Five Months

Month five was so much fun! Miss Emerson got increasingly active this month and it was so much fun being able to interact with her more. Her little personality is coming out more and more and she is awesome. Very happy, curious, determined and focused at times, silly and smiley, definitely a good eater, and just all around fun to be with. Love. Her. To. Pieces.

She is such a happy and easy baby! We are so lucky and I'm so glad I get to be her Mama. Here's some 5 month highlights (get ready for a photo-heavy post, people):

- Loves to stand up while we hold her. No more sitting, just standing. She's such a "little girl" already. I often wonder what happened to my baby! She'll probably be walking before she crawls. Haha. Pleaselordno.

- Loves to laugh at Daddy and all his funny noises. Her favorite is "muahahahahaha" 

- Hates tummy time but finally rolled over from front to back! The first two times she was with Grandma Vonnie while I was at work (worst part of being a working Mama, and I'm saying it doesn't count. Ha!) but did it for us a couple days later. Then she didn't do it for about another week or two. Finally I was able to catch it on video! 

- She realized how soft the puppy's fur is and loves to pet them. The puppies like it too... at least Buster does. Em really loves to pull on their fur. And ears. And poke them in the eyes. Luckily, they are super chill and put up with all her "pets."

- She is such a happy and giggly baby! It's so much fun and makes me SO happy. She's amazing and always has a smile on her face (or at least an excited open mouth). She loves to lay the open mouth slobber kiss on you (even though she has no clue what she's doing) and loves doing her classic "hungry tiger" face. 

- She started sitting up more on her own. We kept a pillow behind her for a while and she would just sit there and play with her toys. She's also getting really good at reaching out for toys. And Mommy's glasses. And Mommy's mouth. And Daddy's stubbly chin. Basically everything. 

- We thought she might be teething because she is always grabbing our fingers, pulling them straight to her mouth, and then chomping down on them. She's also been drooling a ton. But no teeth yet! 

- We switched to bottles only soon after Christmas. I'm still pumping and she's getting breastmilk, but just not straight from the source. :) It was getting hard on me to balance pumping and nursing and honestly she was getting heavy and it was getting hard to hold her while nursing. Love me my chunky baby! Pumping is hard work, but it's been working well doing the full time pumping. Plus, it's nice to know how much we are actually feeding her (although I still have no idea what's "right") haha. 

- Her legs are moving constantly and I'm already betting on her becoming a soccer player!

- She found her toes! I've been waiting for this moment since she was born because I think it is so cute. And honestly, I'm kind of amazed at how flexible they still are at this age! She munches on them and holds them and it's just so darn cute.

- Grandma taught her a fun game (that was a sarcastic fun)... she now loves to do "zerberts" or "blowing bubbles!" It was super cute at first and we were so proud that she could actually start mimicking us! Fast forward a couple weeks and we are constantly getting spit blown in our faces. Haha. Ok, it's still pretty cute. Thanks Grammie!

- She started holding her own bottle. It's not every time, but most times she will start out holding it. Again, where is my baby?! Already wants to be a big girl.

- We started sleep training. Best. Thing. EVER. Read more about it here.

- Em started going to daycare! It was a hard decision, but ultimately working from home was not working from me. Without having extra help there while I had to work it was unrealistic for me to get anything done without have to make up hours at night, which I hated doing. Especially with tax season coming, it was not going to work. Now she goes to daycare three days a week and it has been great. We were so glad to find some part time day care since Gramma Vonnie watches her Mondays and Tuesdays still. The first week was the worst, but when I picked her up after the first day and saw how happy she was (seriously, does this girl stop smiling? The answer is yes. but usually only when she is hungry or tired. :), it gave me a huge sigh of relief. Her "teachers" are great and love her (how could they not!). She had no problem being dropped off (not to the stranger danger phase yet) so that made it easier, too.  So far so good! 

- We took our first trip to the doctor because of a cold (bet you didn't see that coming after she started daycare). Haha. It actually got to me first! It was just a stuffy nose and cough, but I took her in to get it checked out. I'm really paranoid about the coughing... but it turned out to be just a cold thank goodness. But that also means you can't really do anything but wait for it to pass (which will probably be never since she is in daycare!). 

Four month check up! This was before all the shots (four to be exact).

We got a visit from Auntie Kim (visiting from North Carolina) and Auntie Shan!

Someone got spoiled over Christmas...

Classic hungry tiger face.

Baby selfie. Not really.

She also found her tongue and gets in modes where she just keeps it out. Especially when Grandpa is egging her on. :)

New Year's Eve party animals.

Baby-zilla!

She's a pretty cool chick.

Did I mention she hates tummy time?

Cheering on her Grandpa's favorite team! Go Ducks!

Hipster Baby.

Did I mention the drool? :)

She loves her puppies. She especially loves to watch Brody. She is fascinated with him, even when he's across the room.

She also loves to fly!

So close!

Loves to stand.

That smile. 

This was after day one of daycare. Love my little nugget! 

 

Hungry. Tiger. All. The. Time.

Someone captured this sweet moment of Emerson and her friend Avery at Avery's baptism. Hearts were melting. 

Stinker. 

She has so much fun with Grammie every week!

Bath time with Daddy is always fun...

Seahawks were awesome this season! SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!!!! We watched the NFC Championship game and were super stressed the whole time! Luckily Sherman made the play of the season and we won! Sorry Forty Whiners... :) Go Hawks.

It has been such an awesome season seeing her grow! I have to say, since Emerson was born, the Seahawks have been awesome! I think she is the best good luck charm! :) Below, Em at 2 weeks and 21 weeks - same jersey!

And for your viewing pleasure, here are some quick videos!

GO HAWKS!

I remember when I was little my dad took my brother and me to a Seahawks game. It was back in the Kingdome days and it was awesome. That game was the only Hawks game we went to until they built the new stadium, and the only thing I can remember about the game was how LOUD it was. Even back then, the 12th man was present. I don't remember what year it was. I don't remember who we played. I don't remember if we won or lost. What I DO remember is the noise. The blatant, ear-deafening, crazy, get-off-your-seats NOISE. It was amazing (although I'm pretty sure I didn't fully appreciate it at the time).

Fast forward 15-20 years (holy cow, I'm kind of freaked out I can say that about anything)... the Seahawks are at their peak and it is still CRAZY LOUD. More like ridiculously loud. Teams don't want to play at our house. We move the earth, thank you very much (Beast Quake, anyone?). We have the best defense in the league (Legion of BOOM!) and our coach is a fun guy to boot. Oh, and don't forget that our QB is Russell Wilson. Enough Said.

The past few weeks I've been Hawk-crazy (like almost every Seattleite around these parts) and I've been getting so into the hype and excitement of the big game. I've been reading tons of articles, stalking following the players instagram feeds, watching sportscenter and fox sports one (well, these were always on, but now I just pay attention), even listening to sports talk on the radio. I've become a little obsessed, and it is so much fun. 

I love my Hawks! So. Freaking (stop freakin' call beacon! - Marshawn Lynch). Much. This season has been AMAZING. I got to go to a couple games and the atmosphere in the stadium, especially this year, is unreal. It makes me so proud to be part of this awesome 12th man community. We love our players, every one of them. Whether they talk "too much" in an interview (which, in my opinion, was great - definitely more "classy" than a certain Canadian teenager these days...), or don't want to talk at all, Boss, they are all awesome. Not just the individual players, either. The whole team is awesome. They have each others backs. They win games together. And they love their 12th man. We are with them every game and definitely will be there in New York!

I know my Hawks can do it! We are there to win it all and this time we WILL! We have to because if not my heart just might break in to a million pieces. I kind of feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight! LET'S GO HAWKS! We are with you! Let's bring the BEASTMODE, the LEGION OF BOOM, the 12TH MAN!!! We got this! 

Go Hawks.