Happy Halloween!

Here's a little snapshot from Mary Ellen's visit to Barry. Grandma had the house and yard all decorated, and we took full advantage of the fall weather and atmosphere. Happy Halloween everybody!

Travel Time

In case you hadn't noticed, I'd taken a little vacation from writing blog updates while we took Mary Ellen on her first visit to St. Louis. We had an absolutely wonderful, unforgettable trip. I promise to write more about our adventures, but a tired Lisa needs to keep it short tonight. For now, here's a glimpse into just how excited we were to take Mary Ellen on her first plane ride.

Vocabulary Update

Here's a little example of Mary Ellen's growing "vocabulary." Please ignore the fact that her outfit and bouncy seat give the impression that she is a boy. It's her. Promise.

Working Out

Mary Ellen's gym work continues...

Mary Ellen is 3 months old!

My little girl is three months old! I can hardly believe it - we've been told so many times that they grow up so fast, but here's the proof:



Here are a few facts about Mary Ellen at three months:
• She loves being outside. She is so content to sit on the porch in her pack-n-play and just listen to the birds and watch the fan and breathe the good air. She has also taken to riding in the Baby Bjorn while I water the plants, and she likes looking at all the plants, too. This is a great thing, too, because I don't think I'd get to have a fall garden if she wasn't willing to "help" me water.
• She is finally starting to tolerate being on her stomach and is lifting her head more and more. We play a little game where I roll her from one end of the blanket to the other, and she just loves it!
• Books are finally fun! She's got a few favorites already: Baby Colors (DK) and Baby at the Farm (Karen Katz).
• She loves to snuggle with both Brian and me, and she's more huggable every day.
• She continues to be an aggressive eater. She spent a few hours with my friend Paula today, and I think Paula said it best. "Lisa, I've never seen a baby suck down a bottle the way she did." Atta girl!
• She's super chatty. One of her favorite pastimes is to hear us echo what she says. If she's in the right mood, she will this for 10-15 minutes. It's a riot.

Ready to Roll

How cute is this? The hat never stays in one place too long, so I just had to get the snapshot while she had it on.

Happy Birthday, Brian!

So I'm adding this post a little late, but things were so crazy that day. Brian and I wound up going to the UCF v UAB football game on his actual birthday. It was so fun to have a night out just the two of us (a huge thank you goes out to Babysitting by Maria).

We kept the celebration going by inviting some friends to join us at the Willow Tree for dinner Saturday night. Mary Ellen did really well, especially considering that there was some sort of Bikefest going on in downtown Sanford that night. Now I can officially say that our girl can sleep through anything, including a parade of Harleys with a polka band in the background.

Mary Ellen got all dolled up for our night on the town.

Mimi v Mary Ellen

Remember how I was so worried about how the cats would react to having a baby in the house? That seems like so long ago, but this morning reminded me of why I was concerned.

Up to this point, we've all gotten along splendidly. Because we put in a pet door to the back porch, we hardly see Daisy anymore, so she's pretty much been taken out of the equation. Mimi has been a handful, but then she's always been more needy anyway. If a cat can be clingy, well then she is that cat. Sometimes I think it's more difficult to be home with Mimi all day than it is with Mary Ellen. Mimi just has some weird days where she follows me around the house and cries for seemingly no reason. This morning was one of those days. Mary Ellen had gotten up really early (around 6:15) for a feeding, and she didn't seem ready to go back to sleep, so I got her up and brought her out into the living room. We read some stories, she looked at Sea Horse (thanks for the reminder, Amy), and eventually she turned on the fussiness and was clearly ready to head back to bed. Mimi, being her helpful self, decided to join us and lend a hand. Here's where it gets complicated.

I'm sure that every mom, whether tried or new, struggles with trying to figure out how to make your child more independent. Mary Ellen is a great sleeper, but she uses a pacifier to get to sleep and I've been wondering more as of late whether to try and break her of that habit. So as I tried to soothe her to sleep this morning, I put a swaddle around her legs, rubbed her belly and shushed. No paci. It was taking some doing, but it was working.

Enter Mimi, crying, begging me for God knows what. And of course Mary Ellen startles and starts to fuss. So I shooed Mimi out and got Mary Ellen calmed down again: re-wrapped the swaddle, continued shushing and soothing. It wasn't quick, but it was working. This time, Mimi crept in more quietly. She sneaked up next to me, reared back, and made the start of a lunge for the crib. My reflexes kicked in, and I whisper-shouted "NO!"

And all hell broke loose. Mimi did the cartoon scramble as her claws tried to grip the hardwood, to no avail. She finally managed to high-tail it out of there, clacking and scrambling the whole time.

And poor Mary Ellen. She had obviously been in that little "twilight" time just before the hard sleep came. She was totally relaxed and had her defenses down, and I basically screamed in her ear. I've never seen her get so upset - not even with the shots.

Mary Ellen screamed (SCREAMED) for 30 minutes. So much for trying to skip the paci today. There's always tomorrow, right?

Lesson of the day: Be sure the door is latched when trying to put the baby to sleep.

Finding her voice

Mary Ellen is really starting to put different sounds together. Every few days, it seems, she has a new sound to share with us. Lately, she's also been experimenting with volume, and I just had to capture her trying our her lungs the other day. I suppose this is all good fun when we're in the safety of our own home, but I would imagine I'd get some pretty strange looks if she were doing this in the line at Target. Here's to good things to come!

Mommy and Me

I just love, love, love this little girl!

Rattlin' Around

Here's another example of Mary Ellen's mad grasping skills. She's quite happy with the rattle, until she bonks herself in the head, that is. She's also become so chatty, and she's starting to string a few sounds together. As soon as I can figure out what "ah-goo" means, I'll have a better idea of what she's talking about most of the time.

Deer Hunting

No, Pike County folk, we're not actually going hunting for deer. Well, maybe Mary Ellen is. She's really gotten the hang of grasping objects on her own. I'd seen her do it a few times with Deer, but this morning she added a new trick by trying to bring her new captive to her mouth. Bring on the germs, Mary Ellen. She's crossed over into the world of putting things into her mouth.

My apologies for the lighting.

Cloth Diapers cont.

Just for the record, I'm not as crazy as I once thought for considering cloth diapers.

Last week, Mary Ellen and I met with Carissa (aka the Diaper Lady) and had our official "Diaper Consultation." Basically, I just went to her house and looked at all of the products that were available, and then made a few purchases. She was great, though, and answered a lot of my questions. We're starting small, so I only came home with 4 items. In case you're curious, we bought 2 Bum Genius All-in-Ones and 2 Thirsties Duo Diapers. These are 2 different types of pocket diapers, which means they have liners that you stuff into a pocket inside the cute little diapers. Then the diapers go on the baby using either snaps or Velcro. They're really easy to use and so far, they haven't sprung any leaks.

The Thirsties Duo Diaper

The other kind of diapers that we're experimenting with are the diaper wraps. With these, you use the old fashioned tri-fold diapers. I've finally managed to find the pin alternative, so the prefolds are now very easy to use. I've had a few leaks with these, but I'm pretty sure they were due to a user error (um, me) and I'm not giving up yet.

This little doohickey is called a Snappi, and it means that I don't have to use pins. Hooray! And don't worry, Dad, I'll find another way to toughen her up.

Pretty cute, huh?

Photo shoot

With the cooler weather here yesterday, Mary Ellen and I took full advantage of our screened porch and had a little photo shoot. I'm still learning how to frame her, and all of my photos tend to come out looking the same, but at least the subject matter is interesting. And I suppose once she can sit up, we'll have a few more poses to choose from. She's already a ham for the camera, which a good thing considering her Grandma and Aunt Amy usually have a camera within arms reach. Here are a few photos from our little shoot:

Fun-filled weekend

Fall is finally here in Florida and we enjoyed this weekend to the fullest. I think we took a total of four walks and tried to make the most of the beautiful weather. The best part is that in Florida, the fall signals the beginning of the best part of the year. For the next several months, we should be treated to 70-degree weather most of the time, so it's just ideal for spending time outside. Luckily, Mary Ellen is very into the outdoors. Okay, so she's as into being outside as she is to about anything else right now. Except ceiling fans. They're her #1 thing right now.

Mary Ellen's first visit to an "Irish pub." The weather was so nice that we just had to seek out a venue for outdoor eating.

We actually had to break out a blanket at dinner on Friday night. I guess I'll have to become a much more responsible mother now that the weather is colder. I'll have to remember to bring things like socks and jackets. Aye!

Watching football with Daddy.

We've been the recipients of so many beautiful blankets since Mary Ellen arrived, and with the cooler weather now here, we'll finally get to use them! This one is extra special because it was made by my Grandma Moulds (Mary Ellen's G.G.). Grandma's jean quilts are the warmest and most durable blankets ever, and as you can see, Mary Ellen loves hers!

Buddah Belly

Mary Ellen has grown so much lately! I realized the other day that I forgot to update her stats after her last appointment. This was her 2 month appointment, and she weighed 12 lbs 2.5 oz (keep in mind that she was 7 lbs even at birth). I just love that she's gaining weight to easily, because it means that we must be doing something right, right? I think this video gives you a good idea of exactly where she's putting on the pounds.

On a side note: At the doctor's appointments, there are always a lot of questions to answer about her development and I was telling Brian about the questions that I had to reply "no" to. One was that we haven't been able to catch her laughing, though Mary Anne says she got her to giggle with her famous animal sounds. The other question was, "Is she putting weight on her legs?" Now, up to that point, Mary Ellen hadn't been willing to stand up on her legs, so I replied "No." Brian, however, misunderstood question and looked at me, shocked. "What!?" he said. "Have you seen her legs? I think she's put on plenty of weight in her legs." Ha!!

Turtle Parade

Mary Ellen is starting to be quite responsive. She now notices us when we're moving across the room, and she usually smiles just as soon as she sees that it's Brian or me. A few weeks ago, Mom bought Mary Ellen a turtle mobile, and she's shown limited interest in it until the past week. Now, she just can't get enough of it. She lays on her changing table and looks back for it, just waiting and hoping that it will start to move for her. She just loves the Turtle Parade! It's so much fun to see her take an interest in things!

Not the new baby anymore!

Congrats to Amy and Chris and the entire Knepper clan. Our family is growing by leaps and bounds!

Sweet little baby!