'Tis So Sweet: My Little BUTTercup

Friday, March 8, 2013

Russ coined the term "BUTTercup" today when I sent him some of these bloomer pictures! Haha! He's corny like that. And we like him just the way he is. He keeps the conversation lively...and provides tons of inside jokes for my family. Bless him!

Millie Janalee and I had a productive day. She stayed in her pajamas all day, and I never put make-up on or dried my hair. That's the way we roll daily around here. Ha! I was busy catching up on laundry, organizing our taxes for when we meet with our accountant in a couple weeks, and working on a little DIY project in our apartment breezeway. Let's just say that I hope we aren't fined for my spray painting in the breezeway. I couldn't go too far with a baby asleep inside. And we don't have a balcony. So the breezeway it is!

After Millie Janalee's afternoon nap, I thought I better get those yucky pajamas off. But here's the dilemma. It was around 4:00...nearly the end of the day for a baby. I knew she needed a bath. So, do I dirty an entire outfit for the 2-3 hours she would wear it? Absolutely not! Ha! So, we played dress up for a little playtime photography session. Mama got a little funky with the accessories. Hehe!

My mom bought Millie Janalee a set of these "bloom"ers when she was born. We have her One Week picture taken in a pair. I saw the box in the drawer and thought I'd give it a try. We are itching for spring around here! I'm ready to swing Millie Janalee on a swing and go on pretty strolls. It was pretty outside today. But it was COLD! I happened to see these little legwarmers leftover from her Halloween costume. Looked good to me! Maybe not to you?

I left her in the bed to play around. She's gotten to where she really likes playing in her crib. I've never really given her a chance to before. But, now that she sleeps with a little minky dot lovey, she just scoots around and plays in there when she wakes up. I'm thinking there may be many more crib photo sessions in our future. Especially as she tries to grasp this scooting and crawling thing.

No, that is not Farley's toy she is playing with. Although I did let Farley play in her crib with her today. Shhhh! I know it's not the most sanitary thing. We'll just say I'm working on building her immunity. Anyway...this toy was mine when I was a baby. My mom says that the first time she saw me push up with my arms I was staring at this little toy in my bed. Millie Janalee loves this little guy. I say "guy" because I'm not exactly sure what he is. A bear? A dog? A mouse? Who knows.

It was so funny watching her reach as far as she could trying to reach our little orange man. She isn't real good at scooting the direction she's aiming. She usually ends up scooting backwards or falling on her side. But she works SO hard and grunts and squeaks and whines the whole time. I pretty much just sit there laughing and cheering her on.

We aren't crawling quite yet. And, to be honest, the closest she ever gets is when she's in her crib. Maybe the mattress is what she prefers. When she wakes up...and lots of times at night...she pulls her little knees up under her to sleep. If she pushes with her little legs, her booty goes up in the air. That's as far as it goes. She falls to one side or the other after that. When Millie Janalee wakes up from her naps, she usually lifts her head and smiles at me. Then slams it back down on the bed and pulls her knees under her. Then she straightens her legs and lifts her head up to smile at me. Then slams it back down and pulls her knees under her. This cycle repeats a few times before I ask her if she wants Mama. I put my hands out when I say "Mama" and she puts one hand out to me. It's our fun little ritual I guess.

Sweet BUTTercup!

"I think I can."

"Well, at least I've got the position down."

After a while, Little Miss Thing gets a bit impatient with her inability to move in the desired direction. Her face scrunches up rarely. Honestly, she is not a big crier. So, although I hate to see her cry, her face is just priceless! And, what does this loving Mama do when her baby starts crying? Take a picture of course!

"MA-MA! I'm tired of crawling practice!"

Her little pouty position

Aaaaannnd we recover just like that! 3.5 seconds of crying. Ha!

We don't smile right away though...

Unless Mama starts making faces and talking jibberish, Millie Janalee isn't smiling immediately. I'm sure she has her pride to think about after such a little mini show. Ha! I've started trying to let her know when something is not a good habit. I know. I'm a dork. But, she seems to have started understanding my look or my tone. It may be because she's trying to figure out what in the world I'm trying to do. In fact, she's probably laughing on the inside. So anyway...if I know she's not crying because of pain or sadness, I don't pick her up immediately. I wait until she's calmed down and back to her little smiley self. Which never takes too long.