Five Month Old Esther

• Don't have any height or weight stats for you. I'd guess Esther's somewhere between 13 and 14 pounds.
• Esther became a great sleeper this month...and then un-became a great sleeper. Near the beginning of the month I started waking her up before going to bed myself for a feeding, then we trained her to sleep through the rest of the night. The crying was pretty minimal and we enjoyed the fruits of that training for a few nights. Then we traveled and all those good habits disappeared. Waking up 3 or 4 times a night while we were away from home was all too common.
• Esther spent nearly half of this month away from home. First we went to West Virginia with the whole family, then we (just me and the kids) spent Thanksgiving week in Texas with Zach's family. Esther is a pretty good traveler--she handles long stretches in a car or airplane well.
• Esther rolled over for the first time this month, tummy to back AND back to tummy a few weeks later. So far she has only done it while wearing disposable diapers. Cloth seems to give her too much of a hurdle to overcome. Sadly, her daddy has yet to witness her do it and I haven't caught it on camera.
• Esther's hair seems to be getting a bit lighter. I am kind of sad about that, although she is still beautiful of course.
• The range of sounds that Esther makes is expanding. She talks to herself sometimes in her crib. I like listening to it even if it is keeping me from sleeping.
• Esther has liked to put her hands in her mouth for awhile now, but this past week she's been doing it like her life depended on it. Not to mention chewing on anyone else's arm/shoulder/fingers or her own clothes...whatever is available. Teething?
• Esther really likes her playmat. If she is well-rested and well-fed, she can play on it for as long as fifteen minutes.
• Esther still takes four naps most days, although I think she is transitioning to three.
• Esther is still not a bottle girl. Sigh. I feel like we've tried everything. I'm glad she's almost old enough to learn to use a sippy cup; maybe she'll drink milk out of one when I need to be gone.
• We left both kids with a "real" babysitter for the first time this month. (our beloved Emma; when she goes to college next year who knows what we'll do.) It did not go so well, probably because of the bottle issues described already.
• I really love my little girl. Lots and lots and lots. :)

A Little Trip, By the Numbers

7--days our family spent in Charleston, WV

14--rehearsals and concerts Zach played with the West Virginia Symphony

80--approximate decibel level of the sound machine that allowed our children to sleep soundly in the same room, more or less

2--playgrounds visited (and loved) by Austin

8--number of giant inflatable indoor bouncing apparatus at Jump Craze, possibly the best idea for kids (and moms) ever

3--members of the Collins family who came down with colds during our trip (I'm the lone holdout...expecting symptoms any minute now)

19--peanut butter sandwiches consumed by the family in our efforts to save money. Not much of a hardship; we all love them.

$3.49--cost of a small mocha, apple dippers, and the right to hang out in the Playplace for awhile at McDonald's; in other words, a small price to pay for sanity on a rainy day

1--mommy who is happy to be home but thankful for the little mini vacation she got to take with her family

Gracious

This morning was rough. Austin woke up at 5:45, seemed to be constantly disobedient, and refused to amuse himself. Basically he acted like a two year old. I was frustrated, annoyed, weary...and tempted to respond like a two year old myself. Then he started humming "My Jesus, I Love Thee." The last line goes "If ever I love Thee, my Jesus, tis now." So appropriate. A Sinclair Ferguson quote that the Girltalk blog posted a few days ago came to mind: "How many of us will get to the throne and with a twinge of regret say 'If only I had known You were this gracious'?" And in that moment I was so thankful that I serve a gracious God, gracious enough to atone for the sins of this mother and child.

Four Month Old Esther

• At Esther's four month checkup she weighed 12 lbs. 10 oz. and was 24 inches tall.
• Esther is a calm, happy girl. She smiles a lot--her smile is big and open-mouthed. She still doesn't do what I would call a real laugh but she definitely makes sounds to let you know she's excited about something.
• Esther can carry her side of a conversation. I love talking to her and hearing her little coos in return. She is quite expressive.
• Esther's favorite toy is her Infantino frog. (Austin had one, too, which he practially wore out from chewing on it so it's nice that Esther was given one of her own.) It's one of the few things that she can manipulate into her mouth--lightweight enough to pick up yet lots of convenient parts to get a grip on.
• Esther tolerates tummy time in short spurts but then starts complaining. Consequently I probably don't give her enough time on her belly--she is nowhere near rolling over. Perhaps she's destined to be a late roller/sitter/crawler like her big brother.
• When you carry Esther upright against your body, she wraps her arm around your shoulder and holds on pretty tight. I love this.
• Esther became really good at falling asleep this month. She goes down at night around the same time as Austin and falls asleep within minutes if not seconds. She falls asleep pretty quickly for naps, too.
• Esther is not quite so good at staying asleep, especially at night. She has been waking up twice at night to be nursed all month. At least one of those feedings is really short so I know it's more for comfort than nutrition, but we're not quite ready to let her cry it out yet. (Just picking her up and comforting her doesn't do much.)
• Esther usually takes four naps a day. Most naps are an hour long but occasionally we hit the jackpot and get a two hour nap or longer. How or why those long ones happen is a mystery to me.
• Esther still doesn't take a bottle very well. That is frustrating to me because it makes going out in the evening difficult. (For our church small group, my book group, etc.) We have tried different bottles, different positions, distractions, no distractions...doesn't seem to make much difference. She likes her mommy best.
• Esther is growing up too quickly. Of course. I will probably write this every month.