Thumbsucker!

She has decided that now she likes the taste of her thumb. On Sunday, she kept putting it in her mouth & sucking on it. Very strange. Up until then, she didn't have a preference, just putting any combination of fingers in her mouth. She's even doing it right now. I wonder how long she will do this, I hope it doesn't ruin her teeth - we already have bad teeth in the family.

Discoveries

Since the last post, Ella has discovered the following:
Her feet - but usually only during a diaper change
Her right ear - apparently the left is hidden
She can pull the toy in her bouncer to make it sing (it's a little monkey that plays "If you're happy & you know it...")

She is getting back to her AWESOME sleeping habits - sleeping for about 5-7 hours again. It's SOOOO nice!
She likes to blow bubbles & makes raspberry sounds with her mouth. The other night, I wanted to see what she would do if I was "asleep" while feeding her. She stopped, looked up at me, and started cooing. I tried to keep my eyes closed, but she was so cute, I couldn't bear to let her down. She would start to giggle, and then coo some more. It was precious!

We had a real giggle on Saturday. I was tickling her chin & she let out a really loud one. Brad got out the camera so we could get it on tape, but she stopped. :( I can't get her to do it again. But, she is really starting to make lots of noise. She likes to coo in bed in the morning when she's ready to get up. If she wants to go back to sleep, she cries & keeps her eyes shut!

Baby sleep

Baby girl has been having a hard time staying asleep lately. Right now, I'm sitting downstairs waiting for her to finish crying. She stops & starts again. It's really hard for me to be in there and hear her crying. It makes me really sad. I hope we don't have to do this cry-it-out method for too many more nights.

In lighter news, last sunday, we bought her a jumperoo to play in. The woman I bought it from insisted that she wouldn't be able to have any fun in it yet. She said that her 3.5 month old had to have a pillow under his feet so he could touch the floor. She could touch the floor, and starting bouncing within a few minutes. But, apparently she's pretty tall for her age. She in the 95th percentile again at this month's checkup. I don't know where the height is coming from, maybe her grandpa.
I was hoping that the bouncer would encourage her to grab at the toys. At first, she just stood there & stared at them, but after only 3 days, she's spinning the toys & grabbing at them. I didn't think it would happen this fast! She's been trying to grab at things, so I kept trying to hold toys for her. Now she's starting to hold them for herself. That's pretty exciting. Brad said she even spinned herself around to play with a new toy on the other side. Yay!

Also, Brad plays a new game with her, he makes a raspberry sound with his mouth. She repeats it, just makes a lot of drool in the process. She also likes to chew on her hands a lot, that also makes for a lot of drool. So, she spends most of her time these days with a bib around her neck.

Well, she's been quiet for a while now, so I'm going to try to go to bed. Wish me luck!

TREE DAY!!!

We had the best day of the year on "Black Friday." Most people spend the day doing their Xmas shopping, but in my family, we decorate my parents' house for Xmas. We play music, watch movies, eat lots of sweets, and of course, Thanksgiving leftovers while decorating the house. My job is to set up the tree. It sounds like a simple task, but my mom has been collecting Hallmark ornaments since about 1986. And she buys more than a few each year. They each come wrapped in plastic or bubble wrap, inside a plastic tray, inside a box. Imagine hundreds of ornaments on the tree! When we're done, there aren't many empty branches! My brother & sister spent Thanksgiving night at my house so we could get up early & go shopping. We stayed up too late, and I really didn't have much to shop for, so we went later on in the morning. All we got once we went to the store was supplies for a gingerbread house & some egg nog - a MUST for tree day!

I've never made a gingerbread house before, so I figured it would be fun to do it with the family. Apparently, I really suck at baking. After we had mixed it up, I looked at my sister & asked her if it looked a little light to be gingerbread. She said maybe it gets darker when you bake it. I wasn't so sure. Before I left to go home, I noticed the unopened bottle of molasses I had brought. DANGIT! That's what it was missing! The pieces had already been put in the freezer to keep for the next time - we didn't have time to finish it all on tree day. Maybe when it thaws out, we can add it? I don't know. We may have to start again.



Ella is becoming quite a little character these days. The other morning, I woke up to see her smiling at me. When I smiled back, she let out a really loud giggle. I had spent the night at my parents' house, so they heard her too. She just kept talking and giggling whenever I would talk to her. What a cutie! I got out the video camera, but as always, she pretty much stopped when it was turned on. :(

Brad plays a few games with her. The first one, he holds her hands & helps her stand up. She holds herself upright, just needs to be steadied. Then, he lets her drop down on her butt. In a few seconds, she's ready to stand again. It's really cute.

The second one, he holds her hands again while she's standing & shakes her slowly back & forth. She holds her arms really tight & giggles when we do this one too! When we finish, she tries to do it herself, but it's really shaky! So adorable!

Wireless Triggers!

So I broke down & bought myself some "poverty wizards." For those of you scratching your heads, it allows me to take a photo & use my flash off the camera. I tried to use a cord, but it was very unreliable. So I was practicing with the new ones & they seem to be pretty good. I just wish
I would have gotten a second one for my other flash! I can't wait to put these to the test in NJ next week. I've got some fruit to shoot & it should be fun!

Hand Jive

She has now learned to grab at the toys in her bouncy seat. They hang above her, and a few weeks ago, she figured out how to kick them with her feet. Last night, she grabbed them with her hands for a few seconds. It was pretty cool, sitting there watching her learn!

The giggles are getting closer yet. Sometimes she just looks at me and lets out a really loud giggle. Those are the best!

Update!

Ok, so it's been a while since I've posted & the hubby keeps harassing me about having a blog that I never update.

Baby girl is 23.5 inches long now & weighs 11lbs, 13oz as of this morning. The hubby & Em came to visit me & have lunch at work today! Actually they just left. :'(
I'm at work now, finishing off my 2nd week back. It's good to be back into society, but it's really hard to be away from her all day. It's like I get a reward every day when I get to come home & see her.

She can hold up her head really well. She also likes to sit in the bouncer & kick the toys. She has increasing amounts of happy time during the day, instead of just eating & sleeping. At about 4 weeks, she began cooing & really smiling. That was awesome! I thought she was going to be much older when she started that. She's so close to giggling, I can't wait for the first real one. It's gonna be awesome. We bought her Christmas outfit last week. There weren't many things in the stores, but I found a really great sweater dress at Baby Gap. I thought it was going to take so much longer to find something that I really like. I mean, this is her first Christmas! This is important stuff! There are little tights that match it perfectly. They have little Mary Janes on them so it looks like she's wearing shoes!

Nothing much else to say, except that my daughter is AWESOME!