I was going through some old photos/newspaper clippings and found something my grandmother had saved. When I first looked at it, all I saw was the picture. It bothered me a little. Seeing 9 year old me having to hold up a sign saying I Love You Mom!. I thought poor me, I wonder what I was thinking at the time. But I still stand by my assertion that Mother's Day didn't really bother me growing up, so I was surprised at how it made me feel now.
But then, I looked further below and realized why it had never bothered me...
I have a wonderful Grandmother who rocks! I count myself lucky to know her, and have had her as my honorary mother when it was necessary. I'm very glad we named Bonnie after her, and I hope I'm able to live my life with as much grace as her.
Wow, I have no idea why it feels like such a good milestone, but I'm really diggin the fact that Bonnie is 5 months old. It sounds so much more wise and worldly then 4 months old :). Every day she grows into more of herself and it's a joy to watch her. She really is a joyful baby, and a pleasure to raise. All smiles, giggles, and laughter. The other day Johnathan said, "I love her more and more every day! I never thought I could continue loving someone so much after 5 months." Of course it was said tongue in cheek, considering I'm his wife and it had better be!!!! :)
I never did a post on Father's Day, but seeing Johnathan with his daughter warms my heart. He is truely fantastic with her, and demonstrates his love for her every day. I have no doubt that he was born to be a father, and is never more his true self then when he's with her. I feel blessed to have him as my parenting partner and help mate.
I was bad mama this week and didn't take Bonnie's 5 month picture on the actual day, I was a day late...the horror! I've recently started working out a few days a week, and by the time I get home with Bonnie there's hardly any time left before her bedtime. Also, now that I've started feeding her rice cereal, we "practice" eating every night before bed. I say practice because she's still working on getting opening her mouth and swallowing down. With all that, time got away and I completely forgot the pictures until the next day. Oh well, it was bound to happen sometime.
Bonnie Brags
She's a rolling machine! You lay her on her back, turn your head (cough?!), look back, and she's on her tummy. She also likes to roll over when she's in her little bed that's on our bed. There are many mornings when Johnathan and I have woken up with her having rolled over off her bed and onto Johnathan. She prefers his side. Luckily her bed is also a changing pad, so it has a strap we can use to keep her in place when we need to.
She loves making noises and chirping and making bubbles and squealing. I can't say for 100% certain, but I think she likes to make mouth farting noises whenever she for real farts.
She's getting so much better at eating cereal. I can't wait until I feel like she's mastered it so I can give her some of the first baby foods. I want my girl to experience the flavors the world has to offer.
She's gotten so much better at falling asleep and staying asleep at bed time. I've even had a few nights where she slept almost all night. We're not there just yet, but I can see it on the horizon. Can't wait until we can move her into the nursery, although I'm sure I'll miss her too.
She has discovered the blinds beside her changing table. Now whenever we change her she attacks the blinds with glee, pulling on them. Johnathan let's her do it because she loves it so much, whereas I pull her hand away a thousand times and say no. The parenting roles are starting to form, haha.
Johnathan says one morning when they were both awake he watched her playing with a toy and then drop it and start inspecting her hand. She grabbed each little finger as if to count and explore what she had to work with. He loves watching her learn.
She loves it when I sing to her. Not in the way you might think. If she's in the back seat and I'm in the front singing, I'm not sure she cares about that. But if I'm sitting with her where she can see my face and I'm singing she starts to grin really big. I think she finds it funny to hear mommy make the same sounds she hears in the background.
We had our first beach trip with baby this year. We took our yearly trip to the Outer Banks and I had such high hopes for Bonnie's enjoyment. Unfortunately she's still a bit young to really have a good time. I bought a baby float with shade so that she could spend some time in the pool (the shade was important since she's still too young for sunblock). The first day we all got into the pool (Johnathan, Bonnie, my brother, his wife and three kids 1,5,7 and my 9 yo sister-in-law), and thank goodness it didn't seem too cold. We blew up the float and put B in it. She was fine, didn't cry and lounged about. But she didn't seem to care either way and actually looked kind of bored. I think the fact that it was nap time and she had fallen asleep by the pool before I rudely woke her up to put her in might have had something to do with the lack of excitement. That was really her last time in the pool the whole week, other than one time her Grammy (I think we're trying that out now) tried to get in and apparently she shrieked because it was too cold. Pool time = fail
There's always the beach, right!? When we finally made it out there it was bright and sunny and WINDY. I bought a beach shelter to protect her (and me) from the sun. But it was so windy that it wouldn't stay straight so you couldn't see anything while in it. At one point I laid B down on a towel so I could get out and do something and when I got back in her little head was covered in sand, eyes too. She didn't seem to care, but I did! So I transferred to a chair under an umbrella but it was just so windy and slightly chilly and the sun just wouldn't sit still, I kept losing my shade. I eventually took B into the front seat of the Tahoe we had on the beach, fed her, and napped with her while everyone else stayed out and played. I will say she did get to see the ocean and I did stick her little feet in, so there is that. Beach time = fail
Now before you get all downhearted about my beach trip busts know that it wasn't all bad, just certain first time mom expectations were broken. The good things about the trip were many. Good food, good family, good times. And it seems like Bonnie grew up even more on the trip. She finally mastered rolling over on her own, and has been a rolling machine ever since. There was a hint that she was going to do it because while packing for the trip I had her in her pad on the bed and when I came back into the room she was on her tummy in our bed, but I think that was an easy roll. The true test was floor rolling. On one level it's awesome to see her develop and master something but it's a pain to keep her entertained now. She quickly gets tired of being on her tummy but when you roll her onto her back she rolls right back over again. And due to this new skill she has turned into a bit of a side sleeper, just like her mommy. But sometimes she rolls onto her tummy in her sleep and it wakes her up. We may need to get a sleep positioner of some sort, we'll see how that pans out.
Bonnie with Uncle J
Before learning to roll over
Hey, I've rolled over!
Rolling over is so tiring, Imma gonna lounge like Daddy
She's also chattering a lot more now and making mouth bubbles and squealing (sometimes in joy, sometimes in frustration). I've learned to prepare myself with a paci when I'm feeding her a sleepy bottle, because if the bottle finishes before she wants it to, there is audio hell to pay. So I try to quickly swap the bottle for a paci so she doesn't notice much. Oh and she's also learned new ways to pacify herself, like sticking her foot/big toe in her mouth. Gosh babies are so bendy!
One really positive thing from this trip is I learned her new schedule really well. It was one way when we were on leave together, but ever since she's started going to her Grammy's house during the week I've been floundering on the weekends trying to figure out her schedule. I've got it now, and that will make things a lot smoother going forward. She still naps best while laying on someone and that's probably not convenient but it does allow for some down time, and I'll take it! Bonnie and I shared quite a few 3 hour naps at the beach.
Our car was so loaded up with stuff that there was no room in the backseat beside her. On the way back home, near her bedtime she got really bored and fussy. I spent a lot of time turned around in my seat on my knees trying to distract her (uncomfortable was the word of the day). We had to stop several times to take her out and console her. It was so upsetting to see her red puffy face when we pulled her out. Sometimes I wish it was safe to hold babies in the car. When we still had 2.5 hours to go and she was sobbing we considered just pulling over and getting a hotel, but she finally fell asleep for the night, thank God! We learned two valuable lessons from that: 1) Don't go anywhere without Jacque the Peacock by her side and 2) Never pack so much that there isn't room to sit beside her.
Here is a video of happier car times:
She seems hungry all the time now, so we've decided to try rice cereal with her. The first attempt was last night, and I'm pretty sure she didn't swallow any of it. Not really sure how this is supposed to help with hunger :), but we'll keep trying.
