15 Weeks

Favorite activity: While diaper-less rolling up to grab her feet (and playing airplane with Dad. And playing The Grand Old Duke of York)!
Favorite food: breast milk
Favorite spot: She loves rolling around on that play gym!
Naughtiest moment: None. She is absolutely perfect!
Important milestones: Rolling over, grabbing her toes, pushing up, sitting and standing up (with assistance)
How Mom's Feeling: Good. Tired. This has been a week full of milestones. In fact, it feels like in the last 3 weeks, Lorelei has really bloomed. She has managed to roll over and grab her toes this week, also gave a few preliminary attempts to push herself up while on her tummy. She loves to sit up, holding onto your fingers for balance, and to stand, with lots of extra help.


This week, like every week, I just marvel at how perfect she is. I can't handle it. I know every mother thinks there baby is wonderful, unique and absolutely perfect, but Lorelei is truly that. She has a ready smile and such a happy disposition. I feel blessed. 


We have seen some "signs of the future" as we call them. She's definitely a talker (like her Papa). Every morning, after screaming to be changed (the girl does NOT like a wet diaper) and fed, she loves talking to us, rolling around on the bed and just laughing. She's also very focused and determined--be it to hold onto a ring, kick a toy or roll over! 


Some pictures of this week:

Plus, here are a few videos we took this week:

14 Weeks!

Favorite activity: Grabbing onto the rings of her play gym!
Favorite food: breast milk
Favorite spot: on that play gym! It's definitely her favorite toy!
Naughtiest moment: 2 massive diaper blowouts! One for May, one for Mom!
Important milestones: grabbing onto things
How Mom's Feeling: OK. A little bittersweet, actually. Lorelei's been hitting some milestones and is working up to more, and I'm missing them! This week, she started grabbing onto the rings of her playgym and hanging on! If she starts crawling or walking without me, I think I'm going to cry! This working mom business is hard stuff!


It was definitely a harder week for me. Not sure why. I think the first week had the excitement of being back at work. Now that I'm back, well, I want to be home instead! On the plus side, I went walking with her almost every day, which was nice. And we went to the Foster City library baby storytime for the first time this week! It was a lot of fun. Lorelei did a great job. She got a little hungry at the end there, so I pulled out my nursing cover and fed her. Otherwise though, she was pretty alert for the whole thing!


The best part of my days, though, are the mornings. That time between 7 am and 9 am, when we are all cuddling in bed (dogs too!) We put Lorelei on a blanket between Brian and I, and she rolls around and laughs and smiles. She's been vocalizing a lot this week! It's as if she's finally discovered her vocal cords and is trying to figure them out!


As always, some pictures of our week:

In her new lightweight sleepsack. Yes, that is a ruffly pink flower on it! She look like a layer cake when she wears it!

She's definitely found her thumb!

Grabbing on! The elephant is her favorite this week!

Happy girl!

Loving that thumb action!

Laying on the new quilt one of Brian's clients made!

Check out that lip--she's started sucking on her tongue and lips this week, making some super cute faces!

One of my new favorite outfits for her!

13 Weeks

Weight: Haven't weighed her this week...
Height: or measured her... 
Favorite activity: baby pull ups!
Favorite food: breast milk
Favorite spot: on that play gym!
Naughtiest moment: Kicking and pushing against mom so hard in the bath that her head dipped under the water
Important milestones: First week without mom, first visit with Great Grandma Lou and Great Great Aunt Ellie, able to hold her head up without assistance
How Mom's Feeling: Well, we survived our first week with me back at work. We couldn't have done it without the amazing talents of Brian, Barbara and May. It was great to be back, but I really missed being at home with Lorelei. I definitely look forward to the weekends--and what a weekend it was!

I totally had this weekend packed with activities. On Saturday, we did part 1 of grocery shopping (Trader Joe's), plus we drove down to Gilroy to celebrate cousin Maddie's 1st birthday. It was also ridiculously, epically HOT! Like 90 degrees in Gilroy! Lorelei was definitely NOT a fan of that much heat! It also cured me of any desire to have a big get to-do for Lorelei's first birthday. Brittney did an amazing job, but it looked like SO MUCH WORK! There had to be at least 40 people there. I'm thinking we're definitely doing a smaller get together here at the house for Lorelei's first. Sunday, we did part 2 of grocery shopping (Safeway), a shopping trip to Old Navy (for mom, NOT baby!), a picnic in the park and then an unexpected visit from Brian's Grandma Lou and Great Aunt Ellie! It was so sweet to see Lorelei cuddled up with her Great Grandma!


The hardest part for me this week was definitely being away from Lorelei. Confession: when I was doing the Kindergarten pick up, I felt a not-so-small degree of jealousy towards all the other moms picking up their Kinders with babies in tow. As I've said before, I love my job. But I desperately miss being home with Lorelei. I've only been at work a little over a week now, but I just feel like I'm missing so much. 


On the plus side, I made it to an early park meetup on Friday. A few of us met at the duck pond at the Palo Alto Baylands park. It was a beautiful morning, and Lorelei got to nurse in the sun--the park was dead and for a while it was only the ducks, Lorelei and I--which really felt glorious. It really inspired me to get out more in the mornings with Lorelei. My new goal is to take her out for a walk each morning at 10 am (as long as the weather is good). I get exercise and we get mommy and baby time.


As always, some photos of our week:

Tummy Time!

On her way to the park with BeeBee!

Sleeping like her papa!

Ready for a party!

Visiting with Grandma Janet and Grandpa Dan

Hiding at the picnic!

Hanging with her papa!

Enjoying the park!

Playing Scrabble with the girls

Cuddling with Great Grandma Lou!

Playing with BeeBee!

Look who's holding on to her favorite giraffe!

Outtakes

Outtakes

Caught in a Sneeze part 1

Caught in a Sneeze part 2

12 Weeks

Weight: 11ish pounds
Height: 23ish inches 
Favorite activity: still loving the play gym
Favorite food: breast milk
Favorite spot: curled up with mom in bed
Naughtiest moment: Epic blowout!
Important milestones: First time sticking her feet in the sand. First road trip! First day without Mom.
How Mom's Feeling: Pretty good. This has kind of been a bittersweet week--my last on maternity leave. All I wanted to do was hold Lorelei--but we also got a lot of activities packed in! We went to the park twice--found our new favorite! It's right next to University Ave. in Palo Alto. Small, clean, lots of grass, lots of sand and lots of cool things to do. It looks like the perfect place for a picnic! We had a visit with Jaime, Gladys and Lilly--we had lunch and went to our park, even got to put her feet in the sand! Then she got to spend a day with Grandma BeeBee, while Dad, Auntie Bonnie and I went to the shooting range for Brian's birthday. Sunday was our first road trip to Sacramento. She slept the whole way there! Lots of fun visiting some of our favorite people! Auntie Mel has definitely popped--we can't wait to meet the newest family member in July!


Monday, of course, was the hardest. My first day back at work. Not gonna lie, I got a little teary there on my drive in. It's hard because I want to be home with the baby, but I really do love my job and the people I work with. It was Brian's first day on Daddy Duty, but he did a pretty good job, overall!


As always, some photos of our week:

Ready for our road trip!

Grady--future husband?

But I don't want to go home!

Caught sucking her thumb!

Making "Mr. Smithers Hands"!

Look who found her hands this week!