(5 month old) Baby in a box

5 months old. My little baby is 5 months old.

I know that may not seem like very old to you but for me it's almost gut wrenching that she's already that big. I wanted to totally savor every second of her newborn-ness because I wasn't sure when I'd get to cuddle a new little person like that again (I mean, one that's mine). But she's literally growing up before my eyes and it just breaks my heart a little.

But oh how I eat her little self up. I could seriously take a bite of her..you know, if I knew it wouldn't hurt her. We've never had a baby this chubby before and I love, love, love her rolly polly legs and super chubby cheeks. Love.them. And I love how she has rolls on her wrists and ankles and knees. I wish having that kind of chubbiness was just as intoxicatingly cute at 30 years old as it is at 5 months.

At 5 months old Ella Joy....

....HAS TWO TEETH. Yes, I know. All of our other children were at least 6 - 7 months old when they cut teeth. But nearly 2 weeks ago Ella cut her 1st bottom tooth. Yes, at 4.5 months old. Now, both bottom teeth are showing through her gums. Crazy, huh?

....is sleeping MUCH better. She's waking up on average twice per night. I say twice, but I guess it's more like once. She wakes around 6/6:30am but I don't get up that early so I still consider that "night." We tried unswaddling her for two nights and the 1st night she did okay. The second night? Disaster. So, she's back to being swaddled and, get this, SHE'S SLEEPING IN HER BED. Revolutionary, huh?

....has not had any solid food yet. My goal is to exclusively nurse her until 6 months. However, when I had to tell her to get her hand out of a bag of Cheese Its last week, then turn right around and take a sippy cup away from her, I began thinking that maybe she's ready for some cereal. I mean, clearly not for nutritional purposes. Chubby.

....rolls over like there's no tomorrow. As soon as I put her down on her tummy she FLIPS! to her back. If I put her down on her back she FLIPS! to her tummy. She's 0-so-proud of herself. She has started rolling off the blankets and playmats that I put her on. Which means that I'm going to have to start collecting all the small object off the floor soon so I don't find them in her diaper.

....puts everything in her mouth. She is, by far, the chewingest baby we've had. Maybe that's because she cut teeth while in the womb. But, she's a chewer. Her favorite thing to chew is a burp cloth. Followed closely by her fist. She can fit her whole fist in her mouth. It's a hidden talent that she's choosing to display early. If neither of those two are convenient, she'll chew on anything she can get to her mouth. My finger, her sister's hair, her foot, a teething ring, whatever she can find. I love how she attacks whatever she's putting into her mouth, shaking her head to really bite it. It's hilarious.

....has learned to screech her disapproval. Before she'd just do a regular "Hey, I don't really like that" kind of cry. But in the last few weeks she's learned a squeal/screech that lets me know, loudly, that "HEY, I DON'T REALLY LIKE THAT." Guess she has had 5 examples to learn from.

....loves her Johnny Jump Up. I really thought that she'd be too young for it when we first put her in it 3 or so weeks ago. But, immediately, she started jumping all over the place. It's her favorite thing to play in now.

....is still the delight and joy of myself, her Daddy and her siblings. I doubt she could get anymore attention than she already does. She enjoys being around everyone else, rarely fusses and has begun really belly laughing. Her content spirit makes it easy for her to just flow with our already chaotic days. I love that she's okay with whatever life brings our way. I love that she offers her smiles so freely and just a glance in her direction makes her fat cheeks spread apart to show a wide, two toothed grin. I just love her so, so, so much.

Thanks for 5 super cuddly, amazingly chubby, all around joyful months Ellabell. Momma loves you.

Das Not Funny! Friday: With a volume that could make a dog's ears hurt



It's only late Friday night and I'm just getting around to posting this. Oh well, it's still Friday, right? I mean, what I meant was, IT'S FRIDAY RIGHT!! Wooohooo! I actually jotted some stuff down (which means I texted it to myself) when our kids said funny things this week. New to Das Not Funny! Friday? Well....click here to see what it's all about. A few things have changed since I wrote that first post. Mostly that I don't use the Linky anymore. So, if y'all want to link up, just leave your blog address in the comments. K? k.

Good...now on with the funnies....

Over these last few official weeks of summer we've been pool hoppers. We went once with our friends the Hauts, then we went twice as a family and finally, on Tuesday my Mom and I took all 6 kids to the pool where my parents are members. It was exceedingly fun to watch our big kids (and Aaron) jump off the big diving boards. At one point I swam out into the deep end to watch them closer. Ashlee spots me and swims over to me and says,

"Mom. I want to marry you."

"Ashlee! You can't marry me! For one thing, I'm your Mom and for two I'm a girl and you're a girl."

"No I'm not," she replies with a smirk, "I'm a boy."

"Oh you are?" I respond, "A boy named Ashlee? I guess that's possible but how come you look like a sweet little girl if you're a boy?"

And Ashlee, almost laughing before she speaks, says in the deepest voice her tiny self can muster, "Well. I'm really a boy. Can't you hear?"

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In our former vehicle, the Big Red Beast we had fold down TV screen and VCR.

Yes, I'm serious. A VCR. Who still owns VHS tapes? Only us, apparently.

Anyway, we recently were gifted some giftcards to the Walmarts and we decided that we'd purchase a portable DVD player that we could use in our new van, The Silver Bullet. Typically we only put on a movie when the ride will be over 30-45 minutes long or if we know we are going to be doing a lot of driving around town where only 1 of us is getting in and out of the car. Wednesday night was such a night. As I turned on a movie that had somehow gotten tucked away, Lucas calls to us, from the second row of seats,

"Hey Mom. Back when we were 3 and Elizabets was 5 we loved this movie."

Yep. A whole 3 months ago, son. Good memory! Now, remind me again how you forget to put your shoes in your closet every time you come in the door?

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As we were heading out the door one morning this week I casually asked Ashlee,

"Sis, have your brushed your teeth already this morning?"

To which she responds with, "Yep. I brushed-ed my teeth and now my bad breaf is all gone! Smell!"

Um. I'll take your word for it.

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We have a dog. She's a sweet, sweet dog. She was actually our very first child and will be 8 years old this year. I know I rarely speak of Brinkley, our golden retriever, but truly she is the best dog a Mom of 6 could ever ask for. The kids love her. She responds exceptionally well to whistling and the kids have picked up on this.

Too bad NONE of them can whistle. Ashlee, however, has figured out how to capture Brinkley's attention without the need to whistle. Oooooo yeah folks. My sweet little Drama Princess can SQUEAK HER VOICE TO SOUND JUST LIKE WHISTLING.

It's annoyingly cute.

And apparently, Ashlee has decided that Ella enjoys the same decibel and frequency "whistle" as Brinkley does.

As we rode to church on Wednesday morning for our church's monthly Parent's Day Out (which is just a blessing, can I just tell you?) the following conversation transpires.

Ash, squeaking at Ella in the same tone/decibel/frequency/as whistling for the dog: "HEY ELLA! PRETTY GIRL! YOU LOVE ME DON'T YOU! OH ELLA! ELLA-BELLA! ELLA-BELLA-WELLA!"

Lucas: "Ashwee, nobody 'cept Ella likes that."

Elizabeth: "Yeah. Stop it Ash. It's hurting my head."

Ash, seemingly unphased by their protests, and in fact, raising her volume if that was at all possible: "ELLA-BELL-WELLA!! YOU'RE THE SWEETEST WITTLE GIRL! I WUV YOU ELLA-BELL!! HEY ELLA!!!"

Me, trying not to burst into laughter: "Ash, did you hear them."

Ash: "Yeah, but I wike it anyway. DON'T I ELLA-BELLA-WELLA!?! WE WUV THIS! YOU WUV YOUR BIG SISSY, HUH ELLA-BELLA?!"

Have mercy. If Olivia is on pace to surpass Ashlee's volume and drama, I think I'm going to invest in some solid, heavy-duty ear plugs now. I figure that's cheaper than an eardrum transplant.

Y'all have a great weekend!