Happy Anniversary!

Paul & I met 7 years ago today! It has been a long road and we have been through a lot together but it somehow seems like just yesterday. Having a baby can be stressful for a marriage but I think it has shown us how strong our relationship is. I love watching Paul with Scarlett and seeing the little pieces of him in her. Today, like every other day, I am feeling very lucky to have my little family.

Week 14: New Discoveries

All of this snow has given us a lot of extra time with Scarlett and we've really been enjoying it. She seems to be learning something new every day now. She can roll over in her crib, she giggles, grasps things and brings them to her mouth, and now she has learned to stick her tongue out. The giggling started last Sunday. Paul was helping her stand up (one of her favorite things to do) and we were laughing at the way her hips were swinging around unsteadily. I started mimicking her in an exaggerated way and she thought it was funny enough to elicit her first giggles. She does it somewhat regularly now for things she thinks are particularly entertaining. I also noticed that she was grasping more at objects and trying to bring them closer to her mouth, so we pulled out the Bumbo and gave it a try. The Bumbo is a foam seat that helps babies sit up. It has a tray that you can put toys on. We put her in there and put three toys on the tray. She immediately started reaching for one of the toys -- a caterpillar rattle that my mom got her -- and held it in her lap, occasionally bringing it to her mouth. Her aim isn't all that great yet but it seems to be getting better every day. The tongue thing is actually really funny. When my friend Maggie was here a few weeks ago, she told me that babies are fascinated by tongues and she tried sticking her tongue out slowly and pulling it back in really quickly. It took Scarlett a while to be interested in it but then one day it seemed to click. She would very slowly try to imitate me but it was pretty rough. A few days ago I decided to try it again and it was like a light went on. She started giggling and sticking her tongue out back at me. Her WHOLE tongue. It was so funny! So then we started laughing, which encouraged her more and now she sticks her tongue out all of the time. We are still trying to get a good picture of it because it usually goes from sticking her tongue out to smiling or giggling and she turns her head. We're getting a lot of pictures with just the tip out.

Since we got another 13 inches of snow on Tuesday/Wednesday, we were stuck in the house again all week this week. Yesterday we finally broke out. After 3 weeks of trying, we finally made it up to Flossy's house. We also hit Dave's house on the way back. It was nice to see Flossy and Scarlett was really good on the trip. She slept the whole way up and didn't fuss at all except for a little peep at lunch. We went to Dave's afterwards and got to see his new hairdo. We got to meet his parents too and introduce them to Scarlett. As usual, she seemed to love all of the attention. It's almost as if she performs for people -- she starts moving around a lot and "talking."

It is amazing how much she has grown. We put her in her carrier to take a walk around the snowy neighborhood the other day. Before she used to sink down into it and you could barely see that there was a baby in there. It was usually just a little foot poking out. Now her head comes up above the top of the carrier, her feet come out of the side, and she likes to have her arms out. No doubt that there is a baby in there now! She is about 12 pounds now and over 2 feet long. All I can say is that I'm glad she didn't come out that big!

We've starting moving her from a 3-hour schedule to a 4-hour schedule. She eats at 7, 11, 3, and 7 now, stays up for about 2 hours and then sleeps for about 2 hours. After 7 pm she should be down for the night except for her sleep feed. Her daytime schedule is almost completely converted but she is still waking up in the evening; although it may be more out of habit than need. She did make it through the night last night but didn't get to bed until 8:30 or 9 pm. She seemed to be pretty wound up from her big day. The four hour schedule makes it much easier to do things, so we're hoping it sticks. She is a little ahead of schedule on it (it is usually at about 4 months) but since she started eating a lot more we thought we'd give it a try.

Now that Scarlett's "fourth trimester" is over, she is really starting to seem more like a little person. She has a ton of personality and we are having so much fun with her! She has a really good temperament and is generally happy. We might be just a bit biased, but Paul and I think she is pretty special.

week 13: Snowed in... again!

We have decided that Scarlett is our little snow angel because ever since she was born, DC has been getting record breaking snow falls! This one has topped them all and it is still coming down... So again, we're going to be stuck in the house for a few days. It isn't too bad because it gives us time to clean up, hang out, and get some exercise (i.e., shoveling) in. The down side is that our errands and visiting (sorry, Flossy!) doesn't happen. Scarlett will hit the 3 month mark on Monday and she is about 24 inches long and just about 11 pounds (11 lbs 4 ounces this morning). The snow is probably also about 24 inches tall right now!

I officially went back to work on Monday. I have mixed feelings about it, but overall, I know it is the best thing for all of us. I love getting out of the house and having adult interaction. My ability to form sentences is coming back slowly and even a little bit of my vocabulary, although I still have to pause to think of the word I want to say sometimes. I find that I really am happiest when I'm being challenged at work and learning new things. I'm already pretty busy there again and getting to work with some people I haven't worked with in a while so I'm having fun. The days go by very quickly though. They are busy with work, punctuated by pumping and thinking about Scarlett. I do fine during the day but get pretty anxious to see her by the afternoon. I know that she really likes daycare though and I think she learns a lot from the other kids there. Maybe both of our minds are better exercised when I am at work!

Other than the snow, things went pretty smoothly this week. I forgot my pump parts one day so I ended up going 10 hours without pumping until Paul delivered them to me. It was really painful and I'm in constant fear of what little supply I have disappearing. So far I think going back to work has only affected it a little bit though, so I'm optimistic that I can keep it up for a while longer. I really want to make it to at least six months. I always wanted to shoot for a year, but the whole supply thing has taught me that sometimes your body and your mind don't share the same plans.