High Five!

Today marks five months since E's birth! It just so happens that today is also her cousin N's 3rd birthday and my parents anniversary.

E started off her month by going on her first airplane ride to take a trip out west to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Seattle to see family and friends.

While on the trip she learned a few new tricks. She started standing if someone held her under her armpits and loved it even more if she was bounced. Our friend Danielle got her a bouncer and she loves hanging out and bouncing in it.

She also started to press her lips together and blow raspberries or at least I think that is the term. I tried to get a video but wasn't ever able to. I don't know if she learned how to do it from Matthew and me giving her zerberts, but one day while on our trip she started doing it.

This is the face she would make when blowing

Besides expanding her traveling repertoire, E also expanded her outdoor activities by going camping. She still hasn't made it back to the pool, but maybe one day soon.

E shows us more and more of her personality everyday. She is silly and loves to laugh. Recently her laugh has grown and she has been laughing at pretty much everything. I will start talking and she laughs, I cough or sneeze and she laughs, I make all sorts of noises and she laughs. She also continues to make awesome funny faces.

She has also expanded her noise vocabulary; she squeals, growls and even yells out now. It still seems like she is taking turns when talking sometimes. She will be babbling while playing on the floor with her toys and when I come in and talk to her she gets quiet and smiles at me and then when I'm done she will start talking again. It's fun.

E has also discovered the joys of bringing everything to her mouth. If she can get her hands on it, it goes straight to the mouth. The percentage of drool has also increased! She has learned how to grab the pacifier out of her mouth and put it back in again.

A few physical skills she has learned include: sitting up without support (she has to be leaning over on her arms and we have to be right there with her because she doesn't stay up long), while on her tummy she is experimenting with trying to grab toys, while on her back she has started grabbing her feet and occasionally rolling to her side. Interestingly, she has stopped rolling from her tummy to her back, she just stays on her tummy and often falls asleep there.

E still loves sitting in the bumbo, cuddling, taking rides in the Moby wrap and we think she really is beginning to love baths (for the most part she just sits there without much expression, but it is easy to get her to smile and she often kicks her feet).

She loves the Bumbo so much we have caught her sleeping in it

Challenges this month: E loves to be around people and to be a part of what is going on, so much so that she will put off eating and sleeping until she is so tired or exhausted that she has freak out moments. This makes it challenging when we aren't home or if there isn't a quiet place to retreat to for a little bit.