somehow, rooney turned 6 months last week. i swear she was born just yesterday. then i look at her and realize just how grown up she looks - i am afraid if i blink she will suddenly be a toddler.
9/18/15 { SIX months old!!! } •sadly, no longer sleeps through the night. wakes up at least five times and must be nursed back to sleep every time (it's a good thing mama really loves this girl). working on sleeping in the crib and it definitely needs a lot more work. but for as unhappy as she is at night, she makes up for it in happiness during the day. sits like a pro. learned to roll from back to belly on 9/1. talks and experiments with all sounds. raspberries now include her tongue and a whole lot of slobber. shakes her head for fun and sometimes her whole body gets involved. music is magic to Rooney. twinkle twinkle puts her to sleep in the car ( and for a few minutes in the crib ) and everything else makes a cry turn to a smile. she eats eats eats - peas to apples and bananas, sweet potatoes and squash to blueberries. grew out of six month clothes about a month too early and her thighs need nearly twelve month leggings. reaches for everything - maybe we will have a scooter/crawler soon! wants so badly to eat whatever we are eating. is so aware and interested in what is going on. has started smacking her lips, using her tongue. loves to say "dadadada" - prepping for her first word. we couldn't be more in love, especially when she is up at 4:00 am singing her heart out.•
she had her six month doctor appointment today and everyone was blown away with how big she has gotten! roo is 19 lbs. 9 oz. - 96th percentile - and 25.5 in. - 43rd percentile-. can you believe she started at a scrawny 6 pounds! and why aren't my arms like super crazy toned?!
6 months vs. 1 month
blows my mind! i love my little lady so very much!
** as I started this post, I thought it was going to be mild, but as I began to write it, things got heavy. I realized that I have strong feelings about what is happening in our country right now. I can't stop thinking about the things in this post. As I would work on it, things in the media would pop up and they would just solidify my thoughts and feelings. And as today is 9/11, I felt this post was even more needed. **
When Rooney was just about a month old, I took her to see Cinderella with my mom and grandma. Just like everyone else who saw it, I left with "Have courage and be kind" repeating in my head over and over again.
The other morning, Roo and I were out on a walk. I decided to listen to a conference talk, one that I have thought about since I heard it. Which Way Do You Face? by Elder Robbins.
When we think of courage, at least when I think of courage, I automatically think of someone who is brave and strong. This talk added so much to my definition of courage.
Elder Robbins talks of how we try to please others before we please God because of our fear of men.
"This peer pressure tries to change a person's attitude, if not behavior, by making one feel guilty for giving offense ... The snare may be cleverly baited to appeal to our compassionate side to tolerate or even approve of something that has been condemned by God."
I see this everyday. I cannot turn on the news or open social media without being bombarded by those who are fighting/pushing their views and then destroying anyone with opposing views. If you don't agree, you are wrong. And there are so many issues where this is happening - I am not referring to any one thing.
My father-in-law was in New York on September 11, 2001. He has written his story and I read it often. As I read it today, this line stood out to me:
"We found a safe haven behind the old Battery Fort, which ironically offered an excellent view of the Statue of Liberty. We were all well aware that it was the very freedom that SHE represents that was under attack and taking lives."
The irony to me now, as I read those two sentences, is that while we are no longer under terrorist attack, the freedoms that the Statue of Liberty represents are being skewed, distorted, and attacked by our fellow man. If we don't agree, we are wrong
I was watching a tv show a few years ago and one character "Why do you get to be you, but I don't get to be me?" One of the reasons we love the United States of America is our freedom - freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to peacefully assemble. We also are ruled by a democracy which means the majority rules, but things seems to be more about the one these days.
"While it certainly takes courage to face perils, the true badge of courage is overcoming the fear of men ... Courage is not just one of the cardinal virtues, but as C.S. Lewis observed: ' Courage is ... the form of every virtue at the testing point ... '
I LOVE that. "Courage is the form of every virtue at the testing point." Courage is crucial. It is everything.
"The scornful often accuse prophets of not living in the 21st century or of being bigoted. They attempt to persuade or even pressure the Church into lowering God's standards to the level of their own inappropriate behavior...Lowering the Lord's standards to the level of their own inappropriate behavior."
I think that quote is pretty self-explanatory. It is powerful and strong. It is humbling and reminds us of the power of the Lord.
After the attacks of 9/11, I remember everyone coming together. God was there. Faith was there. Everyone came to pray. Our country was unified. We were "one nation under God". Today, as I was watching a talk show, they showed this picture:
They talked of how beautiful it was and said something along the lines of mother nature knows what she is doing. I was blown away. When I saw that, the first thing I though was that God is aware of us. We have quickly forgotten Him. We no longer feel united - in fact, we are the exact opposite. We are fighting with each other - pushing others down so that we can rise up. It's hard to watch.
This video and this post by Glenn Beck both popped up on my facebook over the week or so that I was working on this post and they apply perfectly.
As I end this post, I have to tell you that I made Ashton read through it. 1. because it feels like a big deal to me - I feel vulnerable. 2. I told him that I didn't want to offend anyone. Think I need to read through my own post again. So here I am, taking courage and taking a stand.
More than anything, I love my country! I am so grateful for the people who fight for us. I will never forget September 11, 2001 - where I was, what I was doing, and the actions of that day by both me and our nation, and not only the actions of that day, but for weeks and months following.
And it has become very obvious to me that I have no control over time. It just wont listen to me.
8/18/15 { FIVE months old!!! } •has hit baby spitter stage. started eating baby foods. is sucking on her bottom lip. likes to hang out with her head upside down. a crib sleeper for almost a week - we will try that one again next month. other than the crib nights, she sleeps from about 10:30 to 7:00, nurses, and then will continue sleeping until 9:00. if you have food in your hand, she will try to pull your hand to her mouth. wants to touch everything and then put it in her mouth! kicks her legs and throws her arms when she gets excited, which is a lot. she is starting to laugh all of the time. doesn't roll over yet but will roll to her side and uses that to move in circles. definitely a mama and daddy's girl. eating rice cereal - more like licking it. girls got a crazy tongue. she loves loves loves baths and even takes showers with mama. very alert and will look towards all sounds. so much so that if I'm watching tv while she is nursing, she will try watching the tv too. has started to smile at mom while nursing. she is pretty much sitting on her own. we love this personality that is coming out!•
summer has come to an end... (insert 100 frowny faces)
It's too bad, because I really love summer and we never even made it to the beach this year.
I thought that because I wasn't teaching this year, life would slow down, but this summer has been unbelievably busy - making it fly by. And now that I have Roo, all I want is for time to slow down.
Ashton starts back at BYU tomorrow and I am hoping to get back to a schedule.
So, here's to catching up on my blog, to-do lists, schedules, and getting back on track.
Summer with the Smiths means a trip to Bear Lake. It has become one of my favorite family traditions and it was 100x better to have sweet little Rooney there with us. So of course, I have a crazy amount of pictures that need to be shared!
DAY 1
i got to sit in the back with these cuties!
nursing on the balcony - we loved it!
snuggles with grandma
DAY 2
driving to the beach with casey
our little water baby
cade and his sand art!
roo learned to do raspberries at bear lake
couldn't get enough of her pink ear hoodie pj's in front of the blue wall
What the heck!? How can my baby already be four months? It is blowing my mind and I just want to sit with her and never move in hopes that time stops and she never grows up.
At four months, Roo loves to play games while nursing. She will often unlatch and just look at me, smile when I say hello, and then go back to eating. It's sort of adorable. She also likes to be holding onto something while nursing - like my shirt, my hair, my hands, or even just her hands. The big girl can sit by herself for a short time on our bed. She has been trying to sit from the time she was 10 weeks old, so she is very proud of herself. When laying down, she is either playing with her toes or lifting her head (trying to sit up). She has started reaching for things, especially mom's hair. On the 10th, she had her first public meltdown and it was not fun. She loves to laugh and smiles even more. On the 13th, Rooney made it through all three hours of church (which is especially nice since mom is now in primary). She sleeps at least 8 hours a night with short naps during the day. Roo loves watching TV. Always has to wear a bib because of her constant drool. Loves to toot/burp when everyone else is quiet. has started to discover her limbs and always reaches for her toes. she will aggressively attack your shoulder, face, or hands. she loves rubbing her feet together and it is adorable.
She is growing rolls like a champ! Baby girl had her four month check up and weighed in at 15 lbs. 14 oz. (89th percentile!!!!) and is 23 in. long (37th percentile).
My sweet little baby is already three months. It hurts my heart that she is growing so fast! I tell her every night to stop growing, but she isn't listening.
She is so alert, awake, inquisitive, bubbly, smiley, slobbery, strong, happy, hungry, perfectly perfect. While I don't want her to get bigger, I love watching her personality come out.
She's even cute when she cries.
Rooney loves to talk and especially loves to sing. She can hold her head up all by herself - she wants to sit up so bad and she is so strong, she will get there soon. The front of her outfit is almost always covered in slobber - she loves to make spit bubbles. Now that mom is out of work, afternoon snuggle naps are a must. Rooney's tongue is regularly popping in and out of her mouth. She kicks her legs like a frog while in her car seat and blow outs have been a daily experience. She still hates tummy times, but is getting better. We all sleeps at least 7 hours a night! She turns towards sounds and has to be held looking out at everyone. She will always smile for attention.
but Rooney was blessed and Porter gave his farewell.
Rooney looked perfect in her beautifully handmade dress. She was an angel baby and Ashton gave her a beautiful blessing.
my beautiful baby girl
Porter's talk was great. It blows my mind how grown up he suddenly became. I remember watching boys give farewells when I was a teen and thinking something along the lines of them needing their mission to help grow and mature. After Porter spoke, I think everyone could tell just how prepared he was. It was moving. I will see if I can get him to send me a copy of it.
I love Sundays, especially ones surrounded by so much family and so many friends.
