Yummy

At Mom to Mom yesterday, I was told that it may be too late to get S to take a bottle. WHAT?!?!?! See, I went back to work for about 2 weeks at the beginning of January and S took a bottle fine while I was away. However, since that time, I have not made her take a bottle. Over the last week or so I have had other people try and give her oneand she will NOT take it. She SCREAMS when they try and give it to her. So, is it too late? Yesterday afternoon I tried a few suggestions that some ladies gave me to try and get her to accept the bottle - a faster flowing nipple and even a sippy cup. Neither of these worked, but I am going to try both of them again today.

That being said, I decided to go ahead and start her on cereal. Last night M and I attempted S's first feeding. I don't know how much she actually ate, but the good news is that she did not scream when we were trying to feed her. Two weeks of this and then it's on to veggies and fruits:)

Spring is in the air - KINDA!

So, it seems as if some days spring is trying to arrive and then others, like today, old man winter just won't leave(this morning there is white stuff on our deck)! Our yard is starting to show signs of spring and I am really getting the bug to get out and play:)

Tulips are starting to come up.

The first flower has bloomed.

The trees are budding.


And Abby doesn't care what the weather is doing, she's a happy pup as long as someone is loving on her!

Our Future Homesite

Several months ago, we bought a few acres about 15 min north of where we live now. Over the past month or two, M has been clearing/burning on Saturdays. Hopefully, by mid-March, we will be able to plant some grass. We don't know when we are going to be able to build, but it is exciting nonetheless! From these pictures, I know it doesn't look like much more than dirt and brush, but it is really beautiful land. I'll post pictures again after it is grassed.

Just Hangin' Out:)

Mommy's Little Helper

Stella helped me cook dinner tonight - well, kinda!

A Busy, Busy Weekend

We had a great weekend! On Saturday, my parents came to town and watched S while we went to the Brad Paisley concert. WHAT A BLAST!!!! We had so much fun and even splurged and got snacks while we were there - totally ridiculous price but it was yummy!

Chuck Wicks - not a big fan of him. I do like his Stealing Cinderalla song, though!


Rodney Adkins did a great job! And, of course, Brad Paisley was WONDERUL!!!!!


On Sunday, S was dedicated to our Lord and her grandparents and great grandmother were able to be there for such a special day. After the dedication, everyone came back over to our house and I made brunch. And, if I do say so myself, it was very good! (More pictures to come, but they are all on my mom's and MIL cameras)

The Family at the church.

S joining the party after her nap.

S and Grandpa.


S and her other grandpa.


S and her great grandma.

After everyone had left, the MUCH ANTICIPATED Daytona 500 came on! M and I have been waiting for months for NASCAR to start up again! We love, love to watch it:) M is a big Tony Stewart fan and my favorite it Matt Kenseth. Although neither of them won, it was a really good race! Oh, a side note, when my water broke back in October, it was in the middle of a race. Guess what the first thing M does when we get to the triage room.... turns on the race and is mad that during the drive to the hospital we've missed the end of it. I was thinking, great, I'm laboring here and all you can think about is missing a race?!?!?!

Winner - Ryan Newman

A New Toy

Stella has a new toy - her TOES!!! I can hardly get her diaper changed or dress her because she is so interested in grabbing them! I tell you, though, it makes me laugh:) And, how in the world can babies be so flexible that they can get their toes in their mouths?!?!

Guess What I Found!!!

So, last night as I was waiting for Michael to come home for dinner, I had put S in her room for a nap. Okay, that DEFINITELY did not work. I went in, picked her up and loved on her for a few minutes and then put her back down. Again, she wasn't having that. I went in yet again, picked her up, changed her diaper and put her back down. This time, she was MAD. She started SCREAMING. I gave up!!!! I went in and picked her up and brought her into the family room and proceeded to rock her. She was still screaming and as I looked down into her WIDE OPEN mouth, she has a very large mouth (escpecially when she is in one of her Mr. Hyde mood), I saw it. A TOOTH!!!!!!!! I immediately stuck my finger in her mouth to feel and sure enough, there it was poking through! I was so excited. Maybe this is why she has been so incredibly fussy all the time. So, my question for the experienced moms, does this fussiness continue until all the teeth are in, or does it come and go?!?!!?

Happy Valentine's Day

Ahhh... the day of love. Ugggg! I really am not a big fan of the whole concept of Valentine's Day. But, nonetheless, I am celebrating it anyway:) This morning, I got S all dressed up in her Valentine get up. I do love any excuse to dress her up. Poor thing!

M and I really aren't planning any kind of celebration for today. I did make him his favorite cake (from scratch, the icing too), red velvet cake, as a surprise.

Instead of going out tonight, we are going to see Brad Paisley in concert! I am SO EXCITED! I have been wanting to see him for so long. Opening for him is Rodney Adkins and Chuck Wicks. I like both of them too, so all in all it is going to be a fabulous night out on the town.

Hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day!!:)

Here is S's Valentine dance for you!

This Weekend

Well, we got another tractor this weekend. This time it is in John Deere Green:)

Daddy and his little girl!

The "Bishop Girls"

And, we took S on her first "hiking" trip. I put that in parenthesis b/c we only hiked about a mile or so. Mostly I just kept making M stop so that I could take pictures!

4 Months Old

Today Stella is officially 4 months old! Wow! Last night our friends had their twin baby boys and I was thinking it doesn't seem that long ago that we were in the hospital with Stella. Time flies (some of the time!). At her appt, she looked very healthy. She is now 13lb 3oz(41 percentile) and is 25.25(83 percentile) in long. So, we have a tall and lean baby:) I was also told by the doctor that I could start her eating "real" food anytime b/w now and 6 months. Good grief! I can't bring myself to do it yet. I told myself that I can have until March 1 to mentally prepare for this. It just makes it seem like she is growing up so fast. I enjoy feeding her and think I may have a hard time with this adjustment. I never would have thought that when I first began breastfeeding. Also, I asked the doctor about Stella's fussy times. He said that it could be reflux from what I was describing to him. We started her on medication yesterday and we'll see if it helps. She is not a fan of the meds, though. I hope she is injesting enough being that she spits SO much of it out!

As a 4 month celebration we went shopping! We went to a HUGE consignment sale this morning and bought way too much - but had a blast doing it. Here are some of my purchases:

And, Stella has begun to make a snarling face at us. It is really quite humorous. I tried to capture it in a picture, but it does now show truly how funny it is.

On Sunday, we had our VERY brave friends, Amanda and Ryan come over to watch the first half of the game. HA, yeah, we kicked them out at half time:) We are so rude! Anyway, this is the first time since S was born (right about 4 months) that we've had people over in the evening. That is how fussy she is!! She did okay, but still not exactly an enjoyable evening. It can only get better, right?!?!

Last night was our first girls' bible study - Yay! Even if I had to leave a bit early to feed S. Actually, we hadn't even started the bible study part yet before I had to leave. Oh well, at least I got a chance to socialize a bit:) We were at a girl's house and she has an 8 month old little boy. He was in the room with us and was as pleasant as could be and so happy. I couldn't help but think of how S is at night and what a different picture our home is during the evening hours. Is it teething, reflux, what?!?! I am going to have to ask the pediatrician tomorrow. I just don't feel it is normal! Oh please let it be something that can be fixed easily!! I am looking forward to some happy days!

Oh, speaking of happy days, the weather today makes me VERY happy! It is 74 degrees outside and BEAUTIFUL! Since S was napping, I went outside and played w/ Abby and read on the back deck. I know how the door open and can feel the breeze and hear the birds as I sit here on the computer! When S wakes up, I am going to go for a run with her and Abby. Can't wait!! Ahhh... a glimpse of what is hopefully Spring right around the corner:)