So, it's 6 am and I am awake feeding Vivi. I would love to be doing a better job at blogging about this time, but it seems close to impossible. Vivi is kind of a fussy baby for the past couple of weeks. All day long she wants to be held. I try not to get very stressed about it because she is only this little once. But it makes it extremely hard to get things done. I have a constant list of things that I need to do, the most important being spend time alone with Marley, and I seems that Vivi doesn't want to let any of that happen without her. Of course, that comes with some very serious Mommy Guilt. Marley and Vivi are both asking for my attention and one always seems to be disappointed. Hopefully that will all get evened out soon because right now it is very overwhelming!
But with her fussy days also comes her ability to sleep extremely well at night! For the past week she has been sleeping from about 11 pm until 5 or 6 am! I am very thankful for that! She smiled for the first time last Monday. I was holding her on my lap and she just looked over and showed me her adorable gummy smile! I still remember Marley's first smile 2 years and 11 months ago. Baby smiles are the best! Vivi is also spending more and more time awake. Most of it lately has been spent fussing, but she also loves to look outside and I can occasionally get her to relax and focus on me long enough to talk to her. She seems to want to be vertical all the time, so that doesn't really let me get a lot of face time with her.
Marley is still doing great with her. She loves her to pieces and asks me all day long if she can kiss her. She is such a sweet big sister. She is also reaching a very stubborn and willful stage. She doesn't want to do much of anything that isn't her idea. The time outs seem to be getting more frequent and my stress level is getting a little higher. When I put her to bed for nap or bed time, she spends at least an hour (sometimes two) playing and making a mess in the bedroom. She reads to herself, puts bandaids on things, goes through my drawers... Whatever she can think of! She does eventually fall asleep, but she sure fights it! It's hard to reach this stage right as we have a new baby because I worry about if it has to do with Vivi or if it would have happened anyway. She loves her sister, but I'm sure there are times when she wishes she were the only little girl around.
Marley amazes me every day with the way she talks and the things she learns. She is just like a sponge and soaks up everything she hears and sees. She understands so many things also. Is she hears mentell a story or hears something on the radio, she is listening and understand what is being said! So, Asa will have to start watching what he says when he gets back! She loved to help with eveything. She says "I can help you with that! I'm a good stirrer!" She loves to have a job!
Three seems like a much bigger number than two. I cannot believe she is officially three today. I put her to bed last night and she did her normal delaying bedtime routine. When I finally came to bed, I found her laying on a pallet that she had made right next to my bed. And a few hours ago she snuck into bed with Vivi and I.
She told me the other day that she will always be my baby. I am holding on for dear life to all the things that remind of baby Marley. We have our morning cuddle time in bed, and her need to be rocked at night. The way she says "lellow" and "mo-ee". The way she stands at my feet with her arms up saying, "Can you hold me?" it all breaks my heart a little bit. I remember when Asa and I brought her home from the hospital. And now three years later, here we are. She is so much more than I could have ever imagined.
Happy three years, baby girl!
