She's So Fancy, She's Five Months Old

May 28, 2014

My teeny, tiny newborn is now a strong, active five month old! I remember being five months pregnant and how it took FOREVER to get to that amazing point in pregnancy where you have an adorable bump, know if your baby is a he or she, and have the energy of three 8 year olds.  Yet somehow, my brand new baby has turned into a five month old seemingly overnight.  Time is funny like that.

About a week ago an older woman stopped my in the Target parking lot to talk about Emilia. Of course, I'm more than happy to show her off and with Lincoln's large population of retirees, it happens quite often.  The first thing this woman said was, "Boy, how your life has changed," with a scoff and a condescending smile on her face. It's true.  My life has changed. But not in the way I think she expected.  I immediately found myself defending my life, my baby, the changes that come with having a baby. Did she want me to break down and start crying, yes, it is so hard, please give me my old life back! When I was pregnant, I constantly heard the all to common "just wait..." from people, mainly women, standing in line with me at Trader Joe's or Target.  And now it's how my life has changed? When Emilia grows up and can read my musings from these early days raising her, this is what I want her to know. 
 

You are five months old today, Emilia.  And your life is changing every second.  And so is mine.  This month you have learned so many things.  You have learned to blow bubbles with purpose.  And by that I mean, you learned how to spit, mostly in mommy and daddy's faces.  You think it's funny to do it in your car seat riding by yourself in the back.  We think it's funny too.  You have learned to scoot forward like a little inch worm.  I sometimes worry about the number of face plants you do in a day, but you don't seem to mind.  You don't get very far yet, but I am so proud.  You are five months and you can almost sit up entirely on your own.  You eventually tip over without a little hand from mom or dad, but you are one tough cookie, because I have never seen that make you cry.  Not once.  You are five months old and you are very interested in what we eat! You don't eat any food yet, but you have just started drinking a few sips of water out of your sippy cup at dinner time. You like it a lot, especially when the water splashes in your face. You are my water baby. (But, I do want to assure you that I'm taking care of you much better than my water baby circa 1993.  That poor thing was missing a thumb and definitely floated down the Colorado River once only to be rescued by a nice friend on a seadoo.) 

You are five months old today and being your mom is the most fun I have ever had. I'm no longer tired, even though I think you actually sleep less in the middle of the night than you did when you were smaller! Waking up, whatever time it is, to your sweet, gummy smile is the absolute best moment of my day.  Not to mention how great it was when you freaked out daddy this weekend by staring at him with your big, blue eyes until he woke up, too! You are five months old and I have cooked more, ate healthier, exercised more often in the last five months than I have in the last five years. You motivate me to be my best self. You are five months old and I love to read with you. Now I read Sofia the First and the Royal Sleepover, instead of the many fascinating teaching books I had been reading the past few years, but I don't mind one bit. You are my little performer, talking, yelling, singing, and laughing at me all day long. I am never alone. My view from next to you, snuggling every morning is my favorite view in the world. Better than London, Paris, New York, a Spanish beach on the Mediterranean, or the English countryside.  Anywhere I have ever been. Your chubby thighs, your long eyelashes, your fuzzy blonde hair that kind of pokes out over your ears, just like your dad's. So I guess what I'm saying to you, Emilia, to myself, and to all the moms and future moms out there.  Yeah, my life has changed. My life is SO much fuller, better, chaotic, beautiful, challenging now that you're here.

We had another amazing trip down to my parents' house again this month! We love spending time with all our wonderful friends down in Southern California. We miss them so, so much when we are here. Emilia is so loved.

When Megan was up visiting when Emi was less than one month old, we were giving her a bath and Megan asked if she minded getting the water in her face.  I really had no idea because I was not in the habit of splashing water into the eyes of my newborn.  Megan, however, decided an experiment was in order. And from that first initial splash in her face, there was no turning back. Emilia is a water girl! So it was only fitting that Emi went swimming for the first time this month at her Aunt Megan and Uncle George's community pool! Not surprisingly, she had a blast splashing and swimming around in the water. She especially loved it when the water splashed in her face.

You guys should know that Emilia is very adventurous.  She was in the water and she is at home.  I cannot take my eyes off her.  And even though I don't, I still find her in the most ridiculous situations. I could not not include these two pictures.  Both of which occurred in my bathroom while I was trying to get ready for the day and she was sabotaging my efforts by being a wild child.  Please don't report me to the authorities. ;)

A little help here?!?

Uhhhh mom?!?

Weight: Almost 14 whole pounds!

Sleep: Well, she now naps in her crib on her own.  Watching her fall asleep on the monitor is priceless, people.  She does really funny things when she thinks no one is looking. Including, looking right at the camera, singing the sweetest songs, and grabbing her feet so she is essentially mooning us. I love it. 

Favorite Song: This girl is going to be musically inclined.  I am telling you. She is already starting to bounce to the music, and her current fave is Fancy. Probably because she can relate to being in the fast lane from LA to Tokyo.

Favorite Thing to Do: Read Sofia the First and The Royal Sleepover. It's now clear that Emilia's love for Sofia the First goes beyond the theme song.  She loves this common girl turned princess. Reminds me of my love for Kate Middleton.  Sometimes Dan and I are slightly horrified at the classist undertones of the stories, but we figure she's gotta learn the harsh realities of life sooner or later, right?

Highlight of the Month: Emilia now knows to smile for the iPhone. It is hilarious and makes for catching the perfect picture almost every time.  How she figured this out, I do not know, but I am one proud mommy. Strike a pose girl. Here are some of my favorite pictures from this past month...

Today, Emilia took her morning nap laying on my lap while we rocked in the rocking chair.  She was holding tight to my shirt the whole time.  I didn't want to put her down in her crib because tomorrow she will begin her sixth month of life and I will never get that moment back. My life has changed so much.  But only for the better. Take that old lady in the Target parking lot.

Dear Emilia

Dear Emilia,

Being your mommy is the greatest honor of my life.  You are so smart and so beautiful.  You make me want to be the best version of myself.  The way you are jumping like a wild banshee, yelling at me from your bouncy while I write this.  Perfection.  You are demanding.  You are full of sass.  You are funny.  You are my girl.  Thank you for making me a mommy.  I love you.

xoxo,

Your mom

Four Months

April 28, 2014

Happy Four Months of Life Emilia!  You are the most beautiful baby in the whole freaking world.  Seriously, your face just kills me.  And your sassy personality.  Oh man.  You are my bff, girl.

We have a saying in our house these days, don't bite the boob that feeds you.  We say this, well, because it's not nice to bite mommy.  Exclusively breastfeeding a four month old is a total game changer.  Amirightladies? I call this stage, the easily distracted nurser.  Because this is the face I get about every 30 seconds during snack time.  Every noise.  Every sight.  Anything.  Pops right off and makes this face.  She clearly has a future in C-list horror movies.  She is great at being shocked.

Four months old has definitely been my favorite stage so far.  I can put her in her jumpy for extended periods of time.  Long enough to actually keep my house in a somewhat picked-up state. However, don't be too impressed, because I definitely have been working on finishing this post for two weeks now and just ate a funfetti cupcake for lunch. That's my secret to getting into pre-baby shape.  You are welcome.

Emilia will do anything for a laugh... wonder where she gets that? Hmmm...  She's really into fake coughing and fake crying right now.  She's very convincing at both. Remember, she has a future in low-budget film?  Emi is also really into her hands and feet.  She rediscovers that she has hands like 20 times an hour.  Each time it is a big deal.  And each time it is hilarious to watch.  Emilia also loves to be standing.  All. The. Time. Everyone keeps telling me she's going to crawl so soon.  But I'm pretty sure to learn to crawl, you have to be on the ground for more than 2 seconds at a time.  She seriously hates being on the floor.  But, she doesn't really believe she's a baby, so this doesn't really surprise me. 

We had a very exciting month! We took another trip down to my parents this past month for Easter.  It was the most amazing trip! So many fun firsts for Miss Emilia.  First, Dan and I drove down in my Passat with Emilia, Boris, and Simon. We left at 4 AM so Emilia would sleep most of the way. This lovely plan was thwarted when the 99 was closed both ways for hours.  We sat in between two exits for two and half hours people.  With two bassets.  And a baby.  Let's just say we watched a lot of Sofia the First on YouTube. Parenting win. I actually think Emilia has PTSD from driving that long, because she now refuses to get into her carseat by arching her back and yelling at me. Yeah, we are flying again next time.

Are we there yet?--Simon Gluvers

The highlight of our trip was definitely Emilia's very first Angel's game! I am a huge baseball fan.  Growing up, we went to a ton of Angel's games and I was seriously so excited to take Emilia!  We got all dressed up in our Angel's gear and it was so, so fun! Thanks to our dear friend, Emilia's name was up on the big screen as the Halo's welcomed her to her first game.  Bright lights, loud crowd, and a three and a half month old? No problem for us! Emi adored the excitement. OK, she fell asleep for a while, but when she was awake she actually watched the players. It was so cute!

Don't worry, people, she's still giving her signature dirty looks.

 

OK, I'll admit it, baseball can get a bit long ;)

We celebrated Emilia's first Easter at my parent's too.  The Easter Bunny brought Emi two adorable, and almost identical baskets.  I am literally turning into my mother as I type this.  We seriously got her the EXACT same things, but amazingly, in different patterns.  I'm not exaggerating.  This kid got two personalized beach towels. In different patterns.  Two sun hat/diaper cover sets.  In different patterns. Two of the exact same bunnies. In different colors.  We are that good.

 

OK.  So here are her 4 month stats for you guys:

Weight: 12 pounds, 13.5 ounces

Length: 24 1/4 inches

Sleep: Bed at 8. Up at 12, 2, 4, 6, 7, and awake at 8:15. I read a lot of interesting news stories in the middle of the night.  And then I wake up and share all those very interesting news stories with Dan. I'm sure he wants to kill me because practically every sentence that comes out of my mouth starts with, So I was reading this really interesting article last night...

This is Emilia mocking me as she sleeps and I don't. Ever.

BREAKING FREAKING NEWS PEOPLE!!!! Napping is finally getting better though.  I am attempting to sleep train this baby girl into napping successfully in her crib and she fell asleep in there on her own for the. first. time. ever. as I am typing this! 45 minutes of talking to herself later, my child is asleep in her crib.  PTL, as my mom likes to type, PTL!!!!!

Proof. Also, she totally covered herself up with her blankie. So talented, Emilia. So talented.

Favorite Song:  Sofia the First Theme Song.  Here's a moment of mommy truth for you.  Sometimes we watch an episode of Sofia the First on Disney Jr.  And I may or may not have picked out some Sofia themed Christmas gifts for her already.  

Favorite Thing to Do: Definitely jump in her jumpy.  She's obsessed with this thing.  See her face.  Obsession.

 

Highlight of the Month: Emilia figuring out that there are two furry things that roam around our house and they are hilarious.  Watching Emilia crack. up. at the puppy brothers during the day has got to be the cutest.  In fact today we were petting Mr. Simon and Emilia was laughing so hard I can pretty much guarantee that she peed her pants.  Which is OK. She's a baby.

Well, we are flying down to my parent's yet again next week to meet some more of Emilia's great grandparents.  I am praying that she will be as easy on this plane ride as she was on her first.  Otherwise I will be buying the whole plane those teeny little wine bottles.