silly sisters.

hey, it's me, cotton.  i haven't had mom help me write a blog post lately so i begged her and she said yes!  i am still not sure about that thing they brought home about 4 months ago.  they call her mary.  she spends a lot of time with mom and some with dad.  but we still get attention and food so we try not to complain.  barley still sleeps a lot and so do i but sometimes i really like to play.

barley was sleeping the other day but mary was playing in the floor with mom and it was so cute- she kept watching me and turned herself around so she could see me.  so i gave her a show!

see how she was turned around to watch me?  i thought maybe she might want to play with me, too, so i brought her my toy to see if she would throw it for me the way mom does.

mom told me "no" and that mary wasn't big enough to play with me yet so i gave in and decided to just lay next to her.  i mean, after all, she was really watching me so i thought i'd make it even better by laying next to her.  then i was up close and personal.  

i like to give mary kisses on her face, hands, and feet.  barley will sometimes kiss her cheek or toes.  we both like her "okay" i guess.  mom and dad keep saying we'll love her when she is big enough to eat and drop food on the floor.  i guess we'll have to wait and see.  but she's okay for now.  

4 months.

Dear Mary,

You are now 4 months old and you continue to grow and change daily!  We often find you chewing on your fingers.  We still haven't seen any teeth yet but there are other signs that they may be coming sooner than later.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.  You seem to always be doing something new.

You can still roll from your tummy to your back but you haven't figured out that you can do it all the time.  You have rolled from your back to your belly once although you did get stuck on your bottom arm.  You have learned that you can throw your legs and hips around and by doing so you can turn yourself in whatever direction you want to face when you are lying on your back.  

You are still a fairly happy and smiley girl.  You have such a sweet personality and you continue to share your smiles with most people that you meet.  I think it will help you with stranger anxiety by living in the community that we live in because you will always be around lots of people.  And a lot of these people adore you!  

We finally moved you into size 2 diapers and hopefully we'll be in them for awhile.  You are starting to fill out your 6 month clothes although they are still too big.  We have a hard time keeping socks on your feet.  You have learned that you can rub your feet together and will do this until your socks come off.  I can't blame you, though- I hate wearing socks too.  We moved you into your room and crib a few weeks ago and you are doing great sleeping in there.  You seem to even sleep a little better in there than  the bassinet.  We still swaddle you at night, which you love, and you will generally sleep between 8-9 hours each night.  

Your hair is still a medium brown and seems to be getting thicker on your sweet round head.  Your fingernails are always sharp no matter how many times a day I cut them or cut and file them or just file them.  You also like to rub those sweet eyes so you always have a few scratches on your face.  

You remain a constant source of joy and I cannot believe I am writing your 4 month post.  Time is going by way too quickly!

Love,

Mama

traditions.

the bassinet mary slept in from her first night home until 2 weeks ago is not new.  it's been in the dennis family for over 60 years.  it's had many fresh coats of paint and has cradled many many sweet babies- including my dad, mary's "pops."  i love that she was able to use it and sleep in it until she just couldn't quite fit anymore.  she, thankfully, made the transition to her crib easily.  i do miss her being so close to me at night but as you can see below- she was out of room!

first day home... her feet/legs stop in the middle of the bed.

a few days after the transition to her crib... she's stretched out with her feet at the bottom of the bed.

simply Fall.

we have no shortage of falling leaves around here and the ones outside our home were blown into a very nice, large pile last weekend.  i thought it would be fun to hide mary's bumbo and sit her amidst the leaves for some great fall pictures.  little did i know she would be enthralled with the crunchiness of the leaves and so excited that the bumbo was quite visible as she would sweep her arms across the top and move the leaves all about.  she had a blast outside in the leaves!  it is so fun to watch her experience the world.

Absolutely giddy!  We live in such a beautiful place, by the way.

Checking out the leaves by the fistful.

Wondering why I am interrupting her!

So intrigued by the crunching and texture.

"Oh, you just thought you'd "hide" my Bumbo mom.  Here, I moved these leaves for you!"

Finally caught a smile on camera!

meeting the greats, part four.

mary met the greatest photographer i know while we were in tn.  we also happen to be related and i am so thankful that the timing worked out for mary's 3 month pictures.  we'll also be in town for Christmas when it's time for her 6 month pictures.

my cousin, angel pardue, is an amazing photographer in middle tennessee.  i have sung her praises on here before but when you see the pictures below you can surely see why.  she does amazing work and i am so blessed to be related to her.  (you can click angel's name above to follow the link to her website.) below is a little sneak peek of the pictures.  i cannot wait to see the rest!

meeting the greats, part three.

while in tennessee, i got to spend some time with my best friend rachel and her daughter maggie.  i hadn't seen maggie since she was mary's age and she'll be two in december!  we had a great visit catching up and discussing motherhood.  rachel and i have been best friends since kindergarten and it doesn't matter how long we go in between chats- we pick up right where we left off.  i am so lucky to have a few friends whose friendships run this deep.  

mary and "aunt" rachel

maggie (and mary's mimi) checking out elmo's restaurant

maggie meeting mary

mary wanted to be down on maggie's level and intently watched her play.

working on her tummy time

maggie telling us "bye"

meeting the greats, part two.

mary spent lots of time with her grandparents.  i took my camera when we went to jay's mom's house (she's still not sure what her "grandma" name will be.  for now, we'll call her gigi.)  but i did not get my camera out at their house.  i know.  i'm a bad mom.  they got lots of pics on their phones so i'll have to get them to send me some.

mary also met her great aunt janice and was re-acquainted with her great aunt regina and met her great uncle steve.  she also met her uncle phil for the first time.  she'll get to meet her cousin courtney at Christmas time.  i've been told, however, that courtney loves to watch the videos of mary that i send to mom's phone.

meeting great aunt janice (my mom's oldest sister)

meeting her great uncle steve

chilling out with uncle phil

playing with her great aunt regina (who met her when she was 1 week old)

meeting the greats, part one.

we took a trip to TN last weekend so mary could meet her great-grandparents (my paternal grandparents).  mary has met her great-mamaw stella, but we got to see her too, so it was an extra special trip.  she did great in the car on her first trip.  she did not nap so well when we were there but still slept all night so we can't really complain.  it was so great getting to see everyone.

my grandmother had a stroke in may and her memory is getting worse.  we weren't planning to make a trip to see everyone until Christmas but i really wanted my grandmother to meet mary while she was still aware of what was/is going on.  you'll soon see in the pictures that it was so worth the trip down.

getting some love from great mamaw stella (i had to pretend to be playing with my phone in order to get a picture).

meeting great grandmama and great granddaddy dennis

they were all happy to meet!

pops (my dad) bought her the outfit she was wearing.  it seemed appropriate on all levels! (it says "grandpa adores me.")

my beautiful grandmother with her 5th great grandchild, 2nd great granddaughter.

i love this one with all of our hands.

mary took a little nap after this picture and i know she got heavy but grandmama wouldn't give her up!

i have (quite) a few more pictures to share so that is why i have the trip divided into multiple posts.  these memories were too sweet not to share and make the trip worth every moment.

3 months.

Dear Mary,

You are a little over 3 months old now-  14 1/2 weeks if we are really counting.  You continue to be a sweet baby who has yet to meet a stranger.  You are a smiley, laid-back girl who tends to just go with the flow.  Well, most of the time.

You are still in size 1 diapers but we are really pushing it with them.  I am trying to use the last of the ones we have before we move up a size but your belly and rolls may protest.  I imagine you are at somewhere around 11 1/2 pounds and I know you have grown in length.  You are about to outgrow most of your 3 month clothes.  Some of your onesies still fit but your pants are all too short. Most of the 6 month clothes are too big so you're back to being in between sizes.  

You are doing so many new things now!  You are starting to laugh.  You are "talking" a lot now and practicing different pitches.  You are chewing on your thumb a lot and drooling... we all think you may be teething.  Your daddy got his first tooth at 4 months so it's quite possible.  And you can roll over from your tummy to your back.  

You love to watch and observe things.  You are a nosy girl!  You love to face out when being carried around so you can see what's going on.  I love that you want to know what's going on in the world around you.  I hope you are always curious and that it drives your learning.

You hold your hands together frequently and sometimes it looks like you are praying.  It's precious.  I hope you will love going to church as much as we do when you are older.  Your daddy bought you a book of children's prayers recently to add to your library.  We'll have to start reading all of your books soon.

You are such a precious girl and I love you more every day.  

Love, 

Mama