Scarlett :: 5 months!

Stats (approx)
Weight: 18 lbs (7 lb 7 oz at birth)
Length:  " (20.5" at birth)

Details
Eating: We started solids this month. Maybe I should rephrase.. we are trying to start solids. We're pretty inconsistent but so far she's tried sweet potatoes, avocado, steel cut oatmeal, asparagus, rice cereal and bananas. She's getting better and better at opening her mouth and letting us put the food in. She still nurses (or eats a bottle on days I work) about every 2-3 hours. Bottles seem to last her longer, i'm sure there are many reasons for that. Just this past weekend into this week she has been hungrier than usual, so she may be going through a growth spurt.

Sleeping: She consistently wakes up only once a night now. Rarely, she'll wake up twice. Sometimes she rutches around and I just put her pacifier back in and she goes back to sleep. I'm going to start experimenting with this at the 3/4am hour when she wakes up to see if that will help. She is still a cat napper but throws a curve ball and sleeps for an hour or more sometimes. Last week she gave me a 2 hour nap! I did NOT know what to do with myself.. so I watched the Bachelorette and now of course I have to continue to keep up with it.

Activity/Skills:She is rolling around like crazy. If we put her favorite toys out of her reach she will make her way there by rolling/scooting until she gets to it. Mover and a shaker, this girl! She is starting to push up on her hands and knees in the 'ready to crawl' position, this just happened in the last couple of days. She also has just started to sit up unassisted (with supervision) for longer periods of time. I guess 5 month's is a good age to check off a bunch of milestones?

Other: Scarlett went swimming for the first time in Richmond, VA at the neighborhood pool. She loved it! My timing was a little off because after about 10 minutes in the water she was sleepy so she took a nap, then we did a little more swimming then she was hungry, then we did a little more swimming! She sure loves splashing around! Not to mention her swim suits are the cutest! She's enjoyed swimming pools a couple more times this past month and I swear it's like a giant bath tub to her, she loves it!

We do wish she would grow some hair but it's coming in slowly. She also has a party going on in the back (aka a mullet of sorts).

This month she has started laughing at different things. She loves to watch her cousin, Makayla, dance and sing and play peek-a-boo. Animals (cats/dogs) also crack her up. She has a couple tickle spots on her tummy that I get at in the morning and she still loves being outside and taking baths. She doesn't have too many dislikes at this point, at least not off the top of my head.

It's hard to believe she's already 5 months old. Seems like only yesterday.....

Recipe :: Pineapple Infused Vodka

From time to time, mostly when we find a really great pineapple, do we think about making pineapple infused vodka. It's so easy and the final product is just delicious. Perfect for any summer drink! I've taken some snaps of the steps to show you how easy it can be to infuse vodka with whatever your little heart desires!

Things to note:
1. Obviously keep the empty vodka bottle
2. Between step 5 and 6 you need to wait one week
3. Feel free to use anything other than pineapple. The next thing I want to try is swedish fish!

Road Trip to Rehoboth Beach, DE

We had a great time last weekend at Rehoboth Beach, DE with Matt, Brittney and Harper!

The girls did great and got along really well, lol. It's the beginning of a lasting friendship! They loved the beach and lucky for us, neither of them put sand in their mouths!

The beach shade worked out very well once I got it together and facing the right direction! It's definitely going to come in handy for all future trips we take that involve being in the sun!

Looking forward to next year!

Rehoboth Beach on Dwellable

Road Trip to Richmond

Two weekends ago over Memorial Day, we took Scarlett's first road trip to Chesterfield, VA to visit Alex's family! We had a great time catching up with them and meeting Scarlett for the first time! If only we could've stayed longer!

We traveled Thursday night so that Scarlett could sleep in the car and she did a great job! We arrived in Chesterfield around 1:00 in the morning after about 5 hours in the car. She greeted Alex's aunt and uncle who were waiting up for us and soon after we set up the pack and play and hit the sack. She slept very well while we were there other than one night where she had some congestion. (Smaller babies go through the first couple months of their life only breathing through their nose, so if it gets stuffed up at all it's hard for her to breath right, so I spent a bunch of time suctioning! lol).

Friday we went to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens where Alex's aunt and uncle got married. It was beautiful! What an awesome place to tie the knot! They had a butterfly exhibit which was awesome to see. So many butterflies just fluttering around. Alex got some great pictures of them! It was pretty hot that day but Scarlett did well covered in sun-screen. We picked Alex's cousin, Ellie up from school after the gardens and headed back to their house. His cousin Sam and Uncle were already home and Nick and Laurel arrived soon after. We had a yummy dinner of bbq chicken, the best pasta salad ever and yummy asparagus (and more). Then we had ice cream for dessert!! Soon it was time to put Scarlett to bed and I followed soon after her as I was pretty pooped from the short night of sleep the night before.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early, we headed to Laura's volleyball games for the day and then headed to Ellie's soccer game. When we got back to the house we had some time to kill so Scarlett and I went with Carl to the neighborhood pool while some of the others played tennis. I didn't get any pictures of this unfortunately but she had a blast! We were joined later by Ellie, Alex's Aunt and Uncle (Phil and Joan) and Laurel. Sometimes I wish I had a photographer following me around to document things I don't have time to document. After the pool we headed back and dinner was almost ready. We had the most delicious steaks I've ever tasted, a really yummy ravioli baked dish, more veggies followed by the best snickerdoodle cookies and some chocolate chip cookies for dessert! Hit the hay pretty early again, around 10pm.

Sunday morning we were up early again and headed off to Ellie's soccer game first followed by Laura's volleyball games. Going to volleyball tournaments really makes me miss playing that competitively. But I have a great time watching! After her games some of the group went to the mall and some of us went back to the house. We relaxed for a while until it was time to head to dinner. We went to MeKong which if you're ever in Richmond, check it out. Awesome thai food and a great beer selection. They had Leffe Brune (which is pretty hard to find) and I was pumped. Scarlett for one reason or another did not like the restaurant AT ALL so when the food came she was crying too much for me to feel comfortable having her in there, potentially ruining other peoples dining experience, so I went out to the car. She was completely fine once I got out there and we had fun laughing and playing for a while. Alex came out eventually and took over so I could go eat. They had really delicious food and I got to take some home for breakfast the next morning, yum!

Monday morning we got all packed up and ready to go. We timed our leaving with Scarlett's first nap, even though it didn't last very long. She was in and out of naps the whole way home and drank a couple bottles, most likely for comfort. It was a lot for her I think, having to stay in one position for so long. But she did well. It was heaven to be home when we arrived. We unpacked and Alex mowed the lawn. Then we spent time together as a little family. It's amazing how much I missed Scarlett sometimes while other people were holding her, even though I could see her, I still missed her. Hard to explain. But we had a great time! And we can't wait to see everyone again at the beach!!