5 months

I don't feel like much has changed since my 4 months post on where Emma currently is.

Development: The only "new" thing she is doing is starting to sit up. She still tips over but is getting a little steadier each day. I'm assuming one of the next things will be rolling from back to front. At this point, she is rolling to her side and then her arm gets in the way. And, yep, still swaddling. Check back next month to see if we've finally shaken the swaddle.

Solids: We tried some rice cereal two nights this week. Not sure if it was a fluke, but both of those nights she SCREAMED for an hour when we tried to put her to bed. So we've taken a break from solids for a few days and will try again later on.

Baby Sitter: Earlier this week we left Emma with our first non-family member baby sitter so we could go out to dinner with some friends. We left her with our friend's nanny at their house so that made it doubly worrisome since it took Emma out of a familiar surrounding. We got there extra early and tried to replicate her whole bedtime routine - bath, feeding, swaddling, and then down for bed.

She was sound asleep when we left and apparently stayed that way for the next two hours. Unfortunately, we were gone for three and a half hours.

When we got back, the nanny had all the lights out and was walking around bouncing Emma trying to get her back to sleep. She told us that Emma woke up pretty upset and that bouncing and walking was the only way she was keeping her calm. Sigh. Some day she'll cooperate. Some day.

Sleep: And, in regards to nap, Emma is still very inconsistent. She takes three naps a day but they are all over the place both in timing and length. Once in a while I'll get a 2 hour nap out of her but generally they are around an hour. Again, sigh.

Parenting is hard!

Sitting up and a realtor

Two random things for this rainy, dreary Wednesday in Virginia.

First, I love this picture from yesterday. One, Emma is smiling and it is very, very hard to capture one of her smiles. Two, she is sitting up like such a big girl. She'll be 5 months on Friday.


Second, here's the house that I am now obsessing about.


It is in Salem, Virginia just a few minutes from my two brothers (which means 7 nieces and nephews), my mom, and hubby's family.

For me, the number one criteria for a new house is walkability. Where we currently live in Northern Virginia, we are within a one mile walk of 3 Starbucks, a Panera, Chipotle, Uno's Pizzeria, Wal-Mart, Kohls, 2 grocery stores, a movie theater...the list goes on and on.

I love to walk. I get so much joy out of loading Emma into the jog stroller and being out and about. I just can't imagine living in a place where I have to drive to get to everywhere I want to go. The house pictured above is right off the Main Street in Salem and within walking distance of loads of places (most importantly, a coffee shop and a fantastic park!). There are definitely areas where we could get more for our money but the trade-off isn't worth it to me if it means feeling stranded in a gigantic neighborhood.

Well, anyways, we met with our first realtor today to discuss selling our condo. It went ok. Home prices peaked about 3 years ago and it is disappointing knowing how much we could have gotten had we sold then. But regardless we'll make a nice little profit that should serve as a decent downpayment.

I'll be disappointed if this house goes off the market before we are ready to buy, but I'm reassuring myself that we'll find something just as fantastic.

Now, we just have to figure out that pesky little issue of jobs. Ahh, to win the lottery!

Solids!

I caved and decided to give solids a try today. Well, the word "solid" is somewhat misleading since it was three-fourths breast milk mixed with a little rice cereal. But it was still fun to try.

I hadn't planned to start this adventure until 6 months, then decided we'd do it at 5 months. But here we are, a few days before the 5 month mark and giving it the good old college try. I'm hoping that it might just help with her night waking, which has become increasingly annoying.

And thanks to my blog friend - Once Upon A Time - for inspiring me!

Here is the proof...

All ready to go in the highchair

The first bites...

"Not bad but Mommy and Daddy's food always looks better than this stuff"

Definitely letting us know that she is D-O-N-E!

Why we have no room

Our new exersaucer handed down by a wonderful friend. The retail value is $120+ so we are thrilled to have gotten it for the wonderful price of FREE.


I finally caved and got a highchair. No, we aren't doing solids yet, but I figure they are coming in the next month or so. This is the Graco Blossom 4-in-1. I did tons of research and this chair got great reviews. It can be a highchair, a highchair that goes on a regular dining room chair, a booster seat, and a youth seat. Figured it was worth the extra $. And, for a highchair, I really like the way it looks.


These two items are in addition to the swing, bouncy seat, playmat and basket of toys that already fill our what-used-to-be dining room.

And, folks, that's why we have no room!

Secret House Shopping

We live outside Washington, D.C. The rest of the family - and I mean both my side and hubby's - live about a four hour drive away in beautiful Southwest Virginia.

While I'm glad family doesn't live on the other side of the country or any place that requires air travel, having them four hours away still feels far. Especially when you need something.

This past week I had a project I needed to get finished for work and hubby was expecting a busy week at work. So Emma and I packed up the car and headed to my family's house...4 hours away...so that I could have someone watch Emma while I finished up my project.

Each time that I'm home with family - I have 2 brothers with 7 kids between the two of them, plus my mom and hubby's mom - it makes me want to move closer to them. While I adore Washington, D.C. and all that the area has to offer, it doesn't offer me the convenience of family.

The addition of an exersaucer and highchair to our tiny condo this past weekend also highlights for me the need for MORE SPACE!

So, hence the "Secret House Shopping."

I'm ready to move. Hubby wants to move. But the biggest glitch is figuring out his work situation (I'm able to work from home).

In the meantime, I'm doing some fun online house shopping. In fact, I even found a house and had my brother go through it for me and report back. Thankfully my brother loves house shopping, too, so he is constantly sending me links to houses and telling me what the best areas are to live in.

Here are pictures of a few of the ones I love...




The crazy part is that none of these MASSIVE houses would end up costing us much more each month than our current 2 bedroom condo. On top of our regular mortgage, we currently pay a ridiculous $400 monthly homeowners association fee.

I have no clue what I would do with all this space...but I'd like a chance to find out!

Emma's Eyes

I love my daughter's eyes. They are just so beautiful and expressive. While her emotions don't always show on her lips, they usually show in her eyes. And people are always commenting on how long her eyelashes are and how they curl so perfectly.

They are amazing.

Right now they are that grey-blue that so many infants have. Who knows what color they'll end up being. I have brown eyes. Hubby has blue ones.

A random woman recently said to me, "I think her eyes are going to be brown. What a shame. She would have been so beautiful with dark hair and blue eyes."

Really? Are you kidding me?

Thankfully I had the nerve to say "she'll be beautiful no matter what color her eyes are."


I love Martina McBride's Song "In My Daughter's Eyes." I'll leave you with some lyrics...

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes