Lorelai is EIGHT months old

Oh my how is our sweet little thing 8 months (5 adjusted) old??? Seriously even though it feels like forever, it also feels like its going by so fast! I'm just struggling with it. I hate how fast time goes by. However at the same time, due to her still being so tiny, it feels like I have this eternal baby, which I love. I just adore babies, but I also adore her growing personality.

Lorelai is just beautiful, inside and out. Not only is sure purely gorgeous she is also just sweet and beautiful inside. Her soul just makes me so happy. She loves to be loved and I love that she allows me to love her.

This month has continued our upward swing of adjusting to 3 kids and she has brought so much joy to our lives and I'm forever grateful to her beautiful little being.

Here are some of her milestones.

• She continues to be a beautiful soul with the most infectious smile. You can't help but swell with happiness when those big eyes look at you. 
• She will see me from across the room and just light up! She gets all excited and smiles while throwing her body in pure joy. There is nothing better. 

perfect little baby

this was the boys birthday
you wouldn't know she was running a fever! 

• This month I bought her a few baby toys. I either lost them or I've just placed them in a really good hiding place but I can't find all my infant toys. So I bought a few girly ones and she loves this ball I got her. She does a great job of grasping it and bringing it to her mouth! 
• I just love seeing her hit these milestones. Makes my heart happy. 

that smile

Her new ball. 

• She is still primarily sleeping in her crib. Though on occasion I will bring her to Rock N Play so I can keep a little bit of a closer eye on her. However due to the fact that she primarily sleeps on her stomach, she tries to do this in the RNP and it makes me so scared
• She is still swaddled for the most part, and I got back to swaddling during nap time because she seemed to sleep better 
• She sleeps 12-13 hours at night and I only occasionally "wake" her for a midnight dream feed. 
• She takes two naps, typically a 1-2 hr nap in the morning about an hr or so after she wakes up and then a 3-4 hour nap in the afternoon. She will sometimes sleep more or less during the day, but nightime is a full 12 hrs at least. (LOVE HER FOR THIS!)

sweet baby

Stomach sleeper like mama and her brothers

Rolled all the way over!!! CRAZY girl

• She is eating SO WELL this month! We have had very MINIMAL reflux almost none at all. She has pretty much taken control. She will start to fuss or get super talkative around 3 hrs and we know it's time to eat! :) SCORE!
• I'm still exclusively pumping milk for her, and she I'm still able to keep up with her, she only had to take frozen one time, when I got sick and couldn't keep fluids down and wasn't able to sit upright long enough to pump plus being dehydrated meant I couldn't pump enough
• She is strong enough for me to hold on my hip, however due to her tiny size this makes it a little difficult and awkward. But the girl does love to be held and loved on
• She has really enjoyed her Jumperoo this month. I think it's because she is finally tall enough for it!! She just gets those feet moving and is all smiles and giggles
• She is always happy unless shes tired. you know she is ready to sleep because she starts to fuss. then I know she needs her diaper changed and put to bed!  :)
• This month her little feet are finally big enough for shoes so I've bought her a few. I got her her first pair of boots and Converse's 

• During the month we went on our first field trip to the pumpkin patch with Lincoln's class and let me tell you how exhausting that was with 3 kids! WOAH! but she was a champ! (of course)

I simply adore this outfit! 

• We went on another car ride to see my Grandma for her birthday and she of course did fabulously (as did her brothers). They were all wonderful as we celebrated my grandma! and I loved spending this time with her. 

Miss Personality

My grandma's 80th Birthday

• This month was also our first infant loss awareness day. It was a hard day that was just extra pressure on missing her sister, but I don't want to forget Laynie or have people think we have forgotten so I enjoyed keeping her memory alive. 

Infant Loss Awareness day
We sure do miss her sister

1 year ago from this picture I found out we were expecting TWINS

• She celebrated her FIRST Halloween which happens to be one of my favorite holidays. We did everything we could, we went to Zoo Boo, we went to the Childrens Museum. She was a Cow, which was the same costume the boys wore at 3 weeks old, I like to think that she enjoyed herself as much as the boys did. 

Haunted House at the Childrens Museum

I adore them!!

First Halloween

COW

Here are our eight month pictures....

That smile and those feet! 

Lorelai I just adore you and your personality. You bring me joy daily and I'm lucky to be your mom. Thank you for being my daughter. 

Lorelai is SEVEN months old

Seven months, WOW I just can't believe it. Time seems to really be flying lately. at times its hard to believe we've had her home with us for only 4 months, and at other times it feels like she just came home yesterday. She's 4 months adjusted. 

Lorelai is amazing, in one simple word. She is just perfect in every possible way. At least for the time being I doubt there is every going to be something she does wrong. She is the strongest person I know and has such a fighting spirit and I feel grateful to know and love her.

This month has been the best yet. She has made such great strides and I'm so proud of her. Each month I see her strength come through and I truly feel just blessed to witness it.

So Here are her milestones this month

• She continues to have the best possible smile ever, she will still only occasionally laugh, and its not a full on giggle regularly yet. She just laughs once or twice. I can't wait for her to actually giggle on a more regular basis.
• in fact when you try to tickle her she makes the funniest face, like she's not quite sure if she likes it or not, and will almost look panicked and ask "mom what is that"
• She has giggled but its only been for Lincoln or her baby friend Brielle
• Her hands are constantly in her mouth. To the point where my mom is always asking if she is still hungry. But I know she isn't, she just wants something to chew on and most of the time it's her hands. 
• She is my first child not to mind tummy time. While I wasn't the best at making her do that in the beginning, I'm slowly coming around to it and she does pretty well. Though she still will fall asleep on her mat. 

I put her on her mat to distract her and she fell asleep

Getting good at it! 

Big strong Girl 

• We don't really use her swing anymore since it broke, though we will occassionally put her in it to nap. 
• Since shes likes to sleep on her side, I'm not a huge fan of this idea. 

This was just so precious. Sleeping like her mama

she about rolled herself out of the swing. 

• She slept in our room in the Rock N Play most of the month, but we have put her in her crib at night. It feels so weird not having her next to me but I just didn't like that she was turning to her side so much, I felt like she was going to suffocate. 
• I do swaddle her at night and she does well! I try not to swaddle her for her naps, so she gets used to not being swaddled. 
• She still takes several naps a day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon and even sometimes one later. Nothing super scheduled but she definitely sleeps between each and every feed it feels like, occasionally she will stay awake between feeds but it's rare. 



She even almost rolls in her Rock N Play
our days are numbered in this. 



First time napping in her crib. 9.15.15



• She is starting to get better at reaching for things. She will reach for the toys on her Jumperoo and on her play mat. 
• She hasn't quite loved the Jumperoo like her brothers, though I think it's because shes so tiny still. 
• She is a standing queen. She truly enjoys just standing in front of you. 
• I had to move her straps up on her carseat! She's really getting big. I do still have the infant inserts in however. 

One of my favorite outfits on her
--Thanks Susan!

• Her brothers continue to love and adore her, but Lincoln especially. He is ALWAYS touching her and playing with her. He is like a little daddy, he plays with this doll I've named Nelly, and he even tries to wear Nelly. He is so warm and nurturing with her. Landon loves her too, but not nearly like Lincoln does. 

This just warms my heart

• She doesn't love bath time. We usually shower with her, which she does much better with. But on the occassion we do give her a bath, she usually screams. She hates the water running from the faucet, its almost like she get scared. 
• I attempted a few times to give her a bath with her brothers and I put her in the bumbo which she really tends to enjoy and she did better, though I think for the most part we will try to just keep to showering her. Plus the boys love baths either way, shower or bath. 

First Bath with her Brothers 9.14.15

• The thing I was most excited for was this month she ROLLED OVER!!! from back to tummy!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!?! yes!!! I think having a preemie made me super scared that she wouldn't hit milestones but she's AHEAD of her brothers!! By almost 2 months!!! She hasn't quite rolled from tummy to back yet, but I'm sure that's just around the corner.  

Right after she ROLLED OVER! 9.25.15

• One of my favorite things this month was getting to show her off to Fr. John. Fr. John was the wonderful man who baptized both girls at 2 minutes of age. We called him from my room in High Risk when we were getting ready to deliver and he prayed over us before delivery and then baptized them. He is heading back to Nigeria to continue his ministry. He will be greatly missed. 

• I've started to put her in her high chair as another place for her to hang out. She will occasionally be ok in it for longer than 10 minutes but gets pretty bored after a while.  

First time in the High Chair. 

• Eating wise this little girl is doing awesome. Once we switched her meds around she has done so much better. She is starting to take more control of her feedings which is amazing!! I love not having to watch the clock so much!!
• she takes 3 oz every 3ish hours!!!
• She is also showing preference to me. She will often eat fine for others, until she hears me. Then she stops eating, but once I feed her she does great! (not going to lie, I sort of love that! )
• She is still in 3 month clothing. 
• Shes a talkative little squirt. She will sing, blow raspberries and just talk. It's so wonderful!
  

Here are a few other super cute pics of our little miss.

Getting good at tummy time. 

love my little nuggets

The HAIR!

she apparently thought this was a good idea. 

thank you aunt nikki for my awesome outfit. 

lips!

Here are our 7 month pictures. I'm ashamed to admit that I almost forgot to take them! We had had the boys birthday party on this day and it totally spaced it until almost 8pm! But we got them done! :)

best smile ever (well next to her brothers)

one of my favorite pictures of her ever! It really captures her sweet happy personality. 

These are technically from last month, but we just got them this month. These were her 6 month pictures taken in Fishers. And I just had to share them.

Love those beautiful blue eyes!

Oh my sweet Lorelai. Life with you is just pure perfection. I love you more than words and you are constantly stealing my heart on a daily basis. I'd be lost without you!! Thank you for being my beautiful daughter!