Playdate!

Amelia got together with her little friends on December 21st in Sac Town! We had so much fun!!
Olivia is 2 months old, little Andrew, the newest addition is only 1 week old...and Amelia is 5 months old. It's a great reminder of how fast babies grow! I am so blessed to have such close friends with babies....which translates into lots of future playdates, memories and mommy get togethers to share, laugh and maybe even cry. 

We can't forget Big Boy Isaiah who is 2 years...he's definitely the ring leader of the pack! :)

Ahhh...I can see the memories and bonds forming already! In several years, they will all be about the same size and will be able to easily play together...That's hard to believe since when they are just babies, they grow so fast from week to week. Wow! I love being a Mommy! :)

What's new since Halloween, Thanksgiving and almost Christmas???

What's new.......Amelia is 5 months old has 2 teeth now! (She got her first tooth at 4 months.,..yes, ouch!) Amelia laughs....rolls over....weighs in at almost 14 lbs.....Amelia attends school once a week (my baby group I teach at Cameron)....
She just started rice cereal about a week ago.  She was in her first wedding (my big sister got married on December 5th)....Amelia was the junior flowergirl...she got pulled down the aisle in a decorated wagon. Super cute...I'm waiting for the photos from the photographer!

 We went to the Christmas tree farm in Dixon after Thanksgiving and picked out our first tree together as a family! She met Santa and some reindeer too! See pics below :)

Also, Amelia got put in a giant pumpkin that we carved for Halloween. See below..haha! She wasn't too sure about the gook. She dressed up as a pink bunny on Halloween. She helped pick out her pumpkin too.

Her friend from Benicia as we carved the pumpkins!

Now she likes her pumpkin!

The pumpkin farm....sitting amongst many pumpkins!

I just realized that I'm posting pics from most recent to oldest...Oooppps... Below are some photos from her first Thanksgiving. We went to my parents house in Concord and enjoyed a feast! That was when Amelia had her first taste of solid food.....no, not turkey, not even mashed potatoes...but delicious organice brown rice cereal! We all had our cameras ready and the video camera turned on....as I started to put the first taste in her mouth....her lower lip started to tremble and she screamed and cried! Sooo sad! Probably the nervousness of everyone standing around her with our cameras in her face. Poor baby! Since then though, I have tried it again and she's been eating successfully for one week! Probably after Christmas I will try some fruits and veggies. That oughta taste more pleasant eh? She loves her food though!

Her Auntie Melanie and cousin Weston!!

Lastly....the practice for the wedding....before the wagon was finished. 

If I post at least one post per month...I'm doing good right? :) Thanks to all who look..I also changed the setting, I think...so now you can leave a comment! Would love to hear from  you..that way I know that people are actually seeing my blog. :) I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas filled with peace, love and joy and a very extra special New Year!

My year this year was extra special with the birth of our first daughter Amelia!! Blessings!!

Amelia's Profesional Photo Shoot, 7 weeks old 08/30/09

Below are some pictures from Amelia's photo shoot in August 2009. Better late than never! The pictures were taken by a friend of mine from highschool....Aimee Fredy. Her website is www.whitedaisyphoto.com Check her out....she takes great pictures! Amelia was 7 weeks old during this shoot and did a fabulous job! I love these photos!!!

She is now 3 1/2 months old. I go back to work next week which I am very sad about. I will try to post some more recent photos soon. Check back!

Amelia Grace- August 2009 Photos

Amelia is growing so much! Within the last few weeks, she has learned to smile, coos and interacts with people, had her first professional photo shoot (photos will be posted shortly), has gone to many new places and met many new people and will be shortly going on her first plane ride to southern California to visit family! Our little girl weighs almost 9 pounds now! This picture above was taken at my parents house after Weston's 6th birthday party

I was lucky enough to catch one of her heart-melting smiles! I was so excited when she smiled at me for the first time...I think I scared her because I shrieked with excitement!

Another photo taken in the cowboy hat with a cute grin on her face! She had a busy day!

This was taken in early August. Both sets of grandparents and us. We were at my great-grandmother's "Mama" memorial service held in San Jose. My Mama passed away one day before Amelia was born. We know she's looking down at Amelia from heaven and watching her from above.

Amelia often mimics facial expressions. She often makes this cute face with her lips puckered if you do it for her. She also sticks out her tongue when you do. David and I love it when she makes an adorable, "Ooohhh" sound. :)

Amelia loves hanging out with her Daddy. Daddy loves hanging out with his favorite little princess. I can already tell that she is definitely "daddy's little girl!" I love watching the two of them interact together. It's very, very sweet!

Another thing Amelia learned this month was to hit her little toys handing from her gym. At first she hated it when I put her down....but...after awhile, she stared at her toys like they were her best friends. She bats at them with closed fists and is entertained momentarily! I can't wait until she truly discovers her hands and feet and begins to grasp objects!

David and I are falling in love more and more each day with our daughter Amelia. It's so much fun...and the best part of it is that it did indeed get easier! We may have had a rough start, but Amelia is nursing much better and sleeping great too! At night, she can sleep for 5-6 hours at a time...WOW. Finally, I am able to rest and we can have more adventourous days out and about because we both are rested.

My friend from high school took some professional photos of Amelia, David and myself. When I get copies of them, I'll be sure to post them! I still encourage visitors....Amelia loves new people and enjoys staring at different faces besides mine all day... haha! Come on over to visit!

Amelia's First Bath- 7/20/09

Ok...so here I am trying to catch up on my blog! Yes, on July 20th, 2009...Amelia survived her first bath at home! She didn't like it much at all...but we are working on it. She did enjoy being in the big bath tub much better than her own...so that might be the secret.

Today, Amelia is just over 5 weeks old...she is doing well and weighs almost 8 lbs! She is growing and developing more and more. She takes nice long naps now and only wakes once in the middle of the night (usually) and then again in the early morning. She loves being swaddled and enjoys her heart-beat bear...it helps soothe her back to sleep. She enjoys car rides as long as the car keeps moving. She doesn't quite yet like her swing, but she does enjoy her vibrating seat. She is super strong....holds her head up at a 45 degree angle for several seconds...while looking around at her surroundings. Her legs are still very long...and strong! She kicks my stomach and bounces off of mommy and daddy's lap when help upright. She still has lots of brown hair that usually sticks straight up....and her eyes are becoming more blue. She's adorable and we love her more and more every day.

Yesterday...she had her first smile for Mommy and for Grandmom Sandee. It was really exciting! Mommy and Amelia are taking more walks and even small outings....(I am braver now to take her out solo!)

Right now she is wide awake talking...more like grunting and cooing to her bear mobile in her pack and play.

Maybe tmw..I'll post some 1 month old pics. Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us. We are doing well and going day by day. God is good...God is great!

Love, Melissa

Welcome Amelia Grace Gaynor

Welcome Baby Amelia Grace Gaynor. Amelia was born at Walnut Creek Kaiser Hospital on July 12th, 2009 at 2:16 AM. She weighed 6 lbs 6 ounces and was 20.5" long. I had a wonderful delivery and we were all surprised at how quickly Amelia came into the world. I will later try to write a bit more on the actual labor and delivery story.

As for now, we have been extremely busy keeping up with our new life and trying to adjust. Amelia lost too much weight in the hospital and within the first week of being home, so we have been supplementing Amelia to try and boost her weight up. Amelia is becoming a better and stronger nurser everyday, but we are still working really hard at this whole feeding thing (I have had about 5 lactation appointments..) ... let's all hope and pray that Amelia gets this nursing thing down soon...Then perhaps we can leave the house and visit friends and family.

David and I are sleep deprived to say the least, but we are overcome with joy and so very grateful for our beautiful daughter and God has blessed us with. We want to share her with everyone so much...but we are waiting until she's a bit more strong! We are enjoying moments together as a family and enjoying the moments home as she'll only be a newborn once! I am trying my best to keep up with photos so check back again...I can't promise how quickly though I'll post. Thank you to everyone for your calls, prayers, visits, meals, support and company. I enjoy guests and welcome anybody who wants to visit me here in Benicia as both Amelia and I are home every day...it's nice to have some adult interaction and a helping hand!! :) Call me to visit :) Amelia will be 3 weeks old on Sunday...She is almost 1 month.!

More stories and pictures to come soon.

Love, Melissa and David....and of course...baby Amelia!