Groceries, Diapers, and Mermaids

Well, I'm 26 now. Don't feel any different. Never really do. Oh well. Yesterday was nice though. I got lots of birthday wishes from friends. Mom came down (though I don't think remembered my birthday until she got home) and watched Ariel so I could go to RBC to do some office work and then grocery shopping. It was super good of her. Apparently, Ariel had really bad gas bubbles while I grocery shopped, so she basically fussed the whole time. She was happy when I got home though. :)
...break in writing for crying baby...
Okay, now I have a few minutes to write. My new parent tip for the day is to have an exercise ball! Ours has helped up SO much in the last week or so. It's an amazing soother. It lets us bounce to varying degrees, roll side to side or back and forth, and tone core muscles all at the same time. Plus, when she is gassy, we lay her on the ball on her tummy and roll around a little to massage her tummy. Awesome! Further, it is an exercise ball, so it has all those uses and it can triple as a birthing ball to get through painful contractions. So there is my tip.
As I said, yesterday I went grocery shopping. I planned for a week for this trip - planning meals, making the list, finding store deals, clipping coupons - and I went to three shops (one more today), so hopefully these groceries will last for a couple of months (maybe more) with just a couple trips to the store for veggies, milk, bread, and such. The people in line behind me at the store did not enjoy my planning as it made their way quite long, but we chatted and laughed at me a lot!
Ariel is doing really well. She is 10 weeks old. She smiles all the time and I think a big ole giggle is just welling up in her. I can't wait for it! One of my friends suggested touching her feet to her face during play time to get the giggle, but it won't work for us. Her belly is too big to get both of her feet up that high - in a cute way. I guess we'll have to try other techniques. This week she found herself in a mirror. During her diaper changes, she usually cries a lot! Grandma gave her a mirror toy for Christmas that plays music and I put it on the corner of the table and she just looks at herself and smiles at the music - she is so cute. I love it! She is also starting to swat at toys a lot and even seems to be catching on a tiny bit that she is the reason they move. The swats are pretty unintentional, but she is starting to react to them pretty good. Today, she is wearing her first cloth diaper. I hope I put it on right. We'll see. Practice makes perfect, right? I will get plenty of practice. We are hoping to do the cloth diaper thing to save money. I think we can get started with it for about the same amount of money we would spend to use disposables for 2 months, but then these may last all the way! Of course, we'll have to buy some more stuff occasionally, but still thats a huge savings. We'll see how it goes. As long as we use them for several months, we will save good money, so no loss. Ariel is sleeping so well! Last night she went to bed at 10:00, really fell asleep at 10:30 (Jason went in to sooth two or three times), and woke this morning about 7:45 - but just laid there looking around until 8:15. She's pretty consistent with this! Awesome! Plus she is so happy in the morning. We have a lot of fun. We might watch The Little Mermaid today. I think she'll enjoy hearing the songs. We gave her the movie for Christmas this year - I don't think she knows yet (hee hee).
Well, I think she is getting ready to eat, so I'll end here.