Today is the first cool day of fall so we dressed Brianna up in this adorable outfit. A colleague of mine from Sweden sent it for Brianna after she was born and she just now fits into it (perfect timing, I think) — thanks Bertil!! Not only is she warm and comfortable, but this outfit gives her new textures to explore. You can’t really tell in the pictures, but those pants are a soft velour that she has never really felt before. She has been spending some of her day checking them out. Plus, the zipper on the jacket is just fabulously entertaining to her.
This weekend, Jason and I took Brianna to a couple playgrounds near our house. We have two small ones in our neighborhood, but we wanted to try out some of the bigger ones at the county/city operated parks. Obviously, Brianna is too small to play on most of the equipment, but we had fun swinging on the swings (one of my favorite activities as a child). We anticipate many fun days at the park in the future.
Today Brianna and I went to our first consignment sale. I stumbled upon it last week in the outlet mall near our house. The sale didn’t start until this past Tuesday, but you could see all kinds of stuff in the windows. Today, most things were supposed to be 50% off so Brianna and I went to see what was left. In particular, I was looking for an exersaucer for her since she seems to really enjoy the one at daycare. There were only three left out of the at least 30 I saw last week (the risk you take when you wait until discount day), but I think we did o.k. This little gem (see pictures below) only cost $6. While it may not have the bells and whistles of the newer models, she does not seem to mind. She has been playing in it for the past 15 minutes and has been just chattering away. Plus, I think Jason will appreciate the “driving” aspect of this particular exersaucer. Now she has her very own “car!” As an added bonus, we picked up a few clothes. She didn’t really need clothes thanks to everyone’s generosity so I resisted most of the tempting outfits. But, I did get her an adorable winter white coat with a hood, a light pink winter suit (Winnie the Pooh, complete with footies, hood, and mittens), and a brand new red velvet Christmas dress (complete with satin panties). We will definitely do this more as she gets older, although preferably not at lunch time on discount day. That place was a madhouse!
Yesterday, a package arrived from Brianna’s Grandma and Grandpa. It contained this really cool play mat with all kinds of “things” with different textures for Brianna to play with — a squeaky frog and ladybug, a furry rug in the shape of a cloud, a sun with a mirror in it, a puffy caterpillar, a spider hidden behind a leaf, etc. As an added bonus, it is padded and super soft so it makes tummy time on our hardwood floors much more comfortable for her. 
Here she is, playing on her new play mat!
Yesterday I dressed Brianna in this adorable Osh Kosh outfit my college roomate gave her. I wanted to send her a picture so I helped Brianna stand while Jason took the picture. Apparently, this was the first time I have tried to make Brianna stand on the hardwood floors while wearing her fuzzy socks. Now, in addition to the whole balance issue, she was desperately trying to keep her feet from sliding out from under her (splits anyone?). Short of putting my legs on either side of her feet, there wasn’t much I could do to help. The hilarity that ensued was priceless (although I am not quite sure she saw the humor in the situation)! Here are a couple of pictures.
Brianna is 5 months old today! It is hard to believe that I have spent the past 5 months getting up at god-awful hours of the day and night, never getting enough sleep, and generally being happy about it! Her smile is a powerful thing — it makes even world renowned morning grumps such as Jason and I just melt. She went to the Doctor yesterday for a weight check and more vaccines. She currently weighs 12 lbs., 1.5 oz., and is 24″ long. She is officially big enough to measure using her giraffe height chart (see picture from a couple of posts ago). Jason is waiting another month before he will officially declare victory, but the Doctor told me she will keep her beautiful blue eyes — they are too blue to change, she said. Yeah!!
Here is the latest developmental and general news:
*Sleeps in her crib in her room at night. She currently will sleep at least 7 uninterrupted hours since her last feeding, and will generally sleep 10-11 hours total at night.
*At home, I can usually get her to take at least two 1 hour naps during the day, but she is too nosy to sleep much at daycare.
*When she has a bottle, we put rice cereal in it.
*Can roll over from her tummy to her back when she feels like it (which is rare).
*Currently loves Gina the Giraffe, her soccer ball rattle, and her taggy toys the best and grabs and chews on them regularly.
*Quite oral (everything straight to the mouth) and quite vocal (lots of aahhs, ooohs, ohs, and the occasional da).
*Generally happy unless she is hungry or really tired.
*Full of smiles most of the time — big wide mouthed grins — and has a wonderful giggle.
*Loves going for walks in the stroller and loves looking at people.
*Loves story time, and is particularly fond of The Rainbow Fish, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and most books by Sandra Boynton.
*The Doctor says her bottom front teeth are working on coming in.
*LOVES her pacifier.
*Has started paying attention to our hands when we use sign language (eat, more, milk, all done, mommy, daddy, pacifier, etc.).
*Loves to grab at things, but still does not have much motion control.
*Loves to stand (with assistance, of course); not really fond of sitting unless in Bumbo seat.
That is all I can think of right now. Enjoy the picture!
