Thursday, July 31, 2008

First Time on Playmat






Here are a few pictures of Larkin on her playmat for the first real time. We've been doing "tummy time" for quite a while now, but mostly on blankets or in her crib. I tried putting her on this playmat a few weeks ago and she didn't like it then. I think the toys hanging down scared her or something. But, today, we started out with tummy time and then ended with some time on her back and she really liked it! Now that she's a little older, she enjoyed looking at the hanging toys, especially the rainbow.

Larkin is funny during her tummy times... after practicing turning her big head back and forth a few times, she then wants to scoot. She wants us to brace the bottom of her feet so she can push against them and push herself forward. She gets frustrated that she can't do it on her own and will cry for you to help her! I think she's going to enjoy crawling when it's time.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

First Time in Bouncer





I put Larkin in her bouncer for the first time today and she really took to it! It's called the Bobblin' Band Bouncer and it has a foot plate that she can kick to make it play music and light up. She is a bit young to get that cause/effect relationship yet, though. So, I put it on the automatic setting that continuously plays music and puts on a light show, and she really enjoyed that. She jiggled all around and it actually occupied her for 20 minutes! The bouncer also has a "calming vibrations" setting that literally vibrates the entire seat. The thought of that is nauseating to me, so I didn't use it with her at first. But, for kicks I tried it towards the end and she seemed to really like it. Go figure!

2-Month Appt - First Shots



Larkin was so brave yesterday. She had her 2-month doctor's appointment and got her first shots. As you can see from her 2 Barbie and 1 leopard print band-aids in the picture above, she got a total of 3 shots and got one oral vaccine. Larkin's shots included: DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis), IPV (polio), Hepatitis B, Hib (Haemophilus Influenza type b), Prevnar (strep), and Rotavirus. She cried for a minute or two while the nurse gave her the shots, but then she was so brave and stopped crying as soon as I picked her up. I think they hurt me more than they hurt her!

I was expecting a rough couple of days following the shots, but Larkin has done wonderfully. Her fever got up as high as 100.5 degrees F last night, but she never really got fussy. Instead, she was sleepy and just wanted some cuddles. Today, Larkin has been great... as strange as it might sound, I feel like today might be Larkin's best day yet! She's been really happy, sweet, giggly, loving, and she's been napping well... not like I would have expected after the shots.

As for her other doctor appointment statistics, Larkin looked great... She was 8 weeks 6 days old yesterday and she weighed in at 10 lbs, 6 oz., which is the 50th percentile (compared to babies born on her due date, not her actual birthday). Larkin's head circumference was 15.75 inches which is also in the 50th percentile, and her height was 21.75 inches which is in the 20th percentile... so, she's smart like her daddy and is a shorty like me!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Mr. Bear




Larkin has found her first friend... Mr. Bear! We have a mobile on Larkin's pack n' play that, at first glance, would not strike you as very impressive. It doesn't have any lights, sound, or movement. It's what you might call a simple mobile, with only 3 matching teddy bears that spin around when you manually turn it. It was Grandma Cook who first introduced Larkin to the three little bears... as she'd turn the mobile she'd say, "Here's Mr. Bear, here's his brother.... Mr. Bear, and here's his other brother... Mr. Bear"!

This "Mr. Bear" mobile came with the playpen so I put it up to use as a temporary toy until I got a more exciting one. Well, my procrastination worked in my favor... after days of ignoring the boring bears, one day Larkin "discovered" them and fell in love! Larkin is mezmerized by Mr. Bear now... she smiles at him, coos at him, and bats at him with her hand. He, and his brothers, are her first friends!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

First Vacation - Gaston's


We took our first vacation since Larkin's birth by joining Brian's parents for an impromptu long weekend at Gaston's Resort in Arkansas and we had a wonderful time! Gaston's is a trout fishing resort that Brian's family has been going to for years. What we love about Gaston's is that it is really relaxing and you feel so close to nature. We actually didn't do any fishing... instead we spent our time taking Sera on several "romps" throughout the sprawling property and enjoying the beautiful Bull Shoals Lake on Brian's parents' boat.

Gaston's is, quite literally, Sera's favorite place on earth. We don't bother putting her on a leash so she loves the freedom she has to run around exploring and chasing after all sorts of creatures including squirrels, rabbits, geese at the lake, and even the occasional groundhog. We love that Sera loves it so much so we took her on multiple run-abouts every day. Sera has been such a good big sister to Larkin these past 2 months, so she really deserved this reward. You can actually see the puppy in her reemerge with delight! Here are a few pictures of Sera having fun on the river (in front of a gazebo where there was a wedding and those are rose petals on the ground), near the pond (where you can see the geese she chases in the background), and on the resort's air strip. It's never-ending fun for her, as you can see!






Here are a few pictures of Brian waterskiing on the very calm lake and Larkin in her first swimsuit on the boat! Larkin didn't go in the water or get in the sun, but she looked adorable regardless, thanks to the swim gear from Marty!



Here are a few other cute pictures of Larkin that we took during the weekend. It was great for Larkin to get some quality time with her grandparents too!






Finally, Larkin hit several great milestones this weekend... she slept through the night until 7am for three nights in a row, we eliminated another feeding so she's now getting 5 per day (and she eats ~4oz per feeding now), she did reciprocal mouth gestures - she imitated sticking out her tongue and smiling, and she's really starting to pay more attention to objects like rattles, etc. It was a great summer getaway.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy 4th of July!







It was a beautiful day today - just perfect for a BBQ and some Independence Day fireworks. After having a lazy morning, we dressed up Larkin in a festive red, white and blue dress and went over to our friends Matt and Robin's house for their annual 4th of July bash. We all had a great time... while there were no wee little babies there last year, this year there were 5 babies all under 1 year of age! Later that evening, we took a long walk around our neighborhood and were able to see several different firework shows off in the distance. Next year we'll have to plan on taking Larkin to a 4th of July parade - I used to love those as a kid!