This transition has been a bit harder than we thought. Initially we'd planned on co-sleeping until Ava was six months, but with such instability while moving, the age increased to nine months. Here we are just 10 days short of Ava being nine months old, and we are no where near ready for such a huge switch. Bug is young enough to not know exactly what's going on, but old enough to know that the crib is a foreign object. Today is truthfully the first day we've attempted to put her in the crib each time she goes down for a nap. I know consistency is going to be our best friend with such a huge change, and we are hopeful we will have our baby in her own bed within a couple of weeks.

If somehow Ava is throwing out signs that she's just not comfortable with the idea of the crib, than Justin and I have opted to continue to co-sleep. Truthfully, having a baby in the bed isn't that much of a hassle. Ava has grown used to having her parents close, and I feel really bad about taking that security away from her. She won't be a baby forever, and she won't be in our bed forever. Once Justin goes back to work, I'll continue to try to get her to nap during the day in her crib. Even if we revert back to co-sleeping, I don't want the crib to be foreign to Ava. We spent a good chunk of time thinking of ways we can make our Lover bug feel more comfortable in her crib... this was Justin's idea..

It was so cute to see these two in there. I didn't think that having her daddy in her crib would make a difference, but it turns out I was wrong. I really love that my husband is willing to do anything to make our daughter smile. He can't stand when she's unhappy, and I know he'd (attempt) to move mountains for our girl if he could. I'm really excited this morning because I will be seeing a dear friend I haven't seen in quite some time. She made ballerina decorated letters for Ava's room, and I can't wait to hang them up in the nursery. If you are expecting, or looking to gift someone, check out Colorful Characters on Facebook. Mary does an excellent job, and I'm sure once Howl baby #2 comes along, we'll be looking to her to create more colorful letters for the next nursery.

This week I managed to score a "free" mini session with a wonderful local photographer.  I saw a lot of the work she did for former classmates of mine, and instantly I knew I wanted to book a session with Chelsea Giraldo Photography. Check out her Facebook page, I love her work. I'm excited to have pictures taken of my little family. They will be the first set we've had done in 2014, and I can't wait to see how they turn out. Alright all, I'm off! This is the last weekend we have with Justin before he goes back to his normal work schedule, so we are going to make the most of it. Happy Friday all! 

♥- Leilani

Overload

Where do I begin.. This week has been the most challenging, exhausting, and emotional week I have had since I first found out my mother was sick. For all of my avid followers, you know that my mama is very sick. When we were still in Georgia, Justin submitted a compassion reassignment, in order to be closer to my mother, so we could help care for her. Due to Justin's unit being so back and forth, we made the decision to pull the packet and submit it once we arrived at Justin's new duty station. Well.. apparently the packet was never pulled, and in fact sent off to brigade. Due to those possible pending orders, we were never suppose to leave Justin's duty station in Georgia. They weren't supposed to let him leave... yet here we are settling in Texas. We just found out early this evening that the compassion reassignment was approved! As exciting as it was to find that out, we have a lot of calls to make here in the next 24 hours. I am praying everything works out and that we will soon be on our way to Washington. I will update everyone once we know what we are dealing with completely.

The second shock and rather sad news of the day is that my mama is not coming to Georgia. I can't believe it. Her healthcare provides are strongly suggesting against it because of new health conditions my mom is facing. She called me bawling, and I held it together for her. I miss her so much, and I know she misses me and Ava. I told her about the compassion reassignment news, and she seems elated and relieved. Hopefully it won't be too much longer for us to reunite. I truly believe that God has a master plan for us Howlands. I am fully prepared to let go and let god in this situation.

The third set of news we got today were about Justin's grandfather. I know I didn't post about it, but for those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, you may have seen my post. Arthur had extremely poisonous bed sores. He's a stubborn man and hadn't had them looked at when they first came about. The doctors gave him two options, get the surgery or slowly die from the poison in his blood stream. He chose the surgery and I am relieved to say that he made it through his surgery. They have him in recovery now, but we won't know more about the status of his health until tomorrow.  

On a slightly less serious note, Ava bug had her first go round with butternut squash this evening. With all the things going on right now, this was just what Justin and I needed to mellow out. Watching our girl taste something new is always comical. I'm not sure how she feels about them yet, but we made them homemade and they smell delicious. I can't believe in just six days, I'll have a seven month old baby. She truly has been such a blessing, and she is the best distraction when stressful days are among us.

I just wanted to update everyone on my life right now. I'm still enrolled into three different courses, so it looks like I am off to get some reading done. Again, thanks to everyone that has been praying for our family. I truly believe your prayers do wonders and make the biggest difference in our lives. Happy Wednesday all!

♥- Leilani

Sunday & pregnancy discoveries

So today Miss Ava decided she was going to have a low active type day. These days always make me alarmed. I have gotten to know her patterns distinctly over the last few weeks, so when she does something that isn't normal for her, I tend to freak out a bit. (for good reason) With all the things that can occur in pregnancy I'd rather be overly cautious then not cautious enough. I think it's also the classic case of first time mom worries. So anyways, I used a doppler today because I was so freaked out. I don't know why I chose to do that when I'd been out and about and I wasn't even home. As soon as I got home for the evening I drank some apple juice, laid down in bed, and sure enough this little girl is moving just fine. It's weird but I even think I feel her heartbeat. I put my hands underneath my belly and I feel rhythmic beating, like it's Ava's heart. I haven't felt anything like that before. It was actually pretty neat. On another note my belly has undeniably gotten HUGE and hard. Growing baby ! I'm excited to see how much Ava weighs at my appointment on Tuesday. Also, I was looking back at all the things I've learned during my pregnancy and I have three that I'd like to share:

AMAZON.COM:  After discovering amazon, I will never pay full retail for anything ever again. A lot of first time parents use Babies r us, Target, etc.  Justin and I would have been one of those parents. THANK GOD for mommy friends and their word of mouth advertisement. I was able to cut our baby budget almost in half by using amazon. You've got third party sellers and really competitive prices because it is a virtual store. I used main stream stores as a reference. If I saw something I liked, I price checked it on amazon.

EDUCATE: There are so many mothers out there that LOVE to give their opinions about their pregnancy experiences, their labor experiences, or their parenting styles. Sometimes unintentionally these stories can worry first time moms. If you are unsure about anything during pregnancy or have concerns about what parenting styles will be best for you, READ READ READ, ask your OBGYN or nurse. The parenting styles Justin and I have decided on are a bit different from the mom friends I have. I was able to come to my own decisions through extensive research and feedback from my doctor. Don't fear that you are doing something wrong or that your decisions aren't justified. Just make sure that you take the time to do your homework.

BONDING: I had trouble with this a lot during my first trimester and up until I was about 20 weeks in my second trimester. I was always in fear that something was going to happen to my baby. That I would be sleeping wrong, eating incorrectly, you name it I was frantic about it. If I could do it over, I would have worried less and expressed my happiness EVEN MORE. Moms have an awesome opportunity to bond with their growing babies the entire 9 months they are in our wombs. Don't let the fear of " what if's" get the best of you during pregnancy. No matter the outcome we all have this precious miracle growing within us.

                                       

This would be my little angel, Ava Leilani. 

Photo Credit: victoriasimmonsphotography