5 Months

Sweet Adelaide is 5 months old! This past month flew by even faster than the previous few and Ads is changing right before our eyes. She has had a big month...

A couple of weeks ago Addy had her first day at daycare. She has been a few times now and Denise has managed to get some of the cutest pictures of our little lady. Drop off has been rough on this Mama as Addy has shed a few tears in the transition, but she does SO well during the day and we could not be more blessed to have someone care for our kids who genuinely loves them.

Dax ready to take care of his little sister on her first day at daycare!

All the daycare friends - Nikki, Patrick, Eisley, Dax, Eve, Noah, Abigail, and Ali

Meditating with Noah

Love that smile!

Physically we don't have official stats, but she is definitely growing. It is apparent in many ways, but most obvious this month was her hair - it is now long enough to stay in barrettes (though they still fall out relatively quickly) and she could not be cuter!

Addy is becoming more playful all the time. She loves interacting with us in any way and grins and giggles if we sing to her, play games like pat-a-cake and this little piggy, or even just talk with her. Addy thinks everything Dax does is hilarious and continues to watch his every move. He still likes playing with her, too, and though she's not learning much about appropriate personal space (he likes to be VERY close to her), we love their interactions and know she is going to learn so much from her big bro as she grows.

Getting in on family play time

Not so sure about big brother snuggle time, but don't be fooled, he is still her favorite guy!

I love it that they already "play" together!

And that she's happy to be a part of anything that we are doing

She recently started blowing raspberries at us when we play with her. The first time she figured it out was while helping me get Dax ready for nap and the fits of giggles from all of us that ensued were less than helpful. But, we love all new developments from our little lady. This video shows her being silly after a bath (which she is also starting to enjoy!)

As she becomes increasingly more social and playful, she is also developing her motor skills. We pulled out the jumper and she loves to stand in there and play with the toys. She is still a champ at tummy time and not only holds her head up, but also pushes up on her arms from time to time. Though she's good for awhile, when she's done she lets us know. Adelaide is also showing more interest in toys and reaches for anything that is near her - toys, hands, hair, and even food. We haven't really started any solids yet, but plan to soon.

Totally enthralled with her new-found independence

Playful girl

If she can reach it, she will eat it

While she is playful throughout the day, the best times with Addy are while we are changing her into clothes in the morning or into jammies in the evening. She is definitely ticklish and giggles the whole time. It is so sweet!

The past few weeks we are starting to see a stubborn streak in our little peanut. There is very little we won't let her do (she's not very mischievous yet since she pretty much stays in one place, ha!), but we will occasionally have her around with the tv on. Whether at home or at a restaurant, Addy seems to have a sixth sense for the television and desperately cranes to get a look. We now know we do not have any concerns about her neck control, but are working hard not to negatively impact her brain development with too much screen time. Silly girl!

It was IMPOSSIBLE to avoid all the TVs during Dax's bday dinner at Applebees and Addy was not thrilled that I blocked her view of the one directly above her carseat.

Our other challenge this month has been sleep. We were continuing to swaddle her even though she had been getting her arms out for awhile now. Last week, though, she started rolling onto her side in her sleep. She never got all the way over onto her tummy, but we were worried that she would and would not be able to flip back with her arms swaddled so it seemed to be time to wean her. We tried the Zipadee Zip again. Addy fell asleep fine a couple of times, but woke herself up after short periods of sleep and after two days of short naps and extra night wakings she was so overtired that she flailed and cried for over two hours until we gave in and swaddled her again. We rolled up blankets by her sides to prevent her from rolling and crossed our fingers that we'd all get some sleep. She was out immediately, but kept scooting during the night so her face was right by the blankets. The next day I ordered a Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit after several people recommended it and we finally found some success! It is hilarious to see her in it - it looks like a big snowsuit - but it's been a few days and she falls asleep easily and self-soothes back to sleep when she wakes up. Hooray!

Firsts this month include a night away from Daddy while he traveled on business, Valentine's Day and swimming.

Take a peek at her growth:

Thrilled to be 5 months old

 5 months, 4 months, 3 months, 2 months, 1 month, and 1 week old

We love you sweet girl. Every day is brighter because you are here and we are excited to see where your 6th month takes you!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a fun holiday with young kids. Dax has been excited about it since we started telling him it was coming up and talking about it each day when we change his calendar.

Leading up to the special day we made and sent Valentines out to some special family members...

And prepared Valentines for Dax and Adelaide's daycare friends.

Addy's valentines - even though she didn't participate in the party, we wanted her friends to know she cares about them!

This year Dax signed his own valentines!

Dax had a lot of fun at the daycare party. He came home pumped to look at his valentines and was thrilled to find another one in the mail.

All the daycare friends

Excited

Showing off his necklace

Showing Daddy all of his valentines

Addy got a card in the mail, too!

We decided to celebrate as a family this year. We relaxed in the morning and then went to a hotel to swim, play, and spend a night away. It was tons of fun!

Happy littlest love!

Excited to try his Valentine candy from Mommy & Daddy

Valentine I Spy

Burrito

"Ninjas" entertaining themselves while Mommy and Addy get ready to swim

Ready!

Loving the warm water

Jumping in - he's SO ready for swimming lessons to start again soon!

Testing the water

Do I really want to go in there?

Little fish

Addy was not so sure about the water at first

But warmed up to it pretty quickly

And eventually kind of enjoyed it!

The water was so fun!

Family selfie

Checking out the Sunday comics

We enjoyed Space Jam during our hotel stay

Morning snuggles in bed!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! We hope you were able to spend some special time with the people you love, too!

Weekend Fun

Who doesn't love the weekend?! We think they are especially great because we can enjoy family time. This past weekend was an extra fun one...

Jake was home Friday afternoon and he and Dax discovered how fun the camera timer can be.

Saturday morning we headed to Home Depot for another one of their children's workshops. This time it was a box with a heart. Dax used wood glue, a hammer and nails, and paint to create his box. It was a fun project and he's always so proud to bring home the things he has made.

That evening we finished his birthday celebrating with a dinner with Grandpa Mick, Grandma Mary, Great-Grandpa Harry, and Great-Grandma Marlys. Dax got a new sled and loved trying it out, but the best part was the cake.

On Sunday, Dax and I helped Anora celebrate her birthday at Jumps and Downs. It was so much fun!

We ended the weekend with a little wii sports. Dax has played at daycare, but it was our first time playing together and it was a great time.

The little things in life are definitely the most special and important.