Go Hokies!

Fiona Smiles 6wks
Originally uploaded by Toasted Salmon.

Well, I've finally gotten our pictures organized and posted those couple of entries I wrote in the few few weeks. It's taken me a while to figure out how to do the mommy thing and still have a little bit of a life, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. And Fiona's starting to get the hang of routines... sometimes.

At six weeks, she's now routinely smiling when she's awake, and she's very alert. She's starting to be much more interactive and I'm finding that I'm a little more able to read her cues. She cries less and tries to use her voice to get what she wants. When we can't figure it out, or are too busy, that's when she lets us have it with those nicely developed lungs :) Also, her grandma sent a bouncy seat that has toys hanging from it for her to play with this week--and she actually grabs for the toys! Already she's getting better at hitting her mark, and she makes the rattle on it shake around. This may not sound amazing to you, but I'm convinced she's a prodigy :P

Daily life is becoming separated into day and night again. Fiona often sleeps a large portion of the night (except for nursing of course, but we barely have to wake up for that). She and I manage to get out almost every day on some adventure or another. We've been to MOPS, a playgroup down at the beach, the grocery store, Special Beginnings, and the library. We also take walks often and try to spend some time outside when we can. I got a Maya Wrap a week or two ago and I LOVE it! I just snug her up in it and I can get some housework done, or take Cocoa to the beach, or even take a nap if she just wants to be held.

This past weekend the three of us went down to my parents' house for the annual Raiford family reunion. I laughed when I arrived and she was out of my arms before I could get out of the car. There was no lack of love in that place and she slept almost the whole time, even though she was getting jostled and passed around.

We had our first bout with diaper rash this week, and my solution was to keep her nakey-butt, which worked well. The rash was red and angry and spreading yesterday morning, and is completely gone now. Thank goodness for EC--we only went through a couple of diapers and a couple of towels that I kept underneath her throughout the day and the night to catch any messes.

As you can see, we're raising the next generation of Hokies, and she cheered when VT won the game today. Check out the Flickr page for a ton of new photos, and all who have sent us well wishes, please forgive me for not emailing you back for the last several weeks... you can expect one soon if I can continue to make the most of her naps!