Busy, busy, busy

I have to admit that I'm more than a little surprised at how busy we have been over the past couple of weeks!  It's been hard to find time to sit down with my computer and write out memories and milestones.

Nicolette is growing and developing by leaps and bounds.  Last week she started "talking" to us...her incessant babbling is so sweet...I love hearing her precious little voice and just wonder what she is really trying to tell us!

Nicolette also started "playing" with her toys last week.  Before she would very rarely grab a toy and then usually not do anything with it.  Now she'll pick up her rattles and toys and pass them back and forth between her hands and of course shove them in her mouth.  It's so much fun to watch the wonder in her eyes as she discovers each new little thing!

Nicolette also got her first case of the sniffles.  We've had a runny nose all week.  She thought it was funny at first but was quick to learn that the bulb syringe is NOT a fun toy...and neither are kleenexes. No real fever to speak of so mommy is hoping that it clears up soon...running the humidifier nonstop and trying not to torture my poor baby too much with the aspirator and kleenex.

Here's a recap of the last couple of weeks...more for mommy's sake so taht she doesn't forget wha thappened...time is moving much too quickly!  

Last week we went to the Pumpkin Patch to pick out pumpkins...Hall family Farm is the CUTEST spot.  We hope to make this an annual tradition...

We had our weekly playdate with our South Charlotte Mommies group.  We meet for a walk each week - last week it was rainy so we walked at South Park and then went to lunch with Miss Tiffany & Leela and Miss Erin and Jameson.  Here's a pic of Leela and Nicolette checking each other out after our walk.

We had a great playdate with our friends Miss Tiffany and Leela.  Here's Leela in the Boppy Lounger that she was kind enough to loan to us...I think she's outgrown it just a tad    

Leela is older than Nicolette and seemed determined to teach Nicolette how to crawl.

Nicolette's getting better at sitting up on the couch (as long as there are pillows nearby!

 
We took our first family vacation and were surprised that we'd been upgraded to a nice suite at the Westin Resort & Spa on Hilton Head Island...can you spot the baby?

We had lunch by the pool with daddy after his golf game...

I love these two...

Snoozing on the beach...

Chillin' at the Ice Cream Shoppe...

The only part of the trip that was not enjoyable was the car ride home...the first 2 hours were great (she slept) but the last 2 1/2 hours will forever be dubbed as "Carmageddon"...serious screaming with a few stops because mommy wanted to make sure that she wasn't still hungry...she wasn't...just didn't want to be stuck in her carseat any more.  Needless to say we booked plane tickets to Connecticut for the holidays as soon as we got back...none of us want to struggle through that for the 15 hour drive to and from Connecticut to see the Randazzo clan.  Nicolette is excited to meet her Gram and Papa, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins!

For the first month or so I felt that by staying at home that I should have a perfectly kept home and gourmet meals on the table every night.  Now I'm finding that I'm spending more and more time just holding Nicolette and trying to soak up every second that I can with her.  I don't mind being nap trapped and find that I pretty much hold her through 80-90% of her naps throughout the day. It's so peaceful watching her sleep and it has helped me to slow down, relax and savor this special time.  I know that these precious moments will be gone all too quickly and I'd rather have a dirty floor and laundry piled up in the closet than miss out on this incredible experience.

The end of "the fourth trimester"

That's right!  Today is Nicolette's 3 Month Birthday!  The official end of the "fourth trimester". 

We've had an AWESOME 3 months and feel SOOOOO very blessed with Baby Nicolette.  She is such a good baby that I sometimes can't believe this is my real life!  I absolutely love watching her discover things...the simplest things like how she'll stare in wonderment at her hands as she rubs them together makes me so happy.  She nearly sleeps through the night - waking to eat once or twice...but since we co-sleep and breastfeed that's super easy to handle quickly.  Other than that she's such an easy going baby...little fusses here and there but we're usually able to "cure" them quickly!

This month we'll take our first family trip - we're heading to the beach (Hilton Head) for a few days with daddy so that will be lots of fun!   Suggestions on what to pack (and what to leave behind) are greatly appreciated!  It's a short trip...only 4 days but we're excited about it.

Kind of happy...

Very serious...

Photo shoot is officially OVER!
(She stopped crying seconds after this photo...
I feel like a mean mommy for wanting to capture a pic of her crying)

We finally got Ele monogrammed!
Thank you Auntie Heather for the awesome gift!