Watching Mommy Sing

"Annie, over here!
Rubber duckie, you're the one..."

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday

The baby's sleeping in my lap right now, and I'm feeling very happy. We're having a Mommy/Daughter day while Paul is on a wine tour for our friend Mike's birthday. I stayed home since it's my last day before I go back to work. Couldn't bear to leave her all day!
We've had a really nice weekend. Friday night Annie stayed with my parents and sister while we went out for a date night. We went to the mall food court for dinner. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that it's one of our favorite places to eat out: Paul gets his Chinese and I get my Camille's Cafe. Yum. After a quick dinner we went to see The Dark Knight. SO. GOOD. I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype, but it did. We really loved it.

Saturday we spent some time at home. Annie and I sang and played for a while and then she napped and I got a lot of cleaning done. After Paul got home and ate dinner we went for a walk to the park. Annie went on the swing for the first time! She seemed a bit concerned, but I think she enjoyed it. After our walk we went out to meet Paul's mom and stepfather for some ice cream by the lake in Canandaigua. It was such a beautiful night, breezy but not too chilly. Everyone out there was so friendly, saying hi to each other, admiring all of the cute dogs and babies. We had a really nice visit. We did our grocery shopping after that. Another wild and crazy Saturday night!

Paul left for the wine tour this morning around 10. Annie and I went for a walk after that. She fell asleep so I walked all over town so she could get a full nap in before we came home to Gussy's barking, which usually wakes her up. (Arg.) It was really beautiful out this morning: nice and breezy, great light. Every once in a while it looked like it might rain but then the sun would come out. We went through the park and then up around the high school. The tennis courts were full and football season has started, so there were a ton of people up there. Annie had lots of admirers. I saw my old math teacher playing tennis. I love living in a town where you can walk the sidewalks and see a ton of people out and about. It really makes you feel like a part of a community.

This afternoon we lazed around in the backyard, Gus & Georgie munching on the big bones we bought them. And now we're inside for dinner and a nap. The rain held off just long enough: it's starting to thunder and sprinkle now. A perfect weekend to close out my maternity leave. Now I'm off to get our things together for tomorrow. I think we're ready for our new routine.

Last Days

I go back to work on Monday. I can't believe how fast this 3 months flew by. I can't put into words how sad I am knowing I won't be with her every day. She doesn't seem old enough to be without her mommy. I am grateful though that she'll be with her dad on Wednesdays, and her grandma the other days for the first few weeks. That will definitely help a lot. I'm also staying home Fridays so I'll have that to look forward to every week. Plus, one of Paul's good friends from work just got her day care certification and will be watching Annie the days my mom can't. I'm so happy that worked out. She's wonderful, and is really looking forward to having Annie. So I know it will all be fine and we'll be settled into our routine in no time. The first few days will be really tough though!

We've had such a wonderful summer together. Lots of lunches in the park, long walks, ball games, snuggling in the chair, singing Sesame Street and Disney songs, shopping... I was looking through her pictures the other day and was so surprised to see just how much she's changed over the past 3 months. Her hair is so much longer, she's got bigger eyes and fuller cheeks, and a chubby belly. She's so much more alert now, and talkative. She loves chatting with me while she eats, or when she's having playtime on the floor. She stares at me all the time, smiling away. I love that I make her happy. Our last few days have been really nice. Last weekend we had lunch in the park with Sarah & Michelle from work. It was gorgeous out, and we had a lovely little picnic. Saturday we went to a purse party and cookout at Robyn & TJ's. Annie bought her first purse! I love that this was her second purse party. I've never been to a purse party in my life before this summer, and she's been to two! Here she is loving up her new purse. It's almost as big as she is.That night we came home and watched Michael Phelps win his 8th gold. So exciting! I'm really glad I was out on leave throughout this Olympics, everything good is on so late. Everyone has been sleep deprived lately. Ironic that I'm the one with the new baby and I'm getting the most sleep!

On Sunday we took a drive out to Hamlin Beach to cook some dinner and take a swim. Well, I took a swim--it was around 7pm and a bit chilly so Paul and Annie waited on the beach for me. I've been dying to go swimming all summer, it was so nice to get in and float around.

On Monday Aunt Meg & Uncle Tim were here for a visit from Michigan. We all had lunch at my Mom's house. Annie was fussy until we realized that she was just bored sitting in everyone's lap and just wanted to lie on the floor for some playtime. She was a happy girl after that! It was really nice to see Meg & Tim before they go back to school, we've missed them. Can't wait til they come back!Tuesday we went to work for one more visit before I go back. We had lunch with Robyn & Nicki and then went to visit some more friends. It tired her right out--she fell asleep in the car right after we left, so I took advantage of it and went shopping for some fall clothes. Wednesday was a rough day. She needed a nap all day but refused to sleep. I got her to sleep once in the crib and when I opened the door, George made a racket and woke her up. Arg! That night I went over to my Mom's to take my sister driving and when I came back she was passed out on the couch. I knew she was tired, darn it! She's so stubborn when it comes to napping...

Yesterday was much better. She napped in the car while we did some last minute parallel parking practice before Aunt Kathryn's road test. A few hours later she passed her test with flying colors! We went to Ben & Jerry's to celebrate. That night Kag & I went to the movies, and Paul stayed home with Annie. She tried her first formula to make sure she'd be okay with it in case we need to supplement while I'm at work. She drank it right up and we have had no vomiting, so looks like we're good to go! Hopefully I'll be able to pump enough that she won't need it though.

So that's that. Now I'm off to enjoy our final weekend before I go back. Crazy. A tiny part of me is looking forward to working again, and getting into a regular routine. I do love my job and the people I work with. A much bigger part of me is dreading leaving her. I know that in no time this will be our regular routine though, and that we'll make the most of the time we do have together. It's just hard to imagine at the moment...

Sleeping Arrangements

For her first 10 weeks, Annie slept in a cosleeper in our bedroom. She was getting up to eat through the night and it was very convenient having her right next to me. Also I could roll over to make sure she was okay anytime I wanted. It was nice. But now that she's been sleeping through the night for over a week we decided that it's time to try out the crib. I put her in last night after her bedtime feeding and she did great, stayed there all night! I was nervous around 3 because I heard her on the monitor, she was awake and talking. I had been worried about that because up until now, the crib has meant playtime. Her mobile is attached and she watches it when I am showering or putting a load of laundry in. After about a half and hour she had fallen back asleep though, phew!

She's been all smiley and chatty each morning since she started sleeping so long, and she was the especially smiley this morning. I think it might be because she woke up and her beloved mobile was above her. She kept looking at me and then looking up at the mobile, chatting away. Very cute!

The other good news is she's a loud sleeper, she makes little noises when she breathes. So all I need to do is listen to her squeaking away through the monitor and I know she's okay! Cuts back on a lot of trips to her room to peek in. Although I did do that once anyway, of course. :)

"Mom, I woke up and my mobile was up there!"

We took a break from watching the Olympics and went to another ball game last night. We had a nice time, and we got to bed a lot earlier than we would have if we stayed home to watch Olympics. Man, they've been keeping us up late! Can't miss gymnastics though, I've been waiting 4 years for this!

Summertime

I'm making a concerted effort to get out and enjoy the summer as much as possible for my last two weeks home. Today Annie and I walked down to the park to eat lunch (well, I ate lunch, Annie stared at me eating lunch). We had to babysit Uncle Kevin this afternoon, so we went to Ben & Jerry's for some ice cream and then to the library. Now Paul is home so we're going out for a walk. Annie's really enjoying her walks lately, she loves looking up at the trees and will crank her head around to get a good look.

Some pictures from our adventures:

Oh, and I caught an almost smile today, finally! I've been trying for days...

Thumbsucker

So it looks like we have a thumbsucker! Since she started sleeping through the night we've noticed that she does wake up every couple of hours, but puts her thumb in her mouth and soothes herself back to sleep. It's awesome. These past few days she's finding her thumb while she's awake too. It's pretty adorable. She gets all panicky, jerking around until she finds it, and she sticks her other hand in her hair. I took a few pictures to illustrate the process:

Looking for the thumb (check out those cheeks!)

Finding and inserting the thumb

Getting the full grip on the hair

This thumbsucking thing has been really great for me. She slept for TWELVE hours last night, I can't believe it! This kid can sleep. It's been 6 nights now that she's slept between 8 and 12 hours. I really really hope this is a long term thing, I could get used to it! We took her to the doctor yesterday for her 2-month checkup. She's up to 12 pounds, 13 ounces now, 23.5 inches long. Her size has a lot to do with her sleeping through the night, that's for sure. So now I'm grateful that she cooked for 2 extra weeks and got so big! Totally worth it.


She got 5 shots at her appointment, it was heartbreaking. I had to work very hard to choke back the tears myself! She stopped crying as soon as I picked her up afterwards though, so that was encouraging. I fed her a bit before we left, that seemed to help too. She never developed a fever or anything, but she was very sleepy afterwards, fell asleep as soon as we strapped her into her carseat. I had an appointment that afternoon so I took her over to my Mom's after stopping home to finish feeding her. She tried to go for a walk with her, but Annie screamed and screamed, all she wanted to do was lie on Grandma's chest and sleep for an hour. Poor baby. I took her for a walk when we got home, and then tried to feed her again. She was really really fussy, so I gave her some Tylenol and she seemed to feel much better. I think her thighs must have been sore where they injected her. She was pretty much back to normal after that!


We went out last night to our city's free movie in the park, Horton Hears a Who. Aunt Kathryn and Uncle Kevin came along. Annie sat on Kathryn's lap, content to look around at everything until she got hungry. Unfortunately, as soon as I started feeding her it started raining. Poop! They had to turn off the movie, "Because of the rain. And safety." (That was the guy's exact words.) Very disappointing. We try to go to at least one movie in the park every year, and we had been looking forward to this one since the beginning of the summer. The last 3 summers it's rained on us! Oh well, we'll try again next year I'm sure!

Little Friends

Annie went to her first playdate yesterday, with Griffin and Isabella. Griffin is 8 months and Bella is about 3 and a half months. They are so cute! Griffin is the only one really moving around and playing, but Annie and Bella seemed to enjoy looking around at everything. Annie looked around for a bit, then ate and took a power nap. When she woke up we had a photo shoot:

Griffin & His Ladies

"Come here Annie!"

"Hmm...she looks interesting..." Bella looks concerned, looks to her Mom for some help...

Griffin's getting bored with this

Back for Round Two

We were amazed at how relaxed Annie was, even with Griffin "hugging" her. Kelly was right there to grab Fin each time, but Annie really didn't seem fazed by it. After he got down from the chair she sat there by herself for about 10 minutes, just chilling out, looking around.

Fin really loves other babies, I can't wait until Annie and Bella are old enough to crawl around with him! Of course he'll be walking by then. He'll have to show them the ropes.

Now explain to me why I still feel tired...

So Annie is a champion sleeper. I know I've talked about how she sleeps through everything while we're out and about, but I haven't really gone into how she sleeps at night. You'd think that she would be up all night since she sleeps so much during the day. That is not the case. She spoils me like crazy. We had a few rough nights here and there in the past 2 months, where she woke up to eat every hour or even every half and hour. But for the most part, she sleeps from 3 to 4 hours at a time. Lately though, (and I really hope I am not jinxing myself here by writing about it) she's been sleeping for much longer through the night. Mostly it's between 5 or 6 hours, but she's slept for 8 hours twice now, and last night she beat that record. She slept for ELEVEN hours. I could not believe it. She wakes up every once in a while when she sleeps like that, but she'll just squirm around a little bit and then sucks on her thumb to get herself back to sleep. It's awesome. I like to think she's rewarding me for making me wait so long for her to get here. It's the least she could do, really. ;0)