4 months old

As time goes on things get easier....a little. We go to the doctor Monday, so I'll post her stats then! Our 4 month old....

• smiles alot, especially in the mornings or right after a good, long nap.
  rolls from her front to back a couple times a week, and rolled from her back to tummy once!
• still doesn't sleep thru the night.
• can't soothe herself to sleep yet. But an entry in another blog I read said 'rock your baby to sleep for as long as you can, time goes too fast and before you know it you won't be able to or they won't want you to'. It's nice to have her fall asleep in your arms even if she cries at first.
• got her first cold, and first ear infection, at least she has an excuse to be crabby!
• has no feeding schedule, she is all over the map with her feeding and nap times.
• hates her car seat, about 80% of the time she cries in the car- for no apparent reason but to hear herself cry! Our 3 hour trip to Okoboji at the end of July should be interesting!
• likes toys that make noise, of course! Is very good at grabbing for toys now.
• is slowing growing her hair back! Her bald spot is slowly going away!
• no longer needs water, a fan, or the hair dryer to calm her down! we are making progress!
• is becoming a daddy's girl. Aren't all girls? :)

Random thoughts.

• I love driving to the mall with the top down on the convertibe when the sun is shining and the weather is great!................Reality check sorry! I mean.... I love driving to the mall with a crying baby and I don't want the windows down for everyone to hear her.
• This is the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life, and I’m not proud of it. I hate that I still spend most of my non-work hours in maternity lounge pants and t-shirts. I hate that I went to the Billy Joel/Elton John concert wearing too-small jeans and a huge sweatshirt to mask how badly they fit. I hate that I can’t remember the last time I felt confident in my own skin. And I hate how my feelings about this spill over into other areas of my life.
  On a positive note, my gym shoes still fit. That counts for something, right? This is an entry from another blog I read....except for wearing maternity pants and wearing too small jeans, this is how I feel these days! I bought a swimming suit last week, the thought scares me. I bought a tankini, the thought of my tummy sticking out there for everyone to see makes me a little sick. What a difference 1 year and a baby makes!
• My grandparents are getting old. That makes me sad. They live in Houston and I really hope that I get to see them soon. I really hope that Presley gets to meet her great-grandparents. It's kinda weird to think that she'll never to get know them and love them the way I do.
• My sisters are wonderful, beautiful women. I can understand why their boyfriends might be insecure, but honestly I don't think either of them needs to prove themselves to anyone. If you can't handle smart, funny, attractive girlfriends, find someone else.
• I'm training 4 boys at work...and by boys, I mean freshly out of college, 22 year old boys. They've hired a lot of young people. I'm offically one of the 'older' people at work.

Babies everywhere!

Our friends Angi and Corey had their little baby boy this week! Collin James is adorable with his chubby little cheeks! We are so happy for them and can't wait to see him!
Well Thursday we had our dinner club! It was so good to see everyone and the weather was good so we were able to eat outside. Presley was kinda a grouch since she didn't get in a very long evening nap, but owell. The other babies were very good, playing and crawling! Crazy the difference a couple months makes when you are a baby!
Last night I went out after work with a couple girl friends it was nice to get out and be social and again the weather was great! and I was home by 9:30 to put Presley to bed!
I also found out that our friend Lisa's sister-in-law gave birth to her twins! A little early but it sounds like they were decent in size and that they are doing good. So we continue to with them luck! I can't imagine having two babies at once! They will do a great job and they have an amazing family to help them out!

Steve is working with his brother in Earlham this weekend, so this morning after I got Presley down for a nap, I took advantage of the time and got some things done around the house and got an hour nap myself! She took a 3 hour nap! I'm not sure she's ever done that at our house before of course she does for my mom all the time!)! I think she is still fighting her cold.
My Uncle David from Colorado was in town this weekend so they came over to see Presley. She was pretty good but then started her usual whining. They haven't seen her since she was a week old! Then she took a 20 minute power nap in my arms and is now playing! Hopefully we have a good afternoon ahead of us so we can enjoy the nice weather!

Update

So we took Presley to the doctor this morning, just to make sure her cold hadn't turned into an ear infection. Steve took her by himself (I won't mention why he wasn't at work.....Presley didn't sleep good and he didn't get a lot of sleep.....big baby!) and of course she was really good! Smiley and talking, the doctor probably thought we had lost our mind taking a happy baby to the doctor! :) The doctor said she had a virus but no ear infection! So we are happy! They weighed her with her clothes on and she was 13 lbs 6 oz, she has her 4 month appointment on the 8th so we'll see how much she grows by then!
She was very happy all day and night! Talking, playing, screaming, smiling! Now she just needs to be like this every night!
Keep your fingers crossed that she sleeps good tonight!

Long weekend!

It was a good weekend, but long. Presley just didn't feel that good. She picked up a cold from her BFF, Amelia at daycare (or my mom's house!) It wasn't that bad, but she would wake up snorting and stuffy. She was very whiny and basically just want to be walked around the house, the yard, the block, whatever. She has been sleeping very good, not thru the night, but good. Hopefully not just because she is sick! :)
We went to my parents house today, we ate too much, talked and played 4-square! It can get intense but can be a good workout too! We hope everyone had a good Memorial Day!

Here is a pic that sums up most of our weekend.
I know I posted about Presley and how she moves in her crib during the night. Here are two pics of where she ended up when I got her out of bed over the weekend. I'm not sure how she turns and gets out of her swaddler all the time! This is my favorite time of day...getting her out of bed, because she is so happy and smiley!

90 degrees from where she started......

almost 180 degrees from where she started! Crazy, active baby!!

Pictures!

Here is Miss Presley playing on her tummy, holding her head up really good!
She doesn't crawl but she is so squirmy here is where she ended up! You can see her hair isn't very long but it is growing in and getting thicker by the day!

She is getting better with her hands...she'll even hold her bottle every now and then!

In her two-piece pajama's! Too cute, we got them at a garage sale!

Busy days ahead

Well we had our baptism class for Presley last night. Steve really didn't want to go, but I told him that it was important for our daughter. I think after the hour with Deacon George he realized that we were doing the right thing. I learned more in that hour than I did in all of my years of religious education classes! I think he is an interesting speaker. He actually married us, though at his age and with as many wedding as he does, he doesn't remember. I don't mind, it's not like we are active church goers or anything. So now we have to plan when we are going to have her baptized! We are thinking June 6th after the 5 oclock mass, but we'll see, the weekends are getting so busy.
We are having our dinner club at our house this coming Thursday! We haven't been able to attend the last two because I was sick and then we had just left the hospital after having Presley! We'll finally get to meet Kamden and Preston, who are now about 10 and 8 months old! Shame on us!!
Steve might be working out of town next weekend. Then we should have her baptism and our friend Janelle is going to come over and take Presley's first 'professional' pics. I'm really hoping she is good and smiley!
Then the 13th is our 2nd annual Brett Favre retirement party, if any of you haven't been invited, consider this your invitation! Really it is just an excuse to get people together to eat, drink, talk and play 4-square! And that Sunday we are going to see Mamma Mia at the Civic Center! We bought tickets for my mom for Mother's Day and I'm looking forward to some girl time!

I really should just focus on this weekend for now! I have a list of things I need to get done, the list keeps growing. It's not anything that important or time consuming, but I've requested to have about 3 hours to myself this weekend! To go run errands and....just stuff, and I'm looking forward to it!
We are going to my mom's for Memorial Day, Holly was kind enough to volunteer them for a BBQ! :) Should be fun and hopefully the weather will be nice so we can get in some serious 4-square action!
I'll have to post some Presley pics later. We've got some more cute ones!

What's going on?

Well it's been too long since I've posted and I really have no excuses...ok I do. Working overtime, playing with Presley, I started running/walking again, your basic cleaning, shopping, sleeping...... and of course, checking Facebook.

We are still trying to get Presley on a good sleeping schedule. She gets up about 2 am and recently we've been lucky enough for her to sleep till 6 am. She gets so cranky when she needs sleep. I'm sure the neighbors love hearing her whining all evening.
We are looking forward to getting out with her this summer. We don't want to be those parents who don't do anything because we have a kid. There are plenty of things we can do and take her along with (where it's loud and they can't hear if she starts screaming) the Valley Junction farmers market is a favorite on Thursday nights and we want to take her to the Urbandale Family Fest or the horse races at Prairie Meadows on Fridays! And of course there's the downtown farmers market, last year we usually slept in too late or were too hungover to get up and go down there. Now we could be the first ones there! ha

Steve has been keeping himself busy....as usual. With the nice weather, he loves grilling, keeping up with the yard work and everything else he can think of. He has a list of projects he wants to do around the house, of course that list doesn't have laundry or dishes or cleaning on it?!

Have we turned a corner??

Well Friday night I had girls night. It was fun as always! We went to Los Cabos to eat and drink a couple margaritas. Here is a pic of us girls at West Glen Cab after dinner. I was a trooper and was one of the last two girls out! Woot Woot! I was a little worried how Presley would be for Steve, but it turns out she was very good for him. He took her to Brock and Jackie's house to hangout for a bit and she played and even rolled over for them twice!
Saturday I had a little headache and was tired, but by noon I was ready to go. We went to the mall and got Presley a little swimsuit. She was a little fussy, so our trip out didn't last long. Steve had a bachelor party that night and left about 5pm. I swaddled Presley for a nap, I knew she needed a good long nap....and so did I! Finally about 7:15 I woke her up from her nap, which doesn't happen very often, but I was worried she wouldn't go back to sleep for the night if I didn't. She was so good! She ate, played and took a bath and was back in bed at 9pm!
Here is a pic of her standing alone. She loves standing but can only keep her balance for a couple seconds before her knees give out! :) Sunday was Mother's Day! I was really afraid Steve would forget that I am now a 'mom' but he didn't. Presley got me a giftcard to go buy some new work clothes, which I desperately need! Then we went on a picnic with Gma, Gpa, Holly and Ben. We ate lunch, went on a short hike, flew a couple kites and Steve even got to do a little fishin. It was so nice, it had been a long time since I've been on a picnic! Then we came home and took naps! Presley needed it and so did I! So we had another good night with her....keep your fingers crossed that this continues! :)

Here she is sitting in her bumbo, she hasn't quite figured out how to reach out and play but she likes to look at the toys. Isn't she a doll?

Couple more pics

My first mothers day is two days away. I hope she is a good, happy baby. Her smile just melts my heart....even when it's a little crooked like her dads smile!

So far, so good!

We actually had a pretty good week in the Goodrich household. Monday was a little rough, but we now know that if Presley doesn't get in some good long naps, she is not happy! Tuesday, we had another addition to the Goodrich family. Steve's brother Jason had a another pretty little girl! After 7 boys and 2 girls, Presley and little Ava Elizabeth are helping the girls make a comeback in the family, 7 boys to 4 girls! Steve and I would have to have 3 more girls to even it out and I don't think that's going to happen! ha!
We took Presley to the hospital with us, we were a little nervous of how she would act, but she was actually pretty good. She got a little fussy when she got hungry and tired, but fell asleep on the way home and took an hour nap!
Wednesday night she took at very short evening nap, and about 7:30 we were going to give her a bath. I put her on the changing table and there she laid, happy as can be! So I put away some of her laundry while she was just laying there! 10 minutes went by and then she finally started getting bored, so it was off to bathtime. Since she likes her baths now, we take our time and make them last as long as we can. At 8pm, we dressed her, fed her and swaddled her for bedtime by 9.......she got up at her usual 1:30ish time and then we up at 4 am...not wide awake but not tired enough to sleep in her crib. So we cuddled on the couch till 6 am, when Dad woke us up.
Tonight we decided to venture out to the Valley Junction farmers market. She had got a little fussy every now and then, Aunt Holly held her for a long time and she just watched everything going on. Finally, we got her to take a short nap while I walked around with her, watching the band, drinking a beer! It was so nice out! It was nice to get out of the house and to be able to take Presley out with us! We got home a little before 8 and played till after 9 pm, a night of having a happy baby is something we aren't used to! :) Maybe this is a sign of good things to come! (I don't want to jinx us, since I have girls night tomorrow night and Steve has a bachelor party on Saturday night!)
Wish us luck and a happy baby!!

Couple pics!

Sunday night we couldn't figure out how to make her happy, so after all the usual calming devices we use, we found the bathroom mirror! She thinks she's pretty cute. She'll smile and laugh at herself!

Three months!

Though I don't think she has changed much in the last month, I'm sure she has. I'll have to go back and read my 2 month update before I start this one.......and I'll post pics later.

Ok, so our 3 month old:

• still gets up at least once a night. Usually about 2 am and then right before the alarm goes off. So she gets to cuddle in our bed until we are ready to get up.



• rolled over...........three times!



• hasn't found her hands yet, but she is always sucking on them and playing with them. She'll reach out and hit her toys, but doesn't realize what she is doing.



• smiles, coos and babbles quite a bit when she is happy. I love these times of the day!


• likes her baths now and is quite content on just laying in there. As you probably read on the previous post, this will be used as a calming effect if we need.
  
• is still awfully squirmy! Kicks, turns, holds her head up really well. She is always off of her postioner when we get her from her crib. Most of the time turned sideways, sometimes turned 180 degrees from where she started!....and she is always swaddled. But usually has at least one of her arms out of her swaddle, sometimes both, sometimes even a leg is sticking out.
• is demanding! Either she is still colicky or she just likes to throw a fit every night for at least 1/2 hour. It's tiring.

Is she testing us?.......

So I worked till 6 pm last night to get in some of my overtime. I called Steve on my way home to see how things were going with Presley. He said she started crying at my moms when she woke up from her nap. They couldn't calm her down, she wasn't hungry or tired....she just wasn't happy. So he went home with her crying and she had been crying since! Lovely!
I got home and she smiled...once, then is started up again. I walked around with her, the kitchen calmed her down for about 10 minutes, then she got bored. Finally, she got tired enough to sleep for 30 minutes. I figured a little nap would do her some good, then she would forget what she was crying about, eat a little and be happy. WRONG. She wasn't happy, wasn't hungry and continued to cry. We went to our usual calming devices.....the water running in the sink, the hair dryer, the fan above the stove is a new one! Nothing worked for more than 5 minutes.
Our last resort, give her a bath. She seems to like them now so it was worth a try! She was silent and content the whole time. Figured, now that she was calm she would eat...she hadn't really had anything to eat since 2:30, it was 8:30! We were wrong again......I decided I would sit on the toilet, with the water running in the tub and try to feed her..............................................She drank the whole damn bottle! Steve came in to see how things were going (water still running, me still sitting on the toilet) she looked up at him and smiled. Seriously? After all that, now she smiles????
So I swaddled her on the floor of the family room. She laid there smiling, looking up at the TV, talking. Goodness child.

Kinda ironic that the daily log my mom keeps for her said "Perfect girl today!"