Sunday, January 20, 2013

Three and a Half Months


Sorry it's been such a long time since my last post, but we've been very busy in the Handley house.  I went back to work on January 2, and I started a new job.  I love it, but it's nothing I've ever done before, so there's a lot of learning going on.  Ray's jobs have kept him busy also, and we've been struggling to work out child care on top of all of that.  Let me say that it's been an exhausting 19 days.

All of the frenzy hasn't bothered Juliet one bit.  She's continuing to grow and change daily, and she's been such a good reminder of how awesome life really is.

So, since January 1, there haven't been any huge changes (like walking), but there have been a ton of small changes in her.  For starters, she's really starting to grow out of her personal fussy time.  Thank you, Lord!  The evenings that we come home from a long day at work and have to manage her incessant crying really are few and far between now (I hope I'm not jinxing myself by writing that).  She is happy to see us, loves to hang out in her Bumbo seat or on her activity mat, and is generally just a joy to come home to.

She has really discovered how to grab things and pull them to her, and she now constantly has something in her mouth because of this new skill.  Her latest trick seems to be spitting the pacifier about two feet away and grabbing the bib or burp cloth to chew on instead.  It's neat to watch her develop, but now I feel like we've got to be extra vigilent about making sure she doesn't have anything she can choke on.  This weekend, I hooked her pacifier to her bib or shirt to keep her from being able to make it hit the floor.  She has used the leash to snatch the paci out of her mouth, but twice, she's also managed to find the pacifier and put it back in on her own.

Juliet likes to talk a lot these days, but she will only do it when she wants.  You can't prompt her to talk.  She seems to enjoy hearing herself right after bath time or when getting changed.  It's so funny to listen to Ray and Juliet have a conversation while he's getting her dressed in the mornings.  You can tell by the tone of her voice that she feels that her thoughts are very important, and he is excellent at taking her seriously.

Since she was born, she's been very strong (see post on her "atypical" strength).  And that's continuing to be the case.  She spends a ton of time sitting up tall in our laps or in her Bumbo seat.  And now, she's attempting to stand.  Juliet will push/pull herself to a standing position while hanging out in your lap, and then she grins and laughs and kind of does a happy dance.  On top of that, she's now strong enough to be on her tummy and push herself up to really be able to look around for extended periods of time.  It's so cool to watch her go from completely flat on the floor, to just her head lifted, to her whole chest off the ground and her head turned to try to see what's going on behind her.  

Finally, of course, she's outgrowing clothes.  That's what babies do, right?  But I swear she's outgrowing things every week now.  I'm looking at her as I type this, and I see that this will be the last time she wears the cute black and gray animal print onesie she has on.  It's too short for her at this point.  So, I'll wash it and move it to the bin with all the other things she's outgrown.  (I'll also be adding two sets of footed pajamas to the bin, too.)  I'm excited to start putting her in the clothes in the next drawer down, though, so at least there's that.  

I promise I'll work harder to post more frequently in the future.  And I'm going to try to get video of her talking to share, too. 

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