Looking Back - Month 3 in Review

Gosh...I feel so behind and have totally neglected updating my blog...I know many or you could care less but this has also been serving as my digital baby book until I have time to sit down and update that.   It's been difficult to keep up online because my stupid MacBookPro has some sort of a glitzch where the screen slowly fades to white shortly after being turned on and no amount of shutting down and restarting seems to fix it...very annoying (and of course when I took it to the Apple store it wasn't acting up at all and the only thing they could tell me was to ship it off to the magical Apple store repair facility which costs $250 or $300 just to have it looked it). Oh well...if anyone has any tips on how to remedy that little problem please let me know.  In the meantime I'm stuck working on the laptop in very short intervals...most of the time I only have 5 minutes or so before the stupid white screen appears...#firstworldproblems

Anyway on to more important topics... Nicolette's third month has been a whirlwind.  At the end of month 2 Nicolette had started rolling from her tummy to her back.  And before the end of month 3 (on Halloween actually!) Nicolette was rolling from her back to her tummy...now I had no idea what might me a normal timeframe for that to happen but when I looked it up online most sites said that it would be month 5 or 6 before a baby starts rolling from back to tummy so my child of course has superhuman strength and is an absolute genius. Apparently it takes much more back and neck strength to roll that way.  We're not surprised in the least since Nicolette popped her sweet head straight up to look at me as soon as they placed her on my chest.  She's always been really strong and was never a "floppy baby" like most newborns are.  Daddy is very proud of how strong his little girl is.  He still tells people that her heartbeat was like something out of the movie "Gattaca" throughout the delivery (you have to have seen the movie to get the reference.  Her heartbeat was like a metronome, never sped up or slowed down.  The nurses were amazed!). 

Anyway, I digress...month 3 also brought lots of chatter.  Nicolette talks to us all the time now.  I love how animated her little face is while she's talking...she clearly has some very important and interesting things to say!  We've joined a local playgroup and have been getting more involved in weekly activities.  Once a week we go walk the Greenway with other mommies and babies.  We had to move our walk indoors to the mall one time due to rain.  Here's a pic of Nicolette and her BFF Leela checking each other out after our walk that day.  

Leela and Nicolette - checking each other out

 Nicolette is getting better and better with tummy time!

 Nicolette can sit up on her own (when supported) on the couch or bed.  :)

Daddy likes to teach Nicolette to crawl...He'll lay down and put her on his belly and hold her feet and tell her to "push, Push Nicolette" and she'll muster up every bit of energy she has and she always makes it all the way up to daddy's face for a kiss!  :)  It's her new favorite game.  I'm so thankful for my husband...daddy's play with their babies in ways that mommies just don't quite match...it's very sweet to watch.

We had our first vacation as a family...a short trip to Hilton Head Island.  Daddy played in a golf tournament and mommy and Nicolette slept in every day and went for nice long walks!  Nicolette also had her first little cold while we were in HHI.  Just some sniffles, a runny nose and the most pitiful little cough.  Her temp was about one degree higher than usual and she was pretty cranky for about the first 12 hours we were there but she healed up real quick!  I dread the first time she's really sick...those little sniffles and cough nearly broke my heart. (note to self...Nicolette HATES the bulb syringe...Screaming. Bloody. Murder). 

Chillin' poolside with mommy after one of our walks

Our sweet family on the beach

Lunch by the pool with mommy and daddy

Nicolette big pimpin' in her suite at Hilton Head

First time in a big girl stroller (i.e. the umbrella stroller)

During Month 2 Nicolette had discovered her hands and loved rubbing them together (she looked like a precious little evil genius wringing her hands together :) and while we were in Hilton Head Nicolette also started realizing that her hands could be used to pick up stuff...namely mommy's hair and her toys!  It was so fun to watch how quickly she realized that she could pick up a toy and shake it around!  Her hand eye coordination was still a little off so we had a few occasions where she'd bang her head with a toy but no tears were shed in the process.

We also went to the sweetest little pumpkin patch near our house!  I hope this will become an annual tradition for us.  They have a corn maize, hay rides and all sorts of fun little games for the kiddos.  This year we just picked out a pumpkin and didn't play but as she gets older I'm sure we'll get into all the "extras".

Our family!

Silly Nicolette

We also had a fun play date with Leela and Tiffany.  They came to our house to play and eat some delicious Bum's Rum Cake that I won in a Facebook contest.  You HAVE to check this cake out...it is PHE-NOM!  You can check out their website HERE.  I highly recommend the chocolate but all of the flavors are amazeballs!  Anywho...Leela was trying to teach Nicolette to crawl during our playdate....she didn't pick it up this go round but maybe next time!

We also went to a fun Halloween Party as a part of our mommy group.  Nicolette made a picture frame and showed off her costume.  She had so much fun that she was a bit of a cranky pants when it was time to get back into the car seat to go home...

Month 3 also included Halloween!  We were dressed as characters from Petere Pan.  The Italian was a dashing Peter Pan, mommy was Wendy and Nicolette was a sweet little Tinkerbell.  We had a few friends over for a Trick or Treating party...our neighborhood is usually PACKED with Trick or Treaters but the traffic was way down this year...I was a little bummed cause I really like seeing all the kiddos dressed up for Halloween...stupid Wednesday night Halloween...I still say that Halloween should always be the last Saturday in October...kinda like how Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November...not sure who I need to talk to about that...I've already got our costumes planned for 2013...now just have to make sure the Italian buys in and we'll have to celebrate with the Sayeghs again because I know they're guaranteed to dress up and play with us!  

Daddy (Peter Pan), Mommy (Wendy) & Nicolette (Tinkerbell)

Our buddies, The Sayegh Family...winners of best costume for 2012 - Big Bad Wolf Victor, Granny Tiffany and Little Red Leela

Leela and Nicolette - Nicolette had something very important to say, apparently)

Come on Nicolette, give us a smile!

So here we are in the month of November and time is flying by more quickly than I ever could have imagined.  I'm really enjoying every second of motherhood and don't want to wish any of my time away.  She's my best little buddy and I love spending all my time with her!   I wouldn't have it any other way!  I LOVE MY LIFE!  

Guess who's 4 months old today!!!!

Someone's a HAPPY GIRL!  Nicolette is 4 Months old today!!!!

We started out with our Monday walk with our Mommy Group and then hung out at home together.  Nicolette kept mommy in "nap jail" for 3 hours today!!!!  Then we had our monthly photo shoot with Ellie the Elephant.  Nicolette was feeling rather photogenic and is increasing interested in Ellie...especially her ears.

Outtakes:  

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!