Week 7

Wow! Where has 7 weeks gone? Each week seems to pass faster than the one before and this is most definitely no exception. As Susannah grows and we learn and adjust, we are slowly settling back into a "normal" life. We now manage to eat dinner together most nights and even took time to enjoy one of our favorite meals, raclette, over the weekend. Susannah liked watching us cook at the table. (By liked I mean she found it so boring she fell fast asleep.)



She is also getting better and better at sitting up on her own. (with a little help from some pillows of course)
She still starts to lean after a little while though....

So her preference is still Daddy's knee.....

While she still sleeps in her pack n play in our room at night, she LOVES to lay in her crib and watch her mobile. She will lay like this for 30 minutes or more sometimes, which Mommy loves because she can get things done around the apartment. And I don't even need a monitor because Susannah is "talking" so much lately, I can hear her coos and know she is still having a great time!

We know she is growing like a weed from her clothes, but also because she is always stretching like this.

One necessity for happy crib time, though, is this little doll that one of Peter's friends gave to her. It plays a sweet little song and Susannah loves it. It almost always makes her settle down if she is fussy.


When I'm getting dressed in the morning, Susannah does NOT like to be in her pack n play. (I think she knows this means sleep and she is usually wide eyed and ready to go in the morning.) So lately she has been hanging out on Mommy and Daddy's bed while I get ready. She loves it. It must make her feel like a big girl. :)



We did some other fun things this week like our first play group and a fun Spanish tapas lunch at our friend Zahira's apartment, but Mommy dropped the ball and forgot the camera both times. We will try to remember to take some pictures this weekend though, as we are (gasp) taking our first overnight road trip to Belgium so Peter can conduct an interview as part of his thesis research. We are staying with some old friends and hoping to meet up with the Olmsted couple who live in Brussels. We are praying for a smooth nap-filled drive.

Some more firsts........

The days seem to be flying by and with each one, Susannah is learning and doing new things. In the past two weeks she has had several more firsts.........

1. First jogging suit. Here in France, these are called "joggings." We decided Susannah should wear her "jogging" when we went on a Sunday morning family run.




2. First piano lesson. Unfortunately for Susannah, Daddy's song list is limited to two: "Piano Man" and the song that the dentist plays in "The Hangover."

Notice she seems to be trying to escape........


3. First Canadian and Spanish visitor. Mommy's friends Heather and Zahira were very happy to meet me.



4. First sunny afternoon out on the town. I even let Mommy and Daddy eat lunch together in a restaurant while I napped.
I was happy to get a good healthy dose of Vitamin D from the sunshine:

5. First time to wear jeans:


6. First time to grab for a toy. My big girl jeans made me feel up to a new developmental skill: grabbing for the toys on my bouncer.


7.First nap on Mommy's chest.

Unfortunately for me, mommy was sweaty from a run, but I didn't mind too much.


8.First dance moves.

I love to dance and lately whenever I hear music I start kicking my legs and flailing my arms in time to the song.


9.First smile. I'm doing this more and more often and my mommy and daddy are quite the suckers for this.



10. I am also growing chubbier by the day, my cheeks especially:
Mommy and Daddy are always squeezing them.....


11. After my daily tummy time workouts, I'm also developing some pretty strong neck muscles. I can hold up my head really well now. My favorite tummy time is on Daddy's chest:

Until next week.......

Week 5

Things here chez Mallory are going well. Everyday is a new adventure but we are starting to be on a pretty reliable schedule and the adults are finally starting to feel more like real people and less like zombie versions of their prior selves. The ice and snow finally melted (with a little help from these firemen who knocked the dangerously large life threatening icicles off the roof of the buildings on our street.

This may be a typical practice in Northern climates, but as Southerners, we were intrigued by the idea that the firefighters were here to rescue us from icicles. We had to take some photos.....


Melted snow meant that I no longer had an excuse to put off my first run. Luckily, it hasn't been too hard to get back into it. Especially since my newest running partner is such a trooper. She loves to ride in the jogger and sleeps the entire time.


Susannah is sleeping really well. Last night was our first 8 hour night! Mommy was so happy when she woke and looked at her watch and it said 5:30! With a little help from bathtime and storytime with Daddy, she is becoming quite the sleeper.

She loves to hang out in Mommy and Daddy's bed for a little while before bed.


Naptimes are getting easier too as we no longer have to rock her to sleep every time. This is all thanks to one of the best gifts I have ever received.......the frog bouncer. Susannah doesn't like her swing very much, but when this thing arrived in the mail last week, our lives were instantly changed. She loves this thing and is asleep within five minutes everytime she is in it. Thanks Casey!!!

Yep, you are seeing this correctly......when she falls asleep in it, instead of risking waking her, we just tranfer the entire bouncer into her crib. Peter has even discovered an even deeper magic of this thing. When she wakes and starts to be fussy, she moves which makes her start bouncing, which puts her back to sleep. Who knew that a frog could be such a game changer???


Susannah is also more understanding about the ridiculous photo shoots that her mommy subjects her to on a regular basis. This time she didn't even complain about the hat..... usually she is not a fan of hats.

I think she must have understood that the hat paired with these adorable booties made it a truly irrestible photo op for her mommy. :

And here we are in pre-church photo shoot #2. This time we actually didn't make it to church at all.........the cute dress was as far as we made it before we had our first major spitting up episode that was followed by some major fussiness. I think I must have eaten something that she wasn't a fan of. The pictures were still adorable even if she only wore the outfit for a few minutes........


The frog bouncer and jogging stroller aren't the only mommy tools that I am already swearing by after only 5 weeks of being a mother. This baby bjorn is another game changer........ If she wants to be held, I can stlll be productive while keeping her happy at the same time. Here we are unloading some groceries.


All in all, I would call week 5 another fun and amazing week. But, who are we kidding, how can life not be fun when it includes this precious face????

1 month old already??!!

Today, Susannah, you are one month old!



It seems like yesterday that we were coming home from the hospital. You are changing so much everyday; learning and doing new things is a daily occurance. For example, at age one month, you have already:

1. Played on your playmat.......you look at the toys and really like the music it plays.



2. Sat up in your bumbo chair.....sometimes you like it:

sometimes you are only slightly irritated:

and sometimes you HATE it:

3. You have had your first bottle:

4. And you love having story or singing time with Daddy before bed:

5. You also went to church for the first time. Here you are in your adorable church dress:


You liked wearing your dress for part of the day:


And you did great all through the worship part of the church service, but soon after the sermon started, your attitude changed to this:

(Daddy said you were a true "southern Baptist", trying to beat the lunch crowd even though it unfortunately meant leaving the sermon early)

But as soon as Mommy picked you up and we went home,

you were ready to praise the Lord again:

6. You also went to your first New Year's lunch. For the occasion, you wore the cute outfit that your Great Grandmama gave you. You looked so pretty!



The lunch was at the home of our good friends from church, Evodia and Phillippe and we all had a wonderful time.



Evodia is from Greece and you love it when she holds you and speaks Greek with you.

Thank you Susannah for the best (and most challenging) month of our lives! We love you so much and we can't wait to see all that you will do in month #2! Happy Birthday!