I thought I was five months old when I was twenty weeks, but Mom says that’s not the way it works and from now on we are counting month to month. So since February only had 28 days this year I am only just now turning five months old (even though I’m twenty-one weeks and four days old!). Mom says not to make a big deal of it – it works out in the long run and lets her tell people I am developmentally advanced for my age. It has been sort of a big month for me.
The Move
The day after my Auntie Elizabeth and Uncle Kevin got married, my parents packed up all my toys and clothes and stuff and Mom took me on my very first ever plane ride. Mom seemed real nervous about things, but I slept through most the ride. She was really uptight for the next few days and I had to wait ten whole days to see Daddy again. I thought once she saw Daddy she would chill out a little bit, but she just complained that he took up too much room in the bed. I could feel the tension, so for that first week, I woke up every few hours to make sure they were doing okay and had someone to talk to.
I think it helped because they seem much happier now and I don’t need to wake up so often to check on them. Mom has me sleeping in my own little room that she calls ‘the closet’. It’s super cool and dark and I have my very own night light. I got to meet my Papa for the first time and see my Ina again. They love me! Ina is always making lots of funny noises and sounds and smiling at me. Papa like to take naps with me and somehow he always makes me feel safe.
Mom says we are only here for a little while before we move to our new home in Los Angeles. She says I am going to love LA because it’s sunny all the time and there will be lots of other kids to play with. Don’t tell her, but I miss our home in Philly, our daily walk and going to the Park every day. I think Mommy misses Philly too. She got a little emotional when she saw Philly Cheesesteaks on the menu at Jake’s. Moving wasn’t my choice, but I can see that it makes Mommy and Daddy pretty excited about our future. And Daddy says that Home is wherever we are all together. So I’m excited about our new home too. I hope we can bring Papa and Ina with us when we move to the next place. They are really fun to play with, Papa cooks dinner for Mommy and Daddy and Ina takes me shopping all the time!
Toys
Ina took me shopping right the day after we got off the plane. She and Mommy bought me all kinds of strange things to play with that I had never seen before. Thank goodness! Boy was I getting bored of staring at Mommy as my main form of entertainment. I love the noisemakers and the jumper-thingy is awesome. I could spend all day in that jumper-thingy. It plays music and let’s me sit up like a big girl and watch Mommy making dinner with Papa. It makes Ina do some crazy things, like yell in a high-pitched voice, “Boing, Boing, Boing, Boing little Geraldine McBoingboing.”
My least favorite toy is the Bumbo. Mommy brought it home from Target and I tried to tell her I was too big for it but she crammed me into it anyways. When I stood up, the Bumbo was stuck to my butt and I had to have my thighs pulled out of it. I am now 18 pounds, can sit up all by myself and stand with support, so Mom – too big for the Bumbo. Told you so.
I love all my new books, toys, jumpy-things and noise makers, but my favorite toys of all are my toes. I could talk to them for hours, they taste delicious and I never have to ask Mom where she put them. My piggies are spectacular.
Sir Poops-a-Lot
I poop more now. I know my Mom would want you to know. Maybe the plane ride jostled things around a bit. Mom thinks it’s because she is now feeding me solid foods. That’s right! I eat big people food now. Well, I haven’t actually ever seen a big person eating the food from those little jars, but I see them eat with a spoon and now I eat with a spoon too! I like sweet potatoes, green beans and sweet peas. I don’t like carrots. I scream when they try to feed me carrots. Mom just doesn't understand my issues with texture or the way they turn my fingers orange. I just don’t like them.
I get to eat with a spoon twice a day and I try to keep it fun by banging on the table and making raspberries when my Mom least expects it. Mom makes the best face when I spit peas at her, it's classic. Tonight, I showed Papa how I didn’t even need Mommy to feed me. I could just pick up the bowl and put my face in it and then throw it on the floor. I think he was very impressed because he got down on his hands and knees with a towel to wipe away the tears of laughter.
Mommy and I went to Target and picked up a few new flavors for this week. She wants to make it fresh for me – but I just think that’s crazy when we can just buy up a variety pack at Target and I can eat Pears and Prunes and Apples, something different every night. I hope she doesn’t try making me dinner the way she makes it for Daddy. Because then she might want me to start doing dishes and I hate dishes.
Lullaby and Goodnight
Mom would want me to report that I no longer sleep with a swaddle. I made it as tough as possible for Mom to break me of the habit, but she finally did it. No more sleeping in a straight jacket and strangely, I now just go to sleep when Mom puts me in the bed. Of course, I whine a little, but Mommy just puts her hand on my tummy and looks at me until I fall asleep. I wake up once at 3:30 AM to check on Mom, but she seems to be okay, so I might just start sleeping through until my alarm goes off at 8:00 AM.
Night time is my favorite part of the day because Mom feeds me sooooo much. She starts at 6:00 PM with the green beans and then at 7 PM with a bottle and then we take a bath together and she lets me breastfeed while she reads me a story. Then we listen to music together and I doze off around 8:00 PM. She tells me, “Shhh, shhhh, shhhh, go to sleep now Ms. Story. Sleep makes you feel good. You are going to feel so fresh and happy when you wake up in the morning for another day full of adventures.”
I take two naps for about 1.5 hours. Sometimes longer. Mom or Dad lays me down around 10:00 AM and then again at 2:00 PM. Unless there is the World Cup or a boating trip or something else more exciting going on. Then I get to sleep on Daddy’s shoulder or in my stroller. Or in my favorite spot, inside the Ergo baby. Here I can hear my Mommy’s heartbeat and she rubs my toes and kisses the top of my head and whispers sweet things in my ear.
Today she whispered, “Happy Birthday little Story. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you. We love you so much. You are going to have a very special day.”
And she was right. Today I woke up and went for a walk on the beach with Mommy, took a nap, watched the world cup with Dad, ate peas, took another nap, opened gifts from the big party, ate green beans with Papa and Ina and spent an hour in the jumpy. Mommy took a bath with me and made up a different voice for everyone of my new bath tub squirters. So the Nederlands lost the World Cup. It was still a good day. And every day I spend with Mommy and Daddy is special.
So, Happy Birthday to me on this very special day! And go Nederlands!
Love - Story Brynne
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