Little Miss Independent

Happy 5 Month Birthday, Tenley Bear!!

My big little baby love now weighs 19 pounds and is 27 inches long. She is still in size 4 diapers, but has upgraded to size 6 , 9, or 6-12 month onsies and is in size 12-18 month shorts (I know, right?!), but I am buying everything big so it will last her through the summer. Baby girl has some seriously long legs and super chunkylicious thighs that I just love to squish and smother with kisses!

So what has Tenley been up to this month?

• She is starting to give little neck hugs.
• She's a serious giggle and smile machine.
• She has grown really fond of sucking her thumb.
• She can lift her head so high when she's on her back.
• She loves books. I mean, can't get enough of them! She's such a bookworm.
• She now knows her name and may or may not think her middle name is Bear.
• She blows bubbles and spits all the time. We literally go through 4-6 bibs a day.
• Not only can she take out her bink (and throw it), but she can now put it back in.
• She loves to grab your face if you get close enough. In particular, my glasses and Daddy's beard.
• On March 16th she rolled over while on her back without assistance for the first time. Now she's a pro!
• Since she can now roll both ways, she rolls to get her toys, scoots, picks them up and presses the buttons. 
• She is now back on her sleeping schedule of 1 feeding throughout the night at about 5:30 am. (Hallelujah!) 
• Bath time is also getting interesting because she tries to roll out of her seat and grabs her bucket and picks up her toys.
• She now has to be strapped into her swing because she pulls herself up by grabbing the tray and she can also grab the Pooh mobile on her swing.
• She is showing signs that she is going to be shy. If someone is holding her she tucks her face in their neck to hide a lot, but smiles and giggles while she's doing it so we'll see!
• She absolutely loves shopping with Mommy! We have so much fun bumming together. Her favorite places are Town Square and Barnes & Noble - we are seriously there for hours! 
• She is so, so, SO close to sitting up. Technically, I could say she can sit up on her own, but it doesn't last very long... maybe 15 seconds. I'm not going to count it until it lasts for a few minutes.
• She is getting really good at showing her emotions. When Ed gets home from work and she sees him for the first time she moves like a maniac and gets so excited, then when he leaves to go shower she starts squealing and fake crying. It is SO cute!
• She has experimented with avocados and bananas, but still hasn't tried actual baby food. Mostly because I'm waiting until she is 6 months so she is more mature, but partly because it makes me sad to think she is slowly starting to not need me as much... I remember when she was a few weeks old and cried because I just wanted to stop breast feeding because it hurt and I felt like it was all I ever did, but luckily I stuck to it and got past that hump because now I love it and think it is such an amazing bonding experience. As much as I've enjoyed breast feeding T, I'm also super excited to see Ed feed her for the first time. I got my cook books in the mail and we're dying to try them out - soooo soon!

I swear there are days when I am just amazed at how brilliant of a little human being she is. She just grows overnight and does something amazing the next day. One day she'll be a sloth and the next day she's this squirmy worm that can do barrel rolls and rolls on her changing table to open the blinds. It's unreal how quickly she changes. She HATES to be rocked to sleep and never cuddles (unless it's the middle of the night).

Little Miss Independent.

(How very scorpio of her...)

Would I be totally horrible if I gave her coffee to stunt her growth? 

Make her stop.

Pleasssseeeee!!