Oliver at Two Months

So, my babies grow fast. Oliver had his two-month check-up this morning, and Dr. Chi was thoroughly impressed at his advanced development. He weighed in at 13 lb 4 oz, which is in the 75-90th %ile range and according to Dr. Chi, the size of a four month old baby. His length was 24 1/2 inches, which remains up around the 97th %ile and comparable to a six month old baby. Growth projections remain the same as at his one-month check-up; Oliver is likely to be 6'2 and 180-200 lbs. Yup. Now accepting donations toward groceries.

Relatedly, I saw another mom at the pediatrician's office with her son, who must have been 16ish years old, six feet tall and with hairy legs. So then I stood there holding my infant son, trying to picture him and his big brother at that size and oh my heart. I just can't even. I debated asking her grocery budget but who am I to be able to handle that kind of truth this early in the morning.

Oliver is advanced in other ways, too, not just his hearty size. He sleeps an average (starting in the last week) of 9-10 hours overnight. Bedtime has been around 8pm, and he makes it to at least 5am, with his record standing at 6:30am. THAT is my boy. He's either a great sleeper, or I am (his bed is right next to mine, so surely I wouldn't snooze through him wanting to be fed?). The big turning point was when we moved him from his Rock n Play, where he slept on his back and at a slight incline, into a travel-size Pack n Play where he sleeps on his belly. That kid LOVES his new bed, and even during the day when he feels sleepy, he tends not to sleep well until we put him in there (as opposed to his swing, car seat, or even being held).

He has half-rolled over a couple of times, from his back up on to his side. Once he made it over onto his belly (that was at least a week ago now, around 7 weeks of age) but more often he makes it up to his side and hangs out there. He's able to push and hold himself up on his arms and holds his head up high as he looks around. We get numerous smiles and coos from our social little guy.

[Edit: He just rolled again, right in front of me, as soon as I turned my camera on! Sometimes the stars just align.]

I might add that all of this is tremendously encouraging because there are times when I seriously question whether Oliver will survive infancy, due to the trauma he regularly experiences at the hands of his big brother. It started early. Most notably, the other day I was making breakfast while Oliver lounged in his swing. He was just across the room, safe and sound. Or so I thought. Suddenly I heard a crash, and then my two boys wailing like someone had died. Never have I made it from kitchen to living room with such speed and agility. The swing was lying on its side, Oliver facedown on the floor screaming, and Isaac weeping dramatically - whether out of fear or pain, I'm still not sure. I felt simultaneous impulses arise in me to snatch my baby from the floor to be sure he was ok, and to snatch my older son and let him know how NOT OK this was. Oliver won the internal coin flip, and turned out to be just fine; Isaac, well, I guess time will tell whether he's learned the lesson I imprinted upon him. Firmly. I will now be watching Oliver for all of the minutes of all the days until he is old enough to learn self-defense.

And I'm sharing this with you all because I'm 99% sure that my Mother of the Year nomination has already been revoked. Something about seven episodes of Daniel Tiger back to back while I fell asleep nursing the baby. I can't help it that Netflix auto-queues one episode into the next.

There are so many moments that I would love to share with you. I mentally bookmark them all the time - oh, that was so funny! So precious! So brilliant! So mind-blowingly chaotic that nobody will believe me unless I detail it on the internets! But then all of my mental bookmarks go the way of my abdominal muscles, never to be seen again. Le sigh. Perhaps during nap time today (which just started rather smoothly, knock on wood and throw salt over your shoulder and don't jinx it by talking about it) I will wrack my brain for all of the blog-worthy things I've been forgetting over the past few months.

Mental bookmark to take a two-month photo of Oliver with The Teddy Bear and post it along with comparison photos of the big kids. Think I'll remember? (Hint: we have no such one-month photos of Oliver. Third child syndrome. Oops. Hopefully he'll understand and be grateful that I was too busy keeping him alive and out of the clutches of his older siblings and making sure everyone was fed edible things at somewhat regular times of the day.)

Also? We bought a house. I know. Would I just drop that on you all right at the end of a blog post and peace out? Yes, yes I would. BOOM. Oh and Joel and I just celebrated our eight year anniversary. No gifts, figuring that between me birthing him a son and him buying me a house all within two months of our anniversary, we were probably good to go. Although, I feel like it is probably all downhill from there in terms of future anniversary gifts.

Learning to Sit and to Share

Today was Isaac's second attempt with the bumbo seat, and he did beautifully! And putting Isaac in the bumbo seat means a combination of two of Mikayla's favorite things to play with (she can still somehow fit into the bumbo seat; it is quite humorous watching her wiggle free afterward! She also enjoys carrying it around, clumsily).

Since I aspire to be more like my sister in most ways, I realized this was a golden photo op and grabbed my camera. Well, my phone anyway. I will work my way up to taking professional-grade portraits with a fancy digital camera one day. Maybe.

Here are the shots I came up with before the moment passed and Mikayla decided that crackers were MUCH more important than playing with her brother:

"Show Ikey your bug...put it in his lap."

 

"Wipe Ikey's mouth, please."

They are just too precious together! And Mikayla is quite the mother hen. She fetches diapers ("bipas!") even when he doesn't need them, and puts them over his head or pushes them at his hiney. And she is eager to show him how to play with all of her toys.

The troops are getting restless. I guess this momma's blog break is just about over! Thanks for stopping by!

Isaac's 2-month (sort of) update

I guess I'm a little late on Isaac's two month update, seeing as how he was 11 weeks on Thursday. Oops! My tardiness makes it all the more important to capture some of his milestones, so that someday I can rely on my blog to recall when he had all his "firsts". Especially because we don't have a baby book for him yet (thus begins the second child getting the shaft, right?).

Isaac is amazing. At his 2-month appointment (which occurred around 9 weeks of age), he weighed 13 pounds 9 ounces. When we went back for shots a few days later, he was 13 lbs 11 1/2 oz. He's a grower! And thankfully, within a few days after that, his allergies seem to have miraculously cleared up. I don't know if it was our efforts to cat-proof his (our) bedroom, or coincidence, but we are just grateful that he is breathing more easily these days. The cats are now actually gone, having been re-homed this week, so we may never know if it was them for sure.

The anchor of Isaac's day is bedtime, which is in the neighborhood of 8:30/9:00 but has been inching earlier in the past week. He sleeps until at least 3:30 or 4:00, but had a couple of nights last weekend when he slept from 9pm until 5 or 6am! He then sleeps a few more hours, hangs out awake for a bit, and often sleeps the whole morning away after another meal. I'm so grateful for this pattern because mornings are Mikayla's neediest times, with wake-up, breakfast, getting dressed, etc. Often, she will go down for a nap around 11:30 just as he is waking up. Then he goes back down for a nap around 12:30 and I get some quiet time all to myself!

Afternoons vary, with a nap somewhere at some point. He is getting good at falling asleep in his pack 'n play bassinet for both naps and bedtime. If we missed the "golden window" of drowsiness, he sometimes cries it out, but that generally takes no more than 20 minutes. Everyone warned me that because Mikayla was such a good sleeper, our second would be the opposite. So far, though, both kiddos seem to share their parents' love of sleep!

(The above is a generalization, more "guidelines" than rules, but it feels like we at least have a pattern, most days.)

The highlight of my days lately, as with Mikayla, are the first wake-up moments with Isaac. After his first breakfast of the morning, he unlatches with a HUGE grin and would laugh out loud if he knew how. The smiles that little guy turns out are just amazing! (First smile: within a few days of his baptism, probably April 23 or 24.) I wish I had more time to snuggle him, as I used to with Mikayla, but....well, Mikayla has to get up, too! So he hangs out in his swing while I get his sister up and breakfasted. Then it's back to sleep for a nap almost as soon as she's finished with breakfast.

Did I mention he's SUCH an easy baby?

That's if we're on our home turf; days when we head out for errands or events are much more challenging because we don't all get to sleep and eat exactly when and where we like. Isaac, like his sister before him, is fantastic at sleeping in his bed but is getting a bit hit-or-miss at sleeping in his car seat. The BEST times are when EVERYONE is tired and we are all in the car, say, driving home from New Jersey, and we are ALL screaming at the top of our lungs. Yes, those times are quite thrilling. Momma and Dadda do our best to sing hymn after psalm after spiritual song to get the kiddos to quiet down, and when all else fails, we willfully dissociate and pretend it isn't happening. There is so much you can do in a moving four-door...oh, for the days when we will have a minivan and Momma can pop back to help the kiddos out!

Isaac eats about five times a day, starting with his early morning breakfast around 4 or 5 or whatever. Then another quick nibble around 8, then his (hopefully) long morning nap. Lunch, an early dinner, and then an epic feeding before bed that sometimes begins an hour before sleepy time. It varies some, but that is the typical pattern. And he is not nearly the spitter-upper that his sister was! Once in a blue moon (seriously perhaps once or twice a week) he spits massively, seemingly due to a renegade air bubble in his tummy. Otherwise we are talking perhaps a tiny dribble if he has overeaten. And the dude can BURP. He will give his Dadda a run for his money when he is old enough for the manly contests.

When we put Isaac down for tummy time, he can easily push up with his arms and hold his head way up high to look around. He sat in his bumbo seat this week for the first time and did well for 5-10 minutes until his neck meat got tired, and he went all slumpy on me. Not bad for a first attempt, though!

You'd think I would have a fresh photo for Isaac's update post, but nope. Not on the ball. Did you miss the part about second children getting the shaft? It's just those pesky firstborns demanding all their parents' time and energy...particularly when they are only 14 months older. Phew!

So we are generally all sleeping and smiles over here, on the Isaac front anyway. God is so good, and our children are precious gifts from His hand. May He strengthen us for this daunting task of rearing and disciplining, nurturing and encouraging these little souls toward their heavenly Father.

SDG!

Welcome, Isaac Victor!

Welcome, Isaac Victor Pearce!

Born at 9:47 a.m. on Thursday, March 8. 

Measuring 8 lb 3 oz, 20 inches long.

At the birth center, just about ready to go home!

A "Big Picture" Sort of Morning

I know, where is all this prolific blogging activity coming from, right?

1) No need to spend hours studying each morning anymore.
2) Still no energy to get up and do anything much different.
3) This seems more productive than honing my Mahjongg skills.

This is just a quick post to let you know that I will not be meeting any of my goals for the morning. These included, but were not limited to, getting over to Target for diapers, wipes, and toilet paper (nothing truly necessary, right?), and pushing through a whole heap of paperwork that would allow me to leave my client files in tip-top shape during my maternity leave. Oh and perhaps that load of socks and underwear that will become important tomorrow morning.

However. Achievement of said goals would have required me to do one of three things immediately following breakfast: 1) quick shower and get ready; 2) start on some of the paperwork; or 3) at least throw the laundry into the washer.

Go ahead, ask me how that went. Better yet, ask me how breakfast went. Because I was too lazy to even get myself something to eat while feeding Mikayla, so I was yet further behind than usual (and hungry to boot!).

Breakfast wasn't what derailed my morning, though. In fact, I am eating a bowl of cereal while I blog, so clearly I am capable of the multitask when it comes to food. No, the real "problem" was that my sweet, beautiful daughter wanted to read books with momma all morning until her nap. Have you seen my daughter? Have you ever witnessed her sheer exuberance when she wants to read "The Jolly Barnyard", or "Chicka Chicka Boom! Boom!"? This girl toddled around the living room picking up her favorite books and then bringing them back to me with giggles and squeals of glee, and politely asked, "Please?" by tapping her chest repeatedly with a huge grin on her face.

I am powerless in the face of such cuteness and good manners.

So we read books, and practiced the alphabet song and animal sounds, for about an hour and a half. We took short breaks so that she could switch books by tossing one on the floor, mourning its disappearance briefly by saying "Uh oh!", and then picking up a different book to read. She also gave frequent hugs and kisses, and adjusted her location atop her baby brother as he kicked her in the hiney. All in all, it was a lovely morning.

Not a morning that will help me to meet any of my productivity goals, but one that has a far greater purpose than that. It was a "big picture" sort of morning, wherein I let my daughter know how very precious she is to me; that she is more important than the laptop (and more important than toilet paper, this kid really rates!). I'm grateful to God for the grace to recognize this in the moment, that goals are sometimes meant to be forgotten or delayed. Or better yet, that sometimes goals fade in importance next to calling. Sure, it's my goal as a momma to keep my daughter in diapers and be stocked up on wipes. But it's my calling and purpose to respond to her need for love (and even some education...we are working on the horsey sound), and sometimes that might require some flexibility and rearranging on my part.

Or maybe this has been just a neurotic response to the guilt that has been building over the last few weeks as I've spent my mornings studying and basically ignoring her.

Either way, it was SO worth it.

SDG!

(Almost) 11 Month Update

Our little girl is growing so fast! We are continually amazed and grateful for her joyful personality, her love for her parents, and her wonder and curiosity for life - even in our boring little house. We love being around her, and it is evident that she has such a loving heart already. She is definitely starting to show that she is a little person and not a baby anymore! Her introverted, laid back nature shows through (especially around groups of people), though she is certainly outgoing in the comfort of home. While we try to be careful not to allow ourselves to build her up primarily for what she does (more on that in a later post), we are blown away each day at what she is learning or doing. I wrote the first draft of this post two days ago, and when I revisited it, some achievements or milestones already seemed outdated! Here are some new things in Mikayla's world lately:

• She LOVES to hear music and singing. She has also started to dance on command, and has even started to dance spontaneously when her little Mozart cube plays.
• She knows who made her, responding to the question with an exuberant single hand raised upwards. Two hands thrown upwards shows how big she is.
• Mikayla regularly says mamma, dadda, and uh-oh, and we thought we just heard a "ki-gu" for "kitty" when Niko walked into the room.
• Speaking of words, she says "uh-oh" whenever she drops something on the floor as well as whenever she plain old feels like it. Take last Sunday for example. Our pastor just finished reading Romans 3:23, and Mikayla followed it up with an authoritative "uh oh!" Awkward. We are working on context.
• When asked what a cow and kitty says, she responds with "mmm" and "ah-wo," respectively. She can also pick her cow out of an animal lineup when we ask her where it is.
• She also just started with the "n" consonant sounds, which means "no" is on the horizon.
• Though Mikayla enjoys flipping through her board books on her own, she won't sit very still for long for us to read with her. I'm sure that time will come. Hopefully soon.
• She is cruising around on everything, including the walls, and has even started to walk while only holding onto one of our hands.
• Mikayla is fascinated by doors and light switches. Particularly the one big kitchen cupboard that she can reach: we were playing Ticket to Ride this afternoon over the din of her repeatedly opening and slamming it because, well, she can. No pinched fingers yet.
• She loves throwing her food onto the floor, even though she knows she will be disciplined. Most of the time she looks directly at us and still throws it on the floor with an "uh oh!" Yes, Mikayla, Romans 3:23 applies to that.
• Finally, Mikayla has never met a person or situation that didn't warrant a super cute wave. She doesn't always do it on command, and her favorite time to wave is when someone starts walking away after imploring her to wave.

Mikayla at Nine Months

Can you believe that we just had Mikayla's nine month check-up at the pediatrician yesterday, and scheduled her ONE YEAR appointment for January? Oh my, where has the time gone?

I'm happy to report an overall very clean bill of health from the doctor (who, by the way, gives me tips on cloth diapering and is impressed that I still use prefolds, since she switched to pocket diapers). Mikayla weighs in at 17 lb 5.5 oz, placing her at the 70th percentile for weight, and is 27 inches long, placing her at the 50th percentil for height. I'm skeptical of the latter measurement, however, since she barely held still long enough to see where her foot reached on the baby-length-measurer-thing. But the general consensus is, she continues to grow and thrive in every way!

Other than the rash covering her entire body, but that has mostly cleared up today so we'll not speak of it.

Let's see, what milestones are we hitting these days? Mikayla has partially weaned herself from nursing, sticking with the morning and bedtime feedings but otherwise having no interest at all. I blame 2P. We give her a bottle of formula at lunch and dinner, which the doctor said is good since she should be getting half her nutrition from milk/formula and half from food at this point. The doctor asked whether she has developed her "pincer grasp" (thumb and forefinger), and I wracked my brain trying to think...I think she CAN pincer grasp, but about 90% of the time she still "rakes" (full hand grasp) because seriously, the girl's #1 priority is getting ALL of the food into her mouth at once! I observed her more today and noticed that yes, she definitely can pincer grasp, particularly when she wants the bananas and not the cheese. She's a champ with her sippy cup, and holds her own bottle as well. So independent! Her favorite foods include cheerios, bananas, sweet potatoes, kiwi, and YOGURT oh my goodness yogurt. She delights in almost every food we introduce, but she lights up when she sees the yogurt coming. Plain yogurt. I don't understand it, but hey, it's good for her.

Outside of the kitchen, she is standing and cruising like nobody's business. We just borrowed a slightly more sturdy walker from friends of ours, and we have watched her take several steps with it before plunking down on her bottom. Grandpa Pearce claims that today she walked the length of the room with it! Without firsthand parental confirmation, I can't completely vouch for the truth of the claim (you know how grandparents can exaggerate), but I wouldn't be at all surprised. She is ready to move! Mikayla does "so big!" and this adorable head tilt, and has recently been giving her dadda high fives. Not always on command, of course, but the doctor assured me that it's normal for her not to perform like a monkey at nine months of age. She does say dadda and mama sometimes, as well as "ha-ta", whatever that means.

To give you an idea of how active munchkin is, yesterday I was sitting on our bed with her crawling all about. I had her by the leg of her pants, as she was squirming toward my nightstand to check out the monitor and whatever else is over there. She wiggles so much that while I tried to hold onto her ankle, most of the time I had a firm grasp of nothing but denim. I looked away for a moment to do whatever it was I was doing, still keeping her by the leg, and suddenly heard a big THUD and realized I was holding empty pants! Mikayla had wiggled right out of her pants and toppled off the bed! She cried for about three seconds, and not very hard at that, since it was a short fall from our low bed onto the soft carpet. Thankfully. My little wiggle worm has not stopped moving since the first kick in my belly!

At the same time, though, she is incredibly laid back. We took her our to a restaurant for the first time yesterday evening and sat her in a high chair while we ate with Joel's dad. Even though we kept her out past her bedtime, she fussed only minimally and kept a big smile on her face right up to the end, charming other diners with those big eyes of hers. So we have this great combination of mellow and active/inquisitive. It's so fun to watch her develop!

I stopped by a big Mennonite-run general store today to pick up some diaper doublers for Mikayla for overnight. They have a pretty nice baby section, and I found myself looking at tiny onesies, receiving blankets, baby books...wondering whether I will soon be shopping for a little sister or little brother. I was so tempted to buy something for him or her - it's a good thing I don't know whether to buy blue or pink! I was like a child in a candy store...I had forgotten how much fun it is to shop for baby things. We should find out soon whether 2P has a little stem on the apple, and then, my friends, then I shall go back and BUY things. Don't tell Joel.

I certainly hope this is coherent. I'm not going to bother to edit...I have a bit of a fever today, amongst other issues, but I wanted to update you on Mikayla. Inspired by the prompting of a friend - apparently, inquiring minds want to know how big my daughter has gotten :).

SDG!

Best Monkey Ever

We recently discovered that Mikayla knows a few words. Not to say them, but to clearly respond. Yesterday when I asked her for a hug, she promptly leaned her little head down onto my shoulder and snuggled me! For Joel, she snuggles into his chest. She knows how to hug!! (Sort of. No arms yet.) She will give us a hug every time we ask for one now. My favorite was today, asking for a hug as I was putting her down for her nap. What a blessing to a momma's heart!

She's also catching onto the idea of giving kisses. She doesn't do it every time yet, but when I ask her for a kiss she will often lean in for one. Baby-style, with mouth open and drool everywhere. A kiss only a mother could appreciate, probably, but it fills my heart up so much to think she wants to give us hugs and kisses. She does both with a gigantic smile on her face. I pray that these are her first little responses to us because she experiences so much love herself. That is my prayer for my daughter through her whole life, and for all our children: that their lives are characterized by love because that is what we have filled them with, in Christ, by the grace of God.

We're also trying to teach her "so big" because we watched a video of cousin Jillian doing this, and we can't let her get too far ahead. Hopefully Mikayla doesn't inherit too much of her dadda's competitive spirit, geez! (For those who are curious: we have had several successes in a row with her throwing her hands in the air when we ask how big she is. Soooo big!! Although sometimes she just looks at us and laughs, so we are not 100% yet.) It is just so cool watching her clearly understand our words and even having her start to associate them with actions.

Oh, and very important tidbit: unless something significantly changes, she is going to be a lefty like her momma! Her left hand is her exclusive cheerio shovel these days.

She's my favorite. I can't wait til 2P arrives and I get to have TWO favorites!

SDG
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Mikayla's Many Favorites (8 Month Update)

Wow kids, I haven't blogged in forever. Want to know why? The current reason for not blogging began on July 11 when we found out that I'm knocked up again. Hello, baby #2! Since we decided to sit on the news for awhile before announcing, I basically forsook the blog because what else was there to write about?

Well, yeah, I mean Mikayla is still cool. But. Another pregnancy? Was definitely going to slip out somehow. But now that it's Facebook official, I am back baby! (babies?)

And this post is not actually about 2P, as we are calling him, until we find out via ultrasound whether it is maybe what we have been calling her. My gut is saying boy but I think it is because my sister just had a boy, and I have been following in her footsteps for oh about two years now in all things baby.

Nothing like waiting until the fourth paragraph to introduce the actual thesis statement of the post, eh? Since it is not about 2P, it is quite safe to assume that this is an update on Mikayla. I found myself composing a Facebook status update a few minutes ago that made me think, hmm, this is one of those stati that a) about three people will be excited to read, and b) is going to annoy the remaining 273 friends who will see it because it is so long. So. To the blog!

Mikayla is just in a fantastically cool stage right now. I know, we have said that about every stage so far, but seriously I really mean it this time guys. She is eight months old and SO active and inquisitive! For the past week or two she has been pulling herself up to stand - you read that right, she is cruising around her crib and standing to play with her toys. I had to Craigslist a few things because all of her toys so far have been small, handheld jobs and this girl is needing something to hold her interest (and her weight as she learns to balance!). She is the proud new owner of an activity cube and mail car walker as of about a week ago. My favorite is the delight she finds in turning the wooden gears on the side of the cube - with her foot. She started to use her hand once, but decided it was WAY neater to use her little toes.

In addition to standing and taking steps with help, Mikayla acts like a big girl by eating more than her dadda does. A typical breakfast is an entire pear or banana, a generous 1/2 cup (plus) of yogurt, and as much oatmeal as she wants til she's full. Usually at least a 1/2 cup. Dinner tonight was half a sweet potato, a cup of oatmeal, and probably 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt. A strange combination, perhaps, but we really need to get groceries again, apparently...We work on baby signs, in the spirit of cousin Khloe, but so far Mikayla asks for her sippy cup by yelling and banging her hands, and indicates that she would like "more, please" by panting and opening her mouth wide enough for a bus. She has made momma's life a freer place by eating three meals a day plus nursing at bedtime. Sometimes she is up for a snack in between meals, but most days she eats enough at her big-girl meals to get through. So nice!

Diaper changes have become less fun because they are BORING, even when Mikayla gets to hold onto a chosen toy while she lies there. But folks, bath time has moved on up to a favorite activity! Since she has become more stable in sitting, I've scrapped the baby tub and just been bathing her in a few inches of water in the regular bathtub. Not to mention RUBBER DUCKIES. Oh my goodness. We have this nifty mama duck that was a gift from my friend Michele (and the frontrunner to be Mikayla's husband, Jacob). She has three baby ducks that sit on her back as she floats around in the water. Mikayla has enjoyed them SO much that she adopted one of the baby duckies as her very own, to be toted everywhere she goes. It becomes more and more realistic throughout the day as it gathers feathers (well, cat hair...creativity is key when you have kids).

My favorite bath moment occurred yesterday, as Mikayla was playing with said duckies. She was just so taken with the idea that there are THREE baby duckies that she can play with all at once!!! She picked up the first ducky with one hand, picked up the second with her other hand, and looked at the third ducky intently. I could practically see the light bulb above her head as she popped ducky #2 into her mouth (head first, rest assured) so that she could reach for the third ducky. Unfortunately, holding duckies in her hand and mouth simultaneously seems to take a fair amount of concentration, so the third ducky kept bobbing just beyond Mikayla's clumsy grasp as she tried not to lose the first two. She adjusted the ducky in her mouth several times, holding it by its wing, then by its tail, but never quite found the perfect tooth hold that would allow her to hold all THREE duckies. It broke my heart, but I was so proud of her perseverance. Maybe next time, little girl. Maybe next time.

And yes, most nouns in our home end with "y" or "ies" at this juncture. Why do you ask?

Another current favorite occurrence is going to pick Mikayla up after her naps, and anticipating what position she will be in. My favorite so far had her lying on her back, sucking her thumb, sprawled out in a devil-may-care sort of way. Her legs were flung through the crib rails, basically using the bumper as a footrest for one foot and dangling her other leg casually toward the floor. The look on her face said, "Hey momma, what's up?" LOVE this girl! Sometimes I will find her draped over the bumper head first, as though she's been using it as a pillow or peering over it at the floor (like today, when she realized she had lost her ducky at some point during her nap and gazed longingly down til momma rescued it).

Mikayla is a huge fan of our black cat, Niko. When she sees Niko lying on the floor, or nearby on the bed, or crossing the room in the distance, Mikayla lets out a gigantic shriek of happiness. Niko is generally pretty patient with her, and even walks up to Mikayla fairly often to allow a few quick strokes (read: fistfuls of fur). I think this is why Mikayla thinks they are such great friends. However, Mikayla's shriek of happiness tends to be emitted at the same volume regardless of how near or far Niko happens to be. And is repeated frequently as long as Niko is in sight. A fact which, unfortunately, does not cause Niko to stick around for very long. But Niko is hungry enough for adult attention that she comes around even when Mikayla is present, and like I said, she has surprised me several times by nuzzling up to Mikayla for a few moments. Niko, thank you for making a baby's dreams come true.

I am realizing that there are so many "favorites" with Mikayla: moments, activities, sounds, faces. It would take a sweet forever to chronicle them all, and I seriously doubt that you had slated enough of your day to read through a much longer post than this (in fact, are you still here?). So I will stop here and let you know that you should simply hang out with my daughter sometime soon. K?

Up next: In Which Momma Learns of 2P's Existence (Or: Mikayla's Very Interrupted Nap).

You Can't Teach Height (Six Month Update)

Imagine my surprise when I found out this morning that Mikayla is SUCH a big girl that she doesn't need another check-up until October! My first thought was...but there is so much time between now and October for me to screw something up. Somehow I have earned "their" trust, whoever "they" might be.

So just how big is Mikayla? She weighed in at 15 lb 10 oz (48.9%ile), 26.75 inches (67.3%ile), and head circumference 42.3cm (50.4%ile). She has taken a little dip in weight percentile, though still right where she should be for her age, and remains tall. Unsurprising for our little Pearcelet, who also inherits some serious length genes from her Maclay/Steele forebears. No match for her cousin Jillian, however, who sounds like she will be able to take Mikayla with one arm tied behind her back, at least in basketball.

Mikayla got two shots today and was a very brave little girl. She cried for a few seconds but quickly pulled herself together, forgiving the needle-wielding nurse and smiling up a storm on her way out the door. She makes a momma proud. Her curiosity made the check-up quite interesting, as she grabbed and attempted to chew the nurse practitioner's bracelet, and any stethoscope that came within reach. The doctor and staff just marveled at Mikayla's development: her speed, agility, dexterity, and visual acuity were apparently stunning. At least, their comments of "Everything looks just fine!" sounded to me like she is off the charts in both achievement and aptitude, wouldn't you agree? .......

She continues to gobble not only medical paraphernalia, but anything on a spoon or in a sippy cup. Her current menu includes oatmeal, avocados, sweet potatoes, and pears. The doctor recommended again today to start red meats soon. While I questioned this at our last visit, this apparently is a new recommendation from the American Pediatrics Whatever because parents were waiting so long to give meat, that babies apparently were not getting enough iron? They said that giving her meat will help proper brain development, and that was all I needed to hear. Far be it from me to hold back my little rocket scientist. So if I can get to the store today, our New Food Friday might just involve BEEF. Crazy, huh?

What are her favorite activities? Let's just say that watching her play makes me think of the Beach Boys: "I Get Around" describes her quite aptly these days. She will be such a happy camper when she can crawl, but for now she employs her rolling skills to get wherever she needs to go. If I take my eyes off her for a few minutes, I can be assured that I'll find her across the room from where she started. And momma can no longer doze while baby plays on the floor; the other day I opened my eyes to her reaching for the potted plant in our living room while banging on the TV stand door. Hm. While she isn't strong enough to pull anything over on herself just yet, I am not a fan of taking chances. Next stop, Baby-Proofing 101. Or possibly just, you know, staying awake.

She also LOVES hanging out in the Exersaucer, jumping around and going to town with the full range of toys available for her amusement. And if we happen to look over and catch her a) playing or b) watching us, she completely freaks out with smiles and giggles because OHMYGOODNESSYOUNOTICEDME!!! She gets a big kick out of playing with momma in front of the mirrors in our house (I'm not sure she quite grasps that she's looking at herself, but holy cow, TWO MOMMAS!). Her favorite is when momma sings "La Cucaracha" (I basically know the words "la cucaracha" and then hum the rest) or hums "Can-Can". She apparently is a big fan of watching others humiliate themselves. Add this to the list of "things you will never find on a YouTube or Facebook video".

Mikayla continues to sleep a good 12 hours at night, which continues to strain credulity with medical personnel everywhere (the purple room AND the yellow room at Grace Pediatrics, for example). They seem to breathe a little easier knowing that she now gets a nice big dinner every evening before her bedtime nursing. She is just a champ at falling asleep on her own for naps and at night; I attribute this partly to her temperament and the sweet blessings of the Lord, and partly to the hardish work we did early on with letting her cry and get used to being alone in her crib. It felt SO sadistic, but now it is hilarious to watch her hanging out in her crib before and after sleepytime. She kicks her foot back and forth like she is impatient, rolls down to the monitor cam to tell us stories and sing us songs, and occasionally turns the camera to give us a REALLY informative view of her crib bumper. All this, and she is so content to just be in there until we're able (or willing, as the case may be) to go in and get her. This is a particularly helpful skill set for her at 5:30 a.m. when it is just NOT time to get up yet. But when one of us peeks in the door, YOU'REHEREAGAINTODAY!!!! Sometimes the happiness overwhelms her so that she doesn't know how to express it, resulting in some rather disjointed flailings at times. Love!

If I had to describe Mikayla's personality today (which clearly I don't HAVE to, but do you seriously think I am going to hold back on MY blog?), I would say that she is primarily happy and delightful with generous sprinkles of curious, active, and determined. She is, so far, securely attached to both Joel and me, which allows her to confidently go rolling/exploring, greet new people with great pleasure, and whimper when we go away which actually is kind of a blessing to this momma's heart because hello, MINE. She is also remarkably resilient when she misses sleep or gets a short nap; she'll make up for it later, without TOO much cranktankerousness (new word). That's a good word for her actually - not cranktankerous, but resilient. Easygoing. (Mostly) unflappable. Thank you, dadda. If I could have MTO'd a first baby for us, my first move on the touch-screen would have been Joel's steady-eddy personality (and then his blue eyes, which she also has!).


We praise the Lord and give thanks constantly for the miracle of Mikayla Grace. She is certainly a precious gift to be regarded with much joy as well as humility, for we are not worthy of such a trust from the Lord. We pray that He makes us worthy and helps us to work out this whole parenting thing day by day, and we rely wholly on His grace to mend the places where we fall short. Thankfully, we know for certain that God is faithful to save and guide His children despite imperfect parenting (the fact that there are any who love Him is testimony to this).

Soli deo gloria!

p.s. Photos of Mikayla
(These don't include up-to-the-moment 6-month photos, but we thought you'd enjoy having access to this album anway.)

This Four-Month Update is Late Because We've Been Busy Applying to Colleges

If my state of mind from the past week is any indication, this post will probably include a little of this, a little of that, and have no discernible organization. But at least you'll be updated!

First, Mikayla Grace had her four-month birthday last week (on May 12, for those keeping score at home). Our new pediatrician doesn't do weigh-ins at the immunization visits, so near as I can figure she is at least 15 pounds according to our super-precise bathroom scale, whose numbers and hash marks I can barely see from my towering height of completely average. I have to wonder how my vertically gifted husband comes up with any sort of reliable data when he uses the thing.

I digress. But you were fairly warned.


Due to a growth spurt in the last few weeks, Mikayla is now into the next size of diaper prefolds, which will fit her until she hits 30 lbs. She is on the fence with regard to diaper covers; I feel sort of bad for the smalls as we streeeeetch them around her tush, but the mediums are still a little overkill. This is why I think she is a little more than 15 pounds - the mediums are supposed to start at 18 pounds, and are only the slightest bit big. In clothing, just today I started to put away her 3-6 month things. Some of them still fit (dresses, onesies that run big), but she is definitely into her 6-9 month pajamas. Somehow I only have one pair of 6 month jammies, so I pulled out the 6-9 as well and...they are not nearly as ridiculous on her as they should be. She is so long! Her thighs are just starting to chunk out, but for the most part she is an athletic, agile little peanut.

Mikayla at 3 months:

Mikayla at 4 months:

At four months, Mikayla rolls easily from front to back. She pulls her feet in, sticking her bottom in the air, and then topples over. Sometimes she stops halfway and hangs out on her side. The best part is that she only rolls when she should be falling asleep. We have caved at times to the pressure of her pitiful wails when she is in her crib like a turtle on its back. When, oh when, will she learn to flip back over? And she refuses to roll on command, so we may not have photographic evidence until she starts kindergarten. Mikayla also expresses her kinesthetic genius by holding - yes HOLDING - her toys. I can say with the humility of a first-time momma that your child has never grasped a rattle nor shaken a linky toy with the sheer brilliance that Mikayla demonstrates. You can just see in her eyes that she is thinking very deeply about her every move. (Hmm...I just realized this could also be interpreted as a sign of slowness...nah. Denial, it's not just a river in Egypt. [That one's way funnier out loud. Oh shoot, where was my train of thought?]) Oh right - Mikayla is just constantly learning about her little, rapidly-growing world!


I am also pleased to report that we have *drumroll* a SCHEDULE!! Well, if you don't count the past few weeks when Mikayla had that growth spurt and that nasty head cold. And if you sort of disregard the crying fits at bedtime. I guess this is like saying that except for the exceptions, we have a rule. But still - she gets up like clockwork around 7 a.m. (praise the Lord she has bumped it back a little from 6:30!), naps at 8:45 for at least an hour, often two. Afternoon naps are briefer and move around a little, but it's normal for those to develop a little later than the morning nap according to my hero, Dr. Weissbluth. (Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child = the sleep & schedule Bible of first-time parents.) We also discovered the beauty of leaving her in bed for a good ten minutes when she appears to be stirring...she has turned 45-minute naps into 2.5-hour naps by falling back asleep.



Mikayla's little personality is absolutely delightful. Joel has made a habit of peeking into her room each morning before he goes for his shower. This is usually a little before 7 a.m., and he tells me that she is usually flipped onto her back and awake at that point. And when she sees dadda peeking into her crib, she goes absolutely BANANAS with smiles and wiggles. It is their special moment before he heads off to work and before I get her up for the day. Then we spend our mornings together playing, cuddling, nursing, and napping before I get ready for work myself. It is so precious to me that Joel can be with her while I'm gone, and makes it so much easier for me to be back at work part-time.


I have been saving the most momentous update for last. Are you ready for this? Mikayla has been drooling for at least the past month, chewing on her hands and having mystifying crying spells at bedtime. We suspected teething, but saw nary an incisor on which to place the blame. Then, just last night, I arrived home to Joel changing her into her jammies and he pointed out what we've all been waiting for. Mikayla Grace, my sweet little baby who was only just born, has not one, but TWO bottom teeth poking through her gums!! I scooped her up and hugged her tight, and wondered who would be showing up on our doorstep next week asking for her hand in marriage. Joel thought that was a bit much, but doesn't it feel like they grow up right before our eyes?

Oh, and if you think I have photographic evidence of the teeth, you have obviously never attempted to photograph the inside of a baby's mouth. If you don't have a baby handy, try nailing jello to the wall with one hand and snapping a clear shot with the other. Email me the result and we will all have a good laugh at your expense.


Aaaaand you're up to date with Mikayla Grace! Thanks for stopping by!

SDG!

Mikayla Grace at 2 Months

Our sweetheart at two months, outgrowing her little bear and wearing the sweater that Great-Grandma Pearce knitted for her:



Let's see if I can recall all the many things you have accomplished in the most recent month of your life! You are now holding your head up quite well, steady for several seconds before head-butting me in the shoulder. You look around, make eye contact with us, and follow with your eyes when we walk away. You usually turn your head when you hear our voices, but it sometimes takes a few seconds if you are looking at something really interesting (like our ceiling fan!). When we put you down on your belly, you often immediately push yourself up with your arms. We like to say that you can probably do more pushups than both your parents put together! Also, when we put you in your crib on your belly, you quickly and easily rotate until you are completely sideways. But only to the left; dadda says you are not an ambi-turner yet.

You eat like a champ, as evidenced by your consistent, chart-topping weight gain. I just moved you up to the small diaper covers today, as the x-small were getting tight - so no surprise when they weighed you at the doctor's office and said you are 12 lb 9 oz! That's the 90th percentile. Your length is 24 1/2 inches, which doesn't even get a percentile but is referred to as "high". Your head remains dainty at about 15 3/4 inches, the 80th percentile. The doctor says your height could still slow down, and we will know at 15-18 months whether you are really cut out to be tall like a Pearce or average like....well, me.

In other cuteness, you have found your fist and love to suck on it when your Nuk falls out. This is a great relief to your dadda and I, who have made endless, countless, numerous trips back and forth to your room to replace your Nuk when you're trying to fall asleep. Praise the Lord for this development! You are sleeping well through the night for a good 6-7 hours, waking around 6 or 7 to eat, depending on when you went to bed. We recently started a bedtime routine of nursing, praying, and singing with you. When I pray with you, I often get tears in my eyes because the moment is so precious. We prayed together for the people of Japan after the massive earthquake, and I cried then, too. I think we will add some reading soon to the bedtime routine, since you have so many wonderful books to get started on! The doctor said it is important for us to read to you even now. I wonder which book will be your favorite?

You have grown more accustomed to diaper changes and are often quite content while I change you. We have a silly little song that I sometimes sing while I am snapping up your clothes. I hope you find it amusing when you can understand it! Bathtime is hit or miss; you have had content baths, and others where you screamed the whole time. However. I recently discovered that you hide spit-up behind your ears (gross!!) and today at the doctor's office, I found more in your arm pits (embarrassing!). If you're going to be so yucky, than I am going to have to step up the bathing game.

It is so fun to watch you discover the world. Your eyes are so busy, and I can just see the wheels turning in your head as you soak up all the visual information you can. You are also getting more snuggly. My favorite time is getting you up in the morning, when you are not quite awake. You snuggle into my shoulder as you start to wiggle. Then, when we sit down to nurse, you stretch your whole body, arms up, and scrunch your face as you wake up. Then you are ready to chow down! Sometimes you eat for a few minutes with your eyes closed before you stretch and wake up. And when you are full, you stop nursing with a huge smile on your face, looking up at me with (I'm sure) great gratitude.

One last thing I'll blog about: you got some of your first vaccines today! We did cave in on the Hep B vaccine at your one-month visit, but today I went armed with information and a request to spread your vaccines out a little bit. I talked with the doctor about our concerns with the aluminum content of infant vaccines, and she was surprised - apparently I was the first momma to raise this concern to her. But we have read that the FDA has guidelines for how much aluminum adults should not exceed in vaccines and IV's (an amount per blood volume), and the amount that infants often get in their rounds of vaccines is many times that limit (for their tiny blood volume). There is no FDA stance on aluminum in infant vaccines. So we requested to get DTaP and Rotovirus vaccines today, and the doctor talked me into the HIB as well to protect against meningitis, since that one has no aluminum. She promised to research the topic of aluminum in infants to see if anything has come out since wht we read.

I am curious to know if any readers out there are familiar with this issue? Basically, infants easily get enough aluminum to reach toxic levels, but nobody has researched whether that's actually harmful or not. It might be fine. But we just don't know. And unfortunately, research on prenatal and infant medical interventions often comes long after the treatments have been used for many years. The book we read blames Big Pharma, since policy often follows the money. Either way, we are interested to know if any research has been done on this issue to determine whether the aluminum is safe or of concern. We're lucky to have a pediatrician who is open to spacing the vaccines and wants to learn more about the issue herself.

Well, if I can sum up a month of your life in one blog post, I think I've just done so. It seems there is a new milestone every time we turn around, from smiles to eye contact to developing muscle strength. We can't wait for the next thing, and to get to know you as your personality continues to emerge! We love you so much, little girl. Thank God that you continue to be healthy and happy - may it always be so.

SDG!

Topping the Charts

I thought I'd add the results of Mikayla's one-month pediatrician visit weigh-in, for those of you who aren't on Facebook. She continues to top the charts at 10 lbs, 15 oz (91st percentile for weight), 23 inches (97th percentile for length), and 15 inches (only 72nd percentile for head circumference).

At least she isn't getting a big head about her phenomenal growth! (Hahaha...ha ha....ha....)

I was again congratulated on my fantastic milk. I don't know why they congratulate me when I really don't know what I'm doing to brew this apparently magical stuff. I even forget to take my vitamins on some days!

I would also like to announce that Mikayla, in wrapping up her second growth spurt already (like she needs to be having these...), slept from 1 am until 6 am this morning, and then from 7 am until....well, as of this posting at 10:30 she is still asleep! I knew that deep down she was a super sleeper. Shall we all pray together that this continues?

SDG!

One Month Update

Our sweet Mikayla was four weeks old yesterday, and will officially be one month old on Saturday. I thought I'd split the difference and type her update post right here in the middle!

Mikayla continues to be a little delight. On a typical day, she wakes up around 5 or 6 to feed (this morning it was 6:30) and then goes back to sleep for a bit. She wakes up again around 7 and spends some time grunting and "fussing" in her bassinet (though she's not really unhappy; just maybe needs another diaper change, or to expend some energy). Usually this wakes mama up, but last night, because Mikayla is such a big four-week-old girl now, she spent the whole night in her own room! This gave mama a wonderful opportunity to sleep until an unprecedented 8:30 a.m., at which time Mikayla became slightly more insistent that I go in and change her diaper. After a change and a bite to eat, Mikayla conked out for another nap.

She sleeps from around 9:30 - 10:30 and then wants to be changed and eat again. That's her shortest stretch of sleep, and has been pretty typical the past week or so. Then she snoozes some more until just after noon, though the last few days she has stretched that nap to last until more like 1:30! She then spends quite awhile awake - several hours at least - and takes another shortish nap in the late afternoon/early evening. She gets serious about sleeping around dinner time, when she naps until mama is about ready to go to bed. Of course. Then she's awake til midnight or 1 a.m., again not unhappy, but fussy and easily bored and wanting to be held, rocked, sung to, etc.

Last night I thought I'd be smart and wake her up at 9 p.m., hoping that she'd be ready to drop back off to sleep by around 11. Wrong! Though it did move her sleepy time from 1 a.m. up to midnight, which was a nice bonus. But from 11 until 12, she faked sleep in my arms, but any time I put her into her crib, she IMMEDIATELY went into a full-out, you-shot-my-dog wail. Ugh. I'm opting for this controlled-ignoring approach to sleep training (which she's still a little young for, but it seems to have worked so far) in which I pick her up if she is truly crying, soothe her until she is calm, and put her back down when she is drowsy but awake. So we did this until about 1 a.m. and she finally went down happily to sleep until 5:30 a.m.!

I should add here that I'm not sure she actually slept until 5:30 a.m....but that is when this mama woke up and noticed that the video monitor handset had apparently died at some point and needed to be recharged. Oops! I could hear her fussing (not wailing, thankfully! I would probably never forgive myself!) and sure enough, she was ready to be changed and fed. I don't know whether I woke up due to her fussing, or my own sense that it had been awhile and she probably needed something. We are just so in tune with each other these days.

Did I say "in tune"? Well that's rich, coming from someone who on Saturday night cried three times (I probably cried more than Mikayla did) because she refused to sleep, and I had no idea what to do. We have had some difficult times this past week - I blame a growth spurt! She was on a fantastic 3 1/2 hour cycle for a few weeks, and I really thought I was catching onto this Mom thing....and then, last Wednesday, she ate every hour for eight hours straight! And since then, we have been trying to get back into some kind of groove (read: I spent four or five days constantly pleading with the Lord to give me wisdom and some sleep).

Turns out? Mikayla is a huge fan of the gas drops, and has occasional difficulties with acid reflux. Now, we feed in a more upright position, burp more often, and I do a football hold when feeding her on the left side so that she doesn't lie on her right (lying on the right increases acid reflux, which I also learned during my third trimester!). If she starts to cry while nursing, we burp, and I give her gas drops. I'm pretty sure that gas drops came down from heaven along with manna for the Israelites. Miracle cure!! Since using the gas drops and paying more attention to her feeding position, we've at least cut back on the massive spitting up that was happening.

In other news, cloth diapers continue to be a huge success. She had a rather massive...digestive episode...this morning, and the diaper cover did its job! It was a three-wiper, and halfway through the change, she decided to throw a little spit up into the mix. Yes, I took a picture with my phone and sent it to Joel. I thought he should see what his digestive genes have contributed to my new lifestyle!

In spite of the feeding and spitting up issues we've negotiated lately, Mikayla continues to grow! She doesn't fit into her newborn clothes anymore, for certain (the cloth diapers also ensure this), and she has a couple of 0-3 month shirts that aren't long enough. She is a tall girl! But she looks adorable in her 0-3 and 3 month clothes. Many thanks to my Aunt Bonnie, who just sent along a package of baby items that included seven (seven!!) long-sleeved 3-month onesies. Talk about Providence from the Lord! It is so great to have some long-sleeved shirts for her to wear when she is just hanging out at home with mama. Poor thing, some of her fussiness has also been due to being cold (doh!), so we've learned to keep her in several layers, especially overnight.

It's amazing how doing what your baby needs, can make her so much happier. Warmth? Gas drops? Makes me feel like a mommy guru when I can quiet her right down and help her snuggle happily in my arms. Then, of course, she sends a liter of spit up down the "spit-up chute" (down inside the front of my shirt...no more v-necks for me!), and humbles me yet again.

It's also amazing how much I need the support of other moms. I have gained so much wisdom from my sister and sister-in-law, not to mention the grandmas, and have sent out several S-O-S messages on Facebook which were answered by so many smart mamas! It is so helpful to be reminded what is normal, and that this season will pass (too) quickly.

Just a few other quick updates, and I'll wrap up. Mikayla has started with tummy time and is doing a great job of holding her head up for what feels like a long time (at least 10 seconds in a row). She can pick up her head and turn it from side to side when I am holding her, and while lying on her tummy. She loves it when mama sings "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and seems to be recognizing my voice and/or the tune, because she soothes more quickly when I sing it. Dadda prefers to sing her Psalm from the Psalter - Psalm 113 - but I don't know all the words yet. Mikayla makes eye contact with us and seems to be recognizing our faces, too. Dada claims that she smiled at him this past weekend. I've seen several smiles, but they haven't seemed to be purposeful or directed at me just yet.

Overall, we can see Mikayla growing from a newborn into a baby, with a greater sense of herself and more comfort in her own skin. One thing doesn't change, though: she continues to be every bit a blessing to her grateful parents. As her name suggests, we are in awe of our great God, who has been gracious to grant us a child.

We have photos on the way! When Joel gets home from work, our project is to take one-month photos, and upload several that are already on the camera. I took some photos of Mikayla during tummy time (let's be honest...she totally fell asleep instead of exercising her neck meat...) and haven't had a chance to share them with the world. In the meantime, please enjoy this proof that while her mama might not be the hugest football fan, the black and gold does indeed course through Mikayla's tiny veins...don't tell Dadda...

Cheering on our hometown heroes Sunday night, in her 3T Stiller shirt:

SDG!

Two Weeks and Growing!

At two weeks old, Mikayla earned another clean bill of health from her pediatrician. She is growing like a lovely little weed - already 9 lbs 8 oz, 22 inches long, and her head has grown to 14 3/4 inches around. This puts her in the 82nd percentile for weight, 96th percentile for length, and 79th percentile for head size. I believe the comment was, "She must be a good eater!" She wears 0-3 month clothing with ease, and her newborn outfits are a stretch, literally, because she is so long.

Here's our first of many teddy bear photos: (she was being a little cranky pants at the time, but you can still see the size comparison.)


Mikayla has slept for 6 1/2 hours at night in a single stretch (last Saturday, 1/22), but more often sleeps for 3-4 hours, waking to feed for about half an hour and then going back to sleep. She is a morning person so far, enjoying some wide-eyed happy time early each morning when mommy would rather be sleeping. Though she's also a night owl, preferring to go to bed around 11:30.

For the first week and a half, Mikayla preferred to sleep on mommy's chest. This made nighttime feedings super easy! For the past couple of nights, though, Mikayla has been sleeping like a big girl in her very own bassinet next to mommy's side of the bed. She enjoys a "modified swaddle" with one arm free, and her Nuk (pacifier) helps her fall asleep by herself. She is having more fussy times, letting her mommy know that she might just take after her strong-willed, assertive personality after all. But she also loves her swing, and no matter how fussy she is, she quiets down when mommy turns it on to speed 3 with the sound of rain playing.

The doctor recommended regular tummy time to help her develop her ability to hold her head up at this point. She is already bobbing her head up to look around, keeping it up for several seconds in a row before plunking it back down on mommy or daddy's shoulder. When she lies on her tummy, which is her favorite nap position, she easily turns her head from one side to the other (though sometimes she pauses in the middle with her face in the mattress, silly girl).

She got her first shot today and handled it like a pro - or at least, she turned a paler shade of green than her daddy did. He doesn't like needles. She only cried for a few seconds and got a cool Bugs Bunny band-aid to commemorate the occasion. Daddy didn't get anything but he was a very big boy and didn't have to leave the room at all.

I think that's it for our two-week update. Mikayla is a big girl and an even bigger blessing to her very grateful parents. Glory to God for His gracious gift of life, made real to us in this little person. We look forward to her baptism on February 13, when Mikayla will receive the sign and seal of the covenant to which she belongs, as we place our trust in God for His faithfulness to bring her to Himself through the regeneration of her precious heart. May she never know a day apart from Christ, her great savior and Lord.

SDG!