Macy 6 months: The Happiest Baby on the Block

November was a big month for our Macy girl. There is something magical about a 6 month old infant. They seem to be more content and aware of their surroundings, and their parents are finally settling in to the groove of having another child/baby/schedule to maintain. The work and fun balance starts to even out, and everybody takes a deep breath. 

It seems that I won't be taking a deep breath for long, though, because our little girl is quite the scooter. I'm not quite sure I want to call it crawling yet, because the idea of 3 mobile children scares me a bit!

 But Macy definitely does not stay where she is put anymore!

She's up on all fours frequently... thank goodness she hasn't yet coordinated her hands and feet! 

I love to watch this baby sleep! And speaking of sleep... in a matter of 2 nights, she went from waking up 2-3 times, to sleeping 10-11 hours straight. She had to cry it out a little, but she was definitely our easiest cry-it-out-er. I think Mike and I feel like completely different people!

She's also started some solid foods! She's a big fan of oatmeal, but anything with flavor gets this face. So far she's had oatmeal, rice, green beans, peas, squash, and sweet potatoes. Carrots are next and then maybe some fruit. This is not my favorite stage of feeding babies, but it does lead in to the finger foods stage which is so much easier. As of this week I've stopped nursing her, so I guess it's time to transition to more solids!

One night I was prepping her bed time bottle, and I found her already asleep on the floor. Right thumb in her mouth. She loves that right thumb! I love how easy she is. Her temperament is just delightful. She's just full of smiles for anyone that happens to look her direction. She pretty much melts me ;)

She definitely has the muscle coordination and strength to sit on her own, but this isn't the trick she's working on. She'd rather be moving :/

So far no teeth, but she will gum anything that comes remotely near her mouth. She drools a ton, too. I don't see any swollen gums yet, but I know she'll get teeth at some point! I'm not worried about it. Owen and Amelia each had 1 tooth at 1 year.

She also loves to study faces- especially her daddy! She looks at him, studies for a minute and then breaks in to a huge smile!

Macy had her 6 month check up today, and here are her stats:
15lb 8 oz (25-50%)
25 3/4 inches (50%)
Head: 16 1/4 inches (25%)

We are head over heels for this little Macy girl!

Amelia 3 years: Sweet, Sassy, Sensitive, Shiny!

I'm not sure where the past 3 years have gone. My little baby girl with the round cheeks and half moon eyes has grown in to a spirited 3 year old girl. 

For starters, she's 28.6 lbs & 37.35 inches. Still tall and skinny. That's likely to never change. 

She communicates very well, loves to sing, and says all of her letters except 'Y'. So she frequently asks for 'Logurt', likes to do 'Loga', and loves 'Lellow'. 

She used to call Rapunzel, 'Ra-pretzel', but she's outgrowing those cute phrases. 

 Although, last week Mima's eyes were itching, and she offered to get her some raindrops (eye drops) to help her feel better. 

It has been absolutely delightful to watch her turn in to a big sister. She loves sweet Macy fiercely. (So much so that I ask her to give Macy some space daily). 

When I bathe Macy, Millie and her 'bitty baby' are right next us.She's a nuturing shadow. 

 Once I caught her 'nursing' bitty baby underneath my cover. 

She tells me all of the time that she wants to be a mommy. And then I melt a little .... 

 Amelia's biggest developmental milestone in the last 6 months is most certainly her potty training! It took her several weeks of being 'scared' and sitting on the potty, but once she got the courage to try, she has excelled! She's still wearing pull ups at night (but this is completely because I don't want to have one more thing to wake me!) I'm so proud of how hard she worked to potty train, and I'm equally glad to only have 1 in diapers!

 She might have been scared to use the potty, but usually she has a lot of courage to try new things. This tickles me, because she's shy when it comes to meeting new people. (I think I'm married to her brave, shy, reserved, courageus influence.)

 

Amelia loves shiny acessories, tutus, 'princess' dresses, and crowns. She wore an upside down crown for about 6 weeks straight.

There was a little girl who had a princess crown, right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very very good. When she was bad, she was horrid (fortunately usually just for her parents ;) ). She's  quite sensitive which makes her hard to discipline. She'll often lose her mind over tiny little things, and I've been known to quickly lose my patience with her screaming. We are working through it, though ;)

 This fall she's enrolled in ballet, and she frequently practices her pointing & flexing, curtsies, and 'releves'. The ballet studio has one way mirrors, and so I can watch how intently she listens to her teacher, Miss Katey. I'm sure we'll be doing more ballet in the future!

 She loves all things princess, and her birthday party had a Sophia the First theme. 

Mima and Papa Cooper took her to get this Cinderella Build-a-Bear, too.

 Birthday Princess.

 She got princess & my little ponies for her birthday. They were all very specifically placed here!

 She loves to wear her hair in braids, and I love that she wants me to play with her hair. It's very fine & silky so the braids don't hold well... but they are cute for the first 10-15 minutes!

 She got a Frozen bike for her birthday from her Daddy. (She already rides a bike better than Owen.... sshhh don't tell him that he isn't winning this competition!)

I love our family of 5! My dearest Amelia, you are a precious member and we are so in love with who God created you to be. You still have those beautiful half moon eyes, and now they are full of even more sparkle and curiosity.

Macy 3, 4, & 5 months: Rolling Rock

Well here we are at 5 months catching up on the last few months... but alas, our little girl is just transforming by the day. I best get going on her goings on. 

I went back to work when Miss Macy was 2.5 months, and that first month of being back at work without her was brutal. She was well cared for by the best of caregivers (both Mimas), but her nights were sort of horrendous (or so I remember through a foggy haze!). She was still up every 2 hours back then, but she made up for it in the day with her delightful disposition. She n.e.v.e.r cries. Instead she just smiles, giggles, coos and goos. She had her first vacation/trip to 'the lake', and she was quite the trooper in the car, on the boat, at the swimming pool. Love this flexible baby!

She was all dressed up here for a little shopping date with mommy!

Matching sisters at church!

Our little mover and shaker started to roll from from front to back early on in month 3.

My heart.

She worked all month long to get this octopus, and finally she did! You can tell she's proud. 

She loves this little play mat (even still!)

Caught her mid-kick here! Super excited to be 3 months! August 23, 2015.

At four months she continued to roll along. 

She weighed in at 12lb 14oz (25%) and is 24.25 inches long (25-50%).

No matter how old she gets, I'll always love to watch her sleep.

 

She's my only child to have ever fallen asleep at a Cardinal game.

Again, I LOVE how flexible and easy she is in so many settings!

Little Angel.

She is so so loved by her big brother and sister who share very well!

God really treated us to a special gift by adding this sweet girl to our family! Happy 4 months Macy! September 23, 2015.

We baptized her in September (separate post coming soon). 

 

Macy's 5th month has been even better still. 

 She's napping almost 95% of the time in her crib (yay!). She's starting to get on a nap schedule, and she's been old enough to cry it out a little at night. This means she is sleeping a bit better at night, only waking 2-3 times. I love when sleep schedules start to formalize. It does crunch the time you can be out of the house, but it's so much easier to anticipate a baby's needs!

GOOOO Tigers!!!

She's rolling back to front and preferring to sleep on her tummy. If she was my first, I would flip her over every time I found her this way. Now I know that she's strong enough to get herself there and must be ok! And I've also learned to never wake a sleeping baby. 

She no longer stays where she's put. Somehow got all of the way off the mat. I know that this is just the begining of a mobile baby. I'm NOT ready for that!

5 months. October 23, 2015. 

She giggles and giggles and smiles and giggles. She loves to chew on crinkle toys, have books read to her, watch her big brother and sister, and listen to songs. 

Macy: One & Two Months

Since I am just getting to the 'one month' blog a few days after she turns 2 months, I'll just blog about them both!

Love looking at the difference!

One month stats:

9lb 2oz (4 weeks); 9lb 4oz(6 weeks)

21 Inches

She was working HARD on tracking, cooing, and head control.

She was still wearing a newborn size and just getting in to 0-3months.

Sleep was intermittent (for me),  though I should applaud her for sorting out her nights and days almost immediately upon arrival home from the hospital. It may have something to do with the fact that it's VERY loud at our house during the day!

 

She's a great eater & generally not a very spitty baby. However, when she spits, it's every.where.

 

She has had a ton of visitors this first month, too!

Uncle Ryan has the touch.

Papa and his girls.

Aunt Lindsey loves sweet Macy.

The best big cousins a girl could ask for!

Snug as a bug...

 

Sleeping like her daddy did. Love that belly!

Two very special friends Claire & Ali. These ladies will have a special role in each of my girls' lives as their Godmothers! Claire for Amelia & Ali for Macy girl!

Macy's 'witching' hour is from 8-9 pm or so.... and therefore she gets lots of on-the-shoulder cuddles! We have an identical picture of Mima Wade holding Amelia the same way at one week old.

Her tummy time has been limited, but I sure do love the way babes sleep with their buns in the air!

 

So after one month, the jury is still out on who she looks most like. She has Owen's expressive brown line (we used to call him the professor), and she grunts & snorts like Amelia (so maybe they have the same nose?!?). Either way her sweet newborn stretches are just adorable. I LOVE them so much that I would have another baby just for the newborn stretches. But then I remember pregnancy, delivery, and all of the work (and money) it takes to raise a child.. and I think we will stop at 3! I love this baby to pieces already, and it's been so nice to get out with a newborn in to warm weather!

 

On the way to her one month Well Baby Visit. It's the same outfit Amelia wore to hers!

Macy (L). Amelia (R).

 

So now we are at 2 months. Macy's stats:

10lb 13.4oz (25-50%)

22 inches (50%)

 

Here she is on the way to her 2 mo appointment...

 

 

Her nights are either wonderful or awful. You would think she's 2 months old or something! In the last week, though, she's given me several 5 or 6 our stretches. So she'll eat at 9 and then again at 2 or 3. I almost feel like a new woman.. even sleeping enough to feel safe driving on the highway again!

 

Macy is more expressive by the day. She's awake more, though she still sleeps a lot! She's still in 2-3 hour cycles of eat, play, sleep. Her sleeping is still very flexible which is wonderful because I have been carting her all over the place during this maternity leave. Mostly it's either an effort to decorate my house or entertain her siblings, but she'll sleep anywhere! I know this is coming to an end soon, though, so when we are at home I'm trying to put her down for naps in her crib.

Macy got to meet sweet Kim (another DEAR friend... I'm so blessed). And you can't see it, but baby girl Green is underneath Macy in this pic. She's due to arrive Aug 27! Come on, baby girl!

Sisters, sisters!

 It will be really fun to watch this picture change over the next year!

SO big in her 4th of July tutu. I.can't.even.

My little summer baby. Love her to pieces.

Her new favorite pastime is to lay on her back & kick and coo.

Start them early. She did make it to her first Cards game. Slept through 6 innings, ate, and watched the next 2. We left the game because I was cranky ;)

Love that floppy cheek!

She's not smiling, but this picture shows her features so well! She looks less and less like her siblings with each day (I think!)

This is a 3 month outfit. It always amazes me how quickly babies grow. 

This one has more rolls than my other two. (YAY!)

 

My maternity leave comes to an end on Monday. I'm not ready to leave her, but she will be in great hands with her Mimas. I so love this flexible, calm, and sweetsie baby and I can't wait to continue to share her growth and development!