The Princess is Three Months Old

Julia,

Last week you turned three months old! I know, I know, I always say this kind of stuff, but I have to reiterate. I mean, just the blink-of-an-eye ago you were nothing but a growing belly bump:

And then you were here! A lovely little newborn babe, completely dependent on us for everything. So sweet, and calm, and warm. Well, now that you're 3 months old, you're still sweet and calm and warm (most of the time, unless it's cold in the house). And you're still lovely and little (though not AS little)...but now, you're not really a newborn anymore! You're a little lady, a charming baby, full of personality and light in your eyes.

You smile great smiles!

You giggle, you 'talk', you laugh!

You grasp items with your hands. You sit in your Bumbo chair, sit in our laps and hold your head up wonderfully! Your neck strength and muscle control has gotten so good! All that tummy time has really paid off! You're a sturdy little girl now.

You 'play' with your brother and seem to really be developing a relationship with him. You light up when he's around, smile at his jokes or when he's being silly and try to eat his nose!

You are such a precious, precocious little girl now, and while we can't wait for the next step, your mother and I both are thoroughly enjoying the three-month-old you (even with the occasional clawing and screaming, which is totally natural for a baby with sharp fingernails and a slight aversion to bedtime).

You are sugar and spice and everything nice, handing out smiles without restraint. You're Three months old now, and look how far you've come!

I mean, just look at that face! Those cute little eyes! That smile! Sorry, I'm biased. But, c'mon. You're just a peach of a little girl, my Princess Jules.

And everyone seems to know it! Even 'the boys' couldn't stay away from you during your all-important photo shoot!

It's amazing how far you've come in such a short time. And whether I want to believe it or not, it's happening all too quickly! It seems like we've never been without you, little daughter of mine, yet every minute that your with us (yes, even the slightly loud ones) seem like a new, amazing gift in our lives.

Happy 3 Month-versary, my Princess Jules!!

Week 15: Family Fun in the Sun & Rollover Minutes

After resting up at the end of week 14, we started packing for your first road trip, all the way down to Houston. Jeeze, Louise, it's true what they say: the smaller the kid, the more luggage they have! Your Mom and I packed together in one duffle bag, and then loaded up the car as light as we could with the rest of your stuff (since Aunt April and Uncle Taff were sending us back to Dallas with new toys for you!). So we packed your diapers, wipes, blue bouncy chair, diaper bag, bag for your clothes, sun screen, sun hats, toys, a few books to read, and some bottles and then bright and early on Friday (only 2 hours behind schedule) we left Dallas and headed down.



I have to say, you were perfect on the way down. We were a bit worried, not knowing how well you'd do in a 3-plus hour drive. But you slept for about 2 hours, then woke up and we pulled off to a picnic area and played with you, sang to you, showed you some scenery, fed you, burped you, played with you some more and then put you back in the Honda for part two. And you slept the rest of the way!



Once we arrived in Houston, the fun started immediately, and you were a super star! You got to play with your Aunt April and and got some special attention from Spider-man!

You had your first experience in a cool new toy that Aunt April and Uncle Taff handed down to us: a Bumbo chair that lets you sit up and strengthen those back and neck muscles!

The first time you sat in it was not a success at all. The second, seen below, was a little bit better!

The next morning, we all saddled up again in Uncle Taff's big SUV and drove out to Sugarland, where we spent the day playing, swimming and eating (and sleeping) with your Aunt Mendi, Uncle Dana, Aunt April, Uncle Taff, Nana and Beau (Spider-man's grandparents) and all of your American cousins!

You were such a cool dude in your swimming outfit!

You even took a long nap on Aunt Mendi's big bed!

Aunt Mendi showed your Cousin Autumn where you were sleeping and Autumn responded by pointing at you and smiling...as was her MO for the whole weekend (we finally convinced her to open her hand up nice and big if she wanted to touch you, rather than pokey pokey)

And then your Cousin Grayson got back from her sleep over at a friend's house and you two were basically inseperable!

The next day, before we left back for Dallas, we managed to get almost all your Cousins together in one picture!

It was great weekend and proved that you are ready for road trips (even though the way back up wasn't as successful as the way down because you kind of cried for a decent part of the trip, even though you were fed, dry and engaged. But, eventually I was able to soothe you to sleep with singing and playing with your hair (your mother was driving)).

But, a whole new adventure was about to begin...your Mom went back to work this Monday and Mimi and Pops came to babysit with you every day!

Even though Mimi and Pops spent a lot of time with you, you still had some quality time with your Mommy and Daddy too!

Mimi and Pops reported some amazing feats: you rolled over! Now this wasn't news to me...your Mom and I both saw you do your first roll over by yourself during tummy time the Thursday before we left for Houston. This prompted me to type this on Facebook: Aidan just rolled over from tummy to back! Boo yah!!! In your face other babies! Clearly I'm a proud Papa! But, this rolling over seemed to be an anomaly. We couldn't get you to recreate it all weekend...but when Mimi and Pops reported back that you did it, I was determined to witness it! And catch it on video!

Now, don't be alarmed: you seem kind of pissed here, but that's just because it's Aidan versus rolling over. And at first it seemed like Rolling over would win...but then you muscled through and did it! Hooray!

And you got your regular bath but were being so super cute afterwards that we just had to take a photo session!

And, of course, we couldn't help but try the Bumbo a few more times....and this time you had a blast in it! I read to you, you giggled and bobbled about in your new blue Bumbo - lasting at least 5 minutes!

Mimi and Pops will have a special report for you soon about their week of fun, but I, for one, think you had an awesome week! Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents! Rolling Over, Swimming, Sitting up, Driving Through Texas! Being fed on the side of IH 45! Napping with your cousin!

After a week like this, we're gonna need to take a breather! But, when your a baby, there's no time for breathers. I'm sure week 16 will be just as jam packed with adventures, new successes and cuteness as week 15!