5 months old

 Collins is 5 months old! It is so crazy how fast time is flying. I try to savor every second with this baby. Since this will likely be our last, it's been harder with each passing milestone and each passing stage. Of course I'm so proud and overjoyed that she's growing and accomplishing what she's supposed to, but the ache that I may never get to experience this again is real. Case in point, the bassinet has been sitting in the master bedroom, empty, for two months. My sweet husband never once asked me during that time why we hadn't put it away (he hates clutter, so this is big). He knows I'm holding on and that I need the space to do things in my own timing. I finally broke it down last week. Hannah was playing in the room while I was working on it, so of course we were listening to the iPod. Ironically, "The Circle of Life" shuffled on while I was loosening the bolts. Well played, iPod, well played. I digress...

This was a big month for Collins and included her meeting more milestones, meeting more family, her first Christmas, first trip to Alabama and the University of Alabama, and first New Years. 

We'll start with the milestones. 

Sitting! This is big folks! C can rock the sitting position for 15-20 seconds with no assistance before toppling to the side or falling backwards. It's best achieved when putting objects or flashing toys in front of her. I'm confident she'll be sitting full time by 6 mo.

Collins is tolerating tummy time more these days and can generally hang out for as long as 20 minutes if she's really got a toy (or watching sister) she's interested in. During tummy time, she no longer stays put. She's in the same general area, but definitely spins around and inches along. 

Grasping with two hands and passing back and forth between hands is new this month.

Exploring with the mouth is also a big thing this month. Everything goes in the mouth!

Hair is really sprouting these days. She's had peach fuzz from birth, but it's really beginning to grow. We definitely have a blondie.

Her favorite things still include her paci (which she's getting really good at putting in her mouth by herself these days) and bath time (this kid loves the water!!). She also loves watching Hannah, being held above your head, and being talked to. She loves grabbing anything that makes a crunching noise.

First Christmas and first snow also took place this month!

And by first snow, I mean flurries that didn't stick... I'm sure if you blow this picture up, you can spot a few flakes. It was really coming down, I promise!

We took C to Alabama for the first time this month. We were there for over a week and she got to meet more cousins and family. She was loved on and enjoyed the attention, even from the doggies :) 

We were able to get out and experience a lot of fun things, including a trip to Tuscaloosa and a basketball game (which she slept through). 

So far, no stranger danger. Our biggest hurdle this month came during our trip to AL. We discovered that C doesn't sleep well at night away from her house. She was up multiple times every night, with some of those occasions begin up to two hours some nights. She wasn't hungry, sick, or needing a change, but rather looking for comfort and familiarity. When I'd pick her up, she'd immediately bury her head into me and relax. The hardest part was getting her back into the pack and play without starting the comfort process over again. H was always so adaptable, so we weren't expecting this glitch. C is such a cuddly little baby and loves to be held. I was thankful for the advice of a well-seasoned SIL who explained that C may just have a hard time with new sights and smells. I was worried that this trip would start a trend of waking during the night again... even at home. Thankfully, that was not the case and she went right back to sleeping through the night when we returned home. 

Collins' first time in a baby swing happened this month! Hannah was itching to put C in a swing and push her. Of course, I had to run with this. I was so excited H expressed the interest! C enjoyed it (although, the picture shows two lackadaisical looking kids. Ha!) 

 The jury is still out on who this kid looks like. We all agree she's got more Vance in her, but she may surprise us as she grows :)

Merry and bright...

I love the month between thanksgiving and Christmas. It's so full of joy, activities, family and friends. We pack a lot into this month from decorating to baking and special events. It's so much fun!

H hosts a gingerbread  house decorating party each year. This year, we only invited folks from her preschool and ended up with 14 kids, 3 infants and 9 adults.  It was so fun! The kids did a great job on their houses and we finished the night eating pizza before they left.

Making the gingerbread dough....

Decorating the houses...

H's buddy hosted a cookie decorating party. H had so much fun filling every square inch of cookie with icing and decorations! After decorating, the girls had fun playing and running some of their sugar energy off :) 

As a special treat, we went to Disney on Ice. H loves everything Ana and Elsa! It was a no brainer to take her to see this magical show. She enjoyed dressing up as Elsa and toting her Ana/Elsa doll along. She was mesmerized by the show and loved seeing each character come out. Her buddies from school were there and they had a great time dancing and singing along to the music. 

This was a special mommy/daughter date. We left sister home with Daddy. I soaked up the time with my big girl! What a treat!

We did have to leave a bit early. My sweet girl got a bit scared. It wasn't when the big snow monster made an appearance, like you'd expect. She did great with that! Instead, it was when Hans was being mean to Ana. She was visibly shaking and began to cry. There was no amount of sweet talking or lap holding that was going to help. 

And finally, we of course went to Polar Express night. This is quickly becoming a favorite tradition of ours! We met our friends and their little boy. 

This is a great event because Santa is there! Even though it is a popular event, the line to see Santa is always short and Santa really takes his time with the kids. We were SO proud of Hannah this year! She hopped right up into Santa's lap and told him everything she wanted. She was such a brave girl. This was her first year without tears :) It was precious! 

We love this season of joy, celebration, and waiting. It certainly was merry and bright!

Halloween and the symphony

Halloween was a big event this year! In true H fashion, she picked a different costume for each event she attended. 

At school, she was Tinkerbell. We borrowed the costume and bought a new set of wings. She proudly strutted into her class and enjoyed a fun costume parade through school. I loved that her teachers were gramma Ana and gramma Elsa. Ha! 

Halloween night, we attended a fun gathering at our neighborhood clubhouse before trick or treating. We have TONS of young kids in the 'hood, the H had a blast eating pizza and collecting glow bracelets. She dressed up as Rapunzel.

And finally, H attended her first symphony concert! I was so excited to introduce her to the wonderful world of live classical music. We met our friend, Madilin. The girls had so much fun together! The phantoms of the orchestra was a big hit! 

Happy 4 mo Collins!

Happy 4 mo Miss Collins!

This month brought about some major changes for us. She had just started sleeping through our night at 3 months. Low and behold, it stuck! Collins sleeps from 7pm-6:30ish am! I wake her around 10pm for a dream feed, but that's it. She will occasionally wake in the middle of the night, but quickly puts herself back to sleep. Go, Collins! We no longer let her sleep on our chest from 7-9. It makes my heart ache a bit, but she does so well going down in her crib and we needed to break it before it became a habit. Speaking of sleep, Collins is now sleeping in her own room in her crib. We made the transition pretty early on this month and it went over well. I still have the bassinet set up in our room, but will be putting it back in the attic soon. 

In other news, Hallelujah, the colic is gone! I swear, she hit 13-14 weeks and she's a new kid. Our afternoons are much more peaceful and Collins is generally happy. It's been such a relief to have her settled. I told y'all, it's been a big month!

Stats:

Weight: 12.25 lbs (19th percentile)

Height: 24.5 in (60th percentile)

Look at this push up in tummy time!! We've come a long way!

C is a peanut and is still wearing 0-3 mo clothes and size 1 diapers. Just to put it in perspective, H weighed 16lbs. I have kids on opposite ends of the spectrum and I'm doing everything the same. The pediatrician said that was genetics coming in to play :)

Her schedule is pretty much the same as month 3, except she is fully sleeping through the night. She's still eating every 4 hours and takes 3 naps a day. 

She LOVES taking a bath and I frequently bathe both girls together now. C smiles and kicks in the water. She gets very upset when I take her out. Tummy time is still a struggle. Now that she's gotten good at rolling, it's getting even harder to keep her on her tummy. Daisy helps!

C is doing great with her head and neck support and has lost her wobble for the most part. She's grabbing objects left and right and shoving them right into her mouth. She currently loves pulling her paci out and then putting it back in.

She also loves watching everything the family is up to, especially Hannah. If she gets fussy, which is rare these days, all I have to do is send Hannah over and her face lights up. We've been including her in as many family activities as possible. The Bumbo is great for that. She sits with us at dinner, watches us cook, play games, etc. Here's one of C watching family pizza night:

C still loves sucking her thumb or fingers. I still push the paci and she loves it too, but when she can't get to it the thumb goes in.

C got her first cold after being passed around and held by so many this month. The first of many to come. It was scary since she was so congested she threw up and completely soaked herself and crib! I was thankful it wasn't RSV or enterovirus. The pediatrician was great and gave us some good tips to help her get rid of it, Tis the season, but it also made us realize how careful we need to be during this time of year with her. 

Collins kept meeting family this month. Aunt Bess and Uncle Rob came to visit for a weekend. We loved it!

Thanksgiving was really special. All of the Hubbards (extended family included) were under one roof again. It was awesome! Collins got lots of love!

I know my grandparents were smiling down on their beautiful great grands... All 9 of them!

Happy 4 mo miss C, can't wait to see what the next will bring!