Panama City Beach, FL

August 16-19th we went with Matt's family to Panama City Beach, FL. I must admit, I was pretty nervous about this excursion. After the Steinhatchee trip back in July, I was praying that Norah Kate wouldn't be so out of sorts. Also, it is about a 3 1/2 hour drive to PCB which is the longest amount of time Miss Priss has been in the car. I couldn't have asked for a better behaved baby though!

Our chauffeur!

We left at about 6pm Thursday evening. She took her a little hour nap while we were driving and woke up when we stopped for a bite to eat. We got her out of her carseat while we were eating, then I fed her while we were driving down the road. She just talked and played for about another hour. When she got fussy (about 9pm) I pumped her a bottle and gave her the bottle while she was still in her seat. She went right to sleep and slept until we got to the house we were staying at. I was so proud!

Friday morning we got up and went to the beach. There was a storm rolling in so we only stayed at the beach until about 2pm. We all came in and got us a nap, then we went out to eat at the Shrimp Boat Friday night. I highly recommend eating at the Shrimp Boat when you are at Panama City! It was SOOO good. It is a nice place to eat, kid friendly, around $20-$30 a meal, and has a spectacular view! Because it had rained, it was so nice and cool outside.

Kisses from Daddy

Sweet baby girl

 



I was craving ice cream after my meal and was bound and determined to find a creamery. We went to Pier Park and ate at the Marble Slab creamery. My ice cream was HUGE but very tasty. It has chocolate ice cream, Reese cups, and chocolate chunks all mixed up in it! Talk about a chocolate fix!

We didn't stay at Pier Park very long, because it was late and we were all pretty tired. It was neat though, it has a carnival/fair in the center of this outdoor shopping mall. Lots of good eating places and cute shops.

 

 

Saturday morning we were on the beach by about 10 or so and stayed out until about 2pm. It was a BEAUTIFUL day to be on the beach! I absolutely love the Gulf. The water is so clear. Norah Kate loves the ocean too. She would kick her feet and try to stick her face in the water. She wasn't afraid at all! I went to Walmart and bought the kids a little blow up swimming pool and we filled it with a few inches of water and set it up under the umbrella. It was a nice cool spot for them to play.

We came back to the pool and swam some more. We were all a little big water logged, but I think the big kids (us) had just as much fun in the pool as the little kids. My husband has a big family, and we always have a blast when we all get together.

 

I love my little family!

 

Saturday night we went to eat at Boatyard. It was another good place to eat. I swear, I think that was the BEST grouper I have ever put in my mouth!! It was along the same price line as the Shrimp Boat, and just as tasty! After that we went to find go carts for the kids (big and little alike :)) to ride. They had so much fun!

I wasn't joking when I said a big family!

 

I got to see one of my best friends too!!

 

Mother-in-law and her "girls"!

 

 

I guess I was a bad parent during this trip because we kept NK out waaayyy past her bedtime every night. She would usually go to sleep in the carseat, then I would just push her around in the stroller. She was out! But, hey, we don't go on vacation all the time. Of course, she would not sleep in her pack and play. She would start out there every night, then about 1 or 2 she would end up in bed with us. Oh well... At home she sleeps by herself just fine!

Norah Kate slept great on the way home. She woke up around Tallahassee, so we stopped and did a little window shopping in the mall. Then she slept the rest of the way! My idea of a perfect car ride!

 

I love, love, love my in-laws and we had a grand time!! I hope we make it a yearly thing! We are already planning a winter time trip. :)

Blessings

So, today has been one of those "poor pitiful me" and glass of wine kind of days.

I woke up exhausted because NK woke up three times during the night last night, which isn't like her at all.

My milk supply has been dropping  which always gets me stressed out because I am not quite ready to switch to formula yet.

Norah Kate was having a clingy day today and I know that she was feeding off of my energy.  I was grumpy to say the least.  I napped with her every time she slept today and have been eating like crazy and drinking plenty of fluids trying help out my milk supply.  My plan was to pump every two hours, but she would not let me put her down hardly any today and when I did she was fussy.

I go to dayshift Friday which has me a little stressed out I think.  I have no clue why I am stressed about that, but I have been having nightmares about my transition for a couple of weeks now.  I am also really restless when I am sleeping.  I keep waking up really panicked feeling in the middle of the night.

By the time Matt got home tonight I was practically in tears and very frustrated. I sit down to blog about my troubles and almost have to laugh at myself.  I have so much to be thankful for... so instead of whining about what may being going wrong, I am going to list things that are going right.

1. I have a beautiful, healthy daughter who has my whole entire heart!  Even on the days she is clingy and whiney, I need to embrace the fact that she wants me and is dependent on me right now.  I need to stop being so darn selfish because there will be a day where she don't want anything to do with me.
2. My husband loves me.  God bless him, because I know that I am a hormonal nagging mess. So for him to still love me and call me beautiful is just a blessing in its self.  Even if he don't pick up his dirty dishes or mow the grass... he puts up with my craziness and is a WONDERFUL father!  So many woman are married to complete butts that are lazy and do drugs or drink and are emotionally or physically abusive.  My hubby is a wonderful provider and has a loving heart.
3. I have a supportive and loving family.  I am so close with both Matt's family and my own. My mama is my best friend, and I don't know what in the world I do without all of them!
4. I have a JOB!  Not to mention, I have a job that is for the most part rewarding; a job that I enjoy going to on most days.
5. I am healthy!  No illness that I wake up and face every day.  Thank you God!
6. I have a beautiful home.  I am so proud to have a roof over my head and absolutely love our house!
7. I have a bright future and many things to look forward to.  Unlike a lot of people in todays time, there is no reason for me to dread tomorrow.

I look on Facebook and see a lot of people who post about how miserable they are and rant and nag about their husbands or their kids and I NEVER want to be that person!  I hope that even on my worst days I can be optimistic.  I have sooo much to be grateful for, and could kick myself now for even feeling sorry for myself today.

Being wife is hard, being a mother is harder, but you could not give me any amount of money in the world for me to trade places!  Count your blessings and you may just realize how good you got it :)

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful" Proverbs 15:13

Thanks for listening!

*7 Months*

I am a little late posting this update, but I have been so busy chasing after one active little baby.   Norah Kate was always active in my tummy and now I guess it is just carrying over.  I have sat down several times in the last two weeks to blog but I have had someone trying to climb into my lap, chew on my laptop cord, or eat my toes.

She is learning so fast!  She is now crawling, sitting up, pushing herself into a sitting position, and pulling up without any trouble.  She has been pulling up and crawling with her tummy off the floor for about two weeks now.

into everything!

She is seriously into everything.  She started pulling up on lower things, like her diaper bag, carseat, pillows, or us when we were laying on the floor with her.  Now she is pulling up on chairs, tables, kitchen cabinets, door frames, floor lamps (yes, that one almost gave me a heart attack!), pretty much everything in site.  This week she is trying to let go while standing!  (Slow down, Norah Kate, lets just learn one things at a time please.)

She has bruises on her head and last week had a little busted lip...  I love our wood floors, but they make me so nervous right now and I think they are freaking Matt out even more.  She is tough as nails though.  Norah Kate can fall and half the time she doesn't even cry, but if she does it is for just a second.

Norah Kate didn't have her six month check up until just a few days shy of seven months.  She weighed 18 lbs 1 ounce (72th percentile) and was 26.5 inches long (58th percentile).  She is meeting and surpassing all developmental milestones and healthy as a horse :)

She babbles and talks and squeals all the time.  She says "dadadadada" constantly and "mmmm" occasionally.  She will say "Ahhh" and something that sounds like "Hey."  The other day in the car we had a 15 minute conversation of babbles.  She talks to Hoss, her toys, me, Matt, and pretty much anyone that will listen.

She will do anything that will get your attention.  Her new thing is making this gasping/croaking noise to get you to look her way. 

Hoss is her favorite playmate right now.  She will laugh at him and flap her arms whenever he runs play.  They play chase and tug of war.  She will giggle so hard when she gets his toy that she can't hardly hold on to it.  He is good entertainment for her.

I don't know what I would without him to entertain her during the day!



What she likes:

-cardboard books
-Sophie the teether giraffe
-her little four key piano (I couldn't have left Walmart without it, she almost lounged out of the buggy for it!)
-kisses on her cheeks and neck
-Hoss
-an empty plastic bottle
-Mama's car keys
-any and all music
-Gerber's cereal puffs
-playtime on the floor with Daddy
-stroller rides

What she doesn't like:

-being confined (she thinks she is supposed to be down on the floor everywhere we go)
-having her diaper changed (this goes hand in hand with being confined).  I am not really sure when this started, but it is WWIII to change her diaper now.  Usually I am putting her diaper on while she is crawling away or standing up.
-She is still a generally happy baby.  Not many things make her upset.

Food:

She is pretty much eating any and everything.  We are now eating three meals a day (rice/oatmeal cereal in the morning, fruit at lunch, and vegetable at supper) and nursing about 4-5 times a day.  If she is hungry she will eat anything, but if she is not hungry... you may as well hang up your hat because you will end up with sweet potatoes or peas on the floor, in your hair, or on your clothes.

I am still doing homemade babyfood, but when we are traveling or out to eat I either use the jarred stuff or just order something I can mash up for her.  She actually seems to prefer the homemade stuff though (veggie wise, I don't blame her, that jarred stuff is gross!)

No food allergies yet!  Thank goodness!

How could you not love this sweet face!



Our schedule, goes a little something like this:

(I am most definitely not a schedule stickler, but I try to adhere to three naps a day and three meals.)  It is just too stressful for me to try to "force" her to take a nap and "force" her to eat.  When she acts sleepy, I get her to sleepy.  When she acts hungry, I feed her. 

She gets herself on a pretty decent schedule though.

7:30-8am: Wake up
8am: Nurse
9-10am: Nap
10am: Breakfast (sometimes she gets a good morning nap and will skip breakfast and sleep until 11)
11am: Nurse
12pm-1ish: Lunch
2pm-3pm: Nap
4pm: Nurse
5-6pm: Afternoon catnap
7pm: Supper
8pm: Bath
Somewhere between 8:30-10 she nurses and goes to sleep.



I am trying to make her get to a more dependable sleep time at night.  I would prefer 9pm (especially since I am going to dayshift this week and will be waking up at 5!)  I think once Matt slows down and starts coming in earlier and it starts getting darker sooner, I will notice a big difference.

Tonight for instance, I started trying to get her to sleep at 8:30 and she just now went to sleep (at 10).  Oh well....

She still has just two bottom teeth, but her gums are pretty swollen and knotty so I think some more may be getting ready to make their appearance.



I love my sweet girl so much!  Time is most definitely going by more quickly than I would like.

Sorry this has been such a rambling post, I felt like I had lost of catching up to do :)