8 Months Old

Today marks Gilana's eighth month, and what transformations have occured in her!

Here is some information on what her development should look like from babycenter.com

Your baby's newfound mobility means that she's now entering the land of bumps and falls. These are an inevitable part of childhood, and although your heart may occasionally skip a beat or two, try to enjoy watching your baby explore her surroundings and discover her limits.

She certainly is discovering things as she "crawls" about the house and moves along on all fours fully extended. She greatly enjoys walking with help from Mommy or Daddy and pulls herself up to stand and shimmy over obstacles, such as the dog. Of course there are quite a few more tears now as she bumps into objects, falls down and gets frustrated about not being able to reach everything she wants to. Gilana has recently been discovering the great mystery of the doggie door and will crawl over to the sliding glass door and knock at us if we are outside. Our sweet girl is also learning to say "hi," and wave a welcome or goodbye.

A tooth, then teeth!

Yesterday Gilana sprouted her first tooth (upper left incisor). Then today she sprouted a second one on the bottom left! She is getting toothy quickly!

On the Go!!

Today was the first time I ever called Gilana and she came to me!!!! Also, Gilana discovered the bookcase and the joys of taking items off of it. Yesterday she did a speed crawl across the bedroom (with the help of a water bottle trapped under her toosh). She also decided to walk just a few hours later with some adorable high-stepping action while I held her hands for balance. Poor Byron missed all this while he is out of town working on the Big Bear house, but he will sure see some impressive Baby G progress when he returns! The camera needs some new batteries, so no pics until I find replacements.

Sweet One @ 7.5 Months

Gilana can now scoot herself forward while in the crawling position and is becoming a pro at sitting herself up after rolling on her belly. She is trying hard to make new words and is blabbering up a storm. For the last two days, Gilana has been saying "Dada" repeatedly, sometimes with a "Hi" in front! We are so delighted with our little Gigi blessing and daily look forward to what she will do next.

Gilana loves to eat a wide variety of foods and is (for the most part) not a picky eater. Of course one of her favorite things is feeding herself... this can get messy. Today I gave Gigi a bottle of formula for the first time and she wolfed it down.

We have been spending time outside with a blanket laid out in the shade of our backyard. She is enjoying new explorations of the world around her.

My belly is really starting to look pregnant, but I am feeling much better now other than the heat. As of yesterday we are only cooling Gilana's room to save money and not bother with our aged central AC unit. So far so good.

Father's Day

Today is my Love's first official Father's Day. He is a spectacular daddy who takes such great care of his little family of almost four (plus the dog!).

Today's plans have been: church, home for lunch and Gilana nap, enjoy some time together, Byron out for repair supplies, plant our "vineyard," prune/tidy-up the garden, and go to the folks for dinner.

I don't have much to give Byron as a gift other than some nice socks (he always seems to need some), continue organizing the contents of our garage, and treat him as though I love him (not hard!!).

Byron noticed a super-cute Gilana moment a couple days ago. She had woken up in the morning and decided to wait on calling us for some attention. Instead, she turned on (!!!) her mobile and was flipping through a soft cover book. She is such a treat!

Oh, and she is almost crawling--so close! Baby-proofing is under way. :)

7 Months

Gilana is now 7 months and a day old. We are having so much fun with her, watching her grow, explore her surroundings, burst out laughing at our antics, she is too cute! I think this is my favorite time right now, but I am sure that is the case with every baby at every stage as the Lord graces us with such a precious gift of parenthood. Babies are incredible!

Gilana is doing some impressive push-up maneuvers (my dad would be proud!), eats like a fiend, naps well (when events don't ruin her schedule), is a people and crowd loving girl, and as of yesterday, rocks back and forth in the position of crawling. We have to baby-proof!

Gigi was a trooper at my sister's wedding weekend in Santa Clara. It was a long drive up with very little nap time, but our Gilly-bean put on her best face for everyone and tried to steal the show. (Don't worry Tammy, she didn't get all the attention!)

We are so delighted with our little munchkin and have been rearranging everything to fit #2 into the picture. We might find out next month if we will be having a boy or another girl!

Prunes and Updates

Our precious little Gilly-Bean has been having some changes lately. She doesn't really notice these consistent changes, but I sure do! Growing up more and more! She went to her 6 month appointment the day after her half birthday. We discovered that she has gained smaller amount of weight this time which dropped her to about the 60th percentile in weight and height. The doctor wants to have her back in so we can monitor her weight and make sure she isn't loosing any.

Weight: 16.6 lbs 60%
Height: 58%

On another note, the doc let me know that prunes can help my daughter in ways that I can't! Poor baby girl turns bright red in the face, tears up, then starts to wail every time. It shouldn't be that hard! Extra fruits in her diet and apple juice hasn't made much of a difference, so on to the prunes.

Gilana LOVES to eat solid food. So much, that she has been calling it "Mama" for the last several weeks. I feel displaced! :) We are now on a schedule of 3x nursing and 3x feeding per day. Yesterday I introduced Cheerios... she wasn't too sure about those!

Gigi has been sitting up like a pro for a couple weeks, diving forward to grab objects and wriggling around 360s. It won't be long till she learns to start using her legs to crawl. Standing has been one of her favorite pasttimes since day one, but we are trying to encourage crawling to help with her fine motor coordination.

Finally, for those of you who aren't aware, the Gilly-bean has a new bro or sis Belly-bean!!! Gilana will be a big sister on approximately December 19; they will be just 13 months apart! The prospect of two very young children is something I have labeled as my "Sanctification Intimidation," being aware of the difficulties involved, but not aware enough to have a truly clear grasp of all it entails. We hope for a break before any other kiddos come into the picture. I am sobered at the thought of another child, but at the same time, humbled at the grace of another blessing added to our marriage. Gilana is such a delight, I am amazed at the coming of another little gift. Pray for us!

Reclaiming Sleep

Several moons ago in the land of Nod, a little wiggle worm named Gilana had the most dreadful time sleeping. Her Daddy decided to take action and teach the bug to sleep through the night. That eve she cried off and on for 2.5 hours, not asking again for food till morning dawned! The next night was quite similar as she was put to bed after a bath and warm milk, Gigi only had a brief struggle in the night and then awakened at 7 am! Eleven hours without food for the first time in her life!! The third night of this sleep trilogy followed the same bedtime routine and alas, Gilana slept straight through the night and awoke happily at 6am with a willing smile and a Cheshire Cat hug for her Daddy.

How did all this come about? Well, after five months of limited sleep, Mommy and Daddy knew they had to do something! So they determined a bedtime routine of:

7:30pm A hardy dinner of cereals and veggies
8:00pm A warm bath under Daddy's supervision
8:15pm Change into PJs and a fresh diaper
8:20pm A last feeding of warm milk
8:30pm Bedtime with a story and lights out

If Gilana had a hard time falling asleep, Daddy would come and check on her, reassure her the sleeping was beneficial, and leave the room to check back at a later time. The little bug also knew where her handy pacifier collection was in the case that she needed a new one during the night.



Success thus far!!

Spring Happenings

Little Gilana has a couple new updates now...

We have finally gotten her to not only sleep in her crib, but on her back in the crib, not curled up in the Boppy pillow. She is getting so big and we were getting afraid of buying her successively larger Boppy's as she grows older. Imagine an 18 year old curled in a Boppy... it just wouldn't work! Also, our sweet one has giggled (a form of it) since four months, nearly outgrown her doorway jumper (how can we shorten it any more?!), has outgrown her infant carseat, and loves to pet her new puppy, Sushi. Sushi is just two months older than Gigi, and will make a great companion for her as she grows. Gilana also cried upon seeing us departing when we left her at the grandparent's home last Wednesday night. It was so sweet to see, and sad to see all rolled into one.

We are praying for God's direction and beautiful will as Byron may or may not enter into manager training. We should hear any time now what is decided, and know that God is providential in the decisions made. How joyful to rest in the sovereign hand of a perfect and loving God! Other news: Byron will be heading to Uganda this summer on a missions trip. I will miss him terribly but am so excited at this opportunity for our family to serve the Lord.

Attached are some pictures I took of Gilana before Easter.







My tutu doesn't fit so good.

New puppy!

4 Months

Gilana is now 4 months and one day old. Yesterday she had her shots and now is suffering from a slight fever 99.7 and crankyness. Poor sweet baby! She cried most of the night and now is having a hard time sleeping. Byron mentioned this morning that we had been up every hour during the night. Yawn!

Other than that, things have been going pretty well. She is a very happy baby and enjoys entertaining us. Month 3 of little Gilana's life was primarily one of coos and babbles. She is really learning how to control her voice and at times surprised by what it says to her! We are training her to sleep in her crib and hoping to get her to sleep about 8 hours (or more!!). Time shall tell.

Her stats now are:
Height: 25 inches
Weight: 15.5 lbs

It is amazing to think that we have only had her for less than 150 days! What a transformation has taken place in her life and ours.

So many blessings!

Big Bear

We took a late anniversary trip to Big Bear with Gilana.


My new snowsuit is getting a little small.


This is cozy!

Two-Month Check Up

Gilana had her doctors appointment yesterday afternoon. She has grown! Gilana's numbers are:

Head circumference: 75%
Height: 90%; 23.5 inches
Weight: 90%; 12lbs, 11,ozs

Poor little Gigi got her first shots. The first was a little painful, but soon forgotten. The second barely noticeable, and the third sent her to hysterics. My poor little dear hated the experience and wimpered for a little while afterwards.

The day of the appointment was a little difficult as we were late, Gilana was hungry (though soon remedied), the parking structure was a trap for unsuspecting visitors, and I didn't have enough cash to pay the parking fee (at the nearest grocery store my debit card wouldn't work and all banks were closed due to holiday).

I was glad to be home with her so she could lie beneath the mesmerizing wonder of the baby-mobile from Mopsy!

Two Years and a Baby

Our anniversary was a fun time to spend together as a family. Byron surprised me by taking us over to our friend Rebecca who cut, colored and styled my hair. I loved it! He and Gilana enjoyed playing around in the salon (we had it all to ourselves) and had some daddy-daughter time together. After that we had some pictures taken by a friend in Jr High ministry who is talented with a camera, and then on to dinner with our friends the Leaghis!

Byron is such a thoughtful husband!!

For now, here is a slideshow of our "photoshoot," I will add some other images when I am able.

Our Anniversary

Tomorrow is our two-year wedding anniversary, and certainly a day worth celebrating. This date marks one of the most cherished and wonderful days of my life, one that I recall on a daily basis as I thank the Lord's sweet providence. Byron's love is the sweetest gift I have on this earth as it is such a beautiful reflection of God's sacrificial love in giving Christ to wretched sinners as the means to eternally praise Him in heaven. I do not deserve my husband's goodness and steadfast love for me, nor the surpassing greatness of God's divine provision.

Our daughter is a precious joy to us, and certainly has drawn us closer to the Lord in recognizing His beautiful attributes (and a greater revelation of our sinful hearts), but I can't imagine a greater display of Christ's love than what Byron shows me so regularly.

The day we wed a passage was highlighted to reveal the purpose of our union. Ephesians 5:22-33

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

My love, your gentle and loving leadership makes my heart desire to seek out Christ more, to love Him better and truer and with greater fervency and passion. I see my faults (sin!) in a clearer light and hope to eradicate them that I might shine with a greater brilliance that puts my Lord on display and honor you as my head.

The beauty of the text excited me then, but now I see the majesty of it so much better, and more so when witnessing troubled marriages around us. We are SO BLESSED! Your care for me is undeserved and sweetly savored. I see your passion for matters of import and I am proud to see your heart to serve Christ and the people in our sphere of existence, it challenges me to reflect on my own heart and strive to follow your lead.

Thank you for your efforts to carry out God's mandate towards marriage. I look forward to however many more years the Lord has planned for us. I love you, Byron!!

Baby Gilana

For those of you who hadn't heard, our little girl was born on Monday, November 17th at 3:10 in the afternoon. She weighed 8 lbs 10.5 ozs and was 21.5 inches long. Gilana Mercede (pronounced Jill-ana Mer-say-dee), whose full name means "joy reward from the sky," is a very sweet baby girl who talks all night long and is a delight to watch interact with the world.

The labor and delivery process went well after my epidural (it was pretty rough prior), but was even better after the nausea medication kicked in and sent me to a deep sleep during the transition phase of labor! I woke up to find that everything was ready to go and she was crowning! Byron and I were stunned how smoothly everything moved along and how great the doctor was.

We are loving the joys and challenges of parenting, and are learning to cope with less sleep and time with each other. If she dozes off at 7pm, Byron and I sometimes find ourselves rushing to sleep ourselves in case such a thing would be beyond our grasp at a later hour. She is not on a consistent schedule yet, days and nights are still confused sometimes. My days are filled with baby activities, and I greatly enjoy it, but am sure glad when Daddy comes home for relief duty!

Her little grins in her sleep are so precious to us, and we have learned that the look of concentration following by a quick grin means that we will soon have diaper duty! Gilana was working on flexing her muscles from the beginning, day one she was lifting her head to look around, and day three found Gigi doing baby push-ups.

Byron discovered that she prefers being moved up and down rather than in a rocking motion, and that this can quickly soothe a tantrum. He has put together a workout regimen consisting of baby-curls and baby-squats!

Attached are some pictures of our little one, we hope you enjoy!