Grueling day

The things I go through for my parents.

Mommy had an early morning staff meeting today so I had to be up and ready to go with her at 7am. What does she think I am, some 2 month old? And it was bad enough that I had to endure the pre-sunrise car ride, but you'll never guess who the guest speaker was...Daddy! Like I don't have to put up with him for enough hours on Tuesday nights. The topic was something along the lines of blah, blah, blah. I didn't really pay much attention since I was being passed around by the fawning masses. I remember that everyone clapped after he shut up. I know the feeling. All that did was wake me up.

After visiting all of the library people you'd think I could go home and rest. But no, we had to go visit Daddy's work. More fawning, but I was a hungry girl longing for my crib. We stayed long enough to say Happy Birthday to Chelsa, then mommy finally took me home.

All and all, I was a pretty good girl if I may say so myself. But as you can see in the above picture, I crashed around 5. It sure is tough being me.

Four Months!

It is hard to believe our sweet baby girl is already four months old. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. She got a glowing report at the doctor's office today. Her new stats are:

• Weight: 13 lbs
• Height: 25 1/2 inches

So, she's gained almost 2 lbs in two months and 2 1/2 inches. I'm not surprised she's so long. She went through a growth spurt last week and must have put on at least a 1/2 inch to an inch in a couple days.

She got four shots today and was quite the trooper during it all even though she was very tired (nap time was delayed because of the appointment). She's now peacefully sleeping in her crib.

As you can see from the picture, she's found her feet and spends much of her waking time with them in her hands or in the air kicking at her toys. She's curious about everything and likes to watch what's going on around her, which becomes a problem when I'm trying to get her to eat! But, she's still our sweet, happy girl and that makes up for all the challenges. We are very blessed.

One year ago today

Jen and I were up in Mishawaka to attend my Aunt Marge's funeral. Jen was feeling a bit green in the morning, heck most of the week after returning from a short vacation to St. Louis, and commented to me "I think maybe..."

We bought a pregnancy test that morning but with all that was going on that day we had to wait for Jen to get home from work that night before taking it. The instructions say to wait a few minutes, but the positive result was instantaneous. Speechless stares, a hug and a kiss, and Growing up Fiona was officially underway.

Anyone saying "I'm totally ready for the ride of pregnancy and parenthood" is full of it. That's not supposed to be such a negative statement. Reacting to the twist and turns is frustrating in the moment. Getting through them and waiting for the next stage, at least for me, has been enjoyment beyond anything I ever imagined.

Especially when I come home to this at the end of an exhausting, crazy day at work, transitioning into my 6 hour shift of father-daughter only time...

Finally

Three months after Fiona's birth and six months after we purchased it, we FINALLY got her crib. It was worth the wait. Luckily we had a cradle (borrowed from Uncle Shawn and Aunt Leslie) to use until the crib arrived.
Fiona loves her crib. She has lots of room to move around. And move she does, usually in circles. We never know what position we'll find her in when we go to get her. She thinks it's pretty funny and grins when we find her head where her feet should be.

It's hard to see, but in this picture she's half asleep with her eyes rolling toward the back of her head. Sweet sleepy angel.

Sailing Time

I'm ready to go sailing, Uncle Dave. Is your sailboat still in the water?

Whee!

Going...
Going...
Gone!

Fiona's Newest Trick

Fiona has found her voice and now spends a majority of her waking time squealing, usually with her hands in her mouth. Sigh...of course she stops as soon as I turn on the video camera, but here's a taste of it.

Fiona also rolled over from back to front for the first time on Monday. The weather has cooled off some so we were in her room while I was rearranging her dresser drawers. She was on the floor playing. I had my back to her while I was organizing her socks. I turned back around and she was on her stomach! I couldn't believe it. Her right arm was still stuck under her, which enabled her to roll back onto her back, but it's a sign of how big she's getting. She hasn't replicated the feat. Yet. Before I know it she'll be crawling and my easy life will end. Thank goodness we have a pack 'n play in which to corral her.

Laughter Is the Best Medicine

Going back to work has been both good and bad. I miss Fiona terribly, but I also know it is good for both of us to have time away from each other. It also means she gets some quality Daddy time or fun play time with my cousin Megan. However, working is so much better if it means I get to come home to this...

So Sleepy

What happens when we play too hard.

Game Time

Yesterday was the start of a new NFL season (oh joy). Jeff is a huge Browns fan, so to honor the occasion, Fiona wore her Browns outfit (unlike Daddy). Unfortunately it didn't help the Browns win.
At least she looked cute! Thanks to Lisa, Jeff and Michael for the gift of the outfit. It may still be too big, but Daddy loves it.

Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

Koalas are my favorite animal. They have been ever since I received a stuffed koala as a gift when I was younger (4th grade?). This summer the Indianapolis Zoo hosted two koalas from the San Diego Zoo. So, for my birthday I asked to go to the zoo and see the koalas before they returned to California. Jeff even took the day off work so we could go as a family. They were very cute, but not very active. We had a great time walking around seeing all the animals (tiger, polar bear, dolphins, monkeys, giraffes, elephants, etc). Fiona enjoyed most of it and even helped me feed the Lorikeets.

The bright colors of the birds interested her. She also enjoyed watching the tropical fish swim around. We figure she was wondering how her bouncy chair fish came alive! Unfortunately it was too dark in the aquarium part to get a good picture. I can't wait until she's old enough to really enjoy seeing all the animals. This is how she spent a good portion of the visit.

But, her sleeping allowed us to enjoy watching the animals and put her in a better mood for when she was awake.

Spending the day as a family was a great way to spend my first birthday as a mom.