Piper - 3 Months

Who can believe it - our doll baby is 3 months old today! Although I should have expected it, it still amazes me how much we have fallen head over heels in love with our little Piper Jayne. Her smiles just melt my heart and I could be having a horrible day, all I need is a smile and a "coo" from her and life is good. As she has gotten older, we've embraced all the changes with a sense of awe and unending, unconditional love. From holding her head up, to looking around, to sitting up in a Bumbo and now, with her smiles and coo's - each day life gets better and better and we love her more and more - something we never thought was possible.

We've been very lucky that Piper is what most would call a "good baby". Granted, she has her moments, but for the most part, she makes life pretty easy for daddy and me. In the last 3 months we've settled ourselves into a routine so comfortably, that sometimes I forget what it was like "before we had kids".

So far, Piper has been developing right on par with babies her age. Her eyes and head will follow us around the room if we are walking around talking to her, she can focus on toys near and far, she can fully hold her head up now (something she was able to do very early on but only for a short period of time), and the best thing of all - she recognizes our faces and will coo and smile at us. She has even started grasping onto toys placed in her hands for a short period of time. Morning times are still her best time, and she's beginning to sleep less and stay awake more. Which makes life a lot more fun when - especially when that awake time includes lots of smiles!

A sad moment in the last week was when I had to finally admit to myself that she had grown out of newborn diapers and clothes and I had to pack them all away for Sprout #2 (no way, not yet!) - it meant my baby girl is growing up! As silly as that sounds, it still amazes me how fast time moves and how quickly kids grow and change. She's now in size 1 diapers and FINALLY fits into her 0-3 month clothes! She hasn't yet discovered her feet and toes on her own, but when we play with them, she loves it. She definitely gets her love of foot massages from Mommy! She has begun moving herself around the crib and I'm sure rolling over is soon to follow. We still swaddle her up tightly at night (it's her cue for sleepy time), but our little Houdini somehow manages to get an arm and sometimes a leg out.

Speaking of sleepy time, she's been sleeping anywhere from 5-6.5 hours a night which has been WONDERFUL for Matt and I. Sure, there are still some nights when she's up more than once, but those are few and far between and slowly disappearing. Matt and I will joke when one of us is energetic and in a super good mood that "someone must have gotten enough sleep last night"! And that's the truth! It's amazing how lack of sleep can completely change someone's personality and demeanor. It's great to be back to our crazy selves these days!