January 2006

Emma turned 3 months old on January 3rd, and as each month passes, she seems to become a different baby. She is much more engaging and the smiling never seems to cease. She continues to be a very active baby – constantly wanting to move around and see things around her. Her head seems to be on a swivel at times. She is still very vocal and has discovered that her voice has a volume range. She can reach out and grab toys that hang from the arches of her play mat or that are resting on her lap or legs. Whatever she grabs, she puts in her mouth. She has begun to constantly suck or chew on her fingers and has become a drooling queen – early teething signs. She has also started the crazy arm and leg motions when she gets excited. She looks as though she is sprinting in a race – she just starts to go crazy with moving her arms and legs and gets a very determined and focused look on her face. She is starting to know her name, but not 100% yet.

She loves to look at herself in the mirror and loves to see Jared and I in the mirror smiling at her. She giggled twice on Christmas Eve and hadn’t again since until this past Saturday (the 14th) at Grandma Sutton’s house. It was quiet the giggle fest. I was holding her, bouncing up and down and Jared and his Dad were then jabbering to her and she was giggling and laughing at them. It was awesome!!! She has giggled at both Jared and I since then, but it is not a constant action yet.

She is not rolling over onto her tummy yet, and probably won’t for another month or so. She can roll from her back to her side and seems very content with that. In fact, she doesn’t like being on her stomach much at all. We do “tummy time” with her each day, which she does not enjoy very much. She can sit up only as much as to prop herself up on her hands or elbows, but cannot hold herself up yet. That is another milestone that won’t happen for a couple of months.

I am beginning to work with her to sleep on her own during naptime. Due to the attachment parenting style we have chosen, she has rarely fallen asleep without being held by one of us. I will be returning to work around the 1st of March, and she will be in daycare full-time, so she’ll need to be sleeping on her own by then. She usually goes down for ½ hour to an hour at a time and so far has been doing well with sleeping on her own. We are also trying to establish a nighttime routine with her as well to get her to sleep around the same time each evening.

She still does not like riding in her car seat, although it has gotten better. As she gets older, it gets easier for her.

Christmas was a lot of fun for she got to see more of the family on Christmas Eve. She did very well and wasn’t fussy at all. We spent the weekend at Jared’s parent’s house in Sonora. She did receive quiet a few gifts, but it was not an outlandish amount, and was a good mix between clothes, books and developmental toys.

I believe that just about sums it up. Enjoy the photos below and take care.

R’