River of Life

Carina has a river of life flowing out of her, haha. Her drooling has reached new levels and we are well aware this is only the beginning. The child isn't even teething yet! So for now we find it amusing, cute (she's a little bubble blower) and just a tad bit gross.

We had a very laid back day today. Other than an early morning trip to Babies R Us (horray for long-sleeved onesies!) we've spent this dreary Saturday indoors and half asleep. Carina and I napped together this afternoon and then watched "Elf" this evening. Made puppy chow for Heather's party tomorrow. Posted some pics to Facebook. All in a days work.

We saw pictures today from friends of ours who have a 3 year old daughter. We say what we always say "We're going to have a 3 year old one day!". It really, truly boggles my mind. I can't believe that just today we bought Carina clothing stamped "6 months" (with room to grow, of course). But she is growing... and incredibly quickly in my opinion. I miss the newborn who was less than half her current size when we brought her home. I miss the baby who was all too happy to just cuddle on mommy's chest.

But more than that I look forward so much to all that she will learn and all that she will become. Today we read 3 or 4 books together. She gave me her full attention and she loved looking at the pictures. She listens to us intently and babbles back. She is just so aware and takes everything in with such joy. It's so hard to believe that one day she'll be walking and talking and singing and dancing. We are just so in awe of her every single day.

I packed up an entire box of clothes that no longer fit. I'm guessing she's pushing 14 pounds now. We try to fit in tummy time each day and she's really lifting her head up more and more easily. I'll post some pics below along with pics of her boyfriend AJ and some (appropriate) tubby time pics too. There's one of the back of her head too - just to prove she has some hair!

Wednesdays = My Favorite

I love, love, love having Wednesdays off with my little girl. She's napping right now.

We had a busy weekend. Made a family grocery shopping trip on Friday. Ran into a former co-worker and got to show Carina off. Always fun.

Saturday we walked in the "Walk for Life" to benefit our local pregnancy center. The weather was great, we walked 2 miles and Carina slept. Got a free t-shirt, water bottle and Chick-Fil-A sandwich coupons! Peter & I raised $175 and I felt pretty good about that.

Later in the day we went to Petsmart and then to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. A carwash was being held to benefit the pregnancy center. It was free but for every car washed an apartment complex was donating $5. Peter took his car. I cleaned the house a bit. Made brownies. That was pretty much our Saturday. Oh - and we watched "Wolverine" too. A great movie that lead to an interesting dream about Will.I.Am.

Sunday we all went to Sunday school, church, lunch and a Sunday school meeting. I can't believe Carina lasted 5 straight hours at church. It's not exactly fun for her. She managed to get in a nap and a couple good feedings. She was a little cranky for the rest of the day though and I think maybe she didn't eat as much as normal at church just because it was different. Who knows.

Last night Peter watched Carina while I got my hair cut. I came home, fed her, then met up with 3 of my 4 college roommates at Messiah to play in the creek a bit. It was a very nice girls' night out. Carina slept all evening while I was gone - lucky for Daddy.

Carina is constantly learning new things and it never ceases to amaze us. The sweetest thing today was when I sat Carina on my lap in front of Sesasme Street for a moment while I opened the mail and she was laughing out loud at Elmo and Grover. It was absolutely, heart-meltingly adorable. I told Peter and he said she has good taste (the love of Grover is an inherited trait from her father).

Sunny Days and Sunny Flowers

We had an exciting weekend in the Jones house! My high school friend Nicole came in from Erie for a visit. It was her first time meeting Carina and I think they liked each other very much :)

Saturday we all went to Intercourse, PA to buy some jams from Kitchen Kettle Village. Peter and I went there on our honeymoon and I've been hankering for some Four Berry Jam ever since. In addition we also brought home seedless red raspberry jam, apple butter, pumpkin butter and whoopie pies. After our rainy visit to the village we met up with Mom and Stevie at Olive garden for lunch - yum! Carina ate and promptly fell asleep. She had a few meltdowns in the car (a rarity for her) but we chalked it up to an inherited dislike for traffic.

Sunday Peter taught Sunday school while Nicole, Carina and I hung out at home. Nicole left and my Dad stopped in for a visit on his way to my Gram's. He and Peter played with the baby and watched the Eagles game while I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (tis the season!). A very nice weekend all around.

Carina is growing, growing, growing. We are planning to do a little shopping at our favorite consignment shop today while they have a sale and I have the day off. We need some bigger winter clothes. Stuff you don't think about when you have a small, summer baby. It's amazing how much she changes day by day. Currently she's still sleeping 9 hours each night. She's awake and more playful during the day. She acts surprised, smiles and laughs when we play peek-a-boo. She smiles all the time, we love it! Sometimes when she stretches she can almost roll onto her stomach but she's still working on it. She sits up really well when we're helping her - her neck is really strong now. She drools and blows bubbles and sucks on her fingers a ton.

On an unrelated note we have sunflowers in our back yard - and we didn't plant them. I pitched my old potting soil from last season out there and out of nowhere this plant sprung up. We thought it was a weed but let it go anyway (because we are super lazy) and then it started to flower. What a nice surprise! It's almost as tall as I am!

What I've Learned...

... in the past 3 months.

-Babies are not made of glass and although they should be handled with care, they are pretty resilient
-There's no reason to be afraid of putting the baby in the car seat or the car
-Nicknames are fun and come about pretty easily (Peanut, Pumpkin, Dumplin, Pudding Pop, Sweet Potato, Cupcake, Lil Stinker, Sweetie Pie, Plumpy, etc.)
-ALWAYS change a baby on a changing pad regardless of gender (they can still make a mess on the couch)
-Bath times can be fun
-Bath times can also be more messy than clean
-Baby's first giggle really does melt your heart
-Nasal aspirators are not fun
-They grow out of clothing very quickly
-Diaper blow outs will happen, keep a towel under the baby when on the couch
-Babies are most likely to spit up when a) in a cute new outfit and b) when on the way out the door
-Baby farts are the funniest thing ever
-A baby smiling at Daddy makes Mommy all mushy
-Having a baby who started sleeping through the night by one month is beyond amazing
-Having a baby with red hair and blue/gray eyes is a mystery
-Baby sneezes are the cutest
-Watching a baby learn new skills is so rewarding
-Being a stay at home mom is awesome (even if only for 12 weeks)
-Going back to work isn't so hard when you know you have the best moms watching your sweetie
-A new mom NEEDS a support network of other moms (for advice, a listening ear, coupons...)
-Getting out of the house with the baby is a must
-Having a baby in the summer is the way to go, it makes for a lovely maternity leave
-Cutting baby finger nails is nearly impossible
-Being a mom is the best job I've ever had
-The strength of a mother's love is surprising and incredible

Happy 3 month birthday to our sweet Carina!