Delaney Emerson Lee

Little Bugs

Silly Bug.

Snuggle Bug.

BFFs

Santa stuffed "Sophie" into Delaney's stocking...

and she's become Delaney's bestie!

Her face lights up when she hears Sophie squeak.

As soon as she is given Sophie,

she's busy gumming her legs and licking her face.

She loves her Sophie!

4 months

It's a little hard to believe that this

sweet, little face is already 4 months old!

Delaney is in the 55th percentile for her weight.

And is 25 and 3/4 inches long - the 94th percentile.

Both girls were bored while we were waiting

to see the nurse practitioner for Delaney's check up.

At 4 months old

Delaney is...

A happy, smiley, giggly, cooing & loved little girl!

Likes to be held facing out.

Coos and "talks" all the time.

Loves to have her diaper changed.

Absolutely LOVES "Tubby time"!

Her face lights up when she sees us.

Loves her Sophie Giraffe teether.

Likes her swing & Bumbo seat.

Belly giggles when tickled under her chin and arms.

Likes to fall asleep with her Night Night by her face.

Is a good napper and falls asleep easily on her own.

We wonder if she'll be a finger or thumb sucker.

Holds her head up well; a little wobbly sometimes.

Likes to watch Gracie and smiles at her every time.

Has the cutest little pouty lower lip when upset.

Kinda likes a binkie but is not attached to it.

Is pretty good in her car seat but reaches her limit.

Sorta likes tummy time for short periods.

Hates to burp.

Doesn't want to take a bottle.

Does not like the cold or wind.

Isn't a fan of being strapped into her car seat.

Definitely hates loud voices or when G screams.

Not sleeping through the night (up every 2-3 hours).

Wears 3-6 or 6 month size clothes & a size 2 diaper.

I'm not sure how it's possible but

we fall more in love with her each day!

WW II Memorial

My parents came up for a 2nd Christmas and to spend New Year's Eve with us! I'm so grateful that they made the trip...they spoiled both girls with their love and lots of gifts! Unfortunately, they forgot to bring a few storage bins to help me store and rotate older toys. I'm totally kidding; I appreciate their generosity more than they will ever know!

On New Year's Eve Day - me, my parents, and D ventured into The District with my new GPS - a Garmin Nuvi 1450 LMT (Lifetime Maps & Traffic). If you're in the market for one, it's awesome. Thanks Mom & Dad...I absolutely love it!

It was a great day to go into the city. It wasn't too crowded and the weather was in the 50s. I wish we would have started earlier so we could have seen a few more things. It so wonderful living here - there's so much you can see and do.

We went into DC to sightsee some of the monuments from my car and to walk around the World War 2 Memorial. It was a humbling experience to say the least. It reminded me of the sacrifices that service men and women, and their families, make everyday in order for the rest of us to be protected and free.

My Grandpa Jack, my mom's dad, served in WWII; he was in Europe for most of The War (Grandma - please correct me if I'm wrong) and then was about to go to the Pacific when the War ended. My mom said he didn't talk about The War much; but he did share a funny story. It certainly wasn't funny at the time, but after the fact (and the movie "Forrest Gump")...we can laugh about it now. He had a Forrest "something jumped up and bit me...right in the buttocks" moment... when he ventured out into the woods to answer nature's call and was targeted by a sniper...thank goodness that sniper wasn't a good shot!

I loved my Grandpa Jack and I miss him so much! If one of our girls would have been a boy - we would have named him - Jackson "Jack" Marshall - Jack, obviously after my Grandpa and Marshall was Todd's maternal Grandfather's middle name. Maybe we'll have a 3rd child...but don't hold your breath because the terrible 3s are hitting our house at the moment, both of our hands are full with our work/life balance, and our bank account isn't growing - kids are alot of work and really expensive but worth every minute and penny we have...so as for now we are a happy family of just 4 plus Tucker!

Back to the memorial...

Since I grew up as a military child and my grandfather served in The War, I have always had respect and admiration for the military; as a grown woman, I am so very proud of my Grandpa Jack and my Marine Corps Father, the work they did, and selfless service they provided to our country. I cherish my freedom and the am forever grateful to both of them and all service men and women past, present, and future!

The World War II Memorial is beautifully situated between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial.

I love my Dad & The Marines!

Semper Fidelis! Ooh Rah!

Christmas 2010

As usual...and as you well know, I'm behind on my posts! Hopefully this really long post and photo montage will bring you up-to-date; that is...if you want to read it all and watch our holiday packed into an almost 9 minute photo slideshow! I'm forewarning you, it's a long one. There are just too many cute pictures that I wanted to include for the grandparents and for when I want to I go back years from now to remember Delaney's 1st Christmas and Gracie really enjoying the magic of the season!

Christmas Week in Review:

• Todd was off work for over 2 weeks! YAY for him and us!
• Katie, Todd's younger sister, flew in from Portland, Oregon. We all metro'ed to Reagan National Airport to pick her up.
• We had some friends over for dinner.
• We got our family room furniture and we ABSOLUTELY LOVE it. Thanks to Jimmy and Miles Talbott Furniture - for making our beautiful and really comfortable couch, chairs and ottoman! We got Shabby Chic designed pieces -the Comfy Sofa upholstered in Sunbrella Trax Wrenn and Dover Chairs upholstered in Sunbrella Wolcott Beige.
• Went to 3 doctors' appointments. One with our dermatologist - a follow-up for Gracie's atopic dermatitis (eczema) and a skin check for Todd & me. Second appt was for me with our family practice. I was pretty sick (and still have the tail end of a self-diagnosed sinus infection). Third visit was for Delaney with the pediatrician, to check her ears (which were fine) because she had the sniffles too.
• I really stressed about getting last minute shopping done and worried about all the Christmas details. I wanted everything to be perfect and I really wanted to start establishing Christmas traditions with Gracie this year. Ugh, but WHY did it have to be so stressful? Was it just me? Or is it because I have 2 small children and was sick? Please, tell me I'm not the only one that was stressed this holiday!
• Todd and I went over to our neighbors for games and cocktails...that was so fun and definitely needed. Our neighbors are wonderful!
• We stood in line for over 90 minutes on Christmas Eve morning to have our family picture with Santa - nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh!!! In my defense, we tried a few days before but the line closed at 4:30 because Santa went on break from 5 to 6 pm. Really? I really wanted to have Delaney's 1st picture with Santa on her 1st Christmas...so "we" stood in line, really it was just me & D, while Todd entertained Gracie in Pottery Barn Kids and LL Bean! But note to self - NEVER again will we wait until Dec. 24th to see Santa. The girls did really well during the long wait and we got a cute picture.
• We all enjoyed a new tradition of building and decorating a gingerbread house on Christmas Eve day. Next year I'd like to eat the house after Christmas Eve dinner for dessert.
• We made sugar cookies and I definitely need to thank Katie for cookie cutting and icing over a 100 of them all. They were delicious!
• We loved watching Gracie "make" her reindeer food! A mixture of sunflower seeds, cheerios, and green/red/white cookie sprinkles! She was totally focused for 30 minutes whipping up that yummy batch for Rudolf and his friends!
• Gracie wasn't ready for Polar Express this year. She watched the first 15 minutes or so. Maybe next year...Todd and I love that movie!
• We opened Christmas Eve Pajammies...which Gracie still doesn't want to wear - oh well!
• We were more than spoiled with all the wonderful gifts! Gracie was a little overwhelmed with all the gifts but once all the wrapping paper settled, she was asking for more!
• We had a BIG Christmas Day Buffet - invited our friends and neighbors over. Lots of yummy food! We made too much and ate it for days!
• Gracie loves all her toys and has been sweet enough to play with Delaney's too since she says, "she's too little".
• Delaney is so precious and happy....her smile melts my heart and we love her so much.
• I saw the WWII Memorial with my parents and Delaney. Todd and Gracie played at home.
• We had filet and lobster tail for New Year's Eve dinner - thanks Dad!
• A quiet New Year's - asleep before the ball dropped. Life certainly has changed but I wouldn't change it for anything.
• We really enjoyed spending time with our families. A big thank you to Todd's family and my parents for traveling to see us so that we could enjoy the holidays at HOME with our girls!

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas with the ones you love and I wish you all the best in 2011!

New this week:

I've finally decided that Delaney doesn't know how to self-soothe during the night and is unable to fall back asleep on her own. I've rushed in for every fuss or cry to feed her assuming she was hungry and to keep her from waking Gracie and Todd...so naturally she's become dependent on nursing to fall back to sleep - just like I did with Gracie when she was a baby.

So...I've made the difficult decision to start letting Delaney work it out on her own. Notice I didn't say "cry it out"; although that's exactly what she'll have to do. Todd and I hate hearing her cry but we ALL need a good nights sleep so it has to happen.

I guess you can say we've started Boot Camp for the girls this week - working on Delaney's sleeping/self-soothing and no more binkie for Gracie...fun times around here! Wish us luck and any advice or suggestions are appreciated! I'll keep you posted on our progress.