As she grows... month 11

Wow! So here we are! 1 month away from Lydia's FIRST birthday! I am still some what in denial that the year is quickly coming to an end. I am starting to plan her birthday extravaganza and can't wait to see her reaction to cake for the first time.

11 Month (8.5 mo.) Stats:

• Around 16.5/17 lbs (according to my own bathroom scale)

Activities/Interests

• CRAWLING! She is a busy girl these days as she explores every cord, electronic device or remote in sight. She has moved from army crawling to "standard" crawling and is getting faster by the day.
• She is working on pulling up, but will play happily in a standing position for a short time.
• Think we might also have a mini-phi mu in training as she now smiles any time the camera comes out. I see many "sorority poses" in our future.
• Eating continues to be one of her favorite activities and has started to eat small bites of table food. Some of her new favorites are:
• black or pinto beans
• corn... sometimes
• spaghetti with meat sauce
• She also will eat green veggies if mama didn't make them! I guess my home food processor can't get the green beans and peas fine enough to her liking, but does better on the store bought versions; which is fine with me!
• "Bababa" is one of her new favorite words and will babble to herself and us all day long. If she's done with dinner or wants more food, she will now shriek/scream quite loudly. This also goes if we take one of her favorites toys away; such as my phone. She's not shy to share her feelings.
• Sitting up on her own is also a new skill she mastered this month and now takes twice as long for her to fall asleep; since she HAS to sit up after I lay her down for a nap and then eventually lay down on her own. At least she's quiet and plays in her crib, but is funny to watch on the monitor. We lowered her mattress in case she masters her standing up skills in bed.
• Music class has now resumed after Christmas and New Years. After being out for about 3 weeks it seems Lydia has mastered her shaking skills with the instruments, but of course, still end up in her mouth by the end of the song. It has been fun watching her interact with the others in the class and develop new skills week after week.

Here is our monthly shot with Mr Bear:

Snazzy

So I was getting a little bored with my blog and wishing I had photoshop to make a cool design and header. This really is me just being jealous of my friend Greta's new blog header. So, after a little research, I came upon a lovely post from Blissfully Domestic that gives an overview of how to make your own blog post using Picasa.

I'm pretty pleased with my creation and just had to share in case anyone else had the itch for a personalized blog header. It's still nothing like my friend Greta's, but I'm pretty pleased.

Now my hubby is begging me to transfrom his as well... hee hee...

Christmas Catch-up

Christmas was such a magical time for us this year. It was so fun watching Lydia eat enjoy the tree, lights and learn how to open presents. We had 4 different Christmases this year and by the end of Christmas week Lydia was a paper pro -- rip, eat, repeat... There were a few times I had to fish paper out of her mouth... silly girl!

Our first Christmas was with my parents the weekend before. We celebrated after church on Sunday, so everyone was in their Christmas best. The kids (and adults) had fun opening all their presents and getting to spend some time together.

Lydia and Ellie just love each other

Love that we finally got one of all the cousins looking at the camera!

One of Lydia's first wrapping paper experiences... notice in the mouth

Lydia's first chair from Sissy & Justin

Our 2nd Christmas took place at home before we left to spend Christmas weekend in Florida with Kyle's family. Since Lydia is too young to know anything about the magic of Christmas yet - we decided it would be easier to celebrate together as a family and not drag anything more than we needed down to FL.

I love the idea of doing 4 gifts -- Something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read. We sort of did that by accident this year (except I didn't quite get the something to read...whoops).

We really were just planning on getting her 1 present since she doesn't know what is going on and knew the grandparents would have plenty for her to open. Her main present was the rocking ladybug below; which counts as something she wants.

I just fell in love with it and also liked it because it sort of has a seat in the back and the head is HUGE so she won't fall off. She also got socks (something to wear) and a sippy cup (something she needs) in her stocking, but we stopped taking pictures after she got her ladybug.

Waiting for Lydia to wake up

Our tree on our Christmas morning

Think she likes it

Our 3rd Christmas was more like a Christmas weekend celebration since we saw lots of family and had about 3 days of non-stop celebrating. It was a great time to introduce Lydia to some family in FL that hadn't met her yet as well as catching up with everyone.

When we arrived Friday night we had our 1st Christmas celebration with Kyle's parents and sister. Noah and Lydia had fun with Bella before everyone arrived.

 The next morning we went to Granny and PawPaw's house - Lydia's great-grandparents on Kyle's mom's side. This was their first time meeting Lydia. I'm sure Granny wouldn't be happy to see the pictures of her in curlers, but I just love them.

Meeting Granny

Four Generation - Lillian, Kim, Kyle and Lydia

Lydia and PawPaw

That night we went to Aunt Helen's for Christmas Eve with his mom's side of the family. We got all dressed up and had the cousins in some adorable coordinating outfits for the occasion.

 Our little family before leaving for the party

Cousins! We tried for a LONG time to get a picture of them together and this is the best we got. Lydia looks a little unsure, but Noah has the smile down

The Edwards Family with kids and grands

Christmas Day was spent at Keily's house with the Edwards family celebration. Surprisingly, there were still a few gifts to open!

Lydia's other FL great grandma - Grandma Dorothy

Lydia and Noah with their great-grandmas.

Lydia doesn't know how good she has it - she has 4 great-grandparents (3 in FL and 1 in SC) as well as 4 grandparents to love on her. 

Kyle with his nephew and daughter on the swings

We had such a great time visiting with everyone in FL and if you can't tell from the pictures (Kyle is in shorts) -- it was 80 the whole weekend. Quite a difference from the 50's we were experiencing in Atlanta.

Our 4th and final Christmas took place after Christmas when my Aunt and kids came down from SC to see everyone.

Going through my pictures, I realize I'm not quite so good at taking pictures of the adults that were present... sorry!!





My Aunt MADE a ducky stuffed animal for Lydia.

I keep telling her to open an etsy store!!

The next day we just hung out and Blake and Lydia had their first real play date. They are only 6 months apart, but now that Lydia is catching up with her milestones, she's more able to play with her cousin. They were so cute together!

Lydia stared Blake down until she got her own sippy cup...not that she could actually drink from it. She likes food/drinks and not afraid to show it!

Playing at the activity table together

Onnie and her grandbaby...see I did take one picture of an adult during this visit!

PHEW! Anyone still with me?? That is the end of our Christmas activities... Are you tired from reading all of that? We were tired from experiencing it all, but well worth the memories and time we got to spend with both sides of our family.

New Years weekend we pretty much crashed and caught up on our sleep (as much as possible with a baby in the house).

We are ready for the new year... this is year of the 30's for Kyle and I. Though he doesn't let me forget it (EVER) that I turn 30 first... little stinker! 

As she grows.... month 10

I can't believe my baby is TEN months! This first year is going by too quickly. Also just realized I better get started on the first birthday plans with just 2 months to go. She is really catching up quickly and can't quite believe she's 16 lbs. I was only around 19 lbs on my first birthday, so comparing her to my own growth curve, she might just catch up to her mama by her birthday and will surpass me for sure come May.

10 Month (32 weeks adjusted/7.5 mo.) Stats:

• Around 16 lbs (according to my own bathroom scale)
• Probably still around 25 3/4 in. from last well visit

Activities/Interests

• This kid likes to EAT! She eats around 3-4 oz at each meal in addition to 4-5 nursing sessions a day. 
• She still doesn't love her green veggies, but will eat them if something fruity or sweeter is on the spoon as well. Some of her favorite things to eat with her green veggies are apples and sweet potatoes.
• Yogurt is now at the top of the list of favorite foods. So far we've only tried "Yo Baby" brand and think she'd eat it all day long
• All flavors of puffs are now acceptable as well as yogurt drops. These usually entertain her long enough for Mama to heat up her meal and she's gotten pretty good at landing them in her mouth.
• At the last well visit the Dr asked us if we tried meat purees yet (can we say yuck!). We hadn't and I decided I couldn't bring myself to puree meat myself, so I threw a few jars in the cart on my next grocery visit. Needless to say, this chick wouldn't touch the chicken with a ten foot pole. I have to say it looked DISGUSTING! Sort of like meat jello...gag! So since she was doing well with the puffs, I decided to give her a little taste of our Pot Roast a few nights ago and she was in LOVE. Since then she's tried a few bites of chicken and is a fan of that as well. For me, meat just falls in the category of things not to puree.
• I already shared this, but at the beginning of this month she has started saying "dada" - A LOT! She loves babbling while she's playing and dada is by far one of her favorites. I love listening to her little voice and wonder what she's talking to her toys about. 
• The past few weeks at church have started to become a little more difficult with a chatterbox. We have to stay out of the nursery until after RSV season ends, so we might find ourselves in the hallway a lot more now that someone has really found her voice.
• Peek-a-boo is one of her favorite games to play with Mama and Dada after dinner. I love watching her hide her face behind her bib and wait for us to play with her. 
• Think we might have a true extrovert and social butterfly on our hands. She has never met a stranger and will smile and giggle at anyone we meet. For example, this weekend we had a packed day of church, early Christmas with my parents which included lunch and play time with her cousins, Ellie and Blake. After a quick nap in the car, we arrived at an annual Ladies Tea with my mom's friends and their daughters. Lydia quickly reached out to be held by my mom's friends and was having a blast "talking" to everyone and giggling with the other little girls. They say extroverts recharge being around others and I think that was definitely the case with our girl. Even when she started to get tired towards the end, she was still smiling, laughing and just slowly lowered her head on my shoulder and fell asleep to the background noise of all the ladies chatting.
• We also have a professional roller on our hands. She can get just about anywhere with her rolling skills -- under the chaise, to the Christmas tree and to any of her desired toys. She has started to put herself into the crawling position - knees and butt up, tummy off the ground and hands locked, but ultimately decides rolling can get the job done just fine. She has pulled herself in a sort of army crawl a few times on our wood floor, so I feel like crawling is coming soon. but am having fun watching her try and figure this all out on her own.
• Actually as I type this, I see her army crawling to get to our entertainment unit haha!

Was able to get a quick video with my phone of her army crawling to my computer this afternoon!

Here are her 10 month shots with Mr Bear as well as a few peek-a-boo shots. I just love her little smiling face!

Dada

Lydia's new favorite word lately is of course "dada". She says it constantly -- especially when she's playing. I captured this short video during bath time when she first started saying it to send to Kyle. I think he plays this video for everyone now. He's so excited she can say his name... even if she doesn't realize it!

(This video looks a little skinny b/c it was taken on my phone)

Melts my heart! Love her!! Now we are working on Mama!! Also just noticed she's a bit of a toy hoarder...haha

As she grows... month 9

Almost caught up on my monthly posts for our little girl. It seems like she's doing something new almost every day and her little personality emerges a little more. I had a realisation at our doctors appointment this month, that we're getting close to the 1 year mark! ahh.... As I was making our next well visit appointment, I realized she would be ONE! I'm not ready for my baby to reach that milestone yet,  but am so thankful for her health and the progress she has made in her life so far. She's such a fighter and is quickly catching up to her peers.


9 month (around 29 weeks adjusted) stats:

• 15 lbs 1 oz
• 25 3/4in.

Interests/Activities:

• This month she really figured out how to put together the rolling from tummy to back and then back to tummy. At first she would just roll in a complete circle and then one day she just started rolling across the floor to reach her desired toy. It's quite funny to see her roll from place to place.
• She hasn't quite figured out how to crawl, but has been "crawling" backwards, turning in 180 degree circles and rolling to get what she wants. Daddy can't wait for her to start crawling, but Mama is a little unsure about that!!
• We added Puffs and Num nums into the food selection this month, but she didn't really enjoy the puffs at first. Silly Mommy bought the healthy "green" ones and quickly figured out she was gagging because of the flavor - not the texture. "Orange" has been much better for this little ones palate!
• This month she started blowing raspberries and make all sorts of mouth noises. She loves "talking" and babbling to her toys as she plays.
• While she enjoys playing with us, she does a great job of playing independently on the floor or in her exersaucer; which has been great for Mommy to be able to accomplish some things around the house.
• We've been "working" on naps a lot this month. She is now able to go down without much fuss, but still don't know if she'll sleep 30 mins, 45 or the rare 1.5 hrs. Haven't quite figured out how to make it at least an hour each time, but hoping as she gets a little older, she'll go for longer stretches at a time.
• Right before Thanksgiving we went to see Santa and the Pink Pig with our cousins Ellie and Blake. That was a fun filled day that deserves its own post with Santa picture... so more on that later. But she does great when we are out in public and think she just loves to observe everything around her... again Miss Nosey!! I don't mind though because she seems content and allows me to have a relatively low stress outing.

Our big 9 month girlie:

 Little Wiggle worm make it hard to take any good shots this month, but got a cute profile

 Hello Mr. Bear

 mmm.... SHOES!

And here's a quick shot of our roller trying to escape the den! She didn't know what to make of the hardwood at first.

As she grows... month 8

So, I knew I was behind on my monthly stats for Lydia, but was about to write a post for month 9, when I realized I never did one for month 8! Ekk...


8 month (23 weeks adjusted) stats:

• 14 lbs 4 oz
• Around 24 in. (based on my measuring skills... so not that accurate)

Interests/Activities:

• Continues to try new baby foods and textures
• Anything green makes her look at me with a face of such disgust
• I also realized she likes things REALLY puree'd -- no chunks yet
• She really started noticing Sadie at this point and would get a big grin on her face whenever she would come in the room. Though I think she keeps expecting Sadie to turn and flash her a big smile in return, but she does get covered in doggie kisses if Sadie comes close enough. And I do mean covered... I could just give up baths all together and let Sadie handle the task!
• The beginning of month 8 was when Lydia finally figured how to roll from back to tummy, but wasn't too interested in going tummy to back... I guess since she already mastered that a while back, she didn't feel the need to repeat. :)
• She also hit the big sitting up milestone this month without toppling over. She had been able to "sit" for a while now, but would soon topple over, but she finally figured out how to keep her balance and sit up for longer periods of time.
• She is such a happy baby and really loves to smile and flirt with everyone she meets. Love her easy going disposition and that smile gets us everytime!
• Visiting the pumpkin patch wasn't your favorite activity this month, but we had a blast with your cousins and wearing our pumpkin attire.
• We also enjoyed your first Halloween by showing you off in your flower costume to a few neighbors.

Here are a few of the shots from her 8th month shots with the bear.