And moving right along...

So, here we are, a mere 2 weeks from Kinsley's "half birthday"...(which reminds me, we must watch the "original" Alice in Wonderland when she gets older)...and we have taken a big step this weekend...ladies & gentleman, I give you....Kinsley's introduction to F-O-O-D.

First bite! Open wide!

What IS this...rice cereal?

...and what's a "banana?"

More please!

Philip and I have been talking about trying baby food for about a month now, but got the greenlight on Friday from Kinsley's pediatrician to try it this weekend. And so we did! To set the scene: it was me feeding Kinsley, Hunter on the floor below hoping to catch anything that would fall, & Philip filming with the FLIP camera and snapping photos in between bites! First we tried rice cereal, which went okay. Next: banana's. She's not loving banana's so far. And then: apple sauce. Success! In fact, she finished the last half of the container tonight! To see her little tounge stick out and not know what to do with the slimey substance was so funny to watch. But once she got the hang of it and realized that she could swallow it, the apple sauce didn't stand a chance! We'll try banana's again. Then pears and peaches. Once we get the hang of fruit, I guess that we'll move onto veggies. Yummm. And when she is not eating her big-girl food at night, we have officially and completely traded up from the 4 oz bottles to the 8 oz bottles. It was a big weekend around here. And to think, Kinsley and I both had a cold this weekend....but that didn't slow our baby girl down.

Okay mom...I'm done. Where's my ba-ba?

The aftermath of the applesauce.

Speaking of her pediatrician visit: did I mention her weight gain yet? She was 14 lbs 7 oz, which is just about the 40th percentile for weight! Whaaat?? Seriously? We have come a loooong way! It is so exciting to see her putting on a few lb's and getting some cute little baby-fat rolls on those sweet little legs...and yet a little piece of me wimpers when I go to put on one of her 3-month onsies that she has been wearing forever, only to realize that it will no longer button. I cannot believe that she will be a half-of-a-year in just a few short weeks. They say "time flies when youre having fun", right? That is why time is slipping out of my grasp. Kinsley is pure fun these days. Always doing something new. Giggling, smiling, babbling, playing, watching Hunter, bouncing, reaching...it is amazing to see her try something new and watch her face when she realizes that she can do these new things all by herself. Being back at work full time makes me long to be home and spend every other waking moment with her that I can. And while we still have a ways to go before she fully conquers rolling over & sitting up by herself, the sight of her in that pink Bumbo chair reaching for the spoon of Gerber apple sauce, and opening her mouth like a little baby bird made me so proud and so excited for her. It only took 2 tries before she picked it up...and she likes to eat...almost as much as she loves her bottle. Scratch that...her love for her "ba-ba" (bottle) is unmatched.


We also got a chance to hang out with her friend Caroline, who was born a few weeks before Kinsley! They played and were such good girls while mommy, daddy, Leigh, and Dan had a nice dinner together a couple of nights ago! We love getting Kinsley out and about, and she certainly likes to be right up at the table with everyone during mealtime - of course, our little social butterfly doesn't want to miss a thing!

The Great Outdoors...and 5 Month Shots

Yep, I am one of those mom's who documents everything I possibly can with a camera. Exhibit A: Kinsley's first time touching grass.

I had heard that you never know if grass will bring on an allergic reaction, so I held off for a while - well, that, and the fact that this has only been the hottest summer ever. But the other night, Philip had just cut the grass and it was a bit cooler outside (ok, so "cooler" meant it was 85 degrees outside instead of 90), and he, Kinsley & Hunter all sat out in the front yard to play. She seemed to like the feel of daddy's freshly-cut lawn between her toes! We have thought that with her strong legs (I got my first taste of just how strong they were at about 28 weeks pregnant), she could be a soccer player like her mama was. Either way, I have a feeling we are sure to have some "grass-stained" clothing in our future as she gets older!

And speaking of allergic reactions, we had a kinda big one this past week. Because of Kinsley being a preemie, and her low weight the first few months, she has been on a delayed immunization schedule...instead of 2-4-6 month shots, we are on a 3-5-7 mo schedule. And it was at her 5 mo shot visit last week that we experienced a bit of a scare. Within seconds of her round of vaccines, her poor little face, neck, and head (under that thin layer of blonde peach fuzz) began breaking out into red splotches and welts. Needless to say, all I had to do was go out into the hallway and say the words "I think that we are having an allergic reaction," and within seconds, 2 nurses and a doctor were in our room checking her out. The good news: no respiratory reaction - which is typically the worst kind to have. And then 30 minutes & a good dose of Benedryl later, we finally left to head home. Here is a photo I took of her on my phone (kinda poor quality) once the Benedryl had kicked in (...and my heart rate came down from what I am sure was in the 150's at some point as I watched her reaction worsen), and the red blotches and welts were fading to more of a pink color...what a trooper.

With a preemie, there are lots of unknowns and scary moments that you experience in the first couple of months. This was just another one we have added to our list of experiences. And now I am not sure what we are going to do about her 7 mo shots. I mean, don't allergic reactions typically get worse each time? Do we skip the last round of shots all together? Regardless, I believe that we might be adding "allergist" to our growing list of specialist doctors that we have seen or will see, including her neonatologist (from NICU - but those days are luckily behind us), her cardiologist (her heart condition), her gastroenterologist (her acid reflux)...just to name a few. But I still stand firm that God made her absolutely p-e-r-f-e-c-t...I would not change one thing. And on a more positive note from her doctor visit: Kinsley is "catching up" with her fellow term-baby friends...her weight was 13 lbs 11 oz and they marked her around the 30th-40th percentile! We'll get the official word on where she ranks at her 6 month visit in September, but this was great news - and ask any parent of a preemie: every single ounce counts, and every growing lb is a victory!!!

Seagrove Beach!

We're home! Here we are in the middle of August and finally home for what should be a long stretch of time. After a summer of packing up the car and taking Kinsley to Lake Oconee (3 x's), Charleston, Savannah, Amelia Island, and Jekyll Island, we finished off our wonderful summer of travel with my family's annual trip to the Gulf Coast - and our little one turned 5 MONTHS on Wednesday! So hard to believe that she is already 5 months old! This year, we stayed in Seagrove Beach and spent some time at each of South Walton's wonderful beaches...Seaside, Rosemary, Alys, Watercolor, Grayton and also over at Destin! I must admit, in the weeks leading up to our trip, I was a little apprehensive of what things would look like with the oil leak going on in the Gulf, but never saw one trace of oil. Not one tarball, nothing. A tropical depression out in the Gulf did bring in more seaweed than usual, but I would take seaweed over oil anyday! It was beautiful. Here are some memories from our wonderful week!

From my previous post about traveling with a baby...our first stop on the way to Florida: Cracker Barrel!

First morning at the beach, and some tummy time with Uncle Danny...she's looking at him like, what are you doing down here?

Playing airplane (a new favorite) in the pool!

Later that day, she was so tired from playing in the pool - and so was her Papa!

Kinsley's first time with the sand between her toes...

...and then her first steps in the ocean.

Hanging out with daddy!

Now she is officially a "beach girl"!

First time as a family on the beach!

It doesn't get much sweeter than this...after the morning at the beach, daddy and his baby girl peacefully sleeping. Ahhhh.

I must say, I am one beach-ready-mama...baby girl on front, beach bag on back. Let's roll!

Just chillin' with my girl under the beach umbrella on a overcast afternoon later in the week.

NO OIL!!! Just the same ol' familiar, beautiful beaches.

One of our favorite places: we took my parents to George's at Alys Beach for their 35th anniversary!

Love this...big smile for her Beebe at their anniversary dinner!

At dinner with daddy!

Doesn't she look so big in the photo!?!?

Family photo opp in the Seaside square!

Kinsley with her Aunt Ang and Uncle D!

Love that little tush.

Kinsley had lots of memories on this trip, including her first trip to the ocean (photos above) and "finding her feet"...she's now contantly playing with her feet & toes and pulling off her socks whenever she is lying on her back! And then on Saturday when we got home (she did wonderfully on the 8 hour ride down - 2 "feeding" stops - and 7 hour drive back - only 1 "feeding" stop)...something pretty big happened...Kinsley rolled over. From tummy to back. Completely unaided, but I have to admit I was right there cheering her on as she slowly pushed her torso off her crib mattress with her right arm and swung her right leg up, and she was on her side...and then sloooowly, she rolled onto her back! First, she had a look of shock, like what did I just do? Then, a big smile! It was such a big step for her, considering that lots of babies are rolling over by 5 months old. But I have to keep remembering that preemie's are not on the "traditional" time table, and Kinsley is quick to remind me that she will do things when she is good and ready.

We also took some amazing photos of our whole family on the beach after dinner one night in Destin at the The Back Porch, a place that both Philip and I used to come to as kids. So neat to take our daughter there now. The sun was just setting, a storm had rolled through earlier that evening, and it was the perfect background for our family photos.

And, finally, after this incredibly loooong blog post, here are some more photos of baby girl...and her many faces from the week that kept us all smiling!