suddenly 7 months!

I named this post "suddenly 7 months!" because it seems like in the past 30 days a little tiny helpless baby has become anything but helpless! When I wrote last month's post (which was even a little late) there was no news of how Jillian was sitting up, definitely not crawling! And now look at this sweet girl...

She is not only sitting up, but she is crawling! Agh! It's like all the sudden she's become a big girl! She is just the sweetest ever and her big smiles melt my heart. Other than that, here are a few things our jillibug has been up to this month:

-She said her first word...and hasn't stopped saying it because it makes her favorite person as happy as he can be...can you guess what it was? Of course it was..."dada." And she knows it's his name, she looks at him until he looks back and then stares at him and says it..."dada" and then they both just beam with pride. It's stinkin' adorable.
-She is eating lots of good stuff now...bananas, apples, broccoli, rice cereal; we tried avocados today for the first time, but she is not too keen on them yet! She looooooves to eat and cries every.single.time. the food is gone! Like a mad cry, like a starving cry.
-For over a month now, I've been expecting a tooth to pop up. She's been so slobbery and chewing on everything, but so far--no teeth in sight.
-She loves to see her grandparents on skype and they get some of the biggest smiles.
-She looooves to jump in her johnny (or should i say jenny) jump-up!
-She is still not sleeping through the night...it makes me sad that she had it down at 6 weeks, but hasn't quite gotten into her groove after the trip back to Tanzania.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from this month of our big girl!

half of an entire year!

Jillian is now 6 months old (well, I'm a little late on this post, so even more than that!) I absolutely cannot believe it. She is the sweetest little girl and I've really noticed that for whatever reason, I am making sure I take in every precious little moment with her. Maybe with Zoe, I was stressed as a new mom--not really knowing what I was doing. Well, I still don't really know what I'm doing. I just know that Zoe is on her way to being 3 years old and I need to make sure I am treasuring each and every second with my precious girls! They are such an amazing blessing to me!

What is our little j-bug up to these days?
-On the day she turned 6 months old, she had her first solid food. Poor little girl...she was more than ready. She had reached the point where she was actually crying and screaming out of jealousy every time she would see Zoe eating. She was watching every single morsel of food from the plate to Zoe's mouth and she KNEW that we were holding out on her. There was more than just milk and she wanted it! So, she has been eating rice cereal. She, of course, loves it and I'm sure she will love whatever we give her from this point on. She has never spit out, drooled, or dropped anything from the spoon...it's precious to her. Her thighs are the proof.
-She is trying hard to get moving! Much like her older sister, she is not happy to just lay or sit around. She wants to move! She is getting up on her knees and rocking a little, but hasn't put it all together yet. I'm sure it won't be long. Although, to be honest, I won't mind if it takes her a while!
-She is almost sitting up by herself. Well, she can, she just tips over eventually if left to herself. She hasn't quite gotten the idea of spreading her legs out to balance herself. Almost though.
-She is smiling and giggling at us lots. She thinks we're funny!
-She is wearing 6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.
-I'm pretty sure she is teething. I can't feel anything at the moment, but she has all the signs and is not happy unless she is chewing on something.
-She is in loooooove with her daddy still. She watches him wherever he goes (even when she's nursing). She needs to have her eyes on him and when their eyes meet, he gets the biggest smiles!
-She is also so happy watching and playing with Zoe, and Zoe could not be any sweeter with her. She comforts her if Jilli is crying, she brings her toys, talks to her, hugs and kisses on her, and encourages her in whatever she is doing. I hope she acts like that forever! It's amazingly sweet.

Here is the video of her first solid food and some of my favorites of my little 6 month-old pumpkin....

5 months old

Yes, she is! And she is just growing leaps and bounds. It's funny how much Jillian looks like Zoe when she was this age, yet Jillian has got QUITE a bit more meat on her bones than Zoe ever did. Here is a little comparison with Zoe at the same age...(Zoe is on top)

 I see so many similarities between them, but also differences (aside from the whole weight issue). They both LOVE to be on the move. No sitting still for the Platto girls. Even though Jilli is not crawling yet, she cannot be still. She is always kicking and rolling, following people with her eyes and using those sad eyes to guilt someone into picking her up so she can walk around too. Zoe was the same...my mother thought something was wrong with her because she never stopped moving (and she never has). I was secretly hoping I would have a very relaxed baby, a little more low key (a bit more like myself). Instead we have two little princesses who seem to be taking very much after their daddy. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. They are just perfect.

When Zoe was at this age, she was ALWAYS smiling. Everything made her laugh...now she just cracks up at herself (especially if she is watching a video of herself). She gets that from her Bibi. But Jillian is a little different...when you get a smile from her, it is a serious smile. Not just a little grin, but a mouth-wide-open, joy-from-the-bottom-of-her-heart type smile. I just love it.

Ok, so a little about our j-button this month:
-She weighs in at 15 lbs. (zoe was only 12 lbs. at 5 months)
-She is rolling over like crazy! Both ways, she loves to roll over!
-She used to dislike being on her tummy, but she has grown to love it. She even sleeps mostly on her tummy now. I'll put her down on her back and she immediately rolls to her tummy.
-She is still on prevacid for acid reflux.
-She LOVES to stand up. If you grab her little hands, she will pull herself from a lying down position straight to standing. And when she gets there, you are guaranteed one of those wide-mouthed ecstatic smiles! Love it!
-She has started the cutest little laughs. Right now it sounds more like a gasp, but it's precious.
-She is really wanting to get on the move. She will push off with her feet and get into a sort-of "V" position with her body. She has tried a few times to get her knees under her, but mostly, she has been unsuccessful. No hurry, sweet girl! Take your time!
-She is still very much in love with Nate (follows him with her eyes EVERYWHERE he goes). Despite her healthy appearance, if Nate walks in the room, she will gladly stop nursing to watch what he is doing. And he always gets the biggest smiles.
-Oh, and sadly for Zoe, Jillian's new favorite pastime is pulling Zoe's hair. She honestly intentionally grabs for it whenever it's in her reach (which is a lot, because Zoe loves to get up in her face and snuggle her). Zoe has been quite patient with her, but there has been several times when Jillian comes away with a fist-full of curly hair.

Which reminds me of the picture below....Ha! Taken almost 2 years apart and Nate is still eating the exact same pringle imitations. Don't worry-- although Zoe is partaking in the picture below, Jilli hasn't yet had the pleasure. She just keeps Nate company while he snacks!

j-bug hits 4 months!

She is so sweet, no?

This little girl has done some major traveling in the first few months of her life. After a super loooong trip from America to Africa, she had another loooong trip from Dar es Salaam to Nairobi, Kenya--by car--ick. The first leg, which got us over half way was 11 HOURS! The second leg was like 6 hours (much better roads, but a lot more traffic!) This little girl did so fantastic!! Much better than her big sister who got carsick about an hour into the trip. In the EXACT.SAME.SPOT. as last time we took this trip. Poor Zoe, the roads were so bumpy and apparently she has taken after me!

In an attempt to only stop a few times, I pumped in the back seat and gave Jillian bottles every 3-4 hours. She slept, she was happy, she watched Zoe, and she didn't cry once until about the last 30 minutes of the 11 hours. And by then, we all wanted to cry!! 

Our meeting was in the mountains outside of Nairobi and it was pretty cold (for Africa). Everyone makes a big deal about how cold it is...well, it's not cold. It's just been a while since some of those people have spent a winter in America. But we did get to wear some long sleeves and Nate got to wear his hat (not out of necessity, but for kicks). This is the 3rd time he has worn that stupid hat...once to climb Kilimanjaro (the reason for the purchase of the hat), once to scare the you-know-what out of Zoe (it worked!), and this time...

Back to jillibean...

-She weighs a whopping 13 lbs.

-She has graduated from her swaddle to a sleep sack. Unlike her big sister, she was ready to get out of that thing, she loooves to stretch out her arms while she sleeps (see pictures below!)

-She is still on prevacid for her acid refulx and it helps tremendously!

-She is on a 4-hour schedule. She usually wakes up and eats, plays and stays awake for about 1.5 hours, and then sleeps for another 2 hours, until its time to eat again!

-She is still loving to watch her big sister, and a lot of times Zoe is the one who can get her to calm down or stop crying...so sweet. Zoe always gets the biggest smiles from her.

-She is not a big fan of tummy time still, so she does a lot of rolling from her tummy to her back.

-She loves to be in on the action, and has to see what everyone is doing. If she is being held, she wants to be facing out so she can see.

-She is much fuller (thicker, chunkier!) than her sister was at this age. Maybe my milk is improving with age.

-She is smiling at us all the time and making the cutest little "coo"s.

-She is the sweetest little thing and we are so thankful for this precious gift!

let's just see...

This is just for fun to see how good our internet is...

Yay! It works...you have no idea the degree to which this would have been impossible with our previous internet "service." It's light-years better. Amazing.

This video was taken at our music-extravaganza. Nate also performed. If I get a little time later, I'll try to upload that video. It's pretty amazing, as well.

our big looooong trip!

So now that's it's been like a month, I've decided I better post on our trip before I forget! Although, probably nobody is interested anymore. Oh well. Our internet is still not up...(that's also over a month, but that is a sore subject). 

Packing was a nightmare...good thing we started early. We were allowed three bags per person on British Airways (thats TWELVE pieces of checked), each of the girls got to check a car seat and stroller for free, and we each took a carry on and personal item. Let's add that up...thats 24 pieces. Now that is just crazy! We kept saying, there is no way we will use our entire allowance--especially since we already packed a crate and sent it ahead! Oh dear...boy were we wrong... This picture shows only 8 of our checked pieces and a few of our carry-ons...If you look closely, you can see Nate just staring in disbelief at the amount of stuff!

All in all, I really cannot complain about our trip. Both girls did fabulous...definitely much better than expected. Zoe pretty much watched her movies the entire time. And J-bug sat on my lap the entire time. One of the best decisions I EVER made was bringing my boppy pillow on board with me. So she just chilled most of the time. She alternated eating and sleeping. She was super comfy and I was super happy. 

All three times we boarded the plane, however, she was screaming. I mean, you can only push a 2-month old so far. She was uncomfortable and hot in the carrier and (of course) it was time to eat whenever it was time to board....poor planning on my part, eh? We also made some other really poor decisions...for instance, we thought it would be a good idea to bring 3 rolling carry-on suitcases and 4 personal items along with my boppy pillow and 2 children. So we were THOSE people. The one with a screaming newborn boarding the plane, the tired 2 year-old running out of control. I was trying to balance the baby on my front with the rolling suitcase behind me  (which had a big duffel bag tied on top that continuously fell off), Nate trying to verbally guide Zoe as he toted 2 rolling suitcases, a backpack, and 2 duffel bags. We got those really mean looks as our bags bounced back and forth and hit people already seated, oh and as we rolled over their toes. You could see the stares and almost hear their thoughts "this baby better not cry the entire flight." I could pick out the sympathetic mothers who obviously had made the same poor decisions in the past. And there were, of course, the fake smiles of people thinking, "that poor girl..." Luckily, as soon as we got seated and JP got fed, she calmed down and was good for all 3 flights. 

The last leg was the worst. British Airways used to fly directly to Dar, but no longer! So we had a long layover in London and then another layover in Nairobi where we changed airlines. But oh wait! British Airways allows us 3 bags per person (including the girls) and oh, Precision Airlines only allows 2 per person (and 1 each for the girls...even though they both had seats). We weren't willing to give up SIX bags. So....instead of checking our bags all the way to Dar, we checked them only to Nairobi. When we arrived in Nairobi, Nate left me and the girls at the terminal...got ALL our bags off the luggage carousel, re-checked those we were allowed on the last flight, took the ones we weren't (6 of 'em plus 2 car seats and 2 strollers), got a visa to enter Kenya, met a taxi driver outside the airport who loaded up all our extra bags and took them to storage for us. Nate re-entered the airport, got our boarding passes for the flight to Dar, went through security and made it back with plenty of time to spare! Here is where I would like to brag on my strong, masculine, good-looking, flexible, ever-so-helpful wonderful husband! And he does it all without complaining (I guess he figures I complain enough for the both of us, bless his heart).  

Zoe had slept just a bit over the 2 day trip. On the 9 hour trip from Atlanta to London, she slept maybe an hour. We got a hotel room in Lodon (they have special day rates) so we all took like a 2-hour nap. Then on the leg from London to Nairobi, she slept on the floor of the plane for about 2 hours. When we boarded the last plane from Nairobi to Dar, she was SO DONE. She was grumpy and whiny and we just knew we were in for a loooong trip. As we were taking off, Nate looked back at me (Jillian and I were behind Nate and Zoe) and gestured for me to take a look at Zoe...

She was so out! We waited for everyone to get off the plane and it took forever to wake her up! She was a trooper and so was jilli. We were super thankful that they did so well and sooo happy to have the longest trip of our lives behind us!

3 months old...a wee bit late

We are still waiting on our stinking internet to be installed. Nate has internet on his phone though, so I'm using it (he might shoot me for blogging with his precious mega bites...especially since I'm about to upload a picture...haha). But there are grandparents out there who cannot wait any longer! Here is our little girl at 3 months old, just the cutest thing, right?!

Note: the object in the above picture is not as large as it appears. Big girl has the cloth diapers on which make her lower half exponentially larger. I wish I could post a few more pictures...but if I use up all of Nate's internet, I will lose blogging privileges. This little girl has been through LOTS of changes the past month. She went from sleeping 8-9 hours at night in America to sleeping between 2 and 3. After her one month check-up she was put on Zantac for her acid reflux. It was working beautifully until the day before we left to come to Tanzania. Funny how things work, eh? Anyway, even after upping her dosage, she was miserable. When I say miserable, I mean was eating, sleeping, or crying 24/7. Lots of times crying while she was eating and sleeping. Poor baby. She wasn't the only one in tears. In the absence of a good pediatrician, I became one. I researched online and decided to switch her to a different medicine. We started her on Prevacid 3 days ago and she is back to her happy self. Smiles and coos. Love it. If I was really bold, I would upload a video of the coos and sweet sounds. But I'm not that bold (you are welcome, Nathan).

What else is j-money up to these days?
-She loves her big sister Zoe and follows her around the room with her eyes.
-She is finally on a schedule. Baby Wise is the bomb! We did it with Zoe and now with Jillian...it makes for one happy and rested baby. A few days of a little crying is worth it all!
-After a looooong few weeks, she is extending her nighttime sleep. It's taking a while to get there, but I have confidence we will be back to sleeping through the night soon!
-She loves attention. I tend to think it's because of the extreme amount of spoiling that went on while we were in the States. She does not like to be alone. She's a social butterfly--that makes 2 (3 if you count Nate).
-She has a little bald spot on the back of her head where she lays.
-She is eating every 3.5-4 hours.
-She has a bit of a temper...I don't believe I have ever heard another baby that can scream at the pitch that she hits several times a day.\

Love her so much!
More posts to come as soon as we get internet (don't hold your breath...)

saying goodbye to target and diet coke...

Pardon my hunched-over kind of look here...it was raining and we were trying to snap the picture before the battery died in my camera...

Today was my farewell trip to target...I celebrated the occasion with a big diet coke...two of my favorite things about America. We are leaving Saturday night so I needed one last trip. As we were walking in, Nate asked, "What do we need here?" I said "Nothing, but believe me...I'll walk out with something." It's like a disease or some sort of ploy by Target...I don't know...I always walk in needing nothing and end up spending waaay too much money. Today was no exception--over $100! Nate just shook his head and rolled his eyes. Bless his heart...he may not understand it, but he accepts the "disease." I try to make him feel better by explaining that with my REDcard, I get 5% off every.single.thing I buy. He loves a good bargain.

The trip was more symbolic than anything else. Target and diet coke may be two of the things I miss while I'm in Tanzania, but it's something much bigger that I'm letting go of...it's comfort. There is nothing better than a quick trip up to Target that turns into the entire shopping experience (right, ladies?) And nothing better than a cold diet coke right out of the can to quench my thirst (right, Sarah?)  But to me they are symbols of my "american dream"...the one I have to abandon to live in Africa. The much larger sacrifices are family & friends. My girls only seeing their grandparents and aunts and uncles every few years and me not being there to see some of the most precious babies ever enter this world (Campbell, Courtland, Lyla Rae, and more to come!) It requires me to die to myself every day in an attempt to remember His glory is worth far more than my comfort. It's not an easy thing to do and most days I fall far short. 

We head out Saturday night at 9:30. Please pray for our families as we say goodbye. And please pray for the 2-day trip from Atlanta, to London, to Nairobi, and finally to Dar with our two girls. And lastly, please pray that in the words of my BFF Jenny, I will remember that "Jesus is so worth it!" 

We have been showered with love, encouragement, and prayers over the past 6 months and we love, love, love each and every one of you. With the hope of better internet than when we left, you will hear from us soon!!

JP is two months!

Where has the time gone? I'll probably say that every month from now on...Here is our precious baby girl...

If you notice on her little legs, she has two hot pink band-aids (which were later ripped off by her big sister when I wasn't paying attention!) Kind of a bummer to have all those shots on your 2-month birthday! But she was a trooper and cried for just a minute. She is now ready to head back to Tanzania. We are currently waiting on her passport to arrive in the mail, and then we will book our tickets and be heading out pretty quickly after that. So her grandparents are taking EVERY opportunity to love on her and Zoe...

What is Jillian doing at 2 months old?
-She loves to smile, especially when she is getting attention from someone who is about to pick her up!
-She loves to be held and snuggle
-She still is loving to eat...about every 2.5-3 hours.
-She is sleeping 7-8 hours every.single.night...way to go baby girl!! Mommy is so grateful for her sleep at night.
-She is taking a 3-hour nap in the middle of the day at the same time as her big sister. Could I ask for more?! It's wonderful to sit down and eat my lunch and get a few things done--or maybe a quick nap??
-She loves Zoe...and Zoe is absolutely in love with Jillian. If Jillian is crying, Zoe will rock her, pat her, give her a pacifier and make "shhh" noises like Mommy and Daddy do to calm her down.
-She is taking a pacifier here and there. She doesn't love it, but will take it occasionally when she is tired.
-She has graduated to size 1 diapers, but is still in mostly newborn clothing.
-She has THE most precious little cooing noises
-She has a bit of a temper. When she is ready to eat, she is ready! And if she is not so happy, she certainly lets you know!!
-She can roll from her tummy to her back--mostly out of anger, not so much on purpose.

Love her so much!

our baby moon

Thanks to our super parents, we got away for a weekend to spend some time together without the kiddos before we head back to Tanzania in a few weeks. We spent 1 night and 2 days in Helen (which is where we spent our 1-year anniversary!) Here is a little flashback from 2008....

And flash forward almost 5 years...

Still so in love with my best friend...even more so!! We had a great time even though it rained the.entire.time. But we didn't let the rain keep us down. We continued our tradition of putt-putt...

We rented some movies and stayed in that night and it was so much fun!! Our hotel room was fabulous with a beautiful view of the river (that we heard raging all weekend). Thanks so my wonderful husband for planning the trip!!

(Don't let this picture fool you...it was pouring)

a month!

Our little jilli bug is already a month old...cannot believe it! The month has just flown by and we have been so busy taking care of things and visiting with family before we get ready to head back in about a month. Nate's grandparents and cousin Anna visited and then my grandparents and my aunt and uncle came up for the weekend! We felt really blessed that our grandparents drove all the way from Illinois and Florida to see us! (More pictures to come from family visits!)

What is jillian up to this month?
-She has been sleeping in pretty long stretches at night to give her mommy some rest!
-She has been SUPER fussy since we brought her home from the hospital. Finally, at her 1 month check-up we found out why...she has reflux--poor baby. The doctor gave her some medicine and we have already noticed such an improvement. We are all so.so.so glad she is feeling better and much happier!
-She has been giving us sweet smiles. Love those SO much.
-She is still in newborn diapers and clothes. Such a tiny little girl.
-She loves, loves, loves to eat. We were so strict with getting Zoe on a schedule, but we are waiting until we get back to Tanzania with Jillian, because it will be such a change for us all.
-She loves being held and rocked by her grandparents...and they love it just as much.
-She has been doing A LOT of shopping to get our crate ready to send ahead.
-She is getting a lot of love from her big sister!!

Here are a few pictures from our first month as a family of four:

we're back...and we've added one more!

I know...it's been quite a while since I've updated the blog! I just have been having so much fun with family and friends during our time here in the states. A friend told me a few weeks ago she was going to delete my blog from her list if I didn't update it soon...so then I knew it had been too long!

I can't start back with anything other than this precious little one...

She's adorable, no?! Jillian Naye was born Friday, March 22nd at 1:37 am. We went in for a scheduled induction on Wednesday night (apparently both my babies just weren't into the idea of leaving my belly). I just had a feeling my labor would go quickly, since Zoe came quite rapidly after they began the induction. No such luck. The first medicine they gave me did next to nothing (that was the first 12 hours). By Thursday morning I had only dilated like 1 cm, so my doctor broke my water and started pitocin. I immediately started having close, strong contractions. So (ugh) they took me off the pitocin to see if my body would continue contractions on it's own. Again, no such luck. Labor stopped all together. So then we waited pretty much the entire day with nothing happening until my doctor came back at the end of the day...only to tell the nurses to start pitocin again. (Of course!) Again, the contractions started pretty quickly and I had them through the night. By about 11 pm, I was exhausted. I was only dilated 2 or 3 cm and I hadn't slept in 24 hours, or eaten in 24 hours, and the pain was pretty unbearable. I finally asked for an epidural and wow! I didn't have any drugs with Zoe so I had no idea what it would be like. It was almost instant relief and I was finally able to rest. Nate said I got a little loopy, but I think it was just exhaustion. It only took about 2 more hours to dilate fully and the nurse told me Jillian was ready to enter the world! The doctor came in and told me there was a woman in the next room who was also ready, but didn't have an epidural...so I was quite happy to wait for her--I understood all too well! Our sweet girl was born at 1:37 am. 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 inches long. Instant love. 

Zoe came that morning to meet her new baby sister...

Every time I look at Nate and my two beautiful girls, I am in awe of how good our God is! We are absolutely loving being a family of four! Thank you all for your sweet encouragement and prayers! You have blessed us so much!