Alexandra is 3 months old!

Dear Alexandra-

Today, my sweet girl, you are 3 months old!

I'm sure I'm going to say this every month, but I can't believe that you have been on this earth for 3 months! And they have been three such sweet and wonderful months too!!

I am loving being a Mommy! Taking care and nurturing you is truly my calling in life, and I am so proud to be your Mama!

This month you have discovered so many things and it has been amazing to watch you learn and see the world! I love showing you new things, reading to you, talking to you, and looking into your beautiful eyes! Just as I am showing you things, you too are teaching me even more important things-patience, humility, peace, to slow down. You have given me so many gifts already in just three short months and I only hope that I can give you as many in your lifetime!

You are definitely a mommy's girl right now and often have your "fussy time" right when Daddy gets home. He is getting better and better are calming you down, though, which is a big help to mommy and sometimes a needed break to have a few minutes to myself. But after a few minutes of silence and time to clear my thoughts, I miss you and want you back! It's hard being away from you for more than a few minutes!

You are getting more coordinated. During tummy time this week you grabbed the monkey from you gym that I took off the beams and lay next to you. You grabbed it and held on as you moved him around. I don't think you intentionally reached for it, but it was the first time I'd seen you pick something up! You also reached for the tag on your car seat that was sitting next to you and felt it for a few seconds! You are very interested in the animals in your gym, and I have fun telling you about each one and helping you touch them! You also like it when the elephant kisses you, or I make the squeaky sound on the gym-it always gets a smile!

Your fingers are in your mouth all the time and you have started blowing bubbles and drooling! It's very cute, though the front of your outfit gets wet and I get worried that you will get cold! If putting your fingers in your mouth is one of the ways you learn, then you are definitely learning a lot! You also suck on your fingers which is a self soother for you!

When your fingers aren't in your mouth, I've been trying to get you to take a pacifier. The Nuk seems to fit your mouth best (we learned this when trying out different bottles) and when you want to suck, you sometimes like the pacifier. You are still not taking a bottle, but we are continuing to try! The other day, you took a 1/2 ounce. You still seem to have trouble with what to do with the nipple and haven't started sucking yet, but you do put it in your mouth and s compress the nipple. I think the flow might be too fast for you and you don't know what to do with it because of that! We'll keep trying though! I'm trying to pump more often and am building a frozen milk supply for your bottles when you eventually take them!

You are now just over 13 lbs-I had you weighed at Milkilicious last Wednesday when we went to see how much you eat in a feeding. We'll go again this week and see if you take the same amount (5 oz!!) again! You have a healthy appetite!

I was just saying to your Daddy how fun you are getting! At first I just wanted you to stay small and newborn, but I'm seeing now how exciting it is as you discover the world and grow! You smile and sometimes even giggle often! Making eye contact makes you happy and you often have a smile for those who look at you which always charms them! Your smiles are big and so full of joy and it's clear that you are elated to be engaged! Once you lock eyes with someone, especially me, you can keep that eye contact for minutes on end without breaking it!

Everyone who sees you always comments on how beautiful you are! I love just looking at you because they are right! Lots of babies are cute, but you are beautiful! I could stare at your for hours!

I can't wait to see what this month brings, my little one! If it's anything like these first three, I know it will be amazing!

I love you!

Mama!