Solids....

So, I mentioned in a previous post that we had started Caylee on solid foods.  On doctor recommendation we started her on solid foods over a month ago (at 4 months old).  I was SO excited!  I don't know why, but I was very excited to start letting her try new foods, seeing her reactions and getting her adjusted to real life.  I was SO wrong!  This has been a very LONG month....  Here's the story...

The doctor recommended we start her off with rice cereal.  He said it's very bland and most babies do really well with it.  We began this cereal about a week before we left for Texas, with me thinking that by the time we got there she'd be a pro.  Not so much....

This is her first bite ever... 

I know, you're thinking, "That's not so bad, it's new to her and she is just getting used to it".  But I kept trying to give her bites and she began to scream.  Poor thing even had tears and Caylee rarely gets so upset that real tears come out.  So I gave in and gave her the bottle....

She was MUCH happier with the bottle. 

The days went on and I kept trying to feed her.  Initially, the doctor said once a day and then move to 2 times a day, but I jumped it up to 3 times a day.  I felt like maybe she didn't like the spoon and each day was starting over, so 3 times a day she only needed to take about 2 bites each time and we'd be done!  Still... each time she screamed and cried and shut her mouth as tight as she could.

We finally get to Texas and I'm still not having any luck with her.  However, I thought our luck was changing when Sherry started feeding her because she at least wasn't screaming, not too much anyways.  Plus, between David, Melanie and myself there seemed to always be someone around to distract her long enough to put food in her mouth.  Things seemed a little better, but then we noticed a rash.  Caylee isn't held very often by many people (just because it's usually just me and her), but that week she had been held by tons of people, which meant tons of perfumes/colognes/detergents etc.  So maybe that was the cause... either way, once the rash had broken out I quit the cereal.

Back in Kentucky the doctor suggested trying again and seeing if she broke out again or moving to oatmeal.  Well, since I really didn't think she liked the taste of the rice cereal I moved on to oatmeal.  All that progress I thought we had made was gone... she was back to screaming like crazy and every meal time was a battle.  I tried ignoring her, but she screamed louder.  I tried distracting her, but just by myself I'm not that interesting.  I tried feeding her half a bottle, then food, then the bottle, but that just made her mad.  I tried alternating between bites and a sip of the bottle.  Nothing seemed to work... Then we were off to St. Louis.....

And guess who fed her this time and made her smile?  Yep, Cass.  So now, I'm thinking, well good, if other people seem to be able to get her to eat then they can have her trained by the time I get home!  I can see some of you moms getting a little too emotional and saying "my kid doesn't like me, they only eat for strangers"... nope... I was thrilled!  So we finished up the weekend in St. Louis and Caylee did great, a little fussing when she was super hungry, but overall great. 

When we got back it was time to try veggies... first up, Peas please!  Yes, I tried to go in the order the dr recommended (green veggies, other colored veggies and fruit).... 

Here are the peas....

Yes, she's choking, except she's not really choking because she didn't swallow anything.  She was just gagging bc she hated them so much. 

When the peas didn't work and she had gone back to not eating cereal well for me I just decided to forget the whole thing and just find something she'd eat... so we moved on to pears.  She hated those too so I tried peaches... those were ok, but she still spit them everywhere and gagged a little.  Next we moved to sweet potatoes....

 

They were a huge hit!!!  After trying peas for a few days and almost ruining several outfits, I just decided to take off her clothes for the remainder of our "learning to eat" period.  Good thing too because sweet potatoes are a mess! She tries to feed herself and ends up grabbing the spoon and potatoes go everywhere... when she gets tired of eating she starts to rub her eyes and eventually everything ends up in her hair too... GROSS! We do bath time after meals now... sometimes I can just wipe her down, sometimes a full bath is needed.  Anyways, since the sweet potatoes worked we have just tried bananas and those seem to be ok too. 

Besides being a mess when she eats, she doesn't scream anymore and she seems to enjoy a few of the foods.  I still think she hates the oatmeal, but mixing it a little helps some. 

Oh.. you might wonder where Matt has been in all this.  Well, a vet's job is tough right now.  This is their SUPER busy season, so he gets up early and by the time he comes home dinner is done.  However, I did leave him one night to go out and he was in charge of feeding her.... the text I got from him said "This is not fun".  Yea!  At least he understood all I had been going through trying to get her to eat :) 

Who knew that eating would be such an ordeal!?! My new goal is to figure out how to make her a cleaner eater... I can't take her out in public eating this way!

5 Months!

**Sidenote:  THANK YOU to everyone who answered my questions from the previous blog!! I really appreciate the time you took to share your stories.   If you haven't done so, feel free to email me... I promise it's confidential :)

Well... yesterday Caylee was officially 5 months old!  She is getting so big and I love watching her grow.  She's still in 3-6 month clothes.  Right now we're in the process of solid foods (this has been going on for a month and details will be saved for another blog).  Let's just say, it's been a LONG month :)  She has rolled from back to front and front to back just 1 time each and both were about a week ago.  She won't do it again.  I keep hoping she'll be rolling soon!  She still is getting up once during the night, a few times she's made it all the way through, but then we can usually expect her to get up 2 times the next night.  I'm not sure how to get more food in her to keep her sleeping all night bc she eats a ton as it is!!  Right now her favorite entertainment is the dogs.  She LOVES when they play with each other and thinks it's so funny :)  She doesn't laugh out loud too much, except at the dogs... but she always smiles.  She's been doing great in the church nursery with those sweet ladies and has done great on all of our travels.  She can sit up fairly well, but only for short periods before she falls over so I make sure to put pillows around or sit behind her.  She still naps well and has added a morning nap this month that is about an hour.  Her afternoon nap is about 2- 2 1/2 instead of 3, but that's ok! 


That's about it!  She's pretty easy-going and I'm so thankful for that!  Here are some recent pics...

She can put her entire foot in her mouth, but not roll over yet... crazy!

Diego would love to play with her, Sammy just stands guard...

She's been very curious about everything around her and tries to put most things in her mouth...

Getting tired of pictures, but still happy :)

Cute shoes! Couldn't resist throwing this pic in...

Holiness

Holiness... this is what we're talking about in the Friday morning bible study I attend.  To be honest if someone had asked me if I'm a "holy" person, I would have said no.  Yes, I read my bible, I go to church, I serve, I'm a faithful wife, I try to be a good friend... but holy, not so much...I guess in my mind, "holy" was always reserved for God.  However, reading through this book (Holiness: The Heart God Purifies) has begun to change my mind. 

In it, the author (Nancy Leigh DeMoss), talks about "holy" as being set apart, distinct.  Well, that's us right?  As Christians, we are called to be different, to be distinct... we are set apart by God.  Still, "holy" is a hard concept to grasp.  Today we threw around all kinds of questions like:
               1. What does holiness look like in your life?
               2. How do you become holy? and
               3. Why do we care about being holy?

Here's how I answered these questions today:
1.  I'm not sure... I definitely feel that this year has been one of extreme growth for me.  I hestitate to say this, but even while working in a church for 4 years I never experienced God as I have this year.  Part of that is because I'm focusing on what He wants for me now, not for others.  It's no longer a job with deadlines to meet and people to please, it's about my relationship with Him.  However, I still wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm suddenly "holy".   I do think that in my life, spending time with Him for myself has helped me understand so much more than before and hopefully that will lead to a "holy" life.
2. I have no idea... One lady today said that she thinks of the word "clean" when she thinks of holy.  I liked this idea.  I definitely think that God has cleaned up some areas of my life and without that cleanliness there could be no holiness. Being cleaned by God is no easy task- I can attest to that.  It means that I've really had to let Him show me areas where I struggle and then be willing to change.  I've seen those areas (especially this past year) and I can't say I've been willing to change all of them... not yet... hopefully soon... You know how in your head you know you need to change something, but you just can't wrap your heart around it?... that's where I am in some things.  It's a work in progress, but hopefully being cleaned up will lead to holiness.
3.  Well, because God says.  :)  Haha... that seems like such a simple answer, but it's true.  God actually calls us to holiness.  He actually calls us to live a life worthy of Him.  It doesn't mean a judgmental life or a "holier than thou" life.  The author says "People are supposed to be able to look at Christians and see what God is like!"  That's the truth.  I hope that when people look at me they see Christ, but I can't be certain of that all the time... I know when I've messed up and I know when I haven't given God credit....  Luckily, there is grace.  We care about being holy because God wants that for us, it's His very best.  But when we fail, there is grace.  Thank goodness!!

The author says "God is holy, and holiness is not an option for those who belong to Him."  That statement hit hard.  I guess because "holy" has always seemed so far out of reach.  Or maybe it's because I don't actually want to let go of certain sins in order to become holy.  Either way, I know it's not an option and that in order for me to grow closer to Him, I need to strive towards that holiness.

So.... I'd love some feedback on what holiness means to you, how it looks in your life and what you do to strive towards holiness.  Since all 5 of you who read this regularly are Christians, I hope you'll email me a response :) (If more than 5 people read this, then I want your responses too) :)   Don't worry, the feedback is just between you and me.  It'll be helpful because we still have 6 chapters in this book to figure out holiness and I love learning/hearing from others!!  Plus, I was honest about my answers, now it's your turn :)  I'd love the input and I know that your personal walk isn't always easy for everyone to talk about, but I'd love your honesty too.  (bparsons514@gmail.com) THANKS!

SPRING!

Well, spring has officially arrived and here on the farm it's absolutely gorgeous!  We also took some family spring pictures (to be shown in a later post) since it has been so nice out.  Here are some pics from around the farm :)


Front Gate... (There are a few more trees about the bloom and I'll try to get that picture later)... the purple is so fun though!

Barn back behind our house....

One of the many long drives.... I love the lime green colors of the leaves, they will darken up for summer, but they are so fresh and fun right now!  You can also kind of see the tiny white flower patches all over the ground...

Tree next to our house....Aren't those flowers gorgeous!?

One of the training barns....  I love the HUGE trees with their white flowers, gives such a clean feeling next to the white and red barns!

Ok, one preview of a family picture... my least favorite of the pictures, but check out the tree behind us... it's amazing!  This was taken in the horse cemetery on the farm.

I love the huge white flowering trees too...  they smell incredible as well!

Just for fun... these are a few of the many Tulips you can see all around town.  Tulips and Daffodils must be a Lexington favorite because they are everywhere.  I love it because tulips rank as one of my favorite top 3 flowers, right next to Lilies and Orchids!!  (I know, I don't like cheap flowers...) :)

There you go!  There is your spring preview.... I'm hoping this spring brings lots of fresh, new exciting changes for our family.

Sisters!- Part 3

Sunday we headed over to the Mengel's house.  These are Nick's parents, Nick is Cassidy's boyfriend.  They invited us over for a traditional Irish meal... cornbeef and cabbage.  I was a little nervous because it didn't sound like anything I'd like.  However, I was pleasantly surprised because it was REALLY good!  His parents were so sweet to have us over.  They adored Caylee and loved playing with her.  Their only grandson is exactly a month older than Caylee, but he lives in Pennsylvania.  I also met one of Nick's sisters and her husband.   Everyone was very sweet and we really enjoyed spending some time at their house! 


Caylee LOVED the ipad...  they tried to move it and she grabbed for it!  So she just hung out with Nick's sister looking through pictures and watching it.

Nick's dad loves babies :)  He was very good with her and took her outside to show her their amazing view.  They really do have a gorgeous view-- I imagine the Fall is incredible up there! 

 Nick, Cass, Me, Caylee

If it weren't sooo humid I probably could have had better hair, but it still turned out to be a pretty cute picture :)

Well, that was our weekend in St. Louis!!  We had a blast, there is so much to do there so we'll be back for more fun soon!!

Sisters!- Part 2

Saturday was St. Patrick's Day.  I have never cared or celebrated St. Patty's Day, but apparently it's a big deal in St. Louis.  So... we got all greened up and headed down to the parade.  There were tons of families and everyone was wearing green.  It was pretty fun!  Although, we missed the news the night before and the parade had been moved back 30 minutes.  We had arrived early for what we thought was the start time and by the time the parade was actually supposed to start we were bored.  We took the pictures we wanted and headed to the mall.  It's not like Caylee would have enjoyed the parade anyways.  Maybe another year we'll stay for the whole thing!

Look for the St. Louis Arch in the pics!! 

Sisters!- Part 1

This past weekend Caylee and I headed up to St. Louis to visit my sister!  This is the first time Caylee has ever been to St. Louis... not that she'll remember, I realize that.

According to mapquest it is a 5 1/2 hour drive.  Going up there I turned it into a 6 1/2 hour drive... how?  I got lost.  Here is how the conversation went....

Me: Cass, we're gonna be later than I thought because I took about a 20 minute detour.
Cass: Detour?
Me:  Ya, I got a little turned around...
Cass: How?  There is only one highway the entire way...??
Me:  That was the problem, I couldn't find the highway :) 

So... Caylee and I took a scenic route through some small Kentucky towns until we got back on track- thank goodness for GPS on the iphone!  Due to the short detour I had to stop twice for Caylee to eat.  Other than that she did great!

We stopped at 2 of these.... 

Yes, it is a truck stop.  Here's my theory though...  Pilot's are very nice truck stops and truckers themselves are usually very nice people.  Trust me, I talked to MANY of them on our stops!  I heard about all their own kids and grandkids and they told me where the next nice Pilot stop would be.  You might think I would stop at those rest areas that every state has.  NO WAY!  Never, by myself will I EVER stop at a rest stop....  I have watched too many Primtime's and Dateline's to stop there by myself with a baby and risk getting murdered in the middle of no where... :)  You will never convince me to stop at those without Matt, even with Matt I get a little nervous and make him wait outside the bathroom.  Once it was very late and there was one man there and no one else, so I made Matt come into the bathroom with me... yep, those pretty rest stops freak me out!  I much prefer Pilot's!

Anyways, we travelled through Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and finally made it to Missouri. 

Like I said, Caylee did very well on the trip.  She didn't sleep as much as I thought she would, so she did fuss a little.  I think she was more aggravated that she couldn't grasp her feet though!  Every time I looked back she was pulling herself up to get to her feet, they are so entertaining these days!  We listened to a TON of music, of course we had lots of variety...  her favorite (the cd she was most calm through) was an Allison Krause and Robert Plant cd... it was very mellow music. 

Going home we made GREAT time (I found the highway this time).  We only stopped once and made it in 5 hours and 45 minutes. 

Going Home Part 3- Random

Random parts of our trip:

1. One thing I have not mentioned yet is that while I was in Texas we sold our house. Well, technically we are still in the 10 day option period, but it looks like things will be just fine.

This is the backyard (these pics are old)... we had 2 acres!

This is the front of the house ...yes, very brown because everything was dead in Texas at that point... but look at that sky!  You won't see a blue sky like that up here!

This was our room... a work in progress, but a friend painted that verse for us and it is still on the wall.  When Matt and I first got engaged my grandma sent us a congratulations card, inside was this verse and I have loved it ever since.  (Jer 32:39)  We found out we were moving literally about 3 weeks after she painted that verse and for a going away gift she re-painted the verse on a gorgeous wooden board.  It still hangs in our house! 

It was bittersweet walking through the empty house on my visit.  I'm thrilled it sold, but I loved that house.  I know one day we'll have another house though! 

2.  While I was away it snowed in Kentucky! Of course it would choose to snow while I'm gone :)  I have been waiting all winter for a good snow to get pictures of the farm.  It's ok though because I was enjoying warmer weather and good company and STILL got the pictures I wanted thanks to Matt and a friend!  Check it out....

3. I mentioned yesterday that I didn't take pictures.  However, Sherry and Melanie took Caylee out one of the days and took some great ones!   These are my top 3 favorites!!  (Thank y'all!!)

Well, that about wraps up our trip to Texas!  We were so blessed to see so many friends, borrow a friend's car to make visits, have easy flights down and back, stay with amazing "family" and just have a nice time relaxing and catching up.  Thank you to everyone who made our trip so great! 

Going Home Part 2- Friends

"Friends are the family you choose"

I'm not sure who originally said this, but it's so true!  People would ask me, "Are you here to see family or friends?"  My reply is "Yes"... yes they are friends, but yes they are family.  Unfortunately, I did a HORRIBLE job at taking pictures so you won't see much of them.  I was so caught up in watching them play with Caylee and enjoying it that I just never pulled out my camera! 

That brings me to Caylee.... she did FANTASTIC!  I was a little afraid that everytime someone would pick her up or hold her she'd scream.  Nope, she cried a little the first night/day, but given that it was about 3 hours past her usually bedtime and she had been up all day and flew on an airplane, I wasn't too surprised.  After that, she did wonderful.  We were so busy seeing so many people....

The few pictures I have of people:

**Every baby LOVES this girl!  Babies that hate other people, LOVE this girl.  There is just something soothing about her calm personality that they can sense.  Caylee was no exception and went right to her, they played a little and then Caylee fell asleep.  I enjoyed time visiting with the rest of her family while Caylee napped!  

**Caylee's playmate for the week.  Melanie's sweet puppy Lucy!  Lucy was so funny and Caylee just stared at her- especially in the mornings :) 

**Caylee loved Melanie!  It was very sweet when I brought Caylee to the office to visit people and Melanie stopped by, Caylee saw her and smiled so big! 

**First off, I LOVE this chair Caylee is in.  Sherry brought it home and I put her in it all the time... it's such a great seat and she could hang out there in the mornings while I fixed her bottle or before dinner-- very cool chair.  They took this picture and said Melanie was teaching Caylee early how to study so that she could be an Aggie one day too! Gig 'em :)

I told you I did a poor job taking pictures!  That's it.. no more of our sweet friends... and actually the last 3 pics weren't even taken by me!!  Next time we go I am forcing myself to take more pics.

So to fill you in on what you missed.... 

*We spent the majority of each day with Sherry, David and Melanie.  It was so relaxing being at their house and we LOVED being there! They took such great care of Caylee and entertained us both (Thank y'all for EVERYTHING!)

*In between, we made sure to go to lunches or dinners or yogurt with other friends.  I'm sure at times Caylee was overwhelmed by all the people, but I loved catching up and visiting!

    --I have to say one of my favorite dinners was the one where Reed entertained Caylee  He is 3 and of course tried to feed her things he shouldn't, but it was so funny when he said "Baby, I'll be right back, I have to go to the restroom"  and then to a random lady said "Hey!  This is the baby I'm petting".  Yes- he is super cute and very funny and Caylee just smiled and smiled at him!!

*We attended Sunday morning church and Wednesday night church.  At one point Sunday morning I wasn't sure who had Caylee... although the large crowd and no crying told me she was just fine and being loved on by wonderful people. 

     --I will apologize because I think she spit up on everyone that day... sorry :(

*We also made a point to go up and visit Sonya and the other assistants and staff at the church I worked at.  I had some stuff to finish up on-line so Sonya took Caylee and introduced her to everyone and walked her around the office for quite a while.  I loved that everyone got to see her and meet her!

Overall, our trip was AMAZING!  I loved being there, seeing people, visiting and just relaxing with "family" :)  I'm already looking at future dates to visit!



Going Home Part 1- Texas Travel

Caylee and I just returned from a trip to Texas.  For me, this is like going home for many reasons.  First off,  I know, "home" is where Matt is for me.  However, if I could choose where Matt would be, it would be Texas.  I was born in Texas and have lived in different parts for the majority of my life.  More specifically, I've lived in Bryan/College Station longer than I've lived anywhere my entire life.  This is where Matt and I went to school and bought our first home.  More importantly, it's where my closest friends live.  That's why, for me, going to Texas will always mean going home. 

For now, I guess going home will just have to be two or three times a year :)

Now... for the traveling part....
             Caylee and I were scheduled to leave Friday, March 2 from Lexington thanks to our friend Hollis for working out the flight details.  As it would happen, Lexington was in the middle of a SEVERE thunderstorm/tornado watch/warning and the town was beginning to shut down.  The schools let out early first, then the restaurants were beginning to close.  With all this chaos you'd think we'd go somewhere extra safe.... nope, we had a flight to catch and people to see.  Caylee and I packed up and headed to the airport!
             Once at the airport we settled in near the tv's to watch the radar.  It did not look good at all.  Then we saw the clouds rolling in.  I knew the plane we were to travel on had already left and would be arriving to Lexington within the next hour, but the storm was moving fast, so I wasn't sure we'd be able to get out on time.  One part of the massive storm blew through and it looked like nighttime outside!  The lightning was incredible and I thought for sure we'd never get out.  The plane was able to land and suddenly the ticket guy (not sure what their title really is) said, "Houston travellers, you've got 30 seconds to get on this plane- let's go!"  Just like that we all jumped up and everyone was so helpful because we all wanted to get out of Lexington.  They didn't call rows or priority seating or anything!  We boarded faster than I've ever boarded a plane before!  They finished loading the bags underneath and we were off.
                  The flight was extremely smooth and incredibly beautiful!  From my window I could see the most amazing sunset, every color imaginable and very crisp.  From the window across the isle I could a massive thunderstorm!  Dark, but translucent clouds with TONS of lightning going crazy inside the clouds.  I can't even describe it except to say it looked like jellyfish lighting up... the strikes of lightning being the tentacles and the round clouds the jellyfish itself.  Yes, I realize what a ridiculous image this is, but I'm telling you, it was amazing! 

**Sidenote: I wanted to take pictures, but the guy next to me was and they weren't coming out... So I googled pictures to give you an idea.... these are the best I could find, still not accurate, but close...

We finally landed!!!  Caylee did ok, it wasn't her best flight, but we made due.  We weren't too late getting in, considering what we left from.  Then our week in Texas began and waiting for us were David, Sherry and Melanie!!  I was sooo excited to see them and we spent a wonderful week at their house!!

More of our Texas traveling to come...  :)