June Recap

I have not been good about keeping up the blog so I am going to try to recap each month of the summer with some of my favorite pictures. Starting with June...

 

 

We started June off with a trip out to camp for Pass the Torch.  This was Jolie's very first trip to a place I know she'll always love.

Jolie wore my first Easter dress to church. 

She had to try the bonnet on too.

Jolie was having an exhausting morning.  She rarely falls asleep in her swing.  I think this was one of three times ever!

Jolie was not cooperating for this picture, but I had to document her first time wearing overalls!

We did lots of swimming.  Jolie LOVES the water!

Rachel and Jason's wedding was the end of June.  Here is sweet Hope, the flower girl and our precious friend, making Jolie smile at the rehearsal.

Our family before the ceremony

Sisters

The girls

 

Next up, JULY!

Seven Months

Jolie is seven months old!  What a big girl!

 

Taking picture of this wiggly girl keeps getting more challenging...

Checking out the bear

Diving off the couch

Throwing the bear

 Where's Jolie?

Jolie is developing quite a personality and it is so fun to watch.  She knows when she is being silly and will continue to do something if we laugh at her.  She is more giggly all the time and very chatty.  She babbles a lot, mostly "dadadadada."  No fair!  I love to hear her talk and am trying to get "mamama" to be next.  Jolie is a great sitter now and loves to sit on the floor and play with all her toys.  She is trying to get up on all fours, but her knees slide out from under her most of the time.  Jolie is very much a people person and does not like being alone.  Lately, it has not been enough for me to be in the same room with her-- she wants me sitting right beside her!  It is also becoming very apparent how much Jolie loves her daddy (not that it was ever in question.)  Cole has been working long hours and Jolie gets so excited when he comes home.  It is very sweet.  Jolie is still a good little eater and has eaten everything I've given her.  I think she might be allergic to prunes, so we are going to stay away from those for a while. 

Jolie has been a very inconsistent sleeper.  For the most part, she has slept well, but she has gone through a couple of phases of sleepless nights and no-napping.  We recently decided it was time for a little tough love and to let her cry herself back to sleep in the middle of the night.  The first night was terrible!  I might have cried too.  However, the next night was better and now she isn't waking most nights and when she does she goes back to sleep on her own pretty quickly.  We are still sorting out naps, but today has been a good day (hence the opportunity to blog!) 

Six Months!

Jolie is six months old!  I can't believe she is already a half a year old! 

Jolie went to the doctor last week for her six month check up and weighed 16 pounds 2 ounces and was 27 inches long.  She's getting big fast!  She started eating cereal at 5.5 months and has since tried carrots and squash as well.  She has liked everything she has tried so far. 

Today we tried to give her a sippy cup for the first time and she mostly played with it but did manage to drink a little bit.  Jolie is quite the little talker when she gets in the mood.  She is especially chatty in the car and often babbles the whole trip.  I love listening to her experiment with all the sounds she can make.  One of my favorite things that she does now is reach for us.  It is so sweet when she holds out her arms wanting to be held.  She sometimes makes a game out of it during church and reaches for daddy, then mommy, then daddy again.  Silly girl.  Jolie is also sitting for short amounts of time.  We still stay pretty close because she will sometimes loose focus and nosedive.  She enjoys sitting like a big girl where she can see everything going on around her. 
We are having so much fun watching Jolie play, babble, and giggle.  It's been the best six months!

Puppy Love

I know I've mentioned it a few times, but Jolie really loves our dog, Ranger.  When Jolie first came home from the hospital, she and Ranger were not the least bit interested in each other.

Five-day-old Jolie with Ranger

Over the last few months they have become very aware of each other. Jolie's eyes are always following Ranger and she reaches for him if he is anywhere near her.  Ranger is very sweet to Jolie and tolerates her not-so-gentle petting and grabbing.  If we don't respond immediately when Jolie cries Ranger comes to get us as if to say, "Don't you hear my baby crying!"

Ranger is a very smart, very talented dog.  We, especially his trainer, Cole, are very proud of his many tricks.  Jolie's new favorite entertainment is to watch Ranger spin and jump before catching his frisbee or ball.  We now often go to the backyard to calm a fussy Jolie!

This is a sweet video of Jolie laughing at Ranger.  Unfortunately Jolie's laugh is a little hard to hear and her mom is way too loud in the video.....Oh well, it's still pretty cute!

Five Months

Guess who is five months old??

Jolie seems so big to me lately!  She is figuring new things out every day, and it is so fun to watch.  She is still rolling all over the place and enjoys practicing sitting up with help.  It's amazing how much her coordination has improved in the last few weeks.  She gets her toys to her mouth so easily these days and it used to take a lot of work!  Everything goes straight into Jolie's mouth, especially her fingers and toes.  Jolie also likes to make funny noises.  She fake coughs, fake laughs, and blows raspberries.  I love that it is pretty easy to get a laugh out of her lately.  She laughs at our dog all the time, and it is the cutest!  Jolie's first tooth just came up.  It is still barely visible, but it's there and the one beside it is almost in too.  She still has great hair :) I don't think she's lost any of it.  Lately we've added a new hairstyle...pigtails!  I love them, but they make her look so old! 

Another new thing for Jolie is riding in her umbrella stroller.  We just tried it out last week and we are both enjoying it.  I like that its much easier to take places than the big stroller and Jolie loves being able to sit up and see everything. 

As far as sleeping goes, she is finally getting back to her old self.  For over a month she woke up every 30 minutes to hour and a half through the night.  It was making me crazy!  Luckily in the last week, Jolie has started sleeping MUCH better and we are only getting up once or twice a night.  Now, she just needs to figure out that 5:00 am is not the ideal playtime. 

4th Anniversary

Last Thursday was our fourth anniversary.  Cole and I went out on our first date since Jolie was born.  We had a great night out and know that Jolie had lots of fun with Mimi and Pops!  Thank you!

All three of us before we left

Past anniversaries...Third anniversary on our cruise

Second anniversary in Estes Park, CO

Celebrating our first anniversary with a date night.  We spent the actual day on Wilderness Trek with our youth group!

I feel so blessed to be married to the boy I had a crush on back in elementary school. I am grateful to have Cole for a husband....and I hope Jolie marries someone just like him!



Father's Day

I'm pretty late on Father's Day, but I definitely have to document Cole's first one!  Jolie is so blessed to have the greatest daddy!  There's nothing sweeter to me than seeing the two of them together.  Jolie LOVES her daddy and is getting especially attached to him this summer.  We both love having him home! 

These are some of my favorite recent pictures of Jolie and her daddy.

First dip in Killi Creek

Sitting on the deck in Daddy's new rocking chair from Jolie

Before Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jason's Rehearsal

And before their wedding

These are some professional pictures we had made last month.  I love this one!

On Father's Day we went to my Granny and Grandad's house for lunch after church. 



Jolie and Papa....Not only does Jolie have a great daddy but she has the best grandfathers too!

So precious!

And if special grandfathers weren't enough, she has the best great-grandfathers too!

 
Jolie gave her grandfathers these framed prints of her little cheeks!  It says "I love you from the bottom of my heart!" hehe

Me with my daddy and my girl

After church that evening we went to Cole's parents.  Cole got this sweet book from his parents on his first Father's Day.

Jolie and Pops hanging out

Jolie is not the only one with a special daddy.  Cole and I are both so blessed to have such wonderful, Christian men as fathers. I'm so grateful we got to spend the day with both of our dads too!