Yesterday I was all prepared for my mom to come down and visit for the day and Liana and I sat outside to await her arrival. She made quite the entrance, driving her birthday present up the driveway: a yellow and black Mustang convertible! And not only that but she also brought Desiree with her. Liana had the biggest smiles ready for her Grammy and Auntie.


I gave them a tour of our new home (I think I mentioned already that we recently moved again) and there was a lot of chatting and catching up. As our bellies grew hungry I prepared us some of the double cheese vegan lasagna that I made on Wednesday night for Ashton's birthday. I was so excited they both loved it and wanted the recipe!
We decided to get out of the house and go to Dighton Rock Park in Berkley for a walk. I hadn't been there before and didn't know what to expect, but it turned out alright. It seemed like a good spot to have a picnic and the water scene was beautiful, but the paths were a bit overgrown and unkempt. We attempted one of the paths, but Liana was having a tough time handling the hike in her stroller. We visited the museum and signed our names and where we were from in the guest book. There were entries dating back to July 2006!


After Liana had her afternoon lunch, we packed up and headed home to meet up with Ashton, who arrived home from work right around the same time we did. We chatted some more and made peanut butter and homemade jelly sandwiches. Yum!
I was having so much fun watching Liana with her Grammy and Auntie, it was sad watching them go. And soon after they left, Ashton went out to a friend's house, so Ani and I were hanging out just the two of us for the rest of the night. To put an unexpected closure to a perfect day, Liana let me hear her laugh for the very first time! I was playing around with her while she was sitting in her bouncer, and out of nowhere she started laughing. I was so surprised and excited. I absolutely wanted to capture the moment, but my phone and camera were upstairs. Luckily I had my computer on the counter so I opened Photobooth and tilted the screen down toward the floor so the webcam could peak at Liana. I managed to catch just the end of her laughing, but it is still super cute. I immediately uploaded the short video to YouTube so I could share the amazing moment.


It's not good quality video, but it's her first ever laugh! Enjoy!

Hello again! I realize I have been quite MIA on here lately, but there was no way I would miss posting about Liana's past month! We've been super busy with moving (once again) and I am juggling being back at work and trying to get out of the house with Liana on my days off. I'm hoping to get into a better blogging routine soon, so I can post more often.


Growth! Liana is growing like a little weed! My little munchkin is probably nearly double her birth weight now. Most people look at her and comment on how tiny she is. I agree with them, but I know being her parent allows me to also see how big she is at the same time. She is smiling all the time now, even at strangers, which I am happy about! Our pediatrician mentioned (and I've read about) babies developing separation anxiety between 2-4 months, and one of the signs is selective smiling (reserving smiles only for mummy and daddy). Another sign is waking more at night and looking around to make sure her parents are close by, but Liana doesn't do this either. I think it's because she spends most of her waking time with us and there aren't really periods of time when we set her down and walk away.


Strength! For over a month now, Liana has been bearing her weight down on her feet like she is ready to stand. She obviously lacks the balance and coordination to stand up on her own, but by practicing while holding my hands she is building up strength in her legs. Our pediatrician and my baby emails say babies start bearing their weight down around 4 months and Liana has been doing it since before she was 2 months old! I'm not surprised though; the day she was born I had her laying on my chest and when she heard a noise she lifted her head off of me and turned her head to both sides before laying it back down and completely surprised the nurse! I also think Liana is really close to sitting up on her own. My baby emails say that on average babies sit up at around 4 months, so I think she is right on track. When I lay down and sit her on my belly with my legs behind her, she pulls herself forward to sit all the way up (instead of just laying back resting on my legs). She usually overshoots and pulls too much and ends up falling forward. I usually catch her with my hands and let her push her hands off of mine to sit up straight again, but she usually overshoots again, pushing too hard, and resting her back on my legs again. She knows how to push and pull herself forward and backward to get to where she wants, and as soon as she gains balance she will be able to sit on her own!! Another thing she does is when she is laying down and holding my hands, she grips my hands pretty hard and uses them to pull herself into a sitting position, and then bears down hard on her feet and with another giant pull she straightens out her legs and uses my hands to pull herself into a standing position! I'm going to see if I can get a video of her doing this so you know what I'm talking about. She is just so strong it honestly amazes me!


Changes! On numerous occasions I've caught Liana sleeping on her side. Previously, she would only sleep on her back. I got her to sleep on her tummy only once but I deliberately put her like that to see if she would like it. She's not a very picky sleeper though and sleeps through pretty much everything and can sleep anywhere. Which also brings me to her bassinet! I didn't think she was going to sleep in it, but since we moved I was adamant about getting her to use it. Her regular sleep schedule at night is from 10-6. This first two nights in her bassinet she went down between 9:30-10pm and woke up around 3am. We figured out it wasn't the bassinet though, it was because she was too cold! After adding another blanket (covering up to her belly button), she has slept through until 6-6:45! (Last night, for example, she slept from 9:30pm-6:45am). She also still enjoys her morning nap too. She eats right away when she wakes up between 6-6:45am and then naps until her next meal at 9-9:30am.


Development! Liana is working on developing hand/eye coordination. She hasn't successfully reached out, grabbed, and held onto anything yet, but yesterday she was pretty close. I always have my cell phone all up in her face since I use it to take pictures/videos of her and while the camera was on she reached out and grabbed the side of my phone and tried dragging it away, haha! I think I'm going to put more toys on the floor with her during tummy time and on the tray of her high chair so she can work on grabbing them. I also haven't heard Ani laugh yet! She is a whole bundle of smiles, showing off her gums at any chance she gets, but she hasn't even let out a giggle yet. I'm trying to wait patiently, but she is really testing me!!


**Please excuse the continuously grainy and washed out pictures. I am still using my cell phone for photos! :( **