bonding & cereal teamwork

I am so thankful we have the opportunity and experience of raising a child from pretty much the beginning of her life.  We are only at nearly five months in, and all these magical baby stages are so fun and delightful.  It really is true that they are constantly changing, constantly learning new things each day.  What I have most enjoyed recently is Allie's growing attachment to me.  She has actually started crying sometimes whenever someone she doesn't know well holds her, and when they hand her back to me, she not only stops crying, but often looks back at them and smiles, like, "Now I'm okay."  It makes me laugh (and it's secretly thrilling) every time.  While I certainly want her to not be spoiled and to learn to be comfortable with other people, an attachment to Luke and I is not only healthy, but the goal.  I did not get to bond with Allie for nine months in the womb, nor did we get to bond with her for the first two weeks of her life.  Seeing her attachment to us is relieving and satisfying.

Another favorite right now... Sometimes when I'm holding Allie in my arms and she's looking up at me, she starts cooing and talking in a soft, loving kind of way, different from the louder sounds she makes throughout the rest of the day.  It's so sweet and intentional and I feel like she's telling me she loves me.

We just began the rice cereal adventure.  The first couple attempts did not go so well.  This morning, however, Luke and I were both present and so we were able to help each other and use teamwork.  He held Allie while I spooned the cereal in, and then he would put her paci in quickly to try to get her to swallow.  Before, she was pretty much spitting most of it out.  Today she actually consumed the majority of it.  Victory!  And so far her stomach has seemed to be okay.  We'll see how the rest of the day pans out.  I'm strangely excited for when we get to start squash and other veggies just to see all the faces she'll make!

We had an unexpected snow day today.  Hooray!!  I'm going to wrap this up and try to finish up some tasks and projects before Allie wakes up...