Dramatic Gopher

It might not be appropriate to compare my daughter to a gopher but this picture reminds me of a youtube video that was everywhere this year.

Click on the link below to see the 5 second video. Enjoy the laugh.

YUMMY (and other photos)

Our girl is changing so much everyday. She can almost completely hold her head up on her own and is standing for longer periods of time (with help, of course). She is "blowing bubbles" a lot and is starting to mouth little things but not really making any noises or cooing yet. We are patiently waiting. Enjoy these pics!

Smile for Mommy and Daddy.... please??

I mentioned before that Alice is starting to smile a lot. I am trying really hard to get a picture of our cutie mid-smile but it is proving to be difficult. By the time we get the camera out, the smiles have ended and she sits there looking at me like, "Seriously Mom? More pictures?" These are the best ones so far. I love the one above - looks like she is batting her eyes, doesn't it?

I have started keeping the camera right next to me and have even tried to take a bunch of shots while trying to make her smile. Once I put the camera to my eye, she stops smiling so I am resorting to focusing it and holding it on the side. That is why some of the shots are not centered or close to being out of the frame.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

On the menu today....

HANDS!!!

Alice has discovered her hands - and they sure taste good! She usually sucks on her knuckles but once in a while gets her first 2 fingers in there too. If we put her in her crib before she is really asleep the hands go immediately to her mouth. The first few times she did it were funny. We would hear this sucking noise coming from the supposedly sleeping baby, peak in and there she would be sucking away.

Home away from home

This is Alice's home away from home - daycare. The infant room has a total of 10 kids but there are only about 6-8 at any one time. There is a 5 month old little girl and a 6 week old little boy so Alice will have lots of playmates to grow up with.

The first few days of dropping her off were hard for me. I left in tears almost everyday this week. I was ok this morning but my eyes are watering as I am typing this and thinking about it. I know that daycare will be such a great thing for her. She will learn so much and will make lots of friends. Work is good for me too, I know that. Slowly but surely I will get my emotions in check and will be happy about this arrangement.

Month 2 - Stats

Alice had her 2 month check-up with the pediatrician yesterday. She is 24 inches long, weighs 13 lbs. 10 ozs. and is in the 95th percentile for her age. She had two shots while we were there which she took like a champ. Just a little crying and some fussiness for the rest of the evening but overall, everything went smoothly.

Alice slept most of the evening away again - daycare is really exhausting! As you can see in this picture, she is starting to stand and put weight on her legs (with support from Mom and Dad, of course). She is now pretty bored with just sitting with us and wants to be entertained. We do a lot of dancing and looking at toys with lights. She has only recently discovered her hands. She doesn't really look at them but she puts them in her mouth all the time so feeding has become a challenge.

The smiling has started and it is so heart warming. One of my favorite things is when she sees me for the first time in the morning or something and her face lights up - that makes everything in the world fall away. She is going through a phase of being really fussy with John but she calms right down when I take her. John knows that sometimes a baby just wants Mommy and understands but I know that he is a little crushed when it happens.

Now that I am back at work, I hope to get into a routine about blogging more often. fingers crossed!

First week at daycare

Today was Alice's second day of daycare. Everything has gone really well and Alice "has been the perfect girl." Since we picked her up this afternoon, she has been passed out . Hopefully, she will sleep tonight. Colleen has started back at her job and she is doing good as well. Alice is going to the doctor tomorrow for her two month checkup and Colleen will update the blog tomorrow.

John

Alice's Playmate

This is Collin. He was born 3 weeks before Alice. Collin and his family live a few houses down from us. His mom, Vicky, and I have been spending lots of baby bonding time together while we are out on maternity leave. This picture is going into the vault until high school graduation.

Hi!

Photos from Thanksgiving

Alice looking around at all the new people.

Grandma in Heaven with her two grandchildren.

Alice with her cousin, Nate

Our little pink bear!

Happy little family!