6 month Wellness Check

So, today was Gretta’s 6-month check-up. And I have to say I am blown away. First off Gretta has gained a whopping 2.5lbs which is great and she is now 25 inches long. Which puts her in the 10th percentile of height and a little above the 5th percentile in weight. Dr. Shoemaker was very pleased with the way she could sit up on her own and pulling herself up. She is very strong. Growing very nicely.

Then we were talking about her diet, certain foods to start introducing, etc., this is the part that blew me away. For the last week or so Gretta has been eating Stage 1 Vegetables and as I found out today Stages are pretty much determined by the consistency of the food. She is now ready for Stage 2 and we are free to feed her table food mashed to this consistency as well – I can hardly believe that it is already time for this. But here is the big one – she is ready for Apple Juice. So, we are to start out with about 2-4 oz. a day diluted with a little water and we should give that to her in a SIPPY CUP! I thought I was going to fall off my chair. A Sippy Cup?? That seems like such a big girl thing to drink out of. But the Dr. says now is the time to start transitioning her because by her 1st birthday you won’t want her to be using a bottle anymore. When I think sippy cup I think toddler and walking and talking. Not my sweet little Gretta who is still just a newborn baby. So, on my way home I caught myself thinking about this big event that is about to take place and on the verge of tears I thought she is getting so big – then it hit me- Oh crap- I am one of those Moms. You know the ones that cry about everything and hate to see their sweet baby grow-up. Before I had Gretta my thought would’ve been it is only a different kind of cup, what’s the big deal. How quickly things change. And I have to keep reminding myself she is only 6 months old these changes are small compared to the ones that are ahead of us. When she takes her first steps and will be able to run from me – in the grocery store, her first day of School, her first boyfriend, her first car, going off to college at Purdue (of course!), getting married….and the list goes on and on. So, as I put things into a little better perspective, I am now thinking YIKES, let’s just start with the sippy cup.

So, to wrap it up she is doing very well. She is in the beginning stage of crawling which is excellent. She will probably start saying Da-Da in the next month or so. Ma-ma typically comes a little later. I am working to try and change this with Gretta’s Development, so we will have to wait and see. Ha, ha… She is such a great baby. This is a really fun age as she really starts to play with her toys and interact with us. I will try to embrace the changes that are coming and try to not to fall apart in the grocery aisle when I stop to purchase a sippy cup!

February in a Flash

February has flown by. I have not even had time to post anything in a while. However, I have been working with our Movie Maker Program to get some new pictures put into a movie. And thanks to my sweetie for my itunes gift card I have some new music to put with our pictures. And again I owe Elijah (a/k/a Sweetie, Mr. Wonderful) the credit for getting the music attached to the video file, something I could not figure out on my own. So, I hope you enjoy the Movie we made.

Gretta has her 6 month check-up Tuesday. She has been eating her vegetables. So far she has had Squash, Carrots and Peas. She has been doing really well starting solids. It has been a lot of fun watching her expressions to the different foods. we should find out more Tuesday on how to continue her new diet changes. Well, that is all I have time for now. Hope everyone has a good week!

Our Favorite Picture of the Weekend

Gretta's First Taste of Cereal

So this has been a really fun weekend. We decided to go ahead and give Gretta her first taste of cereal. Within the last week or so she really started to show signs of wanting solid foods. So, we decided since she is only about a week away from 6 months, which by the way is crazy, it was a good time to start. She did a great job. Using a spoon is of course a totally new experience to her, so she did more sucking off of it, almost like she was eating from a bottle...Go figure! So, a lot more got on her than in her mouth.

She got some more cereal today as well. We had a lot of fun feeding her and cleaning her up. However, I do hope she will continue to develop her spoon eating skills a little more...ha, ha...she was a mess!! Below is a video that I put together so you could get a glimpse of the process.

Snow Day!!

So it has been a beautiful snow day the Welchs. Gretta and I had pleasure to watch this wintery weather from our kitchen window. Elijah had to head off to work even though weather was not ideal for traveling, but he made it safely in both trips...he loves the drive on the snowy roads.

Anyway, wanted to give a Gretta Update. She is now "creeping" which is like the first stage of crawling as I understand it. She basically scoots herself around the living room floor, now carpeted, which is great! She is so cute doing it! We also have been receiving this magazine every couple of months that talks about Gretta's development. Anyway, this month's issue was all about feeding her solids. In about a week she will be started on rice cereal. Which is exciting, but sad. I realized today that in the beginning that seemed so far away, before she would be taking anything but milk. Then as I read on I realized that by 9 months which is only 3 more months she could be eating at the table with us, feasting on what we are eating mostly. It is going by so fast. She has been with almost half a year. Which I admit is a short little life compared to my 27 years, but still...anyway what everyone says is true it goes by in a blink. But I am not worried about that. We are just enjoying every minute of it. Well I need to go my baby girl is crying for her mom. Til next time happy blogging...ha, ha..I am so cheesy!

A New Year with New Developments

So, it has been a while since I have blogged it has been a busy time a the Welch Home. Gretta is growing and developing nicely. She has started to reach for things now and she reaches for everything. She is in to touching everything and putting it in her mouth. It is so cool to see her get this new level of communication for something that she wants, like me!! She reaches for me a lot which is very exciting! Today, she was with her Grandma and Grandpa Welch while Elijah and I went to the Y to run and play basketball, anyway, when we got back and we walked in the room her face lit up and she started cooing, wiggling, and reaching for us. It was great!!

We are having a great new year. As I get to work part-time now it has been great staying home more with Gretta. I love it! Well, that is all I have time for now. Hope to blog more later.

Christmas Photo favorite

This is by far one of my favorite Christmas photo. On Elijah's head is a Bumbo seat. Which is a little seat that Gretta can sit in and she really likes it because it sets her up. Anyway he put it on his head and I got the picture. Gotta Love it!! Check out all our Christmas photos on flickr.