Audrey 3 Months

Audrey was three months old on the 21st. A quarter of a year. Please slow your roll baby girl, you are getting big way too fast. I have heard moms say that so many times but you really can't understand how fast the time goes until you have a little one. They get big so stinkin' fast!

Doot, doot is doing all kinds of big girl things to celebrate her three month birthday. We tried out her bumbo seat and she is in love. She loves sitting up so she can keep an eye on what is going on around the house.

Don't worry we did not leave her alone in her bumbo on the table.

 She also still loves standing, kneeling, and her play gym. Audrey is really good at playing on her own. I can put her in her floor gym, or just on a blanket on the floor, and she will coo, giggle, and amuse her self for a good long time. She is getting more and more responsive to things going on around her all the time. She will smile and giggle at mom or dad making funny faces almost every time. She also sometimes tries to mimic the face. It is heart melting. Talking is also a favorite pass time. She really likes to play with her voice and we sure enjoy listening to her. JT loves it when she talks, he thinks she is really trying to say something. Other new tricks in the last couple of weeks include grabbing blankets and toys and trying to get them to her mouth, sleeping without a swaddle, and rolling onto her side.

Audrey had been sleeping through the night for quite awhile, usually from 8 to 6 with a quick feeding at about 10:30. In the last week or so she has been waking up at 3 or 4 demanding to eat, so we oblige. I will note that this is still an excellent sleep pattern for a 3 month old; however, it is hard to get up in the middle of the night when you have gotten used to sleeping for 7 or 8 straight hours. So while I know she is still sleeping super well, we are tired because we aren't used the middle of the night feeding anymore. I'm guessing she is going through a growth spurt, but she also seemed to be getting very frustrated with being swaddled. So, last night after she woke and ate JT put her back to bed without her swaddle blanket. She slept great and seemed to be a bit better at getting herself back to sleep than she was when swaddled. He also put her back to sleep in her crib. This is a big deal. She has been sleeping in her bouncy chair at night since she was about a month old, she did not like to sleep flat all night. We got a wedge for her crib to see if that would help but we hadn't tried putting her in there at night until yesterday.  She did great. Who knows if that will last, but she has taken all of her naps without a swaddle today and it has gone well, so it seems she may be ready for free arms.

Audrey loves Grandma Nelson

 I also have found her on her side and on her stomach in her crib after naps this week. I think the wedge we have in her crib may have contributed to the stomach roll. I am guessing she got sideways on the wedge on her side and sort of tumbled to her stomach. But I found her on her side when she was not on the wedge so she is getting close to rolling. This development also contributed to giving her a chance to sleep without the swaddle. I don't want her to get stuck on her stomach so having her hands free to help with that seems like a good idea.

And last but not least, Audrey and I went to our first mommy and me yoga class today. We had fun. Audrey was pretty good for the first half hour and then she got a bit bored. But, the teacher picked he up and carried her around for the second half which kept her happy and allowed mom to get her yoga done. So all in all it was a success!

Big Girls Wear Jeans

Grandma and Grandpa Nelson are here this week to do daycare for us. Thank you grandma and grandpa. Of course, whenever grandma comes so do new clothes for Audrey. Although, in this instance she really does need the clothes. She is outgrowing all of her 3 month stuff. Her big cloth diaper booty does not help this problem, but really she is just getting big. Among the things grandma brought are her first pair of jeans. So grown up! They even have little heart pockets on the butt.

 Doot, doot continues to be in love with her hands. They are her favorite toy and are just about always in her mouth, as evidenced in these photos. I tried to get her to put them down but it just wasn't going to happen.

You can also see in the photo below that her eyes are starting to change color. We didn't expect them to stay blue, both JT and I have hazel eyes. I am anxious to see what color they will be.

Smiley Baby

Like Mother, Like Daughter

People have been saying Audrey looks just like me since she was born. In general, I agree. She does seem to resemble me a bit more than the hubs at this point. However, I didn't realize how much she looks like me until my parents brought some of my baby pictures. Whoa. Baby girl is a little mama clone, at least for now. Poor kid!

Mama

Baby

Mama

Baby

SNOW

Lots of things have happened in the life of Audrey this week. She started grabbing her toys, she's giggling all the time, she still loves to stand and kneel, she likes superwoman tummy time, and she got to experience snow for the first time.

We'll start with snow because it is my favorite. Shasta and I like snow a lot more than everyone else in this house. JT is indifferent, the cats hate it, and so far Audrey does not seem too thrilled. I think she'll come to my side next year. I love the snow. It is beautiful. It is fun. It is what should happen in the winter. When there is snow winter is fun, winter is no fun when it is cold and there is no snow. We finally got about 5 inches of snow at one time Friday. Which means I got to go cross country skiing in the woods across the street and Audrey got to have a snow photo shoot. The cross country skiing was fantastic, I plan to go again today. The photo shoot was also fantastic, but mostly because of all the unsure faces Audrey was making. She was not so sure about being stuffed into a snowsuit and set down on cold snow. She also was not thrilled with how bright it was outside. Of course, I took these pictures on one of the two sunny winter days in Michigan. Lansing has more cloudy days than Seattle and they all come in the winter. I can't say that I blame her for not loving being used as my prop, but I got a few cute photos. We even borrowed Dos's sled for a couple pictures. Thanks Dos!

Attempt one with the sled was not a success. She is still a little small for it and I did not do a good job of propping her up. Despite what it looks like, I promise no babies were harmed in the making of this photo.

Not digging the sled yet.

So bright outside.

Her arms were like this whenever she was laying down. I think she was trying to punch me.

 The second trip to the sled went better. She's still not thrilled but at least it doesn't look like she is in pain. Next year we can move the sled while she's in it, that will be fun.

Attempt two with the sled.

Super girl!

In other news, Audrey is getting really good at playing by herself on her play mat. She lays there watching and grabbing her toys while cooing and giggling. It is really fun to listen to her.

 Making funny faces and sticking her tongue out are also favorite pastimes. I love taking pictures of all of the faces she makes. I'm sure she will thank me someday (or maybe not).

Rock on!!

Big giggling smile.

Perfect surprised face.

Standing and kneeling are high on her list of preferred activities. The kneeling is a bit weird but she really likes to go back and forth between the two while in one of our laps. It is pretty much her favorite thing to do, other than the play mat. Tummy time is not her favorite but she does like superwoman tummy time. Doot doot has a super strong neck, she can hold her head up really well, even when she is being superwoman. You just have to watch out for drool bomb. I won't post the pictures that feature drool bombs. I am sure that you and Audrey both are thankful for this omission.

Standing

Kneeling

Superwoman tummy time

Superwoman tummy time

Our little doot doot is starting to be so much fun to interact with. It is so fun to see her face light up in a smile when she sees one of us, to try to imitate the faces we make at her, and to giggle at everything. She has such a happy, easy going personality. She's the best. Which is why I am feeling very sad that I have to go back to work next week. It is going to be really hard to be away from doot doot for 9 hours a day 4 days a week. I am going to miss that little girl so, so much.  But I know I will also enjoy working again. I just wish I could work a little less so I could have a little more time with the peanut. I will adjust and it will be fine, but it will be really hard at first. Sad mama.

How could you not miss this face.

 

Hands and Feet

Audrey has discovered her hands. She is absolutely fascinated with them. She will sit and stare at her hands like they are the most interesting thing in the world. She opens and closes her fingers and moves her hands from side to side and just stares. It is cute and funny, though she kind of looks like a stoner while gawking at her hands. Sometimes her eyes even cross. I haven't gotten a good picture of this yet. Today she also started to notice her feet. Not in an "oh those are attached to my legs and I can control them way", but in a "hey there is something else to look at way." I was able to get a cute picture of her watching her feet move. Little does she know they are attached to her body and she can control how they move.

She also loves to stand. Standing is her favorite. Unfortunately I don't have any good pictures of her standing yet as it is hard to take a picture while she is standing on me. She's not quite good enough to stay up on her won yet and I can't take a picture with the fancy camera while holding her up. I'm just not that talented. It seems whenever JT is here to assist the lighting is horrible. Some day soon we'll get some good pictures. Until then this not so great photo will have to do.

Audrey is still taking her naps in her crib like a big girl, usually 4 naps a day. She even started sleeping in her own room at night last week. Though, she is not yet sleeping in her crib at night. It seems the crib is too big, too flat, and too scary for night time. She is much happier swaddled up in her cozy bouncer chair at night. She gets swaddled for naps too, she like to be as snug as a bug in a rug. However, the best part about swaddling is the stretching she does when she is released. It is so cute.

In other news I go back to work next week. Whomp, whomp. On the plus side I don't go back until Wednesday and I'm not working Fridays so I only have two days. Plus, JT is going to parent during the day the first two days and the next week my parents are coming to babysit. This is because our daycare provider, a roller derby stud, just had surgery on a broken collar bone. Thus, she is not quite ready to care for a teeny, tiny baby. The plus side of this situation is that for the first two weeks I am back at work Audrey will still be in the house with me while I am working. I am hoping being able to sneak a few minutes with her here and there during the day will make the transition easier not harder.

I will leave you with a couple cute pictures of the little doot, doot. She is starting to outgrow some of her cutest clothes. It's a good thing grandma is coming soon to help her stock up on 6 month stuff!