Ansley's a Quarter of a Year Old

Weird, right?!  I mean, c'mon, she just got here.  Or at least it seems like it. 

It seems only appropriate, with her being 3 months old and all, that I update my blogger friends of her growing and such. 

Whoever it was who said siblings are completely unlike one another must have known my kids.  Sure, they share a few of the same tendencies, and they really seem to enjoy each other (oh, you should just see how she watches and looks at him... and how he lays next to her... this is why I wanted two children!), but as far as personalities at this age... they are on such polar opposite extremes that I can hardly compare them at all.  Case and points:

• Bryton was a colicky, screamy, unhappy infant which meant our lives revolved around staying in (sitters had problems with the screaming child who wouldn't stop), following extremely strict schedules (once we figured the schedules out) and listening to a great deal of screaming in the car (though that started, well, at about Ansley's age now.)  He was a major spitter and spent most of his life in a bib.  Okay, that's an understatement.  He spent all of his life in a bib, normally going through 10-12 a day, and I'm not exaggerating.  He didn't sleep through the night, or even close to it, until the end of his eighth month, when it finally happened.  (But hey, once it did there was no turning back!  He's been a great sleeper since!)  To say Bryton was a difficult baby would, well, be an understatement.  (And most of you who know him now would be so surprised to hear all of this, I'm sure.  He's such a delightful kid now... well, most of the time ;)  
• Ansley, on the other hand, rarely cries.  If she's crying, she's probably tired.  If she's crying and she's not tired, something bigger is wrong, because she is normally very happy.  She loves laying on her playmat, sitting in her swing (which Bryton hated), and it seems she is fond of tv (ugh, the one thing that Bryton hated and I loved that he hated it... gonna have to get her used to activity now, she may be my couch potato).  She won't take a paci (Bryton wouldn't sleep without it), but she chews on her hands like they taste like ice cream.  (Bryton was never a thumb or finger sucker.)  She's had a bib on one time in her short life, and it was because I was feeding her in the car.  (Don't want to mess up those pretty outfits.)  If she spits, we get the size of a quarter, normally.  She's been angelic, for the most part, for those who have watched her (knock on wood), and (this is a big knock on wood - I've not said hardly anything since it started happening, why jinx it?) she's been sleeping 8 hour stretches through the night since about 3 weeks and been sleeping 10-12 hour nights since about 6 weeks.  She has to be the easiest baby in the world.  (Granted - she did have a routine where she was wanting to go to bed very early, but we did get that resolved.)

So all in all, utterly different kids.  Her personality now masks more of Bryton's personality now (minus the 'independent stage' that I'm sure we'll battle until he moves out).

Because of the difference, Aaron and I have found life to be much easier with two than it even was with one when Bryton was her age. 

As far as milestones:

• Ansley rivals me on talking.  (Ahem, I don't ever shut up if I'm really honest.)  She coos and talks all the time.  (Did I mention all Bryton did was scream?  Even if it was happy screaming?  Ok, just checking.)
• She's been smiling at us for quite some time, but just in the past week or two we have gotten some really great cackling laughs out of her.  I was playing 'peek a boo' with her the other day and she thought that was hilarious.  Nothing better than a baby's laugh.  And that goes for all of our babies.  I don't know that I'll ever outgrow the enjoyment I get out of Bryton's laughter (the real stuff, not the fake stuff ;), unless of course he's laughing at something he shouldn't be... 
• This girl can roll with the best of them, but it makes no sense to us that she rolls like crazy from back to front, with no problems and no hesitation, but she's rolled from front to back once, and I'm fairly certain it was a fluke.  Isn't back to front supposed to be more difficult?  She must have better ab muscles than I do!

Ansley is officially wearing 3-6 month clothing and should be wearing size 2 diapers.  (We have like 2 days worth of 1-2's left, and by golly, we are going to use them.)  Her feet are definitely long enough for shoes, but are too skinny to keep them on... did I mention Bryton's feet are like blocks of wood?  Shoes don't fit him because his feet are too thick.  Oh, my children.  :)

She also still has the 'old man horseshoe' for a haircut, though her head is beginning to get much more fuzzy.  I just can't imagine her having noticeable hair anytime soon.  This of course rivals Bryton's 'hairstyle' at this age.  He wasn't much older than Ansley when I had to cut his hair because he had so much down the middle that it looked like the 'old man comb-over.'   What'd we do before kids, anyway?  

So there you have it... Ansley and her milestones at, well, 3 1/2 months now.  Two weeks until her next doctor appointment... which means two weeks until her next weight and length update, and two weeks until her next shots.  Boo on the shots.  Bleh. 

I'll keep you all posted on how big our big girl is ;)

-A