Bathtime

You love taking a bath.
We have a grand time. You play and play and play and eventually, I wash you. Then you play more. At some point I get worried that you might get too cold and I drain the tub, then finally pull you out. If I try to pick you up before the water is drained, you get sad.
Luckily for you, learning to eat solid food necessitates a bath almost every time. Maybe you do that on purpose. As I type this, you're eating an apple slice in a mesh feeder and growling away at it. You love apple slices, hate applesauce. Love sweet potatoes and avocado, hate banana.

New foods, more mess, and more baths to come!

Days with Daddy

Adelaide, I work on Fridays and Saturdays. I go upstairs to the study and you stay downstairs with Daddy. That way, you don't need any bottles and I never even have to get dressed. I love listening to you play with your dad, and I love coming down for lunch to play and eat with you.

But man oh man oh man! Do you ever hate diaper changes lately! Well, maybe hate is the wrong word. Whatever you feel, you feel it strongly. As soon as the dirty diaper is off you are writhing and stretching and twisting like crazy. You're loud and feisty and Dad and I have gotten good at putting a diaper on you from behind you or from your side. We use cloth diapers (for various reasons) but you acted the same way even when we were using disposables. So I don't know if you're writhing because you like the wetness being gone or just the diaper in general being gone. If it's the latter then we're in trouble. I think maybe you need more structured nekkid time. Maybe we'll have to let you play in the bath longer and more frequently. That makes for fun pictures.

I love you.

Eddie the Frog

You love Eddie the frog, Adelaide. You are fascinated by his black and green striped hands, feet, and jumper. You love to growl at his face, then lunge and eat him up. You make him bounce like you're waiting to hear him rattle, then you eat his hands.

Also, your hair is turning blonde. Platinum blonde. I thought at first you might just have gotten a lot of sun while we were in Colorado, but over time I'm noticing that your hair is growing in this way.

My little blonde baby girl, growling at a stuffed frog.

Catching yourself

Recently you discovered that when you're sitting up and leaning forward, you can put one arm out to catch yourself so you don't bonk your head on the floor. You still seem vaguely perplexed by what you're doing, but it works so you keep doing it. You just watch your hand, arm, and the floor when you do. You're fantastic.

Also, spit bubbles and raspberries. They are how you express joy, frustration, exhaustion, hunger, discomfort, etc. You can (and do) entertain yourself for long stretches of time with this new skill, sometimes even when we're trying to play with you. You have no time for our shenanigans, there are raspberries to be blown. We can thank your dad for this, he taught you how to blow raspberries in the car one day, and you haven't looked back yet.

About Sleep

Well, last night we had you sound asleep. You were just about snoring. And then, when Mom tried to take you up to bed, you promptly woke up when she laid down. Since Dad is the coolest, he took you downstairs to put you back to sleep. Then, you both came back upstairs and we all finally went to sleep. You, my daughter, are a tricky puzzle. Sometimes you will only sleep upstairs in the dark, sometimes you will only sleep on a lap, sometimes you will only sleep wrapped up in the Moby or Ergo. Tricky baby.

Since you're congested, I decided to rub some Eucalyptus stuff on your feet and under your nose to help open up your sinuses. You thought it was the COOLEST. You smiled and started grabbing the container. I even saw you lick your lips. This is not a new food.

Aunt Laura and Uncle Jason got us an Ergo for Christmas. You love it. You spend time in the Ergo every day. For some reason, peeking over my shoulder while I wash dishes is your favorite way to wind down for a nap. That puts you to sleep so fast! It would never have occurred to me to get an organic one, but now that I know how much you like to chew on it, I'm REALLY glad it's organic. I'm going to have to go get the teething pads so you don't chew yourself free. I love having you so close to me. LOVE.

Feb. 1

Today you went out with Dad for the first time. You went to have your ears checked at the Public Health Center and you went grocery shopping. Dad forgot to feed your or check your diaper, but you were having such a good time that you never fussed or acted hungry.

You love to be out and about. You love to see people and watch things, you love to be in new places and experience all that you can.

You still have a bit of a cold, so you're pretty much ignoring solid food and not drinking very much milk. Dad and I eat less when we're sick too. Soon, you'll be feeling better and back to your hungry self.

The public health nurse said that your ears are not infected, and you still have no fever. Just a cough and a runny nose. You seem mostly oblivious to your ailment during the day. At night, you seem miserable.

Last night you fussed and fidgeted until after 1am. Dad went to bed when you did and Mom stayed up to do homework. Eventually, Mom got to bed. At 3am, you woke up and didn't feel well. Mom stayed up with you until 5:30. Dad got up early in the morning and went to work at the writing center. In the afternoon, you and Dad went out and Mom stayed home to study. This evening, you and Mom are playing and talking while Dad is in class.

I love our time playing together. You're such fun.

My Dearest Daughter:

You are 5 months old. You can sit and laugh and roll over both ways. You grab things and pull them into your mouth. You pull yourself up to standing and try so hard to walk when you're on your feet.

I love watching you grow, I love watching you turn in to the person God created you to be. You are amazing.