Let's play Wa-Wa!

Makafui has this sweet little game that he plays, we call it Wa-Wa. My mom started teaching it to him before he even left the hospital. :) He loves it! We play off and on allllll day long and he especially loves to show off his Wa-Wa skills to a group of people. He was a bit tired when I decided to video this trick, so it's kinda lame...you family members will still love it though.

35 Years, Adventuring, Goodbye

Today is my parents' 35 year wedding anniversary!! That is a looong time. :) We think they've pretty much hung the moon and we are so blessed that God saw fit to put us in a family with them. What a wonderful example of a Godly marriage!!

They are clebrating this week by NOT working and spending lots of time together doing fun stuff. They only need one car for that, so they generously let me use Maxx (my Dad's car) for the week. Fun, fun! So we are adventuring this week.

I'm on a hunt for this delicious box dinner...now, normally, I don't do box dinners. I think in general, they don't taste very good, they aren't very healthy and they are overpriced. This one is the exception. Macaroni Grill Chicken Piccata. Yuuuuummy! I love it so much! You add fresh chicken, but it has the wine, seasonings and pasta for a fast and awesome dinner.

Unfortunately, all the stores near me no longer carry it. So I've been searching online for it, without much luck. I finally saw that Wal-Mart in Harker Heights (about an hour away) has it! Woo-hoo! I hate Wal-Mart more than probably anyone you know, but I decided it was worth it. So today, Makafui, my sister and I trekked out to Wally in Harker Heights. And do you know what? They didn't have it. They had it yesterday, but they stopped carrying it as of today. Seriously. The upside was that it was fun, and the super great and cheap baby detergent we like (and again, can't find anywhere) was in stock, so I bought 9 bottles. :)

Which brings me to another part of our adventure. Time with my sister, Tiffany. She is moving to Houston this weekend! :( I'm kinda sad about that. We typically see each other 1-3 times a week, and now it will be a lot less frequent. When M gets a little older and we have wheels, we will take trips to H-Town to visit. So this week, we are really soaking up sister time and having fun adventures and making more memories.

Aaaaand, Makafui has another tooth, he's pretty proud.

Desperate Times

Call for desperate measures. Makafui has decided he can handle the pacifier, but only for chewing!

We are having so much fun together...teething and all!

I just can't get over this...

I'm sure all of you readers are totally over the leaps in development Makafui has made this week, but I am not, so I'm gonna keep writin' about it.

I seriously cannot believe how many BIG baby milestones have happened in such a short amount of time! I wasn't quite ready for this...I thought things would happen a little more slowly. I'm starting to get used to the idea of a self sitting, rolling over baby with teeth (and all before he's even on solids)!! So far, he much prefers to sit over rolling over, so maybe he won't actually be mobile for a while! I want to remember all these little and big changes and hold on to these sweet, sweet moments!

Makafui continues to be a complete doll, teething and everything! He is pretty calm and very snuggly, but definitely loves play time and squeals and giggles! G is having a lot more time truly playing with him in the evenings and it is so fun to watch.

Now that he has a tooth, we have a new addition to our morning and evening routines. I think Makafui likes having his tooth brushed...

Roll over, roll over!

Today, Makafui did a pretty cool trick. I missed taking pictures of the beginning, so imagine him fully on his tummy for the first shot. :)

 He flopped on his shoulder and just hung out for a bit...

 ..he needed to enjoy the view...

 ...show off his baby cleavage....

...and feel his tooth a bit...

 Then, he was ready.

Ta-da!! First time rolling over!

How is this happening!!??!!

Today has been a great first Father's Day for G!

It has been slightly overshadowed however, by the fact that my little baby has SUDDENLY grown up!

For starters, he sat like a big boy in this sweet little high chair for lunch. (He didn't eat, just watched.)

Aaaaaaand, he has a tooth!!!!!! WHAT?!?! A tooth has popped through on the bottom. I can't believe it and may have freaked out a little when I discovered it today. He drools a lot and chews on things, but those are normal developmental milestones for babies 3 months and up so I didn't think anything of it. He never seemed to have swollen gums and has continued to be pretty happy and easy going, like nothing has bothered him. My baby is just growing up so fast! I love his gummy grin...I'm gonna miss it. What's next, driving a car?

Miscellaneous

I have always been a fan of summer. The heat doesn't bother me too much, I like having a tan and I love sundresses. Monday, the heat index was 105 and the UV index was extreme. That's not weather for a baby. We stayed inside all day. I'm still figuring out what we're gonna do all summer.

I have a few more pounds to lose to be back at pre-baby weight, but my smallest jeans fit!!!!! There are no words to describe my excitement over this!! All of my nursing friendly pre-preg clothes are back into my clothing rotation and they'll just look better and better!

I miss Ghana more than I thought I would once G was here. I think I miss the simplicity and community the most.

I'm itching to travel! Seriously, I want to travel so bad!

Makafui didn't last the whole service in the nursery this week, but that's okay. He's the best, sweetest, cutest baby ever nonetheless.

I love, love, love the time after swimming with M. We sit in the shade and snuggle while chatting with whoever went with us. Makafui just wears a bright colored diaper and maybe a hooded towel. It is pure bliss and I wish I could freeze time in those moments.

I am happy and proud to be Makafui's only source of nutrition, but I do miss margaritas every now and then. I'm not rushing to wean him, but when he is, I may just have a party. I'll have real coffee and dark chocolate and margaritas at that party.

I would secretly...or not so secretly now, love to be a surrogate. I loved being pregnant and it seems so cool to be able to help a couple have a bio baby. My husband on the other hand, is completely revolted by the idea and doesn't even like me to joke about it. So it'll never happen. Haha!

I reeeeeally like food. Like a lot, which would be why I still have weight to lose. I am enjoying being able to cook more now that Makafui is less needy in the daytime. I'm looking forward to making some yummy pies for Father's Day.

Before I had a baby, I rarely ever wore concealer under my eyes. These days, I feel like I keep Physician's Formula in business!


G got moved back to a closer branch!! We don't know how long it will last, but we're going to soak up alllll the goodness in the meantime. This means home for lunch breaks and I have a car in the afternoon. The days won't seem so long and we'll be able to get out a little bit more. Kristen, we must get together this summer!



After my last post about sleep, more people have kind of come out of the woodwork and revealed that their babies either aren't currently sleeping or didn't back in the day when they had babies. This is super encouraging to me that I'm not alone.

It's true what all those parents told me about loving your baby before M was born. I still look at him and can't believe how completely and totally in love I am. What a wonderful, wonderful blessing!!!


I love our little life, on the good days, on the hard days and all through the sleepless nights.

Sleep On It

Oh sleep. I never thought sleep (or lack thereof) would be so paramount in my life. I think about sleep all. the. time. Why sleep is important. What about our current sleep situation isn't working and the real reasons I want them to change. Do we really have a sleep issue or is our culture pressuring me into thinking we have a sleep issue? I spent the weekend doin' some serious sleep evaluation and soul searching.

Friday night was hard. M was up every hour. I think that was the second time in a week he had done that. He didn't seem in pain, wasn't hot or cold, his diaper was dry, his pajamas fit fine and he didn't even really seem hungry. He just wanted/needed me. I don't mind at all that he needs me, but it suddenly became very apparent that those steps we had been taking towards self soothing have seriously backslidden and if Makafui wakes up (which is normal for any person to do in the night) he simply can't get back to sleep without me. His Dr. didn't seem too concerned and told me about a book I should get if this problem isn't solved by 9 months. NINE. MONTHS. On one hand, I don't feel so bad about our situation if I have 'til 9 months to start to deal with it. On the other hand, I'm terrified that we could have so much longer of this. I really miss one on one time with my husband.

So on Saturday I hoofed it to the library and got every non Ferber or Ezzo book they had about babies and sleep. I figured I would skim/read them all and come up with something that worked for us. Unfortunately, most of them involved a lot of crying and the reason behind getting baby to sleep was all about the parents and not wanting to be inconvenienced by the baby. I really didn't like that 'tude and I'm not all about getting M to sleep through the night if he's not ready. I want him to be able to self soothe when he does wake up, because that is an important life skill. I also KNOW that he isn't getting enough sleep and want to help him sleep more. Babies his age average 14-15 hours of sleep in 24. Makafui sleeps about 9 to maybe 11 in 24. I can't believe he is so happy for such a sleep deprived little dude.

We did try a soothe-without-holding type method on Saturday and there were many tears...from Makafui and me! We didn't wait to see how long it would take because soothing without picking him up was not working at all and it was crushing me. I picked up my poor baby and cried, determined never to cave to any silly "technique" like that again. Makafui was easily consoled and I don't think he's scarred or messed up by it, but I might be.

So I landed on the book my Dr. had originally suggested and I am very encouraged by it. I feel like less of a failure and that this is more normal behavior than I knew. It is gentle, it doesn't involve crying and it takes patience and time. I am totally okay with all of that! I am determined to get into better sleep habits for the good of Makafui and our entire little family. I am taking the next few weeks to focus on sleep above all and hope we can get a handle of this. Here goes! I'm hoping I look back on this blog post in the not too distant future and marvel at how things have changed. :)

4 Months!!

My baby is 4 months old!! Wowee, has it really been only 4 months?

This boy's personality is really starting to shine! He's got a smile on his face most of the time and it is just so darn sweet!! He acts like he's ready to party at pretty much any moment.

He's very busy, but not in an all over the place sort of way. He's happy to just sit in my lap, but he looks around constantly, plays with his hands or my hands, squeals and makes noises and will play with anything I give him. He's always scanning the room and observing what's going on.

He gives kisses, which I LOVE!!!!

He plays a sweet little game with GiGi making noise, it's so precious!

He loves to pull up to standing (from sitting in my lap) and looks very proud of himself when he does.


He is enjoying tummy time more, but doesn't seem too interested in rolling over.

He is really great at getting toys into his mouth (even the BIG ones!) and chews on his thumb and fingers as well. He has not however, transferred that skill into sucking his thumb for comfort. Oh well.

Sleep is still a bit elusive and I think I've resigned myself to the fact that I got a "wakeful baby". Oh well. We had hit a really good pattern of sleep that was working really well for us, and then that went out the window. Yesterday, I woke him up early to go the Dr., he got shots, we ran errands and did all sorts of fun things and he only napped for about an hour and a half....for the whole day! How is that possible?? I'm learning a lot about God and parenting and dying to self, so in a round about way, I guess it's not too bad. :)

M is enjoying the stroller more and more, as long as he we haven't covered him up (to protect him from the sun) and he can see what's going on, he's happy.


He is very social and wants to be a part of what's going on. He gets mad in his car seat because he's all alone, if someone is in the backseat with him he's fine. And if he was mad and crying, he turns it off and breaks into a HUGE smile the second we get him.

And as you remember, his big accomplishment this month was going to the nursery at church. We'll see what happens this Sunday.

He had his shots yesterday and again, did very well. He's chunking up a bit and I love it. Here are the stats:

Head: 41.8cm 25-50%
Weight: 13lb 6.5oz 10-25%
Height: 25" 50-75%

So far, he's pretty steady in his growth and is long and lean. Wherever did he get that from? ;)

Never EVER

I've been thinking a lot about friendships and community lately. How they are supposed to work, what went wrong when they haven't. I really want to know what God intends for His people and how that is supposed to work itself out. What's the balance between grace and truth? How do Christians walk in sticky situations? I'm not totally sure what friendships among Christians are supposed to be. I have learned a few things though while I continue to search it out. I'm holding onto these lessons I've learned and mulling them over as we meet new people and will teach M how to be a good friend.

Here's my number one friendship rule:

Never, never EVER attack some one's spouse. EVER! It's one of the deepest, meanest hurts, it's totally unfair and it doesn't go away.

Last year, while George was working not 1, not 2, but 3 retail jobs and putting together TV stands in a 100 degree warehouse for extra money, a "friend" confronted me about his provision for our family. This "friend" said how he would have to answer to God for the way he was providing, as if he were doing nothing and went on to talk about his pride.

I do not think I could have been hurt more. We aren't friends with that person/couple anymore and it really ruined a lot of things. It's what caused us to end up so lonely and isolated toward the end of my pregnancy and when M was born. Just a nasty, messy situation.

I can't unhear that and I'm still working on giving that hurt totally back to God.

So this is my PSA, never EVER attack some one's spouse!

Walk It Out

We had a wonderful weekend! I'm getting better and better at making the most out of our family time on Saturday and Sunday and Makafui just keeps getting more fun!

We decided to go on a walk along the San Gabriel river on Saturday, but we didn't go 'til after M's morning nap, so it was noon by the time we got there and heated up quickly (90ish?). M started out having a great time and was quite content in the stroller.

About a mile in, he started to get hot, so we took him out and took off his socks (and squirted his feet with water, because that makes perfect sense to cool him off:) and then I wore him with the (black!) K'Tan. He liked it of course, but it wasn't much cooler.

(G laughed at me for wearing tennis shoes with a skirt, apparently I missed the fashion memo that that is a huge no-no! Haha!)

Since the K'Tan was hot too, we had to take a break on a bench under a tree, nurse a bit and just take in the breeze. M liked that much better.

Then G took him and we booked it back to the car for a cool down.

Once upon a time, G and I would spend hours along the San Gabe walking miles and miles. This time was a little different, but I like our new normal too!

On Sunday, we put Makafui in the church nursery!! I had been thinking about it for a while and after a few weeks of going to the cry room to play because he just wanted to talk and giggle and squeal during service, I figured he was ready. I prepared myself for it all week long and told M how wonderful it would be. When we walked back to the nursery, so many people were excited that we were bringing him and commented that they had hoped they would get to snuggle him. It was sweet and put me at ease just a little bit. We brought him to the room and there was only one other baby there, so they each got one on one attention. I almost cried when I left him, but managed to hold it together. G got up and checked on him 3 times during service and he did great. The second service was over I rushed to get him and he was peacefully sleeping in the swing. Obviously, it was a lot harder on me, than him! I'm hoping this is the beginning of a wonderful church nursery relationship.

In the evening we went to small group and it was so great! G and I are cautiously excited to make friends and the couples in the group seem really great. Also, someone made brownies with black beans in them. Sounds weird, but they were delicious-aaaaand had protein in them, so they were healthy! :)

It was a wonderful weekend! Here's to a wonderful week as well!

Night Owl

Our precious baby seems pretty set on an 11pm bedtime. That freaked me out at first, but now I'm really seeing the benefits of it. This is why it's so awesome...

We both get more time with G. That's always a good thing!

I can do things in the evening that I didn't get done during the day because we aren't rushing the bedtime routine the second G gets home. I made zucchini bread at 10 last night.

For some reason, he sleeps better starting later, so I'm not up as often. A typical night (if we don't try to put him down too early, which results in hours of up and down, up and down) is down at 11 with feedings around 3 and 6. He's not up for the day until around 9 or 9:30.

He's not up for the day until 9 or 9:30!! This is craziness. I go back to sleep after the 6:something feeding, but I'm still up before him. I can shower, make and eat breakfast with two hands and get a jump start on house stuff.

He is getting better sleep and waking up happy and deliciously snuggly. Oh how I love our footie jammie snuggles (he's the one in the footie jammies, not me)!

Becuase he goes to bed so late, he can nap during dinner time, so G and I can have couple time.

I sure do love being his Mama!