Fresh Start

As this year comes to a close, I have a number of things I want to do better next year.  I am looking forward to a new start and excited for this opportunity.  2010 was a fabulous year with lots of changes mostly encompassing the addition of a child to our family.  We are so glad she is here and that I get to spend all my time with her.

However, with the addition of Alice, our lives have become a bit chaotic and unorganized.  My primary goal for 2011 is to establish some routines in our lives and organize my home. 

Alice is starting to move, so baby proofing my home is a must, and I am excited to really go through it and organize it better and maybe even make some improvements like paint and new furniture :)

Alice is also a terrible sleeper, so we are going to try to get a good routine going to where we can have regular times for naps and bedtime.  We need to make this a priority so that she can get the rest she needs.

With my new found time in her naps (assuming that goes well), I plan to finish the crafts and projects that are half done, blog more regularly and get and keep my house organized and clean.

Our family goals also include more dates excluding the baby, more regular temple attendance, and more regular family home evening. 

I know I have a lot on the docket this year, but I am excited and ready for this renewed spirit and fresh start.

Oops, Christmas Came Early

So, I left my baby unattended while I cleaned up the kitchen from the baking I did.  I put her in the middle of the floor, with nothing in reach.  Ten minutes later, Dusty came home, and called out my unattentiveness.  This is what we saw.

 

She had completely opened the gift, was eating the paper, and playing with the gift.  Mom has to be more careful as we now have a mobile baby.

Note: We blurred out the gift as to not ruin Christmas for my siblings which perhaps will open a similar gift on Christmas day. 

Holiday Baking

I always do a little holiday baking, but this year, I wanted to try a few new things.  Almond Roca, and Bon Bons.

First, I tried Almond Roca.  My mom makes this every year to perfection and I always get to enjoy some.  This delicious treat is fabulous if made right, and not so fabulous otherwise.  Cook it too long, and it taste burnt, and cook it too short and it is sticky and chewy.  In past years, I have tried and ruined it both ways.  My Mom insists on cooking it until it starts to burn and smoke.  I trusted her this year, and it worked.  It turned out perfect!

Second, I tried Bon Bons.  These are chocolate covered peanut butter balls.  This is a family favorite and always made by my aunt Julie.  She makes tons of these every year, I mean in the hundreds.  I made about 50, and I will first thank my aunt for making these.  They are a little complicated, and very time consuming to first grind all the ingredients into dust, roll all the little balls, and dip them all in chocolate.  Mine turned out great.  It took a few dippings to get the temperature of the chocolate right, and develop my own technique, but they look almost as good as Aunt Julie's.

I then made fudge, which I usually make; however, it turned out horrible this year.  It is crumbly and gritty.  Probably won't be delivering much of that :(.

I still plan to make Spritz cookies, and hope to get those done tonight.  I have made them a few times this year already, and I love them.

8 Months

My baby is 8 months old as of yesterday.  She is now 16.5 lbs, 25 1/4 inches tall, and her head is 16.5 inches.  She has become a bit more busy lately and has just remembered how to roll over again.  She still is not very mobile, but she sits great and has a very long reach.  She gets frustrated when she wants something that is just beyond her reach, and is just now trying harder to get it rather than just whining.  She cut her second tooth last Thursday, and she must have more coming because she is still pretty cranky.

She really wants that pen and works hard for it.

She is a terrible napper, and we are trying some different things to get her sleeping better.  She still sleeps in our room most nights, but is spending more and more time sleeping in her crib in her room.  It has been a VERY gradual transition.  I think we are planning to get through the holidays, then really focus on the routines, sleeping, and getting rid of the pacifiers.

She has some new sounds including something that sounds like a machine gun, as well clicking her tongue.  She is also experimenting with the baba and dada sounds.  She still likes to spit, blow raspberries, cough, and growl.

Here is the machine gun sound.

Overall she is a happy little girl (most of the time) and we think she is just adorable.  We love our little Alice and can't get enough of her.

Finally here

That is Alice's first tooth.  Just a couple days past 7 months, her bottom right tooth has made it appearance this morning.  It is still hard to get a picture of it, but this is the best we could do.  I am hoping this will ease her fussiness, but I have a feeling the bottom left one is shortly behind. 

Snow?

I have heard that this is supposed to be a cold cold winter.  We have had a few cold winters in the past, but last year we did not see a single snowflake at our house. 

Today, before Thanksgiving, on November 21st, we are seeing the snow fall outside.  It has been snowing for a couple hours.  It is sticking to the roofs, grass, trees, and it is pretty.  I missed seeing snow last year.  I love it when it snows a lot, and the whole city seems to shut down as we are so ill prepared for snow.  Things tend to get quiet, and the pace of life seems to slow when the flakes fall. 

7 Months

Current stats - 16 lbs, 24.5 inches tall, and 16.5 in 42cm head circumference. 

New developments include

• sitting well on her own
• rolled over last week for the first time from back to tummy.  She hasn't done it since, and also appears to not roll over either way.  Perhaps sitting made her forget.
• Her naps have started to improve, and this last week, most days she has taken a decent nap, and she is even in her crib today.  YEAH!
• She has been fairly fussy due to the first tooth that I think is almost here.  
• She likes to eat solids, and is a big fan of carrots and sweet potatoes, she also really likes bananas.  She also has fun playing with cheerios.  She can pick them up, but it is hard to get them out of her hand into her mouth.  Bella loves it though because most end up on the floor.

We are very busy most days with Christmas projects, visiting friends and family, and fun activities like library storytime and football games.  I will now move onto some other specific posts that I have been way behind on.

6 months

My baby turned 6 months old this week.  I can't believe how big she is now.  Her current stats are 24 in tall, 15.0 lbs, and her head is now 40.5 cm.  Her percentiles are staying pretty consistent, still short, chubby, with a small head, and every bit as cute.

Nephew #3 was born almost two weeks ago, and we went to see him. He was roughly the same size as Alice, but he looks so tiny.  At home, Alice is my little baby, but then around the new baby, she looks like a giant.  I have a hard time remembering her so little.  I also have a hard time remembering her so inactive.

She is a go-go-go little girl.  Some of her recent developments

• She has started rolling over more consistently from her tummy to her back.  Still not all the time, but she can when she want to.  
• She doesn't complain about tummy time as much anymore.  
• She can sit up pretty well, and only falls over occasionally.
• She grabs and picks up everything and puts it in her mouth.  She is definitely tasting the world.  
• She loves toys, and decided paper is pretty darn neat. 
• She is talking all the time and has expanded her language from just growling, to ya-ya-ya's, and blowing bubbles, a little cough, and most recently talking while inhaling
• She got sick for the first time and had a fever of 101 degrees for a day and a half.  It was accompanied with a lack of sleep for all three of us, crankyness (again for all three) and a runny nose, which is still lingering a tad bit.  
• Her grasp has gotten pretty strong and she pulls my hair all the time.  It is usually in a ponytail, but she gets those little hairs at the neck.  Ouch.  She has also learned to pull Bella's hair.
• Bella is still her friend, despite the hair pulling.  I am very impressed at Bella's maturity and patience with Alice.
• Still not napping well, but she is sleeping a little better at night as we have tried to get her in her cradle more.  Maybe this month, we will move toward her crib :)
• She had started to recognize Mom and Dad, and prefers if we are holding her rather than strangers.
• Nursing has become a little frustrating because she is impatient for the let down, then gets mad again when it is over and she has to work a little harder.  Distraction is also an issue. 
• She has also learned to ride in the Ergo on my back.  YEAH!

I am sure this is not an exhaustive list of all Alice's skills, but we love her.  Since she has turned 6 months, she has had a haircut, and a little taste of some bananas.  She thinks they are tasty.  Lots of pictures to come.

Inheritance

Shortly after Alice started making sounds, she developed a new language.  It must have been inherited from her mother.  When I was a small child, I was nicknamed cave baby.  I grunted and growled when I wanted something or wasn't happy.

Occasionally, I will get a cute little coo out of her, but more often it is in the form of a growl.  This video was taken on August 27th, about 6 weeks ago.  She still growls and screams regularly.  From my perspective, it is cute initially and on occasion, but it gets old pretty fast, and I just want my baby to sound happy.  I know she is happy, but sometimes it doesn't sound like it.

New friends

Alice has been really enjoying toys.  She will reach for them, grab them, look at them, and usually eat them.  I have worried that sometimes she will pull her baby gym down because she is pulling so hard on the hanging toys.  A few weeks ago, one particular nap time, she was being fussy and wouldn't fall asleep.  I had read that babies like to look at faces.  I placed a doll my sister made in her view.  When I went back to check on her, this is what I found.

Apparently, Alice has made a new friend.  I think she made a good choice.

Breakthrough

Today, I think we had a breakthrough in the rolling over department.  She has finally figured it out, at only 5 1/2 months.  She has done it a few times today.  Before today, she has only done it a few times ever.  She still has not ever rolled from her back to tummy, but this is a start. 

I love that she whines when she is done because she can't reach her toy.

She is also getting better at sitting up.  She will last a short while before tipping over on the side or arching her back.

Sick Day?

Yesterday morning, I woke up sick.  Sore throat, achy muscles, congestion, and just plain old brain fog and tired.  Nothing major, but sick nonetheless.  As I went through my day, I realized that Moms don't get sick days.  As I am feeling yucky, I still need to feed and care for my baby.  I can't just check out of life anymore.  I can scale back a few things like the plans to visit my sister this week (I don't want her to get sick), and less projects around the house. 

Until, I feel better, we will be sticking close to home, taking care of my baby, and reading some books while I rest.

I'm in Love

Some may ask, what do you do now that you are not working?  Well, two weeks ago, I watched my nephews (post coming soon), and last week I organized my home to get ready for a party (post coming soon), today I made these.

These are Big Butt Baby Pants and I am in love.  They are meant to fit over cloth diapers.

I also made these baby tights.  Although I had to make the legs a tad bit wider for Alice's chubby legs, but they turned out great too.   Now she can wear all her cute dresses without freezing to death.

Well, I am off to make another pair of Big Butt Baby Pants, so wish me luck.

5 Months

I can't believe my little girl is 5 months already.  I may be biased, but she is the cutest things on the planet.  She is almost always happy and smiling (other than when she is starving, tired, or has a wet diaper).  Her are a few things she is up to these days.

• She gives out smiles to anyone and everyone.  If you talk to her and smile, she will almost always smile back.  It is a whole body smile that reaches from ear to ear.
• I heard her laugh for the first time on August 27th.  My mom was tickling her around her neck.  It was so cute.  She has laughed a couple other times, but apparently giggles are only for the most hilarious circumstances, and only she knows what those are.
• She rolled over from her tummy to her back on September 16th.  She hasn't done it since, but is tolerating tummy time better longer and she holds her head and chest us pretty well.
• She loves to stand
• She will sit for long periods of time on the floor with a little bit of support.
• She loves her toys.  Her current favorites are a little colorful cow that crinkles and a couple teething toys I just got her.  She also loves her playmat with the hanging toys.
• She is chewing much more.  I think she is beginning to teeth.  More drool, and chewing in addition to her sucking.
• She loves loves loves her Pacifier.  I am planning to get rid of it in the next few months.  I know it is going to be difficult for both of us.
• Her vocal skills are expanding.  She is a very proficient spitter.  She blows bubbles so hard that spit end up all over her face including up to her forehead.  She is also talking much more, but in the form a growl.  My niece said she sounds like a dinasour.  (I will post some video of her growling later)
• She is now grown out of most of her 0-3 month clothes and now fits most of her 3-6 months clothes
• I miss the 4 month visit, but her stats then were 12 lbs, 12.5 oz (32%), 23.25 in tall (17%), and 39.25 cm head cirucumference (9%)
• Based on my measurements, she is now 14.0 lbs, 23.5 in tall, and 40 cm for head.

Overall, we loves our little Alice, and she is just the most precious little baby.

Am I a terrible parent?

Bella and Alice are great friends.

I often see Bella snuggled up to Alice when she is lying on the floor.
I often see Alice running her hands through Bella's fur.
I often see Bella playing with Alice's hands when they are waving around.
I often see Bella bring Alice one the dog toys to play with.
Bella is also always tolerant when Alice gets a grip on her fur.

Overall, they are great friends and love each other.  I let them play together, I let Alice toughen up Bella, but is this taking it too far?

Bella seems to be obsessed with Alice's skin.  It must be very tasty.  I don't complain much about the hands and feet, but we have been working with Bella to avoid her face.  I figured as long as Alice doesn't complain it isn't too bad.  Right?

Summer Fun

This summer, we had a lot of fun.  We loved being able to incorporate family activities and having Alice.

We made new friends, and said goodbye to one of them.  Maria moved back to Utah so her husband could go to grad school.  We miss you Maria.

Maria & Creedance, Shirlee & Alice, Kathryn & Evan, Cara & Brooklyn

Creedance - March 19

Alice - April 19

Evan - May 12

Brooklyn - June 7

This is us in February, funny how we all had our hair down here, and up with our babies.

We have enjoyed many get together's with friends, afternoon walks with Kathryn & Evan, hanging out at my parent's house, playing on the lake.

We even ventured out and went camping at Bank's lake for 6 days with almost my whole family.  Becky and Marcus we sure missed you.  We had a great time watching the boys play in the sand, and we all had a great time on the boat.  Alice loved the boat, and fell asleep in her giant life jacket every ride.  Here are few pictures of our trip.

The babies sleeping on the beach

The rest of us relaxing on the beach

Alice back at camp on her lounge chair ( don't worry, she still doesn't roll over)

We have also spent time with cousins.  We went to the Clark County Fair in Vancouver, WA with Melissa and the boys, sorry no pictures, and we also got to spend time with the Poe's on that trip.  They came up to Olympia later and we got to see them again.  It is so fun to see all the cousins playing together. 

- 2 cute girls less than 2 weeks apart

 See they are already friends

Pre-Pregnancy Goals

When I got married over 7 years ago, I was at a weight that was healthy.  I thought I needed to lose another 10 lbs, but who doesn't.  Shortly after we were married, I took a job that sat at a desk.  By Christmas I was up about 10 lbs, and by the next summer, I was up another 10.  I then took a job working at a desk and lots of extra hours.  I gradually over about 5 years put on another 15 lbs.  I yo-yo'd between 145 and 160 for a long time.

Dusty and I both knew we were overweight and set some real goals, that were difficult, but reasonable with some real rewards.  My reward was that we would sign up for adoption.  When I got laid off, I worked to get my whole life back on track.  Part of that was my weight.  I worked hard last summer and I reached my goal (which was 10 lbs above my wedding weight).  Just as I reached my goal, I found out I was pregnant.  My reward was met somewhat, but for a time, put on hold.

I was super happy to be pregnant, but I also knew that just as I reached my goal, it would go away very quickly.  
While I was pregnant, I don't think I ever got huge.  I felt huge, but looking at pictures, I wasn't very big.  Maybe it was due to the extra room inside my belly from the missing organs, or perhaps, Alice was just compact.  Nonetheless, I didn't look huge. 

Despite my looks, I did gain weight.  I gained about 30 lbs.  I think I lost a little just before she was born, but I gained a fair amount.  I was prepared to be wearing maternity clothes for many weeks, and that it would take about 9 months to a year to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, which was hard to get to in the first place.

I am not sure if it is due to nursing, or walking up and down the stairs more to change diapers, check on Alice, etc, but I pleased to say that I was back to my goal weight a few weeks ago, and now am about 4 lbs under.  I have not weighed this little in seven years. 

I think my shape is still a little different than it was seven years ago, but I am okay with that.  I am going to try to lose another 10 lbs, and keep staying healthy.  I feel it is very important to be healthy for Alice, and any other future children we may have either through adoption or pregnancy.  Being at a low weight will definitely help manage my PCOS and our hopes for me to carry another child. 

Creases

It seems that 2010 is a year for babies.  We have many friends and family who have babies or are due in the near future.  Every baby is an individual creation of our heavenly father and is different from any other, but it is hard not to compare different personalities, features, sizes, abilities, etc. 

My baby is chubby.  She is thick, dense, and has creases.  I love every one of them.  She is not so chubby that she is fat, just full and healthy.  She has chubby cheeks, dimples on her hands and elbows, rolls on her legs, a bonus chin, feet that seem taller than long, and every bit of her is adorable.

Diaper Free

As a new mom.  I want to be as educated as I can.  I check out lots of library books about babies on subjects as calming them, helping them sleep, baby sign language, and more.  One subject I have researched is Natural Infant Hygiene or Elimination Communication.  My favorite book is Diaper Free by Ingrid Bauer. 

It is basically getting to know your baby so that you can help her with her elimination needs.  Just like you know what your baby does when she is hungry, or sleepy, or needs some cuddle, you also know when she needs to go.  If you can know when she is needs to go, you simply undress them and hold them over a receptacle so that she can go in the receptacle instead of her diaper. 

I know it sounds a bit odd, but we thought we would give it a try, and it has worked for us.  We have better days than others, and times when I can pay more attention, but she will go in her little potty, and it is certainly easier to clean up a potty than wash a diaper.

We have also noticed a difference in her bowel movements.  She was very infrequent sometimes going 8 days between movements.  In the past couple weeks, since holding her over the toilet, the frequency has increased now to about once every day or two.  We can usually catch them in the toilet, and I have found that to be quite nice.  Hopefully, we will continue to have more good days.

Alice still wears a diaper regularly, but who knows, maybe someday we will go a whole day diaper free.

Welcome Gabriel

Within one year, Grandma Lybbert is expecting 5 grandchildren.  Alice was first, Benjamin was number two, and number three just arrived.

Welcome Baby Gabriel.  He was born on Tuesday September 7th, at 1:01 am.  8 lbs, 13 oz, 21 inches. 

Gabriel Reid

With his Mama - Doesn't she look awesome?

Here are all the kiddos - Braden, Rylee, and Gabriel

(by the way, all photos were stolen from Brett's Facebook page)

Hair Styles

The most common comment we receive about our little Alice is definitely "Wow, look at that hair."  I don't really do the headbands with the big flowers or bows, but I do like to comb her hair differently. 

When she was smaller, and her hair was shorter, I loved the mohawk.

Then there is the straight up - It usually doesn't stay that way

Most often we go with comb to the side look

Occasionally we add a little bow

This Sunday, we tried a whole new look.  The ponytail.

She didn't really like the process of getting the ponytail in, but I thought it was cute.  What is your favorite style?

Fruits of thy Labor

On my labor day this year, I ventured into a new project.  It was long, it was exciting, and most of all it was (or will be) YUMMY.  I canned fruit.  I did 26 quarts of peaches, 14 quarts of pears, and 6 quarts of applesauce.  We borrowed a pressure cooker, and some jars from Dusty's Mom, and went to work.

I learned a few things about canning that I found very interesting.

• It takes a long time (or I am just slow)
• It is more fun when there are a couple people
• Your feet hurt after a while of standing in the kitchen
• Babies don't like being ignored even though you have peach juice and sugar all over your hands
• Blanching is amazing
• Salt and vinegar keep pears from browning
• It is hard to stuff fruit into jars tight enough
• The whole process uses lots of pots and leaves everything sticky

Dusty helped peel and slice the peaches, and peeled a few pears.

Here is the finished product (applesauce not pictured)

I am very excited to eat all the yummy fruit.  And I plan on doing more in the years to come.

The Beginning

Today is a monumental day.  I got out the sewing machine, tried to sew and found it was jamming in the bobbin area.  I did some Google research, and decided it needed to be cleaned.  I found my owner's manual, read it and cleaned the machine.  Amazingly, Google came through again, and it was fixed.  Then I proceeded to make these.

 

They are cloth wipes for a friend who is due later this month.  I just found out she is planning on using cloth diapers, and all cloth diapering mommies need cute cloth wipes.  They are finished 7 by 8 inches and just one sheet of flannel.  I have some that I made for Alice, but I surged the edges and they just don't look quite as cute and finished.  They are not perfect, but I had fun making them. 

One thing I didn't do today was work!  Yesterday was my last day as a professional employed accountant, now I am a happy, project doing, unpaid Mom, and I couldn't ask for more.  Hopefully this is the first of many sewing projects so I don't have to open the manual every time I sit down to do a project.

I have lots to blog about and fun projects to update you on, but those will come later.  I need to finish the rest of my wipes.

One Year Ago...

One year ago today, we were excited, we were scared, we were cautious, we were worried about telling my future employer that I would be quitting in 8 months before I even started. 

One year ago, we found out that this...

 

gave us hope as we saw this

 

We asked for prayers, and you responded.  We soon found out that we had one strong heart beat

We were so excited, but still so cautious as we had seen this twice before.  

We saw our little gummy bear wiggling at 8 weeks.  It didn't seem real, and were still so worried.  Over the next few months we heard your heartbeats.

 

We then found out it was a healthy little girl

We felt here movements, and loved her then and we grew with her (33 wks, my last profile shot)

We got to see how cute she was before she even came

Then she made her grand entrance into our family

We have watched her grow up over the past 4 months into the most beautiful baby we have ever seen, and we have loved every minute of it.

It is amazing how one year ago, we had that amazing plus sign on a stick that gave us hope.  And now we have a beautiful little girl that give us so much joy.  

In just one year, our whole world changed, and we have loved every minute of it.  Alice, we are so glad that heavenly father sent you to us.  You are the answer to 6 years of diligent prayers by not only your parents, but so many who loved you before you were born.  We love you so much and look forward to many more years.

Finally Insured!

Yeah, finally Alice and I have medical insurance.  After reducing my hours, I was no longer eligible for benefits through my company.  Both Cobra and Dusty's work plan were WAY too expensive so that left us trying to find private insurance.   Hopefully, nobody who reads this will have to purchase private insurance, but in a nutshell overall, you have to pay a lot to get a little. 

We settled on a high deductible plan that pays for well child care and immunizations without meeting the deductible.  If we get sick, we will have to pay for those visits until we meet the deductible, but since the premiums are much less, it works out better in the end. 

It sounded great, and I applied for both Alice and myself.  Two weeks later, I get a letter stating I was denied.  I do not think I am an unhealthy person.  I reviewed the reason for the denial and it is because many years ago, I had Ulcerative Colitis which was cured through surgery that took place 9 years ago.  I had to write an appeal letter, and then wait 30 days to find out if they would insure us.  I found out today, that I was approved, and we will get our ID cards next week. 

Although it is still a high deductible plan, it makes me feel better to know that we are insured in case something horrible happens. 

Going through this process actually made me appreciate for the first time anything that Mr. Obama has done in office.  His health care reform bill doesn't really do much to improve health care; however, it does help sick people get insurance.  I didn't realize how necessary this really is until I experienced first hand first of all, how expensive private insurance is, and secondly, that they will even deny healthy people at a first glance.  I still feel that the system is incredibly broken, but I guess a baby step in the right direction is a start.

3 Months Already

On Monday, it marked 3 months since Baby Alice has been on this earth.  I can't believe how much she grown and how much of a personality she has developed.  She is typically a very content baby.  I think she still has fussy times and cranky days, but everyone around me seems to think as my sister puts it "the easiest baby on the planet." I don't know any different, but we love her and are so happy to have her in our family.

We have had a very busy couple months, and I want to blog about each event, but am not sure it will happen.  So to summarize, in the past two months, here is what we have been up to. 

We have been able to hang out with our cousins more.  My awesome sister has been able to babysit Alice on days when I have to go to work.  She then plays volleyball in Seattle, and I get to watch her boys.  It is really fun to get to spend time with them every week.  It has been working out pretty well.  Owen loves the castle and other toys, Bella loves the boys, and Nigel loves Bella's toys.

We have been to two weddings

Dusty's Cousin in Yakima, WA

Shirlee's Cousin in Draper, UT

A road trip to Utah for the above wedding.  I drove down to Utah with my sister and her two boys.  We missed our working husbands, and it was a long drive, but we had a great time.  We spent time around BYU, as well as enjoying the wedding festivities.

Boys playing in the fountain at BYU

Alice was blessed at church by her father and was able to wear a gown specially designed and made by Grandma Poe.  It was a very special day that we spent with our families who have supported us so much through our long wait for this precious little angel.

 We also attended a funeral for Dusty's sister Felicia.  We will truly miss her.

The passing of Felicia was tragic, but it has a way of bringing the family together.  Alice got to meet more cousins Rylee and Braden who live in CA.

And her newest cousin Benjamin who was born right in the middle of planning the funeral.  Benjamin is moving to Alaska with his family, so we will miss them too.

Other than that, we have been hanging out at home, and spending a little bit of time at Grandma and Grandpa Poe's.  She has already been on the boat twice, and doesn't seem to mind her gigantic life jacket too much. (I will get a picture next time).

Apparently, like father, like daughter

At the age of 3 months,  according to my tape measure and scale, and online charts, Alice is somewhere around 11.5 lbs (25%), about 22 inches tall (5-10%), and her head circumference is about 15 inches (5%).  She is now sleeping pretty well at night and will wake up around 5:00am.  I don't mind it at all. 

3 months - She smiles better than this, but it is hard to catch it on camera

She can hold her head up pretty well, and she tolerates tummy time for about 10-15 minutes

 (2 months)

She loves to smile 

(2 months)

She is talking all time and making lots of noises 

(I have a video that I will post later)

She loves baths and is kicking and splashing in the water

(video for this one too later)

She loves her swing - Weeeee 

(6 weeks)

She tolerates even it when Bella tries to play with her

(7 weeks)

Overall, Alice is doing great, and we love her and love being parents.  Sometimes it is hard to juggle everything (hence the reason for blog neglect), but we are just trying to enjoy every minute of this precious little angel.