Eighteen weeks!

Rose is eighteen weeks old!

This was a big week for me because I had a total meltdown on Sunday after feeling overwhelmed for, I don't know, weeks? months?   I love Rose sooooo much, but caring for her can be such hard work!  I realized yesterday that I really, really, really need to ask for more help. Now that Mike's psych class is over it's been so much easier, but I still need to build more "Steph time" into my week. I love blogging because it's such a helpful outlet - I can vent, I can post photos, I can brag about Rose, and I can let out all the crazy. I feel so much better now I had a good long talk cry with Mike and my mom yesterday, and I'm looking forward to more fully utilizing my support network in the future. (If you're reading this, consider yourself warned!)  :)

But enough about me. Here's the beautiful girl you came to see! As you can see, she is all about the kicking now! Those little legs are just constantly moving.

Right now Rose likes:
+ standing (with support)
+ looking around (why look straight ahead when you can instead crane your neck from side to side?!)
+ very deliberately reaching for things (no indiscriminate batting for this little girl!)

And she does not like:
- being out past 6pm, particularly on a Friday
- being in the car during evening "cluster feeding" time
- getting vaccinated