Numero Ocho!

Another month has come and gone. Oaklie is not a little baby anymore, she is well on her way to becoming a toddler. I cant complain much because following Oaklie around the house is giving me a good work out. Andrew and I are having so much fun with her. She is learning to interact with us more and more. She can say "da" for daddy and I think she is trying to say mom when she goes "mmmmm..." She says it when she wants me so I will take it. She now answers to her name and realizes that we are talking to her or about her when we say it. And she wants to eat every meal she possibly can with us. She likes to feel included.

I've come to see that with every milestone she achieves, her personality changes. She loves to interact and talk to people but only from a distance. She is becoming a little shy. She will smile and talk but only if she is by mine or Andrew's side. But when we are home with just us, she is a little ball of energy. She loves to hear herself talk and go wherever she wants and get into whatever she wants. Oaklie has recently learned to clap with her hands and she is learning how to walk using the furniture. I won't be surprised by next month, she will start walking on her own. Until then we enjoy playing with her and watching her grow. Being a mom and having a family is the best thing in the world. I wouldn't change mine for anything. <3

(Popsicles help her with teething)

We're back!!

Tonight is my first official night home from Idaho. I flew back late last night and boy are Oaklie and I wiped out. It was such a good visit. I wish Andrew could have came for a couple of weeks so we could have worked it out where we could stay longer. I could not believe how fast the month flew by. It felt like I was only home for a couple of weeks. But I sure am happy to be back with my husband. I cant imagine deployment because a month was long enough for the both of us. 

So a lot has changed since I was last on. Oaklie is now 7 months, almost 8 and she is getting into everything. She has perfected crawling and can now stand up using furniture. Next will be walking. She will walk if you are holding her hands so I don't think it will take too long until she figures out how to balance on her feet. 

Oaklie was a little shocked when we first got to Idaho. She was not sure about the family since she was only 2 months when she saw them last. It took her a little bit to warm up to everyone but she did. She especially bonded with my dad. She sure loves her grandpa because he would always take her out on walks or I like to call them little adventures. Every time he would come home from work, Oaklie would look around for him and call him over to her so he would take her away. She loved her Aunt Courtney and Grandma too, but Oaklie is not one to cuddle. And that is all Courtney and Grandma wanted to do, was hold her and cuddle her. Oaklie had a lot of firsts while we were home. She tried different foods, went on four wheeler rides, and got to ride in a boat which was probably her favorite part of the whole trip. She would just lay there in her little corner and relax which is rare with her. She loves to be constantly on the go. So it was nice to see her relax and sit back for once. 

We tried to get around and see as much family as we could. Sadly, we didn't get around to everyone. My dad was really busy with work so that made things hard to leave. But we got to spend a lot of time with all of my nieces and nephews. It breaks my heart every time I have to say goodbye to them. They were amazing with "Baby O" (nickname they gave her) and she loved being around them just as much as they liked being around her. But probably the highlight of the trip for me was going to City Creek with all my sisters, where we spent the whole day shopping together. It is so hard to get all of us together so it was nice spending time and catching up with them. As sad as it was for me to leave, it was time for me to come home. I hate saying goodbye. I always tell them I will see them later because it is never goodbye for too long. Crossing our fingers we will be home for another month during Christmas and Oaklie's first birthday. And the best part is, Andrew will be coming with us. I do not recommend anyone to fly alone with a baby. It was tiring. I wont fly alone with Oaklie again unless I absolutely have to. She didn't cry, she just wanted to play and talk. So you can imagine how it was for the people next to me trying to sleep. But luckily for me they were all good sports about it and just smiled at Oaklie. But for now, I am going to bed. We are a bit jet lagged so I hope everyone has a good night. :)

Half Birthday!

Oaklie is now 6 months. I can't believe its been that long since she came into this world. It feels like I just had her. Time really does fly when you start having kids. Before I know it, we will have a toddler on our hands. As much fun as it has been watching her change and grow, I wish she was still my little newborn. But you can't stop time and I am loving every minute of the day watching my little girl grow.

1 month: Oaklie came into our world. All she did was sleep, eat, poop, and repeat. She loved to cuddle and take baths.

2 months: Oaklie started to smile and coo. She also found her thumb and discovered TV. She's been hooked on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ever since.

3 months: Oaks went to the beach for the first time. She started to laugh and roll from her tummy to her back. She found her feet and started to grab at toys.

4 months: Oaklie really started to make her presence known by talking really loud and everywhere we go. She learned how to pick up her toys and put them in her mouth. She started to learn how to support herself sitting up.

5 months: Oaklie tried Oatmeal Cereal for the first time. She can now sit up and she learned she can roll from her back to tummy. Oak started rolling and scooting all over the house. She is always on the move.

6 months: This month we will be in Idaho most of it and I predict she will start to crawl. I am going to start her on baby food. She will be taking a boat ride and seeing fireworks for the first time.

Happy half birthday sweetheart! I cant believe how much she has changed in 6 months. I cant wait to see what these next 6 months bring and what else she will accomplish in that short of time. :)

Oaklie's Nursery

OK, so it took me 5 months after Oaklie was born to get her nursery done. Don't judge me. I thought I would have plenty of time to finish it while she slept, but I was wrong. When my parents came to visit, they brought a whole suitcase filled with just clothes for Oaklie. Oaklie had more then enough clothes before but when my parents came and we put it all in her room, her room became her closet because it was sooooo much. Last night I decided it was time to finally finish her room up and clean out her closet. It was sad putting all her newborn and 3 month clothes in boxes. Its weird to think we won't use them again unless we have another girl. Her room is not a 100% done yet. I want to get a few things to put in there but with time it will come. But with everything else I thought we did a good job organizing everything. Enjoy!

The angel picture above is really special to me. My mother gave that to me when I was little after my cousin Jordan passed away. The picture represents him watching over me and now I am passing it down to Oaklie so Jordan can watch over her. <3

Just a Bunch of Babbling about Being a New Mom!

For some reason today I am just in the mood to blog. I know all I talk about is Oaklie in my blog, but who wouldn't talk about there new baby girl? My life revolves around Oaks. I can't even picture what my life was like before I had her nor do I want to picture myself without her. I haven't really gone into what it is like for me to be a first time mother. You can get all the advice you want, or say you know enough about taking care of a little baby from experience like babysitting or nieces and nephews. But the truth is, you really don't know until you have one of your own. Lately, it seems all my friends are currently pregnant. I am so happy for all of them because this is one of the best things you will ever do in your life. But I do have to admit I am a little jealous. Its not that I want to become pregnant right now, but I was pregnant all by myself. After I had Oaklie, one by one everyone around me was telling me they were expecting. I am so ecstatic for each of them but you know I wish I would've been pregnant with them also. Pregnancy from my perspective, was the easiest out of it all. Weirdly enough, labor was the best of it. I enjoyed it. But when you actually have the baby, is when things get harder, but its the most rewarding.  Oaklie being 5 months now, I can look back at everything I've done and tell myself what a good job I've done. I think I adapted well with being a new mom. I am no expert but I have one healthy and happy baby to show for it. I still am learning new things everyday I go. I don't think anyone knows what the best thing to do in any situation because each baby is different. I've had my older sister and friends ask me all the time about what it was like for me having Oaklie and what it was like after the hospital. I cant say it is going to be the same for everyone. I was very fortunate to not get post partum. I did get a slight case of baby blues but from what I hear, most mothers do. There were a few times I would cry just to cry. I had no idea what I was crying over. It went on for maybe a week and then I was fine. You can read about my expedience having Oaklie here http://airmansgurl32.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-story-of-oaklie-kaye.html. But I had a wonderful and easy labor. I never wrote about how life was after the hospital. Oaklie for the most part has always slept through the night. She can sleep like a rock. She will normally go to sleep around 11 at night and will sleep until 10 in the morning. Of course she has her bad nights but I have never gone a night without any sleep. She always wakes up to eat around 6 in the morning but she is instantly asleep while I am feeding her. Which brings up breast feeding. There is nothing wrong with bottle feeding. Some people cant feed by choice or have to go to work. I was luckily enough to be able to breast feed Oaklie. It is tough and demanding at first but so worth it in the end. It is a bonding experience only YOU will have with your precious little one. I will admit I just wanted to give up at first. It hurt pretty bad for me especially when I actually started getting my milk in. But I'm glad I stuck to it. I am not going to go into a lot of detail on it but I love it and if you have the ability to do it, I would encourage you do it for as long as you can because it is just as rewarding for you and more so for your baby.

Just enjoy your baby. Time goes by really fast. I still cant believe Oaklie is already 5 months. In 7 short months she will be a year. So when everyone tells you time goes by fast, it does. They change dramatically within that little of time. Oaklie has gained 7 lbs and has grown 5 inches since she was born. They don't stay little for as long as you would like. Oaklie is learning to sit up and is on her way to start crawling and walking. But for all those new expecting mothers, enjoy being pregnant. I miss feeling Oaklie's kicks. And when your little one is here, take in every second you have with them and invest in a camera if you don't already have one. You want to capture every cute moment. <3

Sorry for the long blog and all the babbling but with a sleeping baby and all the questions I get asked, I had the time to do it and I hope that answered some of the question new mothers may have.