Happy Half Birthday!

Yesterday, my baby turned 1/2 a year old.  I can't believe it.  Neither can she:

Everyone was right when they said time flies... Good news is, 6 months is my favorite age so far!  I'm pretty sure that every age has been my favorite.  First she was super tiny and cute and slept a lot, then she started smiling, then making awesome noises, then grabbing and reaching, and now sitting and eating.  I'm not sure it can get better.

We had a busy weekend, now that she can do so many things...

We played some hide-and-seek:

Not a super great hiding spot, but she's getting better...

We went to a birthday party where Stretchy played in the grass and made some friends:

We hung out downtown and Stretchy drank her first coffee:

And of course, it was her 1/2 year birthday.  Which meant I took lots of pictures:

And might have even bought her a cake:

Which she thoroughly enjoyed!

Frosting is kind of like finger paint... proof she's going to be an artist.

The cake after Stretchy was done

Nap Anyone?

According to Mirriam Webster:

nap: to sleep briefly, especially during the day.

According to one almost six-month old baby that lives in my house:

nap: to engage in vocal and mouth exercises, dorsal activities, occasional spurts of crying and whining and/or experimenting with bodily functions while in the confines of one's crib (see video below).

I, for one, cherish "nap time" as it allows me to get some chores done (or more often check e-mail and write blog posts) and occasionally take a break with coffee and a magazine.

Up until now, naps were short-lived, but soundly taken... now, well... let's just say my house is dirty, if you write me an e-mail, I probably won't respond... and as far as blog posts... they may be few and far between.

Recovering After an Awesome Easter Weekend

Stretchy, Bob and I had a great Easter weekend at my parents house in NH.  We got to rest (while not preparing Easter dinner), eat Easter candy, go shopping, visit with family and eat lots of good food.

Stretchy took her first wagon ride (altered with her favorite rideable household object, the laundry basket):

 Went on a swing for the first time:

She got to play in a giant bed:

And tried to use the camera:

Now, however, it is Monday.

I dislike Mondays.  I would say "hate," but not all Mondays are ALL bad...

Mondays are the days with the most chores- like changing the linens and towels and cleaning up after the weekend.*  We inevitably have to go grocery shopping because we eat all our food over the weekend (or worse, never bought any food for the weekend and have to resort to "pantry finds" for lunch...).  AND I'm always tired because we do extra stuff on the weekend and I can't quite catch up on my sleep with an almost six-month old hanging around.

Mondays after a weekend away are even worse.

There is definitely NO FOOD.  Especially milk.  Which I need for my coffee in the morning.  No coffee = cranky Mommy.

There is a GIANT PILE of crap in the foyer that needs to be put away.

There is a GIANT PILE of laundry... plus the linens and towels :(.

I am extra tired because we got home late and someone didn't want to go back to sleep once we got here and felt the need to wake up at 6:30.

AND it's always kind of a let down after a holiday.

So instead of doing anything about those chores, or those piles, or that lack of food, I will sit here in front of my computer and mope.

I wouldn't want your mood to be altered by my negativity though, so the following photo-splosion should lift your spirits!

Happy Easter!

Unfortunately this year, Stretchy was too little to do most of the prep for Easter... no dying eggs (we probably would have ended up with a dyed baby and dyed kitchen), no filling baskets (she would have unfilled them)...  Maybe next year.

She does look pretty cute in ears though!

Playing with the Big Kids

Stretchy and I usually go to a play group once a week or so.  She has two super cute friends- one who's almost a year and another that's three and a half months.  Since they're all so young, they usually don't interact much...

This weekend, we met two other families with older babies- one 21 month old, and a brother and sister: 18 months and 3 and half years old.

I was really surprised at how well Stretchy did with the big kids.  Actually, maybe I was more impressed with how well the big kids did with her.  They were so gentle and cute.  All of them tried to entertain her by giving her toys.  And the best part?  She was totally entertained and didn't even need me to sit and play with them!

Here are some cute playing pictures:

I don't have pictures from the other play date :(  Hopefully next time... 

On another note, we're also trying to teach Stretchy to play more by herself.  Now that she's sitting, she's a lot happier playing with her surroundings!

What an awesome zebra pillow!

Ooo, and what a cool rug!

Why is there an octopus in my bed??

And this picture, not because she's playing, but just because she's cute :)

BLW...

Baby Led Weaning...

I read up on baby led weaning and thought it was a great idea for us.  Pretty much, instead of spoon feeding your baby starting at 4 months like pediatricians recommend, you wait until your baby shows interest in food and let her start feeding herself when she's ready (usually between 6 & 9 months).  No spoons, no jars, no making baby food.  I was sold.

Until the following feeding situations occurred in our house.

1.  The new eating ritual.

Stretchy starts eating as a normal baby.  Usually she seems ravenous.  I settle in with my iPad or Kindle and prepare for a good 10 minutes of web surfing or reading when suddenly, she becomes the most observant, interested and contemplative baby on earth.

I imagine the following to take place in her mind while eating:

"Can I fit my hand in my mouth while eating?  How about this burp cloth?  Will it fit too?  Speaking of burp cloths, when did you last wash this one?  Let me taste it to find out?  HEY! Did you see a cat over there?  Where's the cat?  No?  I was sure I saw a cat.  Let me check again.  You were right.  No cat.  But have you seen that light over there?  Wow... what a light.  Hmm... I wonder what toys we'll play with ne-- WHAT WAS THAT?? Did you hear that noise?  Oh, it was just the ice maker?  Are you sure?  Let me look around to see if someone's there.  Hey! There's the cat!  I hear a cat! I hear a cat!  I want to pet the cat.  I WANT TO PET THE CAT!!  Oh, the cat's gone?  Guess I'll eat my hand... tasty... WAIT! Don't put that away yet! I wasn't finished!!"

Needless to say, I'm pretty sure she's eating less during the day.

2.  While eating my food the other day, Stretchy obviously wanted some.

Here's the senario:

I'm eating.

She's following the forks every move.

Plate, mouth, plate, mouth.

She starts opening her mouth when I do.

Plate, mouth open, plate mouth open.

Then she makes cute little chewing motions...

What was I to do... we keep trying pieces of food, but she's not coordinated enough to hold on to them yet.

So I broke out the baby food and decided that for us, Baby Led Weaning meant the Baby was telling us that she wanted to eat... and since she can't feed herself, that means we bought some cute baby spoons...

So I've waved goodbye to my decision to do Baby Led Weaning.  Now, in our house, BLW stands for Bring Lots of Washcloths...

Here's a cute video of Stretchy eating avocado:

We Have a Sitter

So now we can go out whenever we want for date night!!

No, just kidding.  Stretchy has a severe case of Mommy-itis and if I even leave her alone for a few minutes she flips out.  Especially if I'm leaving her with someone else.  Like at the gym.  I just want to work out for half an hour, but lately, as soon as I hand her off she starts screaming and doesn't let up until I come back (or until they come get me).

We have another kind of sitter.  The 5 1/2 month old baby who can sit by herself!!

It's like it happened all of a sudden... for a while, she could sit up on the couch, or in the sand if we dug a hole for her to sit in, but it usually only lasted a couple minutes before she toppled over or fell forward.  I read that to help your baby sit, you should encourage her to put her hands in front of her for support. Well, Stretchy must take after her mom in the upper body strength department, because when we tried using her arms, she just folded forward onto her face.

But last Monday, she decided she was ready to sit on her own.  Monday it was just a few minutes before she got tired and started crying.  She never fell over though- she wobbled and bent forward and back, but managed to keep upright until I rescued her.  After lots of practice last week, now she's a sitting pro and can sit and play for 10 or 15 minutes.  She has yet to fall over, but occasionally she needs a little help when she leans to far in one direction.

I'm a proud Mommy!