Letter to Gray// Five months

Dear Gray,

This has been a big month for you full of growth and development. You are so eager now to explore your surroundings. I can no longer expect you to stay on your mat. You somehow manage to scoot yourself backwards by pushing with your arms and kicking with your little feet. You also can turn around as well as roll over from your tummy to your back and back to your tummy. When you see something that you want you stretch your arm out as far as it can go and grunt in anticipation. You get very frustrated if you cannot reach your toys. You are starting to sit up on your own for a couple of minutes and then your melon head brings you down ;). The boppy was a wonderful invention. It provides cushion for when you fall.

You also continue to find your voice. You scream as loud as you can and at times it makes you cough.  You are also very ticklish underneath your armpits, so your dad and I tickle you often to hear your sweet laugh. Shakespeare makes you laugh more than anything else. So we often call him in for reinforcements when you are getting bored or fussy. Which has been happening more and more lately. At first we thought it was teething but now we think you are just wanting more attention.

You went on the swing for the first time this month and have graduated form the playmat. We love watching you explore and are having way too much fun with you!

You are our favorite.

xo 

anna lizbeth

Babies Best Friend

Almost three years ago my husband and I wandered into a pet store. While there I spotted the most adorable puppy I had ever seen and decided that he needed to be ours. At the pet store we googled what a Goldendoodle would look like when he was full grown and we read a couple of facts about their temperament. We were sold. We left with the puppy, a bag of food, a toy and a kennel. My husband and I do not normally make rash decisions but in this moment we did and for the most part we have never looked back and we have loved this dog like he was our child ((seriously)) 

Recently though he has kept me from taking two important trips. The first trip was due to the cost of a pet sitter and the second trip was last minute and I couldn't find a pet sitter in time. It was extremely discouraging. We do not live in the same state as our families and it would have been so nice to see everyone.When these things happened I started to question whether or not this pup of ours was worth it. Not only does he require extra attention,  he also costs a lot of money. The pet sitters, dog food and vet visits really add up.

After pondering the pros and cons of this pup, I quickly realized you cannot put a price on the love that he brings into this family. All he does is love us unconditionally, give us the best cuddles and in general he brightens our day. Most importantly of all, he has already become Gray's best friend. This month they both started to really interact with each other. Shakespeare can always get Gray to laugh. Shakes loves to lick his face, play with his hands and he will even bring over his toy in hopes that gray will throw it for him. ((which, at the moment, is a game that is a little too complex for a 5 month old)) Gray loves to pet ((pull)) Shakespeare's hair and is always reaching out for more kisses. I am so excited about their continued friendship as he grows up. I can already picture them playing tug a war, playing fetch and going on hikes! 

Thanks Shakes for being our back up babysitter, our security guard and our babies best friend. We love you and you are here to stay!!

xo 

anna lizbeth

How Sweet It Is // Babyshower

This weekend I was given the opportunity to play photographer for a sweet friend's coed baby shower. I have had our camera for almost two years now but my husband and I have been using it much more lately. He encourages (harasses) me daily to read more about the camera, play with the settings and explore the possibilities in Lightroom so I was very excited to take pictures this weekend. 

The decor was A M A Z I N G and I have some beautiful friends so it definitely helps with the inspiration. The babyshower was so much fun. I love that coed showers are becoming popular. Fathers are so involved these days and it is important to celebrate with them. 

The men all brought their favorite beers for the dad-to-be and the woman brought baby gifts. There was also cornhole, a taco bar and s'mores by the fire at night. 

In our group of friends there are already 6 babies under the age of one. We are very excited to welcome another little girl into the group. Only two are boys so Gray is a little outnumbered but I have a feeling that as he gets older he will prefer it that way ;).

After dinner the girls watched the mom-to-be open presents and had a prayer time while the men stayed down by the fire. This was such a special time and I was reminded yet again of the miracle of life. I am so excited for my sweet friends who get to meet their baby girl in just a couple more weeks!

It was such a wonderful night. I am so thankful for this growing community that Ben, Gray and I are able to be a part of. 

xo

anna lizbeth

Letter to Gray// Four months

Dear Gray,

I am pretty sure you are the happiest baby I have ever met! You love to play and continue to laugh at us when we work R E A L L Y hard for it. You also love to have time to yourself on the play mat. You are now constantly rolling from your back to your belly. I think at times you roll over on accident because once you get on your belly you immediately start crying so that we can roll you over again. You continue to smile at everyone you meet. When you smile your entire face lights up and you show off a mouth full of gums. 

You love to chew on your fingers and at times your entire fist. You are also drooling constantly. We keep thinking that you are showing early signs of teething but we do not feel anything. You take two 1.5-2 hour naps and one 45 minute nap which makes me very happy. You also sleep from 7:30-7:00 at night but you generally still wake up several times a night for a quick feed. Pretty sure you do not need it and I may be creating bad habits but that's okay. 

Bath time is still your favorite time of the day. You love to kick your little feet and play with the water coming out of the faucet. You have also played in a swimming pool and took a dip in the ocean but you are not so sure about it yet.

We love you little man. You make us incredibly happy.

xo

your proud momma

3 month , 2 month , 1 month

Camp Vibes

My husband and I have been talking about going on a camping trip for years. Literally. When we put together our wedding registry we added a tent on the list in hopes that we could make camping our "thing". Then life happened. Deployment, Flight School, Pregnancy and now a baby. 

This week we decided that there will always be reasons keeping us from going on adventures and that if we really wanted to make it happen we just had to do it. My husband did some research and found a great place for us to hike and camp that was just a couple of hours away from our home. We got together our camping gear, prepared chili, packed canned salmon and some power bars and the next morning we were on our way!

It needs to be said that I have not worked out in 14+ months and even before then I have never been very fit. So I was nervous about not only hiking to an elevation of 8,000 feet, but doing so while wearing my four month old.

You guys, it was hard. I had to push myself and may have yelled at my husband once or twice ;) but in the end it was worth it. Funny how that works. The views were stunning, my husband was in his element and it was so nice for us to get away from our daily routine. 

Gray loves being outdoors and also enjoys the ergo so I knew that he would do great during the hike.  We also needed to stop often do to the steep incline so Gray was able to stretch his legs and play with dad. ^^

For lunch we stopped at an absolutely beautiful spot that looked our over the mountain. We had just completed the hardest part of the hike so it felt so good to relax, enjoy our sandwiches and take in the views around us. 

After hiking 3.8 miles uphill ((of the 5.3 miles we were supposed to hike that day)) we decided to set up camp. By this point I was exhausted and was extremely thankful that there was a campsite near by! 

The mountain we were on offered remote camping options which was so much fun We loved the fact that there were not any other campers around. 

Sleeping in a tent with a 4 month old is not an easy task, but we made it through the night and gray was one happy baby when we decided it was time to get up! ^^^

After breakfast we packed up our tent, took a quick family photo and then started our journey back down the mountain. I must say going back down was a wonderful experience. We took our time and we were able to enjoy the breathtaking views and cool weather. 

Towards the end of the hike we saw a baby black bear ^^^ whose mom was thankfully nowhere to be seen! 

This was such a good trip for us and we are already looking into where we are going to hike/camp next. Although next time we decided we will look for an easier hike ;)

xo

anna lizbeth