I've been slacking! You are already 7 1/2 weeks old!

Hi Baby Girl - I've been slacking at this, I know.  I guess I have just been enjoying you too much!  Plus, we've had a lot of family in town lately too!  You are now SEVEN AND A HALF WEEKS OLD!  That is crazy.  Time flies.  And you are getting cuter (and smarter) by the day!  I don't have a ton of time, but thought I would give you a couple of your cute pictures and then a quick update as to how you have been doing!  And what we have been doing too!

See?!  I told you that you were getting cuter and cuter!  Just when I don't think you can get any cuter, there you go and get cuter again!

Okay...so at seven weeks, so much has happened with you!  Here are some highlights:

• You can make the kissy face!  No one really believed me at first, but right around four weeks, I would give  you kisses on your face and you mimicked me.  Now, it's hard to argue with, you pucker up and ask for and give kisses!
• Along with the kisses, I started sticking my tongue out at you.  And you started sticking yours right back at me!  Sometimes it takes you a while to get warmed up and going, but once you do, you keep sticking out over and over again!  In fact, I think I created a monster because sometimes without even being prompted, your tongue starts going just to get our attention!
• You smile - and smile BIG!   You probably had your first real smile at four weeks or so.  And not just in your sleep!  You definitely know how to melt our hearts with those smiles.  Especially in the mornings, that's your favorite time.
• You are talking back to us now (around 7 weeks) - not in the teenager, hormonal way - but trying to mimic what we do.  Lots of  "ooh's" and "aah's".   It's so much fun watching you try and get a sound out.  Your mouth gets scrunched up in the "o" shape and then you startle yourself sometimes when you actually spit the sounds out.  So cute baby girl!
• You've been getting a lot more fussy on certain days.  We are thinking it is a gas issue and have tried several things to help.  Burping more, keeping you uprights, feed out of a bottle, gas drops, gripe water, etc.  I'd say half the days you are "normal" and then the other half you have an hour or two a day that you are screaming and inconsolable.  As much as this kills me, it's kind of in a routine now.  Maybe it's just your "fussy" time that everyone says babies have?  If so,yours seems to be between 5-7pm.
• You sleep fairly well.  You go from 11pm - 3:30/4am, then we eat and you sleep again until 7-8am.  It seems there is no sleeping through the night in sight, but other mommies say it will happen at some point.
• You have found your hands and fingers.  They go to your mouth quite a bit now.  You have yet to actually suck on your thumb or finger exclusively, but you suck on the side of your hand a little.  Everyone else seems to think this is a bad thing, but I look forward to not having to chase the pacifier around (in your mouth, you spit it out, cry a little, I put it back in...repeat).  We'll see!  
• You love hands touching your face.  It puts your right to sleep (usually).
• You have several nicknames - munchkin (Daddy's), baby girl (mine), sweetsies (mine), babies (weird, I know...also mine), pumpkin seed (Pa's and Mimi's), punky brewster (Pa's and Mimi's).

Your Aunt Nikki and Kiara came to visit at the beginning of January.  Kiara was enthralled with you!  She loved to just look at you and hold you too.  Your Aunt Nikki loved your cheeks (knew she would!).  Your sisters and the two of them even watched you for a couple hours so your Daddy and I could go eat dinner for our anniversary together.  We had a blast with them!  And we didn't do much really, just hung around the house, ran errands and enjoyed you!  So sad to see them go.  This is when living in AZ is difficult.

This past week, your Pa and Mimi have been here and they are staying until Saturday.  Also, Grandma Betty, Uncle Sam, Uncle Clyde, Aunt Marjie and Uncle Dan have been here.  Oh...and Susie and Tim from California were here as well as Mac and James!  Lots of people for you to see and meet.  Each and every one of them gushed about how cute you were (and your blue eyes and how much hair you have!).  =)  We have one more week with Pa and Mimi...we are so not looking forward to them leaving again.  We are hoping they come back sooner than later.  Again, this is the hard part about living in AZ.  I'll get some pictures up soon from their trip.

Your sisters are still in love with you.  Megan says (at least once a day...at least), "She's just so cute!".  And Kyndall loves, loves, LOVES to hold you and take care of you.  She is my helper when I need to hop in the shower or get something done...even if you are crabby, she takes care of you so well!  And your Daddy has yet to stop saying how beautiful you are.  That still comes out of his mouth regularly.  =)  He's such a big helper with you too.  Shares the night duty completely with me. 

I just love you so much baby girl!  You are squirming next to me right now...and trying to suck on my leg.  So, I probably need to feed you!  =)  Can't wait to keep finding out more about you!  I love you more every day (every hour?). 

26 Weeks Babycakes!

Okay, little girlie, you are getting bigger and stronger by the day....and I can feel it!  Now if your Cousin Kiara would feel it, that would be perfect!  Everyone here in Illinois has felt you kick now (Pa, Mimi, Aunt Nikki)....but not Kiara yet and she wants to feel you so bad!  You are kicking away right now, the problem is, you are a night owl when it comes to your kicking, and Kiara is already in bed!  We got a couple more days baby girl, so time is short!


I have lots to share this week about Illinois, but first, here's all about you....


You should be around 14 inches long and anywhere from 2 - 2.5 pounds.  We go in next week for an ultrasound, so I can't wait to get your true measurements!


After a month of having your eyelids sealed shut, you now begin to open your eyes again this week. Your eyes are almost completely developed. Your eyes are blue in there in the womb and may change colors later in life. This is true for all races because the pupils do not have their final color until a few months after birth. However, some babies are born with darker or lighter shades of blue. You will continue to put on layers of fat until you are born. You are still lean at this point of the pregnancy though. By the time you are born though, you will assume the typical newborn's plumpness. Your skin is still wrinkled and red, but the fat continues to fill your skin out. 

Finger and toe nails continue to grow and blood vessels start to develop in your lungs to prepare you for life outside the uterus.  By the end of this week, your air sacs will be developed enough to function out here in the real world

Your blood circulation is completely functional. Your umbilical cord system continues to grow and thicken as blood travels with considerable force through your body to nurture you. My placenta is now almost equal in size to you. 

Even though it is still way too soon for you to be born yet, the chance of survival is up to 85% and the chance of survival without severe abnormalities is now 70%.  Your odds are getting better and better!


My feet are swelling on a regular basis...and that trip from AZ to IL really did a number on my feet!  Whew!  You should've seen them after I got off the plane.  Luckily, sleeping at night kind of "resets" them for the next day and then towards the end of the day they are puffy again.


Your Daddy and I flew to IL this past Friday and got to first eat lunch with Pa, Aunt Nikki and your Cousin Vera (Kiara was in school)...then we got to go pick up Kiara at school and surprise her!  She didn't think we would be there yet, so she quickly realized it was your Daddy and I standing there after school let out and was shocked.  Of course, she came and gave us big hugs and we hung out with them for a while until your Uncle Ryan came home and we went to Pa and Mimi's for dinner.  The next day was full of swimming (and sleeping in, your Daddy and I were TIRED)...and getting ready for your shower the next day.  


Speaking of that...your shower was AMAZING!  Did you know that there were 62 people there?  Yikes!  There were so many family and friends and it was a little hectic to try to talk to everyone, but it was so worth it.  See baby girl, so many people love you already!  I wish I had pictures of all the cute clothes and gifts you got too, but I don't.  Just trust me though, you are going to be one well-dressed little girlie!  Your Mimi really outdid herself getting ready for everyone to be there, and then feeding everyone and making sure everyone had a seat even...your Pa was awesome helping with all of that too.  And then your Aunt Nikki planned the event so well too...overall, it was just a great day.  Exhausting, but great.  I'm sure you felt many hands on you throughout the day...lots of belly-touchers and I loved it!  =)


Your Daddy left yesterday and he's busy taking care of your Sisters all by himself back in AZ.  He's such a good Daddy.   I'm really missing him a bunch...but I love that I get to stay here and see even more family and friends.  Like today, I got to see an old friend from grade school, another old co-worker and then I am spending the night with your Aunt Nikki and Cousins tonight...so I got to spend a couple hours with Vera and Kiara before they went to bed.  Still to come this week will be seeing an old college friend and see your great grandmas and grandpa one more time....then Pa and Mimi fly back with me to AZ for a little vacation themselves.


Here are a few pictures I have of the trip....I think I need to get better at taking pictures...I should have a TON more than this!

Sweet girls at the pool

Kiara playing with bean bags after pool time

I think Vera was throwing a bean bag to Mimi in this picture

Your Daddy and Cousins posing while playing bags....and a set of bunny ears too!

Vera was WOUND UP today when I got to their house...the only reason this is a good picture is because she didn't know I was snapping pictures!

Your Aunt and Vera - she's not so happy with me taking pictures anymore!

So, I came up with a game to get her to take a picture with me...I "push the button" first....and then....

...she gets to "push the button".  Whatever works to get her to pose for a picture!

Kiara and her American Girl Doll with the crazy hair!

Posing with their chairs...I painted Kiara's chair years ago, so this trip I got to finally paint a chair for Vera too!

Baby girl, you are kicking away right now in there!  Save some of those to share with your Cousin Kiara tomorrow and the next day, okay?  Love you girlie!