Happy Friday

Happy Friday indeed! Summer slept through the night for the very first time, 8pm - 5:30am.

We enjoyed the early morning hour together relaxing with a cup of coffee and watching Sunrise Earth, dairy farm in Vermont. So peaceful I had to take pictures of my tv (coo-coo I know).

All the more confirmation that if I return to life as an animal I want to be a cow, a dairy cow.
Summer and I have been practicing our acting skills. In this photo I told her to give me her best pouty face. And let me tell you folks, we have a little actress on our hands. This girl is convincing!

Here she is showing daddy her skills.

Finally Miss Summer tired herself out enough to lay down for a nap and I was right behind her. About 2 hours into my dreams I was woken up by hard rain and hail. This is rare in the high desert so I had to take a picture. Or maybe it is because I am addicted to photos.

Dress Up

I am starting to realize that I better dress Summer up in some of her cute outfits or she will grow out of them. In my mind she is still so small but I am getting a reality check when she fits into the "big" clothes.

Here is the cheery yellow dress from Aunt Les.

Smiling Summer - This was the first time I was able to make her smile on command for the camera!

Funny Summer with her tongue out.

Grammy & Papa visit

Grammy & Papa flew in town on Friday to see Summer for the first time. Summer had just been to the doctor earlier that day for her shots and needed some extra love. Good thing we had the extra hands on deck ready to step in.

The both loved on Summer and fed her...Napped with her...She did a LOT of sleeping in their arms.

Summer was content and happy in their laps.

Dad managed to fit in some handyman projects, a golf lesson (him teaching me) and we stumbled upon an antique car show.

Summer showed off her neck strength by sitting up in the bumbo.
And finally Papa laid Summer down for her nap before leaving for the airport...she couldn't stay down though knowing she would miss saying goodbye (or maybe it was the flash of this picture)!

We had a great time visiting with Grammy and Papa and watching them spoil Summer with love.

Doctor Day

All dressed up and headed to the doctor.

Hopefully she won't dirty it up before Grammy and Papa fly in this afternoon.

Yes I am one of those mothers who dresses like her baby. I can't help it...I just want to look as cute as Summer!

Multi-tasking

I am a good multi-tasker. That's why the first few weeks of motherhood got me down...but watch me now! I have mastered the one hand everything.

And by the way...Summer now weighs 10 lb 8 oz.
On a funny note - when Summer went to bed tonight Chad and I both got gitty like we were in high school and our parents just left out of town! Not that we did anything BAD in high school when our parents were out of town...

New Toys

I really feel like Summer is growing and developing so quickly! She seems to be getting bored with us just holding her so I have been trying some new toys to stimulate her mind.

Here she is laying on the playmat. She can touch the toys hanging. This was fun for almost 10 minutes. Not bad for the first time.

Here she is in the bumbo seat holding her head up pretty well and enjoying herself.

Happy 2 Month Birthday Summer

Summer is 2 months old today!

We celebrated by baking a cake together

Summer did the icing...I would never have done such a messy job!
Summer is waiting in the baby bjorn for mommy to entertain her...what next?
A close up happy face in the bumbo.

Mommy and Summer (whose getting to be an armful)
Summer's 2 month mug shot...the happy version
Summer's mug shot for comparison...the unhappy version
Has she grown much since her 1 month mug shot?

Summer - 8 weeks

8 Facts about Summer at 8 weeks...

1. Summer weighs 10 lb 2 oz. Her head is growing for sure and slowly her body is stretching out. We will find out her height next week at her doctor appointment.
2. Summer flashed her first intentional smile at ME! Oh so sweet.
3. She rolled over from her tummy to her back. I was so surprised that she rolled over that I put her on her tummy again and she did it a second time! I went to get the video camera and of course she wouldn't do it again. Twice was enough physical activity.
4. She is slobbering alot and loves to suck on her hands. She is very hit or miss with taking the pacifier.
5. She loves being carried in the Baby Bjorn.
6. She wakes up once in the night around 2-3am to eat and goes back to sleep without a problem...thank goodness.
7. She still has her fussy time in the mornings and evenings. However, we are coping with it better. Chad and I get our exercise walking around the house, side stepping in place or simply bouncing up and down.
8. She takes one great 4 hour nap in the middle of the day with smaller naps in the early morning and evening...mostly in my arms, baby bjorn or the stroller.

And here is a comparison photo.

5 weeks - notice the size of her arms and the extra space in her pants leg.

8 weeks - her arms and head are bigger. Plus she has filled out these pants.

Lucy goes swimming

Lucy LOVES to swim!

Lucy LOVES to play fetch!

Playing with the chuck-it at the lake is her HEAVEN!FYI- This video started out as 4 minutes of swim after swim but I have trimmed it down...you'll get the picture...she could do this all day!

Summer and I have started using the Baby Bjorn carrier more. I love the mobility it allows me. I put her sun hat on today so her little head wouldn't get burnt...cute! She loves being close and the movementputs her to sleep. If only the exit wouldn't wake her up...

We took a leisurely walk around the neighborhood this morning. I sipped on coffee and Summer enjoyed the fresh air (even though it appears she can't breath - she can).

Yesterday Summer SMILED AT ME! It was a big open mouth grin (like that one I posted before) and her eyes were looking directly at me. The best part is that Chad was sitting right there and saw it so I have a witness. Oh my goodness, if this big ole smile is how she does it every time then we are in for a world of happiness! What JOY!

Fun Saturday

Today has turned out to be a very productive yet relaxing Saturday!
The day started off great as Summer slept for 6 hours last night breaking her current record. She was awake most of the morning but as we have come to expect she went down for a great afternoon nap and has been asleep for 5.5 hours so far...and still sleeping.
Here is what she has been up to today...

Video note - she had an accident on the changing table prior to this nap so she got stripped down. Then she told me she didn't want the trauma of putting on another outfit so we decided to nap naked. And since she was naked I thought that laying that warm blanket down underneath her would be comfortable. She is typically swaddled but I was giving her a break this time. The hum and cool air of the humidifier along with the ipod playing classical music make the room a very relaxing place to sleep. I get sleepy everytime we rock...reminds me of a massage treatment room. And one last thing...I know my hair looks wild and crazy but that is because I have been enjoying myself outside all day:)

While Summer was napping, Chad, the dogs and I were hanging out in the back yard catching rays. We enjoyed some fresh watermelon that was so sweet and yummy. The dogs got a good brushing then needed to be hosed off. Check out the video of Lucy getting wet!

Summer - 7 weeks

Wow, things have really improved in the past week. As a family we are ALL doing better.

I feel back to my normal self...thanks to scientific breakthroughs in medicine!

Summer weighs 9 lb 11 oz! She put on 10 oz this week and we can really tell. She feels substancial when you pick her up now. I am quickly losing the ability to manouver her with one hand.

Since we are having such a good week I decided to test out some of our big girl toys. I put in the Baby Einstein Baby Mozart DVD and she was meszmerized for about 7 minutes. Before I started it I was wondering how I was going to get her to look at the tv...BUT once it started that wasn't an issue.

Since that went so well I decided to bring out the Bumbo seat. I know this is a little early but the back part supports her neck since she is so short. She was ok with this for about 10 seconds...long enough for me to think I could grab the camera and get a good picture. As you can see I wasn't quick enough. Maybe next time you see her in the Bumbo she will be happier.AND we started adding a little bit of Formula to Summer's bottles today. It is very gradual only .5 oz to begin with and she didn't notice any change. Hopefully the addition to her diet will give her the extra calories to sleep a little longer. I am not complaining about sleep. She is still sleeping 4-5 hours at a time and I am ok with that for now.

Video Time

Summer's crying times are improving and mommy and daddy are finding more humor in parenthood. Last night we all cried in musical rhythm. Then Summer gave up once she realized she wasn't the loudest!

Chad thinks he is really funny. Here's how the conversation went...

Jana - Guess what I got excited about today?

Chad - crunches?

Jana - NO

Chad - ha ha

Jana - I'm going to blog about that...(the blog is almost like the "public mother figure" where I can tattle tell on him)

I feel like Summer is starting to make some intentional communication noises to us. These are noises different from the crying or whimpering. They come out of nowhere and it seems like she has been trying REALLY hard to get her voice heard. Soon she will be talking nonstop like her mother!

Video Note - yes it's a small noise and it may be that only I think it is a big deal but its NEW ok!

Tuesday Update

BUSTED!

I walked outside to the back deck and look who I found on our weekend air mattress!

None other than Sampson...acting like he owns the place. By the way, I have deflated the mattress until a later date.
Summer is growing daily! Here she is with her two lambs...

July 4th Weekend

We had a relaxing July 4th weekend spending most of our time outdoors.

We drove to a nearby trail that Chad mountain bikes at and let the dogs run around. This was Summer's first experience in the woods. Of course the camera died when it was time for me to get my picture taken with her.

Thanks to Lisa and Philip we grilled out a delicious meal of marinated chicken legs, corn on the cob and pasta salad. Thanks Goons and Grillmaster Chad!

Then on Sunday we were enjoying the perfect temperature and breeze outside and I decided to inflate the air mattress on the back deck (yes a little ghetto) and take a nap with Summer. Maybe this wasn't the classiest of ideas but it sure was comfortable! Oh and Summer did not dress up in Red, White and Blue...everything she has right now is pink. She won't be wearing red until Alabama football season (which isn't too far away, Roll Tide)!

LOVE

After my HONEST post I feel the need to share some LOVE.

We powered through a rough morning and I was determined to go to the Mother's support group no matter how late we would be...and it was worth it. I feel like it is my church these days. The place where I can go to get recharged for the week. I got a lot of support and assurance from the other moms as I did from all of your comments. THANKS.

ONE reason Summer might have been a bit cranky is because she was growing. She put on 14 ounces this past week! The week prior she only gained 4 so this was significant. At 6 weeks old, Summer weighs 9lb 1oz. I think that is fantastic! And you can feel it on her...she still feels short therefore it is like holding a 9lb turkey or Pumpkin as I like calling her "pumpkin."

We did a quick photo shoot today to capture the moment and boy was she posing for me.

"Oh Mom, pictures of ME again. Ok let me pose!"

Miss Prim and Proper
OK Mom, I checked my watch and times up!