This was a big week for us.  Two firsts for our beautiful little girl.  Annabelle has officially gotten her first virus and has a full-fledge cold.  On our flight back from Florida I heard a few extra coughs and I had a feeling she might be getting something.  By Sunday night she had a legitimate cough and runny noise.  Annabelle’s cold did make it a little harder to get anything done.  Because she was so congested at the beginning of the week she didn’t like lying down for vary long and wanted to be held a lot.  I feel so bad for our bean but she was still in good spirits and this hasn’t slowed her down a bit.  I guess these little viruses last 7-10 days so I’m crossing my fingers and hope it’ll be gone by Christmas.

And, drumroll please, she officially rolled over (and hasn’t stopped since).  She can only roll over from her back to front so when she rolls over, after a few minutes, she gets tired and then gets upset.  We turn her over to her back and after a few seconds she rolls over again and the whole process starts over.

Annabelle went to visit Santa this week.  Her first time meeting the big guy was a success but we’ll see how future visits go (picture coming soon).  Seeing Santa was also a big moment for Dusty and I.  It’s at times like these that we realize we’ve joined this whole new group of people.  We’re parents! Yes, I understand that this shouldn’t be a surprise but it’s as though we’re so busy with the nitty-gritty little parts of life that sometimes we forget what the bigger picture looks like.  We’ve been just a couple for so long and then this week we were standing in line to see Santa with all of these other parents, these people that we now have something in common with!

Annabelle has been amazed by her hands for a while now and really enjoys gnawing on them.  This week she’s found another limb, her feet.  If she’s not eating her hands, she’s trying to grab her feet.  It’s so adorable to watch her grab her feet as she examines them so very seriously (as you can see from above).  Then all of a sudden she’ll see her hands and let go of her feet.  Then it’s time to examine her hands, moving them slowly in front of her face like they’re a foreign object and checking them out before stuffing them into her mouth.

Sleep.  It’s not so good this week or it’s not as good as it has been.  I’m not sure if it’s a growth spurt or the cold or a combination of both or something else but Annabelle’s waking up an extra time or two each night.  She’ll go to be at 7:30pm and then wake up between 10pm and midnight, again at 3am and then at 5am.  Most of the time she’s smacking her lips, wanting to nurse.  It’s exhausting and I’m hoping it’s not something that won’t continue for much longer because it makes for an extra tired mommy and daddy.

I know Annabelle will want to be hundreds of different things as she’s growing up.  I’m sure she’ll want to be a princess, a doctor, a teacher, a mom and so many other ridiculous and not so ridiculous things but it’s fun start thinking now.  One day I asked Dusty what he thought she should do when she grows up.  After a fun little discussion we’ve decided, until she can tell us what she’s wants to be, that she’s going to be the top scientist in her field.  We’ll leave it up to her to decide what kind of scientist she wants to be!

It’s the week before Christmas and I haven’t gotten a darn thing done.  Life before a baby, being a teacher (and this being finals week and the start of my vacation), I would have the house completely ready for the holidays, laundry and housework caught up, gifts bought and wrapped, happy hours with girlfriends I haven’t seen in a while and sewing projects started.  I’ve only slightly started on all of these things and instead of happy hours I’m meeting my friends at their house or mine!  I haven’t checked the mail in two weeks (and I love checking the mail)!  One of these days I’ll get used to being a mother and be able to manage more than one thing at a time again.  Thank goodness for family.  Both grandmas babysat this week so I could get some laundry done and go to a doctor’s appointment.

Our little Annabelle is officially 16 weeks old and almost four months.  She’ll be four months old December 23.  These weeks not technically working out to a full month are starting to catch up.  Week 16 went extremely fast and with the holidays approaching I’m feeling the rush to get things accomplished, including this post (today is actually the beginning of week 18 so I thought I’d better finish this post so I can finish working on week 17’s update).

We spent week 16 on Sanibel Island.  It’s a beautiful little island, approximately 12 miles long and 5 miles wide, off the west coast of Florida near Fort Meyers.  More than half the island is made up of wildlife refuges and the beaches are known for their beautiful seashells.  We went with Dusty’s family and had a wonderful and relaxing time.  The weather was perfect, sunny and in the low 80s all week.  And because we were on the beach all week I thought it would be appropriate to take her weekly picture at the beach.

It’s hard to know how a three and a half month old will travel but Annabelle was wonderful.  And a major reason why she was so wonderful is because we had such great family around that wanted to help.  Annabelle was a good little passenger on the airplane with minimal crying.  On the way out we had grandma and great-grandma to help entrain so that was really nice.  And on our flight home she slept most of the time.

Annabelle loved the fresh air and being on the beach.  She also loved all of the attention she got from us all.  I was actually a little afraid to bring her home because I knew she’d miss everyone playing with her and all of the excitement going on.

She slept like a champ.  With such eventful days filled with an ocean breeze she went to sleep early and woke up for one quick feeding before going back to bed.  She’d wake up around 5am for another feeding and then get up for good around 6:30am for her daily walk.  Annabelle’s grandma Jane or Aunt Diane took her for a walk while the sun was rising everyday.  Annabelle had a lot of fun and Dusty and I got a couple extra hours of sleep.

Annabelle really slobbers now.  She still gnawing on her hands and loves to eat her thumb.  No teeth yet though.  She’s still not rolling over quite yet.  She’s so close.  She pretty much rolls over but just can’t quite get her arm moved to make it count.  Her goos and gurgles are becoming louder and stronger and you can most definitely see she’s producing more sounds than she was before.  I still can’t believe how alert she is and how she watches everything that’s going on.  Sometimes I look at her and just see that little brain working as hard as it can to figure out this so called world of ours.

The week was perfect.  Dusty worked with an ocean view everyday and still found time to relax a little.  I was able to take walks on the beach and get a bit of a suntan before we left.  Dusty and I ran on the beach together a few days and even went on a little dinner date.  The trip reminded me a lot of our time in Paris.  I forget how nice it is to get away from the day-to-day stuff that fills up our life and to spend time with family.

This post is coming just a few days late.  Oh how the days go by so fast.  Life was busy before Annabelle but now days can go by and I have a hard time remembering what we did.  Some days we won’t do anything at all but it’ll seem like the busiest day of the week.  I think that’s how life goes with children.  This week did go fast though.  Work was busy, one of my busiest of the semester and then there were so many things we had going on at home.  I put up our Christmas trees (three to be exact) and then we were getting ready for a family trip to Florida (yes, I’m writing this post from the beach) as well as prepping for my annual holiday cookie exchange.  We’re getting really excited for Christmas (or maybe it’s just me) and Annabelle’s outfit this week is just the beginning of holiday attire we have to help get everyone in the holiday spirit.

This week Annabelle continued to go to bed early and wake up a couple of times during the middle of the night.  It was nice that she was going to bed at 7:30pm so I could get things done but waking up at midnight, then 3am, and then getting up for the day at 5am was a bit tiring.  Wednesday afternoon I even took a nap right along with Annabelle to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Annabelle loves our tomfoolery.  We stick out our tongues and make funny faces while she smiles and giggles.  We’ll do about anything to make her smile.  She also loves looking at herself in the mirror.  I’ve read that she won’t realize it’s her own face in the mirror until age two or three but right now she’s just fascinated by that smiling face looking at her.

We love that Annabelle gets to spend so much time with family and friends.  I can’t tell you enough how nice it is to have family close by.  In addition to Thanksgiving last week and having a lot of family around then, most weeks we see family at least once or twice.  She’s not afraid to go to anyone and she loves playing with anyone who’s willing (and I hope these things don’t change).

So this week I cried while reading a book to Annabelle.  I’ve always been an emotional person but to cry reading a children’s book!?!  It’s called Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You.  This little lady has absolutely captured my heart and I can’t imagine my life without her!

And here are a few other weekly trends that continue.  Annabelle loves trying to “stand.”  She’ll stand on our laps, doing squats and building those leg muscles while we hold her.  We’re still working on rolling over.  She’s so close but not quite there.  She’s also continuing to gnaw on her hands.  I think this might be the very beginning of her teething phase 1.

Another week has come and gone.  Annabelle officially turned three months at the beginning of the week (even though she hit three months when last’s week update was posted).  I also returned from my work conference trip.  It’s so good to be home.  We had a fun-filled Thanksgiving holiday week at the Davidson household.  Oh how I love the holidays with a baby in the house.

A little more about my trip away from Annabelle now that I’m officially home.  As I mentioned last week, leading up to my leave I started getting a little emotional but once I was at the conference I stayed busy and was in work mode.  Dusty sent me plenty of pictures, videos, and updates to help make the time go fast.

Overall, it was a good trip.  When I returned home I felt as though I had missed so much in those 4 short days.  She seemed to have grown and changed so much when in all reality I’m sure nothing momentous happened.  It was hard returning and having Dusty know more than I did about what was going on.  Since Annabelle’s been born, I’ve been the one that spends the majority of time with her and I was a bit jealous of Dusty knowing more about our little lady than I did (I’m going to have to get used to someone else knowing just as much or more than me when Annabelle goes to daycare full-time in January).  It took me a day or so to feel like things were back to normal and for us all to get back into our typical family routine.  It’s good to be home and I don’t look forward to my next trip away (potentially in the spring).

Annabelle’s a fabulous little eater.  She’s growing like a weed.  I don’t know why I worried so much about her taking a bottle while I was gone.  No need to worry.  And since I’ve gotten home it seems our little lady is having a 3-month growth spurt.  She wants to eat all the time.  She loves her food though and I’m excited to go to our 4-month check-up to see what the doctor says about feeding her solid food.

Because of Annabelle’s growth spurt and with the holiday, Annabelle hasn’t been sleeping very well.  Her naps have been short and few, which has more to do with having family and friends around to keep her occupied than anything else.  And the last few nights she’s been waking up more than just for her usual one-time 3am feeding time.  She’s catching up on sleep though.  As I type this, Annabelle’s taking a nap and has been sleeping for 3 hours.  Yay!  It’s so peaceful and nice for Dusty and I to be able to get things done.

Annabelle loves sticking her hands in her mouth and more specifically eating her thumbs.  She’s not sucking on her thumb but gnawing at it.  I know some babies at this age are teething but she’s not fussy or showing any signs of pain.

Our smiley little lady.  She’s so much fun! Mornings are still our favorite time of day.  Dusty and I snuggle with her in bed and talk to her.  It’s the perfect time because neither of us is busy quite yet and Annabelle is so happy to see us.  She gives us the biggest smiles.  It’s the perfect start to the day.

Oh that pacifier, how she tricks me into believing she likes it one day and then goes back to hating it again.  When I returned from DC she loved her pacifier for about 24 hours and then that was the end of that.  I should be happy that she doesn’t care for it because I don’t have to worry about it becoming a bad habit but I also think it would be helpful in soothing her when she’s not hungry.

I read about all of these babies who are on almost perfect schedules already and it makes me hopeful that we’ll be there soon (I’m trying to be a half-glass full kind of mom).  I wish we were in a better routine but it hasn’t happened quite yet.  I’ve said it before but I think it has a lot to do with me being home during the work week two or three days and then having a nanny and family the other two or three days (and then of course, not always being at home on the weekends to set a good schedule).  I’m not overly worried about getting into a perfect routine and there’s no rush but I excited for our winter break to start so I can really work on a better routine for us both.

Our dear Annabelle is almost three months old.  I’ve started to notice that our little lady is really starting to talk.  Okay, maybe not talk but she’s really showing us that she can hear us.  When Dusty and I are talking to her, she’s smiling, looking at us and replying with little gurgles and coos.  I know she’s soaking in all of the things we say so we’re always describing what’s going on, reading, and singing to her.  Research says babies who are extensively spoken to have significantly higher IQs and bigger vocabularies when they get older so we’re starting as early as we can!!!

Nothing momentous happened this week in her development (unless it happened while I was away).  We’re still working on rolling over and she’s so very close.  You can tell she’s just soaking it all in. Her head swings left and right frantically, trying to look at everything she can.  She’s still swatting at things but is grasping onto things a little more everyday.  Hair pulling is coming soon.

Annabelle is our happy little bean (unless she’s distressed about taking a bottle or napping).  She’s just so much fun to have around the house and I’m so excited for the holidays.  Thanksgiving is next week and that means I can put up the Christmas tree and all of our decorations.  I’ve always loved decorating for the holidays but this being Annabelle’s first Christmas makes it so much more fun.  I know she’s not going to be able to open presents or write a letter to Santa but I know those things will come soon enough.

This week was a big first for me as a new mom.  I had a conference in Washington, DC and had to be away from Annabelle for three nights and four days.  After Annabelle was born I was pretty much an emotional wreak those first couple of weeks (as are most new moms) when I was getting no sleep and my hormones were ragging but since then I’ve been great.  Even when I went back to work I felt good and was happy that I went back when I did.  But the days leading up to this trip were hard; I was getting emotional at the drop of a hat.  I would watch a video or read an article or look at pictures someone posted on Facebook and start getting teary-eyed.  I would start thinking about leaving for my trip and my heart would ache.    I knew I would miss her but wow, I hadn’t even left.

I’ve never gotten this sad to be away from home.  The new emotions of having a child are most definitely happening. The question is, does it get easier?  I’m sure the answer is “yes” and “no”.  I don’t have any guilt leaving Annabelle with our parents or even my sister for the evening but it sure was hard to leave knowing I wouldn’t be home that same night.

This week milk was a big topic in the Davidson household.  First because Annabelle continues to be a tad bit finicky about taking a bottle.  It is a testament to how things change week to week.  She was so good for those first three weeks I went back to work but when we really needed her to like the bottle she all of a sudden questioned taking it.

Leading up to me leaving we tried to exclusively bottle feed her (excluding her nighttime feeding) knowing she had some issues last week.  About 75 percent of the time we had no issues but then there was at least a couple times she’d refuse it.  After trying everything we discovered the best thing to do was to just set the bottle down and come back 10, 20, or 30 minutes later and try again.  While we were waiting for time to pass we played with her, walked her around the apartment, or bounced her in her baby bouncer.  Sometimes she even fell asleep.  I asked Dusty how everything went for those days that I was gone and he said that she took the bottle just fine and was always hungry.  So, for now, no problems!

The second reason milk was a big topic is that while I was in DC I continued to pump.  Thank goodness for friends who have gone through this already and could give me the low down.  In the end I was lucky to have my own hotel room (something that only happened because my two roommates had emergencies and couldn’t come), requested a mini-fridge, brought a nifty cooler with ice pack, and came across very nice airport security.  And wow, did I bring a lot of milk home (over 100 ounces).  It’s amazing to see how much milk Annabelle drinks every day (and how much I produce to keep up).  Everything worked out just fine but I’m glad to be home so Annabelle and I can get back into our routine!

I mentioned a couple weeks back that Annabelle had discovered her hands, and well, now she’s absolutely fascinated with them.  She’s constantly trying to put them both in her mouth at once, suck on them, and examine them thoroughly.

What’s Annabelle up to this week?  Well, she likes watching Dusty’s computer when he’s working.  She and I will be playing and I’ll notice that she’ll no longer have any interest in me but is staring at Dusty’s hands moving on the keyboard and whatever’s on the screen.  She’s becoming much more interactive.  When Dusty or I talk to her you can tell she’s paying more attention to us.  If she makes a noise we’ll try to imitate it or just make sounds back.  And I love it when she continues to talk back or gives us one of those big smiles in return.  She’s not a chatterbox yet but she is starting to find her voice.  We’ve noticed that when she wakes up in the middle of the night or from a nap or just isn’t happy that her cries are noticeably louder.

We’re really working with Annabelle on tummy-time and trying to encourage her to rollover.  I’m not sure if rolling over is in her immediate future but she is getting really good at lifting her head and holding it up while lying on her stomach and back.  And she’s really good at holding her head while we’re holding her or when she sitting (with our help).

Annabelle’s becoming a little human being with likes and dislikes.  This week we discovered that Annabelle no longer likes all of her bottles.  We have three or four different kinds of bottles and after a couple days of eating issues with daddy, the nanny, and Grandma Jane, she only likes two of the bottles.  It seems that she also likes her milk really warm and not just lukewarm.  Or, she just decided to really hate taking a bottle for 48 hours.  After a couple of worrisome days and having to leave early from a dinner out with friends everything is fine.  We have been trying to feed her from a bottle more often though just to make sure she doesn’t have any more issues.  I’m leaving for a conference next week and I’d hate for her to decide she only wanted mommy while I’m several states away.

She’s growing fast and fits comfortably in her 3-month clothes.  I can’t believe that she’ll be wearing 6-month clothes in no time at all.  The dress and tights is one of my favorite outfits right now.  And the pajamas below are another one of my favorites.  They have magnetic buttons instead of snaps.  So easy to work.  I love taking pictures each week but this week especially.  I caught her after a couple of good naps when she was really smiley and was able to capture some good pictures.  She smiles all the time but I can’t always get them on camera because she moves around a lot and then the photos tend to be out of focus.  Those smiles just melt my heart though!