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!

The Maine Beach

Last week we ventured up to NH again.  The weather was even more insane than it had been.  70s and 80s??  Definitely beach weather.  Stretchy had visited the beach in North Carolina and loved it, so we thought a good outing would be York Beach in Maine.

She had a blast.  And even though we're up North, this time, she didn't have to wear a sweatshirt!!

Unfortunately, the water wasn't warm enough for swimming.  At least for us.  My sister went in though!!

Taking a break while walking the Marginal Way

Smiling at the passers-by

So cute in a new sunsuit 

Maybe the sand tickles?

Leaving footprints

Relaxing in the sun

Beautiful Weather

This past weekend the weather was spectacular!  We didn't do much for St. Patrick's Day, but we did spend a lot of time outside.  Stretchy is loving it!  So many new things to look at and touch and feel.  Mommy & Daddy are loving it too, since all the fresh air makes Stretchy really tired, and when she naps well during the day, she's a much less cranky baby.

Our Trip to NC: Day 4

Friday morning, Stretchy, Bob's mom and I woke up early and let the boys sleep.  We decided to go to a cute little bakery near the beach for breakfast where we shared some fantastically delicious sweets.  Stretchy flirted with the men at the table next to us.

After breakfast we were so full that we decided to take a walk on the beach.  Stretchy slept the whole time.  It was so peaceful.  It was cool and overcast and a little breezy.  There were only a few other people and it was a great way to start the morning.

When we got home, we decided to venture in to downtown Southport for some shopping, coffee and a wine tasting.  Stretchy had a good time.

After a rest at home, we went back to the beach one last time so Stretchy could play in the sand (and we could take a video!).  

After Stretchy played the piano a bit, 

we set up a photo shoot of Stretchy in the same chair as Bob sat in when he was 5 months old... which is which??

Our trip ended with a great meal of fresh fish and some silly home movies of Bob when he was little.

The next day we flew home.  Aside from the delay in DC, it was a pretty uneventful trip.  We had a great time in North Carolina, but its always nice to be home!