Esther's first shots and first Valentine's Day

Esther's first Valentine's Day started off a little rough, but ended on a good note. Esther had her 8 weeks doctor's appointment, where she had to get her first round of shots. She got 3 shots and one liquid vaccination. Mom took her to Dr. Kidd and said that Esther did pretty well. Esther hollered when the medicine from the first shot was going in, and cried through the next 2 shots, but she stopped crying and took her liquid vaccination well. Esther was measured at 11 pounds, 22 3/4 inches long and her head circumference was 14 3/4 inches. All of those measurements were pretty much right on target for her age of 2 months (Esther won't officially be 2 months old for another 4 days from today). Esther is glad that she doesn't have to go back to the doctor for another 2 months!
After her rough doctor's appointment, Esther came home and rested for a bit. Then Mommy dropped Esther off at Grandma and Grandpa Mathews' house, where they and Aunt Carolyn babysat Esther for the evening so that Mommy and Daddy could go out together on Valentine's Day. Mom and Dad went out to eat downtown at Palomino's. Dad had been wanting to take Mom there to eat for awhile. It was a really nice, fancy restaurant, right downtown near Circle Centre. Dad got Seafood Fettucine Alfredo (with shrimp and scallops), and Mom got a Filet Mignon (with blue cheese and onion strings). Quite a fancy dinner! Yum yum. Mom and Dad skipped dessert at Palomino's and went home where Dad had a box of chocolates for Mom.
Esther was really good for G&G&C. She took a couple bottles and seemed to be really mellow when Mom and Dad came to pick her up. Esther likes to sit in what Aunt Carolyn calls the "Insta-Happy Chair". It is a little plastic chair that rocks that Andy or C&C used to use when they were a baby. Esther really seems to like it. She smiles, or just sits there peacefully and looks around. Too bad Esther doesn't like her swing that much... Esther gave G&G&C lots of smiles and coos. She was a good girl! She rode quietly home in the car and slept nearly 6 hours last night too! Maybe the shots or the Tylenol wore her out...

7 weeks and growing!

Esther hit the 7 weeks milestone yesterday. She is really starting to change at a faster pace now.
The last few days have been pretty busy for her. Last Thursday (1/31), she had her first babysitter - Grandma Mathews! She behaved herself well, and slept most of the time in Grandma's arms.
Friday through Monday she was pretty fussy, and hungry. She wouldn't go to sleep by herself much during the day or the evening, but she slept longer at night. Mom says that Esther has had 6+ hour stretches of sleep for a couple nights now! Mom had a good idea to turn the clock radio on to static, and then put the radio next to Esther's crib in the nursery. This seems to muffle the noises of the wind, weather, cats and Dad getting dressed in the morning.
Esther makes coo-ing sounds now fairly regularly. The best time to catch her coo-ing seems to be when she is in a good mood - having eaten and mostly awake, but not too awake. She makes sounds like "ooo" and "ah-goooo", usually accompanied by her tongue sticking out. She smiles more now too - although Dad still wouldn't say her smiles are always intentional just yet.
Mom figured out a cool trick to do with Esther: Mom blows on Esther's face lightly, and Esther will take a quick breath in, slightly close her eyelids and smile a bit. If Dad blows on her face too hard, Esther will purse her lips together and blow some bubbles. Esther really seems to notice breeze on her face - during cold trips outside in the car seat, sometimes the wind blows the flap open over her face and she will gasp a bit.
Every day that Dad comes home from work, he thinks that Esther has grown a bit more. Mainly her face / head seem to be growing - her body growing is not as obvious. Esther has her 2 months Doctor's appointment next week - she will get her first round of shots, and we'll get to see how much she's grown!
She is a good baby and is doing great!