Growing so fast!

Dear Isabella,

I owe you so many letters! Oh boy, baby, life has been moving at such a fast pace - and so has your growth and development!

You became three months old recently - on July 7th! THREE months old! Where did time go? When you were just weeks old and I was struggling not to lose my mind from the lack of sleep and not knowing at all what I was doing, everyone told me, it gets better, she's going to grow up too fast, time flies! I thought they were nuts. But they were more than right. It seems like a lifetime ago that you were sleeping in the bassinet wherever we put you - next to our bed, in the living room, you name it. Back then you drank your bottles in such a hurry, and now you usually take your time and sometimes it's even hard to get you to focus and finish your meal!

You had your second set of shots too. Those were not nearly as hard for you as the first set. We gave you Tylenol right away, for one thing, and also the ones you had this time tend to have less difficult reactions. Whew!

In just the past couple of weeks you've hit some milestones that for us, are amazingly significant! Now you're able to grab things on purpose, with both hands - and you sure do it a lot. You love sitting in your bouncer because the toys that hang above you are in reaching distance. This is also why your swing has become your second favorite (as opposed to your very very favorite like before) place to play. The toys that hang from that you only can look at. But your most favorite toy of all is the little ball Daddy and I bought for you from Thinker Toys! It looks like this except it's blue and pink:

This ball helped you really really learn to grab and hold, grab and let go, grab and lift, and lately you have been just completely determined to find a way to fit that whole ball in your mouth. Never mind that it is the size of your head! In fact you are getting so good at grabbing things and picking them up on purpose that yesterday you actually picked up your own pacifier and tried to put it back in your mouth! Daddy and I took you to Zippy's so we could have some lunch, and you spit out your pacifier into your lap. You looked at it, picked it up, and kept trying to put it in your mouth. Well you couldn't quite aim it and kept ending up with your fist in your mouth instead (another favorite) but it was still fun to watch you start trying this new trick!

You're really good at sitting up! We still have to hold you up but your neck is so strong and your balance is really good too. You also love when we hold you up in a standing position. You are such a strong girl!

You have also discovered that your hands and feet actually belong to YOU! You absolutely love pulling on your own toes. And sometimes I see you holding your hand in front of your face, watching it wiggle and move like you're figuring out all the stuff your hands can do. My favorite thing you do with your hands is still when you hold my fingers, though. When you're having your bottle, you usually grip my finger or thumb, or one with each hand - and you hang on super tight! I love it. Sometimes you're tired at the end of the day but you aren't quite ready for bed. So you just like to hang out, sitting on my lap or lying in your crib, holding my finger.

Yup, I said lying in your crib. We moved you into your own room, big girl! First we moved your bassinet in there, and you still slept in the bassinet. But after a couple nights we put you to bed in your crib and you never once complained! It's so great that you are making these transitions so easily - I think it was harder for me than for you! The first couple of nights, I felt lonely when I went to bed. But Daddy moved your rocking chair into your room, and an old comfortable chair I had from when I lived by myself. So now you have all kinds of comfy things in your room! And we feed you in the rocking chair and we have your bed time routine completely figured out.

Around 7:30 (sometimes earlier or later depending on how tired you are), I start your bath. After your bath you have your last bottle for the night. At the end of the bottle you are sleepy but not asleep yet, so I swaddle you (still) and sometimes I rock you, if you need it. But sometimes I just put you in the crib and you drift off on your own. Usually by the time 8:30 rolls around you are sound asleep. Speaking of swaddling, usually by the time you wake up in the morning, you've managed to get at least one if not both of your arms out, and usually your right leg is also out. It's pretty funny actually. And you're getting better about not knocking out your own pacifier. But without swaddling you still wake yourself up every hour or so, so we're going to keep doing it till you don't need it and you don't want it. That's what the doctor said - you will let us know when to stop. With the swaddle you sleep till about 5:30 every morning - that's NINE hours straight! Sometimes you wake up around 3 or 4, but you just want your pacifier and you're back asleep before I'm even outside your room. I don't mind waking up to do that once or twice a night, especially since it's not every night.

I love watching you sleep. Your long, long eyelashes rested on your soft skin, with your chubby cheeks and sweet little mouth. When I look at you sleeping I wish I could gather you up and sleep with you like you were my teddy bear, that's how cute you are.

You're also smiling and talking so much now! Sometimes you squeal and shriek like you're experimenting with what kind of sounds you can make. You also have been making this weird growling-grunting noise lately. At first we thought you were trying to poop! But I think you're just loving that you can make all kinds of noises.

You get so much attention when we go out. Maybe I'm just being a big-headed mommy, but I think people tell us how pretty and cute (and the phrase "perfect looking" has been used by multiple strangers) more than with other babies! People really think you are so charming! They also tell us how good you are, if they spend any time with us at all. You are so mellow when we go out and people are amazed at how you'll just sit there and be totally happy watching everything. We had a meeting with our photographers for our wedding yesterday, and it was over an hour long! We were at Starbucks and you were totally happy just sitting there the whole time - some of the time in your carrier, and some time on Daddy's lap, and finally you ended up on my lap - where you fell asleep. You really are such an easy-going kid in a lot of ways. You still get overstimulated sort of easily but at three months that's normal. Also you get overheated a little more easily than other babies, but not like when you were a newborn!

I'm so proud of you, my little angel. My favorite time of day is bath and bed time. It's like our private, sweet, together time. I love watching you go from excited and playful to calm, content, and relaxed. It makes me feel good to be able to help you feel good.

More changes are coming to our lives, my baby! You'll have Daddy around more - he is leaving Senor Frogs to work for Atlantis as the cruise manager on the Navatek I. That's where I used to work. Daddy's new job will be much less hours than at Senor Frog's. But hopefully he can still keep in touch and keep hanging out with his friends from Frogs because those uncles sure do love you! Especially Uncle Anwar and Uncle Chavo. Mommy will have a new job soon too! I'm leaving Atlantis Submarines to work at UHA Health. Hopefully this will be a place Mommy can stay at for a long time and make a good regular daily and weekly routine for you. That way also I'll be off on the weekends which is important when you start school.

School seems like a loooooong way off, but at the rate time is passing, it will feel like no time at all! Don't grow up too fast my sweet pea. I want to savor each and every moment of your baby-hood. Each little change and milestone and development of your personality. That's part of why I haven't been blogging as much - I'm too busy making sure I am in the moment with you whenever we are together, so I can remember all the little details and all the wonderful feelings you give me. But I should get better about it again - I have to write everything down so I can remember forever!

I love you, Isabella. More than anything in the world and everything in the world all put together.

Love love love,
Mommy