12 weeks: Dallas Trip, Part 2, SWIMMING!

Cousin Grey introduced Devyn to her first swimming pool experience! I think she liked it pretty well. She splashed in the water and seemed pretty content to stay in there for 15-20 minutes or so.


The bikini is courtesy of Aunt Em, who had the foresight to give it to us at my baby shower. The top was almost too small, but the bottoms were way too big and had to be pinned up—possibly because we were living dangerously and went without a swim diaper!

12 weeks: Dallas Trip, Part 3, All In the Family

After swimming, we got to go over to Mickey's house for dinner, and Devyn got to meet Miss Mickey for the first time. It was such a lovely evening, even if Dev was a little cranky and not cooperating too well.



(As you can see, she was a little red-eyed when she met Miss Mickey, and then completely zonked out for the family photo shoot!)

We had such a good time in Dallas, meeting everyone and playing with cousin Grey. Can't wait to do it again!! (No, for real!)

Here are some more photos from Emily, including photos of Dev with her birthday buddy, Tahl.

Three Months Old

Dear Devyn,



We are at your Gran and Pop's house in Dallas for this three-month birthday, and I'm having such a wonderful time showing you off to everyone here. You have gotten to meet your Great-Grandma A. and your Poppy, which is so special for me. It is amazing to have four generations of our family together at one time.



You're growing so fast. You weighed 9 pounds, 14 ounces at your last weigh in, but I'm sure you are past 10 pounds now. You love to listen to me sing the alphabet song, which is your favorite right now, and you watch me so closely, studying how my mouth moves. I feel like you're learning all the time. You don't like to ride in your car seat very much and tend to fuss when we put you in. But you were pretty good on the airplane (which makes me glad we decided to fly instead of drive for 14 hours!).



You're grabbing the rings on your play gym pretty regularly now and you're also playing with your "squish," a toy with wooden beads and elastic strings. You also LOVE to hold onto a burp cloth or blanket and stick it in your mouth.



Your cousin Grey is so enchanted with you! He says "BA BA!" all the time, which means baby, and he wants to pet you and watch you and see where you are. It's adorable!


This month in the wider world, the space shuttle launched for the last time; a brand new nation, Southern Sudan, was officially born; and Betty Ford, our former first lady, passed away.



I will write more about our visit to Dallas soon, but right now I will close by telling you how much you are loved by everyone in our family. Your Gran and Pop, of course, adore you. But your Grandma A. can't stop talking about how beautiful and bright you are, and your Poppy is just enchanted with you and loves to hold you and give you kisses. When you smile at either of them, their faces light up with joy, and I will hold that image in my heart forever.



Love always,

~Mommy

12 weeks: Dallas Trip, Part 1

Our first big trip! Devyn actually did really well in the airport and on the plane. Right when we got on the airplane, while we were still on the ground, she tuned up and started screaming, which did make me panic a little bit, but as soon as I got her to start eating, she quieted down and was content for the rest of the flight.

Of course, the teenage boy sitting next to me was a little less content, but whatever.

We arrived in Dallas and were greeted with big smiles by Gran and Pop who couldn't have been happier to see us. But Dev was a little cranky on the way home and it made Gran a little white-knuckled to have to drive in traffic with a tiny screaming person in the back seat.

The next day, we got to introduce Devyn to her great grandparents.




I can't even express how amazing it was to see my grandparents with my daughter. They were certainly moments I will never, ever forget.

Emily and Grey were pretty impressed with Devyn, too.

And, Dev got to meet her Aunt Allison, who couldn't have been more smitten.

Catching up on Photos

I downloaded the photos from my camera today, and found these that I hadn't posted!

How can you have a bad day when this is the first thing that greets you when you wake up??

11 weeks: Astro-Symmetry

Dear Devyn,

When I was about a month old, in April of 1981, the space shuttle took it's very first flight. Today, 30 years and 134 flights later when you are almost three months old, the space shuttle launched for its very last flight.

There is something poetic about that kind of symmetry. My only hope is that we see some new kind of manned space flight early in your lifetime, so that you can be inspired the way I was inspired. I'm the only kid I know who was reading Carl Sagan at the age of 12 just for fun, or who was practically giddy to get to the astrophysics unit in her physics class in high school. If I'd been better able to do the math, who knows; I might have been an astronomer or an astrophysicist.

We listened to the space shuttle launch together this morning on the radio, and although I know you won't remember it, it will be a special memory for me.

Love,
Mom

10 weeks, 6 days: No rest for the wicked

Yesterday and today have been super challenging when it comes to napping. Poor Devyn either doesn't want to fall asleep, falls asleep in my arms and then doesn't want to be put down, or suffers being put down only to wake up too soon.

Mommy and baby are both running on empty, I think. And she seems to want to eat ALL the time.

Maybe this is a growth spurt? I'm hoping that's it and that we'll have an easier time again in a day or two.

10 weeks, 4 days: Future Glimpses

I realized tonight that the smell of the basswood tree blooming in our front yard might be the smell of Devyn's childhood (the way the smell of wild onions reminds me of hot summer days after my dad had just cut the lawn).

The taste of ripe, red strawberries or tart gooseberries warm in the sun might be the taste of her childhood (the way I remember the taste of warm peaches from the tree in Poppy's yard).

And the sound of the red winged black bird singing from the cattail groves might be the sound of her childhood (the way I recall the buzz of cicadas that lulled me to sleep).

10 weeks, 2 days: Updates

• Devyn has started scooting. I put her in one end of her pack and play and sometimes she ends up at the other end—or wherever her head runs into the wall of the cot. She can only scoot backwards by pushing with her legs.
• She's also sleeping through the night by textbook standards, which means six hours at a time. She normally wakes up once per night to eat, and then sleeps another three or four hours before getting up for the day.
• I made my first baby food puree for storage! Devyn will be eating pureed roasted turnips sometime in about six months or so. ;)
• Just about two weeks until I taker her on her first airplane ride. I'm a little nervous she's going to scream the whole way, but what are you going to do? Babies cry. It happens.
• Brandon is the best dad and husband ever. I had a rough day last week, and when he got home, he took one look at me and said, "Why don't I take the baby and you go somewhere for an hour?" I took him up on it and it really did help. He's incredibly thoughtful and such a great babysitter, to boot!