Months

Dear N: 5 Months Old

Wow. 5 whole months have gone by. As I write this I am watching you giggle in your grandma’s arms as Molly pretends to eat your feet. You have the biggest smile on your face as you grab for your sisters hair and pull in delight as she continues to pretend to bite you and give you raspberries. And as I’ve said before, your entrance into this world and into our family has been seamless.

The amount of personality you have already is amazing. Just like your siblings, you’re a pretty awesome baby. Grandma Ann says you’re such a good baby, better than your siblings. You are so interested in what’s going on and what people are doing around you. Even when we’re around the animals you love to watch what they do. So curious!

We’ve known you’re a strong baby. And by 4.5 months you were sitting by yourself unassisted. No, you can’t get to a sitting position on your own but you have amazing core strength that keeps you balanced. And with this new skill you’re able to have control over your hands when you play which opens new doors at playtime.

With this ability to sit up, we’ve also started to let you sit in the cart at the grocery store after you mastered sitting in a high chair at restaurants at 4 months. And… with your interest in food, and the fact that you’ve swiped a few things from your siblings, we’ve started offering you food when we eat.

So far you’ve had strawberries, green beans, mangos, carrots, avocado, sweet potatoes, bananas, cucumbers, bread, and graham crackers. Since we’re doing BLW you get big pieces of food that you can hold onto and enjoy on your own. You’re a pro. And it seems like you don’t have a preference for any one thing. You’re totally taking after your siblings.

Playtime is getting more and more fun as you continually become more interested in what’s around you. We’ve busted out a few toys for you, mainly some wooden blocks, a hape shape sorter, and some hand-me-down toys from your cousin and one of your brother’s friends. But sometimes you get frustrated because you can’t move yourself forward yet. You’re getting good at backwards though!

This month you’ve done a LOT! You’ve been to Sea World, Knott’s Berry Farm, and the San Diego County Fair. Lots of animals, rides, people, and fun to keep you curious and busy watching everything and taking it in. Your personality draws strangers to you and many kids and adults like to stop when they see you to say hi or talk to you. You’ve made many a friend.

With all that you’ve accomplished this month, I know that the next will be full of firsts as well and I’m so excited to see you grow and develop. You’re an amazing girl who I love with all of my heart. You’re a joy. Pure joy. I love you.

Unofficial 5 Month Stats:

18lbs (with clothes/diaper on)

5 Month Comparison

Happy Birthday E! – 2 Year Photos

So since we splurged on newborn photos for Molly not too long ago we didn’t have much in the budget for 2 year photos for Ethan on top of what we were spending for his party. Yeah, we could have gone to a picture place like Picture People, JC Pennys or Sears but I really don’t like the studio photo look. I definitely don’t knock it and it works for most people but I love the way pictures look in a natural setting outside.

With the outside in mind I decided to take him out to Balboa Park two weeks ago to see what I could do behind the camera. Now I want to put it out there that I am in NO way even close to being a pro photographer. Nor do I want to be. I’ll leave that to the experts.

But I am very interested in photography and in getting the best pictures I can of my kids when behind the camera. I mean, that’s why we invested in a nice DSLR, right? So I’ve taken a class, read tutorials and am now starting to practice more and more to get better shots. The shots below have their flaws (like one being out of focus, others may not have the right lighting) but that’s what I love about photography. You can’t get better without practice.

So I took photos of Ethan. Lots and lots of photos. In manual. Yup… my 50mm lens doesn’t have the option to take photos in auto so I HAVE to focus manually and I have to remember to change the settings. And boy is that hard to remember when you don’t do it every day. It made me stop and consciously think about the settings I had and what to do to make a better picture depending on the light, E’s position, etc.

And below is the result. These photos (and a handful of others) were the best that I got from the 200 shots I took…