Emmeline - 2 months

Emmeline is two months old. I just can't believe it. She weighs 11 pounds 10 ounces and is 24 inches long. She is growing like a weed!
What is ridiculous is her hair. It is so long, or tall, depending on how you look at it. It stands straight up on the top and lays completely flat on the sides and back because of holding her.

Here are a few of her recent highlights:

1. She is getting so much personality. She has distinct likes (kisses, watching and batting at toys, singing) and dislikes (wet diapers, being hungry, being gassy).
   
2. She is a very happy baby. She only cries when she needs something, so not a lot of incessant fussing, which is great. She really doesn't like being hungry or sleepy.
   
3. She smiles a lot now - especially at David's funny faces and my singing. (I'm not quite sure how to take that.)
   
4. She laughs in her sleep, but I have yet to hear a real laugh out loud. We are really looking forward to baby giggles.
   
5. She coos and gurgles at us when she is amused.
6. She flirts with the ceiling fan. First she will smile at it, and then she will turn her head away coyly. It is quite funny - we think that it is her first boyfriend.
7. She will stand up, if supported.
   
8. She loves all of the toys on her activity mat. She grabs and holds onto the turtle and the octopus. She loves her mobile, too. The both play classical music, which she enjoys, and she hates when it stops.
9. She really likes chewing on her hands. It isn't really sucking her fingers, though she does that some too.
   
10. She sleeps very well (5-7.5 hours) and is getting onto a good schedule. This is what a normal day looks like. (A note: "play" means many things; tummy time, time on her activity mat or swing, walking around the house talking to me and the dogs, or even a running dialog about what we are buying at Sam's.)
    

• Up at 5 or 6 to eat and then back to sleep until 8ish.
• Up to eat and then play until about 10 and then nap until 11.
• Up to eat and then play until about 1 and then nap until 2 or 3.
• Up to eat and then play until 5 or 6 without much of a nap.
• Eat again around 7 or 8 and then play while we eat dinner.
• Bathtime (every other night) and then to bed, either in the pack and play in the living room or in your crib in our bedroom. Sometimes you like to be where the action is.
• Up to nurse (more like a dream feed) one last time around 10 or 11 when we go to bed.
• Lather, rinse, repeat.
  

All in all, we are so blessed to have such a beautiful and smart child. David and I are looking forward to getting to know Emmeline more as we all grow!

A new project . . .

I want to make this quilt.
It (and this photo) are from Anna Marie Horner, a fabric designer. I haven't picked the fabric yet. I'm looking at fabric.com, but I just can't decide. I could use her collections, but that seems like the easy way out. I'll keep you updated.

I'm sure this will take me FOREVER to finish, what with a small infant and going back to work in 3 weeks. Perhaps it will be done by next summer, along with that Winnataska t-shirt quilt I keep threatening to start.

So many projects, so little time. I guess I should go get the craft loft set up.

Emmeline - Week 6

The highlight of Emmeline's week was a trip to the beach. We spent a week at The Beach Club in Fort Morgan. It was a great trip. She spent a lot of time bonding with her Uncle Seth . . .

and her Grandmother.

We also celebrated my birthday while we were down there. While I was feeding Emmeline, everyone else decorated the condo and totally surprised me when I came out of our bedroom. Emmeline was slightly unsure about the whole thing.

She was the subject of multiple photo shoots, one of which is shown above.
All in all, we had a great time. Emmeline was well behaved and really enjoyed spending time with extended family.

David snapped this picture of her the other day and it is his new favorite. I like it too, so I thought I should included it.

This may be the last weekly update - I think I'll switch to monthly. Her milestones should be spreading out soon. So far, she:

• holds her head up really well
• recognizes faces (especially David, me and other folks she sees all the time)
• shows a preference for positions, people and toys (she loves her pink bear)
• smiles when we approach her to pick her up
• enjoys tummy time, especially on her daddy's chest
• smiles and approximates a laugh, but not that baby giggling yet (I.can't.wait.)
• "talks" to us using coos, sighs, gurgles and squeals, but conversational inflections, which is really crazy
  

I think she is doing really well. Below are her stats:
10 lbs. 7 oz. (up 2 lbs. from birth, and 2 lbs. 3 oz. from her lowest weight)
23.5 inches (up 2.5 inches from birth, but she is hard to measure, so this one is approximate)

Next post - not baby related - I promise!!!

Emmeline - Week 5

Emmeline's fifth week was a busy one. She took her first big trip. We went to the beach but I haven't downloaded all of the pictures yet, so those will have to wait until the next post. For now, here are a few pics of her other activities.

Napping in the pack and play and dreaming about puppies and fairies.

Chilling in the back yard, working on holding my head up.

Posing (a la Glamour Shots) for my one-month portraits.

Emmeline - Week 4

So I weighed Emmeline again on her 3 wek birthday and she had only gained 2 oz., no where near the .5-1 oz. per day recommended. Connie, my neighbor who is a lactation consultant, worked with me on some techniques to get Emmeline to eat more efficiently. She also left her scales for me to use. This was fantastic! I really got to see how well she was eating. She weighed 9 lb. 3 oz. on Sunday, up 6 oz. in five days. Connie and our pediatrician are no longer concerned. YAHOO!! She has also grown about 1.5 inches, so now she is 22.5 inches tall.Other events for the week include her first real bath. She wasn't quite sure if she liked it or not.
We went to church for the second time one Sunday. She did very well!
We went over to my grandmother's house for a birthday celebration for David and me. My grandmother LOVES Emmeline!
Emmeline is also becoming more aware of her surroundings, including her feet, as shown above. She also smiles when she sees us now. It is the cutest, toothless grin I have ever seen in my life!