Dear Eisley...Six Months

Dear Eisley,

WOW! you're a half of a year old, how did that happen! You have changed so much this past month. You seem much less delicate and more like a sturdy little kid. I can already tell that you are a determined one, you don't give up easily. You are so intense when you play with your toys. You love toys that make music, you have this little piano and you slam away at it. Speaking of music, sister, you LOVE it, you light up when you hear music. Sometimes it seems  like you are singing along--well it is more like screeching along. To bad Emo-Scremo music is so last decade, I think you would have had a calling for it.

The new thing in your life this month is eating some solid foods. Sadly your first real taste of food was a lime...Dad thought it would be funny to watch you make a sour face, and, Oh BOY! it was funny. you would take a lick, close your eyes, make a sour face then grab for another taste. We decided to let you try some real food so your first "real" meal was avocado. You are a pretty good eater! We give you a mix of table food and pureed food, it is amazing to me at how skilled you are at eating, even though you have never done it before. Also...how are you old enough to be eating what I eat, Slow DOWN kid!

You seem to get excited about pretty much everything these days, you like the cats, my nose, dads laugh, your toes, when dad whispers "secrets" into your ears, and especially dogs. We can tell your excited by your high pitch squeal, or your big belly laughs. You love to flail your arms up and down like your trying to fly away. You also have this super cute leg that we call the waggler, that is constantly moving, or waggling about.  You also are always moving your little feet in circular motions, its really cute!

You carry all this movement into the night, and it seems as though you are not sleeping as well as you used to . When you wake up and can't fall back asleep you lift up both your legs and power-kick them down at the same time, I am not sure what your are trying to achieve with this, but it is a really loud thing to wake up to in the middle of the night. At times I feel like you're a newborn again, waking up every two hours. This makes for a very tired mama and papa, but we do our best to keep our cool in the middle of the night and give you the loves and milk that you seem to need. This bad sleep might be due to the fact that we are trying to wean you from being swaddled, you just like the feeling of being hugged tight through the night.

Sometimes I blame your lack of sleep on the fact that you might be teething. It seems like all the signs and symptoms are there but we have not seen any teeth pop up yet. You sure do chew on everything you can get your hands on. But your favorite things to chew on is Sophie the giraffe or our fingers.

Well little lady, I love this happy, fun baby that you are most days. I am so thankful for you and all the joy you bring me! I had a great time celebrating my 30th birthday with you, it was the best one yet!

Easter 2013

Eisley's first Easter was so great. It started off at Church, where Brian and I dedicated her. This was a wonderful and humbling experience. Child dedication is really a family dedication. It's the commitment of parents to seek God throughout their lives and to help their children do the same. We prepared statements of our hopes and dreams for Eisley, what we want to see her become, and what we want God to do in her life. I wish we would have got the dedication on video, because I don't remember exactly what we said. But it was a great experience  the pastor took want we said and incorporated it into a blessing for Eisley. It was so personal, and wonderful for our family.

Later that evening, our wonderful friends Tom and Andrea came over and we made Easter dinner together, and it was so nice outside we ate outside. Hope you had a wonderful Easter. Also what is better than polka dots and a chubby baby...not much!

Eisley Adventures!

This girl loves being outside...her eyes always widen with wonder, she gets quiet and takes it all in. Here are some pictures of our outdoor adventures the past couple months. If she is anything like her mom and dad she will have the wanderlust bug in her, and I hope she acts on it!

Dear Eisley...Five Months

Dear Eisley,

You amaze me more and more every month. It is crazy how quickly I forget the hard and trying times and remember the fun and happy moments. I guess I am a glass half full type of person and your big smile and belly laughs makes it easy to be that type of person. This month you have changed so much, your little personality is shining through more and more and I just love getting to know the unique person you are. For instance, you don't really care for cuddling, this makes me a little sad because I am a the cuddling type. Maybe you will like it someday but for now you would rather look out on the world around you, do things on your own, and explore all that can be explored.

You are gaining more and more control of your body too. You started rolling over much more consistently and you are really great at rolling from your back to your belly, but not as good the other way. Also, all your baby Pilates really paid off because you are sitting up! You can't sit yourself up yet, but if we put you in a sitting position you will stay sitting up for a long time. This new perspective is so fun for you. I have heard this is pretty advanced for your age, and everyone always comments on how strong you are. You are a determined little girl and you don't give up very easily, I guess that's why you were two weeks overdue and fought every minute of your birth.

Another area of your body you have mastered some more control over is your hands. You love playing in your ExerSaucer and can now push all the buttons, move all the parts, and play with all the toys. You also have a joy for pulling out my hair and dad's beard. We laugh at each other when you pull out the other persons hair, but of course we don't like it when it happens to us. You do have a gentle side though, sometimes when you are breastfeeding and my hair is hanging down by your face, you will gently swat at it and lighting run your fingers through it. It is a really special time for us to share. You also love "petting" the kitties, it usually starts out as a nice little pet, until you decide you want the kitty in your mouth, then your close your fist around as much fur as you can and pull it towards your mouth. Kizzle and Brimley still don't know what to make of you but they are tolerating your more these days.

I have also learned that you handle sickness like a trooper. You have been pretty sick this month, with colds, coughs, congestion, the poops, and just plain crumminess. I blame all those snot nosed kids you hang out with at daycare. We got very familiar with the humidifier and the nosefrida this month though you HATE the latter and start crying when you see it. I wish I could protect you from all those hurts now and forever.

You have started to get very interested in our plate, cups, and food. You are still just breastfed for now. We plan on introducing you to some solid foods when your are six months old. For now you just practice putting all your toys in your mouth. Another thing you have started to do is grab the cloth from me when I am giving you a bath and shove it right into your mouth. I think you will be a good eater, ready to feed yourself in no time! Speaking of bath time, you still love it, I can't wait to take you swimming in a big body of water to see what you do, I have a feeling you will be a water dog like me.

Overall you are still a chill baby. You love being out and about, and generally do great wherever we go. And we GO! You go to school and internship with me a lot, you have gone to work with dad, we went to your future BFF's baby shower, outdoor adventures, car rides, shopping, church, and more! You are a dream of a baby even when your not, your mine and I love you dearly! 

                                                      

One of these things is not like the other.

We had fun about a month ago with this impromptu photo shoot. Dang this girl already has a ton of toys. Some are new, some are handmade, some are hand-me-downs, and some are vintage.

Before having Eisley Brian and I discussed how we wanted to deal with toys, consumerism, and materialism with our future children. We want to encourage her imagination, making toys out of random things around the house or in nature. We also know that toys can encourage healthy development and growth for young children.

So... we have instated the 20 toy rule. She can only have 20 toys at a time, if she wants a new one she has to donate an old one. If Grandparents give her a toy, she has to choose weather she wants the new one or keep the ones she already has. We hope this will encourage her to not value stuff and to value people. Also we hope this will mean holidays won't be so focused on things and more on the memories we are making. I want her to get gifts that are experienced based. Books we can read together. Concerts we can go to together. Swim, music, dance, acting, horseback riding, or whatever else lessons. Adventures we can take. Ways we can use our imagination, explore, and engage.

How all this will practically play out...I have no idea! What do you think? What do you do or hope to do in regards with toys and gifts with your children? What do you think of our plan? How do you encourage caring less about stuff and more about people and moments?