5 Months

On August 18, Bella turned 5 months old. As of 5 months our little girl is sitting, walking backwards in her walker, eating solid foods, and continues to sleep well through the night. She can get up on all 4's and rock back and forth, but no movement at this point. She's very strong and although she has not been weighed in a month I feel like she's close to 17/18 lbs. We'll see at her 6 month appt. She's such a happy baby, smiling and laughing all the time. She and Beau love to make each other laugh. It's so fun to watch them grow together.

Hidy Ho Campers

In mid August we took our annual family camping trip. Joel and I were feeling ambitious so we decided to take Beau with us for the first time while Bella stayed behind with Gabby and Popo and then Cousin Ami, Marius and Ethan. Beau had a blast during the day, but the nights were another story. He cried all night long, waking up the entire camp site, so night number one Joel and Beau slept (well...Beau sort of slept and Joel was awake holding him) in the car. The second night, we held him all night long, scared to move an inch, but we were able to stay in our tent. We would have loved to stay longer, but the lack of sleep was starting to catch up with us. Maybe next year he'll do better sleeping in a tent, with us.

(backpack packed and ready to go, too bad he's one day early.)
(playing in the dirt by the fire pit)
(the breakfast line: Uncle Kenny, Cousin Danny, me, Mom, Cousin Kristin, Aunt Mary)
(breakfast with a smile)
(Beau walked out pretty far in the water, holding dad's hand of course)
(Beau loves his Aunt Mel , or Aunt Mo as he likes to say)
(basking in the sun: Uncle Kenny, Joel and Cousin Pat)
(The Noma's let us borrow their kayaks, so fun. As you can see my mom is scared of the water, which is why she was sure to fasten her life jacket)
(coke zero for Joel, raisins for Beau)

3's a Crowd

Joel set up my bike trailer so I could start riding again. That was over a month ago and we've only gone on one ride. Well two if you include the day Kate, Leah and Beau all climbed in and made me pull them around Gabby & Popo's circular driveway. Being out of shape and pulling 3 kiddos is challenging. I guess I'd better get used to it because soon Bella will be strong enough to join Beau on our bike outings.

Pack N' Play N' Sleep

In an effort to catch a few more zzz's in the early morning while Beau still slept, I put Bella in her Pack N' Play to...play. My plan never worked, but she sure did look cute sitting in there.

Solid Eater!

10 days shy of Bella being 5 months we introduced solid foods. We were trying to wait until she was 5 months, but she was waking up multiple times a night hungry and tapping out her milk supply so we figured solid foods was our only other option. It worked like a charm. She's now a solid eater and pretty much likes everything she's been introduced to. Bella's love of eating is so different from Beau's picky eating habits. It's been a relief not having to relive the food wars.

(First bites of rice cereal. She doesn't seem to like it too much and her lizard tongue seems to get in the way.)

Walker and Silly Faces

At 4.5 months we pulled out Bella's walker and she immediately took to it. She can really back that thang up, but she does get a little upset when she hits a wall.

(the walker's a lifesaver when I need to shower)

With the new iPhone 4, the camera can face both toward you and outwards. Beau loves to look at himself in the phone. Here are some of his classic phone faces.

Semi-Matching Chairs

Along with 2 kids comes 2 rocking chairs. Early one morning, at 4.5 months, Bella thought she'd show off her sitting skills and Beau joined in on the fun.

(laid back)
(I wanna hold your hand)
(wee...look at me Bella! I'm rocking)(I don't think Bella's impressed)