Yes, we're still alive and kickin'

Worst.Blogger.Ever.
I had to steal that from a friend (sorry Erica) because it rings true for me more so than it does for her...and I don't have a good excuse either!
So, an update on things here in Jarrell-land...
Let's see, we left off last time after spring break and the visit from my parents.
After their visit, we've spent our weekends at home doing things around the house. Jason has been working on his shed and I've been doing chores in the house and running errands around town. So, obviously we lead such a glamourous life that I don't have time to blog. ;)


Callie has been as loveable and cute as ever! She is such a joy for us and is so happy all the time. She likes to jabber while she's playing and does well keeping herself entertained while we cook/clean/etc but also loves to play with us, giggle, and waller all over us in the evenings. She loves her bath and will splash around, chew on her wash rag, and chew on her bath toys and letters. She isn't crawling yet but is oh so close! She get's up on all 4's and she'll rock back and forth and even scoot backwards but still hasn't put it all together to move forward. Also, she still is toothless but that's ok - I love her gummy smile and will miss it when those toophers do come in. (Sorry, Blogger rotated the pic)


My wonderful doctor gave us his Thunder tickets when he couldn't go to the game and Jason and I made a date of it. Our cousins kept Callie for us and we went and enjoyed the game. We had great seats and had a wonderful time watching the Thunder win! I was really proud of catching the Russell Westbrook dunk on camera so I had to share!



This is Jason's attempt to make Callie crawl...it didn't work, just so ya know. :)


This is Callie on her 7 month birthday. We didn't get the "official" monthly pictures until the end of the week so I had to get one on the 14th.


Callie enjoyes helping me cook. She'll sit and watch but then will grab any and everything that is within her reach so she can chew on it.


Now we've arrived at Easter weekend. This year with all the family concerned with staying within their budget and gas prices not helping, everyone stayed home and we celebrated with just our little family. Callie received her easter gift from Pops and Nana and enjoyed playing with the toys she got and also received a cute outfit!

Then, the Easter Bunny brought her a fun toy, some candy (which mom and dad enjoyed), and some practical socks. I know, I know, sorta lame but like I said, very practical. :)

Every year, after church, we have an easter egg hunt on the lawn there for the kids but since we were receiving some much needed rain, we had it in our fellowship hall. Callie liked getting the eggs, and then chewing on them!

And finally, we ate lunch with our cousins and aunt and uncle so we got a picture with the kids together...this was the best we could get of a 5 year old, 1 1/2 year old, and 7 month old together.


I hope to keep up better with blogging. I need to do an update post on what Callie's up to (even though you have a preview here) and I'm crossing the bridge of not being able to nurse Callie anymore and was going to discuss my options to switch to once I use up my freezer stock. Have a great week!

Catching up

We've had a busy couple of weeks! Two weeks ago, we met up with some good friends and Papaw, Nonie, and Connor to go to the zoo. It was Callie's first trip and she seemed to enjoy the animals and being outside. Connor also had a blast but his favorite part was the train ride hands down!




Then, my parents came to visit for my mom's spring break. They arrived in OKC on my dad's 60th birthday so I had arranged a surprise party for him and had people from all around come to celebrate and if they couldn't come, send a card for him. We had a good turn out and dad was surprised by the guests but was also surprised at the cards and gifts that were sent. I think we ended up with around 25 cards and 3-4 gifts from family and friends.


We also got go experience our first Thunder game! Callie seemed to enjoy the lights and sounds and we had fun too! Unfortunately, the Thunder lost by 2 at the end. :(




Callie spent the week being babysat by Nana and they had a lot of fun together. They would play a lot during the day and go on walks. I'm not sure who had more fun...Callie or Nana!



We also had a storm shelter installed in our garage while they were here. We didn't have a good place to go in our house so this gives us more peace of mind with the storms Oklahoma is capable of having!





That's most of the fun we've had. We got back to normal last week with all of our guests gone and just work to do. Hopefully the next few weekends we can work outside some, finishing Jason's shed and working in the yard. Have a good week everyone!

6 Months

Happy 1/2 Birthday to Miss Callie! We had her 6 month appointment today and she's doing great! We talked about an eating schedule and how much food/milk she should be drinking, etc. With the other foods on board, they said Callie may just want some milk for a snack and it may not be as much as she has been drinking so hopefully my supply will hold out until 9 months. When/If I run out, they said I could do cows milk at 9 months if needed. We also get to start working on a sippy cup so that'll be fun!
Here's some updates on Callie:
- Weight: a beefy 12 lbs 9 oz (5th percentile)
- Height: 25 in
- Coninues to wear size 1 diapers
- Wearing 3 month, 3-6 month, and some 6 month labeled clothes
- Sits on her own like a champ and plays with toys
- She rolls all around, back to belly, belly to back, but no real crawling motions yet. She will bring her legs up underneath her like an army crawl but doesn't go anywhere with it.
- She eats great. She's had all of the vegetables, most fruits, and a variety of meat combos. We also started rice cereal in the mornings with a fruit. The bottle has been harder to judge lately - if she eats well, she doesn't drink much. If she doesn't eat much, then she'll drink more. I think we'll have to do a Breakfast with food, morning milk snack, lunch food, afternoon milk snack, dinner food, and then milk before bed. We'll see how that goes. Also, as she eats, she has a "bib chaser" as when she takes a bit she'll immediately grab her bib and chew on it too.
- Still a champion sleeper. When she's been congested she'll wake up but go right back to sleep with her pacifier. Other than a few of those nights, she's great sleeping from 8-8:30pm to 7-7:30am.
- She has a great giggle and is more interactive with people "talking" to them. She also likes to reach for faces, which I love, and give baby kisses.
- In the car she occupies herself with her toy and will talk to it the whole car ride. If she gets excited and throws it over, she'll resort to talking to her hand or feet.
- She likes to play in her exersaucer and will jump up and down in it making it bounce. I think I need to invest in a Johnny Jump-up as much as she likes to jump!

My parent's will be in town this weekend and next week for my mom's spring break. I really looking forward to them seeing her since it's been 3 months. Also we'll see Jason's family this weekend too. We'll have some fun times next week and hopfully have good weather while my parents are visiting so we can have some outside play time!

I've tried to upload pictures for this post but have failed so far. Will try again later....

Sittin' Pretty

We've just been going in our usual routine lately. Not too much excitement in our lives. Usually we're out and about to family, friend's, etc. but we've been staying close to home for the last couple of weeks which is nice. Callie continues to be a joy and has learned some new things. She continues to eat her baby food well and seems to like just about everything. We've gone through the veggies, most fruits, and some meat combos. I'm about to start with cereal and try to configure her meals around a breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner schedule. We'll see if she takes to it. I've been wondering if her food intake is messing with her milk intake. Since she's been eating more and more, she seems to have less and less interest in nursing. I've also been worried about my supply being slightly lower...still making enough for the most part but not as robust as it once was. I thought it was because I wasn't drinking enough water, and that's helped, but still seems decreased. I'm not too concerned yet - I have quite a bit in the freezer so as long as I still produce some, I will hopefully be able to make it to at least 9 months. My pediatrician doesn't mind cow's milk at 9 months so if we make it that long I'll be happy.
In other Callie news, she's learned to sit by herself. She can be wobbly at times so you still have to be by her but I'm amazed at how fast she went from sitting for just a few seconds to sitting while playing with her toys. It seemed like it was just a day or 2 and she had it figured out. She rolls all over but still hasn't figured out the crawling thing. She'll scoot backwards and get up on her hands but hasn't put all the crawling motions together yet to be productive. Which is fine with me...It's nice being able to put her down and she's in the same spot when I come back into the room. Better enjoy that while it lasts. She also loves to go on walks. She sits in her stroller and just takes it all in. Also, just this last week she's learned how to say the "da da da" sound. It's so cute to have something new to hear. One last thing, her favorite part of any soft toy is the tag. She will play with and chew on the tag for the longest time. She also like to talk to them.
We have some activities in the coming weeks. I think we're going to have a bring your daughter to work day on Wednesday of spring break. My doctor will be out of town and I only have a few patients to see before Callie's 6 month check up so I think I'll bring her so the girls at work can see and play with her. It's been a while since she's been there. Then that last weekend of spring break is when my parents will come to town for the following week. They're looking forward to seeing Callie - it's been since Christmas since they've seen her. I think we're going to take family pictures with my parents since my brother's coming to town too. It's been a couple years since we've had a family picture.
Now, here's some pictures. Have a great week!

5 Months!

I've just been MIA lately huh? Well, here's a catch up on what's going on here. We've had some up and down weather lateley, being 70 degrees, then -20 degrees with a blizzard, then back to 50's, then back to -20 with another 8 inches of snow...total fun. But with all that snow, I've been able to enjoy some snow days off work spending time with Callie and Jason. The first snow day we spent the entire day in our jammies and it was fantastic! The next snow day, a week later, I actually got around to doing some housework but still spent time with Callie.
Also, since my last update, Callie has figured out what to do with the whole food and spoon thing. She has gotten pretty good at eating but still shows her preferences on what food she prefers. All of the orange/yellow veggies are fine, peas are tolerable, and green beans could fall off the earth for all she cares. Therefore, I have to sneak the green beans in with carrots or squash to get them to go down. Since she's doing pretty good with the veggies, I'll probably move into the combos next week. Her feet are her favorite toy to play with and chew on and she will have brief moments of sitting by herself until she turns her head and flops over. If she's sitting in our laps, she can sit there for a long time without being held up. She loves to sit in her Bebe pod and chew on the toy and has recently started transferring toys between her hands. Jason's concerned that she's trying to be left handed because if you give her a toy in her right hand, she'll put it in her left. Silly Jason, if you give her a toy in the left, she'll put it in the right too. :)
Beyond the normal day to day stuff, we had our last Christmas with Jason's family back at the end of January and had a lot of fun! We always enjoy spending time with everyone together. Two weekends ago Callie got to go to her first OSU Cowboy basketball game and seemed to have a lot of fun! She watched for a while then had a nap for most of the second half then woke up to watch the Cowboys beat the Sooners! We got to spend time with our good friends at the game too! This past weekend Jason's mom, dad, and sister came to the house and the girls went to Affair of the Heart while the boys ran around town.
For the next couple weeks, not too much going on. My parents have the countdown started to when they'll be here for spring break. They can't wait to see little miss and she's ready to see her Pops and Nana too! In the mean time we Skype together a few times a week. So, here are some pictures from our latest endeavors!

Food Trials

We have entered into the world of baby food and I don't think Callie's convinced it's all that great. We have started with the veggies - our pediatrician recommends the veggies first, then combos, followed by fruits and finally the cereals - and Callie is less than impressed. We've tried green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes and squash. A good "meal" is getting 4 spoonfuls in her and limiting the amount that comes back out. So far it seems the carrots and sweet potatoes are most tolerable and the green stuff is her least favorite. I only say that they are her least favorite because she'll actually makes a gagging face at times as she eats them. She signals she's done by turning her head away but also starts "blowing bubbles" which, in turn, sprays the food in her mouth/on her lips all over me, her, and the highchair. So, we'll keep at it. I'd like to try and make some of my own baby food and may try to do some this weekend since we'll be home for a change.

Along with the solids, Callie still does great with nursing. I mentioned in my previous post that we were going to move her up to 5 ounces but I've tried to increase the amout she drinks from her bottle and she's still pretty consistent at drinking 4 ounces even if there's more available. So, instead of trying to drop one of her middle of the day feedings like I initially thought, I'm delaying her morning start as long as she's sleeping (or until I get her to the sitter's). So far it's going pretty good. She's been sleeping until I'm ready to take her so she's eating at 7:15-7:30am instead of 6. I'm curious to see how Saturday will go...I'd love it if she slept at least that long or maybe even a bit longer. It's been a while since I've slept past 6:30am (like since before she was born :) ).

Callie has a new weird thing that she has started the last 2 nights at bedtime...she screams like she has never screamed before when I lay her down to sleep. Usually she might fuss for a few minutes but not more than wimpers and then she'd be out. The last 2 nights have been all out screaming until she falls asleep. The first night it took 15-20 minutes before she fell asleep - I held her after about 10 minutes because I was worried something was wrong but she was fine when I got her up, no wet diaper, burps, etc. and she resumed crying as soon as I put her back down for about 5 more minutes. Last night was slightly better because it didn't take as long for her to fall asleep (about 5 minutes) but I barely got my hands away from her when she started screaming. She still sleeps through the night and has maybe cried once in the middle of the night but put herself back to sleep without a problem. I'm hoping this is just a fleeting thing because it's not fun to see or hear - I just think it's weird that she just randomly started this after being so great at going to bed without a problem.

We had a great Christmas with the family last weekend. Pictures to come - again, I'm on my work computer. It's unusual that we don't really have any big plans coming up...I'm sure we'll find something to occupy our weekends. Hopefully we'll get the finishing touches on Jason's shed done and maybe I'll spend some time spring cleaning my house. :)

4 Months Old!

Has it really been 4 months?!? Time does fly and we are having so much fun with Callie! As our pediatrician puts it, "this age is so fun because they laugh and smile and are as cute as can be and can't go anywhere!" Callie is just that - She gives great smiles and we can really get her laughing but she's not too mobile, just rolls over occasionally and turns in circles on the floor.
She's still a little thing weighing in at a dainty 10lbs 15oz (probably 11 lbs by now) an is 25 inches tall. That puts her in the 5th percentile for weight and still hanging around 47% for height. Here's other tidbits in the life of Callie:

- Still wearing size 1 diapers
- Wears some 0-3 month clothes and mostly 3 month clothes but I also have some 3 month outfits that are huge still.
- Has rolled over both from belly to back and back to belly. She'll roll from belly to back more often but there are still times she'll enjoy hanging out on her stomach playing.
- She really likes to grab things now (toys, face, hair) and she's good at sticking them straight into her mouth to chew on them.
- She continues to sleep through the night going to bed around 9 (give or take) and we'll get her up around 6. I'll have to keep the 6am wake up on weekdays because of work but I think I'm going to try and just let her sleep till she wakes on the weekends so I don't have to get up at 6am Saturday morning.
- She gives really great giggles especially right before bedtime as I'm changing her into pajamas. I think I found a tickle spot on the right side of her belly under her arm. Every time I go to take her arm out of the shirt sleeve and brush my fingers there she just starts laughing.
- At bathtime, we just stick her in the tub instead of the baby bath because she's getting almost too long for it and she'll splash more in the tub.
- Callie's eating every 3 hours and takes 4oz in her bottle. Since we're starting foods and moving her up to 5oz in a bottle, I hope to stretch her out a bit more and drop a feeding in there somewhere but we'll see if she'll let me.
- As you hold her, she's preferred sitting up for a while now but recently she likes to stand and she'll stand in your lap for as long as you'll let her. It's neat to see how strong she's getting
- She's found her feet and likes to grab at her socks. Depending on which socks are on, she'll pull them off playing.

That's most of the highlights that come to mind. I'll have to add pictures later (my work computer doesn't let me upload). This weekend we're going to Jason's grandparents for the family Christmas. It'll be a lot of fun as we celebrate not only Christmas with the family but Jason's grandparent's 65th Anniversary!