Yoga anyone?

Laughing

Matt and I recently agreed that there is no greater sound than the sound of your own baby's laughter.

(Also noteworthy in this video is Matt's hair). :)

Before and After

Poor Harry has had a rough few days. He went to the vet for a full out teeth cleaning on Friday (if you've met him you know his teeth and breath are terrible). Poor guy had to have 4 teeth extracted. Now he looks even a little more Alfish than he did before. And of course his mouth hurts and he even refused his food on Saturday morning (a definite sign that something is not right). He seemed to be feeling better but then this morning had another seizure (first one since March). I HATE watching these - it is so heartbreaking to watch him suffer, even though he seems ok pretty quickly afterwards.

He sure is a trooper. I really think he is the best dog that ever was. I'm so glad we've got him and he no longer has to live in the conditions he did the first four years of his life.

Can you tell his teeth look better?



Before




After

Swaddle set-backs...

We're learning (the hard way) how tough it's going to be to get rid of this darn swaddle blanket. With her swaddle, Saylor has been sleeping like a champ, even during naps. She looks so peaceful and cozy, cacooned in her little straight jacket with only her face and head sticking out, often with a blissful little smile on her face. How hard could it be to sleep without that thing? Apparently it's HARD. She acts like I am laying her in a bed of ice with an empty stomach. All the soothing, bathing, lotioning, bed-time reading, etc. to prepare for the big event does NOTHING to ease her woes. She just lies in the crib, with all four appendages flailing about like an over-turned roly poly. Her new thing is trying to get her feet into her mouth, but even this trick only amuses her for so long before she realizes she is alone, in her crib, WITHOUT HER SWADDLE. So she cries and cries and cries some more. We tried all day yesterday. Then we tried last night. After missing one whole nap and keeping us up until 2 a.m. we gave in and wrapped her up. And guess what, she went right to sleep. Oh, how I'm going to have to get more resolve if I'm going to be good at this parenting thing. But it's so hard...her face is red and her eyes are swollen and puffy from all that crying! How do you not give in and just swaddle the little thing?

I was hoping we could avoid this by just letting her sleep on her tummy (to avoid the appendage flailing). But, now when I put her on her tummy she just immediately flips onto her back, so we are right back where we started. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Right now she is actually (amazingly!) napping with one arm out. I tried this yesterday and it didn't work...so maybe there is hope. Maybe we can "wean" it since ripping it off like bandaid doesn't seem to be working. I'm starting to wish we'd never even used this thing. If anyone has advice or experience with this issue, I can obviously use it! :)

Look what I can do!

Woohoo! She did it once the other day but today did it several times in a row. I am so proud (as you can clearly hear in the video - sorry for my dorky narration). :)

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a great time in Houston this weekend! Saylor did really well with all the hustle and bustle, although she did break down into crankiness about an hour outside of Dallas on the way home. I can't say that I blame her as it was way more activity than she is used to. But, this is one loved little girl, to say the least! We really enjoyed getting to spend time with our family and celebrate Mother's Day with our moms. And Saylor (aka Matt) made this a really special first Mother's Day for me, too!


Saylor's first time swimming! She didn't even cry, which was surprising considering she was tired AND the water was really cold. Funny how I think I was way more excited about this than she was...!







Family pic


Saylor with Aunt Nicole and Uncle Will. We loved getting to spend time with them this weekend! Will had Saylor cracking up the whole time...she doesn't do that for just anyone!


Smith family picture after church on Sunday. Notice how all 3 Smith guys are wearing the same thing...unplanned.


All the girls at Mother's Day brunch...yummy!



She fell asleep in my dad's arms by the end of the meal. Think he must have needed a nap too?


Pretty tired by the end of the trip. When she cries like this in the car the only thing that seems to calm her down is when we sing LOUDLY. I've learned that sometimes parenting means being ok with acting like a complete idiot. :) I've also learned that taking road trips with two adults, a baby, and a dog requires a ton of STUFF and a couple stops on the way for some awkward back seat nursing sessions, diaper changes, etc.

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all you moms!

FURminator

Harry got me the FURminator for an early Mothers Day gift. (Actually, I just bought it myself but whatever). Seriously, the amount of hair that he has been shedding lately is ridiculous! I think it's partly due to the super humidity Dallas has been experiencing (part of what I do not miss about Houston). It's not quite as bad as the pup in this picture, but bad enough to make me need to drag my vacuum out almost daily. We'll see if this dog brush on steroids is all it's cracked up to be!

4 Month Check Up

It's so hard to believe that Saylor turned 4 months old yesterday...my how time flies when you're having fun! We went for her well check up with Dr. Yeager and she did great. She is growing well; she now weighs 15 lbs and is 25.5 inches tall. Her percentiles are all exactly where they were at her 2 month check up. Say got more shots yesterday but actually handled them like a champ with only a few minutes of red-faced crying. :) She did, of course, save her poopy diaper of the day for right in the middle of Dr. Yeager's exam - she seems to have a knack for saving those up for inconvenient times - ha! But, everything else was pretty routine and overall we are so thankful for our healthy baby girl. It's true that things really do get easier as they get older...despite our many sleepless nights in the beginning and difficulty getting her to take the bottle, she has turned out to be a pretty laid back baby. Everything is getting a little more predictable - at least for the time being! We are enjoying her little emerging personality and getting to see her do new things all the time. She definitely has a serious and quiet side (guess that's not surprising?) but also has many funny moments of laughter and delight, as well as determination to get what she wants (right now that means putting EVERYTHING in her mouth)!

Here are a few pictures while we waited for the Dr. to come in....look at those chubby legs! Love 'em!





Maybe by her 6 month check up little bug will have a little more hair...at least here's hoping!


We are taking a three day weekend to visit Houston for Keegan's baby shower and Mother's Day. As always it will be a busy trip but we are excited to see friends and family and celebrate a special day!