Birthdays

Well, as you can see from my previous post, a certain little Scrunchie turned 5 mos old. The next day, my husband and I both celebrated our birthday! It's kind of crazy to be married to a person you share your birthday, but it's pretty fun too.

We started the week on Monday with a dinner and gifts from my in-laws. They had the older three girls up during the day and a feast was prepared for us--complete with homemade cards and a dance, I might add. Pictures, you ask? Yep, I failed here!

Our actual birthdays were on Friday and it was a busy, busy day! After getting 3 whole hours of sleep, Scrunchie woke me up around 5:30 for a feeding. When I tried to go back to sleep... it was a no-go. So I told my husband I'd go make him some breakfast (this almost never happens--he usually doesn't even eat breakfast).

I made some eggs, hashbrowns and sauted some green pepper and onion, and shredded some cheese. I wrapped it all up in a (very local and very delicious whole wheat) tortilla and topped it with salsa and sourcream. He ate two and said they were very good. And since he's not much of a cake fan, I made him his favorite chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. I think he gobbled up some before leaving for work.

The girls and I went about our morning and decided we'd take him his favorite lucnh--Chipotle! YUM! And yes, we also ate Chipotle--and to save time we ate it in the car. We figured it was easier to have him come out to the car than it was for me to carry the food, a toddler and a car seat full of baby (not to mention trying to keep the older three close by) into his place of work. The only problem...

I forgot forks (all but one of us had a rice bowl). So I found a restaurant down the road who let us take some plastic forks. Thank goodness!

 We left daddy at work and picked my mom up for a movie. She was taking all of us to see Smurfs! It was a cute movie and all 5 girls actually watched it--yes, even Scrunchie. She lost it during the last 10 seconds of the movie. Just as I was about to take her out of the theater, the credits started rolling--perfect timing, darling girl!

 Later that evening after hubby got home we opened presents (still need to try out my new cast-iron skillet) from my mom and then she took us to a Thai restaurant. I could build a meal off their appetizer menu--so good!

 Once the hooligans were getting wild and dinner was winding down, Matt decided he would take us all out to a local coffee shop for treats and live music. We ventured over there for chocolate cake, a latte, and some fun times.

 And just like the previous celebration--I didn't have my camera! Ugh, I'm pretty disappointed we didn't get pictures. But honestly, some days I'm just proud of myself for getting everybody to and from everywhere in one piece.

I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. Facebook is such a nice way to feel love on your birthday, but so is the good ol' fashion phone or a card--all of which I am grateful to have received! It's always nice not to feel like Molly Ringwald's characher from 16 candles :-) And thanks to our moms and some sweet friends who were extra sweet for my big 2-9! Love you all very much!

And now I'll go complete my birthday week (yes, I take a week to celebrate. Why not, right?) with some vino and Jersey Housewives!

Scrunchie is 5 months old!

Oh, my beautiful girl!

You are now 5 months old. Not to jump ahead much, but I'm freaking out that you are nearly a half a year old. WOW! How did that happen?

Well, first things first. I took your measurements today and you are

25 1/4 inches (45th percentile)and 15 1/2 pounds (60th percentile). I still adore your little leg rolls, neck rolls, 

and that beauty of a belly you rock!

Lately, you've been saying "no thank you" to nursing, and "bring it on" to the bottle. I hadn't planned on giving you any formula in the beginning. Then I realized it was a kind of necessary as we carry on with our very busy life--having four older kids who are still pretty young makes it kind of hard to nurse on demand during the day. And in this last week, you have been taking equal amounts of bottle and nursing. I'm not the biggest fan of your choice, missy! 

That being said, you are still packing on the pounds pretty nicely! You've nearly doubled your birth weight of 7lbs 15 oz. And you've grown over 4 inches.

You are still in 3-6 months clothing, and 6-12 month in Gymboree clothing. 

And today we decided you were ready for shoes. So we broke out one of the many pairs you were given at birth-- size 0/1. And they fit perfectly!

I also had to move you up to size three diapers. I think that is the fastest I have ever put one of my kiddos in a size three diaper!

You have rolled over. You did it the day you turned 4 months old. You do really well on your belly--pushing up so big and strong! You also sit for several seconds at a time. You've been doing this for a month and you keep getting stronger and stronger. The doctor says you'll be walking by 9 months with the way you balance when you stand and hold steady while you sit. 

Watch out world!

You inch along your playmat sometimes. I think we're seeing the beginning steps of crawling!

You moved into your crib during the past month as well. Right after you turned 4 months old, dad and I decided we all might sleep better if you were in your own room. 

You are perfectly warm in there (without our fan making you too cool), and it is quiet (no tv or snoring sounds from mom and dad). 

But your sleep still leaves a little to be desired. You go down around 7:30-8 still and then you get up at 12:30, 4ish, 6ish and 8ish. I should just get up with you at 6ish, but that might happen once you skip the previous two wake times. 

I bring you to our room in the middle of the night and you eat and sleep. And then I take you back to your crib. 

Pacies are still a "yes." Of all 5 kids, you have taken the pacie the longest. You still love your lovies--you have your zebra and your giraffe (stolen from Boushka). You are constantly shoving those things in your mouth. 

In fact, you shove just about anything you can get your hands on (including your own hands) into your mouth. You are incredibly slobbery and always drooling! Many people comment that you must be getting ready to teethe. YIKES!

 You seem awfully interested in big people food. You watch forks move from plate to mouth when you sit on dad's or my lap. Slow down!

I think we might give you a bite of avocado by the time I write your 6 month post. We'll see about that. 

You are a giggly and happy baby. You really only fuss so that you can have attention (or food). And attention (or food) you get!

Your sisters' attention is all you want sometimes. And sometimes you want mama to hold you close and play with you. And once I do, you instantly smile and giggle. And yes, that makes my day!

And sometimes you want your daddy's attention. He likes to make faces at you and you always smile. We love getting you to smile that precious, tootless grin!

You are an absolute joy and delight to have as part of our family. I can't believe how blessed we are to have such a healthy, delightful, strong, bouncing baby girl. You bring so much light to our lives. 

Hugs and kisses, baby Scrunchie!

Discovery Center Play

Since this summer has been quite the scorcher (several record-breaking days in a row) with 100+ degree temps, we've been seeking out the indoor activities. And thank goodness our discovery center opened a month ago. 

It has several areas to play in, but the girls all love playing in the medical office. 

They get and give check ups, walk on crutches, look at xrays, and complete a handful of other medical activities. 

We seem to be going there about once a week--it's a nice place to get out to. And with the membership bought, it's free--if that makes sense. 

And the area where they can paint on windows is another favorite. They can make all the mess they want with paint and paint brushes. I'm just happy there are aprons to put on them!

And they are always so proud to show off their beautiful artwork! And I'm proud, of course. 

It's been such a nice escape from our house and the heat, but I can only imagine that it'll come in handy during the snowy months as well.

Brownie's Date

I recently had a specail date with a very special girl. Her name happens to be Brownie. Her game happens to be Charming Princess! Can you tell by the way she is dressed that she agress--she is in fact, a real live princess. Ah, she melts me with that grin.

So dainty, this one, but she is so sweet. And I just adore getting only her all to myslef. I'm just selfish like that.

 

This is a picture of us as we were headed into the movie theater to see Rio-cute movie, by the way. We both loved sitting next to each other, munching on popcorn, junior mints and a brownie. It is such a treasure to just have one with me sometimes. We love getting to do things that we aren't able to do when there's so many of us, or babies crying, or toddlers being sent repeatedly to time-out!

Take this doll for instance. Since I had just one (big girl) with me and no baby or toddler, I was able to try my hand at the claw game. I actually won this doll for Brownie (you can actually see her holding in in the above picture) due to a mechanical error. A pin on the claw got caught in this dolls hair. So she stayed hooked to the claw instead of being released into the drop box.

Here's a shot from a few steps back. I shook it. Thought about sending Brownie in after it. Looked around for help. And I actually sent a janitor to customer service to find help--he offered. In the meantime I continued shaking the machine (yes, I was that mom) to no avail. I even called the 1-800 number which wit all the noise I couldn't here the recording anyway. Frustrated with the situation I just shook the H-E- Double Hockey Sticks outta that thing and what do ya know? She shook loose and my little Brownie had a prize! Definetly one of my finest and proudest MOM moments.

                                            Ummmm... I think she was proud too. Can you tell?

And as a bonus, we happened to be at Chick-fil-a on family night. So we were able to make Daddy a card at their arts and crafts station. And that made the night even more special.

Thank you, Brownie for our awesome date. I can't wait to have more alone time with you in the (very near) future! I love when we can spend time together just the two of us. I adore you and your sweetnesss and I appreciate getting to know your heart. You are just precious and your personality shines when you get to be alone with me. It's so fun getting to know what goes on in that pretty little head of yours.

 We've been staying plenty busy this summer, what with all the lessons, camps, playdates and book mobile trips we've been taking. But there are those rare days where we just stay home and I try to play creative mama  by trying to think up ways to keep my kids out of trouble. And also how to keep the messes outside.

 One day recently, it was quite a scorcher (literally, you should see our scorched yard). We decided to head out to the alligator pool and play in the water.

 And then I got a wacky idea. I decided to actually get the kids incredibly messy outside. I grabbed the chocolate syrup and mustard on my way out to the pool--two ingredients that almost never get used in this house (I guess we're just not that into ice cream or sandwiches--but ice cream sandwiches, well that's another story). So I decided I may as well put them both to good use.

 And so we painted. We painted with the chocolate first, and then we painted with the lovely mustard.

 Some of us decided to taste the chocolate (who can blame her, right?)....

 And (I don't know if you can see it well, but...) some of us decided to taste the mustard-- what?

Crazy girls! I, personally would never ask for a mouthful of mustard, but they seemed to enjoy it! 

Some girls just like to get incredibly messy and have a good time.

And some girls just like to stay clean and look angelic (even if her sassitude was in full swing, ahem Boushka)!

Swimming Lessons

The girls particiapted in swimming lessons this summer. They each did great and I was so proud to see them learn new skills. Peach just completed her third year, Brownie her second and Bug her first. All three girls had class at the same time, but Peach was in her own Beginner II class while Bug and Brownie were in the same Beginner I class.

 Among the many things Peach excells at are: picking up ring, jumping in in a jacket, tread water in a jacket (and she's not too shabby at doing it without her jacket), back glide, open eyes under water... and many more. I can remember when this timid girl wouldn't even jump in the water, and now look at my super star!

 Bug had her very first experience in swimming lessons. And honestly, this was one of her first times in the water. I'm ashamed to admit that she's probably been swimming in a real pool as many times as I can count on one hand, but that's what happens when you're only 3 and in the middle of 5 young children.

But I'm still proud of her accomplishments!

 She's the best at blowing bubbles, putting her face in the water, holding her breath, opening her eyes, jumping in in her jacket, treading water in her jacket, front float, back float and glide and flutter kick. Of course, these are just a handful of the many wonderful things my girl can do. What I'm most proud of is her jumping off the diving board (in a jacket) her last day.Not once, but twice!

 My sweet Brownie is a great little fishy. This was her second year in lessons, and also her second year as a beginner I. Including the list from Bug's accomplishments, Brownie can also do a great beginner stroke, submerge her head, front flutter kick on the board, pick up a ring, front glide, and so much more. And of course, she also jumped in. She's a brave little gal, that Brownie!

I'm hopeful that I can get these three to a pool near us before summer is over, but I better hurry up because we enroll Peach in 2 1/2 weeks and she starts school 2 weeks after that! Then the next two will be starting a couple weeks after than. Sheesh, time flies all too fast!