And Then There Were Four

Somebody was three months old yesterday! It's so exciting to see her doing more every day, and being more deliberate in her movements. She now can: Roll over Laugh Squeal and shriek Reach for things Hold her back and head steady when set upright Babble Turn when she hears a voice Watch TV :P Put things in her mouth Put quite a lot of weight on her legs She weighs 14 pounds, is 25 inches long, and LOVES airplane rides on my knees. She's also in the middle of her first cold, but she's taking it  like a little trouper. I decided to practice using the baby thermometer (underarm) and either there's something terribly wrong with the baby, or the thermometer, because my little girl had a temperature of 95*. I checked mine to compare, and was about a degree warmer. I know I always measure colder, but not that cold! It seemed to be working later that evening, though, showing Caleb to be 98 and me 97.  Anna at Three months   Two ...

Here at the Crouch house everything went smoothly on Sunday morning. Everyone was dressed, some people were adorable... ...and then she threw up on my dress and hers. Ah well. A good reminder that Easter is not a time to dress up and be fancy at church. I found an emergency outfit for her, and threw myself something together, and we headed to church to hear a very good message. After we got home, we picked up a few things from the house and went to Garrett's parents house.  I got some more driving in! Learned how to pump gas, and stopped by our favorite antique place to browse. I picked out $4 worth of children's books (some titles I read when I was little!), and Papaw bought Anna a little rocking chair. It was a very good day, and we ended the day satisfied and filled. He is risen!

...and so are the creepy crawlies. Yay! Hello, spider in my bathtub, yes, I would love to have a gaping gangrenous sore, so please, enjoy our home - while I grab some wasp spray and douse the bathroom. Hahaha! So anyway, with all the beautiful weather is coming all the charming bugs that the South has to offer. Our house is very old, and although I love old houses, they're very leaky.  What we have seen in the past two weeks: Ants Roaches Wolf spiders Mouse droppings Countless pantry moths WASPS Did I mention spiders? And the WASPS?? I sat down to play the piano a couple days ago, but when I opened it up there was a red wasp sitting on the keys. I screamed and jumped backward off the bench (All I need to be an Olympic jumper is a good supply of wasps). I sprayed it to death, because sadly I'm too much of a chicken to swat it. Now I'll be paranoid of  playing for a long time. I'm imagining wasps under everything!  Thankfully the mice in o...

I have a piano!!  Every key but one black work, and it sounds tuned!! I may not be a pianist, but I can play melody, and who knows? I could get better. For now it's good enough for us. A couple of the keys stick, but can I complain about a $25 piano? Um, I don't think so! Little A went to sleep when I played it yesterday, so I can see that it will come in handy, as I like to play music, and she doesn't like to sleep. It took five men to get it in the house, and they left it in the kitchen. Thankfully the thing has wheels, so I pushed it to its new home in the dining room this morning. It squealed so much that I was afraid A would wake up, but no, apparently the child would sleep in a rainforest, because that's what it sounded like, an aviary full of squeaky tropical birds.  Free bench, too! ^

Finally got my guitar out to play yesterday!! The poor thing's been shut in its dusty case and  stuck in the corner with the equally dusty fiddle and mandolin cases for too long. I have played it since baby came, but maybe only once. She seems to enjoy listening (as long as I sneak a kiss in frequently!) and it's good to get back to playing. Of course, it's easy to just pick up a guitar and play it, we'll see how it goes when I pick up the fiddle again. Eeeep o.O I want to get a couple of the 'Wee Sing' books soon to play from. I remember so many of the songs, but not chords. I can't wait till she starts singing along!!

Said no one ever. I wish I'd been a little more prepared for it. I devoted too much time to preparing for the birth, and taking care of the baby, and not enough learning how to feed her. It's important, feeding a baby, but I thought it would be easy and natural. It's natural, but the farthest thing from easy for most women. I wish somebody had told me: Latch is VERY important Babies need a lot of help latching on  Latching on is very hard Bad latches hurt After a few weeks, baby will try to help latch This does not help Those little flailing arms make a hard job harder There will be less milk at night There will be more milk in the morning Feeding a baby is one of the most enjoyable experiences in life There SHOULD NOT be any pain if the baby is on properly Annalise was such a little trouper those first two weeks. Feeding was agony. And it just got worse and worse. Finally I pumped and gave a bottle for a few days. I know a lot of people...

I like to do stuff. I like to keep busy and fill my days with all kinds of stuff. I enjoy variety. Every week I plan all the stuff I want do do in the next seven days. It sounds great, it sounds fun, but nope. Some things just don't work in around a little person's needs, and little people need a lot. Some days my big exciting plans are to clean the bathroom (yes, really!), because the time is harder to find the bigger baby gets. I bought some shelves with my birthday money, and my plan was to put them together that night and organize them. Haha, nope!! Annalise was awake and hungry and fussy, and needed mommy a whole lot more than those shelves did. It took me three days to get them together, clean the living room, and mop a couple floors. But my baby was cuddled and loved, and that's more important. I like to make exciting long term plans months in advance. Right now I'm excited about a craft show in May that I'd like to sell at. It's two and a half mont...