Summer Days

 

Last summer I was pregnant and tired so I really didn't do a whole lot with the girls. Not too mention Layla was still taking 2 naps a day, and I'm a stickler about doing things out and about around her naps. This time I've got yet another baby but Mariam still manages to get in 3 naps a day, and Layla is down to one long nap a day. I still try to schedule things around naps, but also trying to keep Serena my oldest entertained. I plan on enrolling Serena in at least two camps this summer. One will be a church camp for a few hours each evening in July, and I also want to put her in tennis lessons, or something music oriented. 

By the way, can anyone recommend a decent blog designer, or a good template for changing my blog header? It really needs to be revamped!

We are ready for July 4th..

Well at least Mariam is with this cute  little bubble from Kohl's. I've yet to get an outfit for Layla, but she may end up just wearing a white top, blue lace shorts and a red hair bow--that I'll still need to make her. Serena has a blue skirt with stars on it she may end up wearing. 

La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa Vacation

The husband was off for two weeks recently, so we decided to take a mini-vacation last week. We left on a Saturday and came back last Wednesday. It was a nice little 4 day vacation at a lake resort in Conroe which is about an hour and 15 minutes from us. We went with two other families and wanted to stay close because Mariam does not do well on long car rides! 

We stayed in one of the villa's instead of being in the main hotel and upon arrival, it seemed nice enough, but as we made our way into the villa area, I was a little put off by how outdated the outside looked. Do not judge a book by it's cover, because the room was clean, spacey, and modern. We went during slow days so certain things weren't open, but the main attraction which is their water park was awesome! They have a splash pad, a few slides, several pools, and a lazy river. The kids had so much fun!

These are some i-phone outfit pictures and a few bibs I packed for Mariam.

Layla

It's still hard to believe that my Layla is a two year old. It's like I blinked and the baby stage was over like that. She's becoming her own little person now and she has quite the rambunctious personality. She makes my heart melt and I often wonder what kind of person she will be when she grows up. Layla is crazy about her big sister, always seeking her out, and she sure does like Mariam, but she hasn't quite figured out Mariam yet. I think she just sees her as this little being that crawls around, gets in her stuff and wants to put everything in her mouth. I feel incredibly lucky to have these girls to call my daughters.

Iphone Lately

Happy Father's Day

The only thing better than having you as my husband, is our children having you as a dad.

Happy Father's Day.

Mariam Month 6 & 7

I'm behind on this. I know. Better late than never though. The kids are all asleep right now so I've got some time to blog. Mariam turned 7 months a few days ago. It's going by so fast. So so fast and it makes me sad. Before the year is up my baby will be one. Sniff...sniff.

Weight
  Mariam is close to 15 lbs right now. She's a little peanut. She seemed chunky to me, but she's only in about the 15th percentile for weight.

Health
  So far so good. Keeping my fingers crossed she doesn't catch a cold anytime soon. We all have been healthy and now that Serena is on summer vacation and not exposed to so many germs at school, hopefully I won't have to worry about any of us picking up a cold anytime soon.

Sleep

It's been awesome. I'm so thankful because Layla was a terrible sleeper. Mariam is so much easier. She takes 3 naps a day and all I have to do is put her in the swing (we do not turn it on though) and she goes to sleep within minutes. We transitioned her to the crib for night time sleep about a month ago and it was also super easy. She goes to bed between 8:00-8:30 pm. I nurse her and then put her straight in the crib. She doesn't like to be rocked. I do usually have the Pandora station set to relaxation music while she nurses.
 

Clothes 

Mariam wears 6-9 month clothing right now. It's so fun dressing them when they are this size.

Diet
  Milk and so far still going strong with breastfeeding. I'm happy to have made it this far and I hope to continue to at least a year, maybe longer of exclusively breastfeeding. It's such a great bonding experience and I know I'm going to miss it when she stops. Mariam also started solids at month 6. Aside from breastfeeding, she's on 3 baby meals a day. I like to buy Sprouts or Earth's best organic baby food. I kept saying to myself early on that I wanted to make her baby food, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I need to--at least some of it.

Crying

Mariam is super attached to me and it can be cute, but draining at times. She still constantly wants to be in my arms or at least in her sight. She can be playing fine with her sisters or daddy and as soon as she sees me, she cries. 

 Milestones
  Mariam was army crawling at 5 months and close to 6 months she was officially crawling. She's pretty fast now. Also a couple of days ago, she half pulled herself up on a large toy. She's getting there!

Products I'm loving
 Baby mum-mums! I love those little teething biscuits. They seriously buy us some time when we are trying to eat breakfast or dinner. She will sit there and chew on them with her two little teeth and it keeps her occupied for a few minutes.  

Birthday Outfit

Saturday was a nice day. In the morning H made a hearty breakfast for us and the rest of the day was pretty much spent just lounging around the house till about late afternoon, when I took a shower and got ready for the evening. My mother came over around 6pm to watch the girls and we left to meet a few friends for dinner at Straits restaurant located in the City Center in Houston and then walked to a bakery for sweets and conversation. It was really nice to get away and be on a date with no kids!

Fuzzy i-phone pics, and I'm terrible about getting photos of when we do get out, or when I'm with friends. I don't know how some bloggers do it. I feel sheepish busting out the camera all the time to take pics of myself when people are around. Lol. If it's of something else or my girls, totally different matter!