emery at 4 months

holy crap that happened fast! my newborn that needed help holding her head and ate every 2 hours is no more. she's now going 3ish hours between feedings, can hold little rattles, and loves to sit up and observe her surroundings. in the last month we stopped the swaddle at night and now emery sleeps in a sleep sack. she continues to sleep so soundly--usually from 9:30 to 7:30. she's slept through the night since 7 weeks or so, but the day time isn't always the easiest. she's tricky to get to nap. like she wants to be home and have every last detail perfect in order to sleep, and even then sometimes i spend 20 minutes getting her to sleep and she naps for like 20 minutes. super worth it! not.

a week or two ago, jared was changing a messy diaper and made a tootie noise with his mouth. emery looked at him, grinned and giggled for the first time! ahhh, kill me! she absolutely adores him. he sings her nursery rhymes, let's her kick in the tub forever, and they play in her treehouse together (its a little activity gym). i can't help but think what this time of year would be like if jared still worked at Ernst & Young. everyday i look forward to when he comes home, both so he can entertain and care for emery and so that i can be with him and we can talk about our day. he's home around 8ish on a typical day, so still not early by any means but infinitely better than last year's midnight. I so enjoy eating dinner with him and seeing each other before a normal person's sleep time.

over the last month to two months emery emerged from the must-be-bouncing-to-be-happy phase. whoa, am i glad about that! i think its a combination of many things--her body has a really hard time digesting dairy so i'm off of dairy, she found her thumb and is fantastic at soothing herself, and she's just older. dairy was a game changer 'round here. it felt impossible at first to find things to eat--who knew changing your diet and everything you eat/cook would be so hard! but i've since learned a whole slew of helpful tips and yummy recipes. and the thumb suck??? pretty sure i'll be ripping my hair out in a year when emery can't do anything without her thumb in her mouth, but 'til then carry on because its the most wonderful thing for her to sooth herself. as in, she wakes up from time to time in the night and will find her thumb and put herself back to sleep.

emery and i go on as many walks as we can. if its snowy out or really cold, then i use the bjorn to strap her to me and we both zip up in dad's coat. if its nice-ish weather, then we'll use the stroller. emery doesn't like the carseat attached to the stroller because she likes to sit up and see everything. i figured this out about a month ago and it makes trips to the mall much easier. its funny how quickly her disposition changes once we walk out the door. its like a switch goes off and she's the most chill baby. maybe its because she can't feel her face, or she really likes the fresh air.

i love being at home with emery and being her mom. i talk to her throughout the day like she's my best friend, and sometimes i sneak her a cucumber or orange to suck on. when i hear trax go by, i get excited for when she knows what a train is and we can run to the window. ems, you light up my world and make me ever so happy. love, mom.