12 Weeks

I'm super sick again, so I apologize if this update isn't exciting/funny/interesting.

A lot has actually happened in the last week. First--and this was so exciting to me, so bear with me--Sydney has fully discovered her hands and has figured out how they work together. It's adorable!! She was playing in my lap last Saturday, and I placed this little ball with holes in her lap and put both hands on it, and she suddenly grabbed it up with one hand and then the other and lifted it to her face. It was the cutest thing...it was like I literally saw the wheels turning in her little head as she realized she could hold it with both hands and move it where she wanted. She was focusing so hard on the little ball and her newly found discovery that she fell asleep in my lap mid-play (which she's never done before). Since her discovery she's been obsessed with the ball and all things she can easily grab with both hands. And since she's discovered her hands, everything is going straight to her mouth. And because I'm sick and she's sick, everything is getting washed and sanitized all. the. time.

This past week Sydney also met the Easter Bunny for the first time. I was on the fence about it (because I'll fully admit I was being lazy and would she really remember it?), but I felt it was our parental duties to bring her. So away we went, and of course Sydney fell asleep on the car ride to the mall -- now not only did I have to hand her over to some stranger in a "bunny" costume (WHY are they always so creepy looking??), but I also had to wake her up from her peaceful slumber. We walked up to the Easter Bunny setup (which was sub-par at best; I'm not sure you can call a man in a rabbit costume, a bench and a camera "The Easter Bunny Extravaganza Experience"), and I nearly keeled over when I saw the prices for pictures. Call me naive, but I was expecting to purchase one single photo for like $5.00. Park Meadows Mall put the kibosh on those dreams, though, as there was no single photo option at all - only packages of ridiculous quantities starting at $28.99. My child is 11 weeks old; do I really need 64 pictures with this thing??

Fifteen minutes and $29 later, we were done. And Sydney did SO well! Much better than her parents, who contemplated for a good 10 minutes whether Jordan should sit with the Easter Bunny (I sure as hell wasn't going near that thing) for the picture because that's how much we didn't want to hand her over. Why was that so hard? Did anyone else experience this??

We celebrated Sydney's first Easter with some friends by attending a new church and going out to brunch before Jordan had to leave for a business trip again. Side note: everyone in our town must be Catholic because the church was PACKED. We even decided to go to the 7:00 AM mass to avoid the 9:30 crowd, and the parking lot was already so full when we got there that while driving in a long line that wound around the parking lot looking for a space, people just started shutting off the their cars where they were stopped in line and 'parking' as is (entirely blocking every appropriately parked car in). It was a t o t a l gongshow. We had to stand in the entry way of the church the entire time during mass (the regular standing room was already full), so I really regretted my decision to wear 4-inch heels, but Sydney did so well and stole the hearts of everyone that saw her that morning. There were lots of young families and little kids, and we liked the church so much that we've decided to join and also have Sydney baptized there.

Happy Easter, everyone!

The other news of this week is that our little peanut is sick for the first time. :( I brought her into the pediatrician's office yesterday after noticing she had been coughing and sneezing more than normal, and it turns out she has an upper respiratory infection. The poor little thing! We've been taking a lot of steam baths lately (steaming up the shower and then taking a warm bath), which she likes and has been helping both of us. Speaking of, this is the second time in a row that I've been this sick (first time was when Jordan's dad and his wife came to meet Sydney a few weeks after she was born) - what is happening to me? My immune system is shot. I'm miserable, and I feel so bad for my baby because I can't really give her the mama snuggles she needs right now.

Here are some other pics from the week:

Loving her Blabla unicorn doll - thanks, Julia!

Original Easter dress...little too big

Where's the pool?? 

Snuggled up to Dad right when he got home from work...

And out like a light!

Can't get over her long, dainty eyelashes!

Not really into hugging quite yet

Easter brunch

Sick as shit, but happy as a clam

Please send some healthy and positive vibes our way -- Syd and I need them! (Jordan is of course totally fine and healthy as ever.) Can't believe our little peanut will be three months next week - eeek!!!