These pictures came out a bit grainy. :( I guess the lighting wasn't working with me. But you can still see this cutie and her big smile. I call her our quantum physicist. The last picture shows her expression the majority of the day. Like her Daddy, she isn't amused by most things. She is bored with baby toys. It's like she's already doing complicated math problems in her head. Her favorite thing to do now is bang a noisy toy on her highchair. We obviously aren't thrilled with this but she just throws any quiet toys we give her off the side.
New developments this month....
- sitting up
- eating 3 meals a day of oatmeal and either a fruit or veggie
Andy went on a business trip this week so I tried to make things extra fun around here. I just happened to be changing the sheets and thought a fort would be a ton of fun. I think the girls agreed.
She decided to bypass rolling over and just go straight to sitting up.
She can reach down for toys and not fall over if she really concentrates. But she just started doing this a week ago, so there have been quite a few face-plants into the carpet.
Then Madeline joined the fun. She was dancing and wanted Fia to join in.
Madeline is doing great with her potty training! The past 3 days she hasn't had any accidents and she wakes up dry in the morning and after nap time. We still put her in diapers while she is sleeping just in case, but we may stop doing that soon too. She tells us when she needs to go and we are always reminding her if it's been awhile to take a "potty break". The only bad thing so far has been public restrooms and the automatic flushing toilets. One flushed on her while she was still sitting on it and scared her. Now as soon as she is done going, she immediately jumps off. Even at home. At least she'll still sit on it to go, I guess. And I can't tell you how awesome it is to only have Fia in diapers now. Love it!
We took Madeline to see her first movie in the theater this weekend. We figured Toy Story 3 was perfect since she watches "Woody Buzz" (a.k.a. Toy Story 1) every day. Andy snapped this quick photo on his cell phone when we got settled in.
Then....the previews started. She immediately stopped eating her popcorn and was scared stiff, literally. She spent the next hour on my lap. Even though she was scared, she didn't ask to leave. I think she was still curious about what this all was, especially since Woody and Buzz were on the screen. After awhile, she warmed up and by the end she was talking and walking around our seats. Good thing there weren't many people there. When it was over, we asked her if she had fun and she said she did. So I think it was a success even though it didn't start out well.
We used to go out at night and see rock bands at local bars. Now we go out on a Sunday afternoon and see a kid's band called Justin Roberts and the Not Ready 4 Naptime Players. The flyer we got was quoted as calling him "the Paul McCartney of kids music." Now while I wouldn't go that far, they were pretty darn good.
Madeline loved them and danced up a storm!
Fia wasn't too into it.
So Madeline tried to show her how to dance. It was too funny.
So I got my 7-month baby email from Similac and it's titled, "Your baby is on the move!" Umm, not this baby. She still has yet to roll over unassisted. She is seriously the most laid back baby ever. Her daycare teachers brag that they have the easiest baby in the whole center. She is incredibly patient and hardly cries about anything.
That's not to say she doesn't have a few new developments to mention though.....
- she has 2 new teeth! Her smile is adorable.
- she likes to sit up and look around all the time now. She can't actually sit up on her own yet so we put her in her highchair alot with toys to play with.
- she has found her feet and likes to grab them. She can't quite get them in her mouth though. hehe That can't possibly be due to her chunky thighs.
- she likes chewing on blankets just like her big sister. She sleeps in a sleep sack and gets the top of the sack in her mouth to fall asleep with.
She's getting cuter and cuter every month. You can't miss the rolls, but look at those eyelashes!
The time has come to start potty training. I've been dreading this battle but Madeline has really started showing an interest so it is time. She likes to sit on the potty and will even go sometimes. We bought her some Minnie Mouse underwear this weekend and she loved them! She had to try on every one in the package and go show Daddy. She was so proud. This weekend we plan on doing Potty Training Boot Camp as I call it....basically staying home and going diaper-free all weekend until she gets the hang of it. We got all our supplies ready to go:
Sophia had her 6 month checkup on Monday (yes, 3 weeks late) and she is doing well. She weighs 19 pounds 12 oz (97th percentile) and is 26.5 inches long (75th percentile). Sophia is exactly the same height as Madeline at this age and just a bit heavier. I had to move her up another size of diapers AGAIN! Her clogged tear duct is still there unfortunately. If it doesn’t clear up by 9 months, she’ll have to get a procedure done to fix it. She is behind the curve on gross motor skills which we already knew (sitting up, rolling over), but it still isn’t a big deal yet. She is a happy, healthy baby and doing great! She LOVES her big sister and Madeline is just about the only one that can get her to laugh. I can get a small half-chuckle every now and then, but Madeline can get some good laughs from her. It is so cute to watch. She is loving her cereal and I give her new tastes to try all the time. I still haven’t tried pears again. Maybe in another month.
We just got back from a fabulous, relaxing, week-long vacation in Top Sail, North Carolina. We went with Andy's parents and stayed in a house right on the beach. The stairs to the deck literally walked you over the dune and straight onto the beach. Can't get better than that!
The first day we took Madeline out by the water and she got wet from the tide rolling over her. That DID NOT go over well and she was scared of the water for several days, despite much coaxing. We told her we could see Nemo and Dori so she kept looking for them. hahaha In the end, she ended up liking the water as long as someone was holding her, but she never ended up actually playing in it. She loved playing in the sand though. And loved knocking down any effort anyone made to make a sand castle.
Sophia wasn't a fan of the beach. I think it was too hot and windy for her. She did like the softer breeze up on the deck though. Sometimes it would put her right to sleep. We saw lots of sunrises together since she gets up so early. I think those mornings were my favorite part of the trip. Drinking a cup of coffee on the deck with the ocean breeze, watching the sun rise while sitting with my sweet baby girl. Nothing better.
Andy and I went out and played 9-holes of golf one day. We went at 2pm so there wouldn't be many other players around because we play really slow (mostly me). Come to find out later, the city was under a heat advisory that day and broke a temperature record. It was definitely hot but we had a great time!
Another night we had a date and went to local restaurant. They had alligator tail on the menu and we were feeling adventurous, so we ordered it. Tastes like chicken. Doesn't everything?
Other than that, we spent most of the time relaxing at the beach with everyone and taking turns staying inside with little Fia. We grilled out a few times and we each drank our fair share of wine. All in all, it was a great vacation and we have many good memories.
I took way too many pictures to put on here so I made a slideshow out of them all.
I had a playdate this past weekend with some friends and Jackie and Alexis drove up to play too! It was alot of fun but I didn't take any pictures while people were here because I was pretty busy. I did take a few afterwards when Madeline finally got in the pool after everyone left.
And I caught Alexis giving Fia some hugs and kisses. Aww.
"During our Circle Time today, the children could use the color paddles to experience how our eyes see different colors. They can actually see how from three primary colors, many other colors are created. As you can see, Madeline enjoyed the experience." - Mrs. Jane
Sophia is half a year old! Wow, how the time flies. New this month....
- she can sleep without her swaddle now
- she rolls onto her side with no problem, but then she stops short of going all the way. This doesn't surprise me though because she HATES being on her stomach.
- she is eating cereal and had carrots for the first time today.
