7th Week Milestones

Where do I start?  There seem to be quite a few milestones that Emily has hit these past two weeks, or at least they are milestones to me. 

First, she smiles!!  She talks to her little friends on her bouncer by oohing and ahhing and pumping her legs, and she also gets the hiccups when she gets excited.  The other day I noticed she was kind of smiling, but yesterday and today it was a for sure thing, and I actually have some pictures to prove it.  YAY!  She has a gorgeous smile!

Second, she has more control of her neck muscles.  We are participating in tummy time every morning when I change her into her play clothes.  Emily can now hold her head up, or at least long enough for me to take a picture, which is about 1 minute.

Third, she is now sleeping 4-5 hours at a time at night as opposed to the 3-4 hours she was previously used to sleeping.  Not only that, but it is becoming easier to put her in her bassinet without her waking up.  I think she is learning to soothe herself, which is a major plus for Brian and I, as I only have two more weeks until I have to return to work.  I am trying to savor each moment.  I have anxiety about missing milestones while I am at work and she is with her babysitter.

A funny thing happened today...she sneezed her first big ACHOO.  Emily has been sneezing since she was born, which according to pediatricians is normal for all babies to do, but today was different.  Today she actually yelled ACHOO when she sneezed and almost scared me to death, that is how loud the sneeze was.  Hilarious! 

This week I am going to introduce her to the rattle in hopes that she learns coordination and how to grip objects.  Emily does really well with sounds, but I noticed she is starting to put her hands in her mouth more often now and some of the websites I read give the advice to start teaching hand-eye coordination.  Hopefully, she isn't like her father and will have a bigger attention span.



Almost there...



And we have lift off!






Smiling at her friends

 


A smile at her Nonna's house



Alert and Active

Emily is now 6 weeks old and it seems like overnight that she became more active and alert.  She is more aware of her surroundings and likes to stare at lights, patterns, and pays more attention if you talk to her.  Brian and I placed her on her Baby Einstein mat the other day and she was having a ball with the music and lights. She also talks to her toys when on her bouncer, it is the cutest thing ever.  She has had more smiling, but I'm not sure if it is still a reflex or if she does it on purpose.  I'll try to capture it on camera next time.  For now, here she is, looking a little older and in some pictures looking at me like I'm crazy for flashing lights in her face.


On her tummy mat





Talking to her furry friends



First Halloween

The Scottsman, the Bar Maid and the Lady Bug

It was Emily's first Halloween and she had a great time.  She went to visit her Gonzalez Grandparents and aunts early in the day and then spent the night with her Yoder Grandparents while mom and dad got the night off to party.  What a night!  So much fun...I love Halloween and I hope Emily grows up to love it as much as I do.  I can't wait to take her trick-or-treating next year.