Marleigh Jo -- 3 Months!

I cannot believe our little girl is already 3 months old! Where oh where has the time gone? Our little miss Marleigh is such a joy, and we find new reasons to love her every minute! This month has been a big one for her, and we're noticing so many changes in her daily. I love watching her grow big and strong, and watching her learn is one of the most rewarding things I have ever experienced!

At three months, Marleigh is talking up a storm. She tells us so many wonderful little stories, and greets us every morning with big gummy smiles! She is such a happy baby! She fights nap times during the day quite a bit, but she's sleeping really well at night – down at around 7:30, up for her last bottle of the day (up to 4oz. now!) at around 9:30, asleep by 10/10:30, and she usually doesn't wake up again until around 5:15, give or take.

She has started really interacting with her "friends" (aka her toys), and she loves her kick and play play mat with the built-in piano! She plays us many-a-tunes on it, likes to stare up at herself and talk, and grab "Mr. Elephant" and "Mr. Frog" (I'm clearly really creative when it comes to naming toys). 

This past week, we tried out her exer-saucer, and she loved it! She's not quite tall enough to reach the bottom and bounce yet, so we put a pillow underneath her feet, and she spent a good 10 minutes playing all by herself! She's starting to be more content without constantly needing attention, which is nice for when we have to cook dinner, take showers, or clean the house! She has no problem, however, letting us know when she's bored or tired of being alone – and she'll cry hard until she sees one of us coming to pick her up, at which point she will look up at us and smirk. Little stinker! 

Her head control has been so good since day 1, but she's getting extra strong lately – starting to try to prop herself up and sit up when we hold her in our arms, and hanging out in her Bumbo like a big girl! She's also starting to get really good with her hand/eye coordination – grabbing at her bottle and her toys and bringing everything she possibly can to her mouth!

Speaking of bringing things to her mouth, she has been acting like she is teething lately, which is pretty insane at only 3 months old. She's always gnawing on her little hands, drooling a ton, and every once in a while, she'll get super fussy for no reason. Poor girl! I'm hoping that if she is teething, her teeth will come relatively quick so that she doesn't have to deal with sore gummies for very long!

In the clothes department, she's now pretty much officially grown out of her newborn clothes (sad face), and is into mainly 0-3 month onesies, 3-6 month sleepers, and 3 month pants. It varies a bit, depending on the brands, but she is getting so big! I really need to re-organize her clothes in her dresser and pack away all of the items that are too small for her, but I just can't bring myself to do it! Denial much?!

A few likes and dislikes as of late:

Likes:
- Smiling at daddy
- Kicking and talking
- Chewing her hands
- Dancing with Papa
- Staring at "her friends" on her projector/sound machine
- Rocking in the glider while doing this ^
- Singing the "I Love You" (Barney) song with Mimi
- Snuggling with, sleeping on, and talking to mommy
- Mr. Owl
- Bath time
- Mornings on mommy & daddy's bed
- Her crunchy rattle toy in the car

Dislikes:
- Being overtired
- Falling asleep for nap time
- Kisses on her neck (daddy's beard is scratchy!)
- Wet diapers (although we're improving in this department)
- Stop lights, stop signs, and traffic jams while riding in the car
- Tummy time (trying to work on this)

Happy 1/4 birthday, Marleigh Jo! You are growing so fast, and I love watching you develop your fun little personality (even though I sometimes wish you could stay little forever). You are the absolute love of our lives, and we are still very much in awe of you every single day. We really lucked out with you, kiddo! You are such an easy going, happy little girl, and I couldn't be more proud to be your mommy! You are our greatest blessing, and each new day with you brings a whole new level of joy to our lives. I love you to the moon!