2 months.

Is life really moving THIS fast that our little Etta is already 2 months old?!  I mean, look at that picture.  She already looks like a little adult.  Had her shots today.  I had to pin down her arms.  It was awful...for me.  Etta did a scream I have never heard before, cried for 10 minutes and then slept for 4 hours.  She's a champ.

This month has been not better... (ok, yes better) but different.  She is down to usually only one feeding a night - thanks to the intense "baby boot camp" program she is on to sleep 12 hours in 12 weeks.  So mom is getting just a little bit more sleep.  She is making progress, but we still have many hours to go.  She is growing like crazy - and her moods reflect it.  Etta eats a lot more and sleeps more when she is in a spurt.

The most exciting things?!  She started smiling!!  Not gas or facial reflexes smiling - like we can totally get her to smile!!  And with that, some of my anti-motheries have had to subside.  Because she really does like high-pitch noises.  What else?  Oh, she "coos" now.  And she will actually converse back with you.  If you say it to her, she will say it right back.  It is pretty much the cutest thing ever.  She still likes to sleep with her arms above her head.  I tried not swaddling her at night, but she still doesn't have full control over her arms and ends up hitting herself in the face and waking up.  So we are still swaddling.  She tracks things all over the place with her eyes.  The play mat has actually been a play space, she is enamored by the chime-noise making toy hanging from her car seat, and I already have her watching the Peek-a-Boo Barn app on my iphone to learn animals and the sounds they make.  She loves it.  She moves her arms and legs in an excited motion.  A lot.

Part of our baby boot camp is establishing a bed time routine.  I started reading to her.  I read her the classic "Love You Forever" and cried the whole way through.  When Warren put her to bed one night I overheard him reading her his anesthesiology study material.  Equally as emotional - not sure why he didn't cry.


I am really liking this stage, and I can only imagine it is going to get better and better!