Developing palate

Almost to the 6 month mark and Mallie has been busy exciting her taste buds...ok, well Mommy has been busy trying to get this little girl to enjoy something other than nursing;)

About a week after all those other milestones we reached, I decided we should try some sweet potatoes. I read somewhere that if there ever were a super baby food, sweet potatoes would be it.

Generally, she liked them. Although, the thumb did find it's way into her mouth and that was the end of that for a while.

Then we tried green beans. I don't have a picture of her eating green beans because the reaction was so bad, I may never feed my kid green beans again! She's not even 6 months yet and already learning how to turn her mother off from feeding her food that's good for her. I would like to remember her reaction though because I think it's priceless, although somewhat disgusting. After spooning about a third of a teaspoon in her mouth, before even swallowing any of it, she stuck her tongue out and acted as if she was gagging...seriously...like "Mom, this is the most disgusting taste ever! Get it out of my mouth right now!" I even tried mixing green beans with some sweet potatoes since we seemed to have such a good reaction to those...nope! This chick cannot be fooled.

I figured sticking with the green stuff was a good idea, so we tried avocado mixed with some breast milk next.

Not the worst reaction, but not exactly what I was hoping for. I really don't know what I was expecting...guess I thought that I'd put some "real" food into her mouth and she'd light up, smile, and want to only eat the "real" food, for at least a good half hour, or maybe even just a couple minutes. I think we got through a couple teaspoons of avocado before that thumb found it's way back to her mouth...

A few days later, Mallie seemed so interested in the salad I was eating...I just happen to have some sliced up cucumber in front of me. She kept watching me feed myself as if it were the best thing she'd ever seen. I figured cucumbers are mostly water anyway right, no small seeds, and the slices were big enough that she wouldn't choke.

She actually really liked the cucumber. I might have to try to give her more like this just to occupy her. She kept licking and sucking on it...I think the coolness felt good on her gums. And then I felt bad having to pry the piece out of her hands when my meal was done. Gotta grow some teeth so you can eat the whole thing little girl!

Lastly, and just a few days ago, we tried apples. 

This is more the reaction I was looking for the first few times around. Pleasant smile, no thumb sucking, and she was looking to the spoon for more. I think we set a record when she took 5 teaspoons worth of applesauce. Of course, would she repeat this performance the next day, after the apples had been in the fridge for a day and were no longer room temp? or even after warming the apple sauce up in a bowl? Oh Mallie, you're so tricky and always keep us guessing!

Reaching Milestones

I didn't have much to say in Mallory's 5 month post just before this...but really there is so much to say, it deserves it's own post. Mallory is growing like a weed! And doing and learning new things every second it seems like.

At Mallie's last doctor appointment, Dr. Ketterman mentioned Mallie looked ready for solid food. So we figured her 5 month birthday was as good a time as any to try some rice cereal. I'm pretty sure I mixed it with too much breast milk and made it too soupy this time around. She seemed to like it at first...

And then everything kind of went downhill from there...

I think she realized that this stuff that tasted like breast milk was not coming from the correct source.

Mallory has been really drooly lately...not as drooly as I remember Aiden being, but still...I'm tempted to have her wear a bib every where she goes so that her shirts stay dry. I figured she was getting ready to start teething and thought we'd probably see teeth in the 7-9 month age range. Well, on Friday, April 5th, Mallie was going through her usual 10am fussy phase before she naps and as she was crying I noticed a couple white spots on her lower gums. I could see teeth! Both of her bottom two front teeth! I've heard baby teeth can move up and down for a while before they actually cut through, so again I thought maybe in a couple weeks we'd actually feel them. Wrong again! On Sunday, April 7th...sometime in the early afternoon, Mallie was trying to eat my finger and lo and behold...I felt a tooth. She had cut her first tooth, the bottom left front tooth. It's a sharp little bugger too! I wish I had a picture to show, but haven't been able to get a good scream out of her where I was patient enough to hold my camera to take a pic.

So we have solid food and teeth...what other milestone did we reach?

Because Mallie had cut her first tooth, nursing that evening was quite interesting. Let's just say that Mallie wanted to find out exactly how well her new tooth worked. I was over that game with her in about half a second. So instead of nursing, she got a bottle for this feeding. I had read that babies will try to hold their own bottle around this age, and Mallie seemed to have her hands up pretty well. So I let go...

She only drank about an ounce this way...she seemed to be more interested in getting her hands in her mouth I think at this point. She had a good little grip on her bottle though!

To top things all off, Mallie is almost sitting up by herself too. She tips from side to side every once in a while, so I've been hesitant to just let her go, but she's got the front and back part down. Probably in the next week or so I'll have another picture up with her sitting and smiling!

4/3/13-5 months

Here's our little girl at 5 months...

In her own little corner...

Last Saturday, March 16th, we put Mallory to sleep in her crib for the first time. It was a bittersweet moment. If someone had told me, before I had kids, that I'd want them to sleep next to me all the time, I would have laughed, or at least chuckled. I never would have thought that I'd be the one that wasn't ready to move her to her own room and crib for the night.

We have a fabulous video monitor, so Eric and I can check on her at any given moment in the night without leaving our bed. (It's actually really cool...we can talk to Mallie with it, it plays music, knows the temp in the room...is there anything it can't do?) Although, the first night both of us got up at separate times to check on her. I woke up around 4am to use the bathroom and went into the nursery to make sure she was still peacefully asleep. Eric did the same around 530am. We haven't had any problems all week long...it's as if she's been sleeping in her own room from the start.

I normally sit in bed for a little and check email or read before I fall asleep. I have the video monitor plugged in right next to me and I never turn the picture off until I shut my light off to fall asleep. So even though Mallie isn't right next to me in her bassinet, she is right next to me on the monitor...I still miss her though:(

3/3/13-4 months

Photos were taken on Monday, March 4, 2013

Here's Mallory at 4 months...

2/3/13-3 months

Obviously quite a bit late here...I thought I had posted these pictures right after they were taken, but I guess not...Photos were taken Monday, February 4, 2013

Here's Mallory at 3 months...

Dearest Mallory

Dear Mallory,
It's been over 4 months since you've come into our lives...how has that much time flown by already? Mommy has not been doing a very good job of blogging about all of your latest accomplishments here:( I originally intended to keep track of every new thing that was happening in your life by writing about it here and well...life has gotten in the way. Between going back to work and being in charge of Dynamics and dance competitions, Mommy barely seems to have enough time to cuddle you every night. So instead of writing about what you've been up to, I've been watching you learn and grow, and hoping I won't forget a single second of it!

Since I do have a little time now (Daddy is rocking you to sleep upstairs in your room)...let me fill you in on what you've been up to...

You have become a chunky little girl...chunky in a good way. I know it's hard to believe that anyone can ever call you chunky and mean it as a compliment, but it's true. You have the roundest little face and the most perfect little legs. You'll have to ask Daddy about your "michelin" rolls. You've been a good eater from the start and have never had any trouble nursing. I'm anxiously awaiting your 4 month doctor appointment next week to see just how much you weigh...I'm guessing somewhere between 14 and 15 pounds though. You have the cutest baby belly I have ever seen and you love to laugh at me when I make raspberries on your tummy as I'm changing your diaper. Daddy feeds you a bottle about once a day...sometimes you give him a little bit of trouble because I think you prefer Mommy to the bottle, but you drink up whatever milk he gives you for the most part. Most recently, while nursing, you've developed this leg kick. I'm not sure if it's because you're so excited to see Mommy, or you're just trying to calm down...but you kick your leg kind of like Thumper from Bambi. Sometimes you look up at me and smile and it just melts my heart. It's as if you're saying "thank you Mommy for feeding me!" I just smile back and rub your head a little...hopefully you know that's a great big "You're welcome, baby girl!"

You've started smiling at strangers when they talk to you and you giggle quite a bit...you seem to be one happy little baby. You love when Mommy and Daddy hold you above their heads, kind of like you're superwoman. You look down at us with your big toothless grin! You also give us that big grin when we let you stand on our laps...your legs are getting so strong now. Sometimes Mommy will cuddle close to your face and you put both of your hands on my face as if to study my features. You want to feel my teeth and my nose and pat my cheeks. Then I do the same to you and you think it's rather funny:)

Everywhere we take you, people comment on what a beautiful baby you are. I don't want to seem full of myself or not humble, but it's true. You are the most beautiful baby and I can't help but say thank you! Your eyes have stayed blue...close to the color they were at birth, but maybe just a little lighter. Your hair has gone from being dark brown to having a reddish tinge to being dirty blonde with a reddish tinge. Daddy thinks you might be strawberry blonde when you get a little older...I'm secretly hoping you'll stay a little more brunette so you look like me a little more. You have the most adorable button nose, I think you take after me with that feature...and you have my chin too. Your forehead, eyes, and cheeks look exactly like Daddy when he was a little baby. Your skin is so clear and white...sometimes you look like a porcelain doll.

You are an excellent sleeper...when it comes to sleeping at night. You've been consistently sleeping through the night since you were 3-4 weeks old...Mommy and Daddy lucked out with you! You like to nurse around 1030-11pm or so and then you're down for the night until 8-9am...sometimes we have to wake you up in the mornings instead of the other way around;) I can tell when you're ready for a nap during the day because your little eyes get so droopy and tired looking. Sometimes you go right to sleep with just a little cuddle, other times you like to be rocked to sleep (or rocked in front of the dryer), and other times you fight going to sleep because you are so interested in the world around you.

You love being social. When Mommy wakes up in the mornings, you sit on the bed with her and have a whole conversation with her in baby gibberish. I love talking with you all the time Mallory and can't wait until we can both understand what we're saying once you start saying words. So far whenever we take you out to dinner or to run errands, you either sleep right through the trip (you love falling asleep in your car seat) or you look at your surroundings and take everything in. You hardly ever fuss when we're out and about. Just this past weekend, Mommy was in charge of a dance competition, and Daddy brought you in to watch a few numbers in the theater. Daddy said you didn't move a muscle...just kept your eyes glued to the dancers and stage. I don't know if it was the lights or if you liked watching the dancers, but I'm wondering if this is a sign that you might want to dance when you get a little older...way to follow in Mommy's footsteps;)

We try to do as much tummy time with you as we can, but you don't seem to like lying on your tummy very much. You are able to lift your head up all the way so we can see your little neck, but you haven't gotten to scooting anywhere yet. You are so close to rolling from your back to your tummy. Daddy put you down on your back the other day and walked into the kitchen...you rolled on your left side and followed him with your head. Maybe in another week or two you'll be a little rolly polly bug.

When we sit down to eat, you join us at the table in your high chair. You have a little rattle that you sometimes play with, but you love playing with your "bug". It's a dragonfly (or butterfly) that has colorful wings and makes crinkly sounds when you touch it. You love to give it kisses and look in the mirror on it's wing.

You're already learning how to use the iPhone. Sometimes when you're sitting on Mommy or Daddy's laps, we let you play Atomic Toy. You love looking at all the colors and touching the screen to make new designs. We better watch out or one of these days we may not be able to find our phones because you'll be playing with it.

You've also noticed the many animals we have around our house. On several occasions when one of them has come up to greet Mommy or Daddy, you've reached out to try to touch their fur. Marmalade will sit next to you and let you pet him, but I think Jelly is still a little leery of you. She likes to cuddle with Mommy too and I think she's having a hard time sharing right now. Tigger will come play with your feet while you are bouncing in your rainforest bouncer sometimes. Bella and Figaro are still getting used to having you around. Sometimes they try to run around the living and family room and we have to remind them not to run on your play mat or run around you while you're lying down. Bella seems to be interested in smelling and getting to know you though.

Whenever Aiden comes over, he loves to give you kisses on your head. We have to remind him to be gentle...I think he's just waiting for the day when you can run around with him and build legos and race cars. Aiden had a hard time saying your name at first, but I think he's got it down now...he also called you "he" and "him" for quite a while:)

We spent our first weekend away from home this past weekend. You were such a well behaved little girl...slept well and was good for Daddy when Mommy was away running her dance competition. It took Mommy and Daddy almost a whole day to get packed up with the pack 'n play, diapers, wipes, bottles, toys, clothes, and Lord knows what else...just to take you 20 minutes down the road for 2 nights. Mommy likes to triple check everything when she packs and sometimes Daddy just throws stuff in a bag:( We're taking a family vacation with Grandma and Grandpa Clayton, Uncle Andrew, Aunt Mari, and cousin Aiden this summer, so this was good practice to make sure we could easily pack stuff for you.

I think that's the gist of what's happened over the last 4 months. Mommy promises to try to do better keeping track of all these milestones you're reaching. Maybe you could just remind her now and then to stop and smell the roses? And also let her know her memory is fading, so writing stuff down will help later on in your life;) Mommy and Daddy love you so much Mallory. We are so blessed to have such a healthy, beautiful little girl in our lives...

I love you!!!
<3,
Mommy