We had a wonderful Sabbath day enjoying each other and watching the snow fall outside. Memphis is experiencing a once in a kind snow/ice storm. It’s been fun staying inside while it feels like 1 degree outside. Jane is teething though and has been having a hard time. I’m so grateful for all of my Valentine’s!
Every year on 2/13 we get our picture taken at a photo booth like we did 6 years ago when Shaun proposed to me! It was fun to add Jane to the tradition!
Memphis had a crazy ice storm last night and when we woke up the whole outside world was covered in ice! It was crazy!
Just added this one in because she’s so cute!
So Jane had her 4 month check up on Monday and the doctor said I needed to start thinking of training her to sleep not in her swaddle! I was so sad about that because ever since we have swaddled her she sleeps all through the night and it’s been wonderful getting good sleep. So Monday night we quit cold turkey and it was seriously awful. She woke up at 1, 3, 5, and 7 and then we finally swaddled her so I could get some sleep and she slept so well when we did that. Then Tuesday because she had an awful nights rest both Jane and I were in awful moods. She cried and was needy all day and I also found out she is at the beginning stages of teething so all of that put together I knew we needed to swaddle her Tuesday night. But I decided we would put her to bed without it and then when she woke up again to put her in the swaddle. Well she woke up at 10:30 so we swaddled her and she slept through the night again. We did that again Wednesday night and then today I did some research because my girl loves her swaddle. So TONIGHT we are trying a different method. She starts falling asleep at around 9:30 so at 9:30 we put her in her bed in the swaddle but with just 1 arm out and 1 arm in. Within minutes she was asleep and I really hope this is the answer because I want my baby to be happy but also learn how to sleep without the swaddle! Anyway, I’m feeling so blessed to have my little family and thanks for reading this little novel.
My healthy growing girl!
The day before but an illustration of what we are aiming for eventually. Haha
The one arm in one arm out method we tried tonight that so far is working like a charm!
My big girl sitting in the bumbo!
I love this view!
Bella and Jane playing!
It’s been too cold to go on walks so Bella has to entertain herself sometimes.
Jane teething with her little teething cow. She loves chewing on the legs.
What a beautiful day! My Janey girl is 4 months old! She was blessed yesterday by daddy and got to wear my dress I was blessed in in 1993. We just love this girl so much. She is so smart and happy and we just can’t get enough of her! She sleeps through the night and has started to belly laugh which is our favorite sound. She’s curious and loves playing with new toys. We were lucky enough to have my mom and two younger siblings come for the weekend and Jane had such a blast. We miss them already! We are thankful for zoom so our other family members could join in from afar.
Beautiful blanket made by Alyssa Massey Russell
We bought a new rug so Jane can roll around and play on the floor more. Our old rug was originally an outdoor rug so was too rough for tummy time and is going in our room now.
Today was CRAZY. Jane was so good and fell asleep while I was playing with her on the couch. I went to check on an order and it had turned into a gigantic mess. As I was trying to organize it I heard a thump and a cry and Jane had rolled off the couch! Ugh… I’m the worst mom ever. She luckily landed on a soft blanket and didn’t hit her head but this first time momma was more traumatized than Jane. Haha I picked her up and she instantly stopped crying and I guess I learned my lesson. *Facepalm*
Jane on our new rug last night! It’s more gray like the next few pictures. The yellow lights made this picture more warm
Man this month just flew by! I can’t believe how quickly! Jane is getting good at tummy time and Bella follows her around everywhere. It’s so cute to watch. I am finishing up my film for the month today. I also gave a talk on fasting in church today and Jane slept the whole way through! What a blessing this little family is to me.
I’ve been cleaning out my closet lately and was able to get rid of 38 items of clothing. Including my t-shirt collection which was full of shirts I could never wear again. Because I knew I didn’t want a t-shirt quilt I decided to photograph them.
Memories from recently.
My mom’s only birthday request was to have Shaun play “Feels so good” by Chuck Mangione on the trumpet for her. So we took it a step further and made this custom album cover to make it even more fun!
We booked our tickets to Oregon for Jane’s first summer vacation! I’m so excited! I can’t wait for her to enjoy the Oregon coast as much as I do!
It snowed in Memphis today which is a rarity! We had fun going outside for a few seconds before coming back in to get warm.
Earlier today Jane rolled over from her tummy to her back and I didn’t even think anything about it until daddy came home from work and started playing with her and she did it again and again! She’s so smart! The first picture with daddy is after she rolled a few times. The second picture is mommy after burping Jane where she latched on to my cheek. It tickled really bad and she burped but she also gave my cheek a hickie! Haha good thing I don’t wear make up!
Jane is 3 months old today! She’s been such a happy baby! She’s learning to babble and laugh! She loves watching mouths and tongues move. She sleeps all through the night, loves bath time, Bella, and playing with her toys. We love this sweet girl.
Yesterday I tried blowing a raspberry on Jane’s belly and she started laughing! Usually we can get a tiny chuckle out of her but this time she was giggling and it was so much fun! Here are some recent photos!
12/31/2020 Mommy and Jane with a silly Instagram filter.
12/31/2020 Jane is doing really well with tummy time!
01/03/2021
01/04/2021 Jane loves folding her hands or having dainty hands while she sleeps.
01/05/2021 Can’t stop kissing this cute face!
01/05/2021
01/05/2021
01/05/2021
01/06/2021 My crazy morning hair.
01/06/2021 Jane loves playtime!
Our little family celebrated a small but wonderful New Years Eve. We watched Lord of the Rings and Valerie ate a ton of snacks. After we put Jane to bed, Shaun and I waited for the countdown and then did Christmas Crackers and kissed as the clock striked midnight. Here is our first photo of 2021.
Valerie and Shaun celebrate the New Year 2021
Afterwards I read this journal entry to Shaun that I wrote on January 1, 2015. “Shaun is amazing. I've never felt so much respect for somebody, so much love. There's a depth to how he feels about me and how I feel about him that I've never experienced before. Something so sincere. My whole body got goose bumps thinking about this, but I admitted to myself tonight that I would marry Shaun in a heartbeat. I've never felt so comfortable and secure about somebody. I sincerely love him, and want nothing more than to make him happy. I've never felt like this before, I don't recognize this feeling but I love it. I love him, he makes me want to be a better person. I feel like every guy I've ever dated I've been so unsure of, but I feel a peace of mind and some kind of surety with Shaun. I told him tonight that this last year was one of the hardest years I've gone through, but with all of that I am so glad that 2014 ended with him and 2015 started with him. I've been so blessed with him in my life! He has my heart.”
It was fun to reminisce about our dating days and the love we had for each other our 1st New Years. Happy New Year!
Today Jane and I tested some lighting and she was all smiles. It’s crazy to me how different lighting changes everything about a picture!
We went on a family Sunday walk today to look at dream houses and places for PhotoBerry. We took a few wrong turns and it ended up being a super long walk but I loved every second of it.
One of my goals for 2021 is to start and keep up a family blog so that our family and loved ones can keep up with us even though we are far apart. I have finally found a place that prints Squarespace blogs too so hopefully at the end of this next year this blog will produce a family year book I’d be proud of.
I’m so grateful for my beautiful little family and this fun journey we get to go on together. Shaun, Jane, and Bella are my whole world and I consider myself so lucky. So I’ll start this little blog with one of my favorite pictures of Jane (so far haha).
I love playing with Jane and getting her to smile. It brightens my whole day to see this face. We also just love this outfit.