D. Family Coffee Break

Bug had her 4 month check-up today and boy was everyone surprised!  I think they're so used to Bug screaming all the time when we're there, that they were pleasantly surprised when we came in with a very alert Bug, all smiles and giggles.  I'm happy to update you with Bug's stats: Weight:  13 lbs., 12oz. Height:  24 1/4 inches Dr. Nish looked straight at Bug and said, "You're not growing too much or too little.  You're JUST PERFECT."  Well, Dr. Nish, I don't think I could have said it better myself.  Although, I am her mother and some people might say I'm being biased. :P Bug also got her second round of five (YES, FIVE!) shots today.  With how vocal Bug has become, you can only imagine how loud it was in that examination room.  To avoid forcing you to listen to Bug's shrieks (and she waited til the second shot to start), I didn't take any video or photos of her during the process.  I did, however, take some after pho...

I thought it was appropriate now to send you a personal update on what's happening around here.  Well, we're busy.  I mean, I've been really busy before, but being a mommy leaves barely any time to plan out when to do all the errands, let alone actually get them done.  This is insane.  Christmas is almost here and I've gotten one present and we just decorated the apartment the other day...out of guilt, not necessity.  Because we're leaving on Monday to head to Wyatt's dad's house in Yreka for the holidays, I didn't feel like wasting money to buy a tree we wouldn't even really take advantage of or appreciate.   It turns out that guilt can really get the best of you when you're a mother.  Argh!  The other night I turned to the hubs and we had the following conversation... Me:  "Do you think it's mean if we don't get Bug a tree for her first Christmas?  I mean, she's not even going to remember." Hubs:  ...

This weekend, the hubs and I left Bug with my parents and took off to do some adult things...like running errands and attending Wyatt's 80's themed Christmas party for work.  Because Bug has taken up...oooohhh...ALL our time, it's been really hard to find time to run any errands and by the time you do find a moment, we're so exhausted we just want to sleep.  The night before Wyatt's Christmas party, we decided that we should finally try to pick out some 80's-type clothing for this themed party.  Who knew we could piece together an outfit without buying a single thing!  Really, the 80's was an awful time for fashion...let's be honest.  If I can still reach in my closet and grab this and that and something else and still be able to come up with something semi-80's, the 80's has got some issues.  Check us out, being all adult!  (Thanks to Papa for capturing this "dressed up" moment, which seem to be so few these days.) ...

 Happy 4 months to our baby Bug! We have been out of control busy lately that I forgot to give a 4 month update on Bug.  Who really missed it, though?  I do send out LOTS of updates.  :)   It's week three of Daddy being home with Bug and this Monday, she took her first nap for Dad.  Yup, he succeeded in putting Ella down for a nap.  This girl is so particular that not many people can do this.  Remember when Grandma came to stay with Bug while Daddy and I were at work? Well, it took Bug about a week to let Grandma put her down too.  The nap Daddy put her down for was short-lived, but he did it.  With Dad on leave, I've been getting lots of visits from Bug at work.  These make my week!  Not only do I get to come home early now because of my schedule change, but I also get a break during the day to see Bug.  It makes being back at work less of a heartache.  Here are some pics of Bug's visits to my office....

 *( WARNING :  These pictures will be HUGE because the occasion calls for it.)* Heads up, people!  Bug has accomplished yet another milestone.  At 3 months and 4 weeks, she is holding her head up while on her tummy.  I'm assuming that most babies have already done this by Bug's age, but every time I've ever put her down for tummy time and placed a baby pillow under her chest to help her, she just stared at the ground, never lifting her head up.  So when I went back to work, I asked Grandma and Daddy to help her achieve this milestone of holding her head up and looking forward while on her tummy.  Little did I know that she was just waiting for the right time to surprise me...and boy, did she surprise me!  Last night, after her afternoon nap, I put her on her tummy, with the baby pillow to help her out and as I waited for her head to fall forward (as usual), I saw her eyes focus in on one of the images on her tummy time mat and there it was......

This Thanksgiving, we packed up our bags and took Bug on her first ever road trip to Sacramento.  My brother and his family live there. Making trips to Sacramento is nothing new for us, so taking Bug there was pretty exciting for me.  Yes, I dreaded what could happen on the road- she could scream the whole way, but she didn't.  Because it was our first road trip, I made sure we had plenty of time to get there before the holiday traffic hit.  We decided to leave Wednesday morning.  We made our first parenting mistake on the road- we woke her up to feed when we should have let her sleep as long as possible.  So, on the way there, we made 3 stops because Bug couldn't get back to sleep.    (*Obviously a parental fail.)  We decided to leave on Saturday morning as well, to avoid the mess on the 5 freeway and made it home in roughly 7-7.5 hours (including the stops to feed).  So really we made pretty good timing! Bug had a blast with her c...