Father's Day, 5 Month Birthday, and More

WARNING - Long post ahead!

Happy Father's Day to Mark, Happy Grandfather's Day to Pops and Gramps, and Happy Great-Grandfather's Day to Papa-Razzi.

We had such a wonderful day. Belle worked hard all night in her sleep to make a card for her daddy. She had it waiting in her crib when Mark went in to get her this morning. She is very advanced in her coloring and cutting skills. She even decided to sleep in this morning to give us an extra hour of sleep. Sweet baby! After church, I treated Mark to a lunch at Swallow at the Hollow - AMAZING BARBECUE. We headed home after and had dessert (a Reese's Cake from Cold Stone) and opened presents. Belle and I gave Mark the picture below framed with Belle's footprints in pink on the matte. I also gave Mark some cuff links to have Belle's initials and date of birth engraved in - I wanted to make sure he liked the style first.

Mark, you are the love of my life and have been such an amazing husband to me. Watching you become the father of our daughter has made my heart just swell with love. You are such an incredible father to Belle, and make our family such a priority in your life. I love to see the way that Belle responds when you come in the door from work, and how no matter what she is doing she turns her head the second she hears your voice. She is already such a daddy's girl. Thank you for all the sacrifices you make to put us first in your life. You lead our family to love the Lord and glorify Him in all that we do.

Belle and Daddy on the beach in Saint Simons

This weekend, my sister-in-law had her baby shower in Texas. She is expecting twins that are due in September with a scheduled C-Section in mid-August. I was unable to go to the shower since Belle and I are travelling to Dallas when the babies arrive. Allison had seen this adorable twins quote and wanted to know if I could make a shadow box frame for her. I tackled this project head-on and loved how it turned out. I can't wait to see it hanging in the nursery!

Belle turned the big 5 months today. It is so hard to believe that she is 5 months old. She is changing so much right now. Her personality is really starting to blossom. She is an incredibly happy baby but has quite a temper on her. My favorite temper story was this afternoon I was changing her clothes and she just let out a blood curling squeal. I looked at her and tried to figure out what was wrong. Since I wasn't messing with her clothes she stopped squealing and not a tear in sight. Every time I went to take off her clothes she just squealed and squealed. What a stinker! Every morning when we go to get her out of her crib, she just smiles and smiles. We love to lay in bed and listen to her playing.

We have definitely started the teething process. I haven't seen any pearly whites yet, but we could have buckets of drool. She also gnaws and gnaws on her hands -- I am surprised she still has fingers left. The toes have even found their way into her mouth as well. She is really grasping and pulling things towards her. Belle wishes so badly she could crawl. She has the motions down, but just can't coordinate it all. She can sit up for a few seconds without support, but her little bottom doesn't provide her much to sit on. She just kind of rolls side to side. The giggles and laughs are precious and I could listen to it all day long. There is lots of "talking". She "talks" so much after 5:00. I think it is because Mark is home and she needs to tell him all about her day. I have started Belle on crib naps. It has been really hard at times but right now our persistence is paying off some. I can definitely notice a better nap pattern and happier baby when her naps are over. I know their will still be ups and downs as she adjusts. I cannot wait to see what her half-year birthday holds for her.

Five candles for the birthday girl! We forgot that we had to take her cake picture so we used the leftover Father's Day cake -- shh don't tell her. I also promise the candles are not as close as they look.

Look how big I am getting!
Mmm, I heard one of these piggies was eating roast beef. Can I get some too?

Working so hard to get those toes in the mouth!

Check back later this week. I have some big surprises coming up for the blog. I have a cute video to post of the peanut this week. I will also follow through with telling you all about my new workout -- p.s. I lost 4 pounds this week. For those of you who made it this far -- Thank You, you are a true blog reader/stalker!