Magoo is Hillarious!

Brenna thinks that Magoo is the funniest thing in the world. The only other thing even close to as funny is Mom flinging her arms in the air and mimicking Brenna in her jumperoo... but you won't be seeing a video of that!

And sometimes it's just enough to say "Magoo"...

Brenna's First Real Meal

Standing in front of the baby food section at the grocery store, I found myself frustrated by the lack of variety available in those little jars. I just couldn't feed her green beans and sweet potatoes anymore, and the thought of canned meat was enough to make me gag. So, I stopped by the kitchen store to purchase an immersion blender and headed home to make chicken and dumplings... for all of us.

I wilted chopped onions in a bit of olive oil then added celery, carrots, garlic, chicken and low-sodium chicken broth. After this simmered for an hour or so I removed some to blend for Brenna's dinner before adding the dumplings. The immersion blender worked even better than I had anticipated - everything was completely pureed, even the chicken.

We sat down for dinner and the moment of truth. Brenna's reaction was less than favorable (see video below), but after a little doctoring with apples and thinning with formula, she decided it was tolerable. Making food for her was surprisingly simple and I felt good that she was able to eat the same thing we were, just in a bit of a different form. Now the options are endless!

After looking at the video again, maybe I shouldn't tell her that she's having leftovers for lunch tomorrow. :)

Chicken and Dumplings - mine on the left and Brenna's on the right.

Mommy's Tough Little Girl

Brenna had her six month doctor appointment today which meant more shots. The last round of vaccinations at four months sent her in to a bought of unconsolable crying. I was prepared for the same today, but apparently now that Brenna is a whole half year old she's developed mommy's pain tolerance and "I'm tough" attitude. She got two shots today and didn't cry at all until after the second one. She gave us three screams, a couple sighs, and a then a smile. The nurse was amazed. Stephen and I decided to press our luck and went out for a nice breakfast afterwards. We were at the restaurant for nearly an hour during which Brenna sat calmly in her car seat, took a little nap, and chatted with the waitress. We've been home for a few hours now and still no crabbiness - she's playing in her Jumperoo and smiling at me as I sit here typing this. What a good baby I have! :) And no... I did not sell my soul to the devil for her.

Based on numbers, the past two months have been a crazy growth spurt for Brenna. At four months she weighed 11lb 11oz and was in the 10th percentile. Today she was almost 15lb 10oz and at 50-75%. She's now 26 1/2 inches long, but her head measurement took the prize today coming in at the 95th percentile (17 1/2 inches). That's one big noggin! Good thing all the hats I've been making are stretchy. :)

Halloween

Brenna was a lady bug for her first Halloween. I dug out my old bee costume and joined in the fun.

4 months

Brenna had her 4 month checkup today and everything is going great! She's now 24 inches long, weighs 11 lbs. 11 oz., and has hit all of her milestones. Our next big step is starting solid foods. We are going to start her on rice cereal now and work our way up to nummy, green vegetables. She also had her second round of vaccinations today. She was still screaming when we left the doctor's office, but was happy and chatty by the time we got to her play group meeting a few minutes later.

Brenna made sure that she was the center of attention for at least a bit by showing off her vocal skills. She had stories to tell everyone, especially when a couple of the other babies started talking back. By the time we left, the vaccinations were starting to affect her and she was sleepy. She has spent the rest of the day fussing and sleeping - the same reaction she had with her first round of vaccines. So, here I sit with a sleepy baby on my lap, but I can't complain. I'm going to soak up the cuddles as long as I can!

Woodlands Grapes

The Woodlands has a great system of walking/biking paths. I have walked the paths near my house more times than I can count over the past five years, but I had never noticed how many grapevines lined these paths. As I drove home from errands Monday morning I noticed vines at every turn. How could I have missed this before? Am I really that unobservant, or maybe there are just more of them this year than other years.

Prime picking time for muscadine grapes ended about a week ago, but I put a bag in the stroller on Monday just incase we found any left on the vines when we went for our walk. I stayed on the trails closest to our house - not more than a few blocks away - and returned home with ten pounds of grapes! Most of these grapes came from a couple vine patches that were saturated with fruit. The grapes were huge and in clusters. Usually muscadine grapes only grow one or two to a cluster. The clusters I were finding had as many as eight grapes.

I did get a few odd looks as I was digging through the brush, stretching to reach the good grapes. A confused onlooker even stopped her car to try to see what was causing the yaupons to shake so violently. (I was on the other side of the trail out of sight.) A couple walkers did stop to ask what I was picking and mentioned that they had seen others picking the grapes too. I gave a brief description of what they were, what they are used for, and had them taste them. I enjoyed chatting with the walkers, but I'm hoping I haven't created competition for next year at the prime grape picking locations I found.

Counting in Months

I am always amazed at how fast time seems to fly by and having Brenna in our life has further emphasized that. I can't believe she is 3 months old already! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital, but at the same time that feels like a lifetime ago. I remember the day after she was born - I was holding her, still in the hospital. I looked up at the clock at 8:06 pm, gave her a kiss, and wished her a happy 1 day birthday. Then we counted her age in days, soon followed by weeks and now in months. And, it feels that in another blink of an eye we will be counting in years. Our lives have changed so much so quickly... but I wouldn't trade a minute of it for the world. For now, I will enjoy every moment we have and try not to blink.