Splish splash, Akyah loves the bath!

Akyah and I have be quite busy the last few days. Thursday was my birthday and we've had plans every day into the weekend. We've been surrounded by friends and family all of which can't get enough of my little girl and her beautiful smile! Here is a cute, short video I took last night of her in the tub:

I started Akyah's second scrapbook on my birthday and it is absolutely beautiful, I got special paper and am making this one more elegant whereas the first one was fun with lots of colors. This one will contain only professional photos I've had taken of Akyah.

Akyah will be 6 months old tomorrow! She has been doing wonderfully with the solids, she loves them! Rice cereal and sweet potatoes have been a total success and next we'll be trying carrots and then onto a fruit. My milk supply is not improving much but I am able to get through the day and pump a little extra so I'm just keeping at it and working with lactation.

Sweet Potatoes

Akyah can't seem to get enough of the rice cereal, she loves it. We saw the lactation consultant yesterday and Akyah now weighs 14 lbs., 6 oz. Tonight, she had sweet potatoes for the first time and seemed to like them as well. She ate them without hesitation. Here are a few photos:

Right after her first bite, a little messy but that's ok

Hilarious :o)

All done... It was so good she was licking her fingers

Akyah loves her cereal

Akyah and I are having a blast with the cereal~ she loves it!!! After eating her cereal today she reached for the spoon, so I handed it to her and she put it right in her mouth! I couldn't believe it... I snapped the picture after she took it out but here are a couple good ones:

Ready to self fed already?!?
There goes the spoon...

... and there goes the bowl! :o)

Have I mentioned how much I am loving my new camera?!?

"Mommy adores me" is an understatement (wink)

Just the two of us

My brother has been out of state at a training so it's just been Akyah and I. We had a great weekend together- cuddling, lots of one on one time, and time w/good friends and family. We are very Blessed~ life is good...

Sporting her 1st pair of jeans

Grandpa would be so proud!

Funny face

"My heart belongs to mommy" and my heart belongs to her :o)

Akyah's 1st solid food

Akyah had rice cereal for the 1st time yesterday! What a big day for our family… Akyah has really been showing a lot of interest in table food so I knew it was time. This was also a special day for me because it was the 1st time Akyah wore a bib and I’ve known all this time she’d wear her “I love grandpa” bib that I bought for my dad when I was pregnant- It was one of the first things I ever got for Akyah. She did very well and seemed to like it although in a lot of the pictures and the video she’s making funny faces – I don’t think she quite knew what to think of it… see for yourself:

I'm ready to go, mommy!

Right after her 1st bite... she looks confused

Yummy!

All done!

The video is apparently too long to upload so I am going to try to figure out if I can edit it and will post it then if possible. Akyah will be starting out slow with the solids- just a small amount of rice cereal watered down w/breast milk, once a day and eventually move up to a thicker cereal and more times throughout the day... How exciting! My baby is growing up too fast.

This last week was Very long and hectic so ending the week with starting solids was Very exciting. Friday night we had dinner with the Bell’s and it was wonderful. Aside from seeing them at a couple church services, we haven’t seen them since Akyah was 4 weeks old. They have become adoptive grandparents to Akyah and absolutely adore her, especially grandpa Don. Here are a few shots from the night: She is so sweet
Grandpa Don is so much fun

Blankie baby

It's amazing how when you become a mom it's like you're instantly Blessed with "motherly instincts." When I was pregnant I knew from day one I was going to have a girl. I also thought that she'd love blankets, just like her mama. Akyah, to this day, will not take a binkie- at this point she thinks they're toys and that's funny to put them in and out of her mouth. Smarty pants, I know. However, lately Akyah is becoming very fond of her blankets... while in her car seat she holds onto the blanket, when I am holding her she'll hold onto me with one hand and her blanket with the other, if I am holding her and one of her blankets are close by she'll reach for it, and I was just down the hall checking on her fast asleep and sure enough she's holding onto her blanket, snuggling it close to her face. Very precious sight.

I am almost 26 and to this day I openly admit that not only do I still have my baby blanket but you will also find it on my bed. I don't know if Akyah will always be so fond of her blankies but I have a feeling she'll pick her favorite and never want to let it go (wink).

Today for the first time Akyah successful put her toes in her mouth while I was changing her and started sucking on her big toe (silly girl). I knew it was only a matter of time, she's been working on that. She is also rolling over pretty much every time I lay her on her tummy. She is progressing and growing very well. I am looking forward to her 6 month appointment, which is rapidly approaching, to see her growth and because I will be starting her on some cereal. I know she is just dying to eat something, EVERY time I am eating or drinking something she stares at me and reaches for it.

On last update... I have been very discouraged that my milk supply has been low when I had more than enough to start with. Stress can cause it to go down and unfortunately I've been faced with what seems to be never ending stress lately but I've been working with Akyah's pediatrician and lactation consultant to bring my supply back up. Due to her stomach issues she basically cannot have formula unless she absolutely had to which I always considered formula a last resort. She was given a small amount of formula once (which made her quite sick) and it broke my heart. So, please pray that I can get back to the point of having more than enough, instead of barely getting by.

Mommy's new camera

I got a new camera a couple days ago and finally opened it today and love it. I'm really excited because it's 9.1 mega pixels, I can take 2.5 pics/second, it has a wide screen, wide lens and the color is sharp. All I have to say is... My daughter is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and hope to capture a lot of memories with this camera. Here are a few pics from today:

She loves the bath & her toes

Akyah rolled over! (updated)

I usually prop Akyah up on her boppy tummy time pillow for tummy time but today she had tummy time without the pillow and rolled right onto her back! How exciting! Yay Akyah! She did it both at home and daycare while I was in class this morning :o) She loves to be on her back and therefore, she hasn't rolled from her back to her tummy but gets very, very close and decides her tummy is not where she wants to be. I am hoping to snap a video of her rolling skills and post it. I'm an extra proud mama today!

*You will have to excuse the talking in the background and how dark the video is, I apparently didn't have enough light in the front room and it's much darker on here than it is on my camera. In my defense this is my first video :o) I did get a new camera tonight so I'm looking forward to better pictures and video.

In other news, Akyah's hair is growing longer and thicker. Most of you may not notice but since I've been with her pretty much all day, every day since she was born I definitely notice the difference. I'm looking forward to pigtails, ponytails, and all the hair clips a little princess could dream of.

Happy New Year

2008 was very bitter sweet for me; August 1st was without a doubt the best day of my life and August 7th was by far the worst. Akyah & I said goodbye to 2008 and hello to 2009, together at home.

Akyah is now 5 months old and growing with a quickness, too quick. She still hasn't rolled over but is very close. Today we played a game of peek-a-boo and she was giggling non-stop :o) Yesterday we were working on rolling over and I helped roll her on to her tummy and for the first time she pulled her arms out from under her and pushed herself up on her forearms. Akyah is also constantly lifting her head to look around, if she's laying on the floor playing she looks for me if she can't see me. Also, Akyah is starting to really perk up around food~ If I'm eating or drinking something she will turn around and watch me.

I am sad at how fast Akyah is growing but I know without a doubt there is NO greater love than that between a mother and her child. No one will ever love or care for Akyah the way I do. As a single mom I do everything alone... I get spit up on, peed on, have and will continue to endure the sleepless nights, and NO one will ever truly understand as her mother and sole provider the level of devotion, patience, time, and attention I give Akyah and ENJOY every minute of it.

I'm excited for 2009 and what it has in store for our family of two. Akyah and I continue to grow, bond, and change together daily. Akyah is the last thing I see before I fall asleep, the very first thing I see when I wake up and there is NEVER a moment when I'd rather be anywhere else or doing anything else but be with my beautiful baby girl.