Lilah Lately

We had a few weeks where the seemed to be no middle ground with Lilah. She wouldn't ever just ask for what she wanted or talk in a calm voice. It was shout it or bust. During this same time frame, if I hesitated at all to jump at her requests, she would melt into a pile of screaming tears. What the heck!? I've been sticking to my guns, and explaining to her that I can't understand her when's she yelling, and that she has to ask nicely. Luckily, things seem to be changing in the last week. She'll still start to lose her cool many times a day, but she's much faster in listening and asking calmly. I know the switch is flipped from crazy when she looks me in the eyes and says, "yes, momma", with a very serious face. It has really helped in grocery store trips and playgroups. Yay, Lilah! Keep it up!

Today we went to the store as a family. Jonas was strapping Lilah into the carseat, and they were talking about the rain. He was explaining that it was good that we were riding in a car with a roof because otherwise we would get wet. Then he told her that there were cars called convertibles that don't have a roof and you can ride around in the sun with the wind in your hair. Lilah's response, "yeah, Lilah drive". Already?

We are getting ready for a trip back east in a few days, and I think we might talk more about potty training when we're there. I wasn't going to tackle it until after we were back, but she's really great about letting me know when she has to go when she's diaper-less. She can resist the urge to pee in the bathtub, and hold it for a long time. We talked tonight about packing some panties for Nana's house, and she was excited. And maybe with some extra help it'll be super easy?? It is super cute when she does go to the bathroom though, because she says, "Yay, Lilah!" quietly to herself.

Lilah is also SO great at playing by herself. She has the most amazing imagination. We brought her dollhouse downstairs a few days ago, after she hadn't seen it in a few weeks. She has played with it pretty exclusively for the last two days. I'll be in the kitchen and hear, "Momma! Momma!". I'll head into the den where Lilah is, and she's holding the Lilah doll and the mommy doll, playing. She talks endlessly about her Nana doll and her Guillaume doll, whose going to drive the van, and fussing at them when they won't sit properly in the car. She was even washing their hands in the tiny sink, singing the hand washing song. My favorite though, is that she uses the doors on the van whenever she puts anyone in or out, despite that there is a totally open roof and it would be a lot easier to go from the top. Funny girl.

Six Months!!!

Man, time sure has flown by. It's hard to believe my little newborn has grown and learned so much over the last six months. We had Emma's 6 month well check today, and she's doing well. She's 16 lbs 8 oz (60%) and 26.75 inches (90%). She's rolling around like crazy, loves watching Lilah play, laughs SO easily, and is good at sweet snuggles and great sloppy kisses.

It's hard to explain, but she's learned this week to turn her head at appropriate times. Before, when she was on her belly and was tired, she would put her face down straight into the floor or bed or wherever. Same when I had her on my shoulder. She would either look over my shoulder or bury her face in my shoulder. As of two days ago, she turns her head and rests her head on my shoulder or on the floor. She doesn't scream in frustration, and even sleeps on her belly instead of waking up mad.

We also tried sweet potatoes today for the first time and she loved them! I couldn't feed them to her fast enough. Gotta love a little orange face....

Fluffy

Emma's hair is coming in in stages. She has several longer pieces of hair that she has had since birth. Then about two months ago, after I removed a good bit of cradle cap, a bunch of new hair sprouted from the cleared area of scalp, and now she has a second level of hair. Not too long ago, we had another cradle cap removal session, and now she has a third level of hair that is very short and spikey. Much like Lilah's whole head was at this age. It's very fluffy with the shorter hairs buried underneath, and I love it. We had another session today, so we'll see what shows up in a few weeks.

Dinner Time!

I have forgotten how messy it is to teach a baby how to eat solids. We have tried cereal with Emma a few times this week. The first bite she took alright, and then the next several she would give a whole body shutter when I put the spoon in her mouth. We rested for a few days, and now she is beginning to get the idea, and even likes the taste now (she should, it's just breast milk with rice cereal). She likes to look down towards the spoon while I am trying to feed her though, so a lot of it just dribbles right back out of her mouth. And she just doesn't listen when I tell her to look up. I was able to snap a few cute shots though while I was trying to get her to eat. Today we tried avocados for the first time. She's getting better already and ate it all up. More than a tablespoon already! I think she's giong to be a champion eater!

Spring is Here!

We are finally getting a bit of nice weather, and we have really made an effort to get out and enjoy it. It's been quite windy, so it cuts our walks a bit because Emma is gasping for breath when the wind cuts across her little face. Lilah enjoys it a lot though, as do I.

Before I Forget...

A few funny things that have happened in the last week or so that I want to remember....

-- I noticed the chickens had dumped their water when we came home from the store the other day...
Me in the garage: Oh man.... the chickens knocked the water over....
Lilah once we got inside, while removing her shoes: SHOOT!
Me: What happened?
Lilah: Chickens.... spilled water.... Poor chickens.

-- Emma giggles by simply looking at her bare belly. I think she's learning to anticipate that I am going to kiss it, or give it a raspberry, and she knows that tickles, but it's pretty funny just to pull up her shirt, give her a look, and make her laugh.

I know there are more, but now of course I can't think of any of the others. Bah. They'll come to me, I hope.

More Milk, Please

So I'm convinced my breast milk production has decreased over the last several weeks. Emma sleeps so long at night, so she really only gets in about five feedings a day. In order to boost milk production and to help her gain weight, I've been nursing her pretty frequently during the day. Then before I go to bed at night, I pump, so that I can give her that bit of milk at her nighttime feeding the next night after nursing her. I think she's not getting enough mostly because she is so excited to polish off a 5oz bottle of milk AFTER nursing before bed. She kicks her legs and lunges after the bottle. Otherwise she is still sleeping great and acting normally, but I'm going to mention my concerns to the pediatrician at her 6 mo check coming up next week. And we can get a good weight recheck then too. We'll see!