Four Months Old!

Our little Molly has been 4 months old for over a week now! It's hard to believe that at this time last year, she was barely the size of a grape and we didn't even know yet whether we were having a boy or a girl. Christmas is a lot more meaningful to me this year as I think about this amazing gift that God has given us, the opportunity to love, nurture and raise this beautiful girl. Being a parent gives me a different perspective on the sacrifice God made in giving up his Son to the people of His creation and also the sacrifice Mary had to make to bear this child and then have to watch him suffer. As we celebrate God's amazing gift to the world this season, I have a much deeper appreciation for the sacrifice that has been made on my behalf as I hold my own child in my arms.

We got a special Christmas surprise this week as North Carolina experienced its first snow storm of the season...along with most of the rest of the East coast. Molly didn't seem too excited about this momentous occasion, but she was probably just confused as to why she had to be bundled up to the point of not being able to move just to go for her regular morning walk. Getting her all decked out in her snowsuit reminded me of the scene in "A Christmas Story" when the mother is shoving the little brother's arms into his big puffy snowsuit.

As you can see from this last picture, by the time we finished our walk, Molly was ready to be done with the snow. "The Lip" let us know she was ready to be back in her warm cozy house. I can just imagine the thoughts running through her little brain, "Why in the world do I have to wear this stupid-looking itchy thing on my head and why the heck can't I move my arms?" :-)


At 4 months old, Molly has acquired many new skills. She has learned to play with lots of different toys. One of her favorites is the chain of rings hanging from the toy bar over her bouncer. She's content to sit for quite a while doing mini pull-ups on her rings like a little gymnast. She's also really beginning to enjoy her exer-saucer, which we call "Molly's Escalade" because it's so big and fancy :-) A few weeks ago, she had no idea what to do with most of the toys, but now she's the "Escalade" expert, pushing, spinning, flipping and smacking all the right buttons and tabs. She has even learned how to push up with her feet to bounce up and down.





Molly is an absolute JOY to be with now that she has developed a consistent sleep schedule. She sleeps about 17 hours out of the day and during the other 7 hours, she is a happy, playful delightful baby. She loves to laugh, squeal, coo and jabber. She only fusses if she's hungry or getting tired, but she'll sometimes go for the entire day without really crying at all. If you told us 3 months ago that Molly would develop such an easy temperment, I don't think either of us would've believed you. It's amazing what a good sleep schedule will do for a baby. I'd recommend that every new parent read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". It is a fabulous book that I credit with giving us the delightful baby we're enjoying every single day.

After 4 months, parenting no longer feels like foreign territory. It feels natural. We've reached a "new normal" as a family of three. The days of it being "just the two of us" feel like they were in a different lifetime. This new life is more fabulous than we ever could have imagined and we're both madly in love with our little girl. Life as "the three of us" is grand and we couldn't imagine it any other way!

One Year Ago Today...

December 2, 2008

It was one year ago today that Eric and I discovered we were going to be parents! December 2, 2008 started with me losing my breakfast at work and ended with a positive pregnancy test telling us our world was about to change forever. As excited as I was to be pregnant, I could not have imagined a year ago how crazy-in-love I'd be with our little girl. Yes, this past year has been an amazing one! Hearing our baby's heartbeat for the first time, finding out we were having a little girl, watching my baby-bump grow from week to week, feeling our little Molly kick and squirm in my belly, and finally meeting our beautiful little girl after a long night of labor...this year has been filled with amazing moments that I'll never forget. And it all started with two little pink lines telling us that we were soon going to be a family of three. I can't wait to see what the next year will bring to our little family!

...One year later!

Molly's First Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year as we celebrate the holidays. It was amazing to think back to Thanksgiving last year. At the time, I was pregnant but I didn't know it yet and Eric and I were both praying for a baby. One year later, here we are with our beautiful baby girl, celebrating her first Thanksgiving. What a difference a year makes!

With her new ability to grasp anything placed in front of her, Molly tried her hardest to get a sip of Daddy's wine. But it was an all-milk Thanksgiving dinner for her. She'll have to wait until next year for her turkey and mashed potatoes.

Even without the turkey and the wine, Molly passed out on the couch for a nice long nap after dinner. She's really been enjoying her sleep lately with three good naps every day and at least 12 hours of sleep every night.

My favorite part about Thanksgiving is the opportunity to spend time with family. Molly got to spend a few days being loved, kissed, held, and spoiled by her GG, Pop, and Great-Grandma, who traveled down from Pittsburgh to visit.

Molly enjoyed looking at her GG's pink laptop. We may have to get her a pink laptop of her very own someday.

GG and Pop brought Molly a very cool present: an exer-saucer. She's been enjoying discovering what all the knobs and buttons do. She especially loves "singing" into the microphone, which basically means she tries to shove the entire thing into her mouth :-)

Molly loved spending time with her Great-Grandma. Catherine could always get a big, wide smile out of her, no matter what kind of mood she was in.

Yes, we definitely have a lot to be thankful for. I thank God for every day we get to spend with Molly. She is such a joy and we can't imagine life without her.

Daddy's Girl

I ran across some of Eric's baby pictures this week and couldn't believe how much our little girl resembles her Daddy. Same squishy cheeks. Same Frueh nose. Same rosebud lips. Check out these side-by-sides and see if you agree.

Molly and Eric on their Birth Days.

Little Pittsburgh Steelers fans...It's in the blood!

I wish I had a picture of Molly yawning because she looks exactly like Eric does in this picture.

Yep, she's definitely Daddy's girl with her Mommy's blue eyes.

3 Months Old!

Unbelievably, Molly is now 3 months old! We can't believe how quickly the time has passed or how grown up our little girl has become. At her 3-month check-up, Molly weighed in at 11 lbs. 12 oz (the 25th percentile); her length is 22 inches (the 10th percentile) and her head circumference is 14.5 inches (the 3rd percentile). Our pediatrician said none of these numbers are surprising considering the fact that Molly is the product of two petite parents. Obviously, someone has to be in the 10th percentile...might as well be Molly. Looks like she's just going to be a short, skinny girl like her Mama. And I thank her all the time for having such a tiny head. I appreciated that very much 3 months ago ;-)

Developmentally, Molly is doing extremely well. The doctor was very impressed with all the milestones Molly has reached recently. As she approached her 3-month birthday, it was like a switch was flipped and she went from being a "newborn" to being a "baby". All in the space of about 10 days, she has passed many key milestones. She recognizes both her parents and will follow our faces or our voices with her eyes and with her head. She can even roll her torso over to find Mommy or Daddy if we're out of sight. She can't quite flip those legs over yet and she starts kicking like crazy when she gets her top half rolled over and the bottom half won't follow. I don't think it will be long before she masters that skill.

Molly has also started laughing. Eric was the first to get her to laugh and he was able to get her laughing every day for about a week before I even saw it for the first time. I was beginning to think I was the dullest person in the world until, FINALLY, I got Molly to give me a quick ha-ha-ha the other night. Hearing your baby laugh is one of the greatest sounds in the world. Her face is just filled with the purest joy. Anybody who's depressed should spend 5 minutes with a smiling, laughing baby and I'm sure they'd feel a whole lot better. I got her going pretty good today, giggling over and over again as I kissed her cheeks all over.

Some more of Molly's new 3-month skills are her ability to sit up in her Bumbo seat and her ability to play with toys. We've been showing her toys for a while now, but it was like, all of a sudden, a light went off in her head and she saw the toys in front of her and started reaching for them. If there are toys on her play tray, she'll reach out for them and, most likely, knock them on the floor. But occasionally, she'll actually wrap her little fingers around them and pick them up. By far, her favorite toy is her yellow duck rattle. Anytime it's placed in front of her, her eyes light up and she grabs it to put it right in her mouth. She tries to put the duck's entire beak in her little mouth. I tried to tell her that French-kissing is not allowed until she's at least 35, but she isn't listening to me. If she can't quite wrap her fingers around the duck's wings, she'll just pull him to her chest and hold him there in a big, old bear hug. So cute!

Probably the biggest change in Molly's life recently has been my return to work full-time. I've been back at work for 3 weeks now and, despite all my worrying about this transition, it has actually gone quite smoothly. Molly fell into her new schedule like a pro. Her days are spent chillin' with Daddy at home and taking bottles of expressed breastmilk. Her afternoons and evenings are spent with Mommy. She switches easily back and forth between breast and bottle and has even established a predictable napping schedule, which makes life a whole lot easier! I think the adjustment has been harder on me and Eric than it's been on Molly. I'm still learning how to switch roles between mother and teacher and how to fulfill both roles equally well. Eric is still learning how to play Mr. Mom. We've both made a lot of progress and are adjusting to our new "normal".

In 3 weeks, Daddy has learned that these clothes do NOT match...

...and that these clothes DO match. Molly seems pleased with his progress :-)

The most important thing to us is that Molly spends her days with two people who love her very much (even if one of them doesn't know how to match baby clothes). We just feel so blessed and thankful that our jobs are flexible enough to allow us both to spend so much time with our sweet girl.

Autumn in North Carolina

I don't know if motherhood has just given me a sunnier view of the world, but autumn in North Carolina seems more beautiful this year than it ever has before. The leaves are more brilliant, the smells are richer, the sun feels warmer and the moon has such a beautiful glow. I love walking outside with Molly and letting her feel the crisp breeze on her cheeks and smell the leaves. I wonder what she thinks about this beautiful world. She is experiencing all these changes for the very first time and it almost makes me feel like I'm seeing them for the first time as well...through new eyes.
We had a great opportunity to experience the beauty of a North Carolina fall in the mountains of western NC. Our friends, Jeremy and Julie, have a family cabin in the mountains in the quaint town of Little Switzerland, right on the Blue Ridge Parkway. They invited us to spend the weekend there at the end of October. Their daughter, Katie, is only 2 days older than Molly. It was a great opportunity to hike through the mountains, take in some great views from the Parkway, and eat some fresh-picked apples. It was also wonderful to talk to another couple about the joys and challenges of parenting, as they're having a lot of the same struggles that we are. We could laugh together about the mistakes we've made and share tricks we've learned to be more successful at feeding, napping, and diapering. We did a surprising amount of hiking, sight-seeing, and relaxing for vacationing with two infants on two very different napping and eating schedules. It seemed that Katie was awake whenever Molly was sleeping and vice versa. They did get a chance to "play together" and get acquainted on the very last day just a few hours before we were going to leave. It was one of the first times that they were both awake at the same time and neither of them was eating, getting changed, or crying.

Molly's been quite the little social butterfly lately. On Halloween, she got to meet another new friend (a brand-spankin'-new friend). Baby Aubrey is the daughter of some friends of ours. She's only 2 weeks old and oh-so-tiny! She's almost exactly half the size of Molly. I hadn't realized how much Molly has grown since birth until I saw her next to newborn little Aubrey. As I was holding Aubrey, part of me missed that newborn stage. But I'm also excited to see all of the new things Molly has learned as she's growing up. I love seeing her smile and listening to her "talk" to us. I enjoy watching her gain control of her hands and legs and head as she grows into her little body. It's an amazing experience to watch a person grow up as you watch.

Here are a few more pictures of Molly's autumn adventures:

Hiking through the orchard with Julie and Baby Katie.

This view was our reward after hiking up to the top of Linville Falls.

A beautiful view of the NC mountains off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Checking out some great books at the book store in Little Switzerland.

We found a store in Little Switzerland that sold all of our favorite things! Molly didn't appear as excited as we were.

"Uh, Daddy, I think my head needs to do a little growing before this is going to fit just right."

"That's better!"

Mommy and Molly enjoy a few quiet moments in the rocking chair. These are the moments I wish could last forever.

Road Trip!

A few weeks ago, Molly had the chance to take her first road trip to visit her Pittsburgh family in cold, rainy Pennsylvania. Eric's cousin was getting married and the wedding weekend was a fantastic opportunity for Molly to meet all of her Frueh and Pauli relatives. And, of course, her GG and Pop didn't mind the chance to snuggle their little granddaughter for a few days :-)

Molly was a fantastic road trip baby. Out of a total of 17 hours in the car for the entire trip, she was only awake for about an hour and a half of it. It helped that we traveled at night during her normal sleeping hours. However, she looked quite confused when she fell asleep at home in her bed and then woke up in her carseat in a new strange place.

Four generations all together for the first time as Molly meets her Great-Grammars.

Molly loved spending the week with her GG and Pop. She got lots of cuddles and kisses from her GG, and Pop taught her a new airplane game. We saw many wide bright smiles as he zoomed her around the house.

There were so many new faces to meet, but Molly loved all the new people to snuggle with:

Uncle Jonathan...

Uncle Stephen...

Great-Grandmother Catherine...

Great Aunt Lorrie...

...and Emily. I suppose her given title would be "first-cousin-once-removed", or something like that.

Everyone got to get all dressed up for the wedding. Here the two most beautiful ladies of the house pose for their glamour shots.

Molly got to meet her second cousin, Lillian, at the wedding. Molly and Lillian were born only 3 weeks apart. As it turned out, they wore the exact same dress. And they both had on their little white sweaters and stockings. It seems that the girls didn't mind at all though.

As Molly spent time with her Dad and his brothers, it reminded me of that movie, "Three Men and a Baby", especially when they were all in their suits and she was all decked out in her pink puffy dress :-)

All in all, it was a fantastic first road trip experience for Molly and her parents. She's a lucky little girl to have such a wonderful extended family. I wish we could all live closer together, but I know Molly will look forward to making the trip to Pittsburgh for many summers and holidays to come to visit all of her Frueh-family relatives.