Mommy's hat, new tastes, Deb & Pete, & Cool Shades

Our friends Kate & Brian (the luau house) have a great pool. Kate hosted my bunko group last week, and we went a little early for a dip in the pool. Sydney loved the pool, and the bigger kids loved playing with her toys. Her little hands & feet were wrinkling up, so we took a break in the shade for a while.

Here's Syd wearing my hatHere she is playing with her first Barbie doll courtesy of Samantha. She's got little marks on her head from where the sunglasses hug her chubby melon.We introduced those little Gerber star puffs last week. I took her to the pediatrician for her 6 month check up on Tuesday gave us a free for all to try nearly anything she seem interested in, with the exception of cow's milk & anything the two of us had childhood allergies to. She hasn't actually picked one up & put it in her own mouth yet, but when we do it for her she seems interested & they get all sticky & stick to her hands. I'm sure eventually one will find its way into her mouth & she'll figure it out. In the last week we've introduced cantaloupe & green beans into her dining options. She really likes the cantaloupe & the green beans went over w/out a protest...so we'll keep our fingers crossed that she keeps on liking her veggies & eating healthier than either of her parents.Here she is learning to use the sippy cup. Jeff & I were both surprised how hard you have to suck on it to actually get the water out. Sydney seems to like it best when we take the plug out of the lid & the water just runs out all over the place.My Uncle Pete & Aunt Debbie were in town for a quick visit on Saturday. We met at the Bristol for lunch. Sydney had her poker face on that day, so there's no smiling baby eventhough she was in a pretty good mood.Jeff stayed home with Sydney Sunday morning while I went to church. Church is the same time as her morning nap, so we'll be trading off for a few more months at least. He dressed her & accessorized her with new sunglasses. We're both in shock that she leaves them on....and so was everyone else we met up with for lunch.

Her 6 month check up was uneventful. Dr. Slaymaker said she's right on track & isn't worried about some of the milestones she hasn't met yet. He said she can roll back to front if she wanted to, but she just doesn't really want to yet. Of course, the shots were sad, but it was over pretty quickly. Here are her 6 mos stats:

weight 17 lbs 2 oz -70th%
length 26 3/4" - 82nd%
head 17 1/4" 75%

The Hottest Weekend EVER!!

Well, maybe not EVER, but certainly in Sydney's lifetime.

We got the baby splash pool out on Saturday morning. It didn't take long for the water to warm up enough for Syd to get in. Since she's sitting up now, I sat her down and sat down next to her. Before I had my hands back on her, she immediately was face first in the pool! A very scary moment, but she seemed amused...the little dare devil! She's not scared of water at all!It was very sunny, but don't worry...she had SPF 50 on.Swimming makes you so hungry! She's up to 3 meals of "solids" a day now, we started lunches last week. She's decided avocados are okay now.

Saturday our friends Kate & Brian Schnitta hosted a luau sponsored by his company, Natural Way Chiropractic. They had wonderful margarita machines to keep the guests cool & entertained. Sydney decided that she'd like to have a margarita & couldn't keep her little hands off mine.

She dunked her hand in my margarita a few times too, but I licked it clean before she got a taste.

July 1st in St Louis

I'm a bit behind in getting these picts up, but as they say....better late than never:

We visited the Morgan's in STL the weekend before the 4th. Its hard to get a 22 month old & a 5 month old to to be awake & happy at the same time, and below documents our best efforts.

This is the face that Trevor makes when you say "smile!". Obviously Syd didn't hear the request.
There are several pretty cute picts of the two in the tub, but this is the only PG rated one.

First Foods, Pool Party w/ Jackson, Here Kitty Kitty, Cheeky Bum, "Tummy" time

I didn't get the picture up right away, but this is one of Sydney's first tastes of rice cereal. As you can see, its all over her nose, but she liked it right away.Now she's expanded her tastes to include potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, banana, applesauce, and avocado. She's not fond of the avocado yet, but we'll keep trying. Her all time fave is broccoli w/ mashed potatoes. You can see her eating it here & she's trying to speed up the process & put the spoon in herself.This pict is another one that I meant to have posted a few weeks ago. Once the pool warmed up enough, she started to like hanging out in her float.Here she is chillin' with Jackson at the pool.Sydney could just sit & watch the kitty all day long. I think she's just waiting for her to get close enough to grab ahold. But kitty must be smarter than we give her credit for, because these picts are a close as she's gotten so far.Sydney would get so excited when she thought the kitty was coming closer. She'd start rocking & flailing her arms and breathing really fast.This was before her bath last night. Don't you just love those sweet cheeks!Before Sydney was able to sit up for an extended amount of time on her own, I'd lay down & sit her on my tummy. She liked that she could see me so close, and it was easy for me to balance her this way. And when I laugh, it makes her bounce & that makes her laugh too.
When she starts laughing, she bends over and puts her head on mine like this. Its so funny & we just do it over & over & over until my abs hurt! She's getting heavy enough that I might be able to count this as a workout soon!
An angelic moment.
I didn't document it very well when she first started to sit up. Probably because I was afraid she'd topple backwards as soon as I stepped away to get the camera. So....now she'll totally let me do whatever & she'll sit there & play with her nearby toys or watch the kitty walk around. Doesn't she look like such a big girl!!

Sydney Parade @ 5 mos

Blogspot its being finicky right now, and won't let me post the rest of the picts.....but atleast you can see the biggest difference. I'll get on tomorrow & see if I can post the rest so you get the whole parade. Here's Syd at 1 mo:
And here's Syd at 5 mos (okay, more like 5 1/2 because we're a little behind!)I think this one's cute since she looks like she's a little birdie trying to fly away. And here is Sydney trying to grab the camera
We had a little visitor in our yard and Jeff couldn't wait to show the kiddo. Turtle got scared but didn't completely hide from her.

Daddys' girl:

Favorite PJ's, Sleepy Girl, Dinner Time Fun, and a Lampshade for the Puppy

These are Jeff's favorite pajamas on Sydney. They're like big girl pj's because they're two pieces and aren't footed. She slept like a champ yesterday. Her morning nap was 3 hours and her afternoon nap was 2 hours long! We totally took advantage of the extra time & our house is nearly spotless now!Sydney likes hanging out in the booster chair (we decided against buying a highchair), especially with this super cool toy that spins in front of her. I like it too because it suctions to the tray & its the only toy she can't continuously drop on the ground
When we came home on Monday night we noticed some blood on the floor of our bedroom. It took me a bit to figure out it was Velvet's face. We assumed she'd had an altercation with a possum or a raccoon in the back yard, so I cleaned her off & went to bed. Over the next few days she quit eating her food and the sore on her cheek spread to her neck and eye. She was pretty gross!! We finally took her to the vet on Thursday & it turns out she's got some weird bacteria thing that Jeff can't remember the name of. Apparently its not contagious to us or Sydney or the cat, but she kept scratching it & wouldn't let it heal so she's got to wear this for about two weeks, or until it heals. We have to give her 3 pills 2x's a day...and she loves all the extra cheese that comes with it!
I haven't mentioned this in any of my earlier posts, but Jeff and I have been concerned about Sydney's motorskill development for a few months now. Parent's as Teachers wasn't available to meet with us until August or September (when I was calling back in May), so they referred me to the local Infant & Toddler services. They have physical therapists who will come out & evaluate your child if you have concerns & provide assistance if they qualify. Well....the good news is that Sydney didn't qualify.....but the bad news is that she only passed by 1 percent. She scored 37th percentile in her locomotion development, and 36th would have put is in the program. So, the therapist gave me some suggestions on ways to play with her to help her muscles develop and if she hasn't met her 7 month milestones by the end of her 7th month, then they'll come back out for an evaluation. She also told me that she didn't think Sydney had a hernia at all, but that it is a rather large abdominal diastasis which makes her tummy weak. The diastasis will come together the stronger she gets, and this may be a reason she can't completely roll over both ways unassisted yet. I'm not sure if all of this makes me feel better or worse about her situation, but I know I do feel pretty nervous about doing what is best for her. Jeff has taken this better than I have, and he's encouraging to both Sydney and I. I know I'm probably just a super crazy first time mother, but if you would remember Sydney in your prayers we would really appreciate it.

An Afternoon at the Neighborhood Pool

We went to the neighborhood pool yesterday in the late afternoon so the sun wouldn't be so strong on Syd's skin. She really liked the water this time. Jeff was "swimming" with her all over the place & she was squealing & cackling. She was a good girl and kept her hat & sunglasses on for most of the time. Jeff stood her up on the side of the pool & pretended that she was jumping into his arms. She just thought that was the best. I think we're going to sign up for infant swim lessons soon, they start at 6 mos. We didn't want to get our camera anywhere near the water, so these are the only picts we have.There were a few better picts of the 3 of us, but they were full length of me & I'm not quite ready for that yet!

Week 24

Your New Baby
If you feel like Sydney Alexis is dropping her toys over and over again only to get your attention, remember that this is how she tests the world and she is fascinated to find that dropping an object, such as a rattle, will have the same result every time. She now knows the sound that the rattle makes and can anticipate it. If the rattle hits another toy or surface on the way down, she may look to see what happened and why the sound was different that time. She is also delighted to discover another predictable result: that you will pick it up for her. Have patience. I remember wanting to put everything on little bungee cords so my daughter could retrieve her dropped toys herself.Your little one's face and body will now start to communicate more subtly and you'll find that you can read her moods as they change simply by observing the _expression on her face and by her body language. She will give you great big smiles and animated movements when she's happy; and a quieter, withdrawn demeanor when she's tired, sad or confused.Your baby will love a jumper chair at this age and it's great exercise for her leg muscles. However, be sure the chair is properly hung in an appropriate doorway-away from stairways and other dangerous areas (like near the kitchen stove) where she could get hurt. Remember to stay nearby and watch for signs that she may need a rest - little legs can wear out very quickly.