Peek-A-Boo - Where'd Your Mommy Go?

You do love peek-a-boo nowadays - it really gets you chuckling!  And there is NOTHING better than that!  But, I've been hiding from writing on here too...playing a little blog peek-a-boo too.  I should've at least written you a couple weeks ago...when you turned seven months...and now we are a good 2-3 weeks past that!  And here's my excuse.  We've been sooo busy!

First, baby cakes...here's some things that are new for you in your 7th month:

• You can undo your own diaper!
• You have started feeling the hair on your head.
• While sitting on the Bumbo on the counter while we feed you, you found the sink faucet and can turn it on and off!
• You are a regular octo-baby!  Sometimes I feel like you have eight arms and legs reach out for any and everything in your grasping radius!  We have to clear the area before we sit you in your Bumbo on the counter!
• Knows how to fake cough.
• Did not like green beans at all - you basically made yourself gag and threw them up.  I put them in your avocados instead.  Sneaky Mommy!
• You are so easily distracted.  You have started not finishing bottles...I have to feed you as much as you will take and then let you play for a while and then feed you the rest.  And if someone is in the room or the TV is on, forget it, you are paying attention to them and not eating!
• You have started to breath in and out of just your nose real fast and scrunch it up with you are frustrated.  It's really pretty cute (at this point!).
• You can sit up pretty well on your own...but you are nowhere near crawling!
• Took your first plane ride to Illinois at the end of your 7th month.  You did pretty good babycakes!  Thank goodness for the little puff things.  If we fed you those, you were "entertained" for a long time!
• And right about at 7 months you have done much better with strangers holding you.  About a month ago, not so good at it.  At this point, you aren't as overwhelmed in a room with a bunch of strangers talking and in your face.

So, the big plane ride was to go see our family in Illinois for two weeks.  Let me first say, that even though Mama was a little worried how you'd sleep in a big, unfamiliar house, you rocked it baby girl!  We had a time change to deal with as well, and you really stuck to your schedule of sleeping and did just great.  You even went over to Aunt Nikki's for a whole day and took your naps in a pack and play while the rest of us when to the Abraham Lincoln museum in Springfield, IL.  

We did so much in Illinois and had such a great time with all the family and friends we saw.  So many people had never even met you, so you got to meet all kinds of new faces!  Lots of people came over to swim at Pa and MiMi's place, so you got to do some more swimming too.  You really like the water and are pretty comfortable in it.  You have started to realize that you can kick and hit the water with your hands and splash.

A lot of the days in Illinois were HOT and HUMID.  We had a 4th of July cousins reunion for MiMi's side of the family - it was so super hot.  You and I stayed inside this little cabin with some air conditioning and your Sisters got to go and swim in the lake to cool off.  Luckily, all the kids and some of the adults did too.  There were so many in our family there.  The girls really had a great time playing in the "rough" outdoors.  Your Daddy even got to shoot some clay pigeons and fish.  He was in heaven!

All in all, the trip was awesome.  You were a trooper (as usual) and made everyone smile and want to hold you.  I have been really trying to work with you sitting up fully on your own...but that definitely couldn't be practiced in Illinois...too many people to hold you!  =)

Mommy was a happy camper in Illinois - got to see so many family and friends, eat at all my old favorite restaurants, and do stuff with you and the girls around my old stomping grounds!  Your Sisters loved all the green that there is in Illinois too - cornfields, trees, grass - crazy how different things can be in another state!  The houses are just different too - and the girls always love looking at the houses when we are there.

Here's some pictures of our trip:

Kiara had a loose tooth!

You and Grandpa Bud!

You and Grandma Carmie!

You loved the little inner tube.  You just chilled and floated.  =) 

You liked Uncle Ryan a lot this trip - you would be content sitting on his lap!

Kiara could not get enough of you!

You started loving a sippy cup

Your day with the Wollands...we were off to see Lincoln!

Abe Lincoln's house

Lincoln impersonator - but he looked like the real thing!

Wax figures - except for Pa and Kyndall =)

Having fun with Pa

Sisters and Kiara - went to the Ronald Reagan Museum at Eureka College (where he went to college)

Being GOOFY!

Cousins!

Eating lunch on the last day - love this picture!

Kiara and your Daddy were tickling each other!

Sisters!

Being cute with Pa

And that's about it baby girl.  You are still such an easy going baby.  Your Sisters are still IN LOVE with you and yell "BABY!!!!!" whenever you come into a room.  No one can quite seem to get enough of you!  You love your jumperoo and bounce so high in that thing I wonder if you are going to fly out sometimes!  I just love you.  Period.  You are such a cutie...I can't kiss you enough!

6 Months! A Month of Firsts!!!!

Hi baby girl!!!! You are now six months old!  And your Mommy is a late with the blog post, but we've all just been a little busy lately.  You have so many "firsts" this month, it's crazy.  Here's a run down:

• The day after you turned five months, you rolled from your back to your belly.   A couple weeks later, you learned how to get from your belly to your back.  You can officially now go either direction, back to belly and vice versa.  And you do it all the time now - we have to really watch you on the bed or couch!  You seem to really like to roll when we are changing your diaper!
• Speaking of diapers, you went up to size 3 a few weeks ago!
• This past month was the first time that your Mommy ever left you for a few days when I visited my college friend in Michigan.  
• After I came back from Michigan, you and I went on a different feeding schedule...no more exclusive breast feeding...we started a couple times a day of formula.
• Here's a big one:  you ate your first real food!  And your Grandma Frances was in town, so she got to feed you avocados.  Your Mommy is making your baby food at this point, pureeing it and putting it in ice cube trays for freezing.  You loved the avocados - you did so well!  See below for some pictures!
• You now have two sisters who go to high school - your sis, Megan was promoted from 8th grade this month!
• You met your Uncle Ryan and Cousin Vera for the first time a couple weeks ago!  Pa, Mimi, Uncle Ryan, Aunt Nikki, Kiara and Vera have been in town for a week or so.  We have been hanging out and loving on them!  Pictures are below!
• A HUGE first - you were dedicated to the Lord a week ago!  We had an awesome ceremony for you at church with great church friends and family there.  They all agreed to help raise you to love Jesus - how cool is that?
• You are starting to really babble - and syllables too.  Other times, you just scream and shriek. And you are not even in a bad mood - you are happy - just in a screaming type of way!
• You tried sweet potatoes and LOVE them (probably your favorite so far)...and tried apples, bananas and prunes.  You aren't really a big fan of apples or bananas, which is really strange - I thought'd you would love them.  We'll keep trying!
• Right at six months, we stopped breastfeeding altogether.  You are now officially a formula fed baby...we made it six months, which is what I was hoping for!  You eat four times a day - we dropped the dream feed at about 5.5 months (10:30pm feeding)...and it was pretty darn easy to do.  You now sleep from 7pm - 7am - such a good baby!
• And finally, we had your six month well-check today and you are growing like a weed!  You are 18 lbs and 1 oz and are 27 inches long.  You are in the 81st percentile for weight (dropped from 95th at birth) and 88th percentile for height (was at 95th at birth).  So, you are just perfect!  The doctor even said so!  She said to keep doing what we are doing, because you are a healthy little girl!  You did so good with your shots too - cried at first (who wouldn't, right?) and then you were smiling again by the time we were leaving the office.

Getting ready for your dedication

Sisters loving on your before dedication

You and your Mama!

During the ceremony at church

Family!

Kinda had a hard time when Pastor Brett took you!

Kiara and you - getting a little tired!

All worn out after your dedication

Grandma Frances and you for your first try of avocados!

Yummy!

Having fun with Kiara

Sweet faces!

You and MiMi hanging at the pool

You liked your pool time!

Your cousins - Keely and Kiara

You with Daddy and Nate

Vera - she's hard to grab a picture of!

Your Mommy and Cousin - somehow I got her to sit with me and take a picture!

We love you baby girl!  I can't tell you how much you have changed this past month.  You are such a little spunky monkey!  You are such a good baby - but you are a loud one!  You make the best noises.  Not so much baby babble...more like "Wooo!" and "AHHHH!".  It seems like you try to participate in conversations.  And your eyes are still your show stoppers - everyone loves them.  I feel like I have so many things to write about you, but words don't ever seem to match what I type out.  You are just the ultimate best thing ever.  That's about the best I can do with words!  

Fun Stuff!

Here there my little baby girl...thought I would share some cute stuff by way of pictures and video from the past couple weeks.  Enjoy!

You love your Daddy!

And....drum roll please...you rolled over for the first time!  And your Daddy and I weren't even watching - figures, huh?  The only 10 minutes we aren't staring at you while you are awake (trying to eat a quick dinner together) and you flipped over!

Here's how we first found you

Then you started getting a little annoyed  =)

Your Grandma Frances is back in town!  Megan had a band concert!

And we wonder how you got so cute!

Speaking of cute.....(thanks to Grandma Frances for the outfit!)

Not sure if I ever posted this one...your Sister and I with you during bath time

And here's a couple cute ones of us feeding you some rice cereal for the first time....really haven't fed you this more than a handful of times...but did catch a few good pictures of your first time with a spoon in your mouth!

And finally.....

Here's a "just because" picture - you were just a few days old here.  Remember how little you were????

1, 2, 3, 4.....FIVE!

Sweet face!  Goofer!  Sweet baby!  Baby love!  First of all, I love you.  This love for you has grown so much and I don't think it can get any bigger...and it just does all the time.  You are seriously the best baby.  I love your cheeks, your smell, your eyes and your turkey legs!  And you are now a whopping five months old.

I feel like so much has happened in the last month...almost too much, I fear that I won't remember all the bits and pieces.  Here's the highlights:

• You are officially a laugher!  And a really good one too.   You got some good belly laughs going these past few weeks.  We just love it!
• You started making a chewing motion with your mouth when you watched Daddy and I eating.  We were going to hold out with any rice cereal or other solid food until close to six months...but we got a little antsy when you were making the chewing motion all the time.  We have fed you some rice cereal and you have caught on to eating off of a spoon pretty well!  You don't get it every day...just every once in a while.
• Speaking of chewing...you chew on everything!  Teething rings, Mommy's finger, your finger, your hand, your foot (yes, it makes it all the way up there!), your clothes, Mommy's water glass....doesn't matter!  If it's in your grasp, you will swipe for it and bring it to your mouth!
• You have started finding your tongue mixed with your lips and the spit in your mouth.  You make spitty noises a lot now.  It's super cute....until you do it constantly for two days straight.  =)  Spit gets all over your face! It sounds something like this.....phfbssssbbbbbffft!
• You got in a pool for the first time (at Pa and MiMi's)....it was not your favorite thing.  I think the pool was a little too cold yet....we'll try again in a month and see how you do.
• We started to get you back to eating out of a bottle again.  Mommy has to take a trip in a few days to spend some time with a friend in need....so this was an absolute must.  We had gotten lazy with you...breastfeeding is so much more convenient (it's right there!) and comes with fewer bottles to clean!  This had made your Mommy lazy with bottles for you.  We tried a couple days of a bottle with you screaming and screaming....and then each time we tried it got a little better....first, Mommy had to feed you the bottle...and now, anyone can feed you and you grab for the bottle and pull it to your mouth yourself.  Phew!  
• We started you on a little formula too....with no issues.  We mix it with some breast milk (about half and half) and you can't tell a difference from what we can see.  This is crucial as well when Mommy leaves since I have some frozen milk, but will need to add in a little formula to make it last while you are home with Daddy.
• Pa and MiMi were here for the past week and a half....you loved having them around!  You got used to sleeping at another house too, which we will need more and more as you get older...especially when we go to Illinois in June!  They couldn't get enough of you....Pa always made you smile with his funny noises and faces and MiMi just loved on you as much as she could!

You are not rolling over yet.  We are so bad (and always have been) with tummy time, so you absolutely hate being on your belly.  Bad Mommy.  You love being on your back and have started turning your head and body a ton and twisting around. You get all the way over on your side (in fact, you sleep on your side a lot)...but haven't made that last turn all the way over.  I'm hoping that I didn't do things too wrong with you by avoiding tummy time...you may just not ever crawl since you don't like your belly....you may just go straight to walking, I guess.  =)

You still love your Sissys.  And they love you.  Megan especially really makes you smile this month.  She talks to you in the cutest little voice and you give her the biggest smile back.  Now, whenever she walks in your line of sight, you just flash that smile automatically.  They both talk about how you are the cutest baby they have ever seen.  And not just a casual mention...it's one of those moments where I can tell they are just taking you  and your cuteness in and can't barely take it anymore and state that you are just adorable.

Like I said, Pa and MiMi were here...so here are some memories while they were here!

You and your Pa (oh, and the ears)

Spending some MiMi time! 

Best. Smile. Ever.

Your Mommy and you!

Your Easter dress

Before your swim

Pa and you before the swim

Daddy and you - not liking it so much

My heart has grown incredibly by having you in my life.  I have never done so many silly, stupid things just to get a human being to smile and laugh.  But I love doing these things more than anything.  You turn me into a blubbering idiot instantly when you smile at a face or sound I make.  Your current blubbering idiot favorites are "Ready.....Spaghetti!!!!!", "Super Slow Mo Ninja", and "Duh duh duh, duh duh da duh duh duh"....yeah, these all look pretty stupid written out on here, but trust me, they elicit the biggest reaction out of you, so I'm not stopping!

Okay baby girl, Mommy will have to be away from you for a few days this weekend, so be a good girl for Daddy, okay?  Your Sisters aren't with us this weekend, so it's just you and him.  He'll be awesome, but I know that it's still going to be tough with no help.  Just flash a few extra smiles for him and be good about going to bed, okay?  I love you!!!!!