5 whopping months

First off, how is it June already?? Summer has come way too fast.

That being said, Emma is FIVE MONTHS OLD. Wowzers. That sounds about right, though. She's still little.

She is becoming more and more aware of her surroundings, lately.
She has proved to be an excellent traveler having been on two round-trip flights (5 planes; 1-way had a layover) and in car for 3 hours each way (to and from Portland).
She has started to use her hands with purpose to grasp objects which is fun to watch because of the concentration it requires.
She's still easy-going most of the time, although I believe she has started teething and sometimes cries like she's in serious pain. Poor baby.
Her laughs and giggles are wonderful sounds and I wish she would make them all day but they're somewhat rare.
She is still a chow hound and has loved every baby food we've given her (sweet potato, squash, pears) except banana.

Look at that drool. Nice. 

Funny quotes

I found some quotes by Aiden on my phone today that I had forgotten about. He said these things when I visited back in April. I miss this kid.

"It's like putting your hand in an octopus. It's hot."

"Horses! Cow! Why are they together?"

"I said white like a napkin."

Family time is happy time

Last month flew by SO fast! Bry was able to use some vacation days and we took a week-long trip to Austin, Texas. We saw his two oldest siblings and their families (11 kids total - nearly half the Bingham cousins - crazy). It was a lot of fun. My first time to Texas and the weather decided to be unusual and we witnessed extreme thunderstorms and buckets of rain falling from the sky causing flash floods and weather alerts. It was NUTS. However, I sort of loved it because it kept the temperature cooler and made outside fairly pleasant in between rainfall. Also, I loved it because it reminded me a lot of the time we went to Orlando, Florida and got to go to Disneyworld. Who knew Texas was similar to Florida? I guess lots of people, probably, but I certainly didn't. Only the last day or so was the weather what I'd expected - more like western Tennessee or Washington D.C. weather - ugly hot. We didn't have to spend much time outside, though, so it was tolerable.

Emma loved all of the attention from her Bingham cousins. They were adorable - wanting to take turns holding her or just coming over to look at her or touch her feet. It was so cute watching them and it made me wish I had Google glasses so I could have taken a picture at certain moments.

We had a wonderful time and are so glad Chris and Penny were willing to let us stay with them. It was as much a Christmas present to them (which is what it was intended to be) as it was a present to us.

Just a couple days after we got back from Texas we happily drove down to Portland, OR for Emma's cousin's baby blessing. Little Diana is so sweet and it was weird to feel how light she seemed compared to Emma who was born just 7.5 weeks earlier. Babies change a whole lot in 2 months. Crazy that Emma is almost 5 months old.

Pictures from the trips to come later (hopefully).

Mmm, sweet potato

Emma tried her first baby food today of sweet potatoes and it was mostly a success. After she got the hang of eating from a spoon she would just keep opening her mouth big when the spoon was close to her mouth like she would with a bottle. Funny baby. She just ate it up. She was upset when it was gone. She also was upset if it was too warm - she liked it cooled.

Good job, Emma! =) My sweet little piggie.

(Sorry no picture - I forgot.)

Also, after she'd had the sweet potato (and got over her sadness that she was done), she talked and talked AND TALKED to me all about it. It was absolutely adorable. She definitely seems to be showing more personality these days and it's very fun - most of the time. ;)

Emma at 4 months old

Lately she's been "talking"/squeaking a whole lot more; she's testing out her vocals and usually loves to have conversations with you though she may do most of the talking (she is a girl, after all).
She is much more aware of people and likes to see what's going on.
Emma definitely knows her mom and dad and knows some other friends and family, too.
She is generally a happy baby although she will complain if she's hungry or gassy or tired or has a wet/dirty diaper or is bored.
She likes to "fly" and spin around. Her laughs are sounding more normal and less disjointed, although they usually turn into squeaks at the end.
She enjoys having her fingers in her mouth and sometimes tries to talk or giggle with them still in her mouth.
A couple weeks ago she got a cold and being congested and such interrupted her sleep (and ours); however, she still sleeps very well and for that we're grateful.
Although she's not always easy to manage, I love having my little buddy with me at home. =) Her cuddles and smiles are the best and I love her.

Super-sailor.

Smiling up at Grandma Anderson.

Princess Aurora outfit + headband.

She's getting bigger.

As my mom said when seeing this, Emma is "throwing up gang signs". Oh dear.

I'm a mother on Mothers' Day!

Last year (2014) on Mothers' Day I found out we were expecting our baby. Now she's here! It's sort of crazy. 

She's a sweet baby. We love her. We were lucky enough to have my parents visiting for the weekend (and part of last week) and Emma got to enjoy some time with two of her grandparents. She loved it - so fun to have faces around other than just boring old mom and dad. ;) 

And you can't even tell I got a wisdom tooth out on Thursday. =)

Emma's first flight

She did a great job flying to California last week - ate a bottle, was awake for a bit, then slept until we landed.

Throughout the week we were able to spend time with and visit family, and see some friends. She took a while adjusting to seeing so many new faces but came to warm up pretty quickly. Due to all the stimulation throughout the day, she slept even better than usual which was very nice.

My parents' mutant lemon tree grows some seriously big lemons. Pretty sure this one is bigger than Emma's head. Crazy.

We had a girls' night - mom, Becca, and I - and saw Cinderella which was very cute. My dad kindly watched Emma while we were out and she made sure to gift him with a nice big blowout up her back and "clear down to her socks". Although it was odd to get home and find her socks and pants in the downstairs bathroom, I was happy to find that she was cleaned up and in bed for the night. Great job, grandpa. =)

She fell asleep in the car with her fingers holding onto the rings attached to that cute zebra. She liked it.

We were able to enjoy a tasty lunch out with great-grandma Anderson. 4-generation photo. =) So awesome.

Cute cousins. <3

Proof that Emma actually doesn't look like me with the exception of nose (sort of), ears and possibly hair.

She wasn't as easy on the flight back home since she got a cold that day and was congested, but she definitely flew home to her daddy in style (haha).

I am so glad we got to enjoy a week spent with family and friends and wished Bry could have joined us, but it was nice to get back home to see him. We're looking forward to the next few months and getting to see more family. =)