A House For Baby

I am aware that this flower is ridiculous. I bought it to clip onto her caraway but she always pulls it off. So I put it on her headband today.

This past Wednesday we signed the papers on our very first house. 

Work began immediately for Texan as he rushed to scrape all the ceilings to remove the "popcorn" style texture, paint over the newly scraped ceiling, paint the raised wood paneling (which is in the dining room, living room and hallway), and paint the base boards. As of today he is ready to paint the ceilings but has to wait for the spakel to dry. 

Scarlett and I went over to bring a new box of spakel from Home Depot and drop off some lunch for Texan this afternoon. Our friend, John, was there helping and his wife and I sat on the back patio enjoying the weather. Scarlett got a chance to reunite with her exersaucer, since it had been in our new home's garage for the past week. I had to cut down on the amount of her toys that lingered around the house here while I clean. 

Wondering why we had stuff over at the new house already a week ago? We are friends with the people we bought the house from! So on Sunday they "secretly" gave us keys to start moving boxes into the garge so I could start cleaning our current rental. It's one of the many perks of knowing the sellers. 

This I what Scarlett has been sitting in since we moved her exersaucer. It's actually a walker, but she is too short for it so her feet dangle. She is happy in it for about 15 minutes then I think it hurts her little thighs.

Since we got the keys we were able to remove all of the boxes and excess furniture leaving only our beds, dressers and living room furniture. I couldn't live in the box maze very long. Unfinished work gives me anxiety (and I know I'm not special or alone in this regard) so this in-between faze is getting old. 

Vbs ended Friday and it was nice to sleep in until almost 9 am today because it wore my sweet baby out having to be up and out the door every morning by 8:30! Ok, maybe 8:45, but it was tiring nonetheless when you're used to staying in most days. I think it's safe to say she'll be catching up on sleep this weekend. 

We are working on standing. She loves to stiffen those legs and be held up at eye level to make faces at me.

This is her sitting unsupported and you can see she's going down quickly. Her right arm is waving goodbye to sitting up and she crash landed the second I snapped this shot. But her longest sitting up has lasted about 10 seconds, so progress is good. She got lots of practice this week because she was one of only two babies not sitting unsupported yet, all the other babies cheered her on as she practiced. Just kidding, one of them did slap her in the face. 

That's our week in a nutshell. Before/after pictures of the house and Scarlett's six months pictures will be here before we know it!

Top Ten Tuesday

Here are the Top Ten Reasons I know I'm a stay-at-home mom:

10. Mealtime is anytime. Gone are the days where I ate breakfast when I woke up, lunch around noon and dinner around 6. Now it's, "Hmm, it's 3 o'clock. Should I eat my breakfast or just wait for dinner?"

9. I always have the subtitles turned on while watching Netflix/DVDs. That way I can have the volume low and not overstuimulate baby if she's awake or wake her if she's sleeping. Also, I like to run the dishwasher at night, which usually drowns out any volume that may have been turned up in the first place. 

8. My day basically revolves around feeding others. Scarlett, are you hungry? You need to eat before we go. Where's my nursing cover? What should I make for dinner tonight? I will take a shower after I pack Daddy's lunch for tomorrow. Honey, do you need a snack? Did you have enough to eat? I have to get groceries. There's plenty left. Leftovers. Yes, taco soup again. I made a triple batch. 

7. I am the hand-washing police. Did you wash your hands? Wait, let me wash my hands. Don't let her chew your finger, it's filthy! First, wash your hands. Warm water. More soap. That's body wash. Antibacterial. Let me smell. 

6. My personal time happens any time baby is sleeping. How much can I achieve in the next 45 minutes. Should I sleep? Coffee? Laundry, definitely laundry. 

5. I'll take any excuse to talk about my baby. That's a beautiful red blouse! Why, speaking of red, my daughter's name is Scarlett and she's magnificent! (I haven't used that one yet, but it's actually pretty good).

4. I speak in the third person. And I have to shut it off when adults are around. Mommy has to change the laundry, then she'll hold you. Mommy knows how hard it is to be tired and grumpy. She feels the same way.

3. I have a new struggle. And that struggle is stain removal. I have never felt so much fear that a stain might not come out. She has only worn this outfit twice! It's one of my favorites. Who knew a BANANA would stain? Why did I use a cloth bib on squash night? This bib is ruined!

2. (Related to #3) I have a new power. It is the power of oxygen...it's the stain-fighting power of Oxy-Clean! This stuff removes ANY stain. I have never felt so much elation at the sight of a once-stained onesie coming clean. And there are so many uses, according to the back of the jar. Upholstery, grout...the list goes on. I want to buy stock, bathe in it, sprinkle it on my lawn! 

1. I wake up every morning excited about what I do. I get to lay on the living room floor and play with my baby, visit my family when the mood strikes, nap. I know all of her sounds, her different cries, the different ways she sucks her thumb to tell me what she's feeling, and her schedule. I know I am so blessed to have my sweet 6-month-old to take care of, a new home to keep up with, and a hard-working husband to love. 

At 6 months Scarlett is sitting up very well. She still falls over, especially when she is tired or sees something she wants, though. She has nearly 6 teeth. Her middle top ones are starting to break through after the top lateral incisors, which is out of order for the norm. She eats carrots, zucchini, squash, pears, eggs, avocados and bananas so far and can hold a sippy cup. Although she just likes chewing on it, not drinking from it. She prefers to nurse over eating, especially when she isn't feeling well and she takes 3 naps a day totalling 3-6 hours a day of napping. Today she napped for a totalof 5.5 hours. She loves the sound of my voice when I am reading and singing. It catches her attention and puts a smile on her face. She sleeps well at night, from 8:45-5 am then going back to sleep until 8 or 9. Although last night she slept from 7-5 and then until 8. But she is fighting an ear infection and a cold still. She is my giggly, happy girl who loves her daddy and her whole family. 

Five Months

This weekend we went to my parents' house to stay. Texan's big LSAT test was on Monday just minutes from their house, so it worked out that we got to have some fun. My grandmother moved in with my parents this weekend as well, all the way from Florida. It was nice to see her and let her hold Scarlett...well, she tried to hold her. My baby, who turns 5 months old today is what I call "A Squirmy-Wormy." She loves to stand on my lap and play patty-cakes. If there is silence in the house she must be sleeping or nursing. The rest of the time she is squealing and shouting. She does well on her belly but after a while she is ready to lay on her back again. She loves her cousins, who dote on her. Nolan especially uses his "baby talk" voice and says in his little accent, "Baby Garlett is miling at me!"

The three of them took baths together and Scarlett loved to smile up at her big cousins as they splashed around together.

This week Scarlett began trying to sit up when I try to lean her back into her car seat. Her back is getting stronger and stronger. It's like she is fighting me and trying to pull herself up! Scarlett loves to be put to sleep by laying her head on my shoulder while I walk around. It's so sweet. She loves to grab people's faces and nuzzle into their necks. She still doesn't know a stranger. She still loves to nurse even when it's not time to eat, just to be comforted and put to sleep. And recently I can lay her down in her crib when she is awake and she will coo until she falls asleep all on her own, which is new. And it makes bed time a lot easier. The last two night she has slept 8 hours straight waking around 5:30 then going back to sleep until a more appropriate time. Today she went back to sleep until 10! We both needed it after such an exhausting weekend.

I love her outfit this month. It's got chevron shorts and a purple t-shirt. Her first t-shirt! Naturally, she spat up on the shirt and pooed through the shorts within 10 minutes of dawning them. So, I was glad to have gotten the pictures when I did.

 Below is her attempt at sitting up. It's more like being folded in half. I'm hoping that in our new house, which has carpet in the living room, she will get some practice at crawling and sitting up. Presently, I don't set her on the floor except to lay down on a quilt because I don't want her to bonk her head on the hardwood.

Her fingers are constantly in her mouth. Grammy thinks her top teeth are coming in, but she hasn't been fussy today or extra drooly. So who knows?

 She always crosses her ankles when she is lounging. In her swing, her bouncer, carseat.

I took these on our anniversary before we went out. I just love the outfit she was wearing.

There is nothing sweeter than this girl! She is happy and content and there is always an answer to her fusses. Sleepy, hungry, poopy. I can always solve her sadness and make her happy in no time. I just love being her mommy. These five months have been so wonderful.

Exersaucer

Here's my thought progression on the exersaucer:

I loathe the exersaucer.

It is huge.

It is loud.

Grumble...loud clanking noises as I drag it out of the spare (overly-crammed) bedroom and plop it in the middle of the living room floor...

My living room used to be MY living room.

*See Scarlett smile and hop about in ecstasy*

It is Scarlett's new "happy place."

I tolerate the exersaucer.

I always assumed I would get Scarlett an exersaucer, so when Texan's Momma gave it to me (Scarlett) I was so grateful...but then I wondered where I was going to put it. Our present home is a little 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom duplex that is perfect for us...but it doesn't have  a garage or a very large attic. That's why we are house-hunting! Yes, we need more room to put all of Scarlett's toys. But for now, I store the behemoth toy between Texan's home gym and our guest bed in our third bedroom. Now that Scarlett is gaining strength in her back for sitting up, she enjoys her saucer much more for up to 30 minutes! I am actually to the point where I get it out specifically when I need to be in the kitchen. She loves to be able to see me while she stays busy with her toys. And I love that she isn't old enough to get herself into trouble around the house...yet.

How can I resist that happy little face? Thank you, Mimi for our big, giant happy place!