my world, my true

Time is flying by. Little Lately is already 5 months old, finding her voice, sitting up and reaching for the stars. Her laugh is a squeal of delight that she’s begun to let out more often these days. Chasing her brother up the stairs or through the yard, kicking and splashing in the bathtub, peeking behind a pillow to find me and of course, getting tickled right in the tiny spot above her ribs are all sure-fire ways to catch the perfection that is her giggles. 

My favorite time of the day with her is bathtime, because it’s her favorite time of the day. She starts kicking her feet like crazy as soon as I start running the water and breaks down in tears when I move her to the other room to undress her, then kicking all over again when we return to the bathroom and her prayers are answered. She gets water EVERYWHERE because she kicks and moves around so much, she’s so excited about it, she even almost pulled herself to standing in her little baby bathtub trying to reach a cup of water the other day!

Speaking of movement, she’s not holding back in that department. She wants to GO. She’s sitting up pretty much independently, although she’s still a little wobbly, she can hold her balance and catch herself when she starts to lean in one direction but she does still teeter and fall every now and then. She’s just so, so strong, though, it’s crazy. She’s got the fiercest grip which she uses to her advantage when her brother tries to snatch toys away from her, and also to get him back for said snatching by grabbing ahold of his curls if they are anywhere within her reach.

And, ladies and gentlemen, Lately has found her voice. Oh my, has she ever. As a baby and young child, I was nicknamed “Yellin’ Ellen” by my family members thanks to all of the racket I made when things weren’t going my way (which was pretty much all of the time, according to them); so Lately has come by this skill honestly. Sometimes she will just sit there, playing with a toy and scream for no reason at all, just to test it out, I suppose. Other times, her scream is used to let me know I’m not going fast enough for her. She’s perfected the fake cry and gets it worked up in no time…and I’m a huge sucker for it, too, fake as it may be.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 5 months. 5 months ago we became a family of four, but it sure feels like she’s been here all along.