Point of Reference: 5 Months

3 Weeks

3 Months

4 Months

5 months

Eisley is 5 months old today!

Happy Girl

Eisley is a mystery. She was cranky for no apparent reason a few weeks ago, and now I notice a tooth coming in under her gums-I can feel it-and she's the happiest baby in the world! Drooly, yes, but completely content. Maybe she's designed to be cranky when she's NOT teething?

The shiny spot you see is not teeth; it's just the flash reflecting off her tongue.

Making Friends

The other day at play group, Eisley and Eliza seemed to notice each other for the first time. Eliza is about a month and a half older than Eisley, and her family is moving to another state TOMORROW, so they likely won't get to know each other, but it was fun to watch them play "together" slash fight over toys. 

"hello."

"wait a second..."

"That's MINE!"

"Whatever, I'll play with this book instead."

"Oh, alright...I guess we can share..."

First Father's Day

Yesterday was Mike's first ever Father's Day. We spent most of it packing up our camping gear and driving home from Family Fest. Eisley and I napped the entire 2.5 hour car ride home, but Mike was driving and didn't get a chance. When we got home, he lay down on the floor to play with Eisley. After all, it was Father's Day. Might as well enjoy being a father! Eisley had her wooden rattle and was enjoying throwing it and watching Mike fetch it for her. After 9 or 10 repetitions of this, it suddenly got very quiet. I looked over and this is what I saw:

Eisley's dad, asleep on the floor.

Eisley was mildly concerned at first.

But then she saw the advantages. Namely, she was able to easily wrestle the rattle from Mike's lifeless fingers and toss it across the room. Achieving this, it seemed to dawn on her that if dad was asleep, nobody was going to bring the rattle back to her. So she found a new toy to play with.

Dad's hair!

It was so cute. Mike was crashed out on the floor, and Eisley just kept patting him on the head like, "wake up, dad! It's time to play!"

Happy first Father's Day, Mike!

Family Fest 2010

We took Eisley to her first ever Family Fest at Camp Phillip this weekend. Here are a few photos:

Kali wanted to hold the baby

At the lakefront, Eisley went swimming

She disliked it at first, but eventually gave in and enjoyed floating around.

Swimsuit was a little big.

She met baby Andrew, who is a month older than her.

And baby Josiah, also a month older than Eisley.

"boys."

Our friend Chrissy was at Family Fest and gave Eisley this new fun toy! She's a little too small to play with it the way it's intended to be played with. 

But she thinks it's pretty tasty!

ZZZZzzzzz

SOMEbody fell asleep during dinner tonight...

It could be she was a little bit overstimulated. 

From the Past Week

Getting much too big for this thing...

Ahh...that's more like it! A whole couch to myself!

Or not.

*escape!*

New toy!

But why does the goat...

always end up with the sheep?

I don't get it.

This doesn't make sense at all!

I'm outta here!

Oh, hey, it's mom!

buh-bye!

Doll Baby

The other day Eisley woke up from a nap with bright red cheeks.

Apparently, if this is followed by a rash all over the body (which it wasn't), it can be a sign of slapped cheeks disease, otherwise known as fifths disease, which apparently isn't that harmful, unless you're a pregnant woman. 

I have to say, though...

If this is what fifths disease looks like...

Then it's the cutest disease ever!

On Toys

Lately I have been drooling over toys that are handmade out of natural, non-toxic materials. Unfinished wood, organic cloth, etc. I could sit on Etsy for hours just staring at all the adorable and educational natural toys.

It seems like  a no brainer to me. Toys hand made out of natural materials are:

1. Better for baby-they're not coated with potentially toxic paint and they don't contain BPA and other toxins found in plastics. 

2. Better for the environment- things found in nature can easily return to nature.

3. Built to last- I can't count the number of plastic, battery-operated toys I only played with for a week before they bit the dust. The toys that I would like to pass on to my kids are the simple basics - a wooden doll bed and accompanying doll, for instance. Such things rarely go out of style. 

4. Better for the economy- buying handmade, I'm often forced to buy locally or at least nearby in order to avoid shipping. This supports the American economy, and not some sweat shop in China somewhere. It also supports small businesses where people are often working honest trades to earn a living and not large corporations where the higher-ups pocket all the revenue. 

5. No media characters- I hate when a child's likes and dislikes are dictated by a cartoon or television show. When a cheap product is plastered with the face of Mickey Mouse or Dora The Explorer, people buy it, even if it is cheaply made and has no educational value. When the child outgrows Mickey Mouse or Dora, they will outgrow the toy. This may happen long before they're technically too old to play with it. 

6. They just look better. There is something so stylish about a home filled with natural toys. Wood, for instance, can complement any decor. Kids toys can collect in the living room without the living room looking like Walt Disney puked plastic sunshine all over it.