5 Months

Today has been a big day for Mia. She turned 5 months old and she had her first taste of solid food!



She did really well with the food - apples. She caught on to the idea pretty quickly and gobbled down half a jar. She also seemed to like sitting in the high chair.



At 5 months, Mia:
- weighs about 13.5 lbs and wears sizes 3-6m and 6m clothes.
- has erratic sleeping habits, sometimes making it through the night and sometimes waking up for a bottle. She sometimes takes long naps and sometimes takes short cat naps throughout the day.
- can grab toys pretty easily and puts everything in her mouth.
- rolls from her back to her belly in both directions, but can't yet roll from her belly to her back consistently.
- wants very badly to be able to sit up on her own.

Aruba

Joe and I spent last week in Aruba, and it was glorious. It was so nice to spend some time together without also having to juggle the constant needs of the kiddos, and it was really nice to sleep well and wake up whenever we wanted, although I can't sleep much past 8:30 anymore. This was the view from our room, not too shabby:





On Tuesday afternoon, we rented a Jeep and did some off-road sightseeing around the island. The northern/eastern coast is very rocky and has big waves since it's exposed to the strong trade winds of the Caribbean Sea; it's much different than the white sand beaches and calm waters of the southern/western coast.



Wish Rock Garden. Aruban legend says that when you stack stones you get to make a wish.


This is the stack we made:


Baby Natural Bridge




We also visited the Arikok National Park, a wildlife reserve.




We explored some caves in the park (Joe enjoyed this much more than I did).


Joe really enjoyed seeing the wind power plant up close. These towers are much bigger than they look from this photo, and standing under one was both fascinating and terrifying. Ten of these harness the power of the trade winds and provide much of the island's electricity.


Tuesday's adventures ended with a visit to the center of the island and some climbing on Casibari Rock.


We saw some interesting wildlife on our trip: wild goats, lots of blue-tailed lizards, colorful birds, an owl (he turned his head just as Joe snapped the photo), and an iguana who enjoyed hanging out in the gardens of our resort.





On Wednesday morning we still had the rental car so we headed over to Baby Beach for some snorkeling. The water was very shallow, clear, and calm and there was a large reef with tons of tropical fish.



Wednesday evening we took a sunset sail.




The highlight of the trip was the delicious food. Most of the restaurants we went to were just tables on the sand, and the seafood dishes were some of the best we've had.



On our last night, our resort set up a private dinner for us in one of the beach cabanas, where we had a five-course meal and watched the sunset and the waves.




It was a great trip!

This morning we walked almost 7 miles from our house to the playground at Trailside Park and back again. Ian loved the playground, and Mia even got in on the action.



The sun came out this afternoon so Ian spent some time playing in the yard. The new rocks are his favorite spot.

Dress

It's in the mid-80s here today, so Mia is wearing her first sundress. It's still a little big on her - I wasn't expecting summer weather in March - but I'm glad she got to wear it since she's growing so fast it might not fit her by the time summer arrives.



Butt view, with matching diaper cover

Landscaping

In addition to the usual spring cleaning, we had some new landscaping done in the back yard this week. One corner of our yard is muddy year round, and also happens to be Clipper's favorite spot to watch the other dogs pass by on the walking path. We got tired of having mud tracked all through the house, so the landscaper recommended a dry creek bed as a solution. In theory, the rocks will provide a place for the water to rest without creating a muddy mess. I am interested to see what the plants look like when they get leaves and blooms.



Eventually we are planning to put in a patio at the base of the porch stairs that will extend over to the edge of this new flower bed/creek bed, but that's a project for another year.

Fuzzy bear sleeping


Boo-Boos


Mia found her feet


Ian is hoping for a rainy day so he can try out his new rain boots and "brella."

4 Months

Mia is 4 months old today! She has learned a lot of new skills in the last month, including how to sleep through the night (my personal favorite).




At 4 months, Mia:
- weighs 12lbs 10oz and measures 24" tall.
- sleeps through the night! She takes a bath around 6:45, drinks a bottle, and gets rocked to sleep. She's usually down around 8 and sleeps through until around 7. She makes it all night 95% of the time.
- drinks 6 ounces 4 times a day.
- wears size 3m and 3-6m clothes and is ready to graduate to size 2 diapers.
- can roll over from her back to her belly over her left side.
- prefers to sit up or stand, with support of course.
- thinks her big brother is really funny.