My thankful list

Poor girl was so tired here. And maybe I should have taken the picture before I opened the can. Then the label wouldn't be torn and my baby wouldn't be playing with sharp edges. I'll remember that next year.

I'm thankful for:

• Jared
• Libby
• my family
• Jared's family, which I guess could fit under "my family" but I'll give them their own bullet point because they're just that great ;)
• my Savior
• a place to live
• my health and the health of my family
• our cozy space heater (most favorite recent purchase)
• Reese's Puffs cereal (I just can't get enough)
• pumpkin cheesecake
• our friends Madelyn and Brian for having us over for Thanksgiving dinner!
• memories of wonderful, wonderful Thanksgivings past at Grandma and GramPaul Luther's house
• libraries
• my sewing machine
• Libby's sweet, sweet smiles and laughs
• our washing machine (especially today since Libby pooped on our bed)
• disposable diapers (see above - my daughter is a poop machine)
• the modern luxuries of indoor plumbing and electricity
• the beautiful fall weather
• my education
• Jared's education/job
• cell phones, so I can talk to my family even when they are far away!

I feel like I could list so many more things because as I look around me, I realize I am thankful for EVERYTHING I see - including the aloe plant beside me and the Scotch tape on the table - but if I start listing things like that, this post is going to get ridiculous pretty fast. So I'll just end with a big

Happy Thanksgiving

to everyone!

5 a day keeps the doctor away

[Scene begins with Jared and Jenn sitting at the computer researching the podunk towns where they may eventually live. Jenn tries to offer Jared a bite of a mandarin orange.]

Jared: "no thanks"

Jenn: "have you had any fruit today?"

Jared: "yeah, a lemonhead."

Mother knows best

I'd like to think I've gotten pretty good at deciphering my baby's cries and moods. Hungry = she sucks her hands like crazy. Tired = whimpers and usually slows down (she never stops bicycling her legs, but it at least gets slower when she's sleepy). Gassy = she's even squirmier than usual.

I can also tell a lot by her face. For instance:

Overall, Libby has an incredibly good temperament. She's usually only fussy around feeding times and that generally has to do with being a) hungry, b) gassy, or c) both. Otherwise, she's all smiles.

Hooray for happy babies!

2 months

It feels like so long ago that I looked like this:

Forgive my not so modest appearance, but this is the most pregnant picture I have of me - taken on August 28th, just 4 days before Libby was born. I had just gotten home from working out (meaning, trying to get the baby out).

Two months later, and I have this precious little joy to smile at every day.

Stats:

Birth - 6 lbs 8 oz (25th percentile), 19 inches long (33rd percentile)

1 month - 8 lbs 10 oz (27th percentile), 21.5 inches long (50th percentile)

2 months - 10 lbs 13 oz (49th percentile), 23 inches long (80th percentile)

Head circumference? I have no idea. It was 29th percentile at 1 month and 28th percentile at 2 months, but as far as the actual measurement, I just can't remember. Sorry Libby. I should write these things down.

At 2 months old, Libby is really good at:

-pulling mommy's hair

-smiling

-splashing like crazy in the bath

-holding up her head (She holds it up pretty well when I have her on my shoulder to burp, but sometimes she seems to suddenly lose control and her head comes crashing down into mine. We've headbutted each other countless times this past month, but she is a stubborn little girl and won't let me hold her head still.)

I'm also proud to report that Libby has learned to eat without biting me. I wouldn't say she's quite good at it yet, but she's much, much better. We've been visiting the chiropractor, which has helped a lot. We also discovered last week that Libby had a tongue tie, meaning her tongue was attached too tightly to the bottom of her mouth and restricted its movement. So, I took her to an ENT who snipped the frenulum under her tongue. Poor girl did not like that at all, but I think it has helped quite a bit. I just wish someone had noticed the tongue tie earlier and could have saved me 8 weeks of excruciating pain.

Libby is also super tough and only cried for about 30 seconds after getting her shots this week. Way to go, girl.