Anna's 2nd Month

It's already been two months!

Well, not really...since I did her one-month update two weeks past her actual one-month...it's really only been a couple of weeks.

But man!  In just that couple of weeks, look how much better she's sitting up!

She's finding her fist more consistently, too!
In other news, white balance.

 I'll tell you what's changed that really helped me get this post out on time this time - sleep!

Anna, it turns out you're a sleep-in-the-swing baby!

When you start to get fussy (usually after about an hour of being awake)...

...it's time to take a break, so I swaddle you up (you hate this), give you your pacifier, set you in the swing with the white noise blasting, and walk away.

You'll sleep like this for an hour or three at a time.

 This has been so successful, I moved the swing into our bedroom.

Or, rather, into my closet in our bedroom.  This way all the little (and big) noises I make moving around this creaky house and doing stuff don't wake you up, and we can continue using the swing overnight. One night, she did a whole 6 and a half hour stretch!  It was magical.

Oh, white balance <shakes her head>

 She's learning to soothe herself back to sleep, too.  Sometimes I have to retrieve and reinsert the pacifier, but occasionally she'll go back to sleep without that help.  (Oh!  She's holding onto a pacifier much more securely now than she was even two weeks ago, too.)

I know those eyes are a touch out of focus, but you just don't get cuter than this!  Even if it's fuzzy.

Anna noticed the mobile on the swing the other day.

In fact, while my sister Ginnie and her husband Erek were in town last week...

...Anna's eyesight made a big developmental leap forward as she started making eye contact from across the room.

Eye contact alone is enough to make her smile big and wide.

She's turning out to be a super smiley little girl! 

And it makes me squeal inside every time she grins at us!

She just loves being talked to, sung to, held up in the air to fly, and having her arms stretched up and her legs "run" by Dave and me.  Blowing raspberries, on the other hand, causes her deep concern.

Monkey still isn't too sure what to make of her.

And you can tell that Mindy's thought is, "That is such a bad cat, that is a loud and squirmy cat, I am a far superior cat to that loud and squirmy cat."

Anna, you are the brightest little star in our world.  We love your coos, your cries, your adorable smile, your look of concentration as you learn new things, and your heartbreaking sad face. We are completely delighted that you're here, that you're our daughter, and that we get to be your parents.  I can't wait to see what your next month brings!