Pics of Alyce from the last week

Cutie patootie!

Hangin with my crew...

Hello Monkey!

She's so cute when she's mad

Mastering her limbs

We've had a fun week!

Alyce has been working really hard on eye hand coordination

(ok, limb eye coordination is probably a better term). She knows that her legs kick and her arms swing, but she can't quite put it all together. I enticed her with some pretty m&m's on the table at breakfast yesterday...she sat and stared at them for well over 10 minutes, lots of missed attempts, and one shining moment where her finger hit an m&m!! We were so excited :)

Finally, justification for mom's love of peanut m&ms!

Travel Tips

We made it home safe and sound from Nashville on Friday. I thought I would share a few travel tips, things we learned in taking Alyce on her first trip!

1. Washcloths! This one I have to give to a member of the housekeeping staff. She noticed my mounting pile of dirty burpclothes (I had packed every single one we owned for the trip - our little Alyce is a big spitter upper) and handed me a stack of hotel washcloths! Eureka! And they get washed every day :)

2. Rental cars... when you pack three suitcases and a stroller for a trip, you no longer comfortably or easily fit into the standard size rental car. Just get the minivan.

3. Ziploc bags... I had taken ziploc bags for wet, dirty clothes on the trip there and back. However, the gallon sized bags were also a lifesaver for dirty diapers in the hotel room. Keep the smell confined until the trash gets taken out!

4. Stroller wheels... We have a big stroller (although I think they're all pretty big) and we really struggled with getting it in the standard sized rental car trunk. The bellman who loaded our luggage when we were leaving blew our minds - the big back wheels come off!! Duh. Know your stroller :)

5. Finally, Relax. Traveling with Alyce was a bit stressful, but overall, our trip was so much better because we were all together. People in a foodcourt, on a plane, or in a hotel really do (for the most part) understand that babies will cry. We really got such a kick out of the joy she brought to others around us, I wouldn't have missed the trip for anything.

Do you have any travel tips? Please share them by adding a comment below. We certainly have more trips that we'll be taking...

I'm excited to see what this week will hold!

A new family picture!

Ok, this is sad but true. This is the first picture with Matt, Alyce and myself since the one the night she was born. So thank you to the very nice stranger who offered to take our picture today after we had been out by the pool. This picture is inside, in the "Cascades" area of our hotel. Turns out by watching the many channels of information on our hotel that play 24 hours a day, I've learned that this hotel has the largest indoor garden in the world. Pretty cool.

The weather here has been beautiful, although honestly we haven't been outside much. Our flight home is tomorrow morning, and we're excited to get back... Murphy - here we come!

Daddy's day

We're so glad we could be here in Nashville with Matt for his first Father's Day! We had a great day together, and he and Alyce got some good conversations in (really, she's listening!).

The place we are staying is great - it's HUGE, so we have been walking around a lot. Alyce is getting used to her stroller, which we're using now without the carseat. She can hold her head up really well now, those neck muscles are getting stronger every day! We've taken her to eat in restaurants here for the first time, and for the most part - she's been an angel :)

Alyce's first plane ride

Alyce did great on the plane trip down to Nashville! She loved being held for so long and basically was either asleep or eating the whole time we were on the plane. The altitude changes didn't seem to bother her one bit! I'm going to sign her up for a frequent flyer number.

Here she is in a MSP airport food court :)

She's never been out among lots of people, and she loved it! So much to look at - she was super alert.

Note from Mom - Kudos to the Minneapolis airport for having a private room to breastfeed and a family friendly area for rocking, hanging out, etc... Here is a link for more info. Very nice and greatly appreciated by mom and Alyce.

Getting ready for our trip!

So I've never been known as a light packer. But packing is taking on a whole new dimension now that we have Alyce. In my defense, we are going to be in a hotel for 6 days! Our darling daughter can go through a few sleepers on a bad day... I know I'll miss our washer and dryer!

One thing that is for sure going with us is Alyce's play mat. Not to be confused with her dad Matt, this mat has lights and sounds, things swinging around, a mirror... It's a tiny person wonderland to explore. She is starting to bat at things she sees and then watches them go with an intention that I'm sure signifies a budding genius. I'm not sure she's grasping the idea of cause and effect yet, but you can just see the wheels turning.

Alyce + Sheepys = True Love

Alyce is enamored with what we call "the sheepys". These fantastic restickable wall graphics were initially used to decorate the walls of her room at adult eye level. Right from the beginning she had a fascination with them, and they now are placed where she can enjoy them. Diaper changes are a breeze as Alyce chats it up with the two sheepys right by her changing table. We also stuck one on the inside of her crib which she engages in sqwaking, high pitched conversations early in the mornings.

Here are some links to photo albums we've uploaded previously...

Alyce's First Few Days
Alyce 2 weeks old
Alyce 3 weeks old
Alyce 4 - 6 weeks old

A Grand Ambition

We're starting this blog with the intention of updating it regularly to give our friends and family updates on Alyce (and the rest of us from time to time!). She's 10 weeks old already, and I'm thinking starting this blog now is better late than never! She has grown from 5 lbs 5 oz when we left the hospital to 12 lbs 10 oz as of June 6! Our family Dr. is quite impressed with how well she is "thriving"!

Alyce just started noticing the world around her, and has become fascinated with things outside of whoever is holding her. She smiles and "talks" with more regularity and is starting to develop a pattern to her eating and sleeping. Luckily, it's becoming much more in line with our awake and sleep periods - which makes for a much less exausted family!

This smile was the first one I got a picture of - when she was 8.5 weeks old.

Alyce has also started sucking on her hands - here's the first time we caught her sucking her thumb! She doesn't do it very often so we're not worried about stopping her from doing it (just taking pictures of it because it's so cute)!

We hope you'll enjoy seeing these updates on Alyce. We're so excited to share them with you! Stay tuned for our next big adventure - Alyce's first plane ride when we go to Nashville this Saturday (cross your fingers, light a candle, wish us luck!)

Love,

Lisa, Matthew, Alyce and Murphy