Lyra Rose 5 Months

This girl is so beautiful! I fall more in love with her every minute. She's such a good-natured soul with a heart of gold. 

* Lyra loves her feet. She loves to hold them both in her mouth and roll around like a crazy gymnast. She can also toss things up to her mouth or hands that she can't quite get to otherwise with her feet. It's seriously impressive. 

* Her eyes are gorgeous. They are some combination of blue, green, grey and gold. One seems distinctly darker than the other which is what my mom has going on too. They are also so expressive! She can tell us so much with those sparkly eyes. Rowan would get compliments most on his smile and she gets the most about her bright eyes. 

* While there is for sure a similarity in looks between baby Rowan and baby Lyra, she looks a great deal like my little sister did as a baby. We all know what a babe my sister ended up, so I'm pretty stoked Lyra seems to be following that gene bandwagon. 

Cheap Chipolte Day. Lyra has started to hate her carseat. She'll arch her back and try and pop out of it when I put her in. I guess I can't say she hates her carseat, she mostly seems to hate getting in it. Once she's all strapped in, she's as content as always. 

I had no idea what to do with the kids when we went back to my "hometown" in Michigan. It's in quotations because I lived there 9th-12th grade then my family moved to Ohio and I was left without a place I could really say I was from. Since I was there for highschool, some of my fav parts about Rochester weren't overly exciting to a two-year-old and infant. My genius plan was to take them on one of my favorite runs which wasn't very long. The total hike is about two miles and you can't exactly take a stroller (see sand, mud, and rocky trails). I envisioned us walking merrily along the path admiring the beauty of my old backyard. While that did happen to an extent, the return mile was pure torture. Rowan was exhausted and demanded to be carried. Carrying his 30 pound self plus her 17 pound self for almost a straight mile (with lots of needed breaks) inspired me to lift weights more. 

*She doesn't sleep anymore and it breaks my heart. She got a cold while in Florida and it hasn't been the same since. It's not awful the way Rowan was, it's just once sometimes twice a night opposed to every 90 minutes. She has gotten better at longer naps now that night sleeping has been offered up on the alter of my sanity. 

*She LOVES Rowan still. Will laugh hysterically at whatever silly thing he is doing. I can get her to giggle when I tickle her tummy with my face, but I nor anyone else can produce the true laughter that Rowan gets out of her. She also really adores my mom. Lyra almost always lets out a breathy chuckle when she sees her. 

* She such a patient, long-suffering little gal. Rowan is mostly gentle, but sometimes will go and hit or kick her because he's mad at me or wants attention. It's so infuriating and it absolutely gets my attention. Sweet Lyra very rarely cries when he attacks her. The other day he stood above her and then abruptly sat on her. I was already on my way across the room when I saw him standing above her, but before I was able to yank him off of her she started laughing. Laughing about essentially being punched in the stomach. Rowan insisted he be allowed to do it again because "sister like it".

She just fell asleep in my arms during a walk. Dream baby. 

They were both mesmerized by my parent's fireplace. Also how crazy does his bony back look next to her rolly back? 

Her 5-month "photo shoot" left much to be desired. I was distracted and felt like getting it done right away for some reason. National Geographic called recently to sign me as a photographer, but I had to pass it up for lack of time. 

 * Her pouty, pre-cry face is money. I almost wish she were a fussier baby simply so I could see those lips pucker and that forehead wrinkle in the most delicious fashion.

* She can sit up unassisted for about 30 seconds at a time. She usually has to be mega-focused on a toy within arm's reach otherwise she sets her sights on something else and topples over. She is getting closer to figure out how to balance on all fours. She can push herself up from the front and can tuck her knees under her, but not at the same time yet. 

* She sings herself to sleep. She makes these little cooing sounds right before she conks out and they take cute to the next level. 

* She completely understands the sign for milk. She will start laugh-crying if I do it when she's extra hungry and just start head-butting my chest. 

* Her baby kisses are what I am living for right now. She will suck on my cheek or chin and I just. can't. handle. it. The slobber makes it all the more delicious. 

* We let her try some sweet potatoes this last week and she pounded them. She ate the entire 4 oz which did not seem normal from my memory of baby Rowan.

Just some RobotUnicorn breakfast time. 

* The day Lyra got her shots, she woke up from a nap and did the cutest little eye-roll smile at Sel when I brought her downstairs. We both laughed at how hysterical it was, but then she wouldn't stop doing it when she smiled. It started to be a bit concerning to both of us and Dr. Google told us she could be having little seizures. I called the Pediatrician expecting them to tell me to stop surfing the internet, but they insisted I come in and have her looked at. It started to break my heart every time she smiled because I couldn't stop worrying that something was neurologically wrong with her. The pediatrician did the exact same check up she'd had the day before and obviously didn't find anything concerning. I feel peds/family med docs can be quite limited in their abilities to do anything past the basic. I know they are trained to only catch things through basic checkups and refer out to specialists, but I would personally find it frustrating as a doctor to not really be able to assure my patients/parents of patients that everything is fine or to not feel like I was easily missing something serious.  Lyra did her weird eyeroll/flutter thing and the doctor got creepily quiet. She told me to keep track of her for 48 hours and we would schedule an EKG if she kept doing it. Luckily it stopped the next day. I think she was just extra tired from all of her traveling/shots/having a two-year-old brother. It made me reflect on how miraculous it is that any child is ever "perfectly healthy".

* She kicks her legs constantly. When she lays on her tummy, she contently kicks those legs. When she sees someone she loves while I'm holding her, she kicks her legs like she's sprinting in the olympic games. She even pumps them somewhat in time to music when it's playing. 

* I've been doing a scripture study guide I snagged from thesmallseed.com and it is so incredible how an attitude of gratitude can change the way I feel and the way my day goes. It makes every small thing my children do something to be in awe of. Even Lyra's little toots are so, so adorable to me. I am so grateful for her health, her smiles, her laughs, her rolls, her growing abilities, her intelligence and THOSE CHEEKS. Thank heavens for chubby-cheeked babies.