Baby Sleep... Issues

I don't know what to title this post exactly... But it's another one of those confession blogs.  I don't want to say we're going through sleep training, because that doesn't feel right.  Maybe you could call it sleep readjustment.  So confession:  Sarah sleeps in her car seat.  Gasp!  I know, I know!  A car seat is NOT a bed.   But in our defense there is a reason...  Sarah had really bad acid reflux when she was 4-6 weeks old.  She would cry that "I'm-in-pain-do-something-help-me" cry every time we tried to lay her down.  Newborns have very sensitive little parts and her little tummy just couldn't keep all that acid contained.  We took her to the doctor multiple times, we tried baby Zantac, pro-biotic's, changing her formula (multiple times) and she got the Mylicon drops fairly often.  But we eventually found the right formula for her and stopped giving her any other sort of medication.  Okay, she still gets the gas drops occasionally, but that's not because of reflux.  But the reflux lasted a couple of weeks.  Back to the point of this post... 

When the reflux started, we quickly learned that we needed to keep her propped up.  I was still on maternity leave during this and would end up just holding her while she slept.  But then we discovered that she would sleep in her car seat.  Now Sarah has never liked riding in a car.  She is just not that baby who is soothed by car rides.  In fact she's usually upset the whole ride.  So it was shocking to us that she would sleep in her seat.  But she slept very soundly in there.  It gave Mike and I some relief and we told ourselves it was just until she could handle sleeping on her back again.  Well, and I'm sure you other new parents can relate, we were pretty scared to move her from the one place she could get decent rest.  So even after the reflux was under control we continued to put her in her seat when she went to bed.  Plus, it was really handy to check on her at night because we just put her right beside our bed by the bassinet.

But, as all babies do, Sarah grew.  And it was quickly getting to the point that she wouldn't be comfortable in her seat.  So we started sleep readjustment.  Basically, every time she would fall asleep during the day I would lay her down to sleep on her back.  At first, she woke up every time I put her down.  Then, she would sleep for maybe 20-30 min.  Then it grew to 45 min. to now when she'll sleep for an hour or two.  Sarah has been sleeping through the night since 8 weeks.  Literally, the night before I started working again was the first night she slept straight through.  I guess she just knew mommy needed her sleep that night.  Now this will sound horrible, but we only did her readjustment during the day when we were up and it didn't matter if she woke right up.  But at night, we would still put her in her seat to sleep.  It's just so hard to give up that nice long sleep once you get it back.  Especially because she usually didn't get a decent amount of sleep until then with us changing up her routine.

Before, Sarah sleeping in her car seat

Well she has been napping really good on her back and side during the day now.  And she has started to let us know that she is ready for her crib.  She would wiggle and stretch and get very restless in her seat until we would pick her up and lay her down flat.  Only one slight problem...  She outgrew her bassinet during the time she was sleeping in her car seat.  Poor thing barely fit and honestly that little pad in there was hard as a rock, I don't blame her for hating it.  I tried to pad it with towels and blankets, but it just didn't work for her.  So we did the only thing we could, we let her stay in our bed last week.  Not the whole night mind you, but around 3 AM when she would wiggle and stretch and fuss (trying so hard not to open her eyes and admit she was awake) we would put her in our bed.

So last week?  Last week I got little to no sleep.  I just don't sleep well with a baby in bed with me.  I was scared of rolling on her (even though I made sure I slept in ways that would not allow that to happen) and was very aware of her presence and generally stayed in a state of consciousness.  Plus Sarah may not be mobile yet, but she sure can wiggle her way over until she's touching you.  Girl loves to be touching skin in her sleep.  So I had to hold her hand or touch her head in some way.  Awkward sleep much?  Well not sleep so much as awkward rest.

Anyway, my mission this weekend was to get her crib set up.  I'm sure I annoyed Mike more than once with my persistence that this needed to be accomplished this weekend.  I didn't care what it took.  It was happening.  So we did just that.  We picked up her crib from where it was being stored took it home and realized there were critical parts missing.  Oh well, I didn't let that stop my mission.  I put that crib aside.   Put Sarah down for a nap, told Mike she was sleeping and I'd be back.  I went to a couple of stores to find the right crib.  I needed a classic crib, white in color, that didn't take up a bunch of space, and was in stock ready to carry.  I found it at Babies R Us.  I happened to have some coupons with me, so I got it for under $100.  Score ~ can't beat that ~ right!?!

Now, another nugget that goes with this story, Mike gave me the hardest time because I borrowed my dad's truck to pick up the crib that didn't end up working.  He ragged on me because he got the whole thing into his Toyota Carrolla.  Making me feel, oh I don't know... stupid.  Anyway, I had his car when I bought her crib.   It's not a big crib, no bigger than the other one we had.  But wouldn't you know it didn't fit (Ha!).  It was about an inch too long.  Drats! Okay, I'll run home and get my car and come back.  Only, my car was dead.  And I lent my jumper cables to my boss and didn't have them with me.  Okay, run to the store to get some... Are you kidding me!?!  They are sold out?  Hmrph, okay on to the next store.  You get where this is going.. On and on until I finally found some at the grocery store (The grocery store!?! Who knew!).  About this time my sister calls me (I called her earlier to see if she could come help me pick up the crib).  So now I'm in a predicament... do I do the whole jump my car off or do I just let her help me and jump the car later?  Yes, I did the easy thing let her help.  We met at the bottom of our apartments and went back to the store.  Crib slid right in, and we were off.  Success!

Back at the apartment, Mike and Sarah are hanging out.  Once I got home I realized that her crib sheets were sitting at his mom's house (Long story, and this is long enough...).  So I sent him on a mission to pick those up.  Because once I get this crib set up, she's sleeping in it!  Plus Mike is not the handiest of men, I love him to pieces, but his creative mind just doesn't work that way.  So me and my sister were going to put it together.  Only Sarah decides wake up and be a fussy fusserton.  So my sweet wonderful sister put her crib together while I tended to baby.  She did a fantastic job!  When Mike got back I helped, but that was really only to put the last two pieces on it.  TaDah!!  Sarah has a crib!  Her own little bed to sleep in!  Yay!!!

I got out her bedding set, which was sitting in the bottom of her closet just waiting to be used.  Put all the pieces on it (including the clean sheets Mike brought back) and stood there just looking at her crib.  It was a magical moment, half sad, half giddy.  I mean I never got to put her nursery together because she's been sharing our room and until we move (another long story) she's going to be with us.  But this made it like her own little corner of the world.  Plus she's outgrown her bassinet, her very first bed ever.  There's just something about your baby outgrowing clothes or her bassinet that is so sad.  I mean I'm so happy she's healthy and growing, but every time I pack something away I get this twinge of "she's not a newborn anymore".  She's still little, don't get me wrong, but she's not a newborn...

Last Night. Sarah sleeping in her crib

So the first night, we put her to sleep in her crib, she slept soundly until about 3 AM, when she woke up terrified.  I mean that "where am I there's something very wrong" cry.  Hello, this is a new bed, in a new place(ment) and she didn't recognize where she was.  So it took a little while to settle her down and get her back to sleep.  And because we hadn't moved her bassinet out yet, we let her sleep in her seat one last time...  Last night, however, she slept all night in her big baby bed.  She woke up once, but since everything was moved out, we didn't give her the option of her seat by the bassinet.  The bassinet is gone (well packed away ~ but to her, it's gone).  She was a little restless, I think she was searching for my hand or skin.  But other than that, she did great!!  Hopefully tonight will go even smoother as she gets used to being in her bed.  And that, my friends, is our story of sleep readjustment.  We're still working through some things, but I think we're nearing the end of our journey to get Sarah into her crib.  We probably won't get a good night's sleep this week, but as she learns that this is where she sleeps, it'll get easier.  This is a really long post.  Thanks for sticking it out if you've read this far and feel free to ask me questions if you have any...

Things I didn't know I needed...

Okay, so as we all know, I am a first time mommy.  As such, there are definitely things I didn't know I needed prior to having my little one.  I have a couple of friends and family members that are entering the realm of mommyhood, so I thought I'd do a post about some of the stuff I didn't know I needed or thought was over the top, but has been really really helpful.  So here are a few items every new mom needs and they are also great baby shower presents if you are shopping for someone else:



Munchkin Warm Glow Wipe Warmer

Wipe Warmer:  If asked before having a baby if I thought I needed one of these I would have said heck no!  We received this as a baby shower present and it has been heavily used.  When Sarah was a newborn, she screamed anytime we had to change her diaper.  Newborns HATE to be cold, so being able to use a nice warm wipe really soothed her and made diaper changes less traumatic.  Also, I've read reviews about how these can dry out wipes, but the instructions say to add 1/2 cup of water anytime you refill it.  I always add the water and haven't had that problem.  So if buying this as a gift, I would get a cute measuring cup to keep nearby so you don't have to run to the kitchen every time you refill.

Kiddopotamus Changeaway Portable Changing Kit

Travel Changing Pad:  Okay so I thought the el cheapo changing pad that came with our diaper bag would suffice for a changing pad on the go.  Not so much!  That thing had to be washed in cold water (um sanitation much) and air dry.  So if it got dirty you'd have to time washing it so you wouldn't be without it.  This changing pad is similar to the one I purchased.  The one I got has a waterproof plastic liner with pouches that fold in.  I use one of the pouches to keep extra diapers and the other pouch for wipes, powder or diaper cream and hand sanitizer.  So much easier to just grab the changing pad and have everything you need rather than lugging the diaper bag to the bathroom.  Plus the plastic liner is easy to wipe off with a Lysol or Clorox wipe (always wipe with a baby wipe afterward to not get any of those chemicals on baby)



Whoozit Baby Tizoo, Lamaze Dee Dee the Dragon, Bright Starts Zebra

Baby Toys:  I was really naive in thinking that it would be awhile before the baby would need toys.  However, babies change and grow so fast that you really should have some toys and be prepared. Sarah is loving these types of toys.  I'd say the zebra is probably her favorite right now because of it's high contrast colors and the little rattles and teething rings hanging off of it are easy for her to grab.  But the other two also entertain her.  Lamaze makes these in lots of different animals and they all have multiple things for baby to explore.  So versatile for baby!





Rhino Toys Oball Rattle, Manhattan Toy Winkle

Also, these little rattles are absolutely the way to go when buying an infant rattle.  Things that you shake to make noise are highly entertaining for little ones.  These two, however, are by far her favorite.  Babies have a hard time getting all their fingers to coordinate.  These allow for her little appendages to find something to grip when they don't all go together.  She is so proud of herself for being able to actually hold onto these for longer than a second.

Infants' Mylicon Drops:  Babies get gas.  They get gas a lot. It hurts their poor sensitive little tummies.  These drops instantly help relieve that pressure.  It comes with a little dropper that you measure the dosage in and are then able to squeeze it into their cheeks bypassing the whole "push things out with their tongue" reflex.  A must for every home and diaper bag.

Gerber Pre-fold 3 ply diapers

Plain ole cloth diapers:  Skip the fancy smanshy burp clothes.  In my experience they don't work nearly as well as an old fashioned cloth diaper.  These are super absorbent and easy to clean.  With the fancy ones I was constantly concerned about them staining (part of my slight OCD about keeping things nice...) and lets face it, throw up and spit up stain.  With these I don't worry about that at all.  Plus, they can be used for so many other things when out and about.  I am thinking of sewing some 1 inch ribbon on the edges to fancy them up a bit, but who knows if I'll find the time!

Baby Head Scrubber:  Okay, so not a head scrubber per say... but that's what the newborn nurses and we use it for.  If you birth your baby in a hospital this is more than likely in your baby's bassinet somewhere.  TAKE IT WITH YOU WHEN YOU LEAVE!!!  It is actually a surgical sponge and scrubber, but they use this to clean all the "cheese" off your baby during it's first bath.  At our hospital they actually gave us a new one of these in it's packaging to take home.  This is fantastic for preventing cradle cap.  I've actually seen blogs and vlogs where people have to go out and buy one to treat cradle cap.  We have been fortunate that Sarah never developed cradle cap, but I use this every time I wash her hair.  That makes sure all the oil and dead skin is removed when I bath her.  Plus I think she enjoys the scrubby sensation.

Homedics Soundspa Lullaby

Noise Machine:  Babies love white noise!  They are used to being in the womb and listening to your heart beat and other ambient noises.  My sister bought this for me a week after she was born and it has been so handy.  Sarah went through a stage where she didn't want me to put her down, at all.  The second I did she would wake up unless I transferred her to another person.  The heartbeat setting on this allowed me to put her down after she fell asleep for a nap.  There are 3 different noise setting and 3 different lullaby's.  I still use the heartbeat Sarah sleeps more soundly with it.  This particular one is also neat because it will project images up to the ceiling for baby to watch.  She didn't use this feature when she was a newborn, but loves it now.  She needs a little light in the room for when she wakes up or else she gets scared.  So two birds one stone.  Plus it has a timer on it, so you can have it shut off automatically.

Okay, so these are just a few of the items I didn't know I would use and need.  I realize all babies are different, but if I have more children, these will definitely be available in advance.  These are also excellent baby shower presents.  Is there anything you other mommies use daily and think are essential for a new mother?

3 Month Photo's

I'm really proud of myself for keeping up (so far) with Sarah's 1st year timeline photo's.  I got her in and took her 3 month photo's the day after her 3 month birthday.  She did really good during this photo shoot and was all smiles!  I only did the one outfit this time as I just ran out of time to plan anything else.  I still have big plans for a sister shoot and family shoot sometime in the near future... But until then here are some cute 3 month smiles of Sarah:

This is truely what she looks like in between sweet smiles :)

My Favorite of the day!



What can I say!?  I'm blessed to have such a happy baby!!!

Mommy Jealousy

It seems like recently I've been reading a lot of confessions on blogs and I thought that I would follow in their footsteps and do a (brutally) honest post.

I have mommy jealousy.  It is so sad.  Really.  I know it's completely irrational and my thoughts are probably completely unfounded, but never the less I have jealousy issues when it comes to Sarah and other babies.  And just so you know, Sarah is the best baby ever born.  That is my opinion and I'm sticking to it!

For instance, there is another new mom that I see on a fairly normal basis.  She had a baby shortly after Sarah was born.  And, sad to say, but mommy jealousy sometimes rears it's ugly head.  When anyone asks to see pictures of her little girl and they don't ask about Sarah or ask me if I can remember Sarah being that small or making newborn noises, I want to shout "Of course I do ~ that was just last month!"  Like I get morbidly offended at the amount of time people spend gushing over another baby.  Not that Sarah isn't gushed over, because believe me she is.   And in the spirit of honesty these thoughts usually only pop up when another baby is around and Sarah is not.  Thereby making me miss her so much more!  Plus, being all proud mommy and whatnot, I want everyone to be delighted as she reaches milestones (well maybe not milestones so much as a new coo or face).  I want to show videos and bombard people with stories about her, whether the story is mildly interesting or not.  When the truth of the matter is, no one cares as much about my baby as I do (Mike being the exception).  I could spend all day, every day talking about Sarah and making speculations about what every noise and pattern could mean.  Others, think she's cute are polite in their nods and interests, but they don't want to talk about her 24/7.  What's wrong with these people!?!  Sarah is the cutest and smartest baby ever born! (I told you I am completely irrational and have very biased opinions) 

I probably shouldn't write a post about this as I'm opening myself up to lots and lots of criticism and judgement, but in the spirit of honesty, there are times when I have to check myself.  There have been times when I want to run to the bathroom and cry over why no one cares about my sweet girl (I know! Irrational and completely untrue!)  But then I think about it and would hate if other moms ran to the bathroom when I talk about Sarah because they think I don't care about their child.  These are just some of the dark and twisty thoughts that sometimes creep through my head.  I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way or if every moms feels like this about their child.  But I do know that I don't want to feel like this and pray about it when a mommy jealousy streak strikes.  I have shared this with Mike and Bethany and they both just laughed at me and rolled their eyes.  I know I'm ridiculous, but c'mon ~ Sarah's awesome!  End of story.

11 Question Tag Up - Better Late than Never

So here's the deal, I was tagged in this post a couple of months ago right after I had Sarah.  I've had every intention of completing it, but like all blog posts in my head, it's managed to get away from me.  There are rules for this tag up, but I am breaking them as I don't have 11 blogging friends, and the blogging friends I do have only post sporadically and probably won't see this.  Jessica from TheParsonageFamily being the exception and the one who included me in this fun questionnaire.  So with that being said, in we go...

The Rules

~You must post the rules

~Post 11 fun facts about yourself

~Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you;

then create 11 questions to ask the people you've tagged

~Tag 11 people and link them in your post

~Let them know you have tagged them

11 Fun Facts about Me:

1.  I love love LOVE to travel.  I love not only going new places, but the process of getting there.  I love road trips, airports, trains, buses, boats/ferries etc.  There's just something about travel days that I really really enjoy.  I also love staying in hotels and just being out of a "normal" routine for awhile.  I also want to do unique things when in a new place.

2.  My eyes are two different colors.  Or really, they're two different shades of hazel, but you can definitely tell.

3.  Pizza and Champagne or Asti are one of the BEST combinations ever.  I love the hot saltiness of the pizza coupled with the the cool sweetness of the champagne or Asti.  Plus pizza just calls for something with bubbles :)

4.  On a related note, I always eat the best tasting food on my plate last.  Therefore I always have a good taste to end on.

5.  I'm not into status symbols or material goods.  However, I'm still aware that some of my things may be sub-par.  For example, I drive a 96 Sable.  Not a bad car, I paid cash for it, it runs great, and gets me to where I need to be.  But if we were going to ride together somewhere and you have a shiny new car, I will always defer to you.  But, I'll offer to pay for all gas expenses, and probably pay for your meal or drink or whatever, so it almost works out...kinda...

6.  3 Men and a Little Lady is probably my all time favorite movie.  I have no idea why this is or what the draw is, but I love it!

7.  I'm scared of whales.  I haven't always been scared of these terrifying creatures, but it's developed over a series of dreams in my adult life.  They started around the time I went off the college and happen whenever I have a major life change approaching.  I had to have my sister play certain parts of a wii game (endless ocean) because there was a whale in the water with me... so NOT okay...

8.  I organize when I shop.  I'm that shopper that puts all of the nail polishes back in their proper place before selecting a color. Mostly I do this with display cases, but I have been known to size order a rack or refold t-shirts.  I always leave the store better than I found it.

9.  I heart boardgames or games in general.

10.  I love seeing peoples handwriting.  One of my favorite things to receive is a hand written note.  I think handwriting is so unique to the person.  I love seeing something and knowing just by looking at it who created it.  (And yes I think that handwriting something out is creating)

11.  I have an expansive Disney animated movie collection.  I don't do all the sequels (with the exception of Lion King 1 1/2 ~ if you haven't watched this one you are missing out!) but I do pick them up as they are released from the vault.  Sarah's gonna have a ball when she's big enough to sit through movies!

Jessica's Questions:

1.  Where would you go if you had an all-expenses paid trip somewhere?  This one is hard as there are so many places I want to see still!  But I'd have to say Norway.  My heritage is heavily Norwegian and I'd love to visit and see that country.  It looks beautiful in pictures!

2.  What do you remember about kindergarten?  There are two things I distinctly remember about kindergarten.  First, that I was put in the wrong class initially and the class I was in did not allow for my daily nap.  I remember losing my cool completely over getting the wrong milk and the next day I was in a different class (I ordered chocolate and received white).  Secondly, I remember playing a silly little game at the water fountains.  There were three drinking spouts attached to a trough and we would sing "Coffee, Tea, Soda Pop, Pee" while pointing to the different spouts.  You did NOT want to get caught drinking out of the "Pee" spout!

3.  Where did you and your spouse go on your first date?  Mike took me to Ted's Montana Grill followed by drinks at Gold Rush and Corner Bar.  We then ended up talking in his car until the wee hours of morning.  We did that a lot our first month dating...

4.  It's 10:30 pm on a weeknight.  What are you doing?  Now that I've had Sarah, you'd find me putting her into her pj's and making her last bottle of the evening.

5.  What did your senior prom dress look like?  It was pretty classic.  It was black, strapless with a fitted bodice and full length A-line skirt.  It had black roses across the top.  I believe I have a picture from prom on my facebook, if so, I'll add it to the end of this post.

6.  If you could instantly be fluent in one language, what would it be?  Probably Italian.  Mainly because that is the language I've come the closest to learning.  Having lived there for almost two years, I was getting ok at speaking it conversationally.

7.  What is the proudest moment of your life?  Before Sarah it was the day I graduated bootcamp.  I felt very privileged and honored to be a part of such a rich tradition.  I couldn't wait to serve my country and I knew it would be a good fit for me.  There's just something about putting on that uniform that makes you stand a little taller.  Now that I've had Sarah, it's easily the moment she was born.  I could not believe how little and perfect she was.  The fact that I have the privilege of being her mom, well I'm pretty proud of that!

8.  Are there any words people say you pronounce funny?  Yes, in high school I got made fun of because I said the word "both" funny.  I'm still not sure exactly how you're supposed to say it...

9.  What do people need to know about you to "really" know you?  First, how to spell my name.  It's JennI (there's no "y" in Jennifer).  Second, that I get really annoyed at smart phones.  I didn't meet up with you to stare at the top of your head because you won't put your phone away.  Occasionally checking the phone is one thing, but having to facebook, check in, twitter, email, text, etc. while visiting with a friend is way too much!!!  Put it on vibrate and tuck it away.  The world won't end because you didn't let your stalkers know exactly where you were and what your doing (end soapbox)

10.  What was your favorite class in college?  Well considering I only completed a year of college before going off to dance for a year.  This narrows my choices, but I'd say English 101.  We wrote a lot of argumentative/persuasive papers in that class, and being a good debater, naturally I excelled.  Present spelling issues aside...

11.  You're craving something salty.  What do you grab?  I don't crave salty very often.  I'm much more of a sweet craving kind of girl... so chips and queso is probably what I'd go for...

If you feel like participating, pretend I tagged you and answer these questions I came up with!

My Own Questions:

1.  Name something on your bucket list.

2.  What is your favorite guilty pleasure food?

3.  What do you do to pamper yourself?
4.  What was your first job?
5.  What is your favorite quote or a quote that really speaks to you?
6.  What color and type of luggage do you use?
7.  If you could choose one super hero power, what would it be?
8.  What is your signature scent (perfume, body spray, your own musk...)?
9.  What website is your biggest time suck?
10.  Tell us about your favorite holiday memory or vacation.
11.  Are you a planner or prefer to only think about now and the next 5 min (I don't know how to phrase this, but you know what I mean ;) )?


What a fun little way to get to know people through blogs.  Thanks Jessica for including me!!

Newborn Photo's 2

Okay, so as promised, here is the follow up to the newborn photo's.  There were a couple I didn't put on facebook because they were a surprise for some family members.

The first couple were for my sister, Kristi, who lives out in California with my beautiful nieces. She crocheted Sarah a beautiful blanket.  So much time and energy went into this blanket that I knew I wanted to get some of her newborn photo's on it.  Here are those shots:

The next photo was taken for my mom who made the dress she is wearing.  Sarah also wore this dress home from the hospital.  It was one of my mom's first attempts at smocking (if not the first) and it is a beautiful little dress.  She almost looked like a doll in these photo's.

I hope you enjoy these few extra shots. It already seems like so long ago that she was that itty bitty, and she's still pretty small!  Time really does fly when you have a baby.  She's a little sweetheart though ~ makes spending time with her so much fun!

I Hope I Never Forget... 3 Months

Sarah,
You're 3 months old today!  I hope I never forget...

• How happy you are when you wake up!  You're very "smiley" when you first wake up.
• Your strength!  You already keep your head level with your body when being pulled to sitting, and often want to continue on to standing.  Happily standing there talking to us while looking around the room.
• The way you love deep voices.  You smile and are genuinely happy when Daddy, Papa, or Muncle Toddy talk to you
• How you squeal and coo at random times.  I think it's just to let us know you're happy :D
• How you "talk" to me everyday when I pick you up. You tell me about all about your day, complete with faces from times when you weren't happy.
• How hard you're working to figure out your hands.  You'll stare at a toy and can get your hand to it every time, but are still figuring out how to wrap your tiny little fingers around it.
• The sweet "huh huh" noise you make followed by a big sigh right before you fall asleep.  I take it as "I love you", and I always respond with "I love you too" (This really is one of my favorite memories at this stage)
• How you really did fit into size 3-6 months, and size 1-2 diapers.  You can still wear both, but we're putting you into size 2 now.
• The way you absolutely love your big sister.  You look for her when you hear her voice and smile every time she plays with you!
• How fast you are growing and changing.  Your hair is now filling in everywhere and getting slightly darker than your white blond newborn hair
• Your cute belly button hernia which makes it look like you have an "outtie"
• How you hate, hate, HATE tummy time.  It breaks both mommy and daddy's heart to make you do it, but we have to for you to get strong!
• That your crying sounds like talking.  You'll stop crying the second you realize we know what the problem is and will whimper just enough for us to know the issue is still present without crying.
• The way your stick that bottom lip out when pouting.  It's the cutest thing!
• How completely in love you are with any moving mobile.  You are happy as a clam laying there watching the hearts and flowers (swing), jungle animals (changing table) or bugs and butterfly's (Gammy's house) go round and round.  You smile like you're the luckiest baby on earth to have something so special.
• You sleep right through crowds and loud area's often with the back of your hand pressed to your forehead, but the second it gets silent or too quiet, you wake up.
• That you NEED skin for comfort.  To have your head against a chest or cheek is your favorite, but will happily settle for a hand if that's all that's available.
• How you grab a hold of shirt collars when falling asleep as if you never want to part from the person holding you.
• The way you think you're invisible when your eating.  When you do make eye contact your eyes get really big like you've been discovered.  It's so funny!
• How you love to play naked for a few minutes after bath time.  You wiggle, smile, and coo until I make you get dressed.
• How you're a night owl like me and daddy.  You stay awake until 11 pm and won't wake up until around 8-8:30 am, usually just for a diaper change and quick meal before sleeping until 10:30-11.
• The way your pat your belly/chest or my hand when your eating
• How you want to see everything and have a hard time settling when there's too much for you to focus on.
• Your awesome baby smell.
• The way you love to kick your legs, especially the left one!

But mostly, baby girl, I hope I never forget to note these things that make you uniquely you.  I love you sooo much and am having so much fun rediscovering the world through your eyes.  I'm incredibly proud to be your mommy!! All my love on your 3 month birthday!

~Mommy

Some pictures of you:

Waking up happy

Sweet Sweet Sarah

How do I work these fingers!?

Hey big sister Haley!

I love your deep voice daddy!

I'm 3 months today!