with grace & lace: 5 months

emmie collins is 5 months old. the oldest baby on the block. well fine, she's the only babe on our street. but she is getting old. this month, like all the others, has marked all kinds of special things for our family & precious milestones for baby emmie - here are a few.

you had croup earlier this month which was rough but when we took you to the doctor you were a champ and we got to find out how big you are [or at least how big you were a few weeks ago]. you were 16 pounds and 5.5 ounces. if i had to guess i'd say you're at least 17 pounds now; just one pound away from size 3 diapers. you're so big and strong, little one. your little thighs have to be one of the world's most wonderful gifts. there are more rolls hidden in that onesie - ugh i die.

i already announced it to the world but you started rolling this month! momma and poppa are so proud of you. i think the whole time i thought you were trying to sit up you were actually just practicing crunches to swing yourself over. those were your 'rolling' crunches, not your 'sit-ups'.

the sprinkler

it was almost like you became a pro after your first roll. now you do it with such ease. you can roll all over the place and get almost anywhere you want to go. anytime i check on you in your crib you're in a different corner than where i left you last. i can hardly take my eyes off you if you're on the floor. you're also perfecting the art of grabbing for toys and playing. hand-eye-coordination here we come! let's pray you take after your poppa in that department.

notice scissors right off of the mat as i say she rolls and grabs things :)

along with all your fantastic toys that you've learned how to use and your christmas goodies that you're breaking in, you've also been getting all kinds of use out of your jumperoo. the two sweetest things about the jumperoo, besides watching you discovering new things, is to see you kick your legs up and down in delight and hearing you 'sing' along with the music in it.

after your two week sabbatical of non-cuddling you are now the sweetest little snuggle-monster there ever was. after you eat or when you're tired you nuzzle right into my shoulder. just makes my heart melt. i'm savoring it; i hope it never ends. i always give you a two arm hug when you cuddle, it's one of my favorite things.

new things that you can do also include holding onto people's fingers and waving their arms back and forth, in and out, in and out. it's a cross between aerobics and dancing. baby jazzercise? you can also play peek-a-boo. you can pull the blankets up over your head and after i say "wheeeeere's emmie?" you pull them down and grin so hard. sometimes you forget how to get out of the covers which is equally hilarious. there have been about three times where we think you might have reached for one of us. we can't wait until you reach out with your little arms for us to pick you up. precious.

a big adjustment this month is that you've transitioned out of a swaddle. after you learned to roll on your belly we decided that it was safest to leave you unswaddled to sleep. the first night you cried on and off from 8 to 10 pm. it was breaking momma's heart and i was prepared for hell week of 'crying it out'. it was christmas week, which included lots of travel and sleeping away from home. i imagined sleepless nights and full days. i imagined the stress of knowing our kid was keeping everyone up at all hours but a christmas miracle happened. you learned to suck your thumb in a day and after that two hour bout of crying on night 1, it's never happened again. you sleep harder and longer than ever before. it's even better than when she was in the swaddle because even then she was wiggling her way out and smacking herself in the face until she woke up. it has been such a blessing.

i feel like she is so big now that she can soothe herself and sleep so long. you go to bed between 7:30 and 8:30p and wake up between 7 and 8a. a good solid 12 hours. your naps have actually gotten better since you are unswaddled and sleeping on your belly too. it basically has been like the best! you still sleep in between each feeding [which i feel like is a little abnormal] but two of those naps are generally about 2+ hours while the others only 45 minutes or so.

you are super alert, attentive and curious. i don't think this is new but it is definitely true of you [still]. you always want to be in the action. if someone is talking you want to know who. a new sound? we better check it out. i feel excited about that being part of your personality, although i'd be lying if i said i wasn't fearful of you becoming the kid who asks "why?" after every statement.

we think you may be teething but we haven't seen any little teethers in there yet. i'll keep the updates coming.

you're also very talkative. it's funny how your voices, noises and 'words' have changed over time. you have as much to say as ever. you now have ma's, ga's, goo's, ba's and da's, along with some awesomely spitty airplane noises. you squeal and grunt much less than you used to but you still get a few in from time to time.

this is mid-airplane noise

one of my favorite things that happened this month was during christmas break while poppa was home from work. i brought you into our bedroom to feed you in the morning, as usual. normally, if pop is home he makes you smile and giggle while momma burps you but this morning he was tired and was still snuggled into his pillow. i watched as em stared and stared at her dad inquisitively. after he was unresponsive to her laser-like gaze she grunted as loud and hard as she could to get his attention. when his eyes opened his little lady was grinning ear to ear.

this month was your first to wear shoes [little leopard boots to be exact], your first to wear tights [with faux ballet flats at the feet] & your first time in a jacket [an over-the-top diva number]. clothing milestones if you will.

i have a whole post for your first christmas but it can't go without mentioning that you just experienced your first christmas season. it has been so fun for me and your poppa to think intentionally about how we're going to talk to you about Jesus [all the time] and especially when there's so much competing for our attention during the holidays.

the last little thing i should mention is that you are starting to look a lot like your poppa. your momma's eyeballs may be the only thing i've given you in the looks department. you have some mannerisms like momma. my favorite being that you scrunch your nose when you smile really hard. it is adorable. whenever you put your head upside down your poppa says "you look just like your mother" which is funny because i almost never hang my head upside down.

my sweet little bean, you are so fun. you bring all kinds of joy into our lives. each day we can't wait to play with you and see what new thing you'll learn or do. your poppa can't wait until he can dance with you and he thinks you're awfully pretty. i especially like your cheerful disposition and your tiny little chin. i showed you snow through the window a few times but i can't wait until we can bundle you up and take you outside to play in it. snowmen here we come! being a momma has made me more prayerful. i pray moment by moment that God will help me to become a woman that reflects Jesus to you. i pray that He would be at work in your heart, mold it to look like His. love you little bit!

here are some extra fun pics from the month: