Murphys Law and Disorder: March 2009

Shawna hit the 5 month mark on Monday. I know I say this every time, but I can't believe 5 months have passed. Feels more like 11 - - just kidding. We don't have a doctor's visit this month so I don't have her current "stats" but I can tell you that she rolls over - although she doesn't like to and hardly ever does. She has even figured out how to grasp on to the blanket she's lying on when she looks up to keep herself from toppling over onto her back. When she's on her back she will use her feet to spin in circles.

She is now laughing... a LOT.

She LOVES to grab her feet and when I put her in her pajamas, or what I like to call "footies" (those button-up, one-piece numbers with long sleeves and pant legs that cover the feet) she immediately grabs her toes and tries to eat them when I change her diaper. Getting it back on is near impossible - she has an iron grip.

When she's on her tummy she works really hard to get onto all fours, but hasn't been able to just yet. She can either get her fanny up in the air to get her knees under her or she can push up onto her arms to where her belly is almost off the floor, but she can't put it together. She has, however, figured out how to "scoot" while on her tummy, so occasionally I will find her after nap time all scooted up to the end of her crib and fussing because she has gotten stuck.

As you saw in my last entry, she has started on solids, but we're still feeling it out. I think she's starting to get the hang of it. She actually started crying yesterday when I was feeding her some rice cereal with a little bit of apples mixed in, so I stopped feeding it to her thinking that she was crying because she didn't like it. This only made her cry harder! Turns out the problem wasn't that I was feeding her, but that I wasn't doing it fast enough. Go figure! She has also begun sucking in her top lip, which is quirky and adorable! She chews on everything - especially the hands of whoever is holding her, so be careful! We're getting ready for some teeth, but none on the horizon just yet - we're just practicing.

She's a talker like her momma - she has a lot to say! I haven't had much of a chance to take her out and get formal pictures of her - I'll try and do that over Easter - but these are the ones I did manage to get. We are on the fast track to 6 months, so watch out!

Sunday marked the end of our Spring vacation in Austin. The trip was an absolute blast... if you take out the part where Mallory came down with strep-throat and ran a terribly high fever for 2 days before we got in to see the doctor to receive the much-needed antibiotics. That part was no fun at all.
Back in December when we were making plans to visit my family in Austin we were pretty set on flying... that is until we found out how much it would cost! After you pay for your seats, check your bags, and buy access to seat belts and use of the toilet (you know it's coming) we decided to make it an adventure and DRIVE! No matter how colorful you paint that idea, it's still terrifying. 3 children ages 6, 3, and 4 months and the only defense we had was a DVD player and coloring books. However, I must say the girls were FABULOUS! Even Shawna in all her 4-month-old glory was wonderful. I think there was more crying from her older sisters than there was from her. She was perfectly content in her car seat, snuggled up to her blankey and getting the occasional glimpse of the DVD playing above her. But, I will say that after a total of 28 hours in the car, not enough of the drive was spent like this:

Notice even Shawna is asleep in the mirror.

This picture was taken on the way to Austin after an overnight stay at Uncle Scott and Aunt Brandy's house. Do you think they had a good time? They spent the entire time spreading havoc with cousins Tanner and Katelyn, and I'm pretty sure they didn't get a wink of sleep during their sleepover in the playroom. Scott and Brandy stuffed with us with delicious food and wine and let us enjoy college hoops in their theater room fully equipped with projection screen and leather recliners for all! The players on that screen made even Neal look small.

We had a wonderful time during our short stop at the Henderson's - Frisco chapter:

Back on the road! After a 4 hour drive through "Nothingland" aka, Waco, Temple and the rest of central Texas and a brief stint with the Mensa members running the Temple Burger King, we FINALLY reached Austin. May I just say that we could not have asked for better weather during the entire trip! And, I, of course, take full credit for all that sunshine that followed us in. It was great seeing the family. We settled right in like we were never gone and the girls definitely made themselves at home. The best part about being home is SLEEPING IN! The girls have no need for us when Gramma and Pop Pop are around and that means no one creeping in our room at 6am. Sorry Mom and Dad!

While on our trip we visited with Uncle Mike

Played Hide-and-Seek

And made green eggs for a Dr. Suess inspired, Irish Breakfast on St. Patrick's Day! (I wasn't wearing green here... and yes! I got pinched!)

The rest of the week included:

THE RODEO:
We rode the ponies and ate snow cones

We went to the pig races

The girls wanted to go on the GIANT sling shot, but we said, firmly, "NO."

MINI-GOLF:

We played 18 holes at the Peter Pan Miniature Golf Course. I think I was the only one who didn't hit a hole-in-one.

Two hours later we were at the doctor's office with Mallory, but even with strep-throat, Mallory was a natural mini-golfer.

Don't stand within a 3-foot radius of Gwyneth when she's playing - she will hit you.

KIDDIE ACRES:
There's a small amusement park in Austin... really small... so small I think Gwyneth may have been too big for it. There are 8 rides at the park - Total. Only 2 of them allow adults: the train and the merry-go-round.

The girls LOVED it!

They drove a boat

Flew a plane

Rode MORE ponies!

Ate Cotton Candy

Went up in the teeny-tiny Ferris Wheel

Rode the Train

And all 3 of our girls rode on the Merry-Go-Round - even Shawna!

We also went shopping. We all played in the hot tub at one time or another - Gwyneth has the bruises to prove it to! She was all over that thing. Neal, Gwyneth, Shawna and I went to dinner at Uncle Mike's and Aunt Samantha's - Marye's Pizza! Gwyn had a blast playing with the neighborhood kids, Danielle and Hunter and we got to sit outside and enjoy good company. Shawna mostly slept, but when she was awake she loved being the center of attention.
We also went to Dave & Buster's with our good friends Angie and Troy and their little boy TJ, but unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of any of those events. Maybe Angie will send me the pictures for D&B and I can update the blog to include them.

*HINT HINT ANGIE - if you're reading this*

One thing we were able to capture was Shawna's first bite of rice cereal! She's growing up SO fast! I'm still not sure if she liked it much at first or not, but she sure does like it now. Since then she's also had Applesauce - BIG hit.

All in all, our trip to Austin was a success. We even got to listen to a book-on-CD on the way home while the girls watched movies with their headsets on. It's good to be home, but we really miss our Texas kin (that's Texas talk) and can't wait until we can see them again. Here are a few more pictures from the trip:

Pop pop and Shawna had fun giggling on the floor