3 Months! And new firsts!

wow, two weeks seems to be the norm now in catching up this blog. i'm trying to get better, really i am. it's just so hard to find the time to do this with everything else going on. still, i'm working on it.

anna has just turned 3 months yesterday (13 weeks today). she's getting so big -- i'll find out exactly how much she weighs now when we go to our breastfeeding group later today. every day brings something new. she now gives us the raspberry all the time, and will even go back and forth with you on it for a while. she's learning how to react to an action, and vice-versa... for example, if she puts her foot to my face during a changing, i'll make believe that she kicked me and my head gets pushed back. after i react like that and i put my face back by her, she'll gently kick it again to get the same reaction. i love it!

best new thing -- she can put herself to sleep! we started seeing signs of it last week, when she fell asleep by herself in her carseat while we ate dinner. but last night we decided to really get the bedtime ritual down, start earlier, etc., and make sure that she fell to sleep on her own, not because of the bottle. and it worked! dave bathed her at 9:15, then i gave her a little baby massage, then he fed her at 10. once she was done eating, i brought her into her crib, swaddled her up, and then sat by her crib and read to her for a few minutes. then i shut the light, gave her a kiss, and shut the door. she futzed around for a little bit, but fell asleep by 11 -- a mere 15 minutes after i said goodnight. i was so impressed! and she slept until 6 or so this morning. yay!!!

ok, onto other things. two weekends ago (the weekend of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th), we went up to syracuse and rochester to visit nana, uncle noah, and aunt olivia. anna did really really well. she took her usual naps in the car (receiving blanket over the carseat does the trick), and she was entertaining and engaging to all. =) of course, she got knocked a bit off schedule, and had one bad night when we tried to have her sleep in a travel crib (pack and play did much better by her), but overall she did great! we were so impressed with our little girl. it's so nice to know that traveling upstate to see her nana and her aunt and uncle won't be too much for her. it might be harder for us, with all the stuff we have to take with us!! ha! but i think everyone had a great time together, and we were so happy we went.

nana came down to see us a few days later for anna's first passover, which we attend every year at uncle howie and aunt helene's. again, she was nothing but charming -- which was impressive, since she had been difficult all day. but she was held by all new people -- erin, adam, and courtney -- and of course was scooped up by all the relatives that adore her. aunt joan told her secrets, and uncle howie made her laugh. nana gave her tons of kisses. and anna returned the favor to everyone by flirting with adam (not to mention spitting up on him) and squealing during the seder readings. that's my girl!

since our 3rd wedding anniversary was tuesday the 7th, we decided to have a date night on saturday the 11th. uncle steven and victoria came over to babysit. poor anna had a stomach bug or something going on from friday to sunday, so we felt kinda bad leaving her -- for her and for her babysitters. but uncle steven and victoria did an amazing job. not only did they keep our sick daughter happy and entertained, but they also brought her presents and cleaned our kitchen! that the best babysitting service ever. we told them they're welcome to sit anytime. =)

and then of course, sunday was anna's first easter. she wast still sick and cranky since she refused to nap. but god bless that kid, she still does great putting on a show for everyone. grandma and grandpa had bought anna her easter dress to wear, but since anna was sick she didn't wear it until the end of the day, and that was only for about 45 minutes -- to take pictures and go next door to show off to others. all in all, it was a great holiday (thanks for the amazing food steven!), and we can't wait until next year when she can get an easter basket and hunt for easter eggs. yay!

i will post more pictures later today. there are some killer ones this time around.