Details

Everyone who has their own children tells us new parents, "Enjoy it! They grow up so fast!" And you know what? They do! I never doubted this phrase, but to see my little girl getting bigger, smarter, and more adorable every day really takes my breath away. I feel like if I blink to many times, she'll be off to the school bus, or packing for college!

I've taken so many measures to try to document her "baby-hood," but am afraid I have missed some of the precious details in the pictures and baby book. I mean, how can I possibly get a record of everything? I'd love to tell my self that I would never forget exactly how Jennie scrunches her face up when she's happy these days, or how she can't keep her socks on those adorable tiny feet for more than 30 seconds... but to be honest, in a few years I think those little things will slip away.

I got to thinking about the details yesterday when Jennie got the hiccups. From the time she was born, and for the first few months, she got the hiccups about 10-15 times a day... this is absolutely no exaggeration! I realized that the hiccups were a funny little quirk about Jennie that I had never written about in her baby book. Then I got to thinking about other little things (some details) about Jennie that I might want to hold on to...

Shoulder snugglin'

As an infant, Jennie LOVED to fall asleep on your shoulder. She would snuggle up and pass out easily when perched up there. It was cute during the day, and not-so-cute in the middle of the night when you had to let her fall asleep like that before putting her back down. =) Later on she grew to love being up on a shoulder so she could look around. She especially like being on Papa Cole's shoulder because he is so much taller than the rest of her family! We would give anything to have her snuggle up and fall asleep on our shoulder these days. She is so "on the go" that those moments are rare.

Happy Feet

Jennie used to really go nuts for her mobile. She had a rain forest one that the animals spun in circle, the tropical leaves went up and down, and there was music. She would get all excited, and do her "happy feet" dance. Whenever she was excited, she would kick her feet like crazy, and bounce her legs in the crib. She would wake up from naps sometimes and just giggle and kick at her mobile.

For a few months, Jennie sucked on the same fingers that I did as a baby - the middle and ring fingers. I didn't realize such habits were genetic, haha. Eventually, however, she stopped doing it. When Jennie was a newborn, we frequently bundled her up in many layers of fleece - she seemed to love being super warm! At night, she was in a onesie, fleece footie pj's, a fleece SwaddleMe wrap, and had a fleece blanket put over her. We called her our "little burrito." She likes to snuggle with blankies now, too.

Just a few days old

Also as a newborn Jennie was so small you could easily carry her with only one arm. In fact, her little bottom didn't even make it to your hand! Recently, Justin and I went to go see a friend's new baby. She was one month old when we met her. Justin and I were both thinking, "Oh, wow. She is so small!" We thought at first she had been premature... then we found out she weighed 7 lbs at birth, and was close to 9lbs at one month! We already had forgotten how tiny and fragile a little newborn looks (Jennie was even smaller at birth - only 6lbs 8oz).

There are so many details that I want to remember forever.  However, I know all these moments are flying by at lightning fast speed and I won't be able to recall every thing as well as I'd like. So, I guess that means we have to enjoy every second as it happens (and blog about some of the precious details so we can remember in the years to come!)

Firsts

Jennie has had so many "firsts" already. Everyday it seems like there is something new that she can do. Some recent examples:

Jennie can "answer the phone." This is the first thing that she imitated that we did not try to teach her... she picked this up all on her own from watching Justin and I use our cell phones.

For those of you who haven't seen her do this, it is hysterical. If you are talking on your cell phone, she puts her hand to her ear, and starts yelling and babbling. Also, if you look at her and say "Jennie, who is it?" she will also put her hand to her ear and have this look on her face like she's saying, "Yeah, I'm listening." (See pic). When she first started doing this, I thought she had an ear infection or something because she was pulling her ear - but oh no... I realized she was copying me when I was on the phone. So cute! She plays "phone" with just about anything that remotely looks like a phone - including (but not limited to) actual cell phones, remote controls, baby monitor, camera, etc.

Just yesterday, Jennie clapped her hands for the first time! I feel like we've been saying the obligatory "Yaaaaay!" and clapping our hands when she did something cute or good for a long time. But yesterday, she did it all on her own. By the way, why is it that clapping and saying, "yaaaay!" always go together for babies??

Yesterday Jennie had another first... she bit her mommy for the first time! And no... she didn't bite my shoulder or something. When I yelled out "OUCH!" and pulled away, her face was priceless. It was a little shocked, and seemed to read "Uh oh... I'm in trouble..." Only two months of nursing left. Hopefully she slows down on the acquisition of those teeth (although I am pretty sure numbers three and four are a work in progress; the drool is out of control right now).

So, as our little princess gets older, she is sure to have many, many more "firsts" - some that we will look forward to her repeating and building on, while others we will hope that she never does again ;)

Everybody Poops

There are so many things that babies can do that turn into funny stories, rather than gross ones if it was anyone else. Baby poop seems to fall into that category. I'll get to the poo eventually, but first, a little history:

Jennie has always loved bath time. In her newborn days, she happily bathed in her "bucket" tub...

Can you believe how small she was??

For any new moms or moms-to-be, I can't say enough about how awesome these bucket style tubs are for little babies. They get to take a bath in warm, chest high water and they fit nice and snuggly inside in an almost fetal position. Jennie was always so relaxed and happy in her bucket tub. This is the point in a blog where I am probably supposed to mention specific products, and get the company to pay me for it... haha.

One time when my dad was over for bath time, Jennie let out a little of her newborn liquid poo in the tub - which lead to the "emergency evacuation" from the bucket, and a rinse in the sink, etc. My dad said, "Well, talk about relaxed and uninhibited!" She only did that twice in the bucket tub, which was pretty impressive considering she took a bath every day from 4 weeks old and on.

Eventually she grew out of the bucket, but her love of bath time continued. She graduated to a blue tub that we can put in the sink. She loves this one because she can play with her toys in it. One of her newest "tricks" is that she likes to try and climb out of the tub (which isn't dangerous at all). 

 

It is so cool to see how curious she is about everything - to the point of having no sense of self-preservation. Just as she tries to climb out of the tub to investigate a dropped toy, she will also try to superman off our bed to see what is on the floor. Good thing she has parents who pay attention!

Just this weekend, we were at Grammie's house for an overnight visit and did tubby time in a plastic wash bin in the sink. Jennie was loving it, playing and enjoying herself. Just as we were saying, "Jennie, time to get out," Grammie calls out, "There's a floater!!" Jennie squeezed out a few little poops in the tub. So I stood her up, and we removed the water (and poops). As we did this, two more poops came on out! I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go. It was quite a circus trying to get the poop out of the sink and wipe her off, and then give her another quick wash down... meanwhile we were all rushing and hoping that she didn't let loose any more! The whole time, Jennie was preoccupied with her toy and trying to reach the things that Grammie had on her window sill. So again, totally relaxed and uninhibited. Oh, if only we could all be so care-free =)

I think that every baby ends up with his or her own funny poo story... I think this one might be Jennie's. At the least, when Jennie is 10 or so and learns that I posted this online she will be completely horrified. And then, one day Justin can really embarrass her by showing it to her first boyfriend... although, he has stated more than once that she is not allowed to date until she is 35. But really, what's the big deal? Everybody poops!

Mosca Mommy in Miami

This past weekend, I went away to Miami for my sister-in-law's bachelorette party! I packed up my bag, left Jennie's schedule with Justin, and off I went! The trip was amazing - we had great weather, and a really nice time.

The only unfortunate thing about going away for the weekend is that it was not very restful. Between travelling and staying up late, I came back from my "break" more tired than I was before. However, it was worth it! You just can't beat time in the sun and out with the girls. Besides, the bride-to-be had a great time, and in the end, that is what really counts.

... And Jennie did great without her Mommy! Justin stayed home with her, and they had a great time together. She continued her antics of standing up at nap time, but eventually surrendered and got much needed rest. Justin called in a few local friends for company and a shower break, but otherwise he handled full time baby care like a champ. Daddy and daughter has a fun weekend together, and everyone survived with minimal scars ;) I guess no one told Justin that babies can't have soda though...

When I got home, we enjoyed a quiet day resting up at home, and staying local. Sunday night, we crashed early - I was exhausted from a lack of decent sleep, and Justin was beat from playing "stay-at-home dad" all weekend. I think a little role-reversal is good for everyone once in a while! It is so good to be home though... I swear she got bigger while I was gone. Now, it is back to the daily grind, and I couldn't be happier.