16 Weeks

16 Weeks - October 29, 2012

Having fun this week!

Good times with Monroe

The best part - baby giggles!!!

15 Weeks Old

Yes, this post is late AGAIN.  Better late than never!  I apparently didn't take any pictures on the 22nd when Etta Mae turned 15 weeks old, but I did take this video of her on the monitor trying to get out of her bed during nap time!

This was also the first week that Etta Mae got to see all of her grandparents in the same week!  Incidentally, I didn't get a picture of her with any of them!  Figures...

Tuesday, we went out to eat at Catfish Hole with Jason's dad, Buddy, and Step-mom, Connie.  Etta Mae was great until the very end.  She had fun watching us from her carseat.

Wednesday, My dad and my uncle Larry came to visit for the day.  Etta Mae had so much fun with them and giggling at my dad! Thursday, Jason's mom, Mary Lou, came to town and spent the afternoon helping me with Etta Mae and Monroe and then had dinner with us.  Then, on Friday, we met my mom, Buddy and Connie for the craft shows and lunch.  Etta Mae was awesome!  She spent a lot of the time sleeping in the sling and getting lots of compliments about how cute she is.  It wore her out!

Friday night we decided it was time to start some sleep training.  In anticipation, we put her Rock N Play sleeper in her room Wednesday night to see how she slept.  It went great!  So Thursday night we put her in her crib for the first time, and she slept like normal - yay!  I had been getting increasingly frustrated at the effort it was taking to get Etta Mae to sleep, especially at nap time.  Spending 20 minutes holding her to get her to sleep was wrecking havoc on my back and was sooo time consuming.  Not to mention that the naps were only 30 minutes long.  We decided to start with nights and to go with a very gentle method called Pick Up Put Down.  It basically consists of getting baby drowsy then putting her in the crib.  If she cries, you pick her up until she settles then put her back down.  Repeat until she's asleep.  The first night we apparently got her a little too drowsy, because she fell asleep the first time we put her down!  I was all geared up to spend hours on this and it took 5 minutes!  The next night took a little longer and involved one pick up, but was overall very good.  I decided Sunday to try it out for some naps, too.  Since she was doing so well, I got her less drowsy and extended the time before picking her back up.  It is still going great.  I wish I had known it would be this easy so I could have done it long ago.  Although there is still a little crying, especially at naptime.  It is actually less than it was when we were holding her to get her to sleep!  Win win!

As always, Etta Mae and Monroe have been having tons of fun!  They are learning to share :)

Sharing toys

Sharing fingers - eww!

Week 14

Etta Mae is learning so many things!  She has recently started giggling (so sweet) and reaching for toys!  

On Wednesday, Jason took Etta Mae to Bella Vista to visit with his dad and step-mom.  It was the first time I had been home alone since she was born except for one time that I came home to unload groceries and take a shower while Rea watched her.  When they left, I thought I might have a panic attack being away from her.  Then about 20 minutes later, I realized how nice it was to spend some time on myself in my own home.  Next time I need some "me" time, I may just have to send Jason and Etta Mae out for some daddy-daughter bonding time.

Daddy always falls asleep too when he's putting her down for a nap

I had also been thinking that I needed to get some pictures done since Etta Mae is 3 months old, and emailed Tonya Reeves with Tonya Reeves Photography.  She did the photography for my great friend Jessica's wedding and it was awesome.  I've been stalking her Facebook since then, and really wanted her to get some pics of Etta Mae.  I emailed her on Thursday and she got right back to me to let me know that she had an opening pop up on Saturday!  We had such a good time, and Etta Mae was so cute.  Here are a few preview shots she put up. I'm so excited to see the rest!

And here's a look at what Etta Mae and Monroe have been up to!

3 Months Old

13th Week

This pretty much sums up Etta Mae's 13 week birthday (aka: my 1,456th week birthday)

Another week has come and gone.  I can't believe that they are flying by so quickly! 

Love these eyelashes

We got Etta Mae a jumperoo in hopes that we might actually be able to eat dinner at the same time.  It works... sometimes.

We got to have another relaxing weekend.  Etta Mae enjoyed chilling in her footie pajamas.

The hand eating continues!

Monday was my birthday, and I had the day off so Rea and I met for brunch.  It totally wore this girl out!

After this she decided that she was in no mood to nap for most of the afternoon.  Crying is so much more fun!  

That evening, she got to meet her Papaw Buddy and Grandma Connie!  They are in town for a couple of weeks from South Carolina and took us to a yummy dinner!

Of course, this blog wouldn't be complete without some Etta Mae/Monroe pics!

Workin on their fitness

Storytime

Wonder Week 12

12 Weeks Old and Seriously Cute!

Etta Mae and Monroe have been having way too much fun!  

They SEE each other

They hold hands

They critique each other's fashion choices

We had such a nice weekend at home!  There wasn't a home football game this week, so the three of us were super lazy and just enjoyed each other's company.

Etta Mae has been babbling like crazy and has also been trying so hard to sit up!  She can almost do it when she's leaning against daddy!

This is one of my favorite Etta Mae faces.  She makes it when she falls asleep in my arms, and it is so sweet!

I'm also very excited because our new Christmas stockings came!  I am so happy with them.  They are HUGE!  I can't wait to fill them with goodies :)