roll on both sides when she is laying on her tummy. She uses one arm and one leg to sort of fall/push over. We have been practicing on rolling from her back to her tummy lately; she can roll to her side, but can't make it all the way over to her tummy (which I am so fine with...no hurry!) She is not a fan of the flash on my camera... hence the deer in the headlight look...sorry Lindsay!

**Drooling... I have been frequently finding my shoulders wet from her slobber..lol. Here is a pic of those baby blues and a little drool for good measure!

**Watching TV.... now, I am definietly NOT a proponet of promoting television by any means, but I have seen her checking out the TV when it is on. I think she enjoys the colors and music... I have been TIVOing Seseame Street and will let her watch a few minutes of the songs- she loves the music... she smiles, coos... I think her favorite character is Elmo.

**Long! She is getting to be so big... her 3 month Carter pajamas are too short! Her little toes are curling in the footsies... we have some 6 months which are way too big, so we have been dressing her in onsies for awhile.

**Big talker! She loves to talk to us in the morning; we can hear her in her crib cooing away. She frequently will say 'goo' in response to something you say to her!

Wow... if you read to the bottom of all this you are a trooper! I didn't mean to write so much, but it's been a big month!

Caught Her Rollin'

Enjoy!!!