5 weeks old

My little baby girl is five weeks old today. On Thursday we celebrated her turning a month old, along with my 24th birthday. Here is a look at how she has grown... fresh out of the womb, a week old and one month.

Eveyone who sees her says how small she is, but she is looking so big to me! She doesn't look like a newborn anymore, she looks like, well a baby! Her body is starting to fill out, and I think she is working on those chubby cheeks that run in my family. They are no where close to as big as mine were though.

Ryann had her one month doctors appointment on Friday. As of then she weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces, and is a whopping 21 inches long. She jumped from the 9th percentile in her weight to the 28th. For her height (I suppose that is length right now :o) she is in the 42nd percentile. She obviously does not take after her mother. I was never long and lean!

Ryann also had to get the second shot in the HepB series. Based on that one shot alone, I am NOT looking forward to her two month appointment. My daughter rarely, as in almost never cries. She doesn't get too upset, unless she is really hungry. So... watching her poor unsuspecting face go from curiously looking around the room to complete terror and hearing her wail was rather rough. The actual crying didn't last long, but I could tell she was still upset. I gave her a bottle which helped, but she didn't eat very much and eventually just went to sleep. I felt so bad!

We are starting to see more and more random smiles, and I can't wait until they truly happen because she means it. Until now my favorite smiles have been the 'milk drunk' smiles. They are hillarious. But when she looks right at you and grins, there is just nothing better.

If Ryann's personality ends up being anything like she is now, we will have a very easy going, mild mannered little girl. Pretty much just like her daddy. She definitely will let you know when she wants something, but the rest of the time she is content to just lay on her back in take in the world around her.

She absolutely loves to stare at lights. Anytime we walk from room to room she just stares at the ceiling and follows the lights with her eyes. When a light gets switched off her eyes get absolutely huge, like 'what the heck? where did the light go??' Pretty humourous :o).

This past weekend was rather eventful for Ry. Friday night we all had dinner at our friend Sam's house. Sam's family has been kind enough to invite us over to dinner a few times. I love going over there... it always means great food and great time with friends. After that Ry took her first extended car trip for her first weekend in Topeka at her Grammy and Grandpa's house. She was a little weirded out at first in the car because it was dark, but it didn't take long for her to fall asleep, and she slept the whole way.

Saturday evening my parents hosted a BBQ so some of their friends could meet the new addition to the family. It was lots of fun, Ry got to meet so many of our family friends, and in general my mom just throws a pretty mean party. Everyone always has a good time!

Sunday morning we were up bright and early for Ryann's baptism. Of course our little angel slept through the entire service, and barely flinched when the water was poured on her head.

The dress that Ryann was baptized in has quite the history. My mother was the first girl in the family to be baptized in it, since then so many of my cousins and their daughters have been baptized wearing it, as well as my sister and I. It was surreal as I was sitting in church looking down at my daughter, thinking that 24 years ago my mom was holding me wearing the same dress as I was about to be baptized, and 45 years ago my grandma was looking down at my mom in the same gown. I hope that some day Ryann will have a daughter of her own, and she too can wear the baptism gown.

Sunday evening we took Ryann to her first dance performance. My sister is part of a dance company at an amazing studio that is for dancers over the age of 18, who want to continue their love of dance. Ry was a trooper, and I will admit both Chris and I were just counting down the number of dances left, because even though Ryann didn't seem to care about the loud music and the lights and what not, the applause was another story. Every time a dance would end and people would start to clap she would freak out and start to squirm. But I am happy to say she indeed survived what I hope is the first of many showcases or recitals in her life.

After our whirlwind of a weekend, Ry and I are enjoying the day in our pajamas. I can't imagine what the next month will have instore for us!