Four Months Old!

One year ago today I found out I was pregnant with Alice. Eight months later I gave birth. My baby girl turned four months old today. In the last four months my life has changed dramatically, and I couldn't be happier about it. It's amazing how someone so little can change a person so much. I thought I'd give everybody an update on what Alice is doing. I don't get a chance to stay in regular contact with as many people as I'd like to these days.

I could not have asked for an easier baby. I deserved a baby like me, but somehow I got one like Tyler. I am so thankful for that. With the exception of breast feeding my little angel, everything else pertaining to Alice has been easy. The breast feeding issue is a long story that I don't feel like going into at the moment. But I'd be glad to explain it to anyone who asks. She still gets breast milk. It's just that part hasn't been easy. Alice started sleeping seven to eight hours a night in her crib at six and a half weeks. She started sleeping ten to eleven hours a night at around ten weeks. She takes three, two hour naps a day. She wakes up happy the majority of the time. She simply lays in her crib and “talks” until someone goes in there and gets her. She gets slightly fussy when she's tired. She usually starts rubbing her eyes and yawning before she gets fussy though. That's usually our indication to lay her down. Most days she stays exactly on schedule. The only time Alice gets truly mad is when she's hungry or she's not quite full. Like if you take the bottle out of her mouth before she's finished it to adjust or something. Then she can be quite mean. Lol. Thankfully due to her schedule she doesn't get the opportunity to get hungry often. Just when she has growth spurt days and such.

She's one of the happiest babies I've ever seen. She just doesn't get upset much at all. I'd love to say it's because of mine and Tyler's amazing parenting abilities. Haha, but I can't. I don't believe for one second that it has hardly anything to do with our parenting. I think we were just very blessed in getting a baby with a very good temperament. She's just easy going. That's not to say she's perfect. She's still a lot of hard work. I think no matter how good the baby is, a baby is always hard work. However, she's worth every single second of it. She brings so much joy to our lives!

Alice has been rolling over both ways since she was two months old. She'd only roll over back to front once in a while for the longest time. She'd roll over front to back every single time I tried to give her tummy time. Haha she hated tummy time. She was holding her head up without help by ten weeks so I wasn't really concerned with it. There was a day almost two weeks ago that I left for work and Alice was one way and then by the time I came home it was like she had changed so much. I couldn't believe that in ten hours so much changed. She wasn't just rolling over once in a while. She was rolling over back to front almost every time I laid her on her back. Then she'd get on her tummy and start kicking her legs as fast as she could. Eventually after not being able to go anywhere she'd get mad and roll back over. Now she stays on her stomach for a long time and will play with toys or just watch things. She's also starting to move her arms in sync with her legs. It'll only be a matter of time until she's able to lift her whole body up and start crawling. We're definitely in for trouble then. She also started sleeping on her stomach. We lay her down on her back, but she promptly rolls over onto her stomach and goes to sleep. This worries me some, but the fact that she can roll over both ways is reassuring. There's really not much I can do about it. I can't go in there every ten minutes and roll her back over. Neither her or I would get any sleep. That same day two weeks ago, she started squealing......very loudly. She's been “talking” for a long time, but it was like she suddenly found her voice and realized how loud she could really be. Now she'll sit there and fluctuate the volume. It's funny.

Just this week she started laughing. She did it the first time on New Years day. It was just a little giggle, but both Tyler and I were so excited about it. We've been wanting to hear her laugh for a while now. It was also really nice that she laughed for the first time with both Tyler and I there. Since I work I'm always so afraid that I'm going to miss her firsts. So far I haven't missed any, and I'm thankful for that! She giggled a little the next morning as well. Then last night while Tyler was undressing her for her bath he started tickling her tummy and she started laughing so much. Like one of those deep belly laughs. I absolutely loved it!!! I cried. Lol, I cry about almost everything she does. I wasn't able to get the camera in time, but I'm going to try again tonight to get her to do it. That way I can record it.

Alice loves singing. For a long time now, she gets the biggest smile on her face when you sing to her. She also tries to sing as well. She'll try to mimic the mouth movements you make and then make little noises. She loves football, cartoons, and Sesame Street. Strange combination I know. If anything else is on the TV she usually ignores it. But if one of those three are on she is totally engrossed. For this reason we try to keep the TV off as much as possible. She absolutely loves books and being read to. She's liked being read to since she was two months old. She loved looking at the pictures. Now she likes holding the book and turning the pages as well (whether it's time to turn them or not). She drools and chews on her hands a lot. Haha we go through bibs like crazy. She use to love her bouncy seat and swing. Now we can't put her in the swing, because she tries to sit up and lean forward in it, and she's tired of the bouncy seat. She wants to be on the move. She loves her bath. She loves kicking and splashing in the water. She has become much more interested in Brindy these days. She keeps reaching for Brindy to try to feel her fur. Brindy responds with licking Alice like crazy. When she gets tired she loves being put down in her crib. I have never met a baby that is happy to go to sleep. She just smiles when you lay her down (only when she's actually tired). She'll talk to you for a few minutes and then roll over, stick her thumb in her mouth, and go right to sleep.

Alice absolutely adores her Daddy. Actually a lot of times she prefers him to me. And she's definitely got him wrapped around her little finger. It warms my heart to see the two of them together. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Tyler would do anything for that little girl (as would I). I love watching them play and cuddle. She doesn't reach out for people yet, but when she wants someone she starts squirming and leans her head and body towards them. She does this a lot when I'm holding her and Tyler comes in the room. She already is a Daddy's girl. She's become the key to my heart. If you love Alice and are good to her I will love you. There are people who I use to not be to fond of, but they love and are good to Alice and suddenly I like them.

Alice loves her Mimi. I'm so thankful to have my mom there to watch her. I know Alice is safe with her. My mom has made mine and Tyler's life so much easier in so many ways. She's made it possible for us to have date nights and some time with just each other. Alice loves her Nana, as well. She just smiles the biggest smile for Tyler's mom. Alice's aunties spoil her. She's won over the hearts of her Uncle Jordan and Papa Holtz. She loves her Uncle Matthew and her Papa, as well. She loves when they come to visit her. Tyler and I are very lucky to have such wonderful families that love Alice so much.

She goes in for her four month visit on Monday. I'm excited about this visit, but dreading it at the same time. I'm excited to see how much she weighs and how much she's grown. She hasn't been since she was two months. I'm absolutely dreading her getting shots. It breaks my heart seeing her get those.

Everything in her life is new. Even the most common things are new to her. I love being there to teach her about life. I love watching her process and discover things. I feel like I'm a part of something incredible. Watching her grow, learn, and change is my favorite thing to do. She is growing so fast. Time just flies by. She has really made me realize I need to enjoy every single second of life. I enjoy every minute with her. I won't ever get this time back. Before I know it she'll be grown up. So I refuse to take any time for granted. She's made me realize how short life really is. I'm just trying to make the most of the time I have with her.