Sarah At Four Months

No more pillows to prop her up!

Stats
Length: 26.3" (97%)
Weight: 15lb 6oz (73%)
Head circumference: 16.3" (59%)

Sleeping
I'll go ahead and say it.  Sarah is the best sleeper in the history of babykind.  Say what you want - "Wait til your second kid."  "This won't last."  But we're loving every minute of it as long as it lasts.  Sarah's night is from 8:00pm-8:00am without any wake ups.  She usually takes naps around 10:30-12:00, 2:00-4:00, and 7:00-8:00.  She falls asleep quickly by just sucking on her pacifier for 10-30 seconds.  We've started swaddling her with her arms out, and it's working well.  We started with one arm in and one arm out and worked our way to both arms out.  Eventually we'll switch to a sleep sack instead of the swaddle.  She sleeps well in her crib but can also fall asleep in the car seat when we're out and about.  She has a certain cry when she's sleepy, and if you just whisk her away quickly enough and head upstairs to her crib she'll fall right asleep.  We've also started tucking her in while she's sleeping but not actually asleep so she can learn how to fall asleep on her own.  There's never any crying.  She usually just falls right asleep, but sometimes in the afternoon if it's really bright in her room she'll play for 5 minutes or so and then fall asleep.

Eating
Sarah loves her bottle.  She loves it so much that we even wrote a song about it.  For real.  "Drinking bottles, it's my favorite.  It's a special time for me.  Drinking bottles, it's my favorite.  It gives me all the food I need.  I like to drink my bottles, morning, noon, and night.  I like to drink my bottles to help me grow up right."  We tried the size two nipple when she turned three months old.  It was awesome how much faster feedings went, but she'd spit up a lot so we switched back to size one.  It's okay.  She eats 8 ounces four times a day: 8:00, 12:00, 4:00, and 8:00.  I think we'll be starting baby cereal soon.

Personality
Sarah loves smiling!  She also loves "talking."  She's really been experimenting with her voice this month and making lots of new sounds with her throat and tongue.  She squeals, coos, screams, and makes all sorts of noises!  She likes to stare intently at things and raise her eyebrows while studying.  She likes to tilt her head dead and smile shyly.  She hates the cold and wind.  Stroller rides have become very short even while bundled.

Health and Physical Ability
Sarah is still working on her bottom two teeth, so it's made for a few sad moments, but she's doing well overall.  It's caused her to be a drooling snot machine.  She can hold toys in each hand at the same time.  She still loves tummy time and reading while in that position.  She still loves her activity mat.  She's gotten very good at putting anything and everything in her mouth - toys, books, hair.  She has started getting more hair and it's much blonder than it was at birth.  Baths have become much more enjoyable, and she enjoys splashing around some.  She's in between sizes right now.  Some outfits are 3-6 months, and others are 6-9 months depending on the brand.

Superficial
Sarah is the world's cutest baby.  I'm glad we've established that.  She has gorgeous blue eyes and eyelashes.  She has the softest skin ever.  She loves snuggling and holding on tight to your shirt like she never wants to let go.  We call this her koala bear position.

Highlights of the month

Celebrating Pepaw's 85th birthday

A visit from Grandma!

Sarah's first Thanksgiving

Sarah's first Christmas party

Dear Sarah,
Seriously, you are a cool girl.  It's obvious that all the other babies want to be like you.  I hope you grow up to be a good role model to your peers, those who are younger than you, and even those who are older than you.  You can be a great leader.  If you have Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior He will guide your steps and help you to make good decisions that please Him and will be good for you.  Sarah, my greatest desire is for you to know the unfathomable love of your Heavenly Father and that you will choose to be His servant and follower all the days of your life.  Things in your life won't always be as easy as they are now, but God will never change, and you will always be His precious creation.  God will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go (Psalm 32:8).  Thank you for making me a mom.

November 2015

November was another full month!  We started out the month with Robert having his fall retreat for the youth.  Sarah and I weren't up for the weekend trip, so we went to stay with my parents.  The retreat went well, and we enjoyed our time with my parents.  This was Robert's first time to be away from Sarah overnight. :(

Going to Grandma and Grandpa's house means lots of fun activities!

I've started running.  Eek!  I meet with a group of ladies from church as well as some of their friends on Saturday mornings at 8:00, and then I also run a few times with my friend Madison during the week.  I use the word run loosely.  Right nose it's more walking than running, but the end goal is a 5k.  I've lost the baby weight but haven't lost the flabby belly.  It's time for this mommy to work it!

Robert and I got new phones this month.  I've had a cell phone for nearly a decade now, and I still don't understand why it can't take less than two hours to activate a new phone in Verizon.  Ugh.

Sarah and I started going to story time at the public library on Monday mornings.  It's so great!  It's for birth through 18 months.  The director reads a story, we sing songs with actions, she recites some rhymes, and then we just hang out and talk with each other.  I love giving Sarah opportunities to make learning fun, and I don't mind the interaction with humans who can actually talk.

We enjoyed celebrating Sarah's first Thanksgiving.  We started out by volunteering to serve at our church's preschool party for families.  Sarah and I were in charge of monitoring desserts. Ha!  We spent Thanksgiving with my family.  Sarah got to meet Great Uncle Nelson and first cousin once removed Michael.  This was a topic of discussion, and we established that he isn't her second cousin.  Why was this so funny to me?  We got to spend so much time with dear friends this week!  Again, more laughing and talking than I could handle.  It was awesome!  Grant, Michael, Keegan, and Monica got to meet Sarah for the first time.  It's weird seeing people who you haven't seen since before having a baby.  It feels like a lifetime ago.

This month we started Parents As Teachers.  The public school district offers this service.  I school employee comes to our house once a month to check in on Sarah, give me ways to challenge her, and talk with me.  Our first appointment was mostly just a time to get to know each other, but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next appointment.  Sarah showed off, of course.

Elise, Leigha, and Tarah came to town for a girls' night out.  This was awesome.  My only question is why on earth did we not start doing this months ago???  The next night is already scheduled.  Tarah's husband, James, hung out with Sarah and Robert.  It was so perfect!  I hadn't laughed that much or talked that quickly in way to long, and I know Robert enjoyed spending time with James.  He didn't have too bad of a deal since Sarah went to sleep shortly after I left.

Thanksgiving 2015

This Thanksgiving was so much fun!  Robert and I recounted our previous Thanksgivings from our married years: a meal with another newlywed couple (2012), Alabama with R's dad's side of the family (2013), and church friends (2014).  This was our first Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family.  We were so thrilled to see the usual crew of my parents, Memaw and Pepaw, and Jim and Taylor, but it was also great to have my aunt, uncle, and cousin in town.  Sarah's first Thanksgiving was a success!

Robert, Sarah, and I headed to town Tuesday after work to have a meal with friends.  This was Michael, Keegan, and Monica's first time to meet Sarah.  It's weird to see friends that you haven't seen since before you became a parent.  The circle of life, man.  It's weird.  Time marches on.  The plan was for Sarah and me to spend the night with my parents and for Robert to go back home so he could work on Wednesday.  Robert got back home only to realize that he had forgotten his house key.  Wah wah wah.  I met him halfway and gave him his key.  Since I was already out late I decided to stop by Leigha and Elise's duplex to hang out more with Keegan and Michael and to see Grant for the first time.  It was such a great time!  I can't say that I've stayed out til midnight since Sarah was born, and I probably won't be doing it again until the same crew is in town for Christmas, but it was so great!

Sarah, Mom, Dad and I hung out Wednesday morning, and we girls ran some errands to Walgreen's, Wal-Mart, and a flea market.  Fun!  Robert got to the house in the late afternoon, and we enjoyed a trip to the park to see our friends.  Emily had gotten in late the night before and was able to join us.  I'm so so so thankful for faithful friendships that have lasted decades.  I fully recognize how rare that is and don't take it for granted.  There's just something to be said for having such a rich history...and being able to tease each other for something funny that happened in 4th grade.

Meeting a Barbie for the first time

The rest of the family crew got in Wednesday evening, and it was another late night of chit chatting.  I'm not sure I've talked or laughed this much in months!  Daily conversation with Sarah is somewhat (completely) one-sided.

First cousin once removed, Michael

Thanksgiving was a day of family time.  Sarah and I joined the boys for frisbee golf at the park.  After that, Sarah and I went over to Memaw and Pepaw's house to hang out and eat lunch.  The big Thanksgiving feast was held at my parents' house.  The food was delicious, and the house and decor looked great!  We played a few rounds of the traditional family game: Catch Phrase.  Still note tired of it!  Watched some football and had another late night.  That seems to be a theme here.  It's worth it when you're getting to spend time with people you rarely see!  Sarah is such a great sleeper that we knew we'd be able to sleep in.  She's been clocking 12 consecutive hours lately.

Reading about Noah with Grandma

Today was full of more friend time.  We saw the regular crew as well as Jen and her husband, Garner.  We wrapped up friend time by singing about 50 Christmas songs around the piano.  This is weird, I know.  It's also totally awesome.  Robert's dear friend, Josh, and his wife, Christina, stopped by to meet Sarah on their way home to Oklahoma from Illinois.  Another friendship for which to be thankful!  The whole fam (minus Michael) ate pizza and played spoons at Memaw and Pepaw's house.  We wrapped up the visit and enjoyed a quiet, rainy drive back home while Sarah slept the whole time.  I'm thankful for so many things - a healthy baby, the opportunity to watch my daughter grow, a husband to share my days with, living close to family, food and home, laughter, faithful friends - but most importantly I am thankful for God's never-ending, unchangeable love and that He loves me enough to send His only Son to die for my sins so I can live eternally and have a personal relationship with the Father.