Chubby Smiles

Mercy sure is a cutie!  We really enjoy her "happy time" after eating.  She has been working on some new sounds like a nice gutteral grrrrrr and a sing-songy aaaaaa. She also has become aware of her own hands by sight now rather than just by shoving them into her face. It's fun to watch her try and track her hand and eat it at the same time.  Some days it takes a lot to keep up with her but I keep reminding myself that raising her as best as we can is worth it.

Road Trip

Mercy Update:

So we took our big trip with Mercy out to Murrieta, Menifee, and Lake Elsinore.  She did extremely well.  She slept in the car all the way there and all the way back which neutralized our main concern. We really enjoyed introducing Mercy to so many of her cousins, aunts and uncles, and even great aunts and uncles. The whole trip made me think a lot since we were going to graduation parties while we were just starting with our first little one. 

On the home front, Mercy has been showing off her dexterity. As you can see, she prefers to make the letter T before bonking herself in the head and face while trying to shove her hand in her mouth.  She eventually gets it in there.

Mercy's Future Earliest Memories of Family Visits

I think I need to write down the family visits that Mercy has had during these first two months lest I forget when I am old and senile.

At the beginning we had Sara's mom, Grandma Joan (Kiely) visiting for about three weeks while they were RVing in the area.  I believe I called her about five hours after Mercy was born when I realized how tired we both were and how much work we had ahead of us. She helped a lot with everything but most importantly with holding the baby. 

 

My parents, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Frank (Sandoval) came to visit right away as well.  They happened to be in Dana Point at the time so they weren't too far from us. They have been coming once a week since then and helping with lots of things, most importatnly, holding Mercy while she naps.

This weekend, Grandpa Toby and Uncle Travis (Villines), Sara's dad and brother were able to fly down and hang out with Mercy and us. It was a great visit with lots of happy baby times. Hopefully we will get to travel up to the Northwest before too long to show her off to even more relatives on that side of the family.

 

Next weekend we hope to introduce Mercy to a lot of her relatives on my side when we go to visit for two of her cousins' graduation parties. It will be our longest drive with her ever so it should make for a memorable time. I have to add two more things here just for the sake of posterity, her birth announcements.

 

2 Month Checkup Results

11 pounds and 3 ounces of pure joy (although it tends to be that variety that inolves frequent crying and fussiness).

The pediatrician said everything looks good.  She is 22 and a half inches and healthy.

Ma and Pa

I swear she was smiling just before I went to grab the camera!

She took a nap in my arms tonight for about 4 1/2 hours.  She has been fussy and not sleeping well for a couple of days so I just kept sitting there in the same position to let her sleep as much as possible.  I started going stir crazy after a while but it was worth it.

Mainly she just eats and cries these days.  But when she is alert and in a good mood she likes it if I dance and sing like Reb Tevya from Fiddler on the Roof, "If I had a baby, da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da, all day long she'd cry and carry on, If I had a baby girl..."

Diaper Pontifications

The ammo dump... no pun intended

Mercy is definitely growing up.  We go to the pediatrician again soon. I'm anxious to find out weight and length.  She is at least 10 pounds and 22 inches now and getting chubby as you can see. May I offer two pontifications.  Maybe God lets babies cry a lot to build up your prayer life. Second, maybe our minds are created to remember the good times more than the bad so we're willing to at least consider doing it all over again.

Monkey Kung Fu

Tomorrow marks seven weeks for Mercy. Its amazing how quickly things change as she grows. There are certain things you do to soothe her that seem to work consistently but only for a few days and then you have to come up with something else.  For instance, I used the Monkey Kung Fu Lullaby for a while but I think she is over it. It goes like this:

My little baby knows monkey kung fu, monkey kung fu, monkey kung fu

My little baby knows monkey kung fu, ee ee ah ah oo oo

I say ee, you say ah, I say oo like a monkey would do

You say ee, I say ah, you say oo like a monkey would do

The key when singing the song is time it so that the baby cries "ah" at the right times. There's a second verse I won't bore you with about what to do if the monkey knows baby kung fu. 

She is definitely sleeping longer at night and so we are too.  She spit up on me last night enough to soil the shirt I had just put on from one armpit to the other.  That's okay though, I didn't really want to wear that particular shirt anyways. She's really been stepping up her cute time when she's awake and had a bath today without soiling the water.  She has been smiling a lot more and making some funny noises like the one where she inhales but with a giant wheeze. Stay tuned.