Getting active

Anne is starting to get really active!  She is kicking and punching everything that is even close to her!  She loves the Shipman's bouncer (they loaned us)...especially the monkey toy that is hanging from the bar!  That monkey makes her laugh and smile SOOO much!  :)

She also loves to grab her bib and burp cloth now! 

I got her these wrist rattles...and they are too cute!  I put them on her wrists and sometimes her ankles and she is starting to realize they make noises!

She has been really interested in sitting up. She can't really hold her body there for long...but she likes to sit up and watch things going on! She even likes to chill in Kris' theater recliners!

I think she is also beginning to realize her feet are attached to her.  She has reached for them a few times already!  :)  And, she definitely stares at them quite a bit.  I put her kick piano in the car on the seat her carseat is on. She loves staring at it when I'm driving, and kicking it! She has also started reaching down and trying to grab her diaper when we are changing her...that's going to get messy one of these times!  This past weekend, while John and Teri were visiting, Anne finally realized that she likes her hand/fingers better than her pacifier.  We would put her pacifier in, she would spit it out and put her hand in instead!  Sometimes she would try to fake me out and pretend that she was looking over her shoulder...and then she would jam her hand in her mouth!!!  HA!  So...I've been much more vigilant about replacing her hand with the pacifier. 
 
Anne has been exploring her little voice, too!  She's been making all sorts of cute noises!  She does more and more "talking", laughing, and other cute noises! 

Portrait Innovations Pictures are up...

I uploaded the pictures from the Portrait Innovations appointment.  Click HERE to see more!

Lots of good 2 months news!

On her 2 month birthday, Kris bought a new car for us!  Here is a picture of it, but you can see more HERE. 

On Tuesday, she had some pictures done at PORTRAIT INNOVATIONS.  Here's one of the pictures... I'll post some more in a couple days.  But...they were amazing!  She did great, too!  She didn't cry or fuss the entire 2 hour appointment!  She did fall asleep the last 15 minutes though!  Afterwards, we went to North Point to visit some friends!  It was great to see everyone and Anne got lots of attention!  Later that day, my parents came up to visit, which was especially great since Kris was out of town and they were able to give me a little break so I could get some things done around the house! 

Yesterday, Anne had her 2 month check up!  She weighs 12 lbs, 1 oz.  She is 22 inches long.  Her head is 15 inches.  The doctor was very pleased with how she is doing!  She also got 2 big vaccinations and some rotovirus drops.  She took the shots like a champ...even though it broke my heart to see and hear her scream like that!  But...she didn't seem to be in too much pain the rest of the day.  Our pediatrician suggested that both Kris and I get the Tdap vaccination (Tetanus, Diptheria, Pertussis) so we are scheduled to do that on Wednesday. 

2 months old

What a way for Anne to "celebrate" her 2 month birthday!  ...

• We had to go to the pediatrician this morning because she has a diaper rash that won't go away.  It looks pretty bad and she was in pain.  She spent most of yesterday either screaming or sleeping on my chest.  Turns out she has a Strep infection.  :(  I feel horrible.  I know diaper rashes are a common occurence...but I still feel horrible.  After the rash clears up, I am going to do things very differently with her bum.  Thankfully, she has stopped screaming in pain.  We've temporarily discountined using wipes and Desitin.  We are using a squirt bottle of water, wet wash cloth, Vaseline, and a special ointment from the doctor...and at least 2 hours of NBT (naked bottom time).  Our doctor also gave her some antibiotics... I never knew there was so much to babies bums!  In any case, now I know...   At her appointment this morning, she weighed in at 12 pounds 5 ounces.  She did have a shirt and pants on, though...
• So....yesterday was a rough day for me.  Anne was doing pretty good until about 11AM.  And then from 11 AM-the end of the day, she was miserable.  She cried/screamed whenever she was awake.  She would only sleep on my chest or in my arms.  She would wake up screaming if I put her down.  By the time Kris got home from work I was close to a meltdown.  Then the night brought more excitement.  During her late night and middle of the night diaper changes, she soaked through a changing pad, a couple receiving blankets, TWO sleepers, and spit up all over another one.  And then...in the middle of the night I woke up to Oreo throwing up on the bed right next to me.  So...we had to change the ENTIRE bedding, including the mattress pad.  And then of course...we had to be up and out of the houes by 8:45 AM for her pediatrician appointment.  I'm definitely going to need a power nap today.  
• On a positive note, she's been enjoying looking at books and toys.  She sometimes will hit her activity mat toys.  She has been able to grab her pacifier...but I don't think she really knows what she is doing with it.  :)  She's also been smiling a whole heck of a lot!  She'll smile in response to our smiles, if she likes something we do...and when we walk into the room.  She can sit in her bumbo...but she doesn't like to do so for very long.  She's still building up those neck muscles!  She does love to roll over!  She can roll from tummy to back and recently she has been trying to roll back to tummy.  She's been making lots of cute little noises...we sometimes have nice little "conversations."  She also has started to respond to me sticking my tongue out at her-she'll stick hers out at me in response!  HA!  She also loves her pacifier!  She sometimes gets so excited that she grunts and pumps her hands and legs!  And she LOVES LOVES LOVES sucking on her hands! 
• Physically, she's getting pretty sturdy.  Her legs are really strong.  Her eyelashes has gotten SO long, thick and black!  They are gorgeous!!!  Her eyes are starting to darken.  Her belly button, which has been an outie since her umbilical cord fell off has gone in considerably!  Her hair has gotten long and thick enough that I need to comb it after her bath! 
• We have been slowly establishing a good routine.  I've been keeping a spreadsheet (color coded by category OF COURSE) that tracks her sleep, eating, and awake periods.  I feel like we are getting into a good rhythm.  She tends to follow the same nap schedule every day and "enjoys" our activity times. 
• Kris is looking at cars, as I type this.  He's been working himself into the ground trying to get the perfect car...I hope he finds it so he can get some R&R soon!  I think it's down to the Nissan Murano and Ford Edge...

8 weeks

I blinked and all of a sudden our baby is 8 weeks old!  WOAH! We've had a full week...

• We have been looking for a new car.  Kris has been researching and test driving a bunch of family cars.  We have it narrowed down and (as I type this) Kris is going to Annapolis to see a car we are considering.  He has done an AMAZING job reading reviews and exploring lots of different options.  I think we are down to three cars:  Nissan Murano, Acura CX-9, and Ford Edge.  I've driven the Murano and CX-9 but not the Edge yet.  I was really surprised how comfy the Murano was!!!  So...hopefully in the next couple of weeks we'll have a better family car!  :)
• Anne sat in her Bumbo for the first time!  I can't believe she is already able to do that!  She's not a HUGE fan of it yet, but I think she is starting to enjoy the freedom! 

• She is becoming obsessed with sucking on hands and fingers.  :)  We don't want her to get into thumb sucking, but it sure is cute to watch her explore!  She also likes tasting our arms, chin, and whatever body part happens to be nearby!  She even tried to get a stuffed animal in her mouth!  :) 
• I had my first OB appointment since the delivery.  I checked out just fine.  I've lost 25 pounds so far...I am aiming to lose another 30....oh gosh that sounds harder now that I've written it down.  I got the OK to start exercising, which is good.  Everything checked out fine in my appointment.  They didn't have an answer to why I had hemorrhaged so bad after delivery and don't know if I will have complications next time we deliver. 
• We went up to see the Olexia's new baby girl, Lilian Jane!  They were in the SAME postpartum room we were in!  How weird is that?  Lily is absolutely gorgeous...and I couldn't believe that our little Anne had been that tiny just 8 weeks ago! 
• Anne's been finding a schedule these days and that is helping me out a lot.  I'm starting to be able to get things done and make plans.  We did have some concern on Saturday, though.  She slept from 11:30 Friday night-3:30 Saturday afternoon.  She woke up when she was hungry...but that was it.  I made my first pediatrician call!  They were really helpful and she is fine.  Everyone was telling me that it was a growth spurt.  We were worried that she might not sleep Saturday night and that we were in for a rough night...but she slept just fine!  At night, she sleeps 4-5 hours between feedings.  
• She has started reacting to smiles!  She will usually smile back when we smile at her.  She also reacts with smiles if we do something she likes.  Kris was giving her kisses on her ear and she just loved that!  She had big smiles! 
• She is also starting to react to toys.  Sometimes she tries to reach for them, but can't quite figure that out.  She has started hitting at toys.  If you move a noisy toy in front of her, she'll follow it with her eyes. 
• She also follows Kris and I if we leave a room.  It's neat to see her head and eyes follow along as one of us leaves! 
• I've been using our video monitor during the day naps this week.  This monitor is awesome....if you are ever looking for one, I highly recommend the Summer Video Monitor. 
• She's also starting to make lots of new little noises!  They are sooo cute! 

Check out our picture website to see more pics/videos. 

ANNE ROLLED OVER!!!

Oh my gosh!  Anne rolled over.  Yesterday we were laying on the bed (and it's pretty firm) and she rolled over from her tummy to back.  I figured it was because the bed surface was soft so I didn't think anything of it. 

Then, TODAY, we were doing tummy time and I was taking video with my cell phone for my mom and mother in law to show them Anne doing her little push ups.  All of a sudden, she rolled over!  I didn't believe it, so I put her back on her tummy.  She rolled over.  I did it again...she rolled over.  On the fourth attempt, I got the video camera!  OMG!!!!!

Here's the video from my cell of her FIRST roll over.

Here's the video from our camera of her FOURTH roll over!

Success in the Nodianos home!

So...we tried a NEW sleeping arrangement.  We moved the cradle swing upstairs next to the bed because Anne seemed to like sleeping in that.  It was a brilliant idea!  She started sleeping 3-4 hours at a time on Wednesday night!  And then on Friday night she slept for 5 hours!  YAY!

Thursday, we went for another walk with the Ships.  I decided not to use the stroller and use the baby front carrier instead.  She loved it!  She slept the whole time.  I had brought Oreo on our walk today...he didn't last very long!  About 30 minutes into the walk he just stopped in the middle of the road and laid down.  He would go no further.  He was done.  Chad had to carry him the rest of the way!  HA! 

Later on, she was laying on her Baby Einstein activity mat for ALMOST AN HOUR!  She was just looking around!  I cooked dinner and finished folding the laundry!  It was awesome!  :) 

On Saturday, Anne and Kris went on their first walk together!  Despite Anne's longer sleep schedule, I couldn't get up to join them! 

Then before we headed off to Costco, we were hanging out and 1) she lifted and held her head up WITHOUT the use of her arms!  2) she realized Oreo was around and she was just staring at him!  and 3)we had to take the newborn adjuster out of the bouncer AND swing!  and 4) she slept in her bassinet (downstairs) for 30 minutes!  That was a new record!  :)

While we were on our way home from Costco, she was soooo interested in her surroundings!

She started doing this new thing with her tongue!  She keeps sticking it out!  Click HERE to see it.