Grandma comes to town...

Sloan got a special treat in the middle of April with Grandma came to look after her for a few days. I was on the road for some work travel (LA, to be specific) and Vanessa (our nanny) was enjoying a vacation in Japan. It was a great chance for Sloan and my mom to spend some time together.

Here are some pics from her trip to NYC...

Couch time

Food training

Grandma showing off the city

There's a big world out there

Now let's go get it!

Big thank you to my mom for coming up for the week. It was great to have her in town and I know Sloan loved having her here.

1,776

My friend Erin lives downtown, so I asked her to capture these photos for me this morning. The left is of WTC 1 (aka Freedom Tower) before they put the spire on it. The right is as they were bolting it on. I bet there were people on the streets cheering as they walked to work. 

Adventures in warm weather with a baby

We are finally having consistently nice weather up here. It has taken forever, but High's are now averaging in the 60's daily. Today is a balmy 79, so Sloan and I headed outside during lunch.

We've figured out the best parks to go to for swings (Union Sq), lawns (Mad Sq), or playgrounds (Wash Sq). Pretty sure swinging is Sloan's second favorite thing besides thumb-sucking and general squirming.

Here are a few more swing pictures from the past few weeks -

Finally, a quick picture that our nanny Vanessa took of her after her first nanny play date:

Zzzzzz

Adventures in Tight Spaces

I should have posted this forever ago, but time got away from me. Here is a look at Sloan's little spot in our tiny NYC 1 BR apartment. There is a small space between our bathroom and bedroom, underneath the stairs to the roof...it is all Sloan's!

The Sloan banner was a decoration at my NY shower, and it matched the poster so well I asked for the extra fabric. My mom was able to make a bedskirt, changer cover and skirt to pull it all together!

Peekaboo!

Just Because

I ordered the cutest little outfit from Gap, but unfortunately it fits her now so I don't think she'll be able to wear it this summer. I kept it on her long enough to take a few photos though!

Hi world!

And finally, I couldn't resist including this one. This is her favorite hobby.

7 to 8 Months

Happy 8 months to this cute little face!

This is a big milestone for me because it also marks 6 months, adjusted.

A few fun facts about Sloan's development:

• We think she is almost 14 lbs, and is finally in her 6 month clothes though some of her footies are still 3m.
• She is so happy when she wakes up! Always has a big smile for us when we go to her crib. It makes getting up early pretty easy. 
• She is rolling around like a champ. I can no longer leave her lying on the floor by herself for a short amount of time - she'll roll off the mat and across the floor in no time! 
• Sitting up really well for long amounts of time. Can even lift herself to a sitting position from about a 45 degree angle. Still loves to be stood up too, but she's been doing that since around 4 months or so. (Her legs are super strong!)
• Reaching and playing with both hands. She loves her Sophie and the brightly colored set of rings.  Anything she touches goes straight to her mouth.  
• She seems to know her name and will look up when you call her (when she wants to!)
• Starting to make B sounds
• She is still mostly on breast milk, but usually has at least one formula bottle a day. Five, 5 oz bottles a day. 
• I'm still pumping a fair amount (morning, night, twice/day at work), and have reached my initial long term goal of 6 months, adjusted. It has really been a challenge to keep at it, especially since we are 'on the go' so much. I don't know how much longer I'll keep at it, but it really has been such a roller coaster and I'm proud of how long I've managed. 
• We are working to perfect the art of eating...so far she's had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, carrots, butternut squash, peas and mangos. Hated the apples and carrots. Hated. She likes to eat, then suck her thumb to get it down. 

Now, two quick albums to show how much she is growing:

This one has her laying on a sheep for a point of reference.

Big Weekend

We had a jam packed couple of days this past weekend. Keep in mind this was all during Barry's first Wrestlemania - he had work events Thurs-Sun and somehow managed to be out and about with us most of the weekend.

Our first big event was Sloan's first swim class at the local Y.  She is by far the smallest one in the class (but not the youngest), but seemed to enjoy it as much - if not more - than most of the kids. She wasn't an expert splasher, but she was really great at going with the flow. 'Soaking it all in', if you will.

"All right, Sloan. This is what you're going to do..."

learning how to kick

Success! 

After a quick lunch of milk and delicious rice cereal (during which, she reached for her own spoon!), it was time for G-Day! She was absolutely exhausted from class, but I was able to snap a few pictures before she conked out.

posting this picture so people know I'm trying with the headbands...I really am!

Uga! 

On Sunday we wrapped up the weekend with a trip to the West Village. It is finally sort of warm in New York this weekend, so we took another trip to the play ground. This visit was even more successful than the first!

Finally, if you didn't see the best video of the weekend got its own post. Seriously, I can't watch it enough!