My shirt says it all!

A nurse at one of the hospitals I work at gave this onesie to Amelia. It is perfect for her!! But funny how she always has a bow in her hair, except for this picture!!

1st ear infection

Our poor baby had her first ear infection. The week started on Monday with Amelia not really wanting to eat much or take a nap. Tuesday was fine. But Tuesday night it started. She woke up 3 times during the night. That is totally out of character! She would just fuss and toss around, but I honestly was not suspecting an ear infection. She was not running a fever or anything. On Wednesday, my mom said she only napped for 45 minutes and as the day went on, she went from fussy to miserable. Still no fever, but we gave her Tylenol anyway. She responded great to the Tylenol and perked up a bit. The pediatrician couldn't see her that day, so we continued with Tylenol every 4 hours and went to the doctor Thursday morning. We saw the nurse practitioner. We had noticed that Amelia was hitting her head on the left side, so I suspected a left ear infection. Wrong! Her left ear was perfect, but her right ear was badly infected! She was given a prescription for amoxicillin for 10 days. The amoxicillin is not pink and yummy like when I was a kid. She is doing better and sleeping a lot! We will go back for a recheck in 2 weeks.

Welcoming Baby Jack Dewing

We had a couples baby shower for Jennie and Steve Dewing to welcome baby Jack. He is due the end of February and we can't wait. The theme of the shower was "Cute as a Button". It was at Meghan and Jon's house and it was nice to see everyone. It had been a while since we had all been together. Mike and Stacie couldn't be there though, they were in NYC for a weekend getaway!

We played a few games at this shower because at our shower, all the guys kept asking to play games. The first game was for the guys only! They had a drinking race...beer in baby bottles! Matt won by a landslide, but later revealed he had cut the tip off the nipple. Cheater!

The second game was putting a diaper on a stuffed animal. It was a game for 2 partners. The one partner sat in a chair and held the stuffed animal. The other partner was standing behind with their eyes closed and was directed by the seated partner on how to put the diaper on. Nicole and Jen won!

While opening the presents, Matt had a little surprise for Jennie and Steve. Apparently he received a message from Baby Jack and wrote it on his undershirt and delivered it to Jennie and Steve. It said "Dear Mom and Dad,  No more sleep for you!  Sincerely, Jack".  He can be quite the character.

It was a fun way to prepare for Jack and we can't wait for him to arrive!

Eating in a high chair

Amelia is now eating in a high chair...and loving it! Thanks to Aunt Di, Amelia got an early Valentine's Day present. She loves sitting in the high chair and playing in it while I get her food ready. We wheel her into the kitchen or next to the table while we are eating. She looks like such a big girl. She has even fallen asleep in it while eating!

Sleeping 12 hours

Amelia has been sleeping well since 9 weeks, but we have been waking her at 10:30 for a final feed to get her through til morning. Since she has been eating cereal in the evenings before her 6:30 bottle, she hasn't been so interested in her 10:30 bottle anymore. Matt and I discussed dropping it, but wanted to wait until a weekend. So last night, we dropped the 10:30 feed and Amelia slept from 7pm until 7:15 this morning! Goooo Amelia! Although Matt says he is happy he won't have to do the 10:30 feed anymore, I think he will secretly miss that quiet time with Amelia.

Sitting up...well, trying!

Amelia is trying so hard to sit up. The other night she was able to hold herself up for a few minutes. I couldn't leave her side to get my camera so I snapped a quick picture with my phone. Where is my little baby going??

Cereal with bananas

Now Amelia is eating cereal. The first couple of bites were not exciting, but then she loved it! And hasn't looked back!!

Southall Girls

The Southalls and Dewings came over for an improptu BBQ. The Southalls were not going to be in town for the Dewing's baby shower, so this was a good way for them to catch up. The girls couldn't wait to hold Amelia, especially Aunt Stacie. Avery kept saying "Me too, me too"! Once Amelia is able to keep up with these 2, we are in for some trouble!! They are a lot of fun!

Daddy's Girl!

Amelia gets the biggest grin on her face whenever she sees Matt. And his smile is so tender when he sees her too. A daddy/daughter relationship is certainly special and I love watching them together. She loves crawling all over him and just sitting in his lap. I try to snap a few pictures when I can.

Sweet potatoes

Amelia tried sweet potatoes today and loved them!

4 months old!

I can't believe Amelia is already 4 months old! I know I will blink my eyes and she will already be a year old. But I can't cry yet!

I did not get to blog at the 3 month mark. I started back to work that week and I forgot to take a picture. Horrible mother! A lot has changed in 2 months. Amelia is becoming independent. She wants to hold her own bottle, holds her toys, and is sleeping through the night. She is very strong and likes to sit and stand with support. She is not a long napper, but sleeps like a champ at night. Her routine is pretty consistent. She wakes up around 7am, naps for an hour around 8:30, naps for 2 hours around 12:30, and takes a 20 minute cat nap around 4:30. She goes to bed at 7 and we still wake her at 10:30 for a final feed. She is taking 5 bottles a day, about 32-35 ounces.

She first rolled over from back to stomach and then wanted to start sleeping on her stomach. It freaked Matt and I out that first night! Then one morning, we went in and found her on her back! She is now rolling stomach to back too. She is a little rolly polly.

She loves her Johnny Jumper and Exersaucer. They both keep her very entertained. But her most FAVORITE is Mickey Mouse. Yes, that is right! By accident, we found out she likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Not just likes it...LOVES it!! She belly laughs when Mickey comes on the screen. She loves that silly mouse! She also puts everything in her mouth!! She has a vibrating alligator teether that she likes, and of course, her toes! Those toes are so funny to her!

Another big first for Amelia is solid foods! She has tried bananas and avocados. She likes the avocados better. Right now, we are focusing more on exploring the spoon and the texture of the food. She wears more than she eats, but it is fun for both of us. I look forward to coming home from work and having that moment with her in the evenings. I have also started making her baby food. So far, I have made a batch of sweet potatoes that are in the freezer and ready for when we introduce that food, as well as a batch of spaghetti squash. For her bananas, I buy organic bananas and puree them. It isn't difficult and I enjoy it...for now!

Matt and I are having so much fun with Amelia. She has such a fun personality. She makes us laugh so hard when she is "fake fussing". She makes a pathetic fussing noise and then tries not to laugh, but occasionally a giggle will slip out and then we all start laughing. I think she is playing us already! She also loves to blow raspberries. She will mimic you if you do it first. We basically sit here and spit at each other for 20 minutes or so! Our new Friday night pasttime.

Amelia saw Dr. Hardman today for her 4 month check-up. She was a very nice doctor and we scheduled our 6 month check-up with her as well. Amelia certainly gained weight and length! She is 14lbs 15oz and 25 inches long. She is in the 75th percentile for both height and weight. Ironically, she has the exact same measurements I had at my 4 month check-up. It will be interesting to see if she stays on the same growth pattern I did.

LOVES the exersaucer

Does better now playing on her stomach

Loves the jumper.

Eating/wearing bananas

Eating and loving Avocado

Amelia is changing daily and I think she will be sitting up soon. She certainly is trying. I can't wait to see what the next month will bring.

New Year's Eve

I can't believe it has been 1 year since we found out we were pregnant. Wow! What a difference a year makes: new house, new baby, a whole new world. We have a lot to celebrate and a lot to be thankful for.

We spent this New Year's Eve with an intimate group of friends. We decided to do a dinner at the beach, close to home. We went to dinner at Ocean 60 with the Dewings, Ebeners, Bielmyers, and O'Sullivans. It was a nice dinner with good friends. The menu was a pre-set 4 course meal. Matt loved his steak...and his apple martinis! The only bad part was the bill! The waitress brought one bill for 5 couples. It took her over an hour to figure it out when we asked her to separate it. Therefore we got home later than planned...but still before midnight! Boy, times have changed! We left for dinner after Amelia was already asleep and were home before the ball dropped!! We are such big partiers!

Happy New Year! We can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for our family.