Video Time

It's about time we had some videos on the blog! Some oldies and some newer ones. Enjoy!

Ellie's first taste of rice cereal

I know I know, I just blogged about not getting Ellie on rice cereal until 6 months, but over the past few days she has shown signs of being ready. She is so curious about us eating food. And I am hoping that this dinner taste of rice cereal will help her sleep longer through the night (saying that will probably back fire on me!). 

sooo...how did she do?


Well, she didn't gag. Which I think is a great sign. Granted, the first taste of rice cereal is extremely liquidy, so I'm not sure if she got a sense of texture, but she didn't gag. I think she swallowed a bit. By the end, she started to open her mouth when the spoon came towards her. She was definitely interested in grabbing the spoon. That girl and her hands! She grabs anything and everything if it comes within her reach. and those chubby fingers! I die. 

The second day was much better. I didn't water it down as much and I think she swallowed more. I'm only making maybe a tablespoon of rice cereal with breast milk. Out of the 10 bites, she may have swallowed 2.

Her little lips smacking the rice cereal! So cute. And Brinley was her biggest cheerleader. The past few days have given me a glimpse into the future of Ellie trying and learning new things, and Brinley right at her side cheering her on throughout the whole thing.

So right now, we are sticking with once a day, after her last feed of the day, around dinner time. If she shows signs of rice cereal slowing down her ahem #2's, we will switch to oatmeal cereal. That happened with Brinley, and her system regulated when we switched to oatmeal. So we are just going to sit back and wait a few days and see what happens.

The start of Spring Break

This week is spring break. We all can feel a lift of responsibilities and it feels good! Ryan is taking a 2-credit class this week but thankfully, it is a do the reading and show up pass-fail kind of class. He is so ready to graduate it's not even funny, so this week is a much needed break in the routine.

On Saturday, the weather surprised us. Gorgeous 73 degrees. It has been weirdly cold over the past few weeks off and on, and I think the cold has officially left. Those few off and on cold days were annoying! We struggled with the weather drops and were shivering and miserable! I really must be a Florida girl now.

Off to the park we went.

Check out this video!

I'm not sure what our week is looking like, but this is a refocus week for Ryan. Working out. Studying classes he feels behind in. Working on his outlines for finals. and spending time with his 3 favorite girls. And for me and my buddies? We are planning on park time with friends. and library time for some new books. and of course our weekly Target trip. and maybe chick fil a for lunch too. It will be nice to have Ryan around more this week. More is a relative word, but all I know is that it has been a refreshing weekend not having him gone studying the day away. We are looking forward to the weeks ahead of locking down a place to move to, and all the graduation plans. Ryan ordered his robes! and had his exit law school interview!! I have a feeling that the weeks are going to fly by now. I know law school will seem like such a small moment in our lives 20 years from now, but right now we are so farrrrr from that feeling. 

Yay for spring break!! 

Ellie: 5 months

5 months, 5 months?? Holy cow. I am pretty sure I'm going to wake up one morning and that girl is going to be walking and talking. Time. Is. Flying. And I don't like it one bit!!

As I've said a million and one times before, Miss Ellie is precious. She is sweet. She is chubby. She is adorable. And more than ever, she is extremely squishy these days. Basically, the amount of chub on her body is not lessening.

The rolling, however, has slowed down. I haven't seen her roll over in probably 2 weeks. It seemed every time I out her down on her back, she immediately rolled onto her belly. Maybe Brinley is just too interesting to watch, but she hasn't been rolling lately. I'm not concerned.

She discovered her toes this month! She finds any opportunity to suck her toes. In her sleepers. Wearing socks. In the bath. In her carrier. She will find a way!

And started to blow bubbles! I can never catch her doing it on camera, but she is pretty adorable!

Even though I'm sure she's ready, we aren't in a rush to get her on rice cereal. She is curious about us eating, but right now, it just seems like one more thing to do. And, with my experience with Brinley, we started rice cereal and baby food right at 4 months and I know that helped her self-wean early. I was very discouraged about ending BFing early with Brinley, so I want to make sure Ellie is committed before introducing something else. We think 6 months is a good age to start.

putting her binky in and out by herself

She is still loving bath time.

And mama time.

She has such a sweet spirit about her. She rarely gets fussy. Eat/Play/Sleep is working beautifully, and as long as we stick to her schedule, she continues to be a happy and very predictable baby. It is very nice having her on such a good schedule because Ryan can jump right in to help whenever he gets home and he knows her cues. 

She is even trying to sit up by herself! She has a very strong body and loves to stand and jump and kick. I have even seen her try and pull her knees into her chest while doing tummy time. I cannot even face the reality that this girl might be trying to crawl next month. 

We still roll her out in her pack n play every night into the front room. It gives me enough distance from her to sleep well through the night, and it also gives her space too. She still wakes up once a night to nurse. Sometimes I can put her binky in and she goes back to sleep, but I nurse her. And the woombie is working out great. And during the day, she takes 3 solid 1.5-2 hour naps. Keep this girl napped and fed, and she is happy! 

We just love Ellie more and more everyday!! 

4 months

3 months

2 months

1 month