You met your Aunt Michelle!

it was her birthday on friday, and she came to arkansas to celebrate! she was very excited to meet you and to see how big sam is getting.

here's a picture with her in an outfit she bought you. and speaking of stuff she bought you, you finally are big enough to try out the bumbo! you love it.

love, mom

you are twelve weeks old!

today you are twelve weeks old! this past week when we went places, strangers offered to take you home with them, trade merchandise in their store for you, or "buy you by the pound." we didn't let them!

you are making a funny squealing sound that might be a prelude to a laugh, and you are full of smiles for pretty much everyone. you also decided that you want a pacifier now, after a couple months of absolutely hating one.

yesterday was the first day of the new year in China, and it is now the year of the boar. you were born in the year of the dog. sam and mommy were born in the year of the sheep, and daddy was born in the year of the ox. it will be interesting to see whether you grow up to be a secret agent or a businesswoman.

love, mom

mom finally finished your hat.

i guess one upside to this winter dragging on forever is that you might get a chance to wear the hat i finally finished for you. well, i planned to put ribbons on the sides, but i think it looks better plain. too bad i didn't figure that out 3 weeks ago!
wouldn't you know, it's supposed to be in the 50s and 60s all next week.

anyway, you look fabulous in it!

love, mom

happy valentines day!

this is your first valentines day!

your mom and dad and sam love you very very very much.

love, mom

you are eleven weeks old!

happy 11 weeks birthday!

you love things with black and white patterns on them. you talk to and smile at the paper with them on it next to the changing table at the church nursery. so we made one and taped it to your swing. this makes you enjoy the swing more (sometimes), so that's good all around!

you watch us eating, with a great deal of interest. you even cried when britney said you couldn't eat her chicken sandwich. we're still planning to wait another month or so for solids, but if you keep up your keen interest in our mealtimes, we might need to rethink that. still, oatmeal cereal probably won't taste as good as chicken sandwich, so hopefully your hopes aren't up too high!

here is a picture of you looking like a fabulous 11 week old!

love, mom

here you are looking like your daddy again.

what do you think of this one?

love, mom

you are ten weeks old!

i know i say this every week, but time is really flying!

you are more and more alert and talkative all the time. we love to just stare at you and say "goo!" and "hi!" a lot. i'm sure you're wondering if we know any other words than that.

this week you went to your first super bowl party. the bears didn't win, but we were glad that at least they made it there. you're not real interested in football yet, but that's okay. mommy and daddy and sam aren't really either.

also this week, the groundhog saw his shadow. this is very exciting, if it actually does mean that spring is around the corner.

here is a picture of you as a 10 week old little girl! those cheeks are good for kissing. and your shirt matches your eyes. very pretty!

love, mom