my grown up girl

I don't blog for a little while and I have a whole new daughter. She has taken on some big tasks lately. First, she found her hands. From the moment she did they have been in her mouth. She actually is getting a rash from them being wet all the time. (Suggestions?) I'm pretty sure we've got a thumbsucker on our hands. (Ha.)  Also, check out the belly in this pic!

Right after she became aware of her hands she started grabbing things. I noticed this late at night when she was in her co-sleeper, and she would reach out for my hand. It was very surreal: in the darkness a focused, tiny creature reaching out in space to make contact. Think 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This is one of my favorite pictures of her:























And a minute later, her showing off her grasping skills:

In other developments, she loves to stand already. She stands in her tub, when I try to burp her, when I help her sit up. She still hates tummy time so I think her legs are much stronger than her arms. If I had to bet, I'd say she is going to very briefly crawl, if at all, before walking.

Annabel is also nursing much better (as far as I can tell). I no longer must pump before bed, in the middle of the night and in the morning. If I'm at home I can go most of the day without pumping either. I still do to make sure my supply is up and to just test and see if she'll take a bottle after feeding, but compared to any other time in her little life things are a lot easier for her mama as far as feeding goes.

Today Annabel & I went to our first storytime. I know it's early, but they have a baby storytime at the local library, and I believe it's never too early to love books :)  Today there was a special guest duo who sang and played instruments. Annabel spent the first 15 minutes looking around and smiling (especially at the other kids) and then got a bit fussy at the end because she was hungry. I've noticed people ask if she's about 4 months old - I think it's because she's usually so alert around people. We sat next to a 1 month old boy and I was astounded at the difference 1 1/2 months makes. She had a limp, tiny alien creature (I'm painting a poor picture - he was very cute) while Annabel is active, aware, and social infant. It's hard to believe it's only been a couple months since she was that tiny passive always-hungry baby! Here she is now, in all her cuteness: