Chris and Kelly at home in Arizona!: Back to Work and Missing Bella!

Today marks the end of my first week back to work. It was bittersweet. While I enjoyed getting out of the house a bit more than most days and I enjoyed getting back into the swing of things at the office, I also miss my morning naps with Bella and the slower pace I once enjoyed after her morning feeds.

Her mornings now consist of me or daddy waking her up (or getting her up if already crying!), me feeding her, Daddy changing and dressing her with the outfit mommy picked out the night before, and daddy taking her to the sitter's home while mommy then has time to get ready and get out the door for work too. It's amazing how fast these mornings go now! I'm happy to report, though, that we did survive the first week! Bella made the transition well to the sitter's and Chris and I are learning how to manage everything at home with me back to work full time.

Although I am home in the afternoons with Bella, I am still on the clock, so Bella gets lots of lap time, tummy time, swing time, nap time, and papasan chair time while I put in my 4 hours each afternoon. Aside from getting up for an occasional diaper change, Bella and I have already found our routine and she seems to not mind sitting on my lap at times with my arms and fingers rapidly typing away at the e-mails! I also received several slings as gifts, so this makes holding Bella hands free much easier! Aside from when mommy tries to "eject" her from the sling, Bella appears to enjoy being snuggled up and carried around while she snoozes and I certainly don't mind looking down from the computer screen every now and again to see her content little sleeping glow!

One of her many slings!

Another favorite sling that she enjoyed at the AZ State Fair!

What's new with Bella: Well, she is almost 13 weeks old! Time has FLOWN by! She is smiling up a storm (started around 9 weeks, but does it all the time now!). For the past 2 weeks she has really been trying to laugh, but it ends up sounding more like a cough and then it scares her when the robust little noise comes out. I have no doubt she'll be letting the little giggles out on a more regular basis soon! It's so fun to actually get something besides a dead stare back from her when we talk to her! She has started to make coos and various noises at herself...not a ton, but some! She LOVES to blow bubbles, though. Let the drowling begin!

Bella still has yet to roll over on her own, but she does like to do it now with a little assistance! We give her plenty of tummy time and mat time, but we'll let her roll on her own when she is ready! For now we'll enjoy the little bobble head she has become at times! She does have a great little grip with her hands! She doesn't really grab at the dangling toys yet, but when we put them in her grip, she hangs on tight for quite awhile!

Bella is still sleeping through the night, minus a few nights of transition when we got back from Ohio. She still takes several naps, but is very alert for longer periods of time and enjoys sucking her thumb often. This is a little video of her starting to fall asleep. She was dreaming of something funny!

In the past few weeks, Bella has gotten to meet her Grandma and Grandpa Shondelmyer, her cousin Travis, Uncle Dave and Andrew, Aunt Steph, and Pawpaw Warner for the first times. She has also been introduced to some of mom and dad's friends and others that love her dearly! I took her to Ohio for a week and she really enjoyed being with her new cousins! They enjoyed her too! Travis loved kissing her head all the time and Hailey liked dressing up in the same attire! So they aren't twins, but 6 months apart is still pretty fun to dress alike when close cousins!

Slumber party with Aunt Steph while Mommy went to Football game.

Dressed in our Sunday Best!

Nice, Cool Autumn Picture with Mam'ma and Cousins

While in Ohio, it was Cousin Travis' 4th Birthday. Hailey and I dressed in Brown and pink to celebrate the occassion!

Nap time with Pawpaw. This quickly became a evening ritual.

Bella did awesome on the flights to Ohio. She barely made a peep. She didn't like her ears popping on the landings, but only gave a muttled fuss from behind her pacifer just briefly. Changing her on the flight was quite interesting on the plane that had no pull out changing table, but other than that...she received raving reviews from nearby passengers and flight attendents!

Bella did not have a 3 month doctors appointment, so we are not sure what she is up to as far as weight, but many people comment on her length. At the 2 month visit she was in the 50% percentile, but apparently most think she is very long and tall for a baby. I have noticed her growing out of some of her clothes faster these days! Chris and I still think its quite a mystery as to where her height is coming from, though! As you know, both of us are vertically challenged!

Daddy is still loving his time with his little princess and mommy goes crazy with the video camera and photos! Here are a few of her favorites that didn't fall into a category above! ENJOY!

Catching a quick nap with Daddy