Our Baby Mercer: May 2013

This is the best picture I could get of her sitting still

Hugging her pal, Violet.

Another month has passed and our sweet babe has learned so much!! She has gone from army crawling the week she turned 6 months, to full-on hands and knees crawling, to beginning to stand up! She hasn't quite figured out how to pull up on the furniture yet, but she is very close. She can pull up to standing by just holding on to my fingers though, and she balances very well, even with just one hand. I'm betting that by the end of this month she'll be able to stand unsupported, but we'll see! She has also started to eat some finger foods and is learning to wave. She mainly waves with her hand facing herself and occasionally waves by joining both hands and flapping both arms, but she's catching on. It is so neat to see her little brain making connections! She waves "night-night" to Daddy when I'm carrying her to bed, and it's just amazing to see their sweet bond.

Being so silly.

This month we have introduced the sippy cup, but she hasn't been that interested until the past week. She seems to really like the straw cup now, and is loving when I give her a bit of diluted apple juice. She also loves feeding herself the little baby puffs snacks! She gets so mad when they are gone, she starts slamming her hand on the tray and screaming, so I'm trying to start some baby sign language to nicely ask for "more". She is so smart though. She seems to really understand a lot of words now. She definitely knows and responds to her name. She knows when I say "bottle" and has started to say "BOB" or "Bababababa", when she is hungry and for going bye-bye, but also when she is just talking to herself. For a few days she was very close to saying "Mama" but kind of stopped for now. When she is really sleepy or sad that I walked away, she will make the "Mahhh-ma" sound while in the middle of crying. It totally breaks my heart. Especially when I am trying to leave for work in the morning. Which luckily, there's only 2 weeks of school left until all summer with my baby!! This month we have officially switched over to completely drinking formula. This was a very bittersweet decision, but now that it has been a month, it's much less stressful and actually very relieving. Nursing had become a battle. She was preferring bottles and my supply was dwindling to virtually nothing. I was eating and drinking crazy stuff said to increase milk production, as well as trying all the supplements I could, but it just wasn't enough. School has been very stressful lately and teaching does not allow enough time to pump as frequently as you really would be feeding your baby, which is what you really have to do in order to keep up. So I threw in the towel, which I was very emotional about. Society kind of makes formula feeding out to be less than sub par, like your child won't be as smart or healthy, but I kept with it for as long as my body would allow and I don't think her college applications are going to ask how she was fed as an infant. It is so much easier to go out and about with formula, and I can drink as much caffeine as I want or take allergy medicine without having to worry about how it will effect her too.

Big Girl!!

We have also officially started baby proofing, which I feel like is an endless cycle from here until the next 4 years or so. There is no way to keep your child from every danger, because they find the most random things to get into. We have the outlets plugged, exposed wires hidden, crib mattress lowered, and a baby gate between the playroom and kitchen, where Avery discovered Abby's food and water dish so far though. We never leave her unattended, even for a second though, because this little stinker is fast, and reaches top speeds as soon as your back is turned! Before she was mobile, I could unload the dishwasher, or run to use the bathroom, with her playing on the floor in the next room, but those days are long gone!! I carry her to every room with me to sit in front of me and I have to sing to her, or bring her a toy to keep her entertained while I change the laundry, go to the bathroom, or make a bottle.

She loves the self camera on my phone.

We are having so much fun though. We are so blessed to have such an easy going, smart, and funny girl. At 7 months, Avery loves anything that makes noise or plays music. Her favorite toys are Baby Tad and Violet the Dog, both made by Leap Frog. She loves to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider, Pat-a-cake, If You're Happy and You Know It and Wheels on the Bus. She loves to try to do the motions too. She is still mesmerized by Abby, and cracks up every time she gets to pet her or when she gets licked. Avery actually loves all dogs. She just lights up and giggles when she sees one. She's also learning how to bounce and is loving her Jumperoo. We have been putting her in there for the past couple of months, and she has lightly bounced, but now she really knows how to spring up and down and it's so funny to watch her go.

The things Avery does not like at 7 months are pretty much the same as before…when Mama leaves, getting her face washed, getting in the carseat, cuddling, and now that we are introducing meat--chicken puree.

This past month I got to enjoy my first official Mother's Day. We went to the lakehouse for the first time as a family and had a blast. Jon, and my in-laws really made my day special too. I am so grateful to be the mother of this sweet, sweet child. She has brought a new meaning to my life, and is the best gift I could ever receive. She is my stress reliever at the end of a tough day, and spending time with her is what I look forward to and live for the most.

We went to the lakehouse again for memorial weekend, but it did not go at all as planned. It was less than ideal, but more on that later!