Baby's Firsts

On the list of things to cross off of baby's firsts list...there are some firsts that I could do without.

For example, baby's first bug bite. Right smack dab on her forehead!

Also, baby's first sick visit to the pediatrician. Little lady was congested and coughing and a little grumpy. Turns out she's just fine. But, now I know that at 5 months she weighs 18 pounds 9 ounces. Gotta look at the bright side!

Pappy's 62nd Birthday

For Pappy's birthday we surprised him with lunch at Duck-In (one of his faves), then a shopping excursion to the Mast General Store.

Later, we had a party at Bab and Roc's house. Bab coordinated a smashing spread of foods. We had all of gis favorites- ribs, mac and cheese, salad, homemade rolls and raspberry butter, butter beans, corn and Mimi made his traditional German chocolate cake. I think he had a good birthday!

Pictured: Duck-In, Bab dressing up Lo at Mast General in some weird Halloween decor, Mast General decor, Pappy blowing out the candle.

Football Fun

Lo and I had the opportunity to go see J Man play his first football game a couple of weeks ago. It was cool to see him participating in something that he obviously enjoys. He played really good and we are proud of him.

It was super hot outside that day...like you could cut the air with a knife. So, we didn't stay for the entire game but we made it through most of it. Eventually Lo, the kidlets and I retreated to my air conditioned car while we waited for the game to finish up.

Pictured- J Man's team on the field, the siblings cheering him on, me keeping Lo cool by fanning her with Bed Bath & Beyond coupons, and the kidlets playing a game that they made up on the fly in the shade while patiently waiting out the heat.

Daddy's Little Model

Well here is Miss Lo in all of her glory at 5 months old.

Pretty darn cute if I do say so myself...and I do.

Traveling With An Infant

The Hubs and I recently took a long road trip (11 hours each way) with our baby. I'd like to share some helpful tips of what worked for us-

We brought the grandparents along for the ride.  This won't always be the case but it helped Lo to have new faces every couple of hours.  This would work with just 2 people instead of 4...just rotate every stop.

Speaking of stopping- plan on doing that a lot.  When you add up all of the reasons for stopping, there are many!  We tried to work around baby's schedule.  Since our 4 month old eats about every 2 and a half hours we found that we could hold off on other pit stops until she needed to eat again. We made a long stop about half way through the drive.  We would find a place to sit down and have lunch.  We brought Lo's stroller that reclines all the way so she was able to stretch out and play while we ate. A typical stop went like this-someone takes baby out, lets her stretch, feed, burp, diaper change and then walk around for a few minutes/play time. Usually one of us would stay at the car with baby while the others gassed up the car, went to the bathroom, got snacks, etc.  Then we would switch.

Punky and Papi shopping at Cracker Barrel.

 In between all of those stops were play time and nap time.  Our 4 month old likes white noise and darkness so we brought her travel white noise machine and a blanket to put over her seat to make it a little darker.  We were also sure to bring her favorite blanket and pacifiers to make it more comfortable for her.

Lo's cave of darkness.

Another life saver was her "command center".  I brought a little square caddy that had dividers in it that we put on the floorboard in front of her seat.  In one section there were bottles already filled, formula and one with bibs and burp clothes.  In another section we had toys and in the other there were lots of pacifiers. It was very convenient!

Taking a stroll at a pit stop with her Daddy.

 And even though she didn't seem interested in toys before we left home we quickly found that she in fact, did like to play with them after hours of sitting in the car.  We brought a slew of new toys and a couple familiar ones and switched them out.

  When she got really grumpy and we did have internet connection we would occasionally play a little clip of Curious George or Sesame Street from the PBS Kids app and she loved that.

Punky and Sophie the Giraffe

 Make sure to dress your little one comfortably.  We just stuck to a plain white onesie.  We were also sure to bring LOTS of bibs since we have a teether on our hands. I switched them out every stop that we made so she stayed nice and dry.

Our comfy little traveler at a gas station taking in the sights.

Other things to pack for your stay with a baby-

*Travel crib

*Diapers and wipes

*Hand sanitizer

*Extra blankets, bibs and pacifiers

*Extra outfits (they're bound to dirty up a few)

*Clothes that can be layered.  We went from almost 100 degrees at home to about 70 degree weather.

*Gas drops, infant pain reliever (just in case!)

*Lots of deodorizing bags for all of those diapers- there are no diaper genie's on vacation.

*Travel sized baby wash, powder, diaper rash cream.

*Several different modes of transporting your baby- slings, front packs, wraps, stroller.  I brought a few different carriers and stowed  them in the underneath compartment of the stroller.

I definitely over packed but I would rather be prepared than be scrambling to a nearby store to try to get what I need.

Punky Takes Ohio

Our little family and my parents took a little road trip to visit Hubby's side of the family in the buckeye state.  It had been far too long since the Hubs and I made the haul up the road to visit so we were happy to see everyone.  Some of the trip highlights included-

 Punky meeting her paternal "Grandpa" for the very first time.

 Hanging out with Uncle Neal.

 Getting the grand tour from Aunt Fran and meeting Gweny the cat.

Apparently meeting the man of her dreams. Seriously, this kid couldn't get enough of her cousin Kevin...I think I'm going to have to get a poster to put above her crib of his face!

 Amish Country- a pretty gazebo outside one of the shops.

 Browsing the Amish furniture and finding this huge chair to pose the little one in.

 The reason for visiting Amish Country- Heini's cheese!  I've got my freshly made baby swiss and parmesan in the fridge to prove it.

 A shot of one of the farms.  It really is a beautiful place...maybe it was because it was 70 degrees there as opposed to 100 degrees back here at home?!  I told the Hubs that next time we're bringing a tripod and taking some family pictures in the pastures up there.

 We had a family reunion with the family.  It was nice to visit with all of his aunts, uncles and cousins.  We wish that we could see them more often and have vowed to do better.

 Theresa loves s'mores as much as I do! That was some exciting news to me.  She and Kevin brought their fire pit so we could make some delectable s'mores that night.

And, while being cooped up in a car for a total of 24 hours over the span of a few days...the girl has decided that doing tricks with her tongue is where it's at!  Hours of fun, never gets old.

Growing Like A Weed

This little girl is growing so fast and growing out of some adorable/sentimental ensembles.I took the opportunity the other day to snap some shots of her in a few that are ready to be retired.

This is the Hubby's favorite outfit thus far.  I don't know what it is about a blue leopard romper but the man can't get enough of it.  Alas, it no longer snaps without digging into her juicy thighs...sad day.

My Mom smocked this little apple dress for Lo. I didn't do a great job and showing off the adorable ruffle along the hem and the matching ruffle bloomers that are bun huggers these days.  But, up in the top of the closet it goes.

This dress was worn by me and my sister and was purchased by my Nana. She only got to wear it once because I completely underestimated the size...oops!

Last but not least, this adorable ensemble made by my Mom. It reminds me of the little outfits she used to make for me when I was a baby/toddler.  Again, I didn't do a great job at capturing the strappy back and the bloomers with attached ruffle skirt.

Pioneer Day 2012

The Hubs and I were asked to be on the planning committee for the Pioneer Day activity at church.  It was one of the first that we have ever attended and I would say we did a pretty bang up job of celebrating...pioneer style!

We had a delicious breakfast, tons of games, crafts, a couple of demonstrations, a seminar about some local pioneers and a movie.  I was able to attend part of the seminar which was being done by my Dad and it was really good.  I was so sad that I didn't get to see any of the demonstrations, I heard that they were cool.