Belen at 3 Months

She just gets more and more wonderful.

We're starting to move toward some kind of schedule, and she really seems to appreciate it.  The morning is still consisting of two forty-ish minute naps, but in the afternoon, she has finally decided to follow her brother's lead and take a two to three hour nap. 

Life is so good these days.

I think we've finally figured each other out.  I cry for many reasons I don't understand, but Belen cries for four reasons:

1. She's hungry (she likes to get real loud over this one).
2. She's tired.
3. She wants to be picked up.
4. She wants to be put down.

 This girl needs variety.  She wants to snuggle for a bit, and then sit back so she can see you and talk to you.  Luckily for her, a toddler in the home brings all sorts of variety.

She's really exploring with her voice these days.  I'm hearing all sorts of squeaks, squeals, grunts, sighs, coos, and even something like a shout.

Also, Grandma Gunn got her to finally do a real belly laugh.

We try to witness those as much as possible, but they're still a bit hard to come by.  Sometimes she will when Mark covers her with a blanket.  Or when Mac pushes her in the swing.

But she'll flash you those gummy gums all day long.  Providing she's fed and well-rested, naturally.  (Takes after her mom.)

Belle still seems so incredibly strong to me.  Especially when I compare her to Mac at this age.  She's my little fireball.

Yes, she is fully standing in that picture and I am just helping her balance.  Isn't that a little ridiculous?  She likes to stand when she's happy too, but she's really good at it when she's ticked.

She can do the superman forever, and still hasn't quite figured out that she can use her arms to hold her head up.
 

She is always sticking her tongue out at us.  Mac thinks it's hilarious.

She is constantly drooling.  It runs down my arm when I have her on my shoulder.  Add that to her old faithful-like spit up and blow outs, and we're doing a whole lot of laundry these days.  Mark is usually very surprised if he comes home and the three of us are all in the same outfits we started out in.  (And half the time we actually are in the same outfits, we really should have changed ... but I just became particularly indifferent to smelling like puke that day.)

I'm worried I'll have to just toss some of these clothes ... who wants hand-me-downs that look like this?

She's discovering her fingers, though she mostly just chews on them.  No sucking.  And still no binky.

She's beginning to figure out how to grab things.  The dangling octopus is her favorite.

By far her favorite soothing technique (besides eating, of course) is to just gaze into your eyes and coo away.  She can't get enough.

Sometimes, she'll even fall asleep that way.

And then I usually just want to kiss her face right off.