Yummy Bananas

Squash anyone?

We have begun the adventure of starting solid foods on a regular basis. Jenna's had some rice cereal off and on for about a month, but now we're beginning to introduce the fruits and vegetables.


We had some family over this past weekend and I had some squash left over from a pasta salad I made. Since squash is one of the vegetables on the list as possible baby food items for Jenna's age, I decided to give the rest of it to her.


So I did my research and found out how to "make" our own baby food. I peeled and sliced the squash. Then I put it in a bowl with a little bit of water, covered it with plastic wrap (except one corner) and put it in the microwave for 7 mins. Then I dumped it in a blender and pureed it. Yummy!! She really seemed to like it, even though her face seems to disagree. She kept opening her mouth and lunging forward for more.


I think next we'll try smashed bananas! From what I hear, that's always a hit with babies.

6 month old

Jenna just turned 6 months old this past Thursday. At her doctor's appointment, we found out that she weighs almost 18 lbs and is 27 3/4 in. long. She's in the 100th percentile for height and the 95th for weight. She's definitely sitting up on her own now and has started to get on her knees and rock back and forth.

Drew put Jenna on our bed and apparently she found his wallet and decided to chew on it.
Jenna had her first experience in a real pool a week ago. She was pretty indifferent about it. She just laid in her floatie while Mommy pulled her around the pool.


Bath time has become more fun lately. Now that she's sitting up on her own (and with how long she is), she no longer fits in her infant tub. So she's graduated up to the big tub. She's done fine adjusting to the change. I decided to get her some "toys" since the tub looked so big and empty without any. Her favorite thing to do is "catch" a foam letter and chew on it and sometimes splash it in the water. We can tell already she has her Daddy's smarts - notice what letter she picked up on her own.

She found her toes!

She's flying

Bailey and Jenna hanging out

This is something new Jenna's been doing lately. She lays on her stomach with her arms stretched out and makes screeching sounds. Drew and I say she's "flying".

Jenna wanted to be in the kitchen with me while I was cooking dinner, so I brought her blanket and toys in and then propped the pillows around her in case she toppled over. She does a good job of sitting up on her own now, but she still loses her balance every once in a while.

We're pretty sure Jenna's teething because she ALWAYS wants to chew on things. Really anything that she can fit in her mouth, including our fingers. So we gave her this thing (I have no idea what it's called). It has a huge handle, which is great because Jenna can hold it herself and a mesh bag that you can put food in. So we put a banana in it for her to gum.

Last night we gave Jenna her first bath in the bathtub. She's pretty much outgrown the infant tub we have been using. She wasn't quite sure what to think of it.

Jenna's been talking a lot more lately. She's now making more consonant sounds and even some consonant blend sounds like "bleh". She's also started "razzing", which has been fun!

I'm amazed at how quickly Jenna's growing up! Everyone warned me that time flies and they were definitely right. :) I'm loving this stage with Jenna. It seems like everyday she's doing something new. The other day she started "creeping" - scooting around on her stomach. She's not crawling yet, but she is able to turn in place and move backwards. She also just started sitting up without us having to hold her. Of course she's still wobbly, but she's doing a good job of balancing. This morning she was sitting with her hands on the floor to help balance herself and then she slowly sat up. She looked so proud of herself (or maybe it was Mommy that was so proud!)...and then she toppled over backwards. :)


In this picture, I had set Jenna on her blanket in our bedroom while I was cleaning our bathroom. When I looked in to check on her, this is what I found. She had scooted herself halfway under the bed! (Look at that BIG smile on her face)

Troy Strawberry Festival

This weekend was the Strawberry Festival. Although Jenna's a little young, we decided to take her to see some of the festivities. The weather was beautiful, but it was also very sunny and warm so we didn't stay long since we were worried that Jenna would get burned. Our doctor told us not to use sunscreen on her until she's 6 months old. So we hit up the strawberry doughnut line (I'm not a doughnut person, but these are UNBELIEVABLE!!!) and walked by some of the booths. Of course Jenna had to wear her strawberry sundress from Grandpa and Grandma Jones. :)

Had Jenna been a few months older we might have entered her in the baby crawling contest. :) Maybe in a few years she can do the 2-3 year old big wheels race.

Catch up

Jenna is now 5 months old and it seems like she's doing new things everyday. Now that she can roll over onto her stomach, she's started sleeping on her stomach at night. We still put her on her back, but inevitably she'll roll over. We've noticed she seems to sleep better on her stomach, which Mommy really appreciates.

Jenna sleeping on her stomach for the first time

She's been pushing herself up off the ground and working her legs so she can start crawling. I don't know that Mommy's ready for her to start crawling yet, but Jenna would love to.

She's also discovering her voice more and has started making screeching sounds. It's absolutely hilarious! If you weren't looking at her face, you'd think she was mad, but really she's just "talking."

Since it's now summertime, we bought Jenna a blow-up baby pool for our backyard. She's been in it twice and seems to like it. Actually she was very indifferent about it both times - just not sure what to think of it. Today we took her to my sister's apartment complex pool. The water was FREEZING, but she did great! No crying or fussing. In fact, it looked like she was just laying on her floatie relaxing.

The pictures of Jenna's first swim in a "real" pool are on Grandpa and Grandma's camera, so I'll post them once I get them.


We've also noticed she's much more attentive and really responds to her Mommy and Daddy's smiles. It seems we can always make her smile or laugh just by saying her name and smiling. It melts our hearts!

Jenna fell asleep holding onto her toy - what a tired girl!

PEEKABOO!