"3 Months...."

Our sweet Ellison Anne is 3 months old already. Where, oh, where have the past 3 months gone?  She has brought us so much joy in such a short amount of time. We had alittle bit of a rough start, but what newborn doesn't?  It is shocking for their little systems to enter this big, unfamiliar world.  It does seem however, that she has turned a corner and is settling into her new world. It is not quite as unfamiliar as it once was. Her reflux is much better, though she will still have "episodes" every now and then.  She still nurses frequently during the day (and is a champ of a nurser), but stretches her nights and is giving us good sleep. We have not tried a bottle yet. She has decided that her pacifier is not all that bad anymore!  After trying 8 different brands, we finally settled on the "Soothie" paci - it is the only one that she was able to latch onto.  She does not need her pacifier any time other than going to sleep. In fact, I don't even offer it to her unless it's naptime or bedtime, and even then, she spits it out as soon as she is asleep. I am not a fan of babies and toddlers having a pacifier in their mouths at all times of the day, so I really try to limit it's use to sleep. She continues to be such a cuddler with us, and we are eating that up.  She has a very sweet disposition and calm temperament, and has just recently begun to really try to communicate with us. She is fixated on our faces when we talk to her and she is trying her best to communicate back to us with coos and squeals. She is VERY easy to read.  Her signs of hunger and tiredness are unmistakable. She loves her own bed!  She loves her big brother so much, and the 2 of them already have a very special relationship. She also loves her bath - I mean, really loves her bath!  She gets so excited when I put her in her bathtub. Still not a huge fan of her carseat, but she is improving alittle bit. She continues to sleep on her tummy. She can roll from tummy to back/side, and is not far away from being able to roll from back to tummy.  I bet in a few weeks she will have mastered it (side note: I had to come back to this post just 1 day after I wrote it.  She rolled from back to tummy the very next day)! When she smiles, an entire room will light up, and when she cries, it will break a grown man's heart wide open! When she pokes her bottom lip out, it's pitiful!  She has also started being able to grab hold of her toys on her bouncy seat, and is very close to being able to grab her feet.

She is a precious gift from God, and we love her and her big brother more than anything in this world.