Emmeline: 6 Months

Oh Emmy....I should be writing up your 7 month update, but here I am, writing your 6th an entire month late! Just know, I did in fact take the photos on the day you turned 6 months! But finding time to sit down and write has been challenging lately. I just want to spend all my time with you and your brother! :)

So what's new in your sixth month? Well, you're still our little peanut - you had your immunizations on your 6th month birthday and weighed in at 12lbs 3oz. You're trucking along on your own curve and we aren't worried at all about how petite you are. Secretly (or not so secretly), I love that you are tiny as it lets me enjoy the baby phase for that much longer. It also makes it a lot easier to hold you when I'm trying to do things around the house, or wear you in the ring sling when we are shopping. You're still wearing a mix of 0-3 month and 3-6 month clothing, depending on brand and what it is (onesies seem to fit forever in 0-3 month). You're still also wearing size 1 diapers - I tried size 2, but they just seemed way too big, so we will wait on moving up for now.

Not much has changed in the sleep department. You still have a long nap 2-3x per day, depending on how on the go we are that given day. The car usually puts you right out, but you most often wake up as soon as we get to wherever it is we are going. I thought by now I'd be trying you in your crib at night, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it! You seem so little and I just love having you sleep beside me. Plus, it makes nighttime feeds so easy! You're also our last baby and I know these days of sleeping together are limited, and since you still are content to sleep in your Dockatot at night, I shall let you be.

We will be starting solids with you this month, and up until now, you're still exclusively breastfed. Thankfully, we did finally find a bottle that you love so that's been handy for when I need to be away for more than a few hours.

You've started rolling over all the time, but you get SO mad when you roll onto your tummy. It's kind of funny and sad at the same time. You are able to roll from tummy to back as well, but I think you get too upset to even try and fix the situation you got yourself into in the first place! We're working on sitting up though, which you enjoy since you can see more of what's going on around you. We've started putting you in the jolly jumper as well, but you just kind of hang out in it and haven't caught on to the jumping part of it. Your tolerance for being in it and the jumperoo are limited though!

I find myself thinking back to this time a year ago, when you were growing inside of me and it's hard to believe how fast time goes. I know that's the most cliche saying you will ever hear, but that's because it's the truth. A year ago, I had no idea who was inside of me, what little person would join our family and complete it, and now that you are here, I am thankful every day for you and the joy and love you bring all of us! Just the sight of you lights up my mood, and watching you and your brother interact more and more is the best thing in the world.

Happy Half Birthday, Emmy!

xoxo
Mommy


*affliate links have been used

Camping in the Kootenay Plains

{the view from our campsite}

The other weekend (Father's Day weekend), we ventured out on our first camping trip of the year! We really didn't have any plans to camp in June, but when my best friend Karen invited us to join her family and some others at a group site, we figured why not! Karen and her family camp a lot, but we've never been able to join them before. I knew it would be a blast for Sully to have other kids to play with during the day, and the beauty of camping with your friend who has a trailer is chances are good that if you forget something, they will have it!

We packed up Friday morning and made the 3.5 hour drive north west of us to the Calvacade Group campsite in the Kootenay Plains. For local folks, this is about 65km west of Nordegg. The drive for us was beautiful, as it took as through the mountains up towards and through the Banff and Lake Louise area. I've never camped in a group site before, so I really had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that the sites were unserviced (not an issue for us since we tent it anyway) and no running water, so pit toilets only. I called ahead to make sure that the walk from our site to the closest outhouse wasn't too far and was told that each site had it's own outhouse.

When we arrived, I was taken aback by how beautiful the area was. Nestled in amongst the mountains, you would never expect the area to be a campsite. There were 8 sites and only 3 were booked for the weekend. But each site was so large that even if you had neighbours, you would barely notice. Our site in particular, also had a large outdoor shelter, complete with a wood burning stove and picnic tables in case weather took a turn for the worse. Pretty cool! Firewood was also included in the cost of camping which was great as we didn't have to haul any along with us.

We arrived around 4pm, quickly set up camp and then spent the evening cooking, eating and drinking, while the kids and Karen's dog ran around and played. So much open space for the kids! A couple sets of friends weren't able to make it after all, so it was just us, Karen's family and Karen's husband's Aunt and Uncle. It was great spending the weekend with my best friend and watching our kids play so well together.

As for night time - I'm not going to lie. It was COLD. I wasn't really thinking about how early in the year it was, so I was not prepared to be so cold at night! I definitely regretted taking my leggings out of my duffel bag at the last minute! Emmy was a trooper though and napped and slept great! Karen leant us a travel sized playpen for using in the tent, and I brought along her Dockatot. At whatever time she would wake up to eat in the middle of the night, I would just bring her into bed where I kept her till morning.

I was worried about how Sully would take going to the washroom in a pit toilet, but he thought they were totally funny and awesome! He couldn't get over the fact that he was peeing into a big hole and that there was no handle to flush. Thank goodness he thought it was a novelty to use them! And I have to say, the outhouses at the campground were spotless and maintained daily, which made using them that much easier.

I already feel like the rest of the summer weekends are filling up quick, so I'm so glad we made it out once already to camp. We do plan to keep the rest of our camping trips this summer closer to home, but we definitely plan to return to this place again in the future!

{the coolest 6 year old I know}

Do you like to camp? Where's the best place you've every camped?

Tent or trailer? :) 

Emmeline: 5 Months

*This post is about 3 weeks late, but better late than never, amiright?! ;) 

Oh Miss Emmy!

How are you 5 months old already?! Sometimes I look at you in your beloved Mamaroo Swing and I can't get over how big you look in it compared to when you were first born. We didn't get you weighed this month, but you're starting to grow out of your 0-3 month clothes and some 3 month clothes as well, so I know you're growing!

You're still exclusively breastfed, and will take the odd bottle of expressed milk when needed. I'm looking forward to starting you on solids next month though! Your brother's first food was avocado on toast cut into strips and I think we will try the same on you to see your reaction to it. To this day, it's still his favourite food to eat!

You still aren't rolling over, but you are SO close. That darn, pesky arm just keeps getting in the way! The day before you turned 5 months old, you finally found your toes! This is one of my favourite milestones, watching babies grab their toes and rock back and forth. You are strong enough to sit up in the jumperoo without any padding, but you only tolerate for 15 minutes at the most. Guess it's time to dig out the jolly jumper! You're usually pretty happy to just lay on your activity mat and grab at the toys hanging above you, and when that no longer entertains you, then you like to be held facing out so you can see everything that is going on. You really resist being put in a sitting position, preferring to be held while standing. It's like you're reading to take to the ground running before even learning to sit or crawl! I imagine life will become much more exciting for you once you are able to sit on your own.

Emmy, you're still such a happy baby and such a good little sleeper. I still nap you in your swing, but at night, you sleep peacefully in your Dockatot in our bed. I realized that this is around the time I transitioned your brother to his crib so we will probably get on that soon. While I love having you right next to me, I can't help but wonder if you would sleep longer stretches without me being by your side. We shall see! Even though you nurse at night and go straight back to sleep, it would be nice to get more than 3-4 hours of sleep in a row!

It's such a joy watching you grow, Emmy. The love I have for both you and your brother is a love I never knew was possible! I'm so grateful I get to be a mom to both of you.

xoxo
Mommy


*affiliate links have been used