Santa's Little Helper....

My how times flies! Rayna will 5 months in just about a week!!! And she is continuing to change each and every day! Right now the biggest things are that she is wanting to sit up more and more...not that she can sit all on her own yet, but she's getting there! We started using her "exersaucer" this past month, and she LOVES it! It enables her to stand and play with some different toys. And it sure is nice for mommy and daddy, too, to have something to occupy her a little bit. She was sure getting bored with just being held :0). She is "talking" a whole lot more, and recently we swear she said "uh-oh" one morning after waking up. Kind of ironic that she had a little "present" in her diaper for us. Rayna got to meet Great Grandpa Hilbert, Great Grandma Werner and Great Grandpa Werner during November. I am so happy that we were able to all get together!

Rayna was 13lbs 13oz and 25 inches long at her last doctor appointment (November 17th), and the doctor said that she was developing beautifully! She was in the 50th percentile in weight and 75th percentile in height. She's still keeping with my prediction that she's going to be tiny and tall! The doctor said I could try some food, but didn't need to because she was developing just fine. We did try cereal, sweet potatoes and carrots. She seems to hate them all! haha! So, I thought we would give her another month or so and try again.

Rayna celebrated her first Thanksgiving at Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Werners. Everyone was there and it was so nice to celebrate the holidays together! The food was delicious, and Rayna will be excited to enjoy it next year! I can't believe that we're already almost to Christmas! Ray just LOVES all the lights that we have up, and really enjoys the Christmas tree! I can not wait to see her on Christmas with her presents. That will be a real treat!

Some other things that she is doing now is somewhat holding onto her bottle, she's discovered that she has feet, and I think she's beginning to learn her name. She still LOVES music and when mommy sings to her! Although, she loves when anyone sings to her actually :0).

We hope all is well with you and your families this holiday season, and I hope to post more around Christmas time! Love to you all!

4 Months Old and Growing!!!

Rayna has her 4 month doctor appointment Monday, November 17th! I can't wait to see how much she has grown, and hopefully she'll get the doctor's ok to start on cereal and her first foods. She has started to try and hold her own bottle. She can hold onto it pretty well! She continues to babble, and really, really loves music! It's amazing how much she's changing every day, and I love watching it! We are anxiously anticipating the holidays! We hope all is well with you and your families!

Our Little Monkey and her Pumpkins

Tonight - Tuesday, October 28th - we carved Rayna's pumpkins. It sure was fun carving her first set of pumpkins! We carved one with her name in it, and the other just has a happy jack o lantern face. She was quite interested in them - especially once I showed her them lit up in the dark. As you can see from the pictures, she is going to be a monkey for Halloween. I wish I could have caught one of her smiles, but she was more interested in chewing on her costume - haha. Smile or not - she still makes a pretty cute monkey!

Rayna has her pumpkins!!

Saturday we went and got our pumpkins in Brookston. Rayna didn't quite know what was going on, but she kept looking around at all the orange things on the ground! Now we just need to get them carved...

Rayna's first trip to the Zoo

We went to the Indianapolis Zoo Saturday to celebrate Andy's birthday, and to take Rayna for the first time. Although she did not know too much about what she was looking at (or what was going on around her) she did seem to enjoy the zoo. We went through the "Oceans" exhibit, and she was intrigued by the colors of the fish and followed their movements. The "Plains" area was our favorite part, and our little monkey Rayna enjoyed the monkeys! We completed over visit with getting Rayna her very own stuffed Giraffe and Monkey. Daddy rode home with her in the back of the car and introduced her to her new animals, and she just stared at them the whole time! We also got her the book "Curious George Visits the Zoo," and figured that one day it would be a good memory to share with her. Saturday evening we had Andy's family over for cake and ice cream to celebrate his birthday, and Rayna asked me if she could wear her fancy headband with her outfit. She looked so darn cute, if I do say so myself.

I got Rayna some new patent leather mary janes, and Andy decided to dress her up for me. What a surprise that was! I think she looks like little Bo Peep! She's such a good sport at letting mommy and daddy play "dress up" with her.

Tomorrow night we are going to Grandpa's to celebrate his birthday. October sure is a busy when it comes to birthdays. Just think...next year Rayna will be enjoying cake at all of them!

She is continuing to "talk" more and more to us, and I have never seen a baby smile so much! She has also started making "raspberries" with her mouth (basically it's spit bubbles that come out in clusters and look like raspberries." The development article I have said it is a sign that she is learning how to use her tounge and will later help her in forming words. It's amazingly wonderful to watch all these milestones!

We had a picture day! I'd have to say that Rayna took some especially cute pictures! She even got to ride around the garden with dad on the tractor. And she and I played with her glow worm and learning bug all night long! She is just enthralled by the blinking lights!!!

A Night with the Fam....

Rayna and I went to Grandpa Long's house last Monday. It sure was nice to have some family time! Grandpa Long also had us over tonight, Sunday, for a Chinese themed dinner. One word - DELISH!

Rayna seems to have discovered that she has a voice within the past week or so. She is constantly "talking" and you can tell she thinks she's talking to you! It is so nice to have a conversation with her (haha). She LOVES her mobile, and seems to really like music a lot. Who knows...maybe we have an American Idol in our midst. Also, I've noticed that she seems to be quite intrigued with TV. All the colors, noise and movements really catch her attention. It's hard to believe that she will be 12 weeks old on Thursday! Her sleeping habits are GREAT! She generally goes to bed between 9-11 and will sleep until 5:30 or 6 the next morning. We have a busy week coming up, so look for another post next weekend!

Rayna Lynn is Growing!!!

Rayna Lynn just keeps growing! She had her shots Monday, September 15th, and she now weighs 10 lbs 12 oz and is 23 inches long. She cried for just a bit when she got poked with the needle, but luckily the nurse did it real fast and it was over before we knew it. Rayna started going to Grammy Werner's on Tuesday because I had to go back to work. Andrew says that Grammy just loves having Rayna all day long, and I know Rayna sure enjoys it, too! Rayna is developing more and more each day. She has discovered her hands, smiles all the time, coos more and more, and I swear she's said momma a few times! haha!!! Rayna is such a joy, and I look forward to every day with her!