The Minneapolis McCues: Things are going just GREAT!!

Once again, it's been a little while since I last blogged, but I'm happy to report that things are going just great!! Really, seriously, great! Meredith is consistently eating well, she's sleeping well and is very smiley and happy when she's awake. It's taken over 5 months, but she's finally became the perfect little child!!

She's getting such a great little personality. She is very observant and loves to look around. She's loves looking at herself in the mirror, even more. She always starts smiling when she sees herself in a mirror. She's getting really good at grasping things and everything goes into her mouth. She's also getting really good a putting her pacifier in and out of her mouth. She also recently figured out how to roll from her back to her tummy! She had already rolled from her tummy to her back, but not the other way. So now I put her on her activity mat and if I step away for even a moment, she's on her tummy when I get back. She still has more trouble getting back to her back, but sometimes she just rolls and rolls and rolls! Basically she is just all smiles and giggles when she's awake. Don't get me wrong, she can get fussy, at times - but that's usually because she's tired. It is just so much fun seeing her so happy and having so much fun!

And like I said, she's eating much better. She takes between 4 and 7 oz every bottle. When she doesn't have to go to day care, she gets up and has her first bottle around 7am, then every 3 hours until 10pm. She's going to sleep around 8 to 8:30pm every night and sleeping until around 7am (though she starts to stir around 5am because she's used to getting up at that time for daycare, but I just give her the pacifier and she usually goes back to sleep). She's still napping for times a day for 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. She still can only be awake about 1.5 to 2 hours before getting fussy and tired. But we just swaddle her, give her the pacifier and put her in her crib and she falls asleep on her own, no problem! And we're giving her cereal every night and I think she's getting better at it. We started with rice cereal and now we've tried oatmeal. She's just starting to really open her mouth and eat more. Tonight we'll try barley cereal and then we'll be moving on to fruits and veggies!

Anywho.... what have we been up to? Not a whole terrible lot, but Meredith and I did go to Blue Earth a few weekends ago. We almost didn't because my nephew, Brooks, had pneumonia earlier that week. They had started him on antibiotics, but by Thursday - he wasn't getting any better. He ended up getting admitted to the hospital in Blue Earth for supplemental oxygen and intramuscular antibiotics. They discovered not only did he have pneumonia, but he also had RSV and bronchiolitis. My sister and her husband stayed with him at the hospital Thursday night and Friday night until he was discharged on Saturday afternoon. I was worried about Meredith and didn't want her to get sick, but I just never brought her to where Brooks was and I made everyone wash their hands before playing with Meredith. It ended up being just fine and I was so glad I had gone home. I was able to see everyone and it was a relaxing time, even though I was only home late Friday night until early afternoon on Sunday.

My niece Madison was staying at my mom's on Friday night because my sister and her husband were at the hospital with Brooks. Madison was so cute with Meredith and so helpful. We had a great time hanging out and after Meredith went to bed, we all watched Up! My sister Jillian was also home that night until the next morning because she was in between apartments and moving that Saturday. Because of her moving, I also got to see my father because he had to come over to my mom's to get some of Jill's things. My grandmother, brother and sister-in-law all stopped by that day to visit as well. In the evening I was able to leave Meredith with my mom and John and I went to my sister Emily's house to see her, Brooks and her hubby, Andrew. Andrew's parents were also there and I spent about an hour just hanging out and chatting. Later that evening, my sister also came by my mom's to spend more time with Meri. I think Meredith really loves my sister because she smiles and giggles so much every time my sister says anything. Maybe it's a red hair thing!

Then on Sunday morning my brother, sister Emily, niece Madison, Meri and I met my dad and his wife for brunch at Country Kitchen before I left to go back to the Cities. It was pretty much a perfect weekend and I'm excited to see them all again, though it won't be until April!

Then last weekend, Jon and I just took it easy. We had take out on Friday night. Then on Saturday we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and we put Meri in a snowsuit and took a walk up to our local grocery store and picked up a few things to make dinner that night. Then on Sunday, we went to a friend's house for their daughter's 2nd Birthday party. We just spent a few hours there, but it was so nice to see a bunch of people that we haven't seen in forever. Everyone brought their kids and had a great time.

This coming weekend we're having some good friends over for dinner on Friday night and then I'm going out for some drinks with friends on Saturday while Jon babysits (he really is a great husband, but don't tell him I said that...). Then in a week, Jon's mom is coming into town for a few nights to visit. I can't believe how quickly time has been going lately. Meredith will be six months old next week. Before I know it, we'll be celebrating her first birthday!