Abigail is 5 months old!

Our sweet girl is already 5 months and can I just say....SLOW DOWN!!! Seriously. I'm finding that I really miss the cuddly newborn phase. Every night I swaddle Abigail and give her a bottle. Then I just hold her and cuddle her. I love this time...she's so warm and cozy and sweet.

There have been a few big changes this month. First, she's super interested in food. She watches us as we eat and you can tell she wants to eat so badly! We've actually given her tiny bits of food (bread, mashed potatoes.) She loved it and would open her mouth as we came closer. I cannot wait to start giving her food in a few weeks!

Abigail started rolling over from back to belly last Sunday. I watched her do it ALL DAY and by that afternoon she was rolling with little effort and super fast! She stays on her tummy for a short period before getting fussy (why she doesn't roll back over? I don't know!) She is SO close to sitting up by herself. I'm hoping this is the month she reaches that milestone :)

She's grabbing for everything. Especially her bottle! I love seeing her reaction to it...eyes get wide, she starts snorting and her hands get all grabby. She reaches for toys, faces, her feet, pretty much everything! She's really enjoying her exersaucer and has been spending more time in it.

She's been bearing weight on her legs. We pull her up and she stands for a few seconds (and she loves it!!!) I think we may get the doorway jumper out soon.

We went through a wakeful period a few weeks ago. I was up several times with her at night, but mostly it was to replace her paci. Luckily we didn't take down the co-sleeper! I hate walking across the house so many times so often I'll bring her, the paci, and the seahorse in and that helps. She looks absolutely huge in the co-sleeper now, lol. She still gets swaddled but more and more often I find that she gets her little hand up near her mouth. I am so, so scared to stop swaddling. But we're nearing the 6 month mark when it will be time to sleep train. I think we should break the swaddle first, see how she does, and then Ferberize if needed. Maybe we'll give it a couple more weeks!

She's still eating 6 oz, every 3-4 hours and she's now taking all formula. She's doing well, aside from spitting up more which I think is common in formula-fed babies. She has her morning bottle at 6:00 am, 2 at Grandma's (10 & 2), one as soon as we get home (5:45) and then her bedtime bottle around 8:00.

I pulled out Audrey's 6-9 month clothes. They are mostly fall and winter because Audrey was wearing them when she was 9-12 months old. Not Abigail! She's wearing 6-9 month shirts and onesies (3-6 month dresses fit her fine but it's getting chilly here!) Get this...she's still wearing 0-3 months in pants. 3-6 month pants are a bit long, but generally fit just fine. I'm pretty happy we won't have to buy a ton of clothes! Again, though, I wish she'd slow down! I would like these clothes to last until Spring!

Teeth must be coming soon. She loves to chew on her hands and they are absolutely covered in drool within minutes. She likes to chew on ours, too. She doesn't really hold and chew her teething toys, hopefully that will change soon. We've been giving her teething tablets and they seem to work well. I feel every day for a bud and I look, but don't see anything.

She smiles and laughs and is such an easy going baby.









Bottle break!





This month went by FAST! I can't wait to see what this month brings :)

Busy, Busy!

It's been soooo long since I've been able to blog. Part of it is being super busy (by the end of the day I'm ready to lie in bed and zone out!) When I do have time to blog I just don't feel like it! Now I'm super behind...

The past 2 weeks have been crazy. I wasn't totally over my allergies/cold until last Tuesday. It's been a pretty normal couple of weeks aside from staying late for BTS Night last Thursday. It was pretty sucky not being able to see the girls until Friday afternoon when I picked them up. Grandma got sick this week and so I'm home today with the girls.



All dresses up for Hokie Game Day! Christopher's favorite time of year :)





Abigail now loves to swat at her toys with her feet :)


Enjoying a lazy Sunday!


Getting teeth soon?

Audrey just loves talking to her Abigail!


Abigail loves to grab her feet!

This past Saturday we went to see Dare to Dream at the Richmond Coliseum (Disney princesses on ice.) We went with Aunt Sarah and cousin Bella, and cousins Tina and Skylar. All the girls dressed up like princesses...it was so fun! They all loved the show (Audrey barely said a word...she was mesmerized!) I bought her a Cinderella doll afterwards and then we all went to dinner at Cracker Barrel. Of course everyone fawned all over them! It was such a great day with my sweet Audrey Cate. Dad stayed home with Abigail and he loved it! He sent several pictures throughout the day (her holding her bottle, watching the Hokie game.)












It's pretty incredible how over the past 2-3 weeks Audrey has taken such an interest in Abigail. One of her favorite things to do is lay on the floor next to Abby.



LOL!

Abigail loves to practice sitting up.


Ha! Love this expression.



It's the funniest thing! For a few weeks now Abigail has been rolling from her back to her side. On Sunday (9/25) she finally made it all the way over to her belly! She kept practicing and practicing...and it would take quite a few tries for her to get over. But by that evening she was turning over in no time flat! You couldn't keep her on her back. I'm pretty happy that I got to spend the day with her as she achieved this new milestone :)


Audrey has been using Halloween stamps and she likes to hang her masterpieces on the fridge.

And play hopscotch on them (?)

I just love these! Audrey thinks it's so funny when Abigail touches her..."Abby's tickling me!"












These girls are wonderful and I'm loving every minute we get to spend together. Abigail turned FIVE MONTHS yesterday...that post will be next!

Sister Love

Even Christopher has noticed how Audrey has been paying more attention to Abigail. Today when Audrey and I were leaving for dance she said that she wanted Abby to come with us. When we came home from dance & shopping, she ran to where Chris was holding Abby on the couch. She kissed her, hugged her, and starting talking to her! She calls her "My Abby" and says that she's her best friend. Such a sweet girl!

Sick Day

I took a sick day today. Yesterday I had a sore throat, headache, and body aches...you know the kind where even your hair hurts? Yeah...it got so bad that by 4:00 I nearly cried every time I swallowed or tried to talk. Not cool when you have to engage 25 kiddos. Before I left I piled a bunch of stuff on my desk in case I needed a sub. I felt worse as the night when on and ended up taking an allergy pill before bed. It's tricky- I had a feeling it was allergies (I didn't have a fever) but then again we had just come back to school and this time of year the influx of germs is inevitable and unavoidable. I was hoping it was just allergies because my babes CANNOT get sick! I typed up sub plans and took a hot shower before crashing.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning and still felt like I had a sword in my throat...I could barely talk! So I arranged for my sub and went back to bed until Chris and the girls woke up. He offered to take the girls to Grandma's. I was so thankful for that! Besides not having a voice, I was exhausted and still very achy. No way could I have gotten any rest with 2 little babes all day. I felt guilty as they all left, but it was exactly what I needed...I took a couple of naps and enjoyed the peace and quiet. I feel much better tonight! My throat doesn't hurt, the aches are gone and I'm just a little stuffy.

This week kicked my butt. Part of it was feeling sick, the other part is the overwhelming amount of work to be done at school. I love the beginning of school, but it's just so hectic trying to get into a good routine. There's not enough time in the day to get things done. Maybe by October I'll have a better handle!

The girls are great- I just love spending time with them in the evenings. Abigail is SO READY for food. She eats with her eyes! I have her sit in the Bumbo at the table when we eat. She stares at the food so intensely, you can tell she wants it!



I can't wait until she's 6 months...I want to see if BLW will work for her.

Post Summary: I got a much needed day of rest (thanks do Dad and Grandma!), school is a bit stressful right now, and my baby really wants to get her grub on. :)