Six Weeks

Miss Melanie is six weeks old! Time flies.....

Today, I have four doctor appointments, and tomorrow I have a meeting for work. So, Melanie gets the extreme pleasure of staying the night with Grandma & Grandpa! Yes, that's right. I'm a mother who will send her daughter away for a night at the tender age of six weeks! It was difficult to pack her up this morning - and she tried to make it more difficult by being very cuddly before she left! Jeff and I are going to dinner at my parents' tomorrow night to pick her up - so it's two full days sans baby. Weird.

She had a puny weekend; she was feeling a little out of sorts, I think - her eating and sleeping were off, and she got sick. She seems to have bounced back now - she slept most of the day yesterday. I'm hoping that it was catching up on her sleep, versus feeling worse. However, since her eating is back on track, I'm optimistic.

Another development, she LOVES her pacifier, and so do I!!

Her shirt in the photo above says "I love Mommy." I'll keep reminding myself of that if I feel like a bad one for sending her to Grandma's for the night!!

Location, Location, Location

(no, that doesn't read "lactation, lactation, lactation..." - I've been reading too many baby books!!)

*That's our new patio furniture featured above!

Top Reasons I Love Where We Live (in no particular order, except number one)
10. Melanie and I can walk to Walgreen's, Blockbuster and Marsh and still make it back before it rains
9. We could conceivably walk to Target, Kohl's, and HomeGoods (among many other stores), but we didn't want to get rained on.

8. Jeff and I both work close enough to home that we can come home for lunch.

7. There is a pool in our subdivision. I only wish I had twelve weeks off of work when it was OPEN!

6. We're one mile, door-to-door, to our church and daycare
5. We're within walking distance to Melanie's (and my) doctor.
4. We're within walking distance to several restaurants and/or bars (although we don't like the closest bar, PJ O'Keefe's)
3. We're within 5 miles (or less) of downtown Zionsville
2. They're opening 2 Monical's within five miles of us - okay, that's more Jeff's top reason than mine.
1. We're 30 miles, door-to-door, to Grandma and Grandpa Doan's house.

8 pounds!

I took Melanie to the gift store at Clarian North today to get her weighed, and she's up to the huge size of EIGHT pounds! I can't believe she's still that tiny!!

After Target and the big weigh-in, Mel and I hit the Monon Trail again. Today we settled for just two miles; my legs were a little sorer than I thought they were after yesterday's excursion! We then came home for a quick nap (both of us), and then took a walk around the neighborhood. It's so nice out!! We're trying to pack in our outdoor time, since it's supposed to start raining again tomorrow, and temps are going back down.

Spring has Sprung!

Melanie finally got introduced to SUNSHINE today! After church today, she and I hit the Monon Trail for some fresh air and exercise. We got about four miles in before I decided to not push my luck, and to get her home for a while. In the middle of our jaunt, I stopped and fed her, and that worked out well. I think she enjoyed having some fresh air on her face!

I'm also working on "summer-izing" our house! We ordered a screen door for our front door, which will allow some air and light in during the summer, and we finally got some porch furniture for our screened-in porch! We had some chairs out there, but now we actually have a set - loveseat, chairs, coffee table.... For all of those evenings sitting out on the porch!

Last night was date night. We ended up walking to Stone Creek and enjoying a nice dinner. I don't think we gave Grandma & Grandpa nearly enough time with Mel, so next time maybe we'll venture out a little further from home!

Baby out and about

We spent yesterday in Frankfort with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Julie. We went to lunch, and then Melanie got to meet Grandpa's coworkers and Brenda, Cory's mom (the grandma to her cousin Charlie and upcoming girl cousin). As you can tell from above, she had quite a day.

We spent Mel's one-month birthday running errands, going to lunch, etc. She slept most of the day, and is getting better about eating on somewhat of a schedule (for now). She has slept on her own, for the most part, the last two nights.

We get to have date night tonight; Grandma and Grandpa have requested to babysit, so we're out on the town tonight!

Happy One Month Birthday!

One month ago today, Miss Melanie Grace Worzala blessed us with her presence. She has definitely made our lives more interesting - and she teaches us new things every hour! Right now, she is celebrating her birthday by lying on the bathroom floor listening to the bathtub water run. She has been there for about 30 minutes. Life is good as a one-month old! My friend Jocelyn takes her boys' pictures each month in the same position; above is my attempt to start that tradition, so I can watch Mel grow.

Last night, she slept in her bassinet all night by herself (yes, she still got up for her feedings...) Each time she does this, I get very optimistic that it will continue; but then we revert. However, last night was a great night of sleep because of this.

Yesterday, we had a close call with the day care situation. I had called last week, and they had again reassured me that we had a spot once I went back to work. She was supposed to call me back and let me know the date we could start. I called again this week, left a message, and hadn't heard back.... so I called yesterday. Another woman indicated that I should have never been told I was guaranteed a spot (last September when we put our name down, or last week), and that they were completely booked, no one on the waiting list was getting in!!!! I freaked out a little bit, she said she'd look into it, and then she called back in about five minutes with a magic opening for Melanie. I'll spare you the rest of the details, but we are still in for the place one mile from our house! Yay!

I'm VERY ready for the weather to turn so we can get outdoors!! I took a walk last night, but Melanie was not able to go with me.... she is looking forward to strolling around the neighborhood and on the Monon Trail soon!!

Happy April Fool's!

Melanie has been pretty fussy the last two days; she does not like to be put down! She will be nice and content, sleeping on my chest/shoulder.... I'll think "this is great, I'll put her down and get some stuff done..." and she'll start wailing!

Today, she got to meet three of my coworkers, including the VP of my department. They came to the house and brought lunch. Mel was on her best behavior; she lay quietly while we ate, and then she cuddled with each of them for a while as we got caught up. So, she does have some periods of restfulness - but I can't quite figure out what's up with her. She's still been sleeping overnight okay, and the doctor confirmed that I shouldn't change formula (I changed bottles on Thursday, and they have cut the feeding times by about 20-30 minutes!! The Worzalas love Dr. Brown!)

Tomorrow, Grandma is coming over while I go get a manicure/pedicure and a chair massage. Yay!! Hopefully Mel will behave herself a little better for Grandma (my prediction is she will - she knows who to butter up!!)

Happy Anniversary, C!