Wiggle Worm

For a girl who doesn't go anywhere, little miss sure does wiggle a lot!  Lately (like I said earlier) she has been turning onto her side a lot.  So....it's funny to go into her room in the morning to see what position she is in.  Here are a few pics that show how active she is in her sleep.  We always put her down in the same position and make sure she is tucked in but somehow she always gets out!

Such a silly baby!

Lately I have been trying to decide when we are going to let her start falling asleep on her own.  Our current bedtime routine includes bath time, getting dressed/lotion, etc, drink a bottle and rock to sleep.  I know that we need to break this cycle soon so we are not rocking her to sleep every night for the next two years (I say that out of love).  I was reading at the pediatrician's office that habits you get in now are the ones that will stick.  So last night when daddy was at his softball game I switched things up a little bit.  I fed her, gave her a bath and then got her calmed down and put her down to fall asleep on her own....SUCCESS!  It worked like a charm, she didn't even cry (after she got her jammies on).  So we will have to try it again tonight and hopefully we can get this habit kicked :)  Nap time is kind of a different story.  I have been trying to put her down at about the same time every day.  So I try to get her fed around noon and then I will take her up and lay her down and basically let her "cry it out".  It's so hard!!!  I will let her cry about 5-10 minutes and if she is still crying/screaming I will try giving her her binkie and leave her.  If she is STILL crying after another 5 minutes or so I will go in and give her her bottle and by then she falls asleep.  It's been a little difficult but I think it will help us in the long run.  Wish us luck!

A whole lotta cuteness!

Rylee dancing with daddy!

She doesn't quite fit into size 2 diapers so when she is wet they tend to sag quite a bit and her little butt crack shows---cutest little but crack there ever was! 

Exploring the grass with Uncle Jeff.  She loves being outside.

Playing her game on the iPad

Catchin some zzzzzzz's

I'm not even gonna lie...we have one of the cutest kids ever!

Telling dad about her day...

Things Rylee has started to do...

1. Roll onto her side.  She does it constantly, she even takes naps on her side.
2. Pull her foot to her mouth...she's almost there!
3. Grab mommy's hair, she can really yank quite hard
4. Almost bounce completely out of her bouncy chair, I have to buckle her in now
5. She is almost able to put her pacifier into her mouth on her own
6. Starting to hold her bottle but still needs a little assistance
7. Grab everything within reaching distance

She's a hoot!

Rolling over!!!!

We finally got Rylee rolling over on video...very exciting stuff!

4 months old!

How did that happen?!  We can't believe she is already 4 months old, time sure flies when you are having fun I guess :)  Here before we know it she is going to be having her first birthday...sheesh!

She was totally leaning forward, sitting up by herself in this picture

Yesterday Rylee had her 4-month checkup and as her doctor put it, she is "perfection" but...we already knew that.  She weighed 12.15 pounds (25%), was 25" long (50%) and had a head circumference of 16" (50%).  She continues to be right on track which is awesome.  The nurse told us she acts like a 6-month old, she even charted her as such and has to go back and redo it.  I have been using THIS milestone chart to keep track of her progress and we joke around that she is either advanced or just "average".  As you can see, according to this chart she is definitely an advanced 3-month old but the "advanced" 4-month old we will just have to wait for.  She talks up a storm, but no "baba"or "dada" sounds yet, just coos, squeals and screams.  It's hysterical!  

As far as the rolling over, we have yet to get it on film.  She did it 3 times when Grandma Vickie was here and once with uncle Jeff but whenever we put her on her tummy to get it recorded she just gets super mad.  She arches her back and twists to the side but her arm is always in the way but she will figure it out.  I am not giving up...yet.  I will get it sooner or later.  

She can grab items if held in front of her, then she immediately puts it in her mouth.  Her favorites are her diamond ring and sock monkey.  Her uncle is also teaching her to hold her bottle and put her binkie back in her mouth, but we aren't having much success with it haha

She is starting to be more responsive to her name and will turn toward voices and usually gives a big smile to whoever is talking to her.  She is totally into her toes.  She is lifting them up into the "happy baby" yoga pose constantly...in bed, on the floor, in her bouncy chair, the changing table, in the bath, etc.

One of Rylee's new tricks is standing!  She can stand up with help and her balance is getting a lot better.  Lately she grabs our fingers and will sit up all the way into the standing position--pretty sure this is waaaaaay advanced :)  I will have to get a picture to post later.

One of the coolest things we are experiencing, and I hope I don't jinx it, is a good night sleep!!!  We started putting Rylee in her crib at night on January 1st and she has slept at least 8 hours every night since!!!  Some mornings she will wake up around 5am, want to eat and will go right back to sleep.  She usually wakes up sometime between 7 and 8 and some times not til 9-10!  Sure has been nice.  The only down side is that mom wakes up soaking wet but I'll take that over waking up in the middle of the night any day!

HERE are some more pictures from this month...enjoy!

Baby's First Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!!!!  Rylee's first Christmas was awesome!  I totally thought she was just going to sit there as if nothing was going on but she was super active and alert and took having everyone here like a champ!

The day that my parents arrived I was a little behind and still had a ton of stuff to do so I recruited my brother to help me decorate cookies, he did awesome, they turned out great!

Since Grandpa was here we had to get little miss all dressed up for Aloha Friday...I even had leggings to match...well, sort of...they were red and white :)

We went to Zoo Lights on Friday night.  It was awesome!  There was something like 3 million lights and all kinds of animal displays.  We even got to see real animals, zebras and flamingos-woohoo!  I can't wait until Rylee is bigger and we can go to the zoo all the time.  

On Christmas Eve we went to church at a huge community church (they did 5 Christmas Eve services) and we really liked it.  Rylee did too!  At first when the loud music started we got a little worried but she only fussed a little bit and it was because she wanted to get out of her car seat and see what was going on.  We might have to go back and see what their regular services are like; if they are anything like what we went to I think we would really enjoy it.  Rylee got all dolled up in her Christmas dress from Grandma and Grandpa, she looked adorable but wasn't too sure about the dress...

Christmas Eve we ate a huge crab dinner, it was delicious, and then we played games and hung out until Bob and Vickie got in.  Rylee fell asleep and then woke back up right before they got to the house.  Then we got to play Santa for the first time...yay!  When I bought Rylee's toy I didn't think it required that much assembly; it was a different story when we opened it up and saw all the parts!  Santa got it handled though.

On Christmas morning it was a little weird not waking up in Red Lodge with snow but it was still great.  Rylee woke up early so we brought her into our room for a little family time before we went down to see what Santa brought us!

She was more interested than I thought she would be and actually plays with her guys!

Santa brought mom and dad a new stove!!!  Now all of our appliances are going to match.  We also got a metal art piece from Back Alley Metals, it turned out so much cooler than we thought it was going to!  Sneaky way of getting it too...we even hung it up that morning :)  Thanks mom and dad!  We also got our tickets from Bob and Vickie to fly back East this spring so Rylee can meet that side of her family, can't wait!  

We drank Christmas tea all morning and had our traditional prime rib dinner, definitely missed Travis, Grandma Etta and the Browns, maybe next Christmas we call all be together.  All is all it was a wonderful Christmas and I am so glad that Rylee had all of her grandparents and her aunt and uncle here for her first Christmas, it was lots of fun!  Hope you all had a great day as well.

  

Toes!!!

Rylee had lots to tell me yesterday!  She found her toes last weekend and can not stop grabbing them.  She lifts her legs up like this all day long, even in the bath tub--too cute!  We are having so much fun with her now that she is super alert and getting more active every day.  I will post Christmas pictures soon :)