Happy Baby, happy times!

I have to say, Madelyn at three months is WAAAY better than Madelyn as newborn.  She is so much more interactive and fun.  It is so much fun to see her accomplishing more things! She's more-or-less able to hold her head up when she's being held, and she likes sitting up, and she'll sit there staring at lamps all day if you let her!  She also smiles so much more and sleeps more, which makes her smile more!  Oh, I could go on gushing about how cute she is, but you can just see for yourself!

Look! Learning to eat her hands!  She used to not be able to keep her arms still enough to even bring them to her mouth!

Of course I have to have a naked baby picture!  Look at that face!  Look at that fat 'ole belly! This is after she just spit up everywhere.  Bath time!

"No more photos, please! I know I'm cute, but I'm busy chewing on my outfit!"

Ninja baby- hiding under blanket, waiting for the opportunity to unleash her cuteness!

Sometimes, interacting with Papa makes her happy.

Sometimes, interacting with Papa startles her.  He startles me, too, Madelyn. It's okay.

I'm glad that she holds still long enough for pictures.

Most of the time, she's a blur!

Crib view!  And withing ten minutes of taking this picture, she falls asleep! Hooray for the crib being a happy place to sleep!

The task that I have put myself to, lately, is to try and film Madelyn while she's feeling talkative.  That is easier said than done.  She usually just stares at the camera while I'm filming, and then as soon as I put the camera away, she starts babbling again.  I have hilarious conversations with her one-on-one, but as soon as the video starts rolling, she makes me do all the talking.  Lame!  But I did get her talking to her mobile, which she hardly does, and I have a hilarious one of her spitting up (I think that will be a family-only video. She doesn't need the public to see that!)  Let's see if I can get some videos to load!

I try to keep the videos short, because watching two minutes of a baby kicking is not everyone's ideal video.    

The next big thing for Nate and I is to get to know our neighbors.  We've lived her for almost five months, and I know a few.  Unless you run into them in the hall, it is slightly uncomfortable to go walking around the hall and knocking on people's doors. You don't want to interrupt them if they're busy. You don't know if they are even home. When can we find time to get together?  If their lives resemble anything like ours, I know they are busy, and really treasure the time they have with each other and their children.  But if we can't get to know our neighbors who are in a similar boat as us, how are we ever going to be able to meet our neighbors who aren't like us at all?  This means for Nate that he's going to have to sacrifice studying time.  For me, it means that I am going to have to be ready for company at anytime. It's not convenient.  It's not comfortable.  It's not easy to put yourself out there.  But who doesn't want to get to know their neighbors? It would be nice to know the people in my hall.  I want to walk down the hall smiling at whoever's walking by, and I want to know the person who's doing laundry next to me.  Wouldn't it be nice to feel like I can knock on any of the doors in my hall and know who is on the other side?  It's time to stop the awkwardness and start the friendliness!  I'm planning on sending open-ended invitations very soon, attached to some cookies, to ensure willingness to come by!  Here's hoping for the best!

-E

The things that REALLY matter...

Well, life has been pretty good at the Rittenhouse residents. I am happy to announce that Madelyn has been sleeping through the nights, which is a big HALLELUJAH coming from me! The first night she did it, I woke up at 3:30 in the morning and was ready to get out of bed, like normal, when I realized... I don't hear anything. No crying. No whimpering.
Is she dead?
I lay back down, tense, waiting, because I know she knows that as soon as I let my guard down, and try to fall back asleep, THAT is when she will cry and scare me out of my wits. But it doesn't come. At least, not for another hour. So I think to myself, "now we're back at it again." But as soon as she's done nursing, she promptly falls back asleep. I creep back to the bedroom, waiting for her cries to bring me back in and comfort her to sleep. They don't come.
Now she's surely dead. Death by milk overdose.
But a few hours later, three to four hours to be more specific, she calls again. And this time, I can start the day. I get out of bed and walk to her, and low and behold, the biggest grin on her face when she sees me. The BEST way to start your day, without a doubt! And the productivity levels go WAY up! I feel like human being again! No more taking crying baby to the couch during the night and falling asleep with her there! It is AMAZING. I highly recommend having all babies start out at ten weeks old. I'm going to start a petition...
Another nice thing is that, despite the fact that it is winter, Texas appears to not have gotten that memo, and has continued to have warm weather. I'm talking 60-70 degrees in January! What's that all about? It is the best thing I have ever experienced! At this time of the year, I usually feel moody and lethargic, but I haven't been that way since I see the sun most days of the week! I could get used to this! Maybe Texas could be my permanent wintering home. Of course, I miss wearing big comfy sweaters, and I always enjoy the excuse of cold weather to build a fire... Eh, it's hard to say what is better. To have snow days, or to be able to go for sunny walks in the park with my baby... I am just thankful for the nice days for as long as they last. With the nice weather, there's no excuse for me to not get into shape for the summer, so I have started running again! I am not consistent by any means, but at least I'm starting now, so when I fall off the band wagon here soon, I can start up again, and I won't feel like I'm getting a late start on getting in shape. Does that make sense? It made sense in my head...
Alright, enough talk, time to put some baby pictures up!




































Just weighed her today, she now weighs 13 pounds! Crazy! Such a big girl!
Erin
- Posted with the help of my iPad!