The Fullers

The Zoo

We went to the Nashville Zoo last week for the very first time and while Virginia Anne loved seeing the animals, I think Melanie definitely had more fun. Neither of them could stop talking about it for days!

We saw elephants, giraffes, gibbons, alligators, leopards, zebras, and so many other animals. It was definitely a trip worth the drive and the money. Nashville has a carousel, jungle gym, petting zoo, and tons of other things to do for only $13 per adult (VA was free). Needless to say, we'll be going again soon!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday Virginia Anne.........

Happy Birthday to you!

(Pictures will be posted soon of the birthday girl in all her splendor)

Sitting Up!

Much to our delight, Virginia Anne is now sitting up by herself. Her first time sitting up was way back on October 10th, but since then, it's been a challenge for her to hold the position longer than a few seconds. This past week, she really improved her balance and can sit up for minutes at a time before she decides she wants to topple over. She seems to be very pleased with her new point of view!

Virginia Anne's new noise

A Very Big Day

Well, yesterday was the day! One of many milestone days we will inevitably cross over the coming months and years. Today, Virginia Anne started eating solid food! Okay, so she probably only swallowed a taste or two (maybe) and can you really call liquid cereal a "solid?" But still, we've now ventured down that road and it's very exciting.

You're probably wondering how she liked it. As far as we can tell, she loves it, she just can't quite figure out how to get more of it in her belly. She is trying to suck it into her mouth and obviously that does more to make a puddle on her bib rather than put any food down her throat. She's a quick learner already, though. By last night, we could see that she was starting to change the movement of her mouth trying to keep more in.

Virginia Anne had cereal for breakfast and dinner - in addition to her main course of milk - and was continually grabbing Melanie's hands trying to shove the spoon in her own mouth. After the spoon was taken out, she would kick and give a little excited squeal almost as if she was saying, "More! More!"

It was such a fun day and we're sure it will be the first of many.

The First 4th

Virginia Anne spent her first 4th of July at the Fuller Homeplace. A wonderful time was had by all, especially by her Grandmary, as you'll see in this photo. Food, friends, family, and fireworks all combined to make it a wonderful celebration of our nation's birthday. We hope your celebration was just as special as ours.

Laughing!

Much to our delight, Virginia Anne is becoming very animated now a days. She laughs about once a day, but is almost always smiling - that is, when she isn't sleeping, crying, or eating. It's more fun to interact with someone who will give you some sort of reaction, and she is definitely doing that now. Not to sound cliché, but she is growing up already. She's starting to look more like a little girl rather than a newborn and her personality is already starting to show. What a joy she is to be around!

Virginia Anne Video

An update

Have I really been that lax at keeping this blog updated? Don't answer that, just please accept my apologies. It's been pretty busy around here!

Virginia Anne is sleeping MUCH better, although in waves. One night she will - seriously - sleep for eight hours. The next... maybe four hours. So we've continued tweaking and may have hit a good pattern, having had two solid nights of sleep in a row. We'll see what happens in that department...

On other fronts, Virginia Anne is growing and changing so quickly. She is much more awake and alert during the day. She will focus on objects and has started reaching for things, like our glasses. We've been doing "tummy time" since the second week, where we'll lay her on her tummy so she can start to strengthen her neck muscles. Much to our delight, the second time we tried it she lifted up her head! I'll try to add video of it but haven't figured that part out yet.

Melanie has also started reading to her, and let's just say she's enjoying the pictures. It's been great bonding time for mother and daughter.

Allen just got back from a very quick trip to Tennessee where we are getting ready to close on a house in Murfreesboro. If you haven't been to The Boro lately, it has changed a lot but still has the same great BBQ, Southern hospitality and Blue Raiders football.

Let us hear from you, and be sure to check out our Flickr photo page where we have much more frequent updates via photos of our sweet little Virginia Anne.

Success!

Babies, apparently, are nocturnal. I know it's not just our child, because our doctor told us so. The last several nights have been long ones for the new Fuller parents, staying up with a new baby who is apparently already a teenager - sleeping all day and staying up all night. Fortunately, our doctor also shared a few tricks to switch this pre-rebellious pattern.

So with his advice, we kept her awake most of the afternoon yesterday. It wasn't easy, but oh was it worth it. She slept like a log all night, waking only briefly for scheduled feedings and then passing back out. At eight o'clock this morning (that's 0800) she finally woke up.

We'll see if this exciting breakthrough becomes a trend or was just as fleeting as a clean onesie...