7.26.2011

Summer adventures

Our first big adventure of the summer with E. was the county fair. This holds a special place in my heart because, growing up, I was involved in 4-H and spent all year preparing projects and animals to take to the fair. It was the highlight of my summer (nerd alert!), so I was excited to introduce E. to the sights and sounds of the fair.

She loved the baby goats!

Gpa N. introducing her to the animals.

After a long, HOT day at the fair, E. had all she could handle.

Our next adventure was to Devil's Lake State Park. This also holds a place in my heart, as my sisters and I would look forward to a trip to the park every year when we were younger. This state park makes for a great day trip, and is also great for camping. It has two beaches, large picnic areas, a nice swimming area, canoe, kayak and paddle boat rentals, bluffs surrounding the lake with hiking trails, and three campgrounds. I intend to carry on the tradition and take E. every year to Devil's Lake.

Hanging out with Gpa N.

(Almost) naked baby enjoying the beautiful weather.

Momma & E.

I was sure E. would love the water, seeing as she loves her bath time, and splashing in the tub. However, she was not too impressed with the lake, so we spent most of the time on the shore. The lake is a bit more overwhelming than the bathtub, I guess! Hopefully next year she will enjoy it more.

Our next summer adventure will be a day at the State Fair - stay tuned!

7.11.2011

3 Months


Today marks the official transition from newborn to infant, yet it seems like a lifetime ago that E. was a newborn. She has grown and changed so much from those first few days of life, that it's sometimes hard to believe she's only 3 months old. Sometimes it seems she even changes from the time we put her to bed until she wakes up in the morning! I can remember that first week with her, and as much as I hate to admit this (blame it on the raging hormones, the anxiety, and being extremely overwhelmed at such a life change), I wished that she would hurry up and grow up into someone a bit more manageable and predictable. As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Because now she is growing and changing every day, and my wish now is for time to slow down a little, so I can have more time with my sweet little baby girl.
We have no official doctor appointment this month, so her unofficial stats (as measured by me, so the accuracy is questionable at best) are as follows:

Weight - 15.2 pounds
Height - 25.5 inches

E. is thisclose to laughing, and I cannot wait for it! I try for hours on end to get a giggle out of her, but sometimes I think I'm just not funny enough. (She does give me plenty of what the heck are you doing, crazy lady?! looks, though!) She is sitting up with support, though I have a feeling she might be doing it on her own by month's end. She loves to stand up, whether it be on your lap, on the floor, or pretty much any hard surface that's available. She is still wearing 3 month clothing, but not for much longer, I'm thinking. E. loves her bath time, and she gets a huge kick out of splashing in her tub.

She spent her first night away from home this past weekend, too! C. and I attended a wedding in Green Bay, and E. stayed with Gma & Gpa N. on Saturday night. Gpa took her for a walk to the park down the block from their house to watch kids swimming in the pool. E. was fascinated with all of the kids playing and swimming, and I have a feeling she will be visiting that pool plenty of times when she gets older. She slept well for Gma, only waking up once at 2am when she managed to wiggle her way out of her swaddle. Gma re-swaddled her and gave her a bottle, and she went back to sleep until 6:30am.

This month also marked my return to work. The first night was so hard; I wanted to cry on my drive to work Sunday night. I also felt terrible that I wasn't going to be able to be home to wake up with her in the mornings, as I work 3rd shift and don't get home until about 8am. I think I averaged about 3-4 hours of sleep each day for my first week back to work... ugh! Needless to say, I have begun looking for a new position that doesn't involve working 3rd shift!

I am looking forward to more milestones in the next few months, and watching my baby grow into the amazing little person she will become!