"Dada"

So we think that Marissa has been saying "Dada" the past few days.  I tried to catch it on camera but as soon as I brought the camera out she stopped and then as soon as I put it away she started again.  Gah!  We'll catch it eventually.  I was really hoping her first word would be "Momma" since you know, I carried her for 9 months, gave birth to her, get up in the middle of the night with her, etc. etc.  Of course, she's a daddy's girl so I got booted to 2nd place...at least I *hope* that's what her 2nd word will be. :)

Thursday night Marissa had a runny nose and was super, super cranky.  Friday she was running a low grade fever and was still extremely cranky and I could tell she was not feeling well.  She wasn't sleeping much and she didn't want to be put down. Friday night she ended up sleeping in the bed with us because it was the only way any of us could get any sleep. She woke up around 5:00 in the morning running a high fever of 102.5.  We gave her some tylenol and took her to the Urgent Care to see what was going on.  They said she has an ear infection so they gave us some antibiotics and sent us on our way.

On our way home from the doctor's she fell asleep in the car.  When we got home we decided to keep her in her car seat and let her get as much rest as possible.  We figured she would wake in a half an hour or so but boy were we wrong!  She slept from 1:30 pm to 6:00 pm.  We finally had to just wake her up to eat, change her diaper and check her temperature.  I guess she needed the extra rest.

I decided to take advantage of the situation and went to town while Danny stayed home with her.  I went to a baby consignment sale called "Wee Cycled" where I got some cute spring and summer outfits for Marissa. I also got a book of Nursery Rhymes to read to her.  After that I called to check in with Danny and he said she was STILL sleeping so I headed over to Hobby Lobby and got some craft supplies.

She is feeling much better today and is getting back to her old, happy self!  The weekend has flown by, ugh, when are we going to get 3 days on weekends and work for 4?  Doesn't that seem fair?  Who came up with this whole Monday thru Friday thing anyway?

As promised, here are a few pictures of Marissa cruising in her stroller!

Waving at the camera!

And here are a few pictures that I've been meaning to post:

This is one of my favorite pictures!

Gosh, I love this girl!

Pretty bow from Mickey

...And we can't forget Eli

6 Months (and 1 week) Stats!

Marissa had her 6 month well baby visit on Tuesday.

Here are her current stats:

Height - 26.5 inches - 66th percentile

Weight - 15 pounds, 9 ounces - 38th percentile

Head - 16 inches - 32nd percentile

Little miss is getting big!  She did pretty good with her shots.  She cried for a brief second and as soon as I picked her up, I handed her her lovey and she grabbed a hold of it and was all smiles again. :)

Tonight we have a fussy baby on our hands.  I'm not sure if it's teething or if she isn't feeling well, but I hope that she gets some sleep soon.

This is a quick post as it is getting late!  Hopefully more blogging and of course, more pictures to come soon!

Mooooo-ve Over!

Marissa had to show off her new cow print diaper over the weekend! 

Is that not too cute?  I'm still practicing my "faux-tography" skills.

I'm getting a little bit better at manipulating the poor lighting in our house.  Learning more about the settings on my camera and what works best.  I still have a lot to learn, but in the meantime, I don't think I'm doing too shabby.

Yesterday we went for a brief walk.  Marissa sat up in the stroller like a big girl.  ::Tear:: Where's my itty bitty baby?  I will have to post pictures soon of her in the stroller.

We took some cute pictures of her over the weekend. 

Where's Marissa?  I can't see her in her camo!  Marissa's "Uncle Fuzz" bought her this outfit for Christmas.

Look at those CHEEKS!

Daddy tastes good, apparently!

Daddy's girl. <3 these two!

What a goof!

<3 Mommy and Me <3

So serious!  But she is flawless. :)

Today Marissa has her 6 month well baby visit.  She will be getting some shots so she may not be feeling well this afternoon.  We will get to see how much she weighs and her current stats, so stay tuned!  I think she weighs about 16 pounds now, according to our home scale.

She is sitting up by herself more and more and she gets better at it every day.  We started giving her Puffs over the weekend.  She rakes them up into her hand and puts them to her mouth.  Even though she doesn't have teeth yet, she gums and chews on the puffs.  It's so cute!  It's really neat watching her motor skills at work, seeing her learn new things and explore the world.

How come no one ever tells you how much you will love your children?  It amazes me how much my heart grows each and every day for her!

Sold!

I think I'm officially sold on photo editing.  Even just lightening the picture some makes a huge difference!  I really need to learn more about editing. =)

Before

After

Before

After

Before

 After

It helps that I have a truly adorable subject to practice on.

Photo Editing

As some of you know, I got a new camera (Nikon D3000) for Christmas.  I've enjoyed learning more about photography, but I have a lot to learn and not a lot of time to dedicate to it.  To boot, our house gets TERRIBLE, terrible lighting.  Any reputable photographer would tell you that starting with natural light is key to great photos.  We literally live in a cave (much to my husband's delight).  Last night I was given a few tips from "a friend" (thanks, Cathie!) and so I've decided that I'm going to try and edit some of my photos to balance out the lack of natural light in our house.  Now keep in mind I do not have proper photo editing software like the pros do, but I made these few changes by using Microsoft Office Picture Manager. 

This picture is Straight off of Camera (SOOC)

A little too much?

Getting better...?

What do you think?



Play Date and Bon-bons!

Danny is out of town for the rest of the week so I invited his cousin, Marie, over for dinner.  She has a 9 month old, Aubrey, so we thought it would be nice to get the girls together for a play date.  She generously made alfredo and brought it over for dinner.  I made salad and garlic toast to go along with it!  She also brought homemade bon-bons, they were delicious.  I had never had a bon-bon before, who knew they were so yummy!  These had oreos, chocolate and cream cheese in them.  I may have to steal the recipe for a blog post. :)  Hopefully I can have enough self control be a nice little wifey and save a few for my groom.

 Marissa fell asleep on me the other day and I was soaking up all the snuggles!  I don't get to do this often. I love snuggling with her. 

 My big girl sitting up by herself and wearing her Amber teething necklace.  Miss Rosey Cheeks!

 Here's a few pictures of the girls. They were so cute together! Squealing, patting each other, trying to get a few hair pulls in and sharing toys.

Marissa and Aubrey

So I've already started getting carried away with Marissa's 1st birthday party plans (and it's still 6 months away).  I bought her a special first birthday onesie and it came in the mail the other day!  We are doing a pink and black lady bug theme and I think it will be a lot of fun.  I'm hoping that a family friend, Monika, who also did our wedding cake, will do the cake for Marissa's first birthday party.  Okay, I better stop with the details before I give everything away before the big day.

Must step away from the bon-bons...

Sorry, I'm about to put myself in a chocolate induced coma.  I had a cup of coffee while Marie was here and having coffee past 5:30 in the evening is never a good idea.  I'm sure I will be kicking myself in the butt tonight when I'm tossing and turning and unable to fall asleep.

My brother, Josh, will be celebrating his 26th birthday on Friday.  He and my parents are going to come visit and we may go out to dinner, or I'll end up cooking in.  Either way, it will be nice to see the family!  Danny won't be back until late on Friday, so it will be nice to have some company. 

Time to catch up on my trashy TV (since Danny isn't here to complain about it).  Teen Mom 2 it is!

Want to W-O-W your guests?

Head on over to my recipes tab and check out my latest addition - Crockpot Jambalaya!  Seriously, you can't go wrong with this dish.  A little bit of spice and a whole lot of comfort.  I was surprised at how delicious this recipe was.  I can't take credit for the original recipe, but I can take credit for popping some ingredients in a crockpot and serving up a hearty meal.

Serve with a french loaf of bread and you've got yourself a New Orleans favorite!