5m 2w

This weeks highlights:

Julia can sit up with minimal support. If you get her balanced she can sit alone for a minute or two before slumping or tipping.

Her favorite toys this week are her fabric book (in German) and her v-tech sit and stand play station.

This week Julia tried out her tricycle. She is still way too small of course but we can tell she is going to be a hammerhead like her Daddy!

Solid food- we are beginning solids slowly. We are doing it a little differently than most people... The trendy name is 'baby led weaning' but really it just means self-feeding. Instead of spooning pureed food into her mouth we let her 'eat' any food she can get to her own mouth. The developmental theory is that babies should learn to eat by learning to chew first and swallow second. Either way, at this point anything she chews on is mostly for fun and her nourishment still comes from mommy milk. So far she has tried avacado, banana, and pancakes. Julia mostly likes sitting with mommy and daddy at the table like a big girl :)  The days of dinner and straight into the bath have begun! 

Those are the highlights from this week. We hope our friends and family across the country are staying warm.  It's odd watching news coverage of the 'polar vortex' impacting the country while we are in shirts and t- shirts.  We love having guests so let us know if you want to escape the cold and come visit!

5 months!

So I need to do a catch up post (but this isn't it) because so much has happened in the last 3 weeks. But for now I will just tell you that our previous girl is 5 months old.

5! Five!! FIVE!!!

How is this possible? I'm sure I just held her for the first time a month ago. I've only been snuggling her tiny cute head for a few weeks. No way I've been kissing her itsy bitsy feet for FIVE MONTHS!

A few quick facts-

She still eats 95% mommy milk (pumped) in 4-5 feedings a day. (Formula comes in handy if we are caught out longer than we expected.)

She weighs approx 13 lbs which all keeps her in the 'tiny' end of the curve.

She started crawling/scooting at 4.5 months and can get to anywhere she wants. It's not a pretty crawl yet, more of a shuffle/crawl/lunge combo but is crazy since she is so small.

She still sleeps 12 hours a night and takes 2-3 naps each day. She usually wakes up happy and 'talks' to herself in her crib until I come get her.

She does not like to wait for her bottle. When it's time to eat, it's time! She gets MAD if she sees me filling the bottle but then put it into the hot water to warm up. She wants it NOW! She doesn't however want it too cold... That contradiction seems pointless to explain.

She still looks just like her Daddy...

Overall she is a very happy, very active, little girl who seems to love life. We are so over-the-moon happy that she is our daughter!

(The last two pictures show how much Julia looks like Chad as a baby.)

Christmas Eve

We are spending this Christmas Eve camping in our own house! The movers packed all our stuff yesterday and just left us with a pack n play for Julia and a mattress for Chad and I. They come back on the 26th to load everything on to the truck.

It might seem strange, but Chad and I are really having fun.  Being together and enjoying our tiny girl is all we really care about anyway.  Our Christmas Eve feast of frozen pizza and ice cream (eaten from the container with plastic forks) was delish.

We hope that all our family and friends are together with those they love most tonight.  We are counting our blessings and giving thanks from our box-fort!

We did fit in a bit of traditional Christmas stuff.  Julia met Santa!  She seemed unimpressed but didn't cry...

Four Months and Ready for Christmas

Our sweet angel turned 4 months on Dec 17th.  Since we will be moving over Christmas this year I wanted to make sure we got a holiday photo session in.  She wasn't too happy with the stiff velvet Christmas dress (she is a casual kinda gal, wonder where she gets that? ;) but tolerated it fairly well.  She liked it best when we just had her in the red bloomers and hat.  She LOVES wearing hats and headbands!  Only four more days in this house then its off to Wellington...  I hope south Florida is ready for this little elf!

What A Difference A Year Makes

One year ago today I found out I was pregnant!  What an amazing miracle!  Now I am holding my sweet 16 week old darling in my arms. 

The march is on toward Baby J's first Christmas and we are trying to do plenty of holiday things. A bit sad that we won't have a tree or much decor this year since we are moving on the 27th. (More about that in the next post.) We are doing other stuff though like the tree lighting ceremony in downtown Winter Garden last night. Next week we will find a mall Santa for those required pictures :)

She has tried out her special chair a few times this week. It helps her sit up so she doesn't always have to lay down to play with her toys. She likes it for about 5 minutes then starts to slump. I don't want to push her to do something she isn't really ready for so I don't push it.

She is very into chewing on her fingers still and is getting drooly... I find it quite gross but she doesn't seem to mind slimy fingers...

Here are a few random pictures from the past week...

Last Boat Ride of 2013

We had to get 'Native Sun' out in the water one last time before 2013 ended. It also was Julia's first trip out. It was a mild day so we didn't have to worry about her getting too hot.  Baby life jackets are anything but comfy and she wasn't impressed.

After we started moving she went right to sleep for an hour! Later daddy let her try being the captain. 

Overall a wonderful day on the water. We sure hope she inherits her parents love of water!

Family Pictures

We had family pictures done a few weeks ago when Julia was 12 weeks old. We went back to the location where we were married, the shores of Lake Sheen right by our house.  We had a blast and Julia was her typical laidback tolerant self. Such a good girl. If I'm not mistaken I think she was hamming it up for the camera...