This Wednesday, Chris and I had the luxury of being able to go on a real “date” in the afternoon. Chris’ parents were kind enough to watch Renee for a few hours and we went out to lunch and did a little shopping. We missed our little Renee, but it was nice to have a good stretch of some “us” time, too.
We went to CT Tuesday night and Renee had her first sleepover at her Papa and Noni’s house. Chris’ parents seemed excited to be with her, they even put a little sign on the door to “her room” (formerly the guest room) that says “The Princess Sleeps Here”. Ya think she’s gonna be spoiled by them much? Chris Grandpa came over on Wednesday and got to hold his great-granddaughter for the first time. It was a pretty tender moment. He was almost as mushy as Chris’ Dad is when he held her.

We were a bit nervous at first how Chris’ parents’ 2 collies would react to her, but the dogs simply adored her. Brody, the male collie was her instant protector. He didn’t want her to be out of his sight for more than a minute, even when he looked really tired like he wanted to sleep. When she cried, he would cry and act very concerned. Mollie, Brody’s sister, came over to Renee when she was sitting in her little bouncer and laid her head right on the bouncer. Both dogs played “sentry duty” all night long, walking back and forth to the room to “check up” on her. They would give her kisses, but not the big slobbery kisses they’d give me and Chris-they’d only give her ever so gentle, tiny little licks. How do animals know how to treat babies so well? It was pretty sweet.
It was really, really nice that Chris’ family wanted to help watch Renee.Chris’ Mom even came into our room early in the morning and said she would watch Renee for us so we could sleep a little (she kept us up all night just “talking”. Lately Renee has been “talking more and more, always waving her hands in the air (so she MUST be Italian!).
I’ve been pumping a couple of times a day and she drank from a bottle, she’s doing pretty good with it (we try it once a day at least). We’re looking forward to going up to Killington for Thanksgiving (Chris’s sister rents a ski house up there and is hosting turkey day there this year) and having a relaxing day with people who want to spend time with her too.
I can’t believe already that she is over 3 weeks old! Already she is changing so much. She’s always been really alert for her “age” and held her head up pretty good, but now she even tries to roll over when we put her on her tummy. She is starting to smile more to the point that it isn’t just gas, so cute. She eats like a pig, burps and farts like a frat boy, and grunts like a cavewoman. That’s our little girl!