A Handful of Months

Today is March 29. My daughter's five-month birthday was on the 11th. Yup, things are a little busy around here!

Getting back to work has been a little hectic, but we are getting it down. It's hard to balance a busy work day, and then all of the events that happen in our house between 5 and 8 p.m. I want E to feel like we are spending quality time with her, not just getting stuff done. I have been using some of the time after she goes to bed to do household chores so that I have more free time to spend with the family during the weekends. Since going back to work, we have tried to have one 'work' day during the weekend to run errands and tackle projects around the house and one family fun day. Most of my great family fun day ideas are outside, so the recent rainy weather has stunted some of these outings, but there will be plenty of sunshine in the months to come!

Baby E, at five months you:

Are eating a lot of fun things. You love Sweet Potatoes, Banana and Avocado. You are not a big fan of Peas.

You still fit into most 3 month-size clothes.

You are still wearing size one diapers.

You are doing wonderful at daycare, you love interacting with the other kids.

You have developed a special relationship with Sadie, your youngest furry sister. She always knows where you are and checks on you if your're crying. You have started to give her lots of smiles when she licks your toes!

You are chatting away, and are starting to add some happy squeals to your conversational chatter. I could listen to you all day!

You have found your feet and think they are more delicious than any milk or food you're come in contact with.

You are all smiles. You spend more time smiling than not. I love that you are so happy and that I find you with a smile when I come to get you in the morning.
You are sitting like a froggy, with your hands on the floor.

Camping Adventures

About a month ago, J and I decided to take advantage of my last few weeks of maternity leave and plan a camping trip to the beach. The beach campgrounds are usually booked months in advance for the weekends, but we knew that we could show up on a Tuesday without fighting other campers for a spot.

We headed up to Rincon Parkway, an RV campground that less than an hour from our house. It was our first trip with E and our new trailer, so I didn't want to be too far from home or help in case we ran into any issues.

I love our new trailer! It is such a contrast to the one we used to have. It is much more comfortable and homey. It is perfect for camping with the baby and the dogs. Hopefully E will grow up with many fond memories of our camping adventures.

We were blessed with nice, sunny weather while we were camping. It was a little chilly, but nothing that a sweatshirt couldn't fix. E got to put her toes in the sand for the first time and enjoyed some great walks on the beach. Luckily, E stuck to her normal routine while we were camping.

The best thing about this trip was getting to spend time with J away from the house. Anyone with a young child knows that when you are not meeting his or her every need, you are taking care of some other need around the house. When the baby sleeps when you are camping, you get to read, nap or sit out under the stars. It was a great way for us to relax and spend some quality time together as a family before I headed back to work.

This was a great dry-run, but Easter camping is on the horizon. I hope E is ready for the desert! Sorry kiddo, no dirt biking for you this year.