Picture Crazy!!!

I am becoming obsessed with pictures. First, I have the beautiful pictures taken by my sister that I need to get framed and put into a book. And then I have the nearly hundreds (well maybe not hundreds, but it feels like it) of pictures that I take every day of her faces, poses, and other funny things that Irelyn does. And for those you can't just take one, I have to take like 5 shots of one face and then I just can't erase them. On top of all that I then become neurotic about keeping them safe, so I keep them on the camera, on my computer, and on Casey's computer, on picasa, and facebook =). And then it all becomes very overwhelming from there. I wonder if digital pics are actually easier...Aside from all of that, I have a handful of pictures I've taken over the last couple of weeks that highlight Irelyn's cutest and funniest looks and show a little bit about what her personality is like.

Irelyn is busy doing her tummy time. She likes to lift her head to look at her toys. That's about all the use they get so far, but they are very fun to look at. Tummy time doesn't last very long. I can't imagine it would be super comfy or fun. I know it is intended to build their neck strength, but I personally don't think I would like just being stuck there, only able to look a little bit around me until my neck got too tired.

Here she is just tuckered out from studying =)

And it's bath time- Daddy has lot's of fun with bath time. And Irelyn likes to see herself in the mirror. =)

She looks bigger and longer in this picture than I think she actually is.

Here she's chatting with two of her favorite guys =)

Irelyn loves to have her hands next to her face

In these next two pics Irelyn has wriggled her arm loose from her wombie. A wombie is an armless type of sleep sack, which is intended to mimic the womb so that babies feel nice and secure. It definitely could not have been an easy task getting that arm up, and then through the arm hole. What a stinker!

Finally, this is one of my new favorite pictures. Irelyn has always loved to stick her tongue out. She does it when she's smiling, when she's looking around, when she's talking...And recently she has started copying faces. So she'll do her tongue-sticking-out thing and I will copy her. Then, she starts to smile and will stick her tongue out too. So, we play back and forth with that for a while. But here she is, sticking her tongue out and almost posing for the camera.

Christmas shopping!

I've decided that Christmas shopping for a baby is the easiest shopping I've ever done. It's almost dangerously easy! Before I go any further, a quick disclaimer- this blog is completely devoted to the Christmas presents we are shopping for, for Irelyn and I can't imagine it would be super interesting to most people. I just kind of thought that if those far away sisters were here in town, I'd be pulling all these things out to show them when they stopped by. So, essentially this is my way of showing them these things when they or anyone "stops by." I love for anyone to read it, but I didn't want people to get to the end and wonder why on earth I filled a page about baby toys =)

So, Casey and I started shopping for Irelyn's first Christmas last week in the toy section at Target. There aren't a huge number of toys that are made for babies this age, which in reality is probably a good thing (for us). We are planning ahead though and have found a number of things to choose from to last through 1 year. The first thing we found that we thought she just had to have was the old school phone that most everyone my age had when they were growing up. Target is going old school with this line of toys so we purchased this familiar friend:

Every little kid needs a play phone! I've seen so many little ones grab their little phone and imitate their mom or dad. It's so cute and I'm excited for when Irelyn is doing the same. Of course, this phone is a rotary dial, and all we've got are cell phones. But, I think she'll get the gist of it- maybe we should throw a play cell phone in the mix later.

So that covers her social development and for her motor development we found these cool blocks to build all kinds of things with. Who doesn't love to build a tower just to knock it

over?!

And finally we found this rolly ball with all kinds of learning nooks and cranny's on it. It's perfect for little fingers to discover new shapes, feelings, and sounds. It might be one of those toys that drive mom and dad crazy after about five minutes, but I think it will be fun to watch her discover new things on it.

We are just getting started. I am finding that I overthink things just a bit and feel the need to cover all areas of development in her toys- so we have a list of things to consider. Casey especially wants this ball poppy-thing.I have to admit, it does look like fun. Not sure what the developmental areas are, but it's sure to get tons of little baby chuckles!

P.S. I have a bunch of random photos taken and will devote the next blog to those and some of the funny things Irelyn has been up to.

Thanksgiving Day

Today, Irelyn had a fun first Thanksgiving! It started out last night with her first trip to Carroll to stay at Grandpa Pat's. She was a little out of sorts, so sleeping wasn't her first choice, but she had a lot going on and was probably excited for her first turkey day. At our first Thanksgiving, Irelyn and cousin Nadia were making their debut, so Irelyn got to meet lots of great aunts, uncles, and second cousins that she had never met before. Everyone loved the both of them, and mommy hardly got to hold Irelyn throughout the day. But that is okay, all of the great aunts and cousins had a lot of fun cuddling her.

After dinner, we headed to Opa and Mima's house for our second Thanksgiving dinner. Irelyn had fun talking with both Opa and Mima and was doing a lot of "talking" back to them. Opa had fun talking to Irelyn about the things he wanted to get her for Christmas this year. I heard mention of a pony (kidding of course), but we know that she won't really need a pony because they have Leopold for her to ride when she is older. I'm sure he would love that! =) It was an altogether busy day for Irelyn. She shared lots of smiles with family members and was tuckered out at the end of the day. She's about so tired that it's been hard to give in to sleep, but Mima has the sleeping touch and has her settled down for now. Now I have to decide if she is ready to brave the Christmas crowds of Black Friday tommorrow- sometime well after noon of course!

Smiles, smiles, smiles...I caught some!!!

Irelyn has been super smiley lately and I was finally able to catch some on film! (well actually on "chip.") Her happiest times are in the morning soon after she wakes up and we are getting ready for the day. Yesterday, I was sitting with her and talking about what we were going to do during the day, how Thanksgiving was this week, and that Christmas was coming soon. During all of my rambling she was smiling away. Not only was she smiling, but she was making tons of sounds back to me, telling me her own stories I suppose. When she isn't smiling in our conversations, she takes on a pretty serious look as if she is thinking it all through. (She's very smart of course so I'm sure she's taking in all the words to say them back to me any day now ;).

Then Irelyn and I were heading to the grocery store and instead of hauling in the whole infant seat I wanted to use my sling. Well, with every new thing I do with Irelyn I get really nervous that it's going to be disastrous. I don't want to be "that mom" with "that kid" that just won't be quiet. Irelyn isn't always 100% fond of the sling, but it's such a good way to keep her close and make her feel secure so I insist on using it=)- I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to get her comfortably situated in the sling in order for her to be happy. So, I got into the back seat to get my sling on, and as I was working on it I was telling Irelyn (not really seriously, more to just hear the sound of my own voice) that she needed to behave in the grocery store and not do any screaming. And as I was going through all of my expectations I looked over and she was just grinning away, almost as if she was thinking of all of the mischief that she was going to cause in the store (either that or laughing at all my talking!). Thankfully, she isn't to that age yet to be thoughtfully naughty! =) And, in the end she was a good girl and slept through the whole trip. (Wow- that was a long description of a not really significant event!)

In other news, we've hit a rather sad point- Irelyn is starting to rub a little bald spot on the back of her head =(. I tell her not to rub her head back and forth when she's laying down, but she does it anyway. =) Maybe we need to start using more hats ;)

Starting Out

Irelyn is 7 weeks old now as of Saturday and I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by! Katie, I especially feel like I haven't kept you updated about Irelyn, so here is a little of how the last 7 weeks have been. Irelyn has really been a pretty easy baby (I thought and thought but couldn't find a better word, I really hate labeling babies good/easy or bad/difficult so that's the only time I will do it =)). She is a good sleeper and loves to eat, and pretty flexible throughout the day. For a while though it seemed like she was fussy if she wasn't eating or sleeping, and it got a little frustrating. But after reading a very insightful book, we have these tools in our pockets that have worked every time! Except for when it's time to eat, because like I said she likes to eat! Casey and I were talking tonight about her personality and the traits that we think we will continue to see and we decided that she will probably continue to be fairly laid back and we can also tell she also likes to feel connected to us and know that we are there with her. It will be so interesting to see how those things continue to show up as she grows.

Last week was a big week for Irelyn. We started the week by putting our Christmas tree up and decorating it. We are excited to celebrate our first Christmas with our new addition. We even started Christmas shopping this last weekend for her presents. Mommy and Daddy both have lists of things we want for her! =) (btw- she really doesn't look like herself in this pic to me)

Last week Irelyn also got to come along with me to my first work meeting since being out on maternity leave. As much as I would rather not work, it felt good to have something to go to. It was a very odd feeling walking on a college campus with a stroller. I don't know what gets more looks- being 8 months pregnant on campus or pushing a baby stroller. Anyhoo, Irelyn stole the show- they had fun getting to see her and she did so well! She slept through the whole meeting. I was sweating though, afraid she was going to wake up and interrupt the whole thing. I will say, I am definitely blessed to be in a child development program. Otherwise I don't think they would so readily welcome an infant in the workplace =).

Irelyn is becoming very smiley, and it is so cute to see her smile at us. She has two adorable dimples that pop out when she smiles and it is such a sweet feeling to have her smile at my antics. =) I haven't caught one in a picture yet though- her smiles are somewhat illusive, and it's also tricky to make her smile with a camera in my face- so it'll be a two person job.

She is also starting to have a lot more different facial expressions and vocal sounds than before. Her sounds are becoming more expressive (and if I didn't know better almost meaningful). There are times when Casey and I are talking to her that she opens up her mouth wide, but no sound comes out. It looks like she has so much to say back to us, but she just doesn't have the words or sounds to do it yet. Those words will come before we know it, I'm sure.

So far it has been a really good 7 weeks, and she is growing so quickly. I've really enjoyed being a mom so far, but with each week I begin to like it more and more. It is fun dressing her and taking care of her, and watching all of her developmental milestones, but at the end of the day the feeling that is the best is when she just wants to come to me to be cuddled =). There are some things moms do best I guess. =)