6th months and going strong

Happy 6 months Noelle! You've come so far and we love you so much!

Noelle had her 6th month appointment this week. She is doing so good. She weighed in at 15lbs 8oz and is 25 1/2 inches long. Here were the percentiles:

Weight: 34%

Length: 42%
Head cir: 88%

It's so hard to imagine her as a 2lb 15oz, 16 inch long baby. She is doing so well and has been so healthy this winter. We're so grateful for that. Especially as I have just gotten over a cold and the flu. Someone is really watching over her.

On another note we started Noelle on cereal this week. Since she is a preemie the doctor told us to wait until she was 6 months instead of 4. We thought she was ready earlier but we listened. The first couple of tries were interesting. But after that she really seemed to like it. Her sleeping has been crazy lately. Before we started the cereal she would wake up every 3-4 hours again to eat. Her bottle would just not last her throughout the night, she would get too hungry. The doctor told us to put in 1 tsp of cereal to every 2 oz of formula. We tried this last night and she slept almost 8 hours straight. It was wonderful. I'm hoping this will be an every night thing. I'm happy she's on the cereal and I think she is too!

Great Idea!!

My friend Brittany started a blog called The Young Mother's Club. She started it because (like a lot of you reading this right now) she is a young mother with questions. I know I have questions. I'm constantly asking my mom or others for help or suggestions on what to do in different situations. I just thought I would share this website. It's new and she is just starting to post. Spread the word if you can, to anyone. Even those who are experienced mothers or grandmothers. I think this is a great way to help each other out. So if you have questions or would like to help mothers with questions please visit the site!

Here's the link: http://youngmothersclub.blogspot.com/

I love Monsters!

So this last Saturday night my parents volunteered to watch Noelle while Michael and I went to a movie. I hadn't really thought about it but we hadn't been on a date in a while. We really needed it and had a fun time. There is nothing more grown-up than being in a movie theater with mostly kids and their parents and watching Monsters vs Aliens with 3D glasses on. Awesome huh? Well it really was. I thought the movie was hilarious. For some reason I love watching movies in 3D. Me and my sister Taylor have seen The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline in 3D. And the thought of going to see another one just got me excited. It made me laugh a lot and some of my favorite actors and actresses were the voices for the characters in the movie: Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Kiefer Sutherland, and Rainn Wilson. So if you're in the mood to laugh and want to feel like a kid, go see this movie! (that's my opinion anyway). I can't wait until I can actually take my kids to these movies and enjoy it with them.

Some photos:Noelle's great grandma Fullmer gave her this little bunny for easter. She loves it for some reason and will just stare at it forever. It has a weight in it and won't fall over and she is just fascinated by it. I love her little hands. Her wrists look like they have rubber bands around them. :) Our little girl is growing so much.

Easter Sunday

I had a really good Easter Sunday. Despite the fact that my cold was still pretty bad. As RSV season in Utah is still not technically over we haven't taken Noelle to church yet. So because of that it was my turn to go to church. I'm glad I did. Our ward did an Easter program with the choir and primary singing. I loved it and really felt the spirit. It was something that I really needed. It's nice to be reminded about what the Savior did for us and really helps me to put in perspective what is truly important.

We didn't go to an Easter egg hunt this year because Noelle is still too little. Next year will be super fun though. We still had a great Easter. Here are the top 10 things I enjoyed doing on Easter (not in any particular order):

1. Spending time with Michael and Noelle.
2. Visiting Michael's grandma and other relatives.
3. Visiting my family.
4. Eating a honey glaze ham.
5. Enjoying my very favorite Cadbury mini eggs.
6. Relaxing a little.
7. Watching Nina and Tanner play with Noelle.
8. The beautiful weather.
9. The Easter program at church.
10. Talking with my mom.

We just happened to have a cute little Easter dress for Noelle. A couple days earlier I took some pictures of her in it. Again she's not smiling a whole lot because she's too preoccupied with the camera.I love her little stare and those big bright eyes! I don't know what she is looking at here.I love this one! She couldn't put her dress down and wanted to eat it.Again with the dress. What a pretty girl!She's learned how to suck on her thumb and fingers. It's actually a small blessing as she DOESN'T take a pacifier at all.

I just have to say that I love being a mom. It's the funnest, hardest, most rewarding thing I have ever done. Noelle is the joy of my life and makes me smile constantly. I am so grateful I have a wonderful husband to share this whole experience with. Noelle is such a blessing in our lives!

Silly Faces

Noelle has some very funny faces. I tried to do my own little photo shoot with her but she just would not smile. She just looks at me with these big bright eyes and stares. As if she totally knows what I'm about to do and what I want from her. Even with these silly faces she is still so cute! She has the funnest personality and sometimes shows her stubborn side.The "I'm distracted and you WON'T get my attention right now" face. She's finally grabbing on to things. The green one is her cold teething toy.The "What the heck are you doing mom and why are you talking to me like that" face. These overalls are my new favorite purchase. I love them. I finally started putting headbands and bows in her hair. Some of you may be wondering what took me so long. I just figured since we had to stay inside all the time that we didn't need to bother with the bows. Well I should have started this earlier, they are way too cute.The "I'm trying to sit up, but I can't yet and I'm getting frustrated" face. This was during my home photo shoot. I tried so many things to get her to smile and she just wouldn't. Of course she smiles when I'm not taking pictures. Grandma Fullmer bought her this cute little dress.The "I'm so tired, but I don't want to go to sleep" face. She does not take very many naps and when she does they aren't very long. She just wants to be part of all the action. Have I said that she's a little stubborn yet? She usually crashes around 10:00pm. (not always though)The "You are not getting me to smile while you have that camera in front of me" face. I just love this one. I love her pretty dark blue eyes!The "I'm concentrating hard and I'm kind of confused" face. Her eyebrows furrow like that whenever she is looking at something new and is deciding whether she likes it or not.