five months | letter to Lyla

f i v e   m o n t h s   o l d

| LOVES |

Smiling.

Grabbing her toes.

Her crinkly books.
Liam.
Standing.
Blankets.
Nursing.

Her hands.
Chewing on blankets.
Bumbo seat.
Bath time.

Rolling over.

| HATES |

Naps.

| DEVELOPMENT // GROWTH |

Lyla started showing an interest in toys. Her favorites are these soft crinkly books that she got from her grandma for Christmas! She also learned how to grab her toes and sometimes sucks on them too. haha She still has her cyst on her gums that I mentioned last month but our pediatrician said it is normal for it to take a while to go away. She hasn't quite mastered rolling over from her back to her tummy just yet. She has a bald patch on the back of her head that I imagine will go away as she learns to sit up on her own ... which she is getting really close to doing by the way! Lyla is wearing 3-6 month clothes and size 3 diapers. She still fits in her 0-3 month shoes. #tinyfeet

| SLEEP |

Lyla's sleep schedule looks very similar to 4 months old. She goes to bed at 7, wakes 2 times a night to nurse and gets up for the day somewhere between 7 - 8:30. She did sleep one 9 hour stretch this month and it was total fluke thing but also, HEAVEN! She refuses to nap in her crib (screams for hours on end and just skips sleeping during the day altogether) but she will nap in her car seat on the go or in our bed. Since she started rolling over more often, I've found her sleeping on her side or her stomach at night. 

| EAT |

Between staring at us while we ate and continued lack of sleep through the night, I realized Lyla wasn't staying full from breast milk alone and was interested in food so we introduced her to solids. So far she has just tried oatmeal mixed with breast milk and a little bit of apple sauce. She is still working on opening her mouth and swallowing so most of the food is spit out. Other than that, she nurses every couple of hours.

Dear Lyla girl,

Or "Ya Ya" as Liam has so sweetly nicknamed you. Truth be told, it has kind of stuck with all of us. You are the happiest baby I've ever known! Not even just during the day ... when you wake up in the middle of the night and cry out for me, I'll go into your room and find you grinning back at me as you cry. It the cutest thing ever! You're always smiling!  Learning to grab your little toes and suck on them is probably my favorite new milestone of yours this month. You roll around on your back with both feet pressed together and I wonder how I could even have a fraction of your flexibility. Our local paper was having a cutest baby of 2017 contest and I couldn't help but enter you. It was based on votes and even though you didn't win for the paper, you were always the winner from the very beginning in my eyes. You never look more proud than when we help you stand. Being a mom of two, I'm kind of thankful you are still immobile but it is fun to watch you roll over and get stronger and stronger as you move around on your tummy. I have a feeling you will be my curious one about the world and baby proofing will need to commence immediately after you discover how to lift that tummy of yours off the ground. Please never ever lose those adorable knuckle dimples and leg rolls of yours! Your daddy and I fed you your first solid foods the other day and you not only spit it everywhere but gave us the most hilarious face to go along with it. I promise it gets better from here! Just wait until you get to try ice cream for the first time. ;) Don't tell daddy and Liam but I secretly hope you will be my good eater because those two just might be the pickiest eaters I've ever known. haha Us girls have to stick to together ya know! ;) I've never been more happy to have you in my life! Love you pretty girl!
Love, Momma

| FIVE MONTH PICTURES |

LOOK AT HER!!!!! Happiest, cutest ball of chub eating solids for the first time ...

Look at those leg rolls! She loves bath time with her big brother ...

Looking down at her favorite toy, that crinkly book ...

She hangs on his every move and word all day long. She adores him!

Lyla grew out of her hand-me-down bear suit that was Liam's when he was a baby so I bought her a new one for Christmas for winter walks. I intentionally bought it big (6-9 months) so that it would fit her all winter. The truth is, it will probably fit her next winter when she is a year old! haha It is ginormous, oops!

Sunday naps all snuggled up together are the best!

Sleeping in my arms while Liam is at preschool ...

Leave it to big brothers to show you the finger puppets up CLOSE. ;)

These next series of eating photos were all taken by Liam. I love them because they show just how he sees her through his eyes! I also had to laugh because another 1,300 pictures followed after that on my camera roll, all photo bursts, all of his finger covering the lens. But that's beside the point. ;) haha

She'll stare at the spoon and then as soon as you bring it to her mouth she looks away, go figure! haha

Cutest thing ever ... Liam goes, "Mommy, Ya Ya would like to wook at these pictures as she is having her food." 

I also had to post this picture because you can actually see the back of her hair. Poor girl and her bowl cut bald spot. haha

This was when she discovered her feet for the first time ...