Happy Three Months, Jesslyn!

Yes, I've been meaning to post this since Wednesday. I did cheat, and created the post, knowing full well I wouldn't actually be able to publish until a later time... So here we are!

Jesslyn is 3 months old now! Wow, time flies, huh?  And there are definitely tell-tale signs that she is older.  They are as follows:

~Less crying.  Apparently, babies cry the most during the first three months.  We've definitely noticed a drop off.  The biggest change came when she started waking up from her naps and "growling" rather than crying.  :)  It's really not a growl, but that's the best way I can describe it.  And when you go in to get her, she just kinda looks around at everything, and is so happy and smiley when you pick her up.  It's as if she's saying, "You're here!! Oh, I'm SOO happy to see you!!! I've missed you, Mommy/Daddy!!"  Much more fun than picking her up screaming (though she is still crying when she wants to eat in the middle of the night.)

And for the most part, she really only cries when she wants something and we're taking too long to figure it out--if she's hungry, over-tired, or wants to be held.  Those are the big three.  She'll occasionally cry if she's dirty, but she's pretty forgiving of that, unless you've got her sitting up, which brings us to....

~Sitting up.  Not by herself, mind you.  But we put her in Jeremiah's high chair (slowly becomingher high chair...) and she LOVES to sit there and look around.  We've also propped her up in her moses basket, which she also enjoys.   A Bumbo or Bebe Pod is on her Christmas list.  :)

~More talking.  More growling.  She and Jeremiah will have these little conversations back and forth--it's so cute!  It's almost as if they understand each other (and I'm sure on some level, they do, at least moreso than we...)  More smiling.  More interaction.

~Work those legs! This gal does NOT want to lay down, and is happy for a very short amount of time doing so (unless there's a toy dangling over her head... even then, she'd rather be sitting up.)  She loves to practice "standing", and really supports herself well.  We've started putting her in Jeremiah's old activity center (which he still trys to climb into...) and she loves it.  Still ends up tilting forward, and needs adjusting, but her feet touch the floor perfectly, just as they should (keep in mind the min. age on this thing is 4 months... she's been in it a few weeks now...)  That's our big girl!  Speaking of....

~Goodbye 3-6, hello 6-9!  Yes, she's almost out of her 3-6 month clothes.  Well, really, it's the pants she's outgrown.  They're not long enough!  And with her cloth diapers, most don't accomodate her [non-existent] behind [just like her Daddy.]  Her pajamas?  Forget it.  I put her in a pair, and they BARELY fit.  That's the last time she'll probably wear those... And I just bought her so many cute 3-6 month things (didn't have much, despite all the clothes I bought while pregnant... didn't know if she'd need warm or cold weather clothes.)  So we'll probably bump her up to the next size by Christmas (might hang on to some of her tops a little while longer... those usually get the most dirty anyways, since she's still the "Spit-Up Queen!"  Bow before her and she'll annoint your head with oil... err... spit up. :) 

~Hand/mouth coordination.  She's got that one down pretty well.  It used to be... "Where's my fist?  I wanna suck on my fist!  Has anyone seen my fist??? Fist???  FIST!!! HELLO, FIST, WHERE ARE YOU!! WAAAAAAAHHH!!"  And now it's, "I wanna suck on my fist.  Where's my fist?  Oh yeah, there it is.  **suck suck suck** No, wait, I didn't say fist, I said BINKY! WHERE'S MY BINKY??? WAAAAAAAAHHH!!"  We're making progress.  :)

That's the big stuff.  Sleep wise, she does very well, though still somewhat quirky...  Her morning naps have only been lasting 45-60 minutes lately (and then she wants to play...) but her afternoon naps still tend to be 2.5-4 hours long (sometimes she wakes up wanting to eat, then goes back to sleep, as if it were nighttime.... I think she gets confused....)  By 7-ish, though, she's ready for bed!  

Nighttime has been off lately (I blame a growth spurt...)  She usually sleeps from 7-4-ish, eats, then sleeps 'til 7:30, 8.  Sometimes she wakes up early (anywhere between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.) and then again at 6, then sleeps 'til 9.  But for the most part, she's still only getting up once a night, sleeping 12 hours total.  Add that to the 1-2 hours in the morning (sometimes split over two naps,) and the 3 hour nap in the afternoon, she's only up 7-8 hours a day.  The gal likes to sleep!  I don't blame her.  She's like her Mommy in that regard.  :)

And now... pics!

23 Months Old -- 3 Months Old... Really...

"AHHH!! Jeremiah!! Your spikiness!! It tickles!!!"

"Uh, Mom, do you mind, I'm trying to suck on my fist here..."

"See?  Told ya."

"Yeah, Mommy put this blanket here so I don't ruin her throw pillows when I spit up (because it's always a 'when,' not an 'if.') So I'm going to chew on it. :) "

"Let's see... e=MC..... squared?? Cubed?? And do I really just want my two front teeth for Christmas??"  The ponderings of a baby...

"Yes, I am cute.  Yes, you may take my picture." :)

"Dad-dy... people are watching... someone might see this pic and put it on their blog, for all the world to see, and then the other babies won't think I'm cool anymore!"

No comment. :)

"Aww, I love you, too, big brother.  But I'm really worried about the angle Mommy's using to get this shot... I mean, really, my butt isn't that big.  It's not!  Oh well."