Five months old!

Jane turned five months old on Wednesday!


She is such a little sweetie. She is so observant and loves to listen to the birds chirping and watch the leaves dance on the trees. All three of us have been enjoying our porch this spring, and Richard is teaching Jane to gently touch the leaves on the climbing roses... but watch out for thorns, ouch! You can see them in the background of this picture, which also shows how well she is sitting up now. Look, no hands!


Another one of her new favorite things is the doorway jumper. It is so fun! She doesn't quite have the umph to jump around yet, but she loves to just sway and twirl around on her tippy toes. Benjamin Bunny keeps her company and helps her fill out the big seat.

A month ago (on her four month birthday to be exact!) Jane rolled over for the first time, but she is just now starting to be able to do it at will. Here is a video of one of her rolling "practice sessions." Please excuse the crazy lady behind the camera.

To swaddle or not to swaddle?

That is the question these days. Jane has been sleeping really well at night, but it is due largely to the "womb-like" environment created by her swaddle. We bundle her up, pop in the paci, and it's a wrap (pun intended, har har). But recently, she has managed to bust out of the mother of all swaddles... The Miracle Blanket. It's basically a straight jacket for babies. I have no idea how she gets out, but this is what we woke up to one morning... (Excuse the blurry, grainy photo... it was taken with my phone when the room was still pretty dark. If this photo does not seem alarming to you, please watch the video on the Miracle Blanket link.)


With all the extra material floating around her, it made me nervous since you're not supposed to give them loose blankets yet. So, we went back to one of the smaller, simpler swaddles we have and are starting to leave her arms out. The first night we tried it, she flailed around like she was making a snow angel. Surprisingly, she wasn't crying or making any noise for that matter, so we just left her alone to see what would happen. After over an hour of this upper body jazzercise, she actually fell asleep! But she woke up an hour later... Oh, well. I guess we'll just keep experimenting! That's what it's all about, eh?

Yes, we are those people

A couple of weeks ago we went to the "Boots and Buckles" themed St. Paul auction... dressed like this.


Disclaimer: Believe it or not, we did not plan this. I just realized when we were getting dressed that we all had jeans (pants or skirt) and white shirts, and for some reason I have three red bandannas, so I couldn't resist! If only we had a mini cowboy hat...

Peek-a-boo

Ok, I just had to add this picture...

The Exersaucer

Jane has a new activity!  I am so excited because I could tell she was getting bored, and I was running out of ways to entertain her while lying down or being held.  But now that her neck is stronger, her doctor said we should go ahead an start working on her legs.  The exersaucer is a big hit!  For now, she just sort of taps her toes and looks around and spins the rattle, but there is room to grow as she gets longer and stronger.  What fun! 

Getting stronger

Check out that head support!  Jane has been working on her neck and stomach muscles these days and is getting pretty good at holding herself up when carried.  Watch out for the occasional backward dive, though.  She is still learning about gravity!

Pink sun hat

We have had fun getting outside in the sunny weather lately. We are so thankful that the storms have passed and our family and home are safe.

Jane has started to notice Maggie this week and has even laughed at her a couple of times.  It is so cute!