I can honestly not believe that Aspen will be 3 months old this week! It seems like time flies even faster with the second baby! I think maybe if I blink twice she'll be headed off to school or something...yikes!
First, a little story.
See that onesie that she's wearing in the photo? With the little chick? Well, those of you who know me, know that I love kids. I have always loved kids. I dreamed about and wished for my own since I was one myself. Well, there were a few years there towards the end of my 20s when I wasn't sure if I was going to be blessed with the opportunity to have my own. I seriously considered, if I didn't get married soon, adopting some. Well, as fate would have it - or a few great dates, a couple of break-ups, a few even better dates, a proposal, some planning, a ring, and a wedding later - I found myself married to a most wonderful man, not to mention my best friend. We got married 2 weeks before my 30th birthday. Much to his *delight* I started buying cute baby clothes before I ever got pregnant. The Speesees onesie above is one of them. Jacob told me I could not put a onesie that said "'chik" on our baby boy, once he arrived, so I put it back in the box...for later. Well, now our dear Aspen gets to wear it. She is such a cute little 'chik! Dreams really do come true! (*gush*gush*)
Okay...now back to the task at hand. Here's a bit about our girl lately...
Aspen at 3 Months
-She sleeps peacefully through the night, most nights (a big switch from our all night parties the first 8 or 9 weeks!) She "dream feeds" once or twice during the night, and is enjoying the comfort of our shared bed. We are enjoying the comfort of not having to really wake up or get out of bed for feedings, for our family it is just such a natural thing to share sleep with our babies. I admit I adore this time when we cuddle up and sleep together...Aspen scoots her little body right up next to mine, turns on her side, and her little hands and arms wrap around mine as we sleep. It is especially nice to have this special connection time since she has an older brother she shares us with during the day.
-She rolls over (tummy to back). This happened first at 10 weeks. (We still need to get some video added...)
-She laughs. Her first real, intentional laugh (she often giggles in her sleep) was last week when one of Sawyer's lego "towers" came tumbling down a few feet in front of her. She was on her tummy. I'm not sure if it kinda startled her into a laugh or for some reason it tickled her funny bone and she burst out laughing. Today she started laughing when we were reading "The Little Engine That Could" and it got to the top of the mountain and all were shouting "hooray, hooray!" She thought it was funny. It was so dang cute to hear her burst out laughing!
-She loves to watch her big brother. Do anything. And everything. Her eyes follow him around the room, and even when he doesn't notice (though I try to call his attention to it) she smiles with glee at the things he does.
-Her big brother loves her. It is so sweet to see Sawyer interact with his baby sister. He tries desperately to share with her and we often find his little cars and trains beside her in the bouncy seat or swing. He "shows" her all of his animals and toys, and recently we all lay on our backs on the floor for story time and enjoy reading all together. We have been lucky in that all he has shown her is love. Perhaps any jealousy will show up later?
-She likes tummy time and really likes the "Jungle Gym". Sawyer likes doing these activities with her, briefly, before he moves on to more exciting things. It is cute to see the two, side by side, in the Jungle Gym. She is starting to get more control of her hands and tries to bat at the little animals dangling before her.
-She likes to suck on things. Lately, it is her hands/fingers. It makes me laugh to think I forbade the "binky" for Sawyer. He never cared. But she had her first suck on one in the hospital during her hearing exam, and she's been an addict ever since. She's such a Binky Baby. Although I think "binky" is such a weird name for a pacifier. So I call it her "bink-a". Probably just as bad, but oh well! It's more fun to say! I think we'll see if she'll trade in the binka for her fingers in the next few weeks...
-She enjoys the outdoors. And that's good because she will be seeing a lot more as the weather gets even warmer and more predictable.
-She "talks". Yes, she talks a lot, and is getting quite loud. She coos and sings and is having a great time experimenting with her voice. It's a lot of fun to have a "conversation" with her. And Sawyer thinks it's just too funny. When she starts making noises, he starts laughing and says "talking, talking!" Well, she is. We just don't quite know exactly what she's talking all about...yet.
-She is a very happy and "easy" baby. She's just not fussy. Well, if any baby gets too hungry they get a little fussy, but besides the normal "communication" cries - ie. wet diaper, hungry, give me some attention...she is easy as pie. It is our joke that she does 3 things: Sleeps, Smiles, and
-She Spits Up. Yes, she is still the Spit Up Queen! But it's gettin' better ;)
That's what she's up to lately. Even all those words can't sum up her sweetness, though. We love her madly!