Whitney is ONE MONTH OLD!!!! (already?!?!)

Today, Whitney is officially ONE MONTH OLD! (I have written most of this stuff here before, but I am planning to keep track of milestones and schedules and such each month...so bear with me as I record this for T and myself and Whitney. :))
In the past month:
*we met Whitney for the first time in T's hospital room
*we held her for the first time, forever falling in love with her
*all of my prayers have been answered and our dreams came true
*Whitney has started smiling
*she was born (8lbs, 5oz). Lost weight in the first week, (8lbs, 2oz.) and then gained again by her 2 week appointment, (9lbs, 1oz.) We go back to the doc in a week for her one month stats. (This morning's scale said she is 10lbs, 4oz.)
*Whitney has rolled over several times, on her own, on the floor. no cheating. We have video to prove it.
*Whitney has met all of her grandparents and most of her great-grandparents, almost all of her Aunts and Uncles (Uncle Chris, Aunt Edie, and Andrew need to visit from Texas!) and most of her immediate cousins.
*She tries to talk to Eric, and loves to cuddle.
*Whitney loves to look at the picture frame above our couch. Maybe because its filled with pics of her??!
*She hated her first bath, but LOVES bath time now. She really likes being on the changing table, trying to talk to us. Mommy and Daddy both love the smell of her after-bath lotion.
*She rarely cries. IF she does let out a few yelps, its usually attirbuted to gas. Even though she sleeps for about 21 hours a day (non-consecutive), she sometimes fights sleep. She doesnt want to miss anything!
*Whitney has been to church, Walmart, Target (many times!), the post office (first outing alone with mommy!), Mommy's old school, Kathy's house, Grandma and Grandpa's houses, two baby showers (one was her Grandma's "Grandma Shower"!), Uncle Jake and Christina's engagement party, Ale House, La Hacienda, Chili's, Don Pablo's, The Vineyard, and Joe's Crab Shack (don't judge us for eating out so much...two reasons: I dont cook, and Eric's family was visiting!). Exciting, right?

Our daily schedule looks like:
*whatever Whitney wants it to look like!
It was difficult to get into a groove when she first came home since we had SOOOO many fun visitors and people who wanted to love on her. But we are slowly getting into a groove, especially with the bedtime routine.
Activity:
Whitney has been extremely active, considering she has only been here a month! Her neck is very strong (her Doc even noted how strong she is!) and she has already rolled from belly to back several times. When we hold her, she likes to be up on our shoulder, able to look around the room and out the windows. When she is on her belly, she can easily flip her head from side to side (even in her sleep), and if we put pressure behind her feet, she pushes forward. I see an army crawler in our near future!
Whitney has a big crush on Elmo and Big Bird. Elmo is the clear favorite, as when he starts talking, she perks up, listens, and SMILES! Again, video to prove it!
The most "routine" part of our day is at "bedtime". Whitney loves hanging out in the sling while I make dinner. Then, when Eric comes home, we eat and Whitney hangs out in her swing or her bassinet or (rarely) her bouncy. After we eat a yummy meal :) and clean the kitchen, we give Whitney a bath at the kitchen sink. She LOVES this time! She hangs out, relaxes in her tub, sucks on her hand or binky, and is wide-eyed! After bath time, we spend some time talking on her changing table, then Daddy and I debate over which PJs she should wear. :) After we coo and ooooh and ahhhh over here there, we bring her to the play room where we read books and cuddle some more. Lately, Whitney has fallen asleep in the middle of her book time, but we read on :) Our current favorites: "Make Way for Ducklings" (set in Boston, from Uncle Jamey), "Guess How Much I Love You", and "Angel Baby" (from Kaitlyn and the Salmons...LOOOOVE this book!!!!!!!). After books, we put Whitney in her big girl crib until her next, late-night bottle. Once that bottle is polished off, we all go to bed in our room.
Sleeping/Napping:
She sleeps a LOT during the day, but did have one day this week where she was awake from 9:10am until 5:30pm with only a 25 minute nap in the middle! The next day, she was wiped out and back to sleeping forEVER. She falls asleep as soon as she's in her sling or in her carseat with her binky and her blanket pulled up. She has slept in her big girl crib for up to 5 hours(!), but sleeps in mommy's arms, the swing, or in her bassinet most of the time. At night, she always sleeps in her bassinet, next to mommy's side of the bed. She is one of those dream babies who can put herself to sleep, regardless of how noisy or bright the room may be. The handful of times she has been over-tired, mommy has walked her through the house, cuddling her close and talking to her softly, and she has fallen asleep within a minute or two.
Eating:
Lately, she has been eating 4oz every 3-4 hours.
Whitney grunts and groans from her bassinet, letting us know its time to eat each night. She never makes it past the grunting, as mommy has the bottle-making down to a science. :) Sometimes we sit in bed and eat, other times we sit in the rocker in the playroom. No matter where we eat, Whitney is right back to sleep within a minute of finishing her bottle. She is a very good eater and an excellent sleeper! Our nighttime feedings never take longer than 20 minutes from beginning to end...but it is time that mommy enjoys a LOT, often spending those minutes thanking God for the blessing He has given this family.
Personality:
If there is one word that Eric and I hear over and over again, it is the word "CONTENT". Everyone tells us how content and calm Whitney seems to be in our arms and in our lives. She is such an easy infant and truly makes this mommy thing look easy. She is alread smiling and starting to try to coo. She gets maaaad when she has a bit of gas, but gets over it quickly and moves on with smiles. We are fairly certain she knows our voices and scents (all good, of course!) in comparison to other people, as she cranes her neck to hear us and see us already. :)
She is very calm and "chill" and we havent yet had an "oh no! What's wrong with her? why is she crying uncontrollably?!" moment. :)
I am loving spending the days with Whitney, figuring her out and getting to know her.


Now, on to the FUN part....the PICTURES!
Whitney Faith Bass, 4 days old:


Whitney Faith Bass, One Month Old:


The Bass Family, 5 days old:


The Bass Family, One Month Old:



We can't wait to see what the next month brings. Every day seems even better than the one before! Whitney is the love of our lives, and we are so blessed to be her parents!

While we were at my mom and dad's today, we took some Mommy/Daughter pics in our favorite shirts. :) Some of my very favorite people in the whole wide world, The Millhollins sent us these shirts. The lighting was funky so I dont know if you can see that Whitney's shirt says "PRINCESS WHITNEY" in rhinestones, of course. And mine says "WHITNEY'S MOMMY", in rhinestones. :) I am IN LOVE with these shirts and couldnt wait for the Whitter-Bug to be able to wear hers :)



And here are some pics from the "photo shoot" at my mom's tonight...we were trying to get her to show off that million dollar smile....obviously, we will stop at nothing:



And this is how we ended our day...with our Princess on her Throne....melting our hearts...helping us look forward to many more "tomorrows" with her: