Madelyn's Milestones

Mad-Madelyn at 10.5 months

Once again, updating this blog becomes more and more challenging as our lives become busier and busier!  I figured we had all the time in the world this summer and I would be doing a blog entry once a month, which is my goal, but oh my the longest summer in history has slipped away!  Madelyn has recently earned a new nickname of Mad-Madelyn! She is into everything, pulling up and cruising all over the place, crawling up the stairs, and trying to keep up with Olivia.  Olivia tries to call her Mad-Madelyn and it comes out Mad-Mad!  She has really come into her ow and is about three weeks from turning one year old!  I thought it would be appropriate to review all her major milestones this year!  Plus there just might be a quiz at her first birthday party, so pay close attention! hehe

God Bless Madelyn

Our second little angel! She wore the same dress as Olivia!

On February 19th, her six month birthday, with our family and friends surrounding us, we celebrated the baptism of Madelyn Faith.  At the time Madelyn was going though a stranger danger phase and would cry whenever anyone she did not know held her.  We were a bit worried she would start crying when Pastor Matt took her to baptize her.  However, it was completely fine and she did not even cry when the holy water was placed on her head! Following the event, we arrived at my parents house to have brunch with close family and friends! Little secret about hosting this brunch, I did not reinvent the wheel.  For Olivia's Baptism I typed up the menu and had it saved on my computer.  SOOOO, I just printed it out and went from there.  I do not think anyone noticed!  Olivia was fascinated for many weeks after the event and would randomly approach Madelyn and "baptize" her!  She would put her hand on her head three times and say something (I could never really tell).  It was quite adorable and it think it is save to say Madelyn is extremely blessed! Over all the day was a success and we were more blessed to have my best friend Denise down from NY for the occasion. 

Teething, Drooling, and Chomping

In March just before all the teeth started appearing.

You can kind of see all her teeth in his picture!

Madelyn has seven teeth at 11 months!  (No I She cut her first tooth on St. Patrick's Day in March at 7 months old.  Since then she has been popping them out one after another!  The first one to arrive was the top left, followed a week later by the top right.  Then her bottom two teeth cut through on the last day of school at 8.5 months.  Next to arrive on Fourth of July was the bottom left, followed by the top left, and we noticed on vacation last week in Ocean City, the bottom right.  I feel bad for her, but she has fared pretty well.  She loves to chew on her Sophie the Giraffe as well as this set of teething keys.  Things are constantly in her mouth, especially her fingers. Like her sister, she enjoys that Soothie pacifier because she can get her fingers into it and really into her mouth.  Other than sprouting teeth left and right, she has not had too many side effects.  She continues to eat well and sleep fine. 

Moving, Scooting,  Grooving

Are you looking at me!?

 Madelyn was born being able to hold up her head and hold weight on her legs.  She continues to amaze us with her strength.  As far as milestones, she began roll successfully around five months, she was able to sit on her own shortly after six months, and around 7.5 months (beginning of April) began the scoot!  We knew this day would come but we were hoping for later.  She mastered crawling at about 8/8.5 (in May) months and finally started to pull herself up at 9 months (in June).  Her latest trick is cruising all over with her walker and on the table, couch, chairs, whatever she can balance herself on.  At 11 months (in July) she loves walking holding our hands, which is quite a back breaker, but we will do it for her!  She has not yet stood on her own or taken steps, but I am sure she is not far from that milestone!  We do have to be aware of where she is in the house, because she loves to climb the steps.  We usually follow behind her, but the other day  I was making dinner, Dan was on the computer upstairs.  Olivia decided to find out what Dan was doing, and when I came into the living room I could not find either one.  Olivia was upstairs with Dan and Madelyn was halfway up the stairs!  She turned to look at me and just laughed and let out a screech!  Oh boy...we need to keep an eye on her!

Kisses, Waves, and Claps

Waving to mommy!

I do not remember when she started waving and clapping to be honest, but it was in the Spring time.  Olivia would cheer for her all the time and one day she just started clapping back.  When she did her face lit up and  Olivia was super excited too!  It was a very cute moment.  She is also very cute about waving.  Again, that was something that just started and it really shows her personality.  She will just be hanging out playing and suddenly just wave to us.  Someone might be holding her and she will want the attention of another person, so she starts waving at them. It is such a simple gesture, but so adorable!

The funniest thing until recently, Madelyn would only give me kisses.  I would hold her and say,  "give mommy kisses" she would lean in towards me with her mouth open and give me a "kiss."  Dan would do the same thing and ask her to give him a kiss.  She would turn her head a not give him one!  It was hilarious, for me, not Dan!  Most recently, she started giving kisses with her tongue sticking out!  She will give Dan and Olivia one, but it is like a lean in and try not to get touched with her tongue! LOL

Out and Around the Town

Goofy kids! 

We are quite the busy family and enjoy take the girls to the hot spots in Baltimore.  Our two favorites are the zoo and aquarium.  We have family memberships to each and visit quite frequently.  Madelyn first visited the zoo when she was less than a month old!  We had not given her a bottle yet, so I remember having to nurse her in the picnic area with a cover on! That was a first for me!  We visited the zoo again in the Spring and again this summer.  She can see the animals and enjoys petting the goats.  It will not be long and she will be running around with Olivia to all the places!

Checking out the bubble tubes at Aquarium 

Our second favorite spot is the aquarium!  We went in the Winter around Valentine's Day and she enjoyed her self.  This summer went we went she was much more aware of the fish.  In fact, when we were at the dolphin area, she actually was freaked out.  We went up close to the tank because two dolphins were right at the edge.  Olivia was fascinated, but Madelyn started crying really hard.  It was then I realized she had noticed the two dolphins as well and was not sure about them!  I walked away and she was fine.  It was very  strange, but to here I am sure they were huge creature!

Another place we love to visit and Madelyn can enjoy more each time is Storyville. Her first trip was with the Evan's family and we have the best picture of her and Addie on a black bear rocking horse thing.  When we visited this summer she had a blast keeping up with Olivia.  They spend a good half an hour in the grocery story area and played together so nicely!

Restaurants are another place Madelyn has visited this year.  Usually it would be Chick Fila or Chipolte and we were in and out quickly.  The first restaurant we actually sat down at as a family was Unos.  Again, we were with the Evans family!  Dan and I were kinda nervous with two kids, but they were angels and it was a very positive experience.  We have since had "sit down" meals at other places too!

Checking out the waves on the boat 

Another Beach Baby is what we asked for and we got it!  Madelyn has been to the beach before at Thanksgiving and Christmas times, but her first official trip to the beach was Memorial Day weekend.  Her first dip in the Atlantic was fabulous and besides putting sand in her mouth and trying to drink the water it was a great day at the beach. We were back at the beach right after school was out and this time in addition to the beach, visited Asseateague Island.  Where we swam in the bay with the "baby waves” and saw quite a few ponies, which was hard for Madelyn to see but Olivia loved them!  Madelyn also had her first boat ride.  I think she had fun, but the life jacket made it hard for her to move.  She also had her first taste of crabs!  She got some Old Bay seasoning in her mouth and it the poor thing’s face turned all red!

We returned to the beach again in July for another week of excitement.  Madelyn rode in the boat again and loved it this time!  She was able to stand up and hold onto the side and would just open her mouth and scream into the wind!  This week at the beach was more challenging for Dan and I as she was into everything, crawling all over the sand and at the blanket and at the shore.  She loved splashing in the water, knocking down the sand castles, and digging in the sand.  Of course much of it went into her mouth, but what can you d? 

Madelyn also had her first trip to New York this summer.  My mom, Grandma Mary Lou, Olivia, and I had a girls weekend up to NY for family reunion.  The six hour ride lasted eight, but both girls were troopers!  The weekend went by fast and they were awesome!  We met some new cousins and had so much fun playing on the swing set at the picnic!  I know my grandma had a blast and it was so rewarding to see the smile on her face! 

Our next road trip will start on Sunday and that will be to Lake Lure, in North Carolina.  This week will be spend with the Hart family and should be a change of pace with hiking
.and other adventures!
In Sickness and in Health

Madelyn in December giving her a neb treatment

In July, at least the mask fit better on her face!

What a happy baby girl we have!  It is very hard to tell if she is tired or sick because honestly she just goes with the flow and rarely cries.  Although she is way overtired from our vacation last week and has cried/fussed more this week than all summer, but we are on the road to rest! Anyway, she has had quite a few ear infections this year.  We had the December to Remember with the double ear infection and RSV issues, which required a neb treatments.  Another huge ear infection in January and then again in April.  She was very healthy until just before Fourth of July.  We had no idea she was even sick, but when she woke up one morning she had goop in both her eyes.  A trip to the doctor revealed double ear infection and pink eye in both eyes!  She was put on antibiotics and after the pink eye was passed to Olivia, we moved on.  The following weekend she started coughing and after we returned to the doctor a week later.  The antibiotics were doing nothing and as Dr. Lancaster says, "wow that is impressively bad."  So basically the meds were doing nothing for the poor thing and the infection moved down to her lungs and she was wheezing again. Back on the neb! This week when we returned to the doctor to make sure the ear infection was cleared up, Dr. Lancaster mention she wanted Madelyn to be checked out  by a pediatric pulmonary specialist to rule out any other issues because of her ear infections and the wheezing she gets in her lungs.  Since Dan has his backwards issue, she just wants to rule out or become aware of any issues Madelyn may or may not have.  So stay turned for the update!  Overall, she is a happy, healthy child and whatever this doctor tells us we will move forward with more information!  

Sharing a Room

They do like to cuddle in each other's cribs!

Oh My!  Oh My!  Madelyn has been all over the room upstairs in our house...of course she started in our room in the bassinet, then she moved from the bassinet to the rock n play sleeper thing next to our bed, then back to the basinet, followed by a stint in the office in the pack n play because she outgrew the bassinet.  Next, we moved her into the crib in the girl's room in January.  This is when she was sick and we were sleep training, she would cry out at night and wake up Olivia, so after about two weeks we decided it was not working.  Back into the office she went, this time we moved the crib and Madelyn until she was sleeping better at night and not waking up Olivia. Around Spring Break time in April, we moved Madelyn back into the room with Olivia.  The first night was interesting.  Madelyn was almost asleep as we brought Olivia into the room for bed.  No less than five minutes later, they were both screaming to each other across the room.  This lasted for about an hour and they both finally feel asleep!  I figured she needed a barrier, so she could not see Olivia, so I hung a sheet over her crib and that worked until she could pull herself up.  

Most nights we are successful if Madelyn is asleep before we put Olivia to bed.  I have grown frustrated lately because Olivia will start singing or yelling Madelyn's name and wake her up.  Then the two of them will start yelling and giggling back and forth to each other.  Madelyn gets her revenge in the mornings though because she usually wakes up earlier than Olivia and will stand up in the crib, yelling to Madelyn.  The past few weeks it is funny to hear Olivia talking to Madelyn and get her going.  They both like to jump on the bed and you will hear Olivia say to her, "jump Madelyn jump!"  We have to find the humor in the situation.  In all honesty, I am not sure this arrangement is working and Dan has said he is willing to rearrange the furniture.  They are just so young and on different sleep schedules, I think separating them will make it easier for them to get the sleep they need.  However, they are having a blast together in that room!  Madelyn loves her sister and laughs at whatever she is doing!  I guess we will wait to see what happens….stay tuned!  


The first year with Madelyn has been quite a challenge, but has brought us so much joy!  She is blossoming into such a silly, sweet, determined little girl! We love her with all of our hearts and cannot image what our life was like before her!  So, here's to another exciting year filled with new challenges!   

It Has Been Way Too Long!

15 Month Valentine Day Pictures!

 My goodness I can hardly believe how times flies!  Every weekend I say to Dan, "I am going to update the blog this weekend!  We have so much to include about Olivia and our growing family!"  The weekends always seem to get away from us and on Sunday I am upset that I never got to update the blog!

Miss Olivia is 16 months now and has developed quite a personality!  She weighs about 22 pounds and is 30 inches long.  That puts her in the 36% percentile for weight and 36% percentile for height.  What is funny is she has tiny feet, size 4, and it has become difficult finding shoes that fit her that are for a walking/running/climbing toddler.  I am sure there can be worse things than small feet!  I always wished she would have small feet and hands too! She is definitely our little toddler, constantly on the go and a little mimic!  We are having fun with this stage, but to be honest it can be exhausting! 

We decided that the theme of this entry is, "The reason why I have NOT updated the blog!"  Here is the list of reasons in no particular order!

Teething

It is hard to capture her teeth, but if you look closely you can see top ones!

My goodness we never had an issue with teeth and Olivia until the molars started to enter the mouth!  Right night she has four front teeth on the top, two on the bottom with two more breaking through.  In the back of her mouth she has four molars now, and the other day at the doctors, she said there are four more breaking through!  WOW...lots of drool and lots of cranky!  We feel terrible, but there is nothing we can do except offer her the teething rings, wet washcloths, and her tooth brush!  Yes, brushing those new pearly whites is one of her favorite activities!  She will walk into the bathroom three and four times a day point to her teeth and say, "brush."   So there are days when she just wants to cuddle with us and that is fine with us.  It has not affected her sleeping at all...just her waking hours!  Hope this all ends soon.  She does look so much older with a grin full of teeth!

 Talking 

Most of you know me and know that I love to talk!  Well I guess this trait has been passed down to Miss Olivia!  Oh my goodness what a talker!  What amazes Dan and I is how from week to week she adds to her vocabulary and her talking becomes so clear!  There are many times we still have no idea what she is saying, but there are more times now we can understand her.  About a month ago, I counted and she could say over 20 words, but now that number is larger!  Her favorite words are, please, cheese, walk, eee for Hurley, and milk.  Of course she is always shouting for daddy and momma!  My favorite word she says is night night, which apparently she named her blanket that!  We would always say ready for night night Olivia and she would go runing for the stairs.  While changing her into her PJ's we would give her her blanket to cuddle with and suck her thumb.  I guess she understood night night to be her blanket and now it has been dubbed that name! 

Walking

At the playground!

"Walk...Down...Walk" is a constant phrase we here when walking through stores or the parking lots!  Olivia loves to walk and walk and walk!   We will go to the playground and she likes to go down the slide a few times, but she will spend more time walking around the place than on the equipment.  On weekends we take daily walks outside, weather permitting, around the block.  She has certainly mastered this skill and it has only made our life more exhausting.  haha

Eating

Well she loves to eat!  Anything and everything we give her she will gobble down!  She will usually have oatmeal, or yogurt for breakfast with some Cheerios and fruit.  Lunch is a variety of items and we usually try to vary it up with some kind of protein a fruit and a veggie.  Dinner is about the same.  Right now she prefers to eat, cheese, pasta, avocado, blueberries and strawberries and oddly enough her favorite veggie is zucchini!  We are constantly giving and trying new foods and she loves it.  Her most favorite food is off of mommy or daddy's plate!  We often have to say no it is mommy's or no it is daddy's.  Then a fit is usually thrown, but we try to distract!

Waving 

Bye-Bye, to her shadow, dogs, and cars, Olivia loves to wave at anything and anyone!  She has developed this princess like wave.  She holds her arm out in front of her and moves her entire wrist back and forth!  We have no idea where she learned that from because we never waved to her that way, but man oh man I hope this is not a sign of what is to come! haha.  In any case, she is quite the waver and that is  usually accompanied with blowing kisses as well.  One thing is for sure, she is a lover not a fighter!   

Feeding Herself 

Eating her yogurt with her spoon!

Olivia has always wanted to use the spoon herself and often gets upset if we do not let her feed herself, so recently we gave up control a bit and let her go for it on her own.  The task can get messy, but to be honest, she is doing wonderfully!  She can stab most items with a fork, but still needs help with soft things.  Her cereal and yogurt are on the way to being mastered.  It is nice to be able to give her something and walk away or sit down to eat too.  Our little baby is growing up!

Traveling and Other Visitors

The girls

We journeyed to the beach after Christmas to visit with Dan's family.  Olivia is an excellent traveler!  She will usually sleep for about an hour and then be content to look at book after book!  She loves being at the beach house too.  Olivia had a blast keeping up with her cousins!

We had two weekend visitors in February.   My friends from college, Denise, flew down to Maryland and Beth drove up from Virginia.  Olivia hardly napped all weekend because she wanted to play with the girls!  We had a girls night out and left Dan home with the baby!  It was nice to have them here and I look forward to seeing them again soon!

Last weekend my mom, Tyler, Olivia, and myself traveled to Ohio for my cousin Heather's wedding.  The car ride out was fine.  We stopped for dinner and shortly after, she fell asleep. It was a bit chaotic when we arrived at the hotel at 11:30 that night, and both kids were awake for a bit.  She settled down though and took a fairly good nap on Saturday.  Saturday night we pushed the limits and she was up way past her bedtime.  Exhausted, she finally succumbed and fell asleep in her stroller.  Sunday's drive home was long and we ran into snow, but her exhaustion helped the journey!  She did not really want to be walking around anyway!  Tyler turned on a movie and that kept her occupied for quite a while too!  She is our little traveler and we look forward to more road trips this spring!

Favorite Anecdotes  

There are many Olivia stories, but these are the ones that make us smile the most!
Ring Around the Rosey was taught to Olivia by Grandma and Grandpa Hart one night when she spent the night.  It is a cute little game, but for weeks she was obsessed with it!  She would walk up to you and hold out her hand saying, "Ashes, Ashes!"  It was fun and adorable the first few times, but when it went on for hours one day...I had enough.  I taught her how to twirl and I sang the song for her!  She still loves "Ashes" so you are not allowed to say that word unless you want to spend hours spinning in circles!
Itsy Bitsy Spider is another song, Grandpa taught her.  This one is fun to watch her move her two index fingers, trying to move that spider!  We sing it in the car on the way to school and she is getting really good at the other hand movements!  We want more like that Grandma and Grandpa!  haha
The last of our favorite Olivia anecdotes includes Hurley.  A few weeks ago we were eating breakfast in the dining room.  Olivia's high chair was facing into the kitchen.  All of the sudden she says, "EEE (her name for Hurley) No, No!"  We turn around and sure enough he had his head all the way into the garbage can.  Apparently someone did not close the lid and he was having a field day!  We laughed about that one for awhile! 

Olivia's  Favorite Activities

Dont take me inside! 

 One constant favorite in her life is reading books!  I would like to think it is because we have read to her since she was born, but I am sure it is also because both Dan and I love to read too!  We have so many books and she loves to read them in the car, in her room on her favorite chair, and in the living room with the bin of books.  This is the only activity that will keep her attention for a span of time!  Her favorite book at the moment is "Blue Hat, Green Hat" by Sandra Boyton, she often giggles when the last character is wearing the wrong outfit and the book reads "Oops."  She will repeat oops.  She is also into the books that make noise.  We bought two new books with buttons and sound.  When she pushes the button it will say what it is.  Perhaps the favorite new book is the animal noises one.  She pushes the button for kitty and it meows.  She will sit in the car and hit the button for the animal noises the whole ride.  We are constantly saying what animal makes the noise.  Hopefully one day she will know it and say it back to us! 

Her second favorite activity is walking and playing outside.  Whenever the weather is nice she is outside playing both at Mrs. Sharon's, our house, and grandma and grandpa's swing set.  It is very hard to get her back inside.  Often she throws a fit when we come inside, as you can see with the above picture!  Mrs. Sharon was surprised last week when Olivia threw a fit for her when she needed to bring the kids inside.  It was funny to us because Olivia will throw a fit and this is the first time for Mrs. Sharon to see that!

Lastly, all day it is up and down the stairs.  We use to have gates up to block them, but she is so confident going up the stairs and loves to play in her room.  So we gave up on the gates this past month and are teaching her to go down the stairs too.  She has almost mastered going down too, but she likes to play on the stairs and we often have to stop her and say, no playing.  I am thinking though in the fall we will have to gate off the stairs to keep her retained to one floor of our house because...

Baby Puryear #2 is preparing for an August 17th arrival

Yes it took us 18 months to finally get pregnant with Olivia and had to go through IVF, but in December we found out we where expecting again!  It has taken us by surprise, and we feel so blessed!  To be honest, in the past few weeks I have just started to show and it is starting to become reality.  The two kiddos will be 21 months apart and I will stay home with both kids in the Fall!  I think I will be teaching summer school this summer, but it will be great since I will have an extra three months off!  I can handle that!   We have an anatomy sonogram on March 29th and we will find out the sex and if everything else is healthy!  So for now we keep telling Olivia about her baby brother or sister and use the word baby a lot.  We do not think she has any idea what it means, but I am sure she will soon enough!

This blog has been four months coming and I hope we do not go that long again, but running after a toddler takes much more energy than I ever imagined!  We continue to be amazed on a daily basis and some days are more exhausting than others, but overall we would not change a thing!

We will update soon! Until then, enjoy the pictures on the Picasa link and pray for a healthy baby!
Love to all,
Dan, Laura, Olivia, and Baby Puryear #2

Eating, Sleeping, and Playing

Olivia continues to grow and become so interactive. It seems like every stage we get through and she starts a new one we say, I love this stage!

She is eating well about every 3 hours during the day and at night will last anywhere from 6 to 10 hours. Last week she slept through the night twice! By sleeping through the night I mean from 6:30pm until 6:30am! I actually did not set our alarm because usually she is up once a night and I set it after that night feeding. At 5:45am I jolted awake, realizing I never fed her last night! I shake Dan awake, nearly scaring him, say, "She slept through the night!" He cheered and then feel back to sleep while I got up and showered! The next night she slept from 6:30pm to 3:50am and the following night slept through the night again. It is not consistent yet, but I have enjoyed the past few nights with longer stretches of sleep! It is amazing how it makes the days easier!  She has had nights when she is a restless sleeper and will kick all the covers off and even kicked out of her PJ's.  On morning when we went in to get her she looked like this and we got quite the laugh! 

Since she is sleeping better, playtime is much more fun!  She loves the Precious Planet Jumpero toy we have for her.  After her recent growth spurt, she now can touch the bottom of the toy and can jump  up and down! Last weekend she was content to play in the toy for 45 minutes and we took her out of it because it was close to nap time!   She also loves to lay on her back and bat at toys, stare at Hurley, and watch the other kids at daycare.  Olivia will tolerate tummy time and has rolled over several times from her tummy to her back.  This is not consistent, but it is fun to watch the few times she has preformed of us!  She still loves her bouncy seat and is grabbing at everything she can get her hands on!  She will hold onto her toys and investigate it and then put it in her mouth. 

She has also become very verbal!  She cooing all the time in her car seat, playing with her toys, when we are changing her diaper!  We hear her in the morning in her crib cooing and laughing.  It is the cutest sound ever!  Olivia has also copied Dan and I and started blowing raspberries with her mouth.  It is quite mess and get drool everywhere but Miss Sharon was impressed because she is not suppose to do that until 6 months!  Dr. Landcaster also saw that trick at her 4 moth check up and comment she will probably be very verbal.  Um..wonder who she gets that from! LOL

So all in all Livy Loo is growing up fast and playing hard!  Here are some other family pictures:

 

 

3 Months Old

Yesterday Olivia officially turned 3 months old and we spend the day helping Grandma feel better!  My mom has been battling some back issues and yesterday was off of work, so I packed up Olivia and went to keep her company.  I also think she kept me company.  It was an enjoyable day and Grandpa was home for the afternoon and played with Olivia too!  To my relief she took two 50 minute naps in her pack n play at their house.  That made me happy because in just a short week she will have to sleep in that at Miss Sharon's house, her daycare women.  For the next week I will continue to make Olivia laugh, give her lots of hugs, and enjoy the precious moments with her.  At least I can look forward to Spring Break and then Summer Vacation!

So how has Miss Livy Loo changed in the past three months?  Where to begin!  I was looking at her pictures the other day and it is amazing to see how much she has grown!  She now looks less like a starving alien and more like a healthy baby!


It is just so cute to see her face light up when she see something she likes or someone she recognizes!  She has started cooing now and it is getting pretty loud!  The first time I heard her start cooing loudly was a few weeks ago.  I was in the kitchen putting dishes away and she was laying in the living room under her play gym.  I heard this noise and I thought she was ready to switch toys.  When I went into the room she was under the gym talking away at the toy!  She has the cutest little voice ever!  Of course on the flip side her cry can be equally as loud!  I joke that she is going to be as loud as her mother!  I guess it is my payback for being so loud...poor Dan!

She has been gripping things in her hand since Christmas time when Aunt Jill put her rattle in her hand.  She will hold onto the item for a few minutes and then fling it on the ground.  Well the past few days her new tick is that she will reach out and begin to grab at things.  I really saw it this morning when she was sitting in her swing toy we have.  There is a dangling bear on the side.  She reached out and started batting at it!  It was very cute! I cannot wait until she begins to pull at my earrings!

We continue to work on her stomach muscles by daily Tummy Time.  She prefers her back though because she likes to look around and investigate what is going on around her!  She will tolerate Tummy Time and is close to rolling over.  She is starting to figure out that her arm has to come up above her head, but she just does not get that force to roll all the way yet.  I do help her out when she really gets frustrated!

The sleeping has become much improved too!  We have started a bedtime ritual and she goes down between 6 and 6:45, depending on the type of naps she had that day.  The crying has been extremely minimal since we have figured out that we were making her overtired and she could not fall asleep!  When we catch her yawning we begin our nighttime ritual.  It has worked out pretty well.  Most nights she wakes up for one feeding and then wakes up between 6 and 7 in the morning.  It is not perfect and she falls asleep much better at night.  I think it is the whole quite and dark thing! At least she is taking all her naps and sleeps at night in her crib.   I am sure when I return to work next week we will have a whole new issue to deal with but we will celebrate the peacefulness for now!

Well it has been quite the ride for three months.  I look forward to what is ahead and it is amazing to remember where we came from:

 

and are now here:

Time certainly flies when you are having a good time!