Friday, July 22, 2011

When cousins come to visit...

You have someone to play with you during tummy time...


Someone to encourage you to lift your head...

Someone to cheer you on upon success...

Someone to tell you stories...

Someone to cuddle with...

Someone to show off your baby to...

Cousin Ellie came down for the day on Sunday to play with Bean. She LOVES her new baby cousin and is so sweet with her. She always thinks Bean is talking to her and likes to rub her back and give her a paci. Ellie had such a great time with her during tummy time and really helped Bean stay on the mat longer; which made this mama quite happy.

Think these cousins will be the best of friends once Bean gets a little bigger. :) Come back and visit soon!!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

As she grows... month 5

Yesterday Bean turned 5 months old. I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast - even though she's still pint sized. We don't go back to the doctor for another month, but I think she is around 10lbs and still wearing her 0-3 month clothes - though she must be getting longer because some of the PJs are getting a little tight.

Just in the past few days she has really started seeming like an older baby. While she's 5 months old actual, she really is only 10 weeks adjusted, so a lot of ways she acts like a 5 month old, but in others she's still like a 10 week old or somewhere in between. I'm just happy to see her start to hit milestones and know she'll catch up to her actual age by age 2 (or sooner).

New 5 month-ish activities:
- She doesn't want to nap after every feeding
- Likes to vocal her needs a little more loudly
- Loves to engage with you through laughing, smiling, cooing and some vowel type sounds
- Favorite games include looking at her mobile, kicking the toys on her gym and reading books.


She also loves her play mat/gym, but only if she can look at herself in the mirror from her back -- put her on her tummy and she's not so happy after about 5 minutes. I can see how an older sibling can really help a younger one, because when cousin Ellie was over on Sunday, Bean stayed on her tummy for 20+ minutes and didn't complain one bit. Ellie was on the mat with her and guess that extra company helped her hold out longer. Bean can lift her head up when on her tummy, but moves to fast for her mama to get a picture that's not blurry.

In keeping with tradition, we took 5 month shots yesterday with her bear. Once we put her cute bow on, she got all serious. You can check out her previous months shots here.



One of our friends let us borrow their Bumbo and since she has improved her neck control, I couldn't help trying it out yesterday too. She enjoyed that for all of about 3 minutes, but think she liked the view.


Wednesday, July 13, 2011

The Help

While we were at the beach, my mom let me borrow one of her new books, The Help. I was hooked from page 1. The story details the life of women in the 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. It contrasts the life of society women and the maids that work for them. The story is told so well and was hard to put down. Don't want to give away too much, because you really should read it for yourself. When I got home I realized they are making it into a movie that comes out next month.

I'm super excited to see this film and if you are looking for a new book to read this summer, I would highly recommend this one.

SLEEP

Bean starting giving me 5-6 hrs of sleep at night for the past month or so; which according to my mother is sleeping thru the night for a baby, but is definitely not sleeping thru the night for mama.

I woke up this morning at 6:45am and realized Bean slept the entire night!! She usually wakes up at 4 or 5am after her 10pm feeding, but guess its a sign she's getting older and knew her mama needed some more sleep. She didn't wake up until 7am and was full of smiles for mama.

Hopefully this will continue to be the new trend... I could get use to 8 hours every night

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Beach Time

We took Bean on her first long distance trip last week to Amelia Island, Florida. I was a bit nervous how it would go since she's never been in the car that long, but she did great!

She's still too little for sunscreen, so we had to get creative. I found a SPF tent with breathable sides, a foam fan and mini-wet suits that also had SPF on them. Below is our bathing beauty in her get-up. She slept sooo well out there with the sound of the waves and the ocean breeze. I wanted to bottle it up and take it home!



We spent a week on beautiful Amelia Island Plantation with my family - Onnie, Papa, Gretchen, Justin, Ellie and Blake. We had a blast with family and know Bean will love to play with her cousins when she gets a little bigger. Uncle Jack, Aunt Keily and Noah came to visit for the weekend and Bella and Poppy (Kyle's parents) even drove out after landing on a red-eye from California!

Here are some pics from our trip.

Uncle Kyle and Blake


The Big Kids

Bean and Aunt Keily

Smiles for Bella

Uncle Kyle and Noah

Onnie and Papa with their grandbabies