First Steps

The day we arrived in New York, she popped up on her feet without holding on to anything. I guess it was 3 days of being cooped up in the car that made her motivated! It's a week and a half later and today she finally took a step without falling! OK, it was only one step and she didn't go far, but STILL! Woohoo Alayna!

Lopsided Kid

Alayna has had 2 teeth center bottom row for a few weeks now. We knew that she was getting another one soon, but we weren't sure when. The top center gums looked healthy and pink and she was chewing off to the side. Sure enough, when I came home from work tonight, I found a new tooth off to the left side on the top. Strange!

Teething Hell

That's where we are right now. Poor baby. When Kira got her first tooth, we just looked in her mouth one day (at 3 1/2 months!) and saw a tooth! For poor Alayne, we have been teething now for months off and on. And right now, the on is MISERABLE! I can finally see the ridge of tooth coming through, though, so hopefully she will be relieved of pain soon. We (and I really mean WE...the whole family) hasn't slept well in 2 days because of this tooth. Alayna wakes up screaming and tosses and turns all night even when she IS asleep. I just feel so bad for her. No amount of motrin, teething tablets, or popsicles seem to help. Just being held by tired mommy...and nursing for a few minutes about every hour. So, we really hope it is in before i go to work for the next 2 days. :(

And she's off...

Thursday while I was at work, Alayna had a very busy day! She started crawling forward. Boy, she can really get places now! It's a little wobbly, but I keep finding her in rooms that she disn't start out in! She also started with "dada," much to my dismay! :) Now all I hear all day long is "dada dada dada..." Seriously, doesn't she know who brings her the milk?

Sitting up!

Alayna has been trying to sit up for a while now, but she is so darn heavy that it was hard for her to balance! We were all up here talking at work one day and Joy was remembering how one of her babies was so big it was hard for her to sit up. She was laughing and said they used to take her fat rolls and spread them out "like a big boppy" so she couldn't roll over. And you know what? It works! I started "arranging" Alayna's bum so that it wasn't quite so round...and she could sit up! Once we had the rollover fixed, she was able to work on stregthening her torso to hold herself up! All of a sudden one day she figured it out...now she can sit for over 15 minutes before she gets tired and flops down.
Her new adventure is how to get from all 4s to the sit without help. And bless her heart, she tries SO HARD! She can swing one chunky leg around underneath her, but can't quite figure out how to scoop her belly off the floor from there. So, she gets as far as she can and then wails until I come and give her a lift!
She needs to work a little on her descent, too. Right now, when she gets tired, she just throws herself over to the side with intent and swings her arms around. Most of the time, it works out just fine and she lands in a graceful recline. But, on the occasion, the timing is a little off, she lands smack on her forehead! Ouch!

The world's worst journaler

I have been terrible at keeping up this journal...it is just so hard to find the time to sit at the computer without being attached to one of the girls. But, with Alayna changing so much, I feel like I need to play catch up. She has been rolling and rolling, but only one direction. She likes to roll from her back to her tummy, but (even though she can) she doesn't much like to go the other way. I have no idea why, but I like to think it is because she likes to look at the world. She can almost sit up, but she is so round on bottom, that it still might be a while. As long as we help her keep from rolling on her rear, she can stay upright for a good length of time. She loves to babble and laugh and laugh and laugh. She just got her new car seat this weekend and looks so much more comfortable in the big girl seat...Kira's old seat, of course. Kira got an upgrade to a convertible/booster combo, which she really loves. And we finally gave up and went with a double stroller. Side by side. And they just crack up laughing the whole time we are cruising around. I borrowed it from a friend, so we didn't have to shell out the big bucks, either! She is getting good at falling asleep on her own, although she is vocal about it. No screams or crying, but lots of "talking" in her crib before she gives up and closes her eyes.
So, that's her in a nutshell...although I am sure that so much more has happened that I never had time to write down. So, Alayna, if you ever read this in the future, just know that it's not that I'm not paying attention. It's that I am more interested in enjoying the moments than I am interested in journaling about them.

Waiting...

Kira's 5th month was full of all kinds of first...first tooth, first rolls, first sitting up, first all kinds of things. So I guess I am a little surprised that this month went by with a lot of...nothing! She rolled over last month and haven't done much of anything new this month. Not that I don't see a lot of effort on her part. She's working on all those firsts, and we are patiently waiting!