5 month old baby girl

Ellie 5 months dog

Dear Elyse,

You are now five months old. We mostly call you Ellie. When you are especially tired I call you “‘leepy Leesy”… I’ve never been good at giving out nicknames! Haha.

Baby facetime

You are so loved. Your four grandparents see you almost weekly. Auntie Clare is teaching you how to FaceTime. Uncle Justin watched you after your first day of daycare because dad went to work a storm.

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Also, you are extremely fortunate and went on your first family vacation to the happiest place on Earth.

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We went to Disneyland with your Grandma Cathy, Mark, Grandma Toni, Great-Grandma Sharon, Caleb, Gina, Aaron, Kelsey, Reed, Hadlee, Carl, and Karlene. Quite the bunch!

IMG_4947You were a rockstar on the planes and only cried when you were tired and couldn’t get comfortable.

PhotoPass_Visiting_Disneyland_Park_7933505665We were at the parks from open to close and you napped in the stroller, the carrier, or in someone’s arms.

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You and Hadlee had matching Minnie outfits. Although you couldn’t do many of the rides, surprisingly you rode three: Pirates of the Caribbean, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and Toy Story.

Daycare is going as well as it could. You are learning to nap in a new environment: louder, a crib (rather than rocking in a Rock ‘n Play), no sleep sacks or blankets. The first day you didn’t eat much of your bottles, but everyday is a little better. You love your “teacher” and light up with a tongue-smile when you see her. One of your friends is only one day younger than you. It’s funny these babies may become your good buddies.

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I cried the first day I dropped you off . Dad called the daycare twice to check on you. I received a few pictures throughout the day, which made me ecstatic. I’m glad we found such a caring place. Daycare is expensive – almost as much as our mortgage – but not as much as the daycares by my work in Seattle.

I’m happy to be back at work and even more happy to see you at night. We start your bedtime routine at 8pm so I have a few hours to see you each night. You haven’t been napping well at daycare, so this is slowly moving up to make sure you sleep enough each day. Hopefully, you will get comfortable in this new routine and place soon.

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Like I mentioned, your dad worked a windstorm the first day of daycare so uncle Justin watched you. On the third day, I got the flu and had to leave work early. The day after that, a terrible winter storm rolled into Washington. Your dad was in Bellingham for two days and when he came back home, he was still working around the clock. Their storm schedule is work 40 hrs, off 8, work 18, off 8. Thank God we live by family because I don’t know how I could have got through this first week without my brother. Even though he’s working, finishing his Masters, and training for a half marathon, he makes you a priority.

Development-wise, you are thiissss close to sitting on your own. You love to grab everything and put it in your mouth, including your toes. You enjoy splashing your hands and feet in the bathtub. You still laugh infrequently and usually it’s dad who gets you to chuckle. The Exersaucer and Jumperoo are your favorite things, but you still like to lay on your back and play. If you roll over from your back to your tummy, you get really freaked out and cry. As you can see from the pics, you love sticking your tongue out.

Oh Ellie, you give us so much joy! I now look forward to the nights and weekends and try to hold you as much as possible before you decide you’re too mobile for that.

Love,

Mom

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