3 months

Marie is three months old today! I can hardly believe she's already a quarter of a year old. 
Milestones:
-Marie can sit with support and hold her head pretty steady.
-She's started bearing weight on her legs while we hold her.

Standing like a big girl.

-She brings her hands together.
-Marie has shown more of an interest in books.
-She tries really hard to giggle. I wouldn't qualify her efforts as true laughs yet, but it's pretty adorable all the same.
-This month she's attended her first water park, play, and amusement park. Not that she was able to appreciate them much.

At Roger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella.

Sleeping:
Last night Marie slept from 10 until 5:15! It would've been more glorious if I hadn't woken up multiple times to make sure she was still breathing. And then things got, um, a little uncomfortable because my body isn't used to going so long without feeding her. Her bedtime is still hit or miss -- one night this week she fell asleep on her own at 6:30 and didn't wake up until midnight to eat. Then a few nights later she didn't fall asleep until 11. It's also been tricky deciding whether to swaddle her and put her in pajamas at night because it's been so hot in our apartment. Sometimes we'll just leave her in a onesie and put her to sleep in that and not swaddle her until she wakes up to eat when it's cooler. Also, we're trying to get her to take naps in the crib instead of the swing to help her get into better sleeping habits. She's slept for as little as 12 minutes and as much as an hour and a half in the crib. It's a work in progress.

You expect me to sleep in here? Dream on.

Eating:
Marie still eats around 8 times a day, every 2 to 3 1/2 hours on average during the day. She's become much more efficient, sometimes taking only 7 or 8 minutes. A ''long" feed takes about 20 minutes. So much better than spending an hour like she used to!

This signifies our relationship: I just want to cuddle and she just spits up all over me.

Pooping:
In the last week or so, Marie has pooped between 0 and 3 times a day (for a grand total of 5 times in the last 6 days. Yes, I've been keeping track. Yes, I'm sure she's going to love reading about this down the road.) Considering she used to poop every time she ate, it makes me a little nervous that's she's possibly gearing up to grace us with the Mother Load. In other news, we grossly overestimated how long she would be in size 1 diapers. We bought an extra 2 boxes at Costco some time ago, and we returned one of them earlier this week. She really should be in size 2 (and we've been putting her in 2s at night because I got tired of her leaking out her diaper), but we're trying to finish up the last of the 1s first. I think we have around 25 left, so fingers crossed we'll be done within the week.

Current likes: 
Laying in her bouncy seat and looking at the toys, looking at herself in the mirror of the swing mobile, being held, sucking on her pacifier, eating her fists (which we're trying to discourage), staring at lights, looking at faces, listening to music, grabbing blankets/burp rags/her bib/her hair. 

Current dislikes: Getting dried off after a bath, getting her clothes changed when she's tired, accidentally yanking her hair when she gets her fingers tangled up in it, having air trapped in her stomach and being unable to burp, having her fingers forced open in an attempt to make a darling handprint for Father's Day. (There was much screaming and flailing with that one.)

Nicknames (all of which are preceded with "my little"):
Sweet Pea
Turtle (because when she's on her back, she reminds me of a turtle that's flipped over on its shell and can't right itself)
Lizard (thanks to Jacob, because she's taken to sticking her tongue out and licking things)
Honey Bunches of Oats
Bundle of Joy
Barrel of Sunshine

Other odds and ends:
-The other day I tried measuring her and I think she's about 23 inches long. Not sure how much she weighs, since we don't have a scale. Some of her pants are becoming highwaters on her. 
-She is a morning person! Marie is all smiles and coos when she wakes up.

My little barrel of sunshine.

-Marie still snuggles pretty well, though she does like sitting and standing while we hold her.
-We tried her out in the Bumbo yesterday so I could try to put a headband in her hair. And then she got stuck because her legs are so chunky.

The headband lasted until we got her out of the carseat during Sacrament meeting.

-About a week ago we noticed that she had some dry, bumpy red patches of skin on her arm. We're hoping it isn't eczema, and it doesn't seem to bother her too much, but we've been trying to put lotion on her more frequently to help it improve.
-She's become aware of the TV, so I've been trying to keep it off while she's awake or turn her away so she isn't facing it while its on. 
-We're blessing Marie in church this Sunday! We're excited for our families to come visit and celebrate with us. Now we just need to find a dress . . .