Let the Good Times Roll

Hello and Happy Friday!!

I knew that any day now, Ilah would roll over. And....

It happened early in the evening on Wednesday while we were playing on the floor with her toys in our living room. She did it twice and then was "over" it! She knew she did something new because her eyes got so big like, "What just happened?!".

Here are pictures taken today during our morning playtime; you will see the consecutive photos show our sweet girl rolling over....

"Here I go!"

"Are you watching Mommy?"


" I did it!"

Wednesday night {well, technically it was 4 a.m. on Thursday}, we heard Ilah over the monitor making some little grunting sounds. We looked at the video monitor and saw that she had rolled over from her back to her stomach in her sleep - suddenly being in that position naturally {and thankfully} woke her up. Earlier in the day it was all claps and smiles and me saying, "Yay, you did it!"...but I couldn't exactly tell over the monitor if she was face down in the mattress or not; so my eyes got big and my heart raced as I immediately wondered how long she had been like that. I let out an "Oh my gosh!" and ran to her room.

To see that.....

Ilah had her head up very high, with her elbows/arms propping her up. I believe she was grunting because she felt "stuck". "How exactly do I get myself back over on my back like I did earlier today??"

Ilah has always done great with lifting her head up....

Sometimes she even tries to do a push up! Kidding! Ha!
The girl has some serious strength!....

But because of that brief scare on Thursday night, I wonder if I should rely on more than just thinking that because she can lift her head she should be fine if she were to do that again. When I got to her room and saw that she wasn't face down in the mattress and was breathing fine, maybe I should have indiscreetly waited to see if she would have turned herself back over. Instead, I just wanted to sooth her {ok, so maybe I wanted her to sooth me!} so I picked her up.

Ilah used a sleep positioner when she was an infant. When we transitioned her from her bassinet to her crib when she was 2 months old, we did away with it. But now that she is at the point of rolling over, I'm wondering if we should utilize one again. We always put Ilah to sleep on her back but she nearly always turns to sleep on her side immediately after we place her down for the night. But now that she has started to roll over, I'm naturally concerned about possible suffocation as she may be unable to reposition herself. The night that she rolled over on her stomach in her sleep, it took me a long while to go back to bed. I just wanted to stare at the video monitor until the sun came up and she woke up from her nights sleep.

Ilah is defininitely a verbal baby and "calls out" to us {so to speak} when she needs to have a need met, but I don't want to solely rely on thinking that she will be vocal every time. I did some research on sleep positioners but saw so many different answers as to whether parents should place their infants in one while sleeping. Some say that should you want to use a sleep positioner for your baby, they can be used until the baby is 4 months old; others say 6 months old. Another answer was that sleep positioners should be used until your infant has head control - yet others have said that they can cause overheating. Another site relayed that they can actually cause suffocation {the very thing a parent is trying to ensure doesn't happen} because the baby can slip down in the positioner and their airways might get cut off {I can somewhat attest to that. When Ilah was an infant, I bought and used the most highly rated one on the market - made out of mesh - and regardless, she did slip down in it on occasion. I was usually always awake when this would happen so I would just reposition her}. Many moms have said that when their baby used a positioner to sleep, it was a hard habit for them to break when it came to the parents not using it anymore, and that it also prevents your baby from learning on their own how to flip back over. The SIDS alliance advises against sleep positioners but for parents who have babies that roll over in their sleep, after they have been placed down on their back, what's the alternative to ensuring that their infant is breathing properly {other than staring at a video monitor, or actually placing yourself in front of the child} while they sleep? Both are impossible to do.

I will ask Ilah's pediatrician about this when we go to our next appointment, which is coming up soon.

Here are some other photos taken of Miss Wonderful this morning.....

"Hey mommy! I got somethin' for ya"....

No more pictures please. I've done my fair share of posing for one day!

One Pretty Piece for Multiple Outfits

Before going to bed last night, I picked up the latest issue of Parents magazine and flipped to the pages that I doggy-eared a few weeks ago. I tore out a coupon for Pampers, remembered that I need to look into baby sun block, and once again laid eyes on a pretty necklace that would compliment nearly any outfit in a woman's closet...

$22.99

Usually the only jewelry that I ever wear is my engagement ring & wedding band. I didn't even get my ears pierced until I was 24 {when I spontaneously "took the plunge" while in New York City for New Years in 2004...and the holes closed up shortly after because I just couldn't stand having anything in my ears!}. But lately I'm realizing that one piece of jewelry can really spruce up an outfit - a pretty necklace. I'm starting to get into them. Nothing expensive. Cute, and very affordable pieces that look like you spent more than what they actually cost. Aside from that pretty little piece above, here are a few others that I like....

$21

$22.99

$16.50

$21

All from JC Penney.

Sandra Bullock Adopts!

Regis & Kelly happened to be on my tv this morning when I heard the news that Sandra Bullock adopted a beautiful baby boy. Check out this sweet photo!....

Bullock has given an interview to PEOPLE magazine where she shares that she has filed for divorce from her husband, Jesse James, revealing that she had no idea about his infidelity and that the adoption process {for baby boy Louis Bardo Bullock} started four years ago. James and Bullock actually brought the baby home together back in January but wanted to keep the adoption under wraps until the Oscars passed. Bullock is now finalizing the adoption, and now plans to raise the adorable baby above {born in New Orleans}, as a single parent.

On a side note: Adopting little Louis seems to mirror her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side. Interesting life and art intersection.

What a bitter sweet moment for Sandra. I think she's a beautiful person and will be an exceptional mother.

Exclusive photos of the star and her baby boy will be in the new issue of PEOPLE on newstands Friday.

It's True - Time Flies

I can't believe that in just another week, I will be flipping the calender to the month of May. Is it just me or did the months of February, March and April just fly by? In just another few weeks Ilah will be 4 months old. 4 MONTHS!! January only felt like a few weeks ago, certaintly not 4 months ago. Our little girl is getting so big!

Ilah remains to be a wonderful, healthy, vibrant, easy baby full of a ton of personality, cute expressions, and brings SO MUCH joy to our lives. When you are pregnant, you spend so many months anticipating the arrival of your baby, and wonder what he or she will look like and how they will be...Ilah is more than we ever dreamed her being. She captivates us with her smile and her cute little ways and our hearts melt over and over; life with her is so much sweeter. To say that we just can't get enough of her is putting it mildly. We adore every single thing about her.

Here are some pictures that I thought you would like to see of my sweet little baby girl playing in her playpen.....

Ilah "talks" a lot these days! To us....to her toys...she loves carrying on "conversations" : ) She can really get goin'!! We've captured many of those moments on our video camera, but here's a short little video that I took on my cell phone, which includes a little "clean up" Momma had to do, where you can hear a bit of Ilah babbling and coo'ing....

Doing Away with My Type A?

Last week, I did a little experiment on myself.

I wanted to see what the week would be like if I made some changes. If I put my "type A" personality on the shelf for a bit.

To give you more insight:

I like my home immaculately clean. All the time. I like to be organized. To a tee. I want to accomplish things on my "to-do" list. Every day. I want to have vacations planned. Often. I want to spend time connecting with God. Always. I want the people that I have let into my life to know that they are appreciated and loved. Every day. And even when it comes to this little ol' blog, I aim to keep it up. Daily. I’ll also thrown in that I love a good long bubble bath : ) Whenever I can get one in!

But sometimes I can't get around to doing all of the above things in one day. And when I fall short {even just a little bit} I find myself inhaling and exhaling a lot at the end of the day because I feel that the day wasn’t as productive as I wanted it be.

I have recognized that my husband is repeating one sentence to me pretty often these days: "Relax honey. You put too much pressure on yourself". And I've come to realize that he's right.

Feeling the need to have to accomplish EVERYTHING in one day, and then not {because realistically, how could you if you have an ongoing "to-do" list} is an impractical expectation that I've placed on myself. As much as I want every day to be a productive day, I need to accept that it's ok if they all are not.

Life goes on.

So last week, while cozying up to my husband on the couch, I didn’t stay fixated on the little things around me that I saw out of place. I didn't go to bed thinking about the vacuuming that still needed to be done. I didn't beat myself up for not immediately folding the basket of clothes that I took out of the dryer that afternoon.

Being a stay-at-home mom/wife is new to me. It's a new purpose that I've joyfully come into. Tending to my baby daily, and serving my husband the way that God wants me to, is my top priority - it's my first ministry. And I delight in it. As a homemaker, I take pride in making - and maintaining - a warm, clean, fun-loving home for my family. Through my demonstrated actions I’m fulfilled when my husband and baby see, feel and know that they are loved and cared for. I should never think that if my home isn’t maintained in the way in which I strive to keep it that I have somehow failed for that day.

My new thinking mentality now is that if I don’t get around to doing something that I intended to do that day, I’m just optimistic that I will get it done the following day or sometime that week, rather than allowing that “thing” to affect my mood, causing me to be irritable the rest of the evening over something that was not greatly significant.

I’ve also realized how important it is for me to tune into my own needs. If I took time to do something for myself that day {write a blog post, call a friend, take a bath while the baby was sleeping, etc} it’s probably what I needed to do. Indeed taking care of my family is important, just as taking care of myself is too. I’m a big part of the equation to my family’s happiness. And If I’m burnt out, that’s not a good thing.

I’m sure my “type A” personality will never be gone completely, nor do I want it to be {because there are many good things about being categorized under that single letter!}, but I’m glad that I challenged myself to ease up, tune into my husband’s advice, and don’t just count the days, but make every day wonderfully count.

A Few Additional Touches to Ilah's Nursery

This past weekend I added a few additional touches to Ilah's nursery {you can go here to see lots of pictures of her little haven}.

We have been wanting to add additional seating {an ottoman} to Ilah's room for a while now. We play with the baby on the floor most of the time but sometimes when my husband and I, or my mom and I, are just in the room chatting, one person is sitting on the glider while the other person has to stand or sit on the floor. I finally came across an ottoman that was comfy, chic, and inexpensive. I purchased it at Home Goods last week...

I placed this pillow {that was a part of Ilah's overflowing Easter basket}, and this little bear, on the ottoman....

Here is a picture of the pattern close up....

I bought a little basket to put Ilah's books in, along with some of her small handheld toys....

I purchased a large pillow to act as a "back cushion"....

Once Ilah starts to climb, this ottoman may be moved so that she doesn't knock down the pictures above it. Although, you never know....Ilah just may be a good listener and this ottoman may be able to stay in place....

{The door seen in its entirety below is the main door into her room; the open door on the right is the access door to the bathroom}.

You'll notice in the first set up pictures posted of Ilah's nursery that where the ottoman now is, used to be a small rocking chair and a small wrought iron table. For now, those two things will go in our garage and we will pull them back out when Ilah is at the age where she can actually use them.

When Ilah was about 2 months old, we bought her this musical mobile....

She loves looking up at those little bunnies!....


I also added those two pictures on the left wall....

Here's a close up of them....

In Ilah's bathroom space, I bought the below picture and put it in place this past weekend....

Here's a close up....

I'm definitely not a designer, but I think Ilah has a pretty little space that she can grow into for years to come.