Hilton Head Island, Part I

As always June is pure craziness in our house, which starts with Johnny's birthday. We decided to head to Hilton Head for Johnny's birthday. Our main trip this summer will be to visit family in Utah, so we planned a few mini-trips within driving distance, and Hilton Head was one of them.

It was also our first road trip with Sally, which we were both quite stressed out about. It was such a short trip, and yet preparing for it was super complicated because of all the baby stuff we had to bring. At one point we were so close to just not going at all because it was such a pain. But it ended up being such a great trip, so I'm glad we went!

On the way there, Sally was a champ. She didn't cry at all. She did have a blowout, though, with poop that got all over her back and shirt. This resulted in Sally and me going into a gas station bathroom and changing her diaper, clothes, and cleaning poop off her back with about 20 wipes. Sally was self-conscious or scared I think and crying her head off through all of it. And of course there was a woman with her two-year-old waiting for the changing table the whole time, standing about four feet away from us and watching the whole fiasco.

But other than that, it was smooth sailing. Johnny and I couldn't tell whether Sal was sleeping or just being quiet during the ride, so I'd put my phone behind me and take a picture and then look at it. It cracked us up to see her expressions during the trip.

When we got to the hotel and checked in, we headed straight for the beach. Talk about a stress reliever! I could feel all my stress just melting away. It was pure bliss.

 Sally really loved the ocean, if you can't tell. I call her our little adrenaline junkie because she just loves adventure and new experiences so much at her current age. It makes every experience so fun, just seeing how she's going to react.

Here I am soaking it all in. Give me sand and sun, and I'm in heaven.

Our family photo of the trip, taken by a slightly creepy complete stranger who offered. Not the best, but we'll take what we can get.

5 Months

Our girl is five months! Sally is at such a fun stage right now. We can't get enough of her.

• Just recently Sally has started sucking her thumb. It's so cute that I can hardly take it. But I'm not sure how I feel about her having a "pacifier" that I can't take away. For now we'll enjoy it.
• She rolls from back to front and front to back. This is a brand new development, and I'm so proud of her for it!
• Sally continues to be a champion nighttime sleeper and a terrible napper. She hates the idea of missing out on anything during the day.
• She responds to her name! It's so cute. And Johnny's been asking her "Who's mama?" lately, trying to see if she can figure out our names as well.
• Our girl eats anything and everything she can get near her mouth. It is getting out of control. She must be teething. Sometimes she takes my face with both of her little hands and attacks my chin with her mouth. It's so cute that I can't really get annoyed at the drool it leaves on everything. 
• Sally really doesn't mind her carseat. She knows it means we're going somewhere, and she's always up for an adventure.
• She continues to love walks in the stroller, and LOVE bath time.
• Sally would stand (with our help) 24/7 if it were possible. She is obsessed with standing up.

Sally continues to be a demanding but very happy baby. She wants attention and one-on-one time always, which can be kind of hard and really exhausting. Right now I'd describe her as a bit high maintenance but very happy-go-lucky. I was just telling Johnny that I can't be unhappy with Sally around because she just brings so much joy to our home. I tell her all the time that she's my best girlfriend.

And now some pictures of our five-month-old:

Memorial Day Weekend

Johnny and I weren't sure what to do for the long weekend last week. All week long we discussed possibilities: the beach, DC, Charleston. You name it, we contemplated it (as long as it was within four hours). However, we were (and still are) very nervous about a long-ish road trip with our gal Sal. So many terrible what-ifs have popped into my head when I think about driving in the car with her. And then the week ended up being busy, and we had no time to adequately prepare for a trip. And so we stuck close to home, which immediately put my little stressed-out mind at ease. Someday I'll be brave and go on a road trip, but Memorial Day weekend was not that time.

We spent Saturday at the Duke Gardens. I have the tendency to become obsessed with places and return often. In NYC it was the Reservoir. In Boston it was the harbor in the North End. And here it has been the Gardens. What can I say? I'm a creature of habit. Johnny had never been, and we had so much fun with little Sally.

Our favorite part was an area with all kinds of fruit/vegetable trees and plants. And beehives! And chickens! Johnny and I want our own garden and fruit trees someday, so it was a fun time to talk of our "someday" plans.

our little drooler

Hermana Jill Fleming Is Coming Home!!

See that girl on the right? That's my sister Jill. And she arrives home from her 18-month mission in Peru on Wednesday morning!!! The time has flown, but I've missed her so!!!

Swaddle No More!

After almost five months of being swaddled for every nap and nighttime sleep of her life, Sally is now sleeping sans swaddle. And, boy, was she ready for it. I read that I should stop swaddling her, and Johnny and I were kind of skeptical, but we decided to try it once. And it was a huge success! She was so ready for it and we had no idea. This is momentous for us! Swaddling is such a pain, and I was terrible at it.

She's been going strong for almost a week now. She wiggles all over her crib and sprawls out. Yesterday morning she'd done a full 180-degree turn... oh dear!

Disclaimer: Sal doesn't actually sleep with a blanket or pillow. Sad. But I thought I'd let her try it one day when I was in her room with her (during one of her many unsuccessful naps!). 

Bowling As a Family of Three

The same weekend that Johnny and I went strawberry picking we also went bowling! We had a Groupon or Living Social deal or something along those lines, and it was a good excuse to get out of the house. I don't think either of us has bowled for a few years, and it was nice to see that our competitive sides are alive and well.

We went in the evening and got Sally changed into her pajamas in case she wanted to doze off. We were a little nervous as to how Sally would behave herself, but she ended up being so happy the entire time. Something about the bowling alley energized her, and she was giggling and smiling through both our games!

Johnny beat me both games, which was no surprise really. If I have streaks of excellence with bowling, it's 100% chance and nothing I do on purpose.

 

Sally Update

This fourth month has been a whirlwind! I can't believe Sally will be five months in just FIVE days. As far as development goes, month four has been the craziest. Sally is learning so quickly right now. Here are some of her newest and bestest tricks. 

• We've got a roller! Sally rolled for the first time just a few days ago. I set her down on her stomach and she just rolled over like it was no big deal.
• Sally has figured out how to put her foot in her mouth, and she does it at least a few times a day. Combine that with the excessive drool, and we've got a girl whose hands and feet are always wet. Yum.
• She sits! Well, kind of. Sally supports herself with her hands when we sit her down now. It's so cute and grown up! I can't believe she's at that stage already.
• Next up: fake coughing. Just a few days ago Sally started experimenting with coughing. She thinks it is so much fun to fake cough and does it a couple dozen times a day. She's quite the trickster... more than once I've said to Johnny, "Do you think she's actually getting a cough??"
• Oh... how could I forget this one: roaring. And growling and yelling. These are all sounds that Sally has mastered. She is SO LOUD. We had dinner with two couples last night, and they both have eight-month-olds. And Sally was by far the loudest baby. Johnny and I really never yell, so I don't know where she learned these new sounds. Especially the roaring and growling.
• She has finally noticed Persie. And Persie lets her pet her a few times a day (with my help, of course). And Sally thinks Persie is outrageously funny right now. She giggles just looking at her.
• Sal holds on to us while we carry her now! I love it. She holds on to lots of things now, in fact. She holds on tight to the sides of her carseat in the car, which cracks us up.

 See what I mean by lots of development?

And here are a few other things of note:

• Sally's hair is finally growing!
• Sally had her biggest blowout ever last week. I decided to try Walmart-brand diapers and it was a huge mistake. She had poop up to her shoulder. I will never go off the name-brand beaten path again.
• Johnny and I drove home from the flea market and forgot to strap Sally in! She was free in her carseat the whole way home. I felt like such a terrible mom. And we were laughing at how tight she was holding onto the side of the carseat, which we later realized why.
• Her favorite song is "If You're Happy and You Know It..." When Sal is crying in the car, I can make her stop by singing that song 99% of the time. It's pretty magical. 

This has been the funnest month with Sally by far. It's also been hard because she's starting to learn how to get her way by crying. This has resulted in us resorting to sleep training. I'm following a book that my pediatrician recommended, and it's been so hard to hear Sally cry, but I am also glad she's learning to be more independent.

Also, last night I watched a chick flick while Johnny and Sally slept (Sally in her crib and Johnny on the couch next to me). I didn't realize how much I've missed just watching a mindless chick flick. It was What to Expect When You're Expecting, and I enjoyed every second. Anyway, in one part, one of the dads in the movie said something like, "I love my baby so much that sometimes I'm afraid I'm gonna eat it!" That's how I feel about little Sal. She is my world. And here are a couple more pictures of Sally gal for good measure :)