My pretty blue eyed girl

That's what I call A. Yesterday we were hanging out in the kitchen while I sewed and A played on her blanket and the sun from the back door was shining in. It was the perfect lighting to show off her beautiful blue eyes.

Here are some cute pictures I snapped.

25 Weeks!

MONTH: 6

WEEK: 25

WEIGHT: 17+

LENGTH: 27+

HEAD: cute and round

MILESTONES: No big milestones this week, but every day is an accomplishment because I can see her learning all about her surroundings and how things work. 

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: It was taken today, two days late because the last two nights she has gone to sleep early and we didn't get to get the picture in.

EATING: We have successfully added bananas to our food menu. Tonight we started whole grain, multi-grain cereal. According to research introducing gluten to an infant's diet after 4 months, but before 6 months is shown to reduce the likelihood they will have Celiac Disease (a gluten intolerance).

SLEEPING:  Avery has decided that she would like more sleep at night and less sleep during the day, which is a-okay by me. She goes to bed between 8 and 8:30pm and when we go to bed around 10 I "dream feed" her (feeding while not fully awake) and put her down again. She will sleep like that until around 3 when she stirs and I bring her into bed with us. I could probably just give her a paci and leave her in the pack 'n play, but I really like waking up to her and snuggling.

VISITS/OUTINGS: Avery spent Thursday with Grandma Denise again and went for a walk with Ma'am and River while the weather was nice on Tuesday. 

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES:  Avery loves to show people her new sounds. This week she has mastered the high pitched, long, drawn-out scream. It's lovely. Just ask the patrons of Wal-Mart on Sunday. Yes, we are officially those parents.

MOMMY FEELS: Astonishment. It's so fun to watch her little brain working.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Avery has her 6 month checkup next Friday. I can't wait to see how much she has grown. I can feel her getting bigger -- especially when we are carrying her in her carseat.

What's on the menu today?

The last two weeks we have been giving A solids. We started with oatmeal, pears, and carrots. She hadn't been very impressed with anything other than the oatmeal... until tonight! She has a new favorite food.

She's bananas over bananas!

She was having a hard time holding on to the banana so I rolled them in oatmeal and she was able to grip them to get them in her mouth. She actually ate about 1/5 of a whole banana by her self. When she had broken the banana into pieces too small to grasp I mashed up the rest of the banana and mixed it with her oatmeal.

She loves to play with her spoon, so I give her a spoon and I use my spoon to put some on her spoon. Then she can put it in her mouth herself. She's actually getting pretty accurate!

With a spoon.

Finger foods.

24 Weeks!

MONTH: 6

WEEK: 24

WEIGHT: 17lbs+

LENGTH: 28+

HEAD: still a cute little pumpkin head!

MILESTONES: Avery has officially started food! We started with pears and she seemed pretty unsure of it. She does seem to like the oatmeal. She devours it! We are trying carrots now.

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: She is finally starting to show interest in sitting up. She is very sturdy with a support behind her. Before we know it she will be sitting up by herself!

EATING: Pears, carrots and oatmeal. Oatmeal is by far the front runner so far!

SLEEPING: We finally got a big enough bed to safely cosleep with A. It has been working out that she falls asleep in her Pack N Play in our room, then when she wakes around 3am we bring her into bed with us. We all sleep great. 

VISITS/OUTINGS: When Grandma Denise gets off work on Tuesdays and Thursdays she has started picking up A from Ma'am's house. She started this Tuesday and it seems to be working well!

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: A is getting so big and independent. Most times she would much rather play by herself on her mat or in her jumperoo. 

MOMMY FEELS: So proud of my big girl.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: I am so anxious to start working part time. It's only a matter of weeks now!

A day in the park...

While I am trying to get in shape and train for the 10k we are walking in April I am enjoying walking with Justin and A. Today we walked from our house to Fuller Park (about a mile). When we got there we took A on the swings and the slide and she had a blast!

Check it out!

 

The difference a year makes.

In November 2009 Justin and I were just recovering from the miscarriage and I was especially vulnerable. It tore my heart out just to walk by the baby aisle at Target. Then one day I had to buy something for a friend of mine's son's first birthday. We went shopping even though I never found something for her son I just had to buy this cute green sleeper with little football-playing dinosaurs.

At the time I thought I would forever have an empty uterus and would be haunted by this empty piece of clothing, but I didn't care. Apparently self torture was my way of coping.

Now, 14 months later, that sleeper is not so empty. My amazing, beautiful, perfect baby girl finally fills it out. It's so amazing the difference a year makes.

Pear? What's a pear?

Tonight we had our first experiment with food other than milk. We have decided to go with a process called Baby Led Weaning (BLW) instead of the traditional method of feeding a baby purees by spoon. The very basic concept is that you give your baby the opportunity to explore food in their own time they will have a healthy concept of food and family meals.

A has been getting increasingly more interested in our food lately, so last night when we were eating dinner (stew) I cut up a pear and gave her a piece. She let it sit on her tray for a bit while she looked at it and we just kept eating so as not to put any pressure on her.

After a few minutes I notice her trying to pick it up but it's too slippery so I cut little notches in the sides like little finger holes and hand it to her. Immediately she tried to shove the whole thing in her mouth. It was hilarious. 

I don't know if she really liked it or not, but it sure looked like she had fun with it. After she was done we tried giving her a sippy of water. Let's just say she hasn't mastered it yet. Here are some shots:

"How fast can I get this in my mouth?"

"How much can I fit in there?"

"Hmm, this is new."

"Mmm. This is yummy!"

"Why can't I get the water out!?"

23 Weeks!

MONTH: 6

WEEK: 23

WEIGHT: 15+ lbs

LENGTH: 27+ in

HEAD: I affectionately call it a pumpkin head because it's round like mine.

MILESTONES: Avery got her first highchair! Not much of a milestone, but a move in the right direction!

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: taken at exactly 23 weeks on daddy's chair.

EATING: We tried avocado today, but A was too sleepy. We will try again in a few days. 

SLEEPING: We bought a new bed -- European King! -- so that we can safely co-sleep with Avery. We start out with her in her pack 'n play and when she wakes around 3am I bring her in bed with us. I love that extra time snuggling with her. 

VISITS/OUTINGS: Starting the last couple of weeks A has been going to Justin's dad's ex-wife's house every Tuesday and Thursday since she is retiring and has those days off. It may seem like a weird arrangement but Ma'am and her husband Ken have always been around and who am I to turn down cheap childcare!? Plus Ma'am is going to be watching another baby starting this summer, so A will have a little friend! Not to mention that Aunt Stacy and cousin Dylan come by every day to play with her!

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Eating toes is the national passtime in Averyland. As soon as the socks come off, the feet go in the mouth.

MOMMY FEELS: So proud that my little girl is growing up so big and healthy, but a little sad it's going so fast. 

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Trying new foods and the time when A will realize that in order to crawl or scoot she has to push up with her hands and her feet at the same time rather than pushing up with her feet and shoving her face into the ground. :::sigh:::

5 Months!

I think I will say this every time I do a month photo, but I can't believe another month has passed. She has grown so much. She has so many new and fun 'tricks'. I just love watching her learn all there is know about life.

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY:

• reach accurately for an object as eye-hand coordination improves She is getting better at this. I can see her focusing on something and reaching her hand out for it. Her hand gets shaky as she tries to focus if the item is small.
• hold her head steady when sitting upright as neck muscles strengthen Oh definitely.
• sit supported for up to 30 minutes and sit alone for a few moments as back muscles strengthen. She's actually hates sitting up, but loves to lap-stand. If I try to let her sit supported by the Boppy or other pillow she will not just fall back, but thrust herself back.
• roll from stomach to back She will do this almost as soon as I put her on her stomach because she hates tummy time.
• raise her chest with arm support while lying on her stomach as arm muscles get stronger She will raise her chest up for a few minutes -- until she rolls over. Ha!
• mimic sounds and gestures We love to play Simon-Does where I will stick out my tongue and she does it back. She does the same thing with blowing raspberries.
• repeat strings of syllables in a rhythmic way Bababababa is what we hear all the time.
• babble to get attention I'm not sure if she knows that babbling will get her attention, but it definitely does. It's one of my favorite parts of the day.
• show positive reaction to different sounds She definitely doesn't care for loud noises when it's quiet but other than that nothing really seems to bother her.
• make different sounds for different needs She has very distinct noises/cries for different things. We know exactly what they are, but if you asked me to explain them to you I'd be lost.

21 weeks!

MONTH: 5

WEEK: 21

WEIGHT: estimated at 15 1/2lbs

LENGTH: 27+ inches

HEAD: a big, round, pumpkin head just like her mama.

MILESTONES: There was no milestones this week, but she is growing so big.

OBLIGATORY ADORABLE PICTURE: This picture was taken at 21 weeks 3 days. She is figuring out what the camera is and she likes to make faces and then turn away really fast, so the pictures are either of the side of her head or blurry.

EATING: Still on just milk and formula, but big things are coming! 

SLEEPING: I am wondering where my amazing sleeper went. The last few nights she has decided that 1 am and 5 am are exceptional times to play. Me? Not so much.

VISITS/OUTINGS: Last week we went for a walk with Christina and her daughter Lailah on Wednesday and on Friday we went to lunch with them, Ashely and her daughter Brookley and their friend Jaymie.

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: Eating her toes. We will not be needing teething toys because she can almost put her entire foot in her mouth and he big toe is as good as anything else she can gnaw on!

MOMMY FEELS: Tired. I am not a fan of the new sleeping schedule. 

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO: Starting solid food next weekend. We are starting with avocado and oatmeal.