Wednesday, January 25, 2012

annabelle rae: month two.

Annabelle Rae,

You are two months old! What a joy to celebrate Christmas and two months with you on the same day! We have been able to introduce you to so many wonderful things this month, Christmas lights, Texas and lots of family and friends.

You are such a happy, easy baby and we are thankful for that every day! You eat every three hours during the day sleep in great, big stretches at night. We have had a few amazing nights where you have slept until 6 or almost 7 am! Usually, though, you wake up around 4 am, go back to bed for a few hours and I see you again around 6:30 to start the day. Your sleep schedule took a few setbacks when we traveled to Texas but you are still sleeping like a champ. You are happy and cheerful for your awake times and I think that is because you nap so well during the day and sleep so well at night. You are your momma's daughter, sleep is your best friend.

We took you to Texas for the first time this month and made a 13 hour drive to get there. You made us so proud on the drive! Those hours in the car proved to us how amazing you do with a schedule. You napped like clockwork and woke up to eat at the exact times you normally do at home. I love how predictable you are.


You have started giving us sweet little smiles this month! We have even heard the cutest giggles come out of your mouth! I will never forget the night your daddy first heard you giggle. He called me upstairs, after I grabbed the video camera, and we stood there watching you smile, coo and laugh for the longest time. Oh, Annabelle, you would have thought our little baby had just saved the world with how proud we were to hear those giggles. Thank you for saving them for a time when we could both be there to watch you experience something as fun as laughing!


You have started to enjoy playing on the floor. Sometimes the only thing that keeps you from fussing is when I put you down on your back and let you kick. I think you are trying to get out all the last bits of energy in your little body before taking a nap. 


Your favorite time of day is bathtime! You love being in the warm water and kick your legs like crazy the whole time. You also love when we wash your hair with your soft hairbrush, I think it tickles because it always makes you smile. We really love seeing you discover things that make you happy as we see little glimmers of your personality. 

The only time you were not a fan of your bath was on the day you had your two month vaccinations. You were so upset the whole day and silly Mommy thought a bath would cheer you up like always. I barely got you in that bathtub before I pulled you right back out. We skipped the bath that night in exchange for a little baby Tylenol and some extra cuddles before bedtime. 


We are excited for the next month with you, our sweet girl! Mommy and Daddy love you to bits!

-Mommy

Two month stats:
(the weight and height measurements were ten days before Annabelle turned 2 months old)

Height: 22 1/2 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 11 pounds 14 ounces (90th percentile)
Diapers: size 1
Clothes: NB (for about half of the month), 0-3 months


annabelle rae: month one.

Annabelle Rae, 

You are one month old! One whole month with you in our home, I can't believe it! What an amazing month this has been. This month has somehow been harder and easier than I ever imagined, all at the same time. You have brought so much joy into our lives already. We adore you, our sweet girl.


We started working on getting you on a schedule this month. I had never planned on doing that this early but you naturally put yourself on a daytime schedule so we went from there. We decided that we would try to put you on a more consistent schedule and if you didn't seem ready, we would hold off. It turned out to be a breeze and you seem so happy in our routine! You generally start getting ready for bed with a bath at 8:30, a feeding at 9:00 and finally bedtime at 9:30. Right now you generally wake up around 2:00 am to eat again and then go back to sleep until 6:00. After eating at 6:00 you take a morning catnap (Mommy does, too!) and our day really gets started around 9:00. 


You take most of your naps in your room and sleep there at night as well. This started when you were about 3 weeks old and was a great decision for you and for me. We both sleep so much better and I know your daddy sleeps better too. I was sad to move you to your room and not have you right beside me at night but am thrilled that you have adjusted well. You are so adaptable!


You had a horrible case of diaper rash this month. We tried some at-home remedies that just weren't working well enough for you so we made a trip to see the pediatrician. Sweet girl, my heart was breaking for how awful your little diaper area looked. The pediatrician gave us some great suggestions (including eliminating wipes and using a hair dryer during diaper changes) which helped clear you up at last. We think you have sensitive skin because you also had a bit of baby acne and dry skin. Mommy invested in some fancy baby skin care and took care of that situation as well. We were so happy when both of these issues cleared up and we you stopped being uncomfortable. 


You are the sweetest thing in the world to us, Annabelle. I thrills us to hear every coo, every hiccup, every precious baby sneeze. We can't get enough of your cute yawns and the way your little bitty mouth goes into the most perfect circle at the end of each one. We snuggle you every chance we can. This has been such an amazing month with you, our baby girl. We love you to the moon and back again. 

-Mommy

One month stats:

Height: 22 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 11 pounds 2 ounces (90th percentile)
Diapers: newborn and size 1 (we sized up when the diaper rash hit)
Clothes: Newborn




Wednesday, January 18, 2012

back in the swing of things.

I think it's safe to say I have turned into a horrible blogger. Not only have I been nonexistent in terms of posting, I also haven't found the time to sit down and catch up with many of my favorite internet friends. I am making it my goal to be better at doing both of those things, starting right now!

I have lots of catch-up posts to do (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Annabelle's sip and see, monthly baby updates... the list goes on!) so those will be mixed in with everything until I am all caught up. But for today, how about a little update on the life of our family this week? (Translation: How about some cute pictures of my baby?!)

Miss Annabelle has been the busiest of the whole family! She adores chewing on her yummy fingers...


flashing us some BIG smiles during floor time...


watching football with her favorite guy (and looking mighty cute while doing it!)...


learning about the alphabet (she already has a favorite letter)...


and enjoying her favorite time of day, bathtime!


We love her to bits! She is filled with smiles, giggles and snuggles lately. We cannot get enough of our sweet girl and love spending every day with her. 

When we aren't ooh-ing and aah-ing over our little one, Kyle and I have been keeping busy as well. Kyle has been working hard to get ready for another semester and prepare for a conference that he will be presenting at this spring. I've been going to yoga classes, trying to stay on top of the never-ending piles of baby laundry and spending some time with my sewing machine. 


I made these little things for Annabelle this week and have a few more projects planned for this week. I'm also hoping to find the time to make some presents for a few very special babies. 

That's about all that's been happening in our neck of the woods this week. Annabelle's one and two month updates are on up next, you know, since she'll be THREE months next week!