8 Weeks

Can it be true? Our little Helen has been in the family for two months!

She still has a lot of the hair she was born with (which admittedly, wasn't much). The new growth is strawberry blonde (like the boys' hair was) and the old stuff is dark. She's got nearly nothing on top. And thankfully, the infant acne stage is almost over! And can you tell she's a good eater?!

She makes all sorts of funny faces, and she has been more interactive lately. It feels like she has begun to "wake up" in the last week and she looks at us more often and makes new noises as well. 

Every so often we think she smiles -- we are excited for it to become a regular occurance. She watches the boys play from her bouncy chair and they are constantly stopping what they're doing to adjust the music and bouncing for her. 

(Helen with the blanket and booties my friend Heather knitted for her)

She so rarely fusses that when she got upset during tummy time the other day I stopped and just watched her for a minute and then grabbed the camera-- she just looked adorable! When she does begin to fuss (like when I try to wrangle a too-tight shirt over her pudgy arms) the boys get really concerned and think she is in serious trouble. They hover until she's happy again.

We love that she sleeps so well and is so content when awake. Her naps are getting shorter: between 1 and 2 hours now instead of me waking her up after 3 + hours. She usually wants to go back to sleep after being awake for an hour during the daytime. She always sleeps solidly at night (as in she goes back to sleep immediately after feedings between about 10 pm and 9 am) and she typically sleeps for 4-7 hours stretches, and once even slept for 9! 

We can't believe we are lucky enough to have an infant who sleeps like that! The most amazing part? It's in her own bed! In her own room! For that to happen with a baby less than 6 months old is unheard of for a Larson. And I love it!

And although she prefers to do her sleeping in her bed, with blackout curtains and a white noise machine, I'm glad she's also willing to sleep amid the chaos on the living room floor. The boys' playing tends to gravitate to wherever she is!

***Now, I imagine that this post may leave the impression that Helen is a nearly perfect newborn. And that would be true. I should state however that her brothers are going through less-than-angelic stages currently, and it more than balances out their angel baby sister. Those wild boys are still hilarious and super fun -- but they have spilled/thrown/broken/peed on/cursed at/wailed on/ too many things this week and do not run the risk of being confused with cherubs. ***