Cereal, Vegys, & Rolling Over!

We started Giada on rice cereal. She is getting one "meal" a day at breakfast. She wasn't too thrilled at first, but by day 4 she was opening her mouth to eat some bites. After 8 days of rice cereal we started vegetables. First up:  sweet potatoes! She wasn't more excited about them. She didn't refuse them or spit them up, but she just isn't too excited about "food" yet. She eats about a tablespoon of food. We have a few more vegys to try this month (carrots, green beans, peas) before starting fruits next month (apples, bananas, peaches).
Last weekend we made another trip to Valparaiso for Christmas. Giada is so blessed to have so many family members that love her. She got so many things - toys, diapers, and my favorite gift for her:  a high chair/booster seat. We used it this morning and it made eating so much easier for her and for me. It is perfect for our counter height kitchen table.
While in Valpo, Giada rolled over for the first time! Saturday morning after her breakfast we were playing in Grandma Debbie's living room. Giada was enjoying tummy time and rolled over from her belly to her back. Brian and I were both right there to see it and of course cheered for her!
I started signing with Giada when she was about 2 months old. We started with the sign for "milk". Now, at 4 months old, she knows the sign. She can't sign yet, but she understands when I sign milk and what that means. Now that we've started baby food we are working on the sign for "more" and "all finished".

Mommy & Giada

Cereal day 1

Cereal day 2 

 Sweet potatoes day 1

Daddy loves his girl and Giada loves her daddy!

with Uncle Brandon

Uncle Brandon, Great Grandma Jean, Grandpa David, Daddy, & Giada (4 generations)

Great Uncle Dave, Daddy, Giada, Uncle Brandon, Great Aunt Judy

Giada got this teddy bear from her Great Aunt Judy & Great Uncle Dave. She LOVES it. I had one just like it when I was a baby so it was pretty special to see her get it and play with it.

Grandpa David, Daddy, Giada, Uncle Brandon

Daddy, Grandma Debbie, Great Grandma Judy, & Giada (4 generations)

4 month well visit

Our precious baby is growing so big. At her 4 month well visit on Monday she weighed in at 15 pounds 11.2 ounces and is 25 1/2 inches long! She is in the upper 80s on percentile. And because she is so big she gets to start cereal soon. We had anticipated waiting until she was 6 months old, but the pediatrician said she is big enough to go ahead and teach her how to eat. Brian wanted to be home for her first non-milk meal (who could blame him?!) so we'll be starting cereal tomorrow morning after nursing. We will take lots of pictures and post later.
Giada is such a mommy's girl right now and I love every minute of it! There are times, usually when she is super tired, that she doesn't want anyone but her mommy. Brian is so amazing. He tries to soothe her, but knows handing her off to me is just what she wants most times. He helps then by popping up over my shoulder and playing peek a boo with her. She will laugh and laugh at her daddy...even squeal! It is the most wonderful sound. I know Giada will go through many phases of wanting mommy then wanting daddy so I will enjoy every minute that she just wants to be held by me. She only has 6 more months of being a "baby" after all...
Giada has really taken a liking to her paci when it is nap time. It is so funny to me how she wanted nothing to do with it a few months ago. Then one night, when she was so extremely tired that she was fighting sleep, we gave her the paci and it calmed her down and helped her drift off to sleep. Now, she really likes having it to sleep. And what my baby wants, she gets!  :-)  But if its not nap time, she wants nothing to do with it. She also really prefers her bed at naptime, which makes it difficult when we are on the go. She will fight sleeping on our shoulder or in our arms because she wants to lay down in her bed. Its funny how we can already see her personality developing.
We have really been working on tummy time. Giada is doing much better being flat on her tummy and holding her head up. We've taught her how to use her arms to help prop herself up. Now we are working on rolling over. She is just so big!
And like all parents have told me, once you get the hang of things, it all changes. Giada is transitioning to one less nursing and extending her wake time during the day. 1.5 - 2 hours is about all she can handle being awake before needing a nap, this includes the time it takes her to nurse. She is down to 3 naps a day, but they are long naps - usually 2 hours (when we aren't on the go). I'm sure adding cereal to her mornings will again change her routine. Her night time sleep ranges from 10-11 hours. She wakes occasionally throughout the night, but can usually go back to sleep with her paci. We have a consistent bedtime routine (4Bs) book, bath, nursing, bedtime.

Love these two

reading

Looking up at her toys - a different perspective!