Baby giggles!

Daniel sent me this when I was working earlier... he got a Lettie laugh on video... oh my goodness, she's so cute!

Seven Quick Takes Friday: Volume VI

-One-

Hiked at Red Rocks last Friday.  It claims that the trial is only 1.4 miles long, but with Colette strapped to me (happily sleeping very peacefully despite forgetting the pacifier), very little wind and, apparently, being incredibly out of shape, it felt like at least five miles.  You wouldn't know that I once walked across the country by how relieved I was to have made it through that little hike!  Still, it was a blast, and Anni yelled as we neared the end (and ice cream and water!) "I did it all myself!"  Never mind that her Aunt Tinie and Grandma did have to take a few turns carrying her near the end... she really was a little trooper.

-Two-

After several weeks of sad, limp ponytails as I tried to figure out what to do with my postpartumly suuuuper thin hair (I have pretty thin hair anyway, so it's just bad right now), I finally dashed out one night and got it cut.  I haven't decided how I feel about it yet (apparently I need to invest in a blow dryer, especially if I want to come close to what it looked like after they cut it... one step at a time, people!)

Bad cellphone photo, sorry!

-Three-

After having family here for so long... I miss them!  While I'm not super excited about the 8-10 hour drive with road-trip hatin' Colette in a few months, I can't wait to see our whole family together again!

-Four-

Anni is loving the views in our house.  She can actually watch for Daddy to come home through the big window (yes, she sits perched either on the top of the couch or in the window) and wait, giggling hysterically, at the door. 

-Five-

I am very tired.  Poor Anni spent way too long watching Daniel Tiger yesterday afternoon (evidenced by the repeated use of the phrase "meow meow" in conversation last night) while I passed out on the bed as baby napped.  Today is going to be all about sucking it up for the good of the family.  Now if I could only get my body to understand that determination. 

-Six-

You can tell Aunt Tinie has been here, because Anni keeps asking for ice "to eat".  Then she licks it and looks really confused as to how in the world Aunt Tinie bites it.  

-Seven-

Happy Friday!  I think I'm going to go indulge in Anni's recent favorite activity when the house is quiet: lying on the couch and reading the cooking magazines Aunt Tinie left... the best!

Find more Seven Quick takes at Conversion Diary.

Family photos in the new house

Photos!  The lovely Jenny Hanlon of Jenny Hanlon Photography took some pictures of us in our new house the morning after we got keys.  Enjoy! 

Celebrating 5 months... in the new house!

Happy five months, little Lettie!  Being your mama, my dear, is pure joy.  You are just overflowing with happiness.  

This month you found your feet, and have spent many happy minutes tugging, pulling and trying to chew on them.  However; your hand is your absolute favorite.  You love to turn it over and over and watch it in awe.  

Speaking of awe, you just love to soak people in.  You watch them talk, sing and eat.  Sometimes when I'm rocking your sleepy little self and say something to Daddy or Anni, you pop your head up to watch me talk, as if you'll miss something important if you don't see my mouth moving.

You are such a sweet sleeper.  It's definitely a whole different ball game for me the second time around.  While you aren't sleeping through the night, you very happily eat when you do wake up (usually around 3:30 and 6:30) and go back to sleep when you're all done.  We have a pretty comfortable rhythm down (though moving did make for some troubled nights), and while I'm certainly tired sometimes, I haven't hit the level of exhaustion I reached on a regular basis when your big sister was this size... there's a certain ease to knowing I've done this before and that every phase moves on eventually.  I'm not eager to say good-bye to your baby days, so I sleep when I can and love each kissable moment with you in-between.

You also use a pacifier, which is definitely different than your sister.  She was done with hers by the time she was a few months old, and rarely used it when she did have it.  You, my sweet, need something to suck on, plain and simple.  The pacifier is key to many of your naps (though Aunt Hannah proved you can be sung to sleep, it was so beautiful to watch her pace and hum to you!), but thankfully you don't mind if you have it once you're asleep... so it's not a constant issue at night.

 

 The easiest way to get you to nap is by snuggling up with you in Mommy and Daddy's bed.  You seem to take that as the sign to give it up.  That being said, you'll also take being rocked/walked to sleep and laid in your bassinet, snuggling in the sling and occasionally, just passing out in exhaustion as we drive somewhere.

You also officially rolled over for the first time!  You really struggle with getting stuck on your arm, but I have no doubt it'll get easier as you practice more.  You are learning how to use that body to move it!  You also have started to pound your chest with your little first, and we tease that you are saying the confiteor ("through my fault, through my fault, my most grievous fault"), but, in all seriousness, I think you just like that sensation.    

 We've also finally heard a few sweet giggles!  Thus far a peek-a-boo session with me, a tummy nuzzle from Grandma and playing in the backseat of the car with cousin Charlie have brought forth your little laugh.  We've never doubted that you are a happy baby (you truly do smile most of the time!), but it's so fun to hear you laugh!  I can't wait to hear what else brings the giggles out.  You're starting to add chubby little rolls to your legs. You're just squeezable, my little love!  

Our Move [in photos]

Keys!  Right after our closing... super excited and terrified!

The second or third time Lettie has slept in her car seat outside of the car - taking her first nap in our first house!

Hanging out in our empty house the first day.  Lettie mostly stared at the ceiling fan while Anni ran big circles.  We also tried out somewhere around six samples of blue paint in the girls' room-to-be before we found the right one so we could be ready to paint the next day.

Last bath in the apartment!

We were so excited when our new couches arrived!  A place to rest as we painted, painted, painted!  (And by we, I mean Daniel's parents and grandparents and Daniel... I mostly watched babies.)

Lots of lovin' for "his peanut" from Deda!

And lots of kisses and Yugoslavian nursery rhymes from Baba.

After three long days of painting and preparing and one very tiring Saturday of moving, we had our first night in the new house!

That's right, matching jammies... just too adorable to pass up!

Good night, new house, good night!