We packed up the family and headed to Delaware to visit Mommy’s family at the beach.  The weather was a little cold and windy, but we still enjoyed an egg hunt, walking in the sand, and eating lots of yummy food!  The guy dressed up as the Easter Bunny?  Not so much …

I’m half a year old already!  I turned six months old on March 25, 2016, and I now weigh 18 pounds.  I’m 26.25 inches long and I have a head circumference of 18.25 inches.

A lot has happened this month.  I moved to my own room on March 12, 2016, which is the same night Mommy and Daddy decided to sleep train me.  I cried for fifteen minutes before falling asleep the first night, five minutes the second night, and now I’m able to self soothe.  Everyone is so much happier in our house!  I do need to rub my “Miss Els” mini blankies on my face to fall asleep, though, and brother Jack has graciously gifted them all  to me for this purpose.

I’m also getting more proficient at eating solid food.  To-date I’ve tried apple sauce, sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas.  I got the go-ahead from the doctor to try yogurt tonight, and I’m looking forward to it!  I’ve been having about two oz of solids twice a day, but I’m ready to go up to three times now.

Current likes: Miss Els, grabbing faces, and squealing

Current dislikes: When mommy walks away from me

I turned two years and ten months old on March 22, 2016.  As I close in on my third birthday, I’m able to tell you that I’ll be three in May, and I also know what month most of my family members were born in, too.  I have some opinions about where and how I’d like to celebrate my birthday.  Mommy and Daddy took me to “Bounce” for the first time, and after about fifteen minutes of hesitance, I jumped into the foam pit and started giggling.  Now I can’t stop asking when I’m going back for my birthday party.

I’m picking up some new phrases at daycare, including “what’s going on in here, guys?” which is what I typically say upon entering a room.  I also like to play doctor, which involves looking in my patient’s ears for “waxes” and putting on my gloves to “feel you better.”

Current likes: jumping, playing pretend

Current dislikes: being corrected (I cover my eyes and pout if I think I’m in trouble)

Whee – loving the foam pit!

Jack here, everybody!  We took a trip to visit the maritime aquarium this weekend, and had a great time.  I was a little hesitant about touching the sting rays and jelly fish, but I LOVED looking at all the sea creatures, especially the seals.  Lena had fun, too!

Hi everybody – I’m five months old today!  Although there’s no official check-up this month, I’m just getting over a case of bronchitis, was diagnosed with pink eye on February 25, 2016, and an ear infection right after that, so I’ve made it to enough doctor’s appointments recently to know that I weigh about 17 lbs.

When I’m not visiting the pediatric after hours clinic, my hobbies include trying (only semi-successfully) to sit up.  I also figured out how to roll from my back to my front on February 15, 2016, although I frequently roll only as far as my side and then hang out that way for a while before flipping to my tummy.

I’m vocalizing the occasional consonant (mostly b or m sounds), but mostly I choose to express myself through coos, shrieks, and blowing raspberries.

After trying apples as my first solid food on February 21, 2016 I’ve also tried sweet potatoes, and liked them too!  I’m still working on the mechanics of eating … I spend most of my mealtimes reaching for the spoon and trying to jam it into my own mouth, but very little of the food winds up being swallowed.  Fortunately I don’t appear to be starving …

Current likes: Chomping on anything that comes near my mouth

Current dislikes: Consistent sleep (Mommy and Daddy are tired!)

The weather is still pretty cold, and I’ve a had a cough since December that won’t stop lingering … I wake myself up coughing quite a bit at night.  Because it’s still not outdoors weather, Mommy and Daddy are always looking for indoor weekend activities to keep me busy.  One of my favorite things to do is to go to the mall and “play games,” at the little arcade that opened up there.  I like to play whack-a-mole, skee-ball, and a game where I stomp on spiders when they light up.  But the highlight of MY LIFE was when Mommy and I hit the jackpot on one game and 400 tickets poured out of the machine.  I collected them all very excitedly and then ran around throwing my tickets in the air before exchanging them for prizes.

Jackpot!

I had my first taste of solid food on February 21, 2016, right before I turned five months old.  Just like my brother Jack, homemade applesauce was my first “big people” dinner.  Don’t let the stunned expression on my face fool you … I was a fan!  I even licked the bowl clean.

I turned four months old on January 25, 2016.  At my last check-up I weighed 16 pounds 6 ounces, was 25.5 inches long, and my head circumference was 17.75 inches.  I’m a strong and healthy baby girl, in the 90th percentile for height and weight, and still of the charts for head size.

I am increasingly social.  I like to chat now, and if you get me going I’ll “talk” to you for quite some time, or maybe grunt at you like a dinosaur.  My favorite thing to grunt at is my feet.  They’re pretty much my favorite thing, period.  I like to hold them, laugh at them, and shove them in my mouth.  I’ve also discovered crinkle books, and can highly recommend them.

I’m getting more physically adept, and figured out how to roll front to back on January 1, 2016.  I’m also making some moves to sit up, and I do a mini-crunch to indicate that I’d like to assume a sitting position.  I’ve tried sitting in a Bumbo seat, but only sort-of liked it.  I REALLY like my jumperoo, but only for about 15 minutes at a time.

I’ve had some setbacks in the sleeping department, which Mommy and Daddy expected but were hoping would not come to pass.  I had a major sleep regression at about 16 weeks of age, and have begun waking up every 1-3 hours all night long.  It’s a good thing I’m so cute …

Current likes: My feet

Current dislikes: Sleeping through the night

Splish, splash!  Wondering why I’m taking a bath?  Yes, I’ve started potty training with the New Year (my first day was January 1, since it was a long holiday weekend).  It can be kind of a messy proposition, which means lots of baths and laundry.  Mommy and Daddy decided to use the “Oh Crap, Potty Training” method, which meant I was pants-less for the first 48 hours, and commando after that.  I was actually surprisingly good at the whole thing, considering it was my first time out.  After one accident, I made it to the potty successfully the next twelve times!  The trickiest part is going to be navigating daycare, because they want me to wear a pull-up, and I’m wise to the fact that it’s a glorified diaper.

Speaking of daycare, I’m no longer crying at morning drop off (I had been pretty good about this until baby Lena came, and then I started getting weepy again).  Now I’m still a little hesitant in the mornings, but I warm up to my little friends after being there for a minute or two.  When Mommy and Daddy pick me up after school I tell them about my day and ask them about theirs.  Although my vocabulary is pretty advanced, I do have a couple adorable mispronunciations/malapropisms , which Mommy and Daddy can’t bring themselves to correct.  For example, I sometimes call the bean bag chair the “green bean,” I call the basketball hoop a “hula hoop,” and I call my marble tower a “marvel” tower.

Current likes: using my little Sesame Street potty, watching Big Bird sing the cooperation (“cooperatio”) song

Current dislikes: using the daycare potty

Looks like somebody was hitting the punch a little hard prior to our photo shoot …