Second Cold-December 23, 2011-December 30, 2011

You started feeling bad earlier in the week but were not running a fever so I didn't take you to the doctor.  One afternoon I was changing your diaper and felt you and you were hot, so I took your temp and it was 101.  Of course, I flipped out.  I can deal with a lot, but I DO NOT like fevers.We were on our way to run some errands at the beach but decided since we were leaving tomorrow to go out of town, we better take you to the doctor just in case.  And especially since we had just been to the doctor the week before, I didn't want to take any chances.  They pricked your poor little finger, which you screamed, and said that you just had something viral.  Dr. gave me a perscription to take with us just in case you weren't better and he told us to rotate ibuprofen and tylenol to help your fever.  He said to give it until the day after Christmas and if you weren't cleared up to start the antibiotic.  By this evening you were more stuffy than earlier.  We have suctioned your nose so much, which you hate!  You are just pitiful.

You continued with a runny nose for a few days.  You had a slight cough, but nothing to worry about.  You weren't better by the day after Christmas so we started the antibiotic.  This seemed to help, although it made you really sleepy!   

You were better by the end of the week!  The zithromax really helped clear you up!  And thank goodness because you are normally such a good, content baby, but this week, you were not!  I'd take being sick any day over you!

Christmas Day 2012

HAPPY FIRST CHRISTMAS BABY GIRL!!!!  We spent the night with PawPaw last night.  You got up around 7am to eat. After you ate we took you to see what Santa had brought you! This morning will offer so much more excitement the older you get but we sure enjoyed ourselves!

Ready to see what Santa brought!

Books, clothes, and a jumper!!

Outfits from Paw Paw

We ate breakfast with Pawpaw and then got ready and headed to have the Hellams Family Christmas for lunch. 

After lunch, we went to the Shealy family Christmas and eventually ended up at Cak's house tonight to open presents and to see what Santa brought at her house!

Presents from Cak

Santa came to Cak's house!

LOVED laying under the tree and looking at the ornaments and lights!

Our first Christmas as a family of 3!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE you! To the moon and back!

We had a wonderful first Christmas together!  And to top it off, you got to sleep with us tonight in a big girl bed!  SOO ROTTEN and we are loving every minute of spoiling you!  We cannot wait until Christmas next year and in years to come when we can instill in you the true meaning of Christmas.  We know Christmas isn't about presents, but time with family and celebrating Jesus's birth and we cannot wait for you to join in our excitement during this time of year!

Merry Christmas our princess! 

Christmas Eve 2011

Today was your first Christmas Eve.  Since we are leaving for Walhalla tonight, your Daddy and I got up early to celebrate Christmas with just us and you.  Santa of course came last night!!  I know you don't know anything that's going on, but we have had so much fun today with you!  Your Daddy and I decided to each by you a present.  He picked out his present and I picked out mine and then he opened your present from me and I opened your present from him. 

Present from Daddy (left) and Mommy (right)

Daddy got you a lady bug pillow pet!  We call you our doodlebug and this was the closest thing he could find!

Mommy got you your first cabbage patch doll and she's named after you!

Daddy's first Daddy ornament!

Mommy's presents from you and Daddy!

Favorite present you got me!!

Daddy's presents from you and mommy!

Your presents from us!  And you'll have to wait to see what Santa brings!

After we got finished with presents, we cooked breakfast together and then got the car loaded up to travel to Walhalla tonight.  We then went to your Nana and Papas to have Christmas with them and Aunt Kati. 

 We had dinner with Nana, Papa, and Aunt Kati, opened presents and enjoyed the afternoon together.  We took you home around 8:30 for your bath, fixed you a bottle and got on the road around 9 for Walhalla.  You were asleep within minutes of being on the road and slept most of the way! 

We had a wonderful first Christmas Eve with you!!  We cannot wait for you to be excited about Christmas Eve in years to come!  Santa will definitely be spoiling you rotten!  We love you our princess!

Reading with Mommy December 23, 2011

Every night, before you go to bed, we read a book.  Since Thanksgiving we have been reading Christmas books.  I have so many sweet and cute Christmas books from w hen I was little and I have enjoyed getting to read them to you.  I can't wait for you to be able to pick out your favorites to read one day!

Christmas Outfits

Just a few of all your oh, 20 Christmas outfits.  I didn't get a picture of each one, but you had a different outfit for everyday with the exception of just a few days. 

First cold-December 17, 2012

You have been in daycare for 3 full weeks now and we've managed to bypass getting sick...until your LAST 3 days there!  You decided early one Friday morning to get a 100 temperature.  You have had a slight runny nose but no fever until this morning.  I stayed home from work because I didn't want you having to be around any other little kids.  I ended up taking you to the doctor and they said it was just a something viral and to let it run it's course.  This is the first time you've been "sick" and I'd much rather Daddy or I be sick than you.  I don't like seeing you feel well.  I'm hoping you are better by next week! 

Breakfast with Santa-December 17, 2011

Your Daddy and I took you to eat with breakfast with Santa today!  You were a little too young but some of your cousins wanted to go so we went with them.  We probably won't take you back until you actually know what Santa is and understand the concept, but we did have a good time! I can't wait until you get to go and be excited to see Santa!

3 Months Old-December 9, 2011

Time if flying by!  It just seems like yesterday you were born and now you are officially 3 months old! Your Daddy and I both took off work today so that we could spend the day with you!  We always take off one day during the month of December to spend the day doing our Christmas shopping and we thought today would be perfect!  We left around 10am and headed to the beach.  You were a little ANGEL!  Well, when are you not?  You don't cry unless you are hungry, wet, or tired.  And then, I wouldn't even classify it as a cry...more like a little sheep baaaing!  We had lunch at Texas Roadhouse before our shopping trip officially began.  We dressed you in one of your cute Christmas outfits (1 of about 20 you have altogether!)  Everyone we passed by or came in contact with thought you were just the prettiest baby they have ever seen!  They couldn't believe how good you were being in stores!   You love your stroller and are now big enough to sit up in it verses laying back.  You are quite the nosey little monkey and want to see everything around you!  We shopped for a total of 8 hours and not one time did you cry!  You took naps in your stroller, we carried you around, and you spent a lot of time just watching us pick out Christmas gifts for our family!  This is the one time of the year that your Daddy and I LOVE buying for our parents!  And now YOU!!!  I have to say, you're going to be one spoiled little 3 1/2 month old on Christmas morning when you get your first Santa!  I made Daddy take you out of a few stores today so that I could purchase a few items for you!  Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year but having you now makes it even more fun and special!  We don't want you to grow up too quick, but we are excited for what Christmas will be like as you get older! I want to instill in you the greatfulness and the true spirit of Christmas.  Yes, I do enjoy buying presents for our parents and your Aunt Kati, but I want you to know Christmas for the sweet spirit that is in the air during the month of December and for the reason that we celebrate.  The birth of Jesus because without him, you wouldn't be part of our lives today!  After 8 hours, we only have a few more gifts to purchase for our parents and we will be finished! 

When we got home from our little shopping trip, you got your nightly bath, fed and drifted off to sleep!  You are such a good baby!  We are so blessed to have you in our lives.  Shopping trips have always been fun with just the 2 of us, but it was even more special this year because we were able to show you off to many strangers! 

3 month highlights:

• You have found your hands and toes.   You will grab at your toes occassionally and have started sucking on your fingers some....I'm hoping this doesn't continue because Mommy doesn't NOT want a thumb sucker! 
• You now smile at most anything.  For a while, you would smile and while some thought you were smiling at them, it was really just the occassional mishap that they caught you smiling.  But now, you smile when we talk to you, play with you, etc.  You are such a happy baby!
• You are most definitely on a schedule and I prefer to keep it that way!  You get up around 5 every morning to eat.  You eat every 4 hours, take a nap in between feedings, but are up a majority of the day now.  You will sleep for hours upon hours in my arms, but the second I put you down for a nap, you wake up within 20 minutes! 
• You LOVE LOVE LOVE your bath time!  You are now filling out the tub really well and like to try to slide down in the sling inside the tub.  You think you're a big girl!  You expect your bath somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30 each night.  We've gone over a few nights and you've definitely let us know it!  We finish bath time, lotion you down with Johnson and Johnson's so you smell so fresh and clean, put on our pj's eat and then you're ready for bed!  I rock you to sleep and we snuggle EVERY night for about an hour before I finally decide it's time for me to go to bed too. 
• You've started talking to us some and it's quite cute to hear you begin making little sounds!  You still LOVE your swing.  You are facinated by the mobile on the swing and are fascinated by the TV.  Anything with movement catches your eye!  The first time that you really watched the television was when Rudolph came on one evening.  You couldn't quit looking at the show and that makes me happy because Rudolph is my favorite Christmas classic!
• Lulu and Elsa are fond of you now!  Your fur sister Lulu didn't prefer you at first but she's come around to love you! Your Daddy will fuss if I let her lick your head, but she's come a long way with you and I feel like that's her way of saying she now accepts you and loves you.  In a few months when you start crawling, I'm sure you'll be in her food bowl anyway, so a little friendly kiss isn't so bad now and then. Plus, I feel like if I continue to fuss at her every time she's around you, she's going to dislike you forever and that definitely won't be good!  Elsa, well, she still ignores you as much as she did when you came home.  As long as she is under a blanket sleeping, she could care less!
• You do NOT like an unclean hiney!  The second you tinkle or poop you want your diaper changed....you get that from Mommy! No, I don't tinkle and poop in my pants, but I don't like to feel unclean in certain places either!  I'm sure you'll hear many stories one day about me wanting to keep clean in certain areas!
• You are still sleeping in your pack n play beside my side of the bed.  We sleep well at night but I like just knowing you are there!  The only time you wake up is if you have a wet diaper in the middle of the night!  Then, I just give you a  paci (which we have decided we are going to call your doodle-bug) and you drift off to sleep!
• You still sleep through the night, thank goodness!  Now that you have proven you can do that so well, I don't get up to feed you anymore!  The doodle-bug does the trick to get you back to sleep!
• If you happen to wake up when I lay you down at night, you LOVE watching the mobile we bought that projects a picture on the ceiling.  It rotates through different images and you love watching it!  It usually puts you right back to sleep.  Daddy like to listen to the music play when it's on as well! 

You didn't have to have a 3 month wellness check up...thank goodness we bypassed shots again until next month!  I assume you are about 14.5 pounds now and have grown a little in height!  You are wearing 3 month clothes exactly, although in the next few weeks I'm going to have to move you up to 6 month sleepers.  For some reason when I dry them, they shrink in length.  Your regular clothes do not do that. 

We are still over the moon with you.  We can't get enough snuggle time with you after work each day!  I cannot wait to be home with you during the day.  Only a few more days....12 to be exact and then it's Mommy and Maribelle time all day everyday!  We are enjoying watching you grow and learn new things!  We are so thankful that you are such a happy baby!  We love you to pieces and we thank God for you everyday!