Bits About Brynley: 25 Weeks!

Hey Bunny :)

 You turned 25 Weeks old today!

March 6th, 2012

 (Photos taken 03/05/12 since Mommy and Daddy are heading to Hawaii today)

Mommy tried getting you to smile in the first picture. Didn't happen, as you can see. Daddy gave it a try and look at those sweet baby gums from the smile you gave him! I love it! Look at all that strawberry blonde hair of yours that just keeps growing and growing. One of my favorite things to do is to kiss the top of your head. I can't get enough of smelling your baby head and feeling that soft hair. I will surely miss doing this as you get older and you won't have baby fine hair anymore.

You continue to "creep" around and when you really want something it takes you only a matter of seconds to roll around, creep, and fling yourself to wherever it it is that you think you need to go. I seriously can't believe how fast you are growing up! You have recently taken notice of Tucker and light up when you see him. You just want to grab his furry coat so bad!

 We've had quite a few rough days around here between a growth spurt (we think you had your 6 month growth spurt and Mommy prayed this so that you wouldn't put Nana and Pawpaw through it while we are away), teething, having your first cold, and just being fussy in general. You have given us a lot of faces that look like this ha! I had just given you a bath and wrapped you in your robe that Aunt Tori bought you while visiting you in the hospital. I realized I hadn't taken a picture of you wearing it, but soon realized you were less than thrilled to be having your picture taken.

 One of your favorite things is when you get changed and can roam free from your clothes and diaper! I thought your baby bum was too cute, and so did Ryder! He kept laughing and saying "Look at that baby booty". I am loving all of your sweet baby rolls and when you were at the Pediatrician last week we found out that you weighed 14 and 1/2 lbs! I can't wait for your 6 month appointment to get all of your stats.

 You have pretty much outgrown your baby bathtub that we'd used on the bathroom counter, but lately I have been giving you a bath with me in our bathroom like I used to do with Ryder. I decided to try just letting you and Ryder take a bath together and you both loved it! I am thinking that we need to get a new tub to put in the bath so that you can start taking more baths together. Trying to get a picture of you both looking at the same time was about impossible, but I thought the pictures of both of you were too cute not to post!

 I have been letting you practice sitting more and more on your own. You hated the Bumbo after awhile, and we eventually got rid of it but I am now wishing we'd kept it because it would have helped to assist you. You are doing pretty good sitting a few seconds on your own still, but would much rather be standing!

 Yep, you would totally rather be standing! You looked like such a big girl to me wearing your little jean skirt. Your hair is starting to grow and I love seeing it with your sweet hairbows and headbands. Mommy really needs to get it together and remember to order some new headbands for you though!

 I can't get over how much your hair looks red here, even though it's more blonde in person. I've noticed in pictures Ryder's looks really red too, so maybe it just picks up the red tint. You are truly becoming such a pretty little girl and losing more and more of your tiny newborn appearance. It makes me sad in some ways, but I am loving each new stage you enter and become more and more aware of the world around you.

 Lots of drool!

 Mommy usually wears you in this carrier, but Daddy gave it a try so that he could do some things without having to hold you the whole time while Mommy went to her hair appointment. I may have to remember to do this with you too baby girl, because you loved it so much you ended up passing out while Daddy was carrying you in the carrier. Too cute! You looked pitiful, poor thing, since you just weren't feeling very well and we were just having a bumming around kind of day (hence the too short pants and random socks you had on haha! I'd like to think your Daddy dressed you but I may have been to blame ha!)

 I have heard that the Taggies are a must have blanket/toy. In fact one of my friends in MOPS told me that your little friend Leah started sleeping through the night once she put it in the crib with her, so I am willing to try anything. Right now you are doing great sleeping in your crib for most naps and at night, without being swaddled! This is huge progress from where you were just weeks ago. I have started letting you sleep with your Bunny Lovey and this taggie blanket too. I found that you still roll over but you're such a rollie pollie that you just roll back to where you want to be and I'm not worried about you falling over on your face anymore.

 On Saturday I made my very first batch of baby food for you. I decided to let you try applesauce (because we had lots of apples on hand) considering I knew it was pretty bland and you'd do okay with it. So I peeled and cored about 4 apples that we had in the fridge and then cut them into chunks.

 Then I put them in a pot to boil with just enough water to cover, and then let them boil for a few minutes to get as soft as they could. I was a little nervous about making baby food for some reason, but soon realized it was super easy and I can do this with just about any fruit or veggie!

 I got out the instruction manual to see what to do next, and found the recipe for the apple puree.

 Easy Peasy, and 10 seconds later I had delicious homeade baby food! This was super easy and made me wish that I had made baby food for your brother when he was  baby. It was pretty cool knowing just what you were eating with no added fillers or sweeteners. I'm sure I could have made the baby food with aregular blender or hand mixer, but I was happy to use my new Baby Bullet that Nana and Pawpaw got me for Chrismas.

 These containers were super cute and when I first showed the applesauce to you, I think you wanted to play with them more than eat. I made enough food to store in the fridge and freezer while we are away in Hawaii. I fed you your first bite of applesauce and you loved it! You made a few funny faces after your first bite but then started growling for more. This is your new noise that you make when you really want something. Daddy says it's your Zombie Baby noise because it sounds just like one haha!

Daddy even tried his first time feeding you, and you thought he was so funny the entire time that you couldn't concentrate on eating. You really thought he was there to play with! I have to say that you are definitely a Daddy's Girl lately, though I know I am your BFF (but we'll let Daddy think he's your fave haha).

 You are now eating brown rice cereal with breastmilk for breakfast, and applesauce for lunch after you've nursed both times. I can't believe you are now eating baby food! Where has time gone sweet girl? To think that you will turn 6 months just a few days after returning from our vacation blows my mind! I just pray that you will be a good girl for your Nana and Pawpaw. It makes me want to cry just thinking about being away, but I know you will do fine and are in great hands! I love you so much and continue to beam with pride of all your many accomplishments, and this is just another of the many milestones you will have.

Happy 25 Weeks Brynley Bug!

Love,

Mommy