The Goerlich Five.: Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

I hope so, because I have not been doing a good job of updating this blog this summer!! I apologize, but I have a good reason; we've been having such a fun summer with Emmy that I haven't had time to write about it!!! Let's see if I can catch up...

We've spent lots of time with our friends & family this summer! Here's some pictures of our fun:

Going for a walk with Brooke

Twin play date with Brooke!

Meeting Auntie Amanda!

Meeting baby Collins!

Buddies Collins & Colston

Pool day with Brooke & Aly

Out to lunch with Great Grandma Smith!

One of the biggest milestones Emmy has reached this summer is eating solid (well, pureed!) foods! We've been going at it slowly, but we're picking up steam! So far she's eaten rice cereal, whole grain oatmeal, sweet potatoes, bananas, summer squash and avocado. She liked the sweet potatoes, she LOVED the bananas, she HATED the squash, and we're still undecided on the avocado. It's so interesting to watch how she responds to eating all the different textures! Currently she eats oatmeal in the morning, then a fruit or veggie at lunch and a fruit or veggie at dinner. If she doesn't like the fruit/veggie I have prepared for her, then the rice cereal is our backup! I've been making her food, except for the cereal and oatmeal obviously, and it's been pretty easy and fun! I've also been giving her a sippy cup with some water in it when she eats her food, mostly for practice with the cup, but also to help wash down the food. She did pretty well with a standard sippy cup with handles, but I wasn't sure that she was able to suck enough to actually get water out. So I got a different sippy cup that has a straw, and just this week she's learned to drink from the straw! I'm so proud of her!

mmmm sweetie potatoes!

I'll hold that please!

Practicing drinking from my sippy cup!

I love bananas!!

I know how to drink from a straw!

Emmy continues to sleep well, all through the night! We've had a month straight of sleeping through the night now, so I think it's safe to say she's got it! She takes really good naps now, a morning one and an afternoon nap, about an hour to an hour & a half each nap. She's also stretching out the time she's awake in between naps from 2 to 3 hours. She seems to sleep best on her side or tummy, but she still sleeps on her back from time to time. The only thing consistent about her sleeping positions is that they're constantly changing! She moves all over that crib all night long!! It's always interesting to turn on the monitor to see where & how she's asleep!!

Not sure how this is comfortable, but it works!

In addition to moving all over her crib at night, Emmy is a mover & shaker all day long! She's been pushing herself up onto all fours for a week or so now, but just last week she figured out how to push herself up to a sitting position from all fours! It was quite a shock the first time we saw her do it, as she was in her crib, and we looked on the monitor only to find her sitting up! She's not quite crawling yet, but she rocks when up on all fours, and she seems to understand that if she moves from all fours to her belly & then back to all fours, she can get forward a few inches! It's only a matter of time before she's crawling all over the house! I better get going on the baby proofing!!

Learning to crawl!

In other areas of development, Emmy's become more & more chatty, and her first official consonant sound is /b/! We often hear her saying "bababababa" while she's playing, and I think I've heard a few da's in there as well, but no official words yet. Her fine motor skills are also improving, and she's recently started trying to clap her hands together! She's also gotten good at shaking toys, and is starting to hit or bang toys together or against a hard surface. She loves when you play pat-a-cake, this little piggy, or sing pretty much any song! She still loves to read books, although a lot of the time she'd prefer to bite the book instead of look at the pictures! She also loves pulling on people's hair, so watch out the next time you hold her! Emmy's also been laughing more lately, particularly when you tickle her under her arms or up by her neck & shoulders! It's the sweetest sound we've ever heard!!

Here's a few more of Emmy's summer adventures: