More Changes & First Vacation

Finley has been changing like crazy! She still sleeps with us, but rarely wakes up crying anymore. She also doesnt like to suck on a finger as much, which is nice for us. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, she just wants a little bit of comfort to get back to sleep. We usually hold her hand or rub her back. The past two nights she slept without waking at all from 10:30-6 am and then back to sleep until 8:30! Our next big goal will be to skip the 6 am feeding, but she can take her time with that. She is still sleeping in our bed and we havent decided when to transition her to her crib. We will probably give it a try when she is 6 months old.

In the past few weeks she has really started babbling. She makes the cutest noises non-stop when she is in a good mood. She also has started intentionally grabbing things, especially in her activity gym. The most surprising change is that she is trying to sit up on her own from a laying flat position. She lifts her head and neck straight up like she is doing a sit-up. She tries so hard to get up! I had to strap her into her swing today, because I was afraid she was going to sit up and roll out of it! She is a very determined, happy baby.

Feeding is still going well. My original goal was to make it to 6 months of breastfeeding, but now Im going to go for 1 year or more. My goal is to not have to use formula at all.

testing out the crib and watching the mobile

showing off her new outfit from Aunt Barbara!

14 weeks

15 weeks


16 weeks

I had to take a photo of her in this adorable outfit. The sweater vest is the best part.

Last week The Shryocks came to visit and we all went to a little vacation house in Leavenworth, WA. Despite all the stuff we had to bring for Finley and the dogs, it still felt like a vacation. With two enthusiastic babysitters, Ben and I both had much needed time to relax. It was a typical vacation for us....hiking with the dogs, cooking outside, strolling around the town, scenic drives. We were there for the perfect amount of time to see everything and enjoy being in the woods.

Ben, Finley and I had a king bed in our room and it was awesome. With Finley sleeping in our bed and our inability to stay still enough to cuddle with her, we have to take turns sleeping with her. It sucks to have to switch beds in the middle of the night. We went out and bought a king bed yesterday! I am so excited! Its going to be great for sleeping with Finley and still wonderful when she moves to her own bed.

We stopped at this little cafe in Monroe on the way to Leavenworth. Its the kind of place that everyone knows eachother and stares at you when you walk in. We had delicious tuna melts with grilled onions. Finley slept the whole way there and we enjoyed the amazing scenery

As soon as we got there we took the dogs to Lake Wenatchee for a swim and hike. The bright blue water in the Cascades will always amaze me. Too bad its always cold...it looks so tempting for a swim.

Gran was unbelievably excited to get Finley into her arms. She hiked the whole way like that.

On the way back to the house

We stopped at this little store and got some fruit and the most delicious Walla Walla Onions I have ever had. They tasted like they were dipped in sugar. They are perfect grilled in big slices with a nice grass-fed steak. Add some freshly picked zucchini and thats what we had for dinner.

On our last vacation in the winter we made smores with store bought marshmallows. We had so much fun roasting them over the fire, that we decided to do it again on this trip. This time I made marshmallows myself. Its much easier than it sounds and so much better. This, by the way, is not part of my low carb diet. I gave myself a break on vacation.

The front porch. Notice Indy staring at a stick she put in front of Frances, who is either ignoring her or doesnt know its there. This is how Indy spends most of her time

The peaches in this part of Washington are so good, Kenneth and Frances were inspired to make peach cobbler. A perfect summer dessert.

The next day we ventured out to downtown Leavenworth to check out the shops and the (somewhat cheesy) Bavarian town. Everything is _____ Haus. There was even a store called "Bling Haus".....pretty bad. I had fun checking out the European toys and food shops. Kenneth and Frances had fun making sure that everyone saw how cute their little granddaughter is!


We went out for Finleys first indoor restaurant experience at the 59er diner. The food was not great. It was typical, underwhelming diner food. They did have good ice cream, which was our dinner for Bens birthday. He had a peanut butter milk shake for his birthday dinner.





t

The next day we decided to try another lake, Fish Lake, for a new swimming experience for the dogs. It was lovely and much less crowded

Finleys first dip in a lake. This lake was nice and warm. She has loved all her water experiences so far. We need to take her swimming in the pool again!

We went to this place called Munchen Haus for German food

The dogs are being good as usual on the busy downtown street

Yesterday I remembered that we have this little Bumbo Chair and I thought that maybe Finley would finally be able to try it out! We are going to start using it while we eat dinner...starting family meals early!

blueberry/wineberry scones. I tried the Cooks Illustrated recipe. They came out good, but slightly raw in the center. This recipe, like so many of Cooks Illustrated recipes, took way too long.

zucchini bread