Babies Don't Keep

I can't believe our sweet Allie Jane will be 7 months old in 5 days! seriously, didn't she JUST come home from the hospital??

I've noticed she will go a few weeks or even months normal, and then all of a sudden, she will grow up right before our eyes! The past few days have been no different! She started sitting up pretty good a month or so go. She would be totally bent over and barely balancing with her hands. A week or so ago, she also started getting into a plank position and sometimes get up on her hands and knees like she was going to crawl! She also started eating "big girl" food and wasn't really sure if she liked it or not.

Well, we came down to Scottsdale for some dental conferences for Grant, and she has mastered sitting up, crawling, and is all about this food thing! Apparently, we needed some sun and warmth!

So intrigued with the grass

Last week, I totally had a melt down. I was realizing that our little baby is no longer a newborn and a full blown infant! It all started when she started trying to escape her baby bathtub. She was so done with laying in the bath sling. So, I went and got a laundry basket (yes, laundry basket) and turned it into a bath tub. It is the perfect invention! It's the exact size for her and the little holes are placed at the perfect height to be able to fill the basket enough for her! PLUS all her toys stay within reach.

Anyways, there was the bath upgrade. Then, I realized Allie hadn't used her swing in like 2 weeks! it was literally collecting dust and taking up space in our living room. So, I decided to take it down. It took me a week to finally get the courage to do it. We took it down and replaced it with a little jumparoo. She LOVES it! Every time you say "jump, jump. jump!" she gets super excited and jumps!

excited smile

At her 6 month appointment, our pediatrician said she was old enough to sleep in her own room. She challenged us to just try it one night and see how it goes. So, i did, and guess what? She slept ALL night in her own room…in her own bed! She woke up once to nurse and then went right back down. I was floored at how amazing she did! I woke up the most refreshed i have felt since before she was born! I hated that i enjoyed it so much! So, a week later, I took her co-sleeper down and put it in her closet. I cried when I broke it down. My sweet baby is no longer going to sleep next to our bed! As if that wasn't hard enough, I have to put her bouncer chair up in the shed as well. I usually put her in it while I shower, but I got out of the shower to see this…

Yeah, all done with the bouncer! She's not even safe when buckled!!!

So, as you can see, I had a tough month! My baby is growing up! I've really had a hard time! I think its because she is growing out of more than just clothes now. She is growing out of toys, and baby furniture she has been using since day one! I know all of these things need to happen, but I'm still sad! I am so grateful that I am able to still nurse her. She may be grown out of a lot of things, but I still get those small moments of holding and cuddling my baby. I don't even want to think about weaning. Luckily, I have no plans on that for at least another year. I caught myself crying when thinking of all the things she is growing out of. I swear it was just yesterday we welcomed her into this world! Now she is crawling, sitting up, and probably going to start saying words any time soon! 

After church cuddles

My sister and her family came and spent a week with us. They were looking for houses because they are moving back! Yay! here are some pictures!

Allie's cousin brother, Dax. They are going
to be best buds growing up!

"driving" the car

We went to Sam's club during nap time.
So, we made due with what we had ;)

Grant's parents and Aunt came to visit as well. We enjoyed our time with them!

playing piano with Grandma Butler

Great Aunt Marilyn (Birthday twins)

It was a tradition for Grant's family, while growing up, to go camping over Easter weekend. I really want to start fun traditions with our family. so, we decided since it was General Conference weekend, and the weather had been so warm, we would go on our first family camp out. Of course the weather turned cold and windy, so we decided to stay home and camp out in our living room. It was a good thing we stayed home, because Allie was going through a growth spurt and was up every couple hours that night. I don't even want to picture what it would have been like in the middle of nowhere outside!

All ready for our faux camp out

Our first Easter as a family of 3 was so fun as well. I'm really glad I got Allie's basket and little presents a few weeks before Easter, because it got really busy and we wouldn't have gotten her anything if we had waited. I know she won't remember anything anyways, but I still wanted to get her a basket and a few things! We never ended up getting our own baskets out, or the Easter decorations, but we got her stuff done. That's all that really mattered to me. Grant and I decided to do a joint present for the two of us and we got a grill for our back yard! We love it! Grant's cousin, Derek, and his family had us over for Easter dinner. We had lots of fun spending time with them and their boys!

Easter morning

She has this adorable smirk!

First Easter as a family of 3!

Here are some more random pictures from the last little while…

Her 6 month proffesional pictures

Her 6 month pictures I do with her monkey and quilt

Just a girl and her dog

She is always happy!

Enjoying her avocados

My Target buddy

Uh oh….

We were able to see my dad for about 20 minutes before our
flight left to phoenix. He was in town helping my sister move in!

Like I said, we have been down in Arizona for the past few days. We didn't tell anyone. Not even family. We just wanted to come down and relax and have our own little vacation. The past few months have been INSANE for us! Grant has been crazy busy with his work. He has come home at around 7pm almost every night the last little while. It's great that he has been busy, but very exhausting none the less. We have had people staying at the "Butler Hotel" (thats what our family calls our house when they come) off and on the last little while. I have admiration for those who host people in their homes on a regular basis! It's EXHAUSTING! But, we love having family/friends visit us! Anyways, it's been a really relaxing and enjoyable week in sunny Arizona! Its been nice to just sit on the couch and do nothing while Allie takes a nap! So, if you are family that lives in AZ and are reading this….WE LOVE YOU! We just wanted to take a mini vacation and not have to worry about running around Pheonix and having a set itinerary.

She LOVES swimming!

We celebrated G's birthday while we were here!
I got him a Go Pro Camera

There is an outdoor mall just a few blocks
down from our hotel that Allie and I
would walk down to

Sunday best

We went to dinner with some of Grant's dental
buddies he met at his classes. One of them snapped
this cute picture of them

Another thing this girl can't resist is eating the cart.
I've just given up on freaking out about it. Its a point-
less battle, I've decided.

One of our outings was to Babies R Us. I could
not resist buying this teether that looks like a
chicken wing! It makes me laugh!

A lady at the hotel asked if we wanted her to take a family picture for us.
Of course we said yes!

It has been so busy, that I haven't had much time to blog. I wish I was better at it, but our sweet girl keeps me super busy! With her being more mobile, it's been a constant game of keep-away (she loves anything made of paper, card board, or plastic), so literally, my days consist of making sure she doesn't die ;). I will say this…I love being a mom. It is the best job ever! I am exhausted most days, but being able to spend all day with my girl and to watch her grow and learn new things, can't compare to anything else. I am truly grateful Grant has a career that allows me to stay home. 

We took Grant's Go Pro down to the pool to try out and I compiled it all!