Little Traveler

Four Generations-Mom-Mom Bussels, Cindy, Josh and Jaela

Jaela has added another state to the list of places she has traveled to so far. This last week, we took her out to Maryland to see Josh's side of the family and celebrate Thanksgiving and a little bit of Christmas too. This time, we traveled by car instead of air. She did awesome in the car ride, which took us a little over 11 hours each time. We chose to drive through the night, in order to keep Jaela on her schedule and decrease the amount of time that we needed to stop. On both trips, she slept about 7- 7 1/2 hours before she woke up and needed fed. After we fed her and changed her diaper, she fell back asleep in the car and remained asleep until we arrived at our destinations.

Jaela did awesome while we were in Maryland. She had some fussy times, but for the most part, she put on extra charm for everyone. She met her remaining 3 great grandparents, along with her uncles, and even some great aunts and uncles and cousins. She was especially charming for Josh's cousin Richard, giving him lots of smiles and coos.

Putting on the Charm for Richard

I'm glad that we were able to take Jaela to Maryland and see everyone. We were blessed by great weather, safe travels and lots of good memories. Hopefully we will be able to return this next summer and maybe take Jaela to Ocean City to introduce her to the beach, boardwalk and Thrasher's Fries. :)

Soccer and Other Notes

Josh loves coming home from work and playing with our little girl. He says he can't wait until she's old enough to play sports and he can coach her team. She recently has become more aware of her surroundings and will attempt to hit objects with her hands and kick with her feet. Most of the time, she doesn't make contact, but when somebody (like Daddy) helps her out, she can. So, the above video just shows Josh playing soccer with her. He gets really excited at the end when she kicks with her left foot. (She starts fussing at the end because she was bored of laying down and wanted picked up)

In other news, we had our 2 month check up this week. Jaela now weighs 11lbs, 10 oz (70%) and is 22 1/4 inches long (50%). Her head is in the 85%, so I don't know if that means she will be a brainiac, or if she just has a big noggin.

It seems like we are having more fussy time again. She fusses sometimes within a half hour of feeding, and will only console if I give in and feed her. The pediatrician just told us to try a pacifier (which she just spits out) and try to keep her from eating until 2 1/2-3 hours in between feedings. I usually try this, but sometimes she just gets so mad. He also said that she should start sleeping through the night here in the next month or so (Hooray!) and after that, she will be more calm during the day. While I do enjoy having my little girl want me to hold her and console her, I look forward to being able to just let her play on the floor for a while. She is growing up so fast. I go back to work in 3 weeks, and I keep wishing it was longer. But nonetheless, bills need to be paid, and health insurance needs to stay active, so I will return to work. At least I will see her at night and on weekends, and will cherish each moment I have with her.

Church Shower

This last Sunday night, our church threw us a baby shower. The people there are so wonderful and so generous. Jaela received a lot of really nice things, from clothes, to diapers and toys. I can't believe how much she received! Many people were thoughtful and gave us clothes for her to grow into. It's so funny to think that these items look huge on her (at least when I hold them up next to her) but I know that soon enough she will be in them and then grown out of them just as fast. I'm just so amazed at how much she grows each day. I can truly see God's work each time I look at my daughter. We are so blessed to have her in our lives, and are also so blessed to have a wonderful, caring and generous church family in our lives as well. We look forward to seeing Jaela grow up in the church, singing praises to God and saying her memory verses. Thank you once again to our awesome congregation!

Look what we've found!

Jaela is beginning to get more and more interesting each day. Within the last couple days, she has discovered her hands. I find her playing with them, sucking on them every once in awhile. Sometimes I think she is just sucking on them because she is getting hungry, but often I think it is just because she thinks they are pretty cool because she seems quite satisfied with them. Nonetheless, this is something new for her, and as a proud mama, I think it's quite cool.

Jaela also has become a fan of lights. She loves staring at bright lights, whether it is from a lamp, a window, or a Green Lantern ring. :) She likes to be carried in a way that allows her to look at the lights, and if the position i'm holding her in does not allow for that, she will push back and tilt her head backwards in order to look up at them.

Watching the light on a Green Lantern Ring

And finally, her other new "trick" is tracking noises. She is becoming more alert to her surroundings, and will try to follow noises with her eyes. We played with a rattle the other day, and she followed the noise with her eyes to each direction, and actually seemed to enjoy it. She even smiled while we were playing.

Watching Jaela grow and develop is so amazing, and I am thankful each day that God has given her to us. I look forward to continuing to watch her grow and the excitement that I will feel with each milestone. It is just so amazing to see God's work in her.