rough days

We had a super rough day yesterday. I mentioned on Hartley's 8 month post about her disinterest in nursing. Well, yesterday I about gave up.

She rarely sits still for anything these days. Diaper changes have become disastrous. No, poopie is usually contained, but everything else goes flying. She has to pull on her new lamp Grandmommie got her and peek out from under the shade, kick her painting off the wall, roll around and attempt to crawl on her changing pad. I'm seriously surprised she hasn't fallen off the table. Yet.

Anyway.

Oh, I was wondering where I went with that too..

She wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get her temperature. I could tell she was definitely warm.. but I have no idea if she was deathly ill because the girl would. not. stop.

And she was fussy.

And she barely nursed.

I threw in the towel when Marshall got home. He tried to give her a bottle before bedtime and she only drank 3oz. She woke up around 10pm and we tried to finish the bottle and she nursed a little, too. She was happy though and I got some sweet cuddle time in.

She's been sleeping in lately (8ish.. which I hope continues for the time change) but was awake before 7:30am this morning. I let her play/whine for a few minutes and then went to check on her about 7:45. Good thing I did- her diaper was so full it was coming out the sides and up to her shoulder blades.

Hartley was much happier this morning and actually nursed! I took her grocery shopping with me while Marshall knocked down our garage walls. That's right! I'm getting a garage door!!

She had fun banging on the Cheerio's box, being silly, and letting old people say hi.

I know we're gonna have rough days every now and then, but they wear me out. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when she can actually crawl and walk. How in the world are we gonna get a diaper on her then!? She's already showing a temper and stubbornness, too!

I'm learning to choose my battles. And appreciate her good moods. And successful nursings.

eight months

Hartley Caroline,

you are eight months old today!

• You are officially a handful. You want to get into anything and everything! The dishwasher, the fridge, underneath furniture, the trashcan... ya know, everything you shouldn't play with. We have to keep a close eye on you!
• You also grab hold of whatever is in reach or even possibly close to you. And when whatever object is taken away you get quite upset. We're starting to ignore your demands because it's gotten old really quick.
• You hit many milestones in the past month. You are a sitter! You sit very well on your own, with an occasional topple. Your balance simply amazes me as well as your posture! You started saying dada and most recently mama, puh, and bah. You continue to blow raspberries and motorboat. TWO teeth came in at once and you handled them fairly well! We were very delighted to find some teething relief for awhile. You are on the verge of crawling. You've started tucking your knees under and rocking on them. You get so giggled with this new trick!

• You've always been a squealer but this month you decided that you want to be a loud squealer! It's distracting, especially when I'm trying to have an adult conversation or grocery shopping. :) And you now sit in the shopping cart and choose clothes off racks. You've always gotten attention in the carseat, and now you get even more! Women and children always stop to talk to you and you don't mind at all.
• You had a weigh check to make sure you're growing. While you're still tiny for your age (14.4lb in the 5%), you are really long (27inches in the 75%)! Definitely like your Momma and Daddy. You have a few 3-6 month outfits that fit (barely) and attempting to fill out 6-9 month clothes. You are in size 2 diapers. [We have been using Luvs and they actually work! Some mornings there might be a leak, but that's after peeing and pooping and jumping around and probably peeing some more.]

• You usually wake up (or we make you start your day) between 7:30-8am. And bedtime is about 8pm.. if we can make it that far. Some nights you're ready earlier.. other nights you decide to get a second wind and make it past 8:15! Daddy and I enjoy our quiet time and watch tv talk about how wonderful you are.
• You still nurse 5 times a day, every 3 hours. Getting you to stay latched on has been the biggest challenge. You are very distracted! You have to know what the dogs are barking at, where Daddy just went, what sound the couch makes when you scratch it, where the remotes are, and how hard you can pull my hair or squeeze my face. Some nights I throw in a dreamfeed to make sure you've gotten enough liquids. Maybe once or twice a day you take water/diluted juice from a sippy cup. I have to help you hold it. And you enjoy letting the juice run down your face and neck.

• You LOVE eating. You eat 3 meals a day and one snack. Breakfast is pears or peaches. Lunch is green beans or peas. Dinner is sweet potatoes or carrots (and whatever table foods we might be having: green beans, mashed potatoes, carrots, watermelon). Snacks are bananas, carrots or puffs. You've eaten everything we've offered except squash. Daddy even let you suck on a pickle and you wanted more! You started snuffing/snorting when you eat, too. It's one of the cutest things- and you taught yourself!
• You still take 3 naps a day. Usually you sleep between an hour to an hour-and-a-half. We get a 45 minute nap somedays, but you're fine playing in your crib the remainder of the nap. We catch you attempting to crawl in the crib a lot these days. You like to scoot/roll around. And Grandmommie was the first to find you pulling the bumpers down and peeking out. You have the biggest smile and giggle when we get you up! That might be one of my favorite moments of the day.

• We don't use the swing much anymore, mainly because you think you're supposed to play in it. We've found you pumping in it (making yourself go faster or higher) and holding on to the sides and not going anywhere! You also try to grab for anything in reach (especially toys on the table near the swing).
• You love playing- scooting in your walker, bouncing in the exersaucer, rolling around with the dogs, reading your books, and pulling your toys out of a basket. You've started walking in your walker, rather than just kicking and going in whatever direction. I hang toys on the kitchen cabinet knobs and you scoot around getting them. You also like to chase me and Daddy and grab our legs.

• Bathtime is still one of your favorites. We haven't seen any poop in there (yet).
• You understand object permanence, especially the part where I leave the room or hide something you don't need to play with.
• Momma and Daddy are your favorite people, of course. Your cousin Anna Kate is pretty close after that. Then it's Mema and Grandmommie. You're not so sure about Grandaddy sometimes (it's okay, we think he's loud too). And you still love Sassy!

Can you see my teeth!?

• You absolutely love giving kisses! They're sweet open-mouthed ones.. not too slobbery! You especially like to grab onto faces and hold on really tight when you smooch.
• You went to the church nursery for the first time (in Savannah). And you loved it! It was nice to get you afterward because you were so excited to see me. You kept burying your face in my chest (in a non-nursing kind of way) and kissing me.
• You are the biggest flirt. You like smiling and giggling for both little boys and grown men!

If you click on this picture and zoom in, you can definitely see my teeth!

Hartley, you are a joy each day even if you decide to be ornery. I could just sit and watch you for hours, smiling and laughing at you. You are definitely a silly girl! This stage is incredibly amazing. You're learning everyday!

I feel like I've blinked and you've grown up already. You better slow down or you might have a little brother or sister sooner than we thought!

hold your horses

We have a rain delay for the 8 month post. I tried to take some cotton pickin' field pictures last week, but the harsh sunlight and dead battery made for some baaad pictures. And it's raining today. Like probably all day.

And my bacon is burnt.

We might try some indoor pictures later. And we'll leave you with one of the "better" pictures that was doctored up tremendously.

attempting more milestones

Each week I see my little girl becoming a big girl. :(

She's going to be EIGHT months old this weekend! She's not very mobile (she's working on it!) but she manages to get around and get into whatever she can find.

We kept this wicker basket in the kitchen for vegetable picking.. but we had to move it because it became a strangling hazard. She would go straight to it when she saw it and would manage to pull it off the drawer.. and somehow get it around her head. It was pretty funny dangerous.

Yes, you are cute.

She's still reaching for anything she can get her hands on.

We're adding more and more finger foods.. or gnawing foods. Those would be corn cobs.

I was thinking to myself this morning about how quickly she learned to sit up on her own.. except I realized it's been almost a month since she started. But she rarely needs any help!

She loves cheesing for the camera these days!

She is almost ready to start crawling. She's been tucking her knees under her more and rocking on them. It looks weird, but she's enjoying her new trick. She's so close to the real thing!

She's also been working on commands with Sassy. This is down.

And this would be up.

This morning.. at like 7am.. she decided she wanted to start shaking her head no. I blamed my mother for that one, since she came for a short visit this weekend.

Hartley had her first evening babysitter since she was 2 weeks old. Marshall and I went to the Ryan Delmore concert in Savannah on Saturday, leaving Hartley with her Grandmommie from 6pm to bedtime. I was telling Marshall yesterday that it was nice not having to entertain Hartley for 3 hours in the evening. We got a break and Grandmommie got some time with her favorite grandbaby.

And Hartley did very well considering she completely understands object permanence now...

teeth!

No pictures, but we can feel teeth.. just not see them. If that makes sense.

I only felt a little bit of something last night, but there's gradually been more today! And this morning I noticed two slots where the pesky teeth should be! Grandaddy definitely felt something when Hartley bit his thumb.

This is such a relief.

Furthermore, Hartley has decided she wants to say dada out loud. In addition to the beginnings of jibberjabbering.

AND! I know.. there's even more!

Hartley has started tucking her knees under her stomach. To me, that means she's almost to the point of crawling.

It's been an eventful week here. A good one!

serious teething

It's almost 10pm. Hartley is wide awake.

Actually she's been up for the past 2 hours screaming bloody murder.. if she's not being held.

During dinner she started squealing ridiculously loud. I could barely hear myself on the phone with my Momma nor talking to Marshall at dinner. She was happy though.

She was later taking her bath and all of a sudden something switched.

She got highly upset. Daddy couldn't calm her down, so I figured maybe she just wanted to nurse and head to bed.

Or so we thought...

She seemed fine for a few minutes when we laid her down, but then the crying began. After trying to nurse some more and her pulling off continuously, I decided to let her gnaw on my finger.. and I realized...

There's something trying to poke through.

Rocking does nothing. Nursing neither. All we can do is sit on the couch and let her play in our laps.

We'll update tomorrow.. if we can get enough rest.

banana face

Hartley was never sure about eating mashed bananas. So recently we tried chopping up pieces of banana. She actually ate them! Then we started sharing them for a snack.. and she saw how Momma ate.

upload overload

I'm going to overcompensate for the lack of posts this week with lots of videos and pictures. You're welcome, Momma.

We're beginning the stages of discipline. Hartley has been "hitting" and "biting" lately. I'm not sure she realizes she's biting, and it's not like she's chomping down, but I've noticed when she's done nursing she starts playing (while still attached) and kinda pinches me with her lips. Let's just say it's not comfortable. But it's cute when she blows raspberries while nursing!

She's banging on everything these days, too. I'm trying to teach her pat pat. But it's not working much. When she gets tired her hitting becomes a little too much. She's hit her spoon.. splattering food. She's also starting to show a temper when she doesn't get her way. Yes, already!

And she definitely understands object permanence. She knows that my eyeglasses she wants so much are hiding under the pillow.

About 2 weeks ago she started boycotting naps. She would play for at least 45 minutes in her crib. This disrupted naps for a few days. After trial and error, Marshall and I realized her waketime needed to be longer. And different times of the day require different lengths.

Naps improved quickly! We still have short naps here and there, but it's much better than a day full of short naps.

This past week has been incredibly busy (note the lack of posts). I was trying to recall the last time I just stayed at home in my pjs. It might have been last Friday! But in the last week Hartley has hit a few milestones (at least in my book).

Saturday we went to a wedding. We held the record for the shortest ceremony for 3 years... it was beat that day. From the time the bridesmaids walked in to the time the bride and groom walked out.. right over 10 minutes. I had been distracted by Hartley and asked Marshall what just happened- it was over. One prayer. I do's. Kiss the bride.

Sometime between Friday and Saturday Hartley started "cheese grinning." This is Marshall's way of smiling. I'm not sure where this phrase came from.. but we can see Hartley's gums and all! It's different from her normal "I'm-happy-smile" and I think it's more of a "smiling-for-the-camera-smile." You'd have to see it for yourself and decide.

Click on the above picture and zoom in, you might see some future teeth!

She also started saying "dada." Except she whispers it. What's interesting is she says it when she sees her Daddy! No "mama" yet. She almost says it at around 35 seconds.

Our friends the Bates made a spontaneous visit over the weekend too! They missed Hartley so much they just had to see her.. and buy a car for one heckuva deal.

I'm thinking Erika taught Hartley her newest trick- she scrunches her nose and sniffs in and out. I have no idea what that's called. Snuffing? I don't want to say my baby snuffs... that doesn't sound right. At around 19 seconds she starts..

Anyway, it's really cute because she usually does it with a mouthful of food!

Speaking of food, we're casually integrating finger foods into Hartley's menu. She actually eats bananas now! We just chop up a few pieces and help her eat them. She knows how to eat Gerber puffs, but bananas are still a challenge. And she's figuring out spaghetti, too!

kitchen wainscoting

We've been wanting to "finish" our kitchen wainscoting for a while now. You might remember the previous paint project where we freshened up the kitchen look. Adding some molding and painting the wainscoting a uniform color would seal the deal.

So Marshall decided to start measuring out the frames.. at like 9pm. On a Monday night.

Marshall in his sexy jean shorts.

The project was completed in stages, taking 3 or 4 days. This was so long ago I can't remember. Okay, it was like 3 weeks ago.. but I've got a lot going on with a teething/schedule changing baby.

Frames drawn out and some molding in place

Someone thought it would be a good idea to nail the framing in after Hartley went to bed. And surprisingly, she slept through multiple shots with the nailgun.

We won't discuss how she's behaving tonight...

After Marshall completed his portion of the project (measuring, sawing, nailing), it was my turn to prime. We're learning the importance of priming. Don't skip this.

Molding complete and primed.

We wanted to match the new wainscoting with the existing trim paint that's throughout the house. Fortunately for us, there was a huge 5 gallon bucket of paint in the garage when we bought the house! Except it was really low from other projects we've done.. so off to our local Benjamin Moore's Paintmaster to have our trim paint matched.

We used to get our paint from Lowe's.. but they are so not helpful. In fact, when we got our living room paint from Lowe's, I asked one of the crew if they thought the paint matched my pillow. They said they couldn't help with that because they're not liable if we're dissatisfied.

However, not the case with our new favorite paint store! We went there to pick out the kitchen paint a few months ago and I was blown away with how helpful they were! We were torn between two different (but very similar) colors.. but I knew that we wanted a more muted tone. We left with a slightly more expensive gallon of paint- but I love my kitchen walls!

First coat of paint.

And now I love both my kitchen walls and wainscoting!

Aerial view of the new breakfast area.

Looks like it's always been there!

We're still deciding on the hall paint color.. and I'm in the process of redecorating my living room. As much as I love handmedowns, I really want to buy my own furniture. That's why I'm going to learn to sew and make slipcovers!