Rice and Beans- Month Three

Dear Amélie,

Happy 3 month birthday sweet girl!

This month brought forth your exploring nature and many new learning opportunities. The world seems to have expanded many more times for you during this month because you spent every day with your eyes wide open looking at what it has to offer you.

Those smiles that were so rare and seemed almost accidental last month became much more purposeful and frequent. Your smile makes my heart flutter and my love for you just oozes from every pore in my body. You smile so often now, but every smile makes your daddy and I just so excited! You've even included giggles along with those adorable gummy smiles. Not only do you smile at us, but that baby in the mirror now also makes you smile instead of crying or showing us that protruding lower lip.

You have become fascinated by things that previously did not seem to affect you in any way. The little toys hanging from your swing now capture your attention and seem to make you enjoy the ride that much more. The rattling figures I've attached to your bouncer have now become punching bags for your little fists as it seems you have learned that every time you hit them, they make noise. You have also started exploring everything by using your mouth. Your hands, the blankets, your toys...whatever you can find will go in your mouth.

That once horrible experience of having to be on your tummy has now become somewhat more enjoyable. You hold your head up high exploring the area around you and when you're on your back you're just happy as a clam looking around and sometimes watching me as I move around your room. It surprised me the first time I realized you could actually see me from a distance and how your little head turned as I moved this way and that. Your tummy time practice this month allowed you to learn how to roll onto your back. You're daddy and I were just beaming with pride as we watched you roll over and over again, yet, I have a feeling you're not excited as we are since you often start to whine once you've rolled.

Along with learning how to roll, you also learned how to stand strong on your legs. Your daddy and I will hold you with our hands under your arms and your feet placed on the ground and you will keep yourself up with your strong rollie pollie legs. Sometimes you'll even dance while moving your arms around when we play music.

The most challenging learning experience this month has been learning how to sleep. During most of this month there were ups and downs in the realm of sleeping. You have still maintained your status as a good night sleeper, but you started waking up more often and your naps were still sporadic and a struggle. After a week of your mommy not getting very good sleep, days where you cried and fussed incessantly, and obvious feelings of tension in our home; your mommy decided it was time for a change. Your daddy and I read up and we changed the way we did somethings in relation to your sleeping. You've improved a lot, but we still have some more work to do. You're now falling asleep in your crib every time and most of the time it takes less than 10 minutes. The first night we started the training, one of the stretches you slept was a total of nine hours, then you woke up once to nurse and then slept an additional 5 hours! We realized you were not getting enough sleep and that night proved that you definitely needed to make it up.

My little girl, you continue to amaze us and make us incredibly happy every single day. Even the rough moments are forgotten immediately after they are over. We're just so lucky to have ended up with you as our daughter.

We love you more than you can imagine.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

p.s. This month you also grew hair!