The big O-N-E!

This has been an incredible year watching Naomi grow into the intelligent and charismatic little girl that she is. I've debated how to conclude this blog, as the big O-N-E will mark my final post about her as a baby. I thought about reminiscing about the day she was born, or pointing out how much she's grown over this year. I suppose what i'm trying to say is, this is all common knowledge. We all have seen how fast the year has gone by and the incredible milestones with it.
And so, I will conclude with the latest milestone, and perhaps biggest of them all- her birthday! I was fortunate enough to find the time to get some photos of her a couple of days before her birthday, which I will post below. I enlisted the help of my good friend Channa to make her a spectacular cake for her smash cake photos. We invited a small group of friends to our home to gather and watch her open her gifts and smash her first birthday cake.
As guests arrived, She toddled around proudly in a tutu I made her. She was a bit groggy, as we gave her a nap to ensure she would cooperate with 'the plan'. We had Jack Johnson radio playing in the background and let her loose on the set. She immediately tore the bow off of the gift we had for her. She wasn't really aware there was much more to the process... so, with a little help, she eventually got through the wrapping to unveil her teddy bear. After a wardrobe change, it was cake smash time.
This was where the surprise happened for me. Knowing my little food-crazed Noni bug, I expected total chaos. She was actually quite the lady about it, and proceeded to sample the cake slowly. It was just about as big as her, which was very cute. After a solid five minutes of her picking at it, we decided to call it a day.
All-in-all, it has been an incredible year. Watching her grow and learn has been a gift we receive every day. There have been hard times, challenging times, and times where sleep was much deprived. BUT, there have also been some amazing times--- big, little, and everything in between things that just make it all worth it. One day we will look back and read entries of this blog and remember how little she was. Until then, I will stop hoping time goes by slower and remember to enjoy it now.

11 months and counting...

One more before ONE

We started this month with probably the biggest milestone yet- Walking! As you read from last month, we had a few steps here and there, but now we are at full on walking, even running status! While she was at it, she added climbing into the mix, sending up baby gates throughout the house. She's quite vocal about her displeasure with being contained. In fact, to quote her daddy, "I talk incessantly about nothing!" Right now, everything is "mom" or "mama". Everything and everyone is "mama". Can't say i'm disappointed with that ;)
Walking and talking aren't the only things on her agenda these days. She's really into clapping, pointing and dancing right now. You can easily engage her in a little dance session, which is quite amusing I must admit. She gets going where she bends her knees and moves her little body while clapping and smiling, it's really something. Best of all it usually closes out with a bang- literally. She looses her balance and falls then starts laughing.
I'm sure you are all eager to hear about her first Christmas. We had the tree protected by a baby gate, which for the most part was sufficient. She was able to occasionally reach through and get a-hold of a gift- which she would promptly take off with. We always ask her "where were you going to go with that?" I suppose the only answer would be something along the lines of, "Why, somewhere for me to tear into it of course!". Unfortunately our efforts to protect the tree weren't cat-proof. One instance of the cat vs. tree included an event in which the cat somehow flung herself into the tree causing an ornament to slingshot off of it onto our glass entertainment center, instantly shattering everywhere! What a mess! 
As for Naomi, the morning finally came that she got to tear into gifts to her hearts desire. She was able to help open a couple of gifts, but all of the shiny paper, new gadgets, ribbons and assorted other stimulus were too much to bear! She was bombarded with things to mess with and you could tell she wasn't quite sure what was the most exciting part of all of it. After it was all settled and done, and most of the temptations were cleaned up, she did find herself enamored with her pile of 'talking books'... somehow, these magical books knew just what to say to her (for those of you who are lost, i'm referring to record-able books read by family members and replayed by baby by opening the pages). 
I'm once again sliding this post in slightly late, as I've had it half-written for some time now and needed to simply finish it and move along. We all know next month is an exciting one, and likely my last blog post on 'Baby LaClair' as she will be going out with a smash- into a big, bright birthday cake! 

Month 10

Double Digits!

We've reached the big month 10 and as usual, I'm struggling to keep up on the monthly blog update, especially with the holidays. I'm excited to report that Naomi is growing and changing so much, with this month being especially exciting with many milestones.

We took our first family vacation to Bintan Island, Indonesia. She did well with the traveling, all things considered. She loved playing in the pool, eating tiny bananas, and sticking her toes in the sand. Unfortunately, she thinks all things are for sampling and promptly took her chance to put a fist full of sand in her mouth- what a mess!

She's now sporting four teeth with another two cutting through, and has a beastly appetite to match. She's very interested in table food, and often by our side requesting samples as we eat. A healthy appetite for table food isn't the most exciting thing from this month to report though. Matt and I got extremely lucky and got to see her take her first steps together! It was an incredible moment. One evening we were watching a show and she simply stood up, looked at us, and began to move those little legs and feet. That was definitely a memory I will forever cherish. From that day forward, she has taken progressively more here and there, and I'm sure official "walking" is right around the corner. 

With all this growing, a part of me has started to cherish the little moments. I have to indulge in the good things about having a baby, because before I know it she won't be a little "baby" anymore. So, for the past month I've started a habit (good or bad; who knows), when she cries in the morning from her crib, I go in and scoop her up and take her to cuddle with me. She often snuggles right up and falls back asleep while we lay there. There's something about this that I just have to have, it's pure love. 

Seeing her grow up is exciting though, and with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I'm looking forward to some much needed rest and relaxation with my little family during Christmas week. Although I fear for the tree, ornaments, and all the potential disasters that may come along with that, I'm excited to see the magic and wonder in her eyes when touching a shiny ornament and shredding into a gift. Stay tuned for month eleven's update, as I'm sure there will be some Christmas related reports and another milestone or two.

9 months & Growing

Crazy, Busy, & Loving It!

The title says it all for this month's update. I've been super busy with work related projects, and planning for the upcoming holidays. Naomi is incredibly busy herself, and she can most often be found within a few feet of me. Matt and I were talking about her most significant changes for month nine not really being "changes" at all; more like perfection of her existing skills and abilities. 

She is now standing up from the ground level by herself without the assistance of people or objects. She is eating solids, and trying table food, and so far seems to like everything she tries. Soon she will have the help of more teeth with this eating adventure, as her top two teeth are cutting through. Her hand-eye coordination is incredible, as she can pick up things as small as a grain of rice. 

We are often greeted in the morning by big smiles, and she loves to take a knee and throw her arms up in the air (as if in rejoice to see you) when you enter the room. Unfortunately for mommy and daddy, she's also developed a high pitched yell. Her most favorite time to share this yell is in public, particularly when we try to eat out. Lucky for us, a little of that table food I mentioned earlier does wonders in the way of distraction. 

She's developed a fascination for all things electronic, and will not hesitate to steal a phone and crawl away with it. She also likes to "help" you with whatever it is that you are doing on your laptop by pushing an assortment of buttons. 

As a family, we are looking forward to some exciting 'firsts' in the next couple of months including: Halloween, her first family vacation, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I captured some fun fall photos of her, and a nice one of her in her costume. Needless to say, I am already plotting her Christmas portrait ideas. 

Other than that, I'm trying to make a conscious effort to slow down and enjoy today's wonder with her, and not look forward to the first milestones so much. These milestones are incredible and exciting, but bitter-sweet. I look at her and already see how much she's grown and I feel like time has flown by. We are rounding the corner towards the one year mark and it's just unbelievable. I read a quote the other day that pretty much sums it up; "The days are long, but the years are short"- (unknown). 

The Great Month 8

It's 8:04 a.m. and I'm sitting here in the quiet sipping coffee and stretching out my last few moments of solitude before awaking an energy that could rival a professional sports team. The demeanor of the cat and dog is generally reflective of mine; soak up these last few sleepy and peaceful moments before the baby awakens. The hum of the air conditioner muffles the dog's snoring; the cat is precariously positioned like a pretzel whilst perched high up on the couch in her feline slumber. The tiny clock at the bottom of my laptop is a constant reminder that my time is limited. Minutes from now I will hear Naomi's sleepy groan from the nursery, signaling me to start an assembly line of items to fulfill her needs. She has a ravenous appetite and it's a delicate balance between sneaking in first moment snuggles, diaper changing, and getting that bottle to her before she becomes intolerable.

Not every morning is like this though; there are admittedly mornings where I crave her presence. Yes, most mornings I savor that coffee a little bit longer, and appreciate the dull grumble of a snoring dog. I do wake up once and awhile and my initial thoughts are of the most amazing warm cuddles from baby Noni. The only problem is, I typically get a full 2-4 minutes of cuddling, snuggling, muzzling and the like, then it's on to play time. She is an intense morning person. After only a few moments of being awake she's ready to take on the day... at least for a couple of hours until it's nap time! I get a taste of lovely baby cuddles followed by a tiny hand that pinches while little lungs wail in delight of my less than pleased reaction.

That is definitely the silver lining to the whirl wind of Naomi; the pure happiness in the room. While the dog, cat, and even myself are overwhelmed with the tiny screeches, quick and unexpected movements, and generally amplified energy levels of her presence, there is really something special about her first few moments of the day. To her, this new day is something to behold, an opportunity to explore and play. She takes delight in the simplest of things. Unfortunately for Camo, part of her morning routine includes bulldozing through his dog bed. Neko is often greeted with a fist full of baby fingers in exchange for cat fur. I'm usually off the couch more in the first five minutes she's awake than I was in the hour prior. She keeps me busy picking up items she's discovered or blocking off areas I wasn't aware were no longer barricaded.

Knowing her habits and personality more has helped us tremendously in day to day life. We can typically pinpoint behaviors that signal needs or desires, which makes life much easier. A small example of this would be knowing how to curtail and cope with her crying. More often than not, her crying is either associated with hunger or fatigue. Take the above mentioned "assembly line" preparedness morning strategy for example. I know that most mornings, I have about a 2-20 minute window to get her a warm bottle before she starts crying (depending on whether or not daddy gave her one when he left for work). Catching her before she is upset is key to having a "good day". I'm also aware that often times after she finishes a bottle she begins to cry, and that it typically lasts about a minute. It's one of those things where she's simply expressing her displeasure with the fact that she has polished off her meal in 2 minutes flat. We all feel a little upset from time to time when our delicious meal is finished, right? Not long after she realizes that she is full, she gives up, and it's on to terrorizing the cat or pulling out half a dozen wipes from the container in one scoop.

Other than reporting morning habits and "sophisticated" communication cues, this month brings exciting news of two teeth! She got each of them within days of each other early on in month 8. Now, I'm more comfortable giving her solid foods, and ambitiously embrace this. Unfortunately, I'm holding off on posting photos of the new teeth, as I can't seem to get her to hold still long enough to get a decent photo that isn't blurry.

Regarding her mobility, we have a new distinction to report. She has a habit now of "taking a knee". She will be crawling along and suddenly stop in the position of having one knee planted while the other foot raises her upward. It's really quite cute. (See above picture!)





Lastly, Naomi has already joined the ranks of the work force. Our little bug is an international sensation! Okay, I might be exaggerating slightly, wink-wink. She, landed her first gig modeling for the spring and summer line of clothing for Combi-Mini, a Japanese clothing company. She will be featured (along with other babies and children) online and via catalog. Admittedly, her new "work" was a tremendous amount of real work for mommy. It was a series of two long travel days to Tokyo with a balancing act of tending to her needs while helping the photographers get the shots they needed. We both finished day one in tears, while day two went about as smoothly as one could ask for. I can't wait to see how the photos turned out, as I'm sure it was all worth it. It's crazy to think that by the time we get to see them she will be walking and saying her first words! Until then, I will keep you posted on monthly updates as usual.

Month Seven- Personality Grows

Little Miss Is Spunky! 

I was kicking myself after posting her seven month photo update on facebook because I forgot to include one of the most important developments from this month: her comical

personality! She loves to make fart noises. She will put her little lips together and blow, then laughter spills from delightful approval of the sound she just made. Show her your fart noise, and she's glad to match you in a back-and-forth dialogue of fart noise communication. She's all about the dialogue these days. She has an array of grunting, growling and other attention grabbing vocals that she often uses to engage either other people or sometimes just her toys. We often hear her in the back seat of the car carrying on to herself when we are driving places. 

That little personality is an ongoing theme this month. The other night we were sitting on the couch when she wandered over to an "off limits" area and started getting into mischief. Matt called to her "Hey! And just what is it that you think you are doing?" She simply turned around and looked at him with a smile, then turned back and continued on with what she was doing. Oh boy, I thought... "we've got a live one". 
 She's been trying an array of new foods this month and giving us some fun reactions to them. Her face is priceless with some of the things we've introduced her to- you never truly realize apples are tart until you see a baby make 'the sour face'. We had some food mishaps, as I wasn't aware that pears act as somewhat of a laxative to babies. Poor little Noni had a good dose of pears, which got her system moving. This spiraled into diaper rash and before I knew it, I was going the opposite direction and trying to plug her up with pureed bananas. Now that that's behind us, we can live and learn- probably the motto of most moms. 

Most notable this month with developments, is her increased ability to not only stand, but

pull herself up into a standing position and lean on objects with one hand. She's making "leaps and bounds" towards walking, and as much as I look forward to her development, I don't look forward to chasing her! 
Smaller milestones might include the fact that she's out of her rock n' play and back into sleeping in her crib. She probably would have been crib sleeping sooner, I just hadn't gotten around to ordering her mesh crib bumpers to keep her limbs from getting stuck between the bars. I do love to check on her at night or catch her before she wakes up in the morning because it's always a sight to see. She sleeps with her face buried in the mattress and her little rump in the air, knees tucked and curled tight. How anyone sleeps like that, let alone prefers to sleep like that is beyond me. 

Entering month eight (SPOILER ALERT!) we look forward to the stage of teething. Because I'm writing this a few days late, I can guarantee a report of teeth next month:) I will say no more! 

Sweet 6 Months

Two Tiny Hands & Two Tiny feet, Six Months Has Gone By; 

Time Can Be So Bitter-Sweet!

This is a huge month for us... The half-year mark is here! Can you believe it?!?! This time last year we were announcing the expectant arrival of our baby, and now she's putting away the milestones faster than we can keep up. In fact, I'm revealing for the first time a new discovery from last night- six months and one day and  Voilà she is cutting her first tooth! I've been reaching in checking her gums every day for probably a month now in anticipation of a little tooth, and finally last night a tiny speck of white has shown itself.

She is as busy as a bug can be- crawling, reaching, grabbing, babbling, and as of late, practically standing! No, yes, no ... but sort-of! She has this new thing where she gets up to Camo's bed and uses the side to push her little legs up and poke her buns out. We are in trouble people!!!! On the serious side, there is no exaggeration when I say that she is into everything! Our living room looks like a makeshift zoo. We have gates and random obstacles up blocking every possible direction or object that could lead to baby turmoil.  

In other news, she tried her first solid "food"... rice cereal. She starts out amused and excited to participate in the spoon full of mystery. The few times we have done this it always goes the same: five minutes in she begins to get impatient and wants to feed herself, protesting with high pitch screams and cries. We are lucky to get half of it in her mouth as you can imagine. This is quite the process and tends to become exhausting. I can't wait to introduce her to some actual flavorful foods this month. Hopefully we can capture some interesting expressions. 

Speaking of capturing expressions and memories, I've been a busy shutter bug and did a "Candy Shoppe/Sweet Six Months" theme to commemorate her six month mark. The photos came out great, and I'm really excited to share them. Enjoy, See you month seven!

Month 5- She's On The MOVE!

We Have A Busy Little Bug!

Since she entered month four, I've been recognizing that crawling was imminent. Now that she is five months old, I almost can't believe she hasn't conquered it yet. She has all the mechanics down; using many of my favorite yoga poses! I mean, if you can picture it, she's got the plank and downward dog mastered, followed by a short intermission of falling on her face. Her next move is typically the cobra pose and a knee up here and there. The matter of putting them all together is somewhat of an obstacle for her. 

Meanwhile, she takes the path of least resistance, and simply scoots her way around. She is already into everything! The other day, as I was editing photos, I observed her as she set her mind to getting to her clothes basket. She made her way over there, reached up, pulled it down and proceeded to start grabbing a fist full of laundry out of it. So, getting up for the umptheenth time, I went over, removed her from the area and proceeded to edit photos. Moments later, there she was.... inching her way back to the clothes basket. I was about to get irritated when out of nowhere appeared the cat. If you are not aware of this, I will let you in on a little secret about our tiny tot- she has an absolute fascination for the cat and dog, but especially the cat. I have my theories on this; particularly the fact that Neko is nimble and scarce, therefore mysterious and exciting.

....Anyway, the cat! She had seemingly appeared out of nowhere into Naomi's field of view. Naomi instantly forgot about the basket with a huge smile sweeping across her face as she recognized the stealth figure. Her focus was automatically redirected to the cat, and she began to shimmy her way towards the poor creature. Of course, as always the cat was able to escape with ample time but that's not always the case. Unfortunately for Neko, Naomi has the occasional help of her parents so that she can have a chance to "pet" the kitty. At this point, we are still working on "nice touches", as she typically grabs a fist full of whiskers or ear and proceeds to "sample" or taste it, as with anything else these days. The scenario is always the same. We let her have a chance to touch the cat, she gets way too intimate and then it's time for damage control; one of us ends up profusely apologizing to the cat whilst the other is unloading half a box of baby wipes on the hands and face to rid the baby of cat fur. 

So, as you may have guessed, her hand-eye coordination is also improving remarkably as time goes on. She is not only able to use such talents on the cat, but now is holding her own bottle. We will introduce it to her, and with it tipped, she is able to reach up, direct it down and hold it independently. It's ironic how much this 'baby step' helps us get so much more done. 

These new changes are all a blessing and a curse. It's so exciting to see her developing and exploring, but it's definitely bitter-sweet to lose some of the innocence with every new progression. This semi-crawling business is quite literally a mixed bag of emotions for me. Her 'new found freedom' means me either finding clever ways to contain her while I do my work (photo editing, paintings, housework, cooking dinner, etc.), or become constrained by my infant. 
              ... and yet, you can find me encouraging her to 'take the next step'. Just the other morning I spent a couple of hours trying to teach and entice her to connect the dots and just go ahead and CRAWL! Every other part of me says "No! I'm not ready".... but there's that small, but extremely proud and nurturing part of me that wants to see that girl reach for the sky. I have no doubt that month six will bring you some new and exciting revelations into Naomi's world, as each month does. See you next month! 

Month 4- A world to Explore!

"Have Baby, Will Travel" 

Getting this in the very last day of May- pretty late for her month four update, but better late than never right? Okay... yeah, I know "better late than never, but never late is better". It seems as if more and more lately I have a hard time keeping up with this blog. This month I have a plethora of great excuses though! Namely, I took Naomi 'home' to the United States for a VERY short but busy visit to meet her family. A few lucky
friends were able to see her as time permitted, but for the bulk of places visited/people to see it was incredibly rushed. Upon our return, I was faced with my normal work shift the following day in addition to five photo shoots (with editing) throughout the following week. 
Okay, enough with my yammering on with excuses... Naomi is now a world traveler! So, how was it? Well, we started the trip off with about 25 hours of actual travel time to include shuttle, flights, layovers, and the drive to destination number one. In spite of my temptation to tell you how miserable and awful it was, I must admit that Naomi actually surprised me and did quite well, considering the circumstances. Yes, we had our moments but it was overall an okay trip. We met quite a few wonderful people along the way. Several people we encountered were quick to offer a helping hand or to carry a bag. There were a couple of grouchy geese, but we did our best to ignore them. 

Seeing our family members meet & interact with her was definitely special. There is something about a baby that makes grown adults babble on like fools- the pitches and tones we can reach when communicating with a baby is something to behold. Everyone got to witness her little nuances, from the new-found mobility, to smiles, giggles, the love of water, stomping, and falling asleep in precarious positions. She certainly has her own little personality! The only thing I would say that I regret about the trip is not having enough time to see more people, and/or spend more time with the ones we did see slash not having Matt along with us. For those of you whom we didn't see, I have to apologize and stress the fact that we would have loved to have had the time and resources to visit more people, but I had to make family a priority for this first visit. I played paparazzi as much as I could to get plenty of photos, some of which I posted here. 

Noni Is 3 Months!

Month 3-Growing, Growing, Growing!

Naomi Is already a quarter of a year old! Funny how that seems like so much older than "three months old". She has grown so much since her Birthday; that was very evident to me as I put together her 0-3 month slideshow. She's gone from being a tiny, helpless little newborn baby to a mover and a shaker! We lay her down on one side, only to watch her roll to the other. She scoots her little self around in circles and fidgets constantly. Her activity level is quite impressive. She kicks, grabs, and holds onto objects now as well. We are more than confident that she is reaching and exceeding milestones. 

It's such a cool thing to see big advancements in her tiny little world. Overall, she seems more alert and focused. She responds to stimulus, even smiles when you entice her to do so. A baby's smile is sweet like sugar. It seems to make yesterday's tantrums forgotten, and all becomes right in the world. 

In other news, we are preparing for a trip home so that our close friends and family can meet her. Unfortunately, not only will it be a short trip, but Matt won't be able to accompany me. It's hard to admit that although I'm very excited to see Naomi interact with everyone, I'm definitely feeling stressed about it. The reality is dealing with constant travel (starting off with an eleven hour flight into a different timezone) with a baby who isn't always happy. The other part of this equation is the ratio of time to number of people who expect to see us. I have two and a half weeks to visit three states. My fear is that I won't  have enough time for everyone- even if Naomi is on her best behavior the whole trip. The gap between what I want & intend to do and what is possible is overwhelming. Wish me luck!

I'm excited to post this slideshow, along with her three month picture. It takes a lot of diligence to keep up with these little tasks I've set fourth to do, but as time goes on, I can see how much it's worth it to continue to do so. Sharing her growth and milestones is truly a labor of love. 

What's New In Month Two?

Growing Too Fast!

Baby Naomi is already two months old!!! My apologies for not posting at all this past month, but i'm still catching my breath from everything else in life as time passes me by with increasing velocity. I will go ahead and admit that I first debated, and then finally accepted the fact that I will likely be blogging now only once a month to update everyone on what's new. Between Naomi's every day adventures, returning to work part time, photography school, and the occasional painting/photo shoot my head is spinning most days.... you could see how the blog would quickly get put on the back burner. Speaking of blogging and photography, that's another thing I should probably start. Hmmm....
Well, enough with my ramblings. You came here to see what's new with our baby bug in month two right? It's amazing how fast she's growing. She has gotten heavy and boasts some pretty big baby cheeks! She's graduated into the next size bracket of clothes, and we have begun to use her general "one size fits all" cloth diapers. I get several smiles and grins out of her each day (well, I should say her daddy is the one who can make the smile magic happen- she just loves him). She will now focus on faces and objects; responds to voices and stimulus. 
I think the biggest event between month one and two has been the big "roll over". I was stuffing her pocket diapers one evening while she was on a blanket doing tummy time and just like that, she simply rolled onto her back like it was nothing! I of course, made a big production of it clapping and cheering like a fool. She was so cute. She sort of seemed to look at me like, "What's so exciting?" I put her on her tummy twice more, and each time she instantly rolled over! So, the true test... I got Matt and told him she had a new trick. I once again placed her on her tummy in anticipation for the big roll. Now this is the moment, we are all thinking.... she didn't do it because he was there watching, right? ... Wrong! She did it again! It was such an exciting moment. I'm catching myself smiling just thinking back on this simple little thing she did. 
A couple more notable moments for the month came in the form of her sleep patterns changing. She started sleeping in stretches of four hours or more. I'm excited to report we had a seven hour night and two eight hour nights, so i'm optimistic that she will soon be sleeping thorough the night- wonderful news for mommy and daddy! 
I will leave you with her St. Patrick's Day picture and her 'two month report' picture. Hopefully, I will be able to capture some great holiday photos each month as she grows. Look for future blog entries towards the end of each month :)

Time Flies

One Month Old Already!

We have been very busy between the biggest snow fall Tokyo has seen in 45 years and our first (out of town) visitors since Noni's birth. It was an all too short week, as we had to say "good-bye for now" to Noni's Papa Pat and Nana Diana. I found myslef asking "where has the time gone?"; we had looked forward to their visit for so long and here it came and went- taking Noni's first month marker with it! 

So, let's recap this month's events. I suppose that things have been fairly uneventful, now that I think of it.... We've experienced all of the typical 'things' as new parents that you would guess: spit-up (lots and lots of that!), poop-poop-and more poop, sleepless nights, baby cuddles, frustration, happiness, an insurmountable amount of love, and everything in-between.  


I'm happy to report that the pediatrician said she was "perfect" and is hitting all of her milestones so far. She tends to be a fairly happy and easy baby. She did give us a bit of trouble this past week, but i'm chalking it up to a growth-spurt. Her newborn clothes are getting quite snug, so we are starting to retire a few pieces of her wardrobe already! She's in that awkward phase where newborn clothes are too small, but 0-3's are too big. 

 Our little "bug" as we call her, loves light. Often when she is upset and seemingly inconsolable, we take her near a light source and she becomes fixated. We have caught several adorable grins and some lip pouts along the way. She tends to sleep 2-3 hours at a time during the night, and i'm hoping that will stretch out to 4 or more hours soon! 

Highlights of this month for me were successfully taking her newborn photos, fitting back into normal jeans (me, not the baby;) and a visit from her Nana and Papa. It was so special to see them interact with her. I definitely cannot wait to take a trip home to the states so that everyone can meet her!