5 Months Old!

Dear Eli,


You're 5 months old! You are a sweet, happy baby and very social! You love being held, played with and talked to and will almost always provide a smile for the strangers that comment on how cute you are. Along with that smile, you've started vocalizing a lot. You take a breath and "talk" for as long as that breath holds, and then start again as soon as you've gotten another breath.


You developed a quick love for the blanket your Nana made you. In fact, if you're having a hard time falling asleep I grab the blanket for you. We discovered this one day as you were screaming at the top of your lungs, obviously tired and unable to fall asleep. I gave you your blanket, you rubbed it all over your face for a couple minutes and then you were out! (Thank you Nana for the magic blankets, all of our kids LOVE them.)


You learned to sleep in all sorts of random places this month. Your bouncy seat...

Your feeding chair...

The back pack...

You're much more alert now and really notice things around you. Ryan had just woken up in this picture, but you're wide awake and ready to play!

You discovered some new things this month. I didn't think you were big enough for your jumper, but DM gave it a shot and you love it! When we first put you in it, you could barely reach the floor. Now you can reach the toys in front of you and your legs bend when your feet are flat on the floor. You're also fond of the exosaucer and enjoy all the toys, music and noises you find as you spin yourself around.

You've found your feet and they're currently your favorite toy.

You also decided your fingers are a good snack! No teeth yet, but the drool has begun and you have a little white bump on your gums.

You started solids towards the end of the month. It took a day or two to get the hang of the spoon, but once you did there was no stopping you. You'll pull away from breastfeeding and scream, wanting cereal. We've quickly worked a few veggies into your diet as well, for a little variety. You are as fond of the green veggies as you are of the orange, hopefully that continues. So far you've had rice cereal, green beans, peas and sweet potatoes. We've been giving you just a tablespoon or so of food once a day, but it's obvious you'll be looking for more than that pretty soon.

Now, wee one, lets talk about sleep. You were doing so well. You slept through the night a couple times a week and the other nights you were usually only up once. Over the last month, I think you've only slept through the night a night or two and are up once if not twice. You favor wakings at 1:30 and/or 4:30 and get up for the day anywhere between 5:30 and 8. Your wake up time depends on how many times you are up during the night. You are usually still taking three naps a day. Either the mid morning or mid afternoon nap is good, often lasting 1.5 hours, however the other is anywhere from 20-45 minutes, then as we're making dinner you often catch a quick nap in the backpack. We're hoping our trip to Colorado next month magically makes you start sleeping, like it did with your big brother at this age.

Here's a picture of you with Ryan. He's taking his role as big brother seriously and teaching you the video game ropes early. By the way, can you see the mess your brother and sister can make of a house after only being up for an hour?

As for milestones, you've rolled twice, but not intentionally. Your leg and stomach muscles are really strong so I'm sure it will happen in the next couple weeks. Also, we were at the pediatrician's office for Ryan and while there I thought we'd get your weight and height. With clothes on, you weighed in at 15pounds 5 oz and you're 25inches long.

Looking forward to another fun filled month little man. We love you!!!

Love,

Mommy

Happy Birthday

My friend Jenna would have been 37 today. Happy Birthday Jenna...I miss you!

WOOHOO!

The hubs and I are actually going out tonight! Without our kids!! A friend offered us free tickets to the CMA's!!! I love Little Big Town...seriously, they make me swoon... and the hubs likes the Zac Brown Band, so it should be really fun! One of two scenarios will play out for the babysitting, I'm still waiting to hear. One option has all three kids going to a family friend, the other has them splitting up between two friends. Both women are great with my kids and I trust them completely, unfortunately, just as Makenna got easier I went and had another kiddo. I have issues with other people having to deal with my crying child and hate to put people out, so I'm struggling with someone watching the Wee One tonight. It's all for a good cause though, marital harmony and music are two of my favorite things.

Wordy Wednesday

What was the best part of your day yesterday? Mine was working on a sidewalk chalk masterpiece with Ryan yesterday afternoon. I'm not going to lie, this 3 kid thing is tough and I find myself constantly pulled in multiple directions and feeling like I never meet anyone's needs completely, including my husbands. For a period of time yesterday afternoon Makenna was napping, Eli was happily hanging out in the shade enjoying the breeze and Ryan and I worked side by side to create a sign to welcome daddy home after a long day. I felt more relaxed during that half hour than I've felt in a long time, and for once all my children were happy....or sleeping.

So what was the best part of your day?

Tuesday Twelve

Twelve random thoughts...in no order.

1. It's officially summer! Ryan's last day of school was wednesday although we had to go in friday morning to pick up his report card. He did so well this year and his teacher said she'll really miss him. Ryan's going to miss her too.

2. We'll be doing "homework" and have reading time each day so he doesn't slide during the summer months. He's had fun with it so far.

3. The hubby's company laid off a bunch more people last week. Morale is low, he's stressed and working long hours, and he's wondering if his job will be in the next wave. Gah!

4. We have a trip to Colorado planned this summer. I'm already wondering how the drive with 3 little ones will be and thinking about things I can do to make it smoother! I'm also looking forward to seeing family and getting out of town for a bit.

5. Old Navy had an additional 50% off clearance items last week. Makenna's entire outfit yesterday, capri's, a cute top and flip flops, cost $8. Yay for bargains.

6. We've recently discovered that a builder is trying to build 200 apartments IN OUR SUBDIVISION! Apparently they're small, low rent and can be classified as section 8.

7. This is not going to help us sell our house. The house that is already too small for our family. The house that we've put blood, sweat, tears and money into to increase resale.

8. Did I mention the house next door is for sale and one across the street went into forclosure last week?

9. Makenna went into the childcare at church sunday. Her first time! It took three tries to drop her off and she was sobbing when I picked her up. But she did it!

10. We found out yesterday that my old boss, someone who was once a close friend of ours, passed away. We're waiting to hear results from the autopsy to determine cause of death. I wish we could be in Colorado to meet up with friends and reminisce.

11. Ryan's baseball team finished regular season games this past sunday, now we play in the tournament this weekend. His team probably ranked in the bottom of the gold bracket, meaning they're the worst of the best. I'm proud of Ryan and his team, they've had a great season.

12. We really need to find a plumber. Who knew it would be so difficult? I guess when you add demolition to the plumbing, it makes it more difficult. Maybe a general contractor is in order?