elsie: 1 month

I posted one of these pictures on Instagram and wrote "We kept her alive for one month!" and I guess there was confusion and people thought that she was no longer alive. But she is--don't worry--and she's getting bigger everyday!

So most parents will write down milestones, personality traits, habits, etc of their kids when they make a post like this. I feel like I don't have to much to report, she is just kind of a baby right now. Maybe I'm not intuitive enough to sense her personality. But, I will try to note some things I will want to remember.

Elsie

1 month

--She is starting to make noises that sound more like "cooing" and baby babble, which is exciting! I told that to Aaron and he was confused at why they call it "cooing".

--Other noises she makes have been compared to: dolphins, goats, horses, pterodactyls, and a balloon letting out a little air.

--I swear I have gotten some real, social smiles out of her, and they are dang cute.

--She laughs in her sleep.

--She gets the hiccups... a lot. Even in her sleep.

--She has a new habit of only sleeping well if swaddled. But when she's swaddled, she does sleep pretty well! I am only waking up about two times in the night to feed her, and one of those times she is usually falling asleep as the sun is rising and I feel like I should be getting up anyways since it's light out.

--Sadly, this swaddling habit means she is not as good anymore at falling asleep on my chest. Only in the most perfect of circumstances does that happen. It is a rare gem.

--She has started to love laying on her back on the floor. I call it "playing" on her back, but Aaron doesn't believe it is playing. He says it is "observing"--which is probably mostly true. There is a lot of learning happening. Sometimes she seems to be having so much fun looking around and kicking her legs, though, it seems like playing to me!

--She is starting to out grow her newborn sized clothes! As I realized that, I suddenly felt an urgency to dress her in all her next-size-up clothes, because they are so many and so cute and who knows how much time there will be until she out grows those too! (Though I still think it's silly to dress her up because she just spits up on herself and sleeps most of the day)

--Nicknames: Elsie Bean, Elsie Bell, Elsie Belsie, Elsie Love, Elsie Pie, Elsie Bug, My Little Bean, My Little Bug. The "Bug" variations have kind of worn off, but that was a common one when she was small and curled up to sleep on my chest more often...just like a bug?