27 Weeks

Some weeks Emma Claire seems to grow up more than others and this week was one of those weeks. She found her feet and loves to play with them AND stick them in her mouth of course. She is doing much better while playing on her tummy and can even move herself in circles or work from one place to another.

We made a visit to Charlotte this past weekend and she got lots of love and playtime in with her cousins, Aunt Courtney, grandparents, and great grandparents. Here are a few pictures from our visit and from the week.

The boys picked out this stuffed buffalo for her to play with it and she loved it!

Watching cartoons with Jackson

Disclaimer: She looks much chubby in this picture then she does in real life but it's still adorable!

I found my feet!

Hmm, wonder what they taste like?

Tummy Time!

6 Months

Wow, my sweet baby girl turned 6 months old on Wednesday. Sadly, we are on the downward slide towards 1 which I am sure will be here all too soon. I can't believe 6 months have already passed since we welcomed her into the world. Selfishly I wish I could keep her this age forever. I know, I know - there is so much ahead of us and I'll love all that too. But right now, I love it when her face lights up when I go to pick her up in the morning. I love looking in my rearview mirror and seeing that sweet girl looking back at me. I love how she coos when we change her diaper - yes, she loves getting her diaper changed. I love how she rubs my chest when she nurses. I love how she lights up for her daddy - no one can make her smile and laugh quite like he can. I love everything about her and this age. She really does have the sweetest spirit. She has put my entire life into such a different perspective. The little things that used to ruin my day or at least put me into a bad mood no longer matter. All that matters is that smiling face waiting on me. She has brought more joy and fulfillment to my life then I ever could have imagined.

Today we had her 6 month check-up. She weighs 15lbs 4 oz and is 24 1/2 inches long. She is a little bit above the 25th percentile for weight and is 25th for head circumference and 10th for height. She's hitting all of her milestones just like she should. She's a healthy girl and we are so thankful.

Here are a few other things worth noting:

• Wearing Size 2 Diapers although I think we will be moving up to Size 3 any day now
• Still wearing 0-3 dresses and 3-6 of everything else
• She loves to make sounds with her mouth - what we call "beat boxing" and she will sometimes imitate us.
• She sits up well with support and I don't think she is far off from sitting up on her own.
• She grabs toys and most everything including her hands go in her mouth. She particularly loves a rattle toy my sister bought her, her doll Grandma bought her, and her puppy Aunt Katie bought her.
• She rolls over from her back to stomach with ease but gets stuck on her stomach and winds up fussing to be rolled back over.
• She is sleeping 9-10 hours at night and usually takes 2 long naps, 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. Sometimes she sneaks a quick one in during the evening. She prefers to nap on her side or tummy.
• She will crane her head to watch a tv, computer screen, or cell phone. We are going to have to keep a close watch on her. I had to turn off the tv the other day because she was more interested in watching Food Network then playing in her jumperoo.
• She loves to be outside.
• She rarely cries. She will fuss a little when tired or hungry but that is easily remedied. She is very easy going and will go to most anyone.

Click on the picture above to open it up larger in a separate window.

25 & 26 Weeks

Our sweet baby girl was 6 months old this Wednesday - more on that in another post. Here is what we have been up to these past two weeks. Emma Claire has continued to sleep through most nights going 9-10 hours. We made our first official attempt at food - bananas. She didn't seem to love it. She took a few tastes and then pursed her lips together and was done. We'll see how the second attempt goes. She loves Savannah and all dogs for that matter. She loves to watch them and often she will giggle at Savannah. She's been a little fussy these past 2 days and wants to chew on anything in sight so I'm thinking she'll be cutting a tooth any day now.

Sleepy girl modeling her big girl shorts!

Trying some bananas
Can I just eat my hands?

We love Duke!

Playing at Miss Erica's (our sitter) with Jameson (her son). They are becoming buddies.

5 Months

I'm behind on posting Emma Claire's 5 month photos. Below is the comparison from 4 months to 5 months - click on the photo to make it open up in a separate window larger. I forgot to weigh her so we don't have at home measurements. Also below are a few photos Kyle took of her to mark 5 months.

23 & 24 Weeks

It's been a busy but fun two weeks! We had dinner with one of our favorite nurses from Duke, Miss April, and her husband. She adores Emma Claire and we were lucky to make such great friends in such an unlikely setting. We had a pool playdate with Jenn & Lilley last Saturday. And Emma Claire got a preview of camping when we went out last Saturday night to enjoy some campfire cooking with Kyle's family who was camping locally for the weekend. We also had dinner with Amanda and Meredith. Miss Amanda made her tutu she is wearing in the picture above. This weekend Kyle and I went to Asheville for the weekend with my college roommate and her husband and left Emma Claire overnight for the first time with Grandma and Pop. They had a fun filled weekend full of lots of hugs and kisses and Kyle and I enjoyed a weekend away as well.

This past week Emma Claire slept through the night (10 hours) for 3 nights in a row. She is now rolling over from her back to stomach - she's done it several times now. She is also finding her voice more and more and can be quite loud :) She has no problem grasping objects now and has even started reaching for them. Probably one of the sweetest things she started doing these past two weeks is taking her hand and rubbing my chest or face while she is nursing. She has also started snuggling when she's tired. She will lay her head down on our shoulder or chest and snuggle in. She's at such a sweet and fun age right now. Kyle and I were wishing this week that we could keep her at this age forever but I know we have lots of fun ahead as well!

Here are a few pictures the past two weeks...

Chillin in her Pack N Play with her toys

Swimming with Lilley

Worn out from swimming

Meredith & Emma Claire meeting for the first time!