4 Months: Look at what I can do!

It's hard to believe that four months have passed since we became a family, and two since Danny and I had our perfect wedding. As a new stay-at-home mama, I am able to observe every amazing thing that Gloria does -- learning all about finger dexterity, identifying fun toys and noises, laughing, smiling, and "talking," playing and kicking -- what a difference every day makes! Gloria has requested to publicly demonstrate some of the skills she has acquired over the past couple of months.

After realizing that she loves to put her bib in her mouth, we moved on to the extremely soft, washable cloth toys. She just loves to feel the fabric on her face and lips, grabbing and pulling the toy to her face. This is her "chewing lion."

                        


Only performing this trick if diaper-only from the waist down, usually on the changing table, Glo can now grab and eat her feet! Mama eats her feet a lot, so that's one of our favorite activities to share. Nom nom nom!

I decided to sneak in photo of my favorite naked baby!! For those of you unaware, Gloria had a herniated belly button -- it was no big deal, but caused her belly button to heal quite slowly and it stuck out more or less, depending on the situation. No longer!

"Let's hang out in here for 30 minutes to play, okay?!"

Preparing to grab her feet. Her belly button has gone down even more since this photo was taken a few weeks ago.

Feets, feets, feets!!











This past week, Gloria and I started our "Beyond Newborns" class at AMMA. Only one session, and our tummy time problems are over!! Mama has very little experience with this sort of thing. She would only last about 30 seconds directly on her floor blanket, and would spit up all over it anyway. So, we haven't done much tummy time. A couple of weeks ago, I started "flying" her around, but was unsure if this was equivalent. It is, I discovered at class. We also learned many other variations to try; one of which is to lie on my inclined legs. All three of us are THRILLED about this development!

Looking around at toys, her room, and her favorite -- daddy! This lasted upwards of three minutes (or so it seemed).






Another thing we learned at our class -- baby girl LOVES noise making, light-weight balls. She can grab them, and surprised the heck out of me when she picked up a much larger one (which we promptly went to buy at Target after class) and hurled around while I was supporting her in a sitting position. Never thought I'd be so impressed as I am when she now reaches out to grab it with both hands. And then of course, the obligatory attempt to eat it, laughing all the way to the bank.

        



So, on November 10, 2012, our baby girl is four months old. We are enjoying every moment, every smile, every new noise that she gives us, and can't wait to see what she does next.

(As the following pictures were being taken this evening, Gloria did her real laugh for a solid twenty seconds, proceeded by another short burst. This is the longest that she has done so; the photo shoot turned in to a laughing party and a teary-eyed mama. It was the sweetest sound to ever fall upon my ears. Please note her crossed legs -- she did that herself. What a lady!

There were too many photos that we love to pick just one. Here is the Month 4 Gallery.)

 

 

The Big Family Road Trip.

This past weekend, Danny and I took on a pretty daunting travel itinerary (with a 3.5 month old Gloria) in order to attend a very important wedding. We enjoyed a lot of family time with bouts of long hours on multiple interstates. Now, with daddy already back on the road to Iowa for work, baby and I have a few minutes to discuss the highlights of our trip.

We "left" at eleven in the morning last Thursday; quotations indicate actual travel time began on the opposite side of St. Paul. The drive was somewhat uneventful. After a few stops, a detour, and ten hours, we arrived at the Innes household prepared to unpack and some eventual sleep. We were so happy to see everyone there (Jennifer & the girls, Grandma & Grandpa Innes). Gloria did very well with the new environment and lots of people, which would continue for the duration of the trip. What a wonderful baby we have.

For a group of seven with a baby, two young girls and two cars, I am impressed at how close we came to departing Crete at 7:00 am as planned. While the adults were busy getting ready, the girls did an excellent job of looking after Glo. Mellena held her cousin for a solid twenty minutes.

Our drive to Auburn Hills, MI went pretty smoothly as well. Mama got to nap for a couple of hours while daddy and Grandpa did all of the driving. After approximately six hours of driving, we got to the hotel. With time to spare, we settled in to the room.


I am no longer the newest family member in the Innes family; Danny's cousin was married to his bride on Saturday at the beautiful Indianwood Country Club. The venue was amazing; the fireplace from the sixteenth century, a bar salvaged from a centuries-old pub in Europe, and the building itself with massive beams shipped over from Scotland. The pieces that adorned the walls and hallways were not merely decorations, but artifacts. Husband was thoroughly impressed.


Most of us got around to dancing; Gloria was delighted to be swept across the floor by Grandma Innes. They danced and danced! Uncle Danny and Mellena had a dance, too.

Danny originally wanted to dress our daughter in a Michigan cheerleading outfit for the wedding (which is adorable), but mama put her foot down. Grandma Hanson bought a fancy dress for our fancy, beautiful girl. After the reception, Gloria stretched out on the couch. She is so skilled at bringing everything she can grab up to her face, she wanted to try it out with her dress as well!

I fell under-the-weather throughout the night, so the second half of the trip was a little more challenging. The mother of the groom hosted a delicious family brunch. We stayed to chat for a couple of hours; all of the little people had a bouncy house to jump in -- rough times ensued, but all seemed to have a fantastic, successful playtime. 

We buckled in, somewhat anticipating a harder time in the van. Unfortunately, we were correct. I would have been upset too; stuck in a car seat for so long. By no means was it a terrible, hair-pulling experience. We felt sadness for Glo, exhaustion . . . like I said, a daunting task. There were several stops to change diapers, get coffee, and attempt to cheer up a stiff baby.

On a side note: quite a few establishments need to reconsider the placement and/or safety of their changing tables. Some don't. There seems to be a lack of adequate space to change an infant on a sometimes questionable platform. All I'm saying is, you should at least allow enough room for the parent to maneuver to catch their child in case the table rips off its hinges.

The back of the van seemed a better spot.

We could not have arrived at Crete soon enough. As soon as we placed her on her back in the living room, we had our happy, smiley baby back. Good grief was I relieved -- I found sweatpants, a blanket, and some hot tea. Good play time was shared by all, and everyone was able to relax. Gloria appreciated the special time she was able to spend playing with Grandma and Grandpa,* snuggling with Aunt Jennifer, and kicking with the girls. 

*A striking photo was taken, which I am unable to post as it was shared via Shutterfly, of Grandpa and baby -- the eye color is the same bright blue! Pretty neat.

Monday morning came quickly, bringing a little more play time and a send-off breakfast. Leaving is always bittersweet, but as soon as we hit the road we were eager to get home. We were able to stop at Dunkin' Donuts three times, including the last one in Wisconsin Dells. I don't know what it is that they do to their coffee (regular with cream and sugar!), but we can't get over how good it is when handed through the drive thru window. 

Gloria required Danny's presence in the back seat for the last two hours of the drive, satisfied only if he had his flashlight app running. She must have heard the phone call daddy received earlier . . . you know, the one about driving to Iowa the next morning. She was sure going to miss him, so what better way to get some time in than to play on the way home. 

To make a long story a little less long, Gloria did not have all that much trouble sleeping a few hours later. Rebecca got a little sleep. Danny left for Cedar Falls a little after four in the morning on Tuesday, gone until Thursday. It is always good to be home, but will be perfect when our whole family is together later this evening. 

After a long, lovely weekend and thirty-plus hours in a vehicle, a couple of productive days spent mostly at home is exactly what we needed. Love love love.