4-Month Update

In trying to follow in the footsteps of my friend, Heather, I am finally jumping on the baby update wagon.  I promise to attempt these once a month, mostly because it will be neat for Macyn to see when she is older (not to mention for me to be able to remember all these things down the road!). 

Macyn, I apologize sincerely for not doing these sooner, but here's what you are up to at 4 months:

You weigh 12 lbs, 13 oz which, I'm learning, is actually smaller for your age than I thought.  You are "tall" and skinny, which  makes your daddy and I wonder where you really came from, seeing as how neither of us can be classified as tall or skinny.  You still wear mostly size 3 month clothing, though there are a few items in the 3-6 month range that don't completely drown you.  I don't mind it, though, because you've got tons of cute fashions to show off before moving on to the next wardrobe.

You eat every 3 hours like clockwork, and you let everyone around know if a mealtime is approaching.  You're eating between 6-8 oz. of formula mixed with a little bit of rice cereal each time.  We also introduced you to a spoon and bowl of cereal when you were about 3 1/2 months.  Let's just say it was fun!  It took you a while to figure out what the spoon was for and what you were supposed to do with the "stuff" on it, but once you got it down, you really loved it.  Now, you get super excited when you see daddy or me bring out the bowl and spoon because you know what's coming.  You're quite a good eater, and no one gets between you and your food!

Thankfully, you sleep for about 7-8 hours every night.  You let me know you're ready for bed by grabbing onto my necklace and burying your head in my chest.  It's your way of saying, "Rock me, Mommy.  I'm sleepy."  You take 2 short naps at school, one long nap at home after school, and are ready for bed between 8:30-9:00.  You sleep in your pack-and-play in our room because we just don't have it in us to put you all the way across the house in your own bed yet.  We've discussed doing this over Thankgiving break, but we'll see if it actually happens.  I love having you right there close to us! 

When you're not sleeping, you have the funniest personality (duh - look who your parents are!).  You literally wake up smiling and don't stop for much of anything.  You're always ready to laugh, "talk", and play, as long as your tummy is full.  What makes you laugh the most is being naked on your changing table with daddy or me tickling or blowing your tummy.  You find this extremely hilarious which, in turn, daddy and I find extremely hilarious.  You smile at anybody who pays attention to you.  Most of the time you'll "talk" back at them, but sometimes you just keep smiling.  You rarely cry because you're too busy smiling - and I am SO grateful for that!  Really the only time you cry is when we force you to do tummy time.  We have invested in several fun tummy time toys, but you're not interested in any of them.  It's hard, but we have to make you do it so your head develops properly.

Your favorite place to be (if not in our laps) is in your ExerSaucer.  You love to push the buttons and dance to the music as you watch it all light up.  You obviously don't understand what it all means, but you love it anyway.  You love anything that lights up or has music.  In fact, another favorite thing to do is watch Dancing with the Stars.  (You used to dance around in my tummy to it while I was still pregnant.)

You have recently discovered how your hands work.  You like to grab toys (or anything nearby) and then practice transferring them back and forth between hands.  Your face crinkles up in concentration as you do this.  When you get it from one hand to the other, your face then lights up with excitement before gearing up to do it again.

These first 4 months have been so much fun, and we're looking forward to watching you grow even more.  We love you very much!

To Being 30

Well, after failing miserably in my blogging attempt, I'm back.  At least for today anyway.  So, what's been going on since my last post?  I turned the big 3-0!  Yep, yesterday was my 30th birthday and, for all intents and purposes, it was fabulous!  Until yesterday morning I'd been convincing myself of how horrible it would be to turn 30.  Then I woke up and felt like I'd joined some kind of "grown-up club" for people in their 30's (sort of like when Samantha turned 50 on SATC).  I spent most of the day on this high in my own little birthday world.  (Apparently, my kids had one of their worst days, behaviorally speaking, in a long time and I didn't even notice!)  My friends bought me lunch and a chocolate cake, plus I got not one but TWO flower deliveries at work.  Even better than that, my husband surprised me by finding a babysitter (i.e. Grandma) to watch Macyn for a few hours so we could have a birthday date.  He brought me my THIRD bouquet of gorgeous flowers, and we went for a scrumptious dinner at one of favorite cafes - complete with one of my favorite bottles of wine.  All this after I was totally convinced that he'd either forgotten or just didn't care.  Boy was I wrong!

Though I know I have many great things to look forward to in my 30's, I'd like to say goodbye to my 20's and the adventures we've shared for the past decade.  These are some of what I consider to be life-changing events that have helped turn me into who I am today.

20 - My parents got divorced.  Not the best way to start the 20's, but it gets better!
21 - My nephew, Brayden Matthew Guajardo, was born November 7, 2001, just one day before my 21st birthday.  I love him so much!!  2001 was also the year I met my best friends, Candie and Heather, who I also love dearly.
23 - I graduated in December 2003 from East Texas Baptist University with a degree in Human Relations.  I moved back to Houston and began working for a jewelry company with my sister.
24 - Began working for The Bair Foundation and met many more friends, including my almost twin, Amy!
25 - Moved to TBF Dallas, lived with Heather, and met my future husband, Ross.
26 - Moved back to Angleton to start my teaching career with 5th graders.  Also began coaching high school soccer.  Most importantly, I got engaged to Ross this year!
27 - Married Ross (actually RIGHT before I turned 27, so I'm counting it) and bought our house.  We also adopted our first "child," Beaux. 
28 - Cooper joined the family!
29 - Discovered I was pregnant with our first child in November.  Macyn Renee Melancon was born July 11, 2010.  She is absolutely the perfect ending to my 20's, and perhaps the thing that makes being 30 not-so-bad anymore.

Wow - looking at that list makes me realize just how much growing up I did over the last 10 years.  I'm so grateful for the blessings God has granted me thus far, and I can't wait to see what He has in store for me next.  That said, here's to being 30!!!