4 months old

It seems that every time I turn around, Ariana is another month older. I guess I need to stop turing around so much!!!
Four months old, and I still stare at her in awe the same way I did when she was four minutes old. She is sheer perfection... beyond perfection, and Marty and I are so truly blessed to be able to call her ours. I love the way she giggles when she hears me call her name from the doorway in anticipation of me leaning over the top of her crib to get her from a nap. I'm sure she's as amused as she looks when she has me on one side of her saying "Mamamamama" and Marty on the other side of her repeating "Dadadadada". I watch her sleep nuzzled into the crook of my arm and can't hold back the tears that well up behind my eyes. I want to capture every moment and store it away in the back of my mind so I can always summon up the memories of these days when she stops reaching out to grab my shirt and pull in close and starts reaching out for the car keys. I dream of expanding our family, but then I see her sweet face and guilt washes over me as if she can read my thoughts and would feel betrayed and robbed of her time to have Mommy and Daddy to herself 100%.

I attempted to do a 4 month old photo shoot today, but she wasn't to into it. I'll try again tomorrow, but I'll share these with you in the meantime.

Christmas!

Ariana was amazed at one of her Chanukkah gifts from Nanny and Papa!


Here are some of the pictures from Christmas morning and our weekend at Nanny and Papa's house:









Santa knew how ready she was for a new toy like this:

Reading in the car:

First time ever meeting Santa!

She finally got it!

let the good times ROLL

Ariana is mobile! Well, sort of. Tonight after her bath Marty and I had her on her tummy while we got together her diaper and jammies. She was content for a few minutes, as she usually is, then she began trying to kick herself over by frogging her leg out to the side. Normally she keeps her elbow bent out beside her in the direction that she's trying to roll and it acts as a kickstand of sorts. I guess turning 15 weeks old today made her a just old and wise enough to tuck her arm under her torso and lean her head to the side... and over she went! She lay there wide eyed looking from Marty, to me, then back to Marty. We cheered and clapped and kissed her cheeks, and it was then that she realized that she got herself on her back! When we put her on her tummy again, she instant tucked and rolled again, and again we celebrated her achievement and praised her to no end. This time, she smiled and cooed, obviously as pleased with herself as we were!
She also finally got a hold of her ever elusive feet today! She always watches them when she's sitting in one of our laps or while in the tub. She'll talk to them and grab at them, but they always seemed just out of reach. Not today, though! When we got back from the visiting Santa at the mall this afternoon (she told him all she wanted for Christmas is her two front teeth... Mommy, and her nipples, aren't so anxious for this milestone) she was playing on her play mat when those darn feet caught her eye. She reached out and clamped her fist down around her chubby toes successfully! She held on for a good little bit lifting her head up like she was doing a sit up while licking the air. So she hasn't yet figured out that she has to bring the foot to her mouth, not the other way around. There's always tomorrow, though!
We are amazed at how quickly she's growing and changing from day to day. It seems like just yesterday she was our tiny little newborn.

promotion

Since this blog is about our family and not just Ariana, I'd like to make a long overdue announcement about Marty:
At his two year evaluation at Applebee's he FINALLY got the news that he was getting promoted from assistant manager to kitchen manager! The workload is more, but he's been slowly taking over the position since February of 2008, so it's already second nature to him. The salary is higher, which means less hand to mouth living for us, and we can comfortably have me stay at home with Ariana for at least a year! I'm so proud of him and all the effort he puts into his job. He works over 60 hours a week most of the time so Ariana doesn't have to bein daycare.
They also told him that they'd like to have him in a general manager position by the end of 2009, 2010 at the latest. As if his one promotion after a mere two years wasn't enough. To be in charge of his own store within 3-4 years at a company is truly incredible!

without a doubt

Without a doubt, this is the cutest thing I've ever heard. See for yourself.

Ariana is 3 1/2 months old and she giggles nonstop. She amazes us daily and we fall in love with her all over again.