6 Month Old Taeya

I tried to take Taeya out for a 6 month old photo-shoot. It didn't work too well but I did manage to get a few cute pictures. Enjoy.

She tried applesauce for the first time today and enjoyed it. So far, she's eating bananas, yellow squash and applesauce and loves all of them.

Happy Half-Birthday Taeya!

I can't believe that it's been 6 months since Taeya was born. Phil and I are so thankful for Taeya and her sweet little personality. She's such a blessing to be around as she almost always has a smile on her face and a giggle ready to share. We are so blessed.

Happy Half-Birthday Sweetie!

She just started making these faces where she pooches her lips out. I think it's so adorable.

Taeya's (almost) 6 Month Update and Tidbits of My Life

Taeya and Dad enjoying some time together at the God Rally.

Taeya wearing her beautiful dress from Nana Laurie.

Taeya loves spending time with Annie (one of our pastor's daughters). The feeling's definitely mutual.



Taeya's so serious because it was bedtime for her but there was too much going on to get any sleep.


More about the God Rally and Strawberry Days in my next post (if I remember).


Today after swim lessons I was reading the paper and noticed that the breastfeeding chat time was going on right at that moment. I have needed a new nursing bra for a long time now. Unfortunately, due to our more rural location, there's no stores in our area that carry them and it is not something that I will buy online. I had heard that the place that had the breastfeeding chat time had bras so I decided to drop by for a visit. It was fun getting to see other moms and their little ones. Taeya was the oldest by about two weeks. While I was there I got a wonderful new bra that fit me!! Wahoo! Also, right before I left I noticed that they had a baby scale so I put Taeya on it fully-clothed to see approximately how much she's weighing these days. People have been asking me lately and I've been saying that I think she's in the 13-14 pound range. She weighed 13.5 oz fully clothed so she's probably more like 13 lbs without clothes and diaper. She's still a little one but growing. She's grown just over 2 lbs in the two months since her last doctor's visit.

I fed her squash for the first time yesterday and she enjoyed it. She was fussy before I started feeding her so she was kind of whiny while she ate but she opened her mouth and swallowed all her squash w/o any faces. Phil told me that she wasn't going to like it. Ha! I want her to like all the veggies that Phil and I don't enjoy. We tend to each like different veggies so it makes it challenging to cook ones that we'll both eat besides basics like corn and peas.

Yesterday, I made carrots, yellow squash and applesauce for Taeya and froze them in ice-cubes to use later. I also bought avacados, bananas and mangoes that I still need to turn into baby-food. It's amazing how easy it is to make baby-food. I'm glad that this is something I can do for Taeya. I enjoy knowing exactly what she is eating and that she's not getting all the preservatives and supplements that come in canned food. It's also a great way for us to cut back on costs which we always need to do as we're on a very tight budget.

Yesterday morning I attended my first women's Bible Study here. It was such a blessing to be able to spend time in the Word with other women. They have had Bible Study all year but due to my work and tutoring schedule I've never before been able to go. Our study book is "Feminine Appeal" by Carolyn Mahaney. It talks about the seven virtues of a godly wife and mother as found in Titus 2.




Now it's time to throw some loads of laundry in.

Solid Food

Taeya has started eating solid food and is LOVING it! I'm not feeling like writing much right now, so enjoy the pictures. Oh, and she also thinks she's a big girl and can drink from a cup and feed herself. She likes to practice doing both.








A few random pictures. Taeya stretching.
I think bathtime pics are so cute.

Talkative Taeya

Taeya has been talking A LOT lately! She will literally cooooo, eegghhh and ahhhh all day long when she's not asleep. She generally does it when she's in a happy mood (which is often). The other day, I was cleaning the kitchen and she just kept talking and talking so I videotaped a little to share with my family. Enjoy Taeya as she says "hello" to all her blog fans. Oh, and Puma put her two cents in as well. She didn't want to be left out.

Father's Day Tribute

I am so blessed.

My Lord and Savior, my heavenly father, you've granted me the greatest gift of all-Salvation through the sacrifice of Your Son. You love me with an unconditional love and care for all my needs. You have blessed me in so many ways especially with the family You have given me here on Earth.












Dad, you are the most wonderful father I could ever have hoped for. You are a role model of what a daddy should be. You have always loved me, provided for me, and made me feel valuable and cared for. You've always been willing to get down on the ground and play with Sarah and me when we were little even after a hard day of work. It is such a joy to watch you now play with and love your grandchildren. I love your goofiness and the many games of cribbage we've played together. I love that you and Mom taught us about the Lord and prayed for us as we grew into adulthood. I love remembering the times you would take me with you on service-calls and you'd always have something for me to do whether it be organizing your toolbox or helping you in some little way. I fondly remember the tire swings you built for us and the science projects you helped us create. Thank you for the time you invested into me as it is part of what made me the woman I am today. You are a strong and gentle daddy and I'll always be your daddy's little girl.






Phil, I am so happy that you are now a daddy. I have loved seeing your face light up when you see Taeya after a long day of work and I love to see her search the room for you when she hears your voice and the huge smile that follows when she finds your face. She's definitely Daddy's little girl! You are a wonderful father and I'm excited to watch your relationship with Taeya grow and blossom as she continues to grow. Thank you for the dirty diapers you have changed and the moments you have taken care of Taeya when I have needed a break. Thank you for the walks that you have gone on with Taeya and I and the care you show for her needs. I know you have so much to teach Taeya and so many dreams for her. I am sure that you will spoil her in ways that only a daddy can. I pray that your relationship with Taeya will continue to develop and grow stronger over the years. You are a wonderful daddy!







And finally, Dad Z, I am thankful that through marrying Phil I was blessed with another set of loving parents. Thank you for your love for Phil, myself and now, Taeya. I feel as much a part of your family as if it had always been my family. Why else would I still marry Phil after you and he tied me up with seran-wrap and sprayed me with the hose at 3:00 in the morning? (No, I'll never let either of you forget that!) I am so thankful that you not only were able to be at our wedding but that were the one that officiated our union. It meant so much to us that you were the one that married us. I have no fear of spending time and visiting with my in-laws. It is always a blessing spending time with you. I am so glad all of you were able to come visit at the end of May. It was so refreshing being able to spend quality time with family once again. It is fun seeing you in the role of grandpa and your tenderness towards Taeya. How I wish we lived closer to both you and my own family. Maybe someday we will, Lordwilling. Thank you for being a part of my life and for being my other Dad.

A Talented Toe Sucker

As I mentioned a few posts ago, Taeya found her toes on May 27, 2008. She has a great amount of fun with them which also amuses me. Here's a cute video demonstrating some of her toe sucking talent. It's a bit long but the first part is fun to watch.



Oh, and even though she's 5.5 months old, she's wearing a 0-3 outfit. She's still a little peanut.

Family Pictures

When Phil's family was visiting, we had family pictures taken. I picked them up today and they turned out BEAUTIFULLY! I'll put up a couple of my favorites. I LOVE the big family one. I was so excited that we were able to have the family pictures done as it's SO hard to get everyone together at one time AND we don't normally have a photo studio in our area. A traveling one came through on the last day that the family was visiting and I found out about it and was able to schedule a sitting. I'm so happy it all worked out.

Monsters Under the Bed

I had a scary thing happen to me last night when I was nursing Taeya in her room. I heard something squeak like 10 times really close to me!!! I was FREAKED OUT! I took Taeya out and put her in the livingroom and then I went back, turned the lights on and looked. I was up on the guest bed and carefully picking things up off the ground and shaking them out. (The bedding for the bed was on the ground since we haven't remade it yet since having guests). I expected something to jump out at me. After not finding anything (and still being very scared) I went and woke Phil up. He didn't do anything. :( Pffftt. He was like, "do we have to deal with this now?" (It was 1:30 AM). I got the pack-n-play out of Taeya closet (still scared something was going to jump out at me) and set it up in our room. I didn't want her sleeping in there with an unknown animal. I thouroughly cleaned her room and closet out this morning and couldn't find anything...not even any mouse, rat, or animal poop. I don't know what it was but it was really scary. I left some kitty treats out on the ground and closed the door so Puma wouldn't eat them. I'll leave them there overnight and see what happens. Any suggestions for catching an unknown animal?

Giggles, Sqeals and Squeaks

A few weeks ago, Taeya started giggling quite often when we kissed her; especially on the neck. I've been wanting Phil to take a video of it but it never seems like the right time so today I got Taeya giggling and got the camera out. This is my second try since the first video barely got her head in the viewfinder. You can see what a happy little girl she is. We love her Sooooooooooo much!!!

Guess Who's Sitting?

Taeya is!!! We were at the park today after my jog and Taeya was doing quite a bit of sitting unaided. Of course, she did an equal amount of toppling over but I was proud of her non-the-less. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera to capture the moment. So, when we went home we tried sitting again. Here you can see Taeya performing for the camera. She wants to show off to all her blog fans.
Look at me! I'm sitting up!
Um, I'm starting to lean a bit Mom.

Way to catch me. (The funniest is when she topples straight forward and is basically folded in half with her forehead on the floor).

Yikes! This is hard work!
How am I doing?
Am I supposed to be leaning this far forward?
Are we almost done with this sitting thing already?




Age: 5 1/2 months.