Hey Mikey, I think she likes it

It may not be Life cereal, but Alyssa tried rice cereal for the first time over the weekend, and I think she liked her first few bites. Although Alyssa ended up with a wet shirt and cereal in the folds around her neck, under her chin, she did get a few full bites of cereal in her. She was reaching out for the spoon at times and she alternated between licking the spoon, sipping, and opening wide. All in all I think she enjoyed her first taste of cereal.




Alyssa has also been enjoying her first breaths of fresh air. While in Pennsylvania, she was able to take her first walk in the woods with Grandpap and her first ride in a stroller (without her car seat) with Nana. Warm sun and the many sights, sounds, and smells of spring were all new to her. I think she was particularly fascinated with the creek below the house. Today Aaron, Alyssa & I took a walk down by the Minnesota River and Alyssa felt the breeze on her face. All the fresh air wore her out though.

Alyssa is also enjoying sitting on her own; Aaron and I laugh because she has very good posture. Over the past two weeks, she's really become a lot stronger. Today she and I were sitting on the kitchen floor, and she was watching Roni walk all around. She was even able to bounce a little without tipping; we don't leaver her unattended because she sill has a tendency to double over and the potential to bounce her nose off the floor, but she can definitely do it! Check out the video of her sitting below.



Alyssa also did great on her first trip in the friendly skies. We left Minneapolis on a Wednesday evening around 6, flew through Milwaukee to Pittsburgh, arriving at around 10. On the first flight, she ate, was awake for a few minutes and then slept through the landing. There was just enough time between flights to change her diaper, and then we took off again. She was looking at all the lights in Milwaukee when we took off and didn't wake up until we got down to baggage claim in Pittsburgh. During the first flight on the way back to Minneapolis, she was a little fussy, but she did ok. And then she slept through the entire second leg of the trip. She woke up the minute she saw her Daddy though!

We really enjoyed our time in Pennsylvania. It was wonderful to see everyone at home (I think we almost saw everyone I know!) and have Alyssa meet all of her friends and family. I left wishing that we lived a little closer so that she could always feel the love that everyone was giving her; it was so amazing to see how much she enjoyed interacting with everyone. Despite the many different houses and workplaces she was in and all the different people who held her, she remained pretty happy during the most of the trip. Aaron thinks she might have been spoiled a little though with all the attention.

While we were in Pennsylvania, Alyssa rolled from her back to her stomach for the first time. She was trying to reach a green Mazda balloon that Grandpap brought home from work. She's only done it a few times since then, and she's getting frustrated when she can't quite get over, but she's on her way.

Alyssa has also found this new goofy way of smiling. She doesn't do it all the time, but when it comes out, it makes us laugh. Sometimes she'll open her mouth just enough to see her gums and it's really cute.
Now that we're home, we're enjoying getting back into a routine. Alyssa is back at day care, and I'm back to teaching and working on the dissertation. Aaron is enjoying having someone at home with him at night. He continues to be busy at work and may have his first business trip in a week or two to Jacksonville. There could be worse places to travel to! He's hoping that he wins his fantasy basketball game tonight so he can stay in the playoffs, but if he loses, he's done for the season, so keep your fingers crossed.

Hope you enjoy the latest photos and video as much as we do. We love being able to share our joy with all of you!

Made you smile

This shirt says it all. Alyssa has made us smile each and every day since she was born - four months ago! It seems kind of hard to believe that she's already four months old, and it's even harder to believe how much she's changed in these past four months. Even since we last updated you, she's changed, it's incredible how quickly babies change. Since we wrote last, Alyssa has found her feet, begun pulling absolutely everything to her mouth, and is working really hard to sit on her own.

It has been such a treat observing Alyssa make connections as to how her body works and watching her develop. Things we take for granted are new discoveries to her and it is absolutely fascinating. About two weeks ago Alyssa began reaching out for things and now she is pulling those things to her mouth. You can really see this with her bottle. She immediately reaches out for it with both hands and pulls it toward herself. She doesn't always hit her mouth, but she knows which direction it needs to go. She's not really holding her bottle, instead she's kind of pushing down on it while it's in her mouth. Alyssa has also discovered that if she's not able to pull something to her mouth, she can very easily lean over and put her mouth on it. I watched her the other day grab onto a friend's finger and try to pull it to her mouth; when she wasn't strong enough to do so, she simply folded herself in half to get that finger! This new phase (which I think may last quite some time) has made reading a little trickier to say the least.

Alyssa has also discovered that she has feet and toes. She now loves having no socks on and grabbing on to her feet, and then, yes, you guessed it, pulling them to her mouth. She's able to get her toes into her mouth. Aaron and I still think this is quite cute but I suppose at some point we'll have to tell her that putting your feet in your mouth is really not appropriate, at least as long as she doesn't want to go into the circus (Aaron does think she has a shot at this though because she has such long toes!).

And as for sitting, well, she's getting a lot better. She usually sits more upright when on our laps or when sitting on the couch. When I took her on Friday for her 4 month photos, she hardly leaned back against the supports, she's trying to build those ab muscles (if only I had her same motivation, maybe I'd have that six-pack!). I'm thinking that by her photos next month she may not need those supports, we'll see!

As for rolling, well, she still hasn't gone from her back to her tummy. She's been spending more time in her jumper at home and the exersaucer at day care and so she's not on her back as much, so thus, no rolling. She does seem to get a little frustrated every once in a while by not being able to get over, but then we help her along, and soon after that initial surprise she wants to be back on her back.


Alyssa continues to be very vocal. We laughed as she continually squealed in glee yesterday during church. Everyone is singing a chorus of penance and woe (Out of the depths, I cry to you Lord) and she's delighted by the sound of her own voice. And the two little girls sitting next to her kept trying to remind her to be quiet with very soft "shhhhhs", but she just didn't get it. What can I say, we have a very happy little girl. She learned to smack her lips this past weekend and was quiet fascinated by that new sound.


Alyssa had her four month check-up this afternoon. She was so happy throughout the entire appointment until the shots came. It took her a second or two to realize that it hurt and then she let loose. The last two shots (there were three shots total) were the worst for her, but now she's back to her normal self. Dr. Vlodover was very pleased with her development and told us not to be surprised if any future children of our weren't quite as fast in their development as she is. She still has a slight case of eczema so we're to keep using all fragrant-free soaps and lotions. She's still in the 90+ percentile for length, weight and head circumference. She measured 26 inches long and weighed in at 15 lbs, 14 oz (we weighed her again with her diaper because I didn't believe she was less than 16 and she was 16 lbs, 4 oz). Either way, she's definitely on the large size. We're not going to introduce food just yet as she seems to be content with just her bottle (I'm only nursing now in the morning and before bed), but the doctor was confident that by her next appointment in two months, we'll have introduced them. We're to watch for her showing more signs of hunger and interest in our food as that will be our sign.

Aaron and I continue to do well. We are so very thankful that we both have jobs for the time being. Aaron is especially busy at work; he plans on working some extra hours while Alyssa and I are away, and I have really started to get into my dissertation analysis over the past few weeks. I'm waiting to hear what course I'll be teaching in the fall, but I'm pleased to know that I will be teaching when funding is being cut short for some other graduate students.

We entered Alyssa into the Star Tribune's Cutest Baby contest. You can only vote for Alyssa on one day, next Monday, March 16 from 10 am to Tuesday, March 17 at 9 am CST. We'd love it you could all vote for her. She's sitting in her bouncy seat with a green shirt that says "love". You need to register to vote (doesn't take long), but we'd love for you to vote for Alyssa (and have all your friends, family & co-workers vote too!). Here's the link:
http://startribune.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=5242
Thanks for your help!

Alyssa and I are ready to head to Pennsylvania this week. We leave here early Wednesday evening for the flight home. I'm a little anxious about traveling with her alone, but I know that we're going to really enjoy our time visiting with everyone. I can't wait for all of you to see Alyssa in the flesh and experience her smiles and gleeful giggles. Until you can do that, I leave you with a few of our favorite photos. See you soon!