3 Month Photo Book!

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13 weeks, 3 months, and 1 Hurricane!

Well this post is a little late and it's not because we didn't have electricity, it's solely because we had a lot going on the past few days!  Not only did my baby girl turn 13 weeks on Sunday, she turned 3 weeks on Monday and survived her first hurricane on Monday as well!  Yup that's right... hurricane Sandy ripped through the East Coast on Monday leaving a lot of destruction in her path.  It's crazy as you still see the images flash across the TV at how much so many people have lost. 

We hunkered down here at home around noon on Monday when the winds really started to pick up.  We had periods of heavy rain and some really crazy wind.  I was sure my house was going to be picked up and twirled around and land in Oz and I was going to have to click my heels to get back home.  We were very fortunate to have power during the whole storm so that our house could stay warm for baby girl.  We are the only ones in the family that had power and some still don't.  My cousin Maria who lives/works in Atlantic City had to evacuate so it was nice to spend some quality time with her while she was home.  Millie loves all her crazy faces, songs, and dance moves.  (I'm pretty sure Maria is the most entertaining adult Millie has ever been around.  Even more so than my dancing in the kitchen.) 

Other than weathering the storm, life goes on as usual.  Joe only worked until noon on Monday and didn't work on Tuesday due to the job site not having electricity.  It was nice to have him at home, with no where to go.  I feel like we have been so busy the last few weeks, so it was nice to just lounge around the house and enjoy the time together. 

It is unbelievable that Millie is already 3 months old.  Some days it seems like it was just last night that we were on our way to the hospital, unsure of what the night would hold.  We are so blessed with such a sweet and good baby.  Here are a few shots from our 3 month photo shoot.  Enjoy!

Starting to fill in those PJ's but lots of room to go yet!

Edison is always curious about what is going on!

Happy Girl!

Such a cutie!

12 Weeks: Butterfly

This little girl is the life of the party.  My little social butterfly kept very busy this week.  We spent a lot of time together at home cleaning, dancing, singing, playing the piano, playing with toys, and of course watching Mickey!  Life as a stay at home mom is great for now, but is not something I hope to pursue a career in!  I love being around my little girl all day long and watching her learn new things and grow, but I miss my job and my friends and the community you form with teaching.  I have signed up to take my PA Praxis, after a long application process, on December 18th.  I'm not sure how long scores will take to process and then my teaching license to be processed but I hope to start subbing in January.  Getting out into some of the school districts to see where I would like to apply next year.  That's the plan for now.  :)

Millie had lots of first this week, of course!

First time carving a pumpkin.

First time at the Emmaus Halloween Parade.

First time at Jake's Flea Market. 

 A little side note, earlier this week I was reading through some older blogs so that I could update Millie's baby book. (I always check on here to make sure I didn't miss anything)  And I began reading a post that I made in July and was amazed and how I was feeling about my pregnancy. I was entertained by my words and emotions as my pregnancy was lagging on.  When I was done reading I went back to the top to take a closer look at the date of the post and it was July 28th.  Little did I know that when I was writing that post that I would be going into labor that night and meeting my precious little girl early the next morning.  It's just so wonderful to be able to go back and know how I was feeling that morning.  :)  Here is a link to that day if you want to reread it yourself.  July 28th Post

11 Weeks: Performance

Baby Girl continues to grow and experience more of the world around her each week.  She continues to follow her routine and is still sleeping through the night and actually most of the day this week.  From what I read, when some babies go through a growth spurt, they sleep a lot.  So I'm guessing that is what is going on this week.

I'm really glad that I am the only one around during the day with Millie because it would be really embarrassing for anyone else to see just what I do to entertain her during the day.  I certainly would not classify myself as the "entertainer of the year,"  but to an 11 week old baby my dancing and singing are exceptionally hilarious!  Millie absolutely loves sitting in her highchair listening to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse channel on pandora and watching Mommy dance around the kitchen.  She opens her mouth so wide and has such a big smile and then lifts her arms up in the air with really tight fists.  I can tell she is trying to hard to laugh out loud and it will come any day I'm sure!  :)  She loves Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Wheels on the Bus, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, and just about anything that I can dance around to.  That station on pandora is like a baby charmer.  While Mom and I were out shopping this week, she was getting a little fussy.  All I had to to was turn it on my phone and put it in her car seat with her and BAM silent baby!

Our Sunday this weekend was pretty busy!  It started with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 5K.  Most of you know my Uncle Bruce took his own life last December leaving the family with so many unanswered questions and no closure. I don't think there was a time that I was around my Uncle Bruce that I wasn't laughing so hard that my stomach and cheeks hurt.  The last memories I have of him where during our trip to Florida last Thanksgiving!  We had so much fun and laughed all the time.  Whether it was him pretending to be a NASA employee at the Kennedy Space Center or him, Dad and Joe arguing over which GPS to follow in the car, we were always cracking up!  Uncle Bruce was also one of the first to know that Baby Schieck was on the way.  We shared the news with Dad and Ann while in Florida so Uncle Bruce got to celebrate with us.  :)  I wish Millie could have grown up knowing the fun loving Uncle that I knew.  So we walked this week to honor Uncle Bruce.  We had a great time and an awesome team.

New NASA Employee

Bruce's Babes and Buds

 

 

 

 

Youngest Babe for Bruce!

 After our walk on Sunday we took Millie to the pumpkin patch with my mom and brother.  She was awake for all of it and was really looking at all the stuff.  She put her feet in the corn kernels, looked at the cow, chickens, turkey and goats, went down the big slide, and then rode the wagon over to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin.  I'm really surprised at how alert she was.  I would consider the first pumpkin patch trip a success.  We even got some cute pictures.  :)

10 Weeks: Double Digits!

Happy that the Steeler's beat the Eagles!  :)

Well my little girl has officially reached double digits in age and weight!  She turned 10 weeks on Sunday and I can't believe it!  She is becoming more and more alert each day and is interacting more with me.  It makes me fall even more in love with her.  We had our 2 month check up on Monday this week and she is growing like a weed.  She weighed 10 lbs 9 oz and was 22.5 inches long.  That means she gained 2 lbs and grew 2 inches since her 1 month visit!  It's crazy, I knew she was getting bigger but when you put numbers to it, it makes it seem like so much more!  She had to get 2 shots and one vaccine administered orally.  I was dreading it because I was sure she was going to scream her lungs out for minutes on end, but actually the scream wasn't that bad and only lasted for about 3 seconds!  She is such a brave little girl.  :)  I was nervous that she would have a reaction to the vaccines, but she did great.  No fever and not really cranky either.   Such a trooper!  Check out her two month picture and then look at her 1 month, so many changes!  :)

This week was pretty uneventful.  I'm finished painting pumpkins so it was my first real week at home with just Millie and Mommy.  It's amazing the routine that baby girl fell into.  She gets up around 8, has morning bottle, plays a little, sleeps until 12ish, has a bottle, plays a little, sleeps until about 4, has a bottle and is up until about 7 and then sleeps until about 8 or 9 has another bottle, and then goes to bed.  She has been doing a lot of sleeping this week and weekend, not sure if that's a sign of a growth spurt or what?!?!?  We have really made an emotional connection this week, being just the two of us during the day.  She smiles and laughs at me all the time and it really makes you want to "play" with her more.  I feel a little guilty that it has taken me until 10 weeks to feel like a real mom (not that I didn't love and adore her for the past 10 weeks), but this week it really hit me just how much I love her and love being a Mom. I just found out that friends of mine are expecting next spring and it is such exciting news.  They are going to make wonderful parents and I'm so glad that they get to have this experience.  She is going to be an amazing Mom and I'm so happy that she was blessed with this pregnancy.  :) 

Watching the game!

Cousin Callen had his 2nd birthday party this weekend so Millie got to hang out with family and friends there.  I have a feeling she is going to be like a turtle when we go places.  It seems that when there is a lot going on, she just closes her eyes and falls asleep!  We also went up to my Mom's to watch the Steeler's beat the Eagles.  She was all decked out in her Steeler's garb and fit in great with Pop-Z!  :)

With Cousin Callen and Uncle B!

9 Weeks: Traveler!

So my baby girl isn't a world traveler yet, however she did make her first trip to Virginia this past weekend and it was so much fun!  She was great in the car, of course we had to stop for a few diaper changes and to eat, but she did great.  We were heading South because a friend of mine was getting married and I was a bridesmaid in the wedding.  I was beyond excited both for the trip and the wedding! 

We stay with my best friend Beth and her family and spent a lot of time there catching up.  Aunt Bethy just loves playing with Millie and Millie was all smiles of course.  Being back in Virginia made me miss it even more!!!  We stopped by Stone Spring so I could visit with all of my old co-workers and show of Millie of course.  Everyone loved her and it was like being back home again.  We were greeted with tons of smiles and hugs, and it was as if I had never left at all.  I miss working with such an amazing group of people and hope that when I find a teaching job up here, I have that kind of community to work in.  I know it will be hard to match SSES. 

Millie also turned two months old on Saturday and it just amazes me at how much and how quickly she is growing.  She is focusing more when you are talking to her and playing with her and is even cooing more each day.  It is like she is actually having a conversation with you.  She still loves to cuddle and nap with Mommy and Daddy (thank goodness).  She continues to sleep through the night, even when we were away.  I took a few 2 month pictures but I haven't had time to edit them yet, so I will be sure to get those up here by next week.  :)  It is amazing to see her 1 month shots and 2 month shots next to each other to see how much she has changed. 

Here are a few pictures from the weekend....

Of course we had to stop for a picture with the Welcome to VA sign!

Checking out CJ's bike!

Can't wait to come see you again!

Hanging with Aunt Bethy.

Josiah and I at the wedding.