12 Weeks!!!

Nora is twelve weeks old today! Oh my! I'm cherishing every second I have to spend with her because I know she'll be so big so soon. She is just the sweetest, so funny and personable - I love her to pieces. She loves to talk, she just chats away about who knows what. She is slightly impatient (she gets that from daddy) especially when it's time to eat. She squeals when I take too long getting her her food.

Just recently she has begun to use her little hands, she grabs her dress and pulls it up so we can see her perfect little tummy and she also has found mommy's hair. She is also more interested in her toys these days, looking and swatting at them. She likes to lie on her back on the floor and play with her mommy & daddy (and of course this is her favorite tv watching position as well). She gets in a little bit of Bumbo time, but I don't know if she's completely convinced it is a good idea. She still enjoys her swing and gets the "swing" treatment if nothing else is making her happy. Sometimes I have trouble putting her down at night (it may take 2 or 3 times), I just like to pretend that she loves me so much she doesn't want to leave me. I continue to assure her that we'll be here when she wakes up, that seems to help ;)

She is starting to eat more, up to 6 oz at a time and she's going longer in between feedings, which is great! She is still nursing and taking a bottle and that seems to be working well for us. Still no rice cereal or baby food, but I know she'll be thrilled when that time comes.

She is sleeping better even though it's not always through the night. But then, sometimes it is. She goes to bed from anywhere around 8:30 to 10 and usually sleeps until 5 am unless it's one of her wake up at 3:30 am nights....which has been several times this week. She is definitely experiencing a growth spurt.

Last night she cried, uncontrollably and inconsolably, for about 30 minutes. It was H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E!!! I finally calmed her down by singing into her ear until she fell asleep. I thought maybe she got stung by a bee or something (not that we were outside) but alas, nothing was wrong! She was evidently just tired.

I don't know what else to say except that I LOVE HER! I can't get enough! What was I thinking not wanting a baby for 2 years!!!

Here she is sound asleep

Showing us her belly

With her sweet daddy

Dazed & Confused in her swing

Daddy helping her out with the Bumbo

She doesn't quite have it figured out on her own

Here she is with my sister, Shanon, and her cousins, Zach & Wade

Playing Catch Up with Nora

Where has the time gone! It's VBS week here at church and I can't figure out where the last year of my life has gone!?!?! Being pregnant is like going on some whacked out ride at a supernatural theme park where you get on totally normal and get off a complete wreck! (Thanks mom for the mini makeover, I needed it)

I've been back at work for two weeks now and that is going really well. I've handled it alot better than I thought I would. It helps that Nora is staying home with grandmothers and relatives until August. It makes me feel better for some reason to know she is at home with people who love her. Her Mother's Day Out program doesn't start until August 11, so basically we have house guests ALL summer watching her. At least we are lucky enough to have family that loves us and has agreed to come up and stay with her.

Those first 8 weeks I was home with her were perplexing. The days flew by but the weeks seemed like months. Who knows! I guess because I didn't sleep the first two months! It's amazing what you can persevere when you love someone so much. Nora was not and is not a sleeper! She hates sleeping, loves eating and isn't afraid to tell you what she thinks. I think she cried the first three weeks straight. We finally starting supplementing at 3 weeks with formula and she's smoothed out quite a bit because of that. I felt so much better when her doctor told me that God invented formula and it was ok to give it to her. So we are still nursing, pumping and supplementing and she's one happy little girl.

The second month started out better but quickly turned south with a cold! A COLD? My sweet baby has a cold? What have I done wrong? It was kind of terrible, we had to sleep her in a incline, use saline spray and a suction and use a humidifier for a week and a half. After she got over her cold she decided she wanted to eat every two hours. EVERY TWO HOURS. Are you kidding me! Back to no sleep!

Luckily she is sleeping longer at night 6-7 hours! HALLELUJAH, but she does still eat every two during the day! She is so much fun these days. She loves to laugh and smile and I even get a chuckle out of her occasionally (usually after she eats). She loves to talk to us and has even said Momma (of course by complete accident, and who cares! She still said it). Our favorite game is, "How are you doing, Nora"? to which she replies, "I'm good"....which is Ah goo...for all you haters. But when she says, ah goo it totally comes out "I'm good" and it's the cutest. She even told me, "You good" after I changed her diaper one day.

She's a feisty one that's for sure! She hates going to sleep and I usually have to rock her to sleep and sing in her ear. Her current favorites are "I love You Lord", "Sanctuary" and "Goin' up a Yonder". She also loves the SHUSH sound in her ear. Of course if rocking doesn't work nursing usually does. Ask me if I'm worried about rocking her and nursing her to sleep...NO...that sweet child couldn't be loved more and I'll stop when I want to.

She loves to swing and nap, she also loves to sit in her bouncy seat and watch tv...Oh MY! What are we going to do!?!? Her daddy has her watching hockey games and she loves the Backyardagins too. Her pink bear keeps her company in the crib and plays music to entertain her. She will on occasion lay in her crib and watch her mobile but it's not enough to convince her to go to sleep on her own, so it doesn't get used too much.

I just can't get enough of her...I don't even want to let other people hold her (even though I do). I could just stare at her all day and kiss that sweet head a million times. Thank you Lord I skipped that birth control for a week. Thank you Lord again.