10 Months Old!

I love being outside!

I figured out how to open drawers!

Waking up with my BFF Polly!

My first time eating table food. On the menu: whole wheat spaghetti & sauce, turkey meatball, mozzarella cheese, green beans.
Check out my mess!!

Eating apple pieces... or gathering them on my bib for later!

Mommy wanted to get a good picture of us... but the ottoman looked really tasty!

I am trying to get the hang of spoon-feeding myself!

Watching daddy mow the lawn is so much fun!

Time is flying by! We are back in the swing of things at school, the fall season (and weather!) is finally here, and our little munchkin has become a girl on the go! She turned 10 months old on September 24th and, even though the last month has gone by fast, she has reached some tremendous new milestones! She is now super confident with her walking - she will let go of anything and walk wherever she wants! When she falls, she catches herself (most of the time!) and uses her hands to soften the blow, so she usually avoids bumps and bruises. She has learned to say "mama" and "dada" with meaning, and can wave hello and goodbye. She attempts to say "hi" while she's waving, but it just comes out as a scream with the "h" sound in the beginning of it!

She babbles like nobody's business - she is going to be a talker! She talks all day long in what seems to be her own language, but her facial expressions indicate that she is really telling you something important! She started eating table food with her hands, and can give herself her bottle, although she needs help with the last bit of it. She is still in love with her doll, Polly - she lays down and snuggles up with her at night, and that's usually how she will stay throughout the night.

She has three more teeth coming in, but has been doing surprisingly well with the discomfort. She is still sleeping completely through the night (7:00pm-6:30am) and only has small cranky moments where she'll try to bite things or put her fingers in her mouth. I think she is getting used to the discomfort though.

She loves reading, and will turn the pages for us now. She also loves taking the book and putting it on top of her head, like a hat - I don't know where she got this from, but she will do it with every new page! Maybe she is learning to read by osmosis!

I would make an updated list of Taylor's likes and dislikes, but it would look something like this: Likes - EVERYTHING, Dislikes - Being tired. She is really such a good girl and we are really blessed that she is so happy and easy-going!

9 Months Old!

We took Taylor to get her 9 month pictures recently. Here are some of our favorites!












Wow, it has been a busy month! Taylor turned 9 months old on August 24th, the day after mommy started work again! She has been thoroughly enjoying daycare. Ms. Karen & Ms. Ashley always have great reports about her behavior, napping, eating ,and playing throughout the day. She has even made a new friend, Isabella, who is about 2 months older than her.

We took Taylor to her 9 month checkup today, and here are her stats:

Height: 28.8 inches (81%ile)
Weight: 21 lbs 3 oz. (82%ile)
Head Circumference: 44.8 cm (68%ile)

She did great at the doctor today, although I have to share this funny story. As the doctor was taking off her diaper, she peed all over the table. We cleaned her up, and the doctor left the room to go get a diaper. When she came back, we looked at her and she was sitting in a puddle - she had peed AGAIN! Needless to say, we gave her a nice long bath when we got home!!

She has been such a joy lately. We can't wait to get home to see her every day. She has begun saying "mama" with meaning, and can pull herself up in her crib and jump around. She still loves to walk, but has figured out that crawling is much faster and she can do it by herself, so that has been her preferred means of getting around lately. Our home is about 50% babyproofed - it's quite a process! One of our favorite parts of the day is getting her pajamas on after her bath. She rolls around, shrieking with joy, on our bed for as long as we'll let her. Then, she plays a little game: we hold up her pajamas, and she buries her head in the bed and sticks her butt up in the air. She always picks her head up and smiles at us, like she is teasing us! We repeat over and over and over!

Here is an update of her likes & dislikes.

Taylor likes...
Playing with EVERYTHING (paper, crumbs, chairs, remotes, etc.), her dolly, standing in her crib, saying "mama", being tickled (her left armpit is her most ticklish spot!), her puffs, crawling, chewing on things (even our new leather ottoman...), her new daycare friends, getting her picture taken, dancing (especially to the Leapfrog table ABC song!), cuddling with mommy and daddy, and exploring.

Taylor dislikes...
Getting her diaper changed, actually having to put her pajamas on after bath, loud noises, when mommy sneezes (she looks at me like I've just insulted her!), when mommy leaves the room for any reason, teething, having a cold (she has one right now), green beans, and most of all - being tired!

Crawling and Walking!

Taylor began crawling sometime last week, and taking a few steps. Since then, she has progressed so much that she can crawl across the whole house (army-crawl style!) and take multiple steps (even pivoting her feet!) towards people or her activity table! Normally, she takes her steps when we hold her out and then let go. This morning, however, she took the initiative and let go of my shoulder (which was propping her up at the time) and walked about 8 steps to her activity table! Let the baby-proofing begin!!
Here are some pictures of our little girl moving around the house, and some other cute ones that I wanted to throw in!

Walking with daddy...

(no, she does not have a leaky diaper... she was drinking out of her sippy cup!)Trying to balance myself!
Almost there!Made it to daddy!
Walking rocks!

Crawling has become her second activity of choice!

No matter what toys she has, following mommy around the house is the most fun!

How YOU doin'?

Hanging out with my pal Madison!

Helping daddy with his exercises!

My activity table is the best toy!

Relaxing with mommy!

And here is what happens when mommy or daddy won't walk with me....

TANTRUMS are starting already!

Caught Red Handed!

Lately, things have been mysteriously disappearing from the tray next to Taylor's crib and ending up on the floor. We also often hear bangs and scraping sounds on the monitor when someone is supposed to be napping! Sam and I had a theory, that our playful little munchkin has let her curiosity get the best of her. To test our theory, I placed her beloved Nuk on the tray and hid by the door with a camera (clearly, I have a lot of "down time" this summer break!). Here are the events that ensued:

Object of desire sighted.

The initial reach - this involved a lot of straining and grunting!

Closer... almost there...

Victory is mine!

Ahh! Satisfied!

Yeah I did it... you wanna fight about it?

Oh mom, I can't be serious with you!

8 Months Old!

Getting ready to go to the beach!

On our way out to dinner to celebrate our 3rd anniversary!

Walking with her Leapfrog push-toy

It took a little while, but I love my walker now!

Roaming down the hallway!

On July 24th, Taylor turned 8 months old! We have been thoroughly enjoy watching her grow every day while we are home for the summer with her. She is getting so big, she's almost grown out of her 6-9 month clothing! She has been babbling a lot lately- she is a very chatty baby! We listen to her babble in the monitor all of the time!

She has been progressing SO MUCH with her walking, too. I was at a garage sale recently and purchased her a walker, a Leapfrog push-toy, and a Leapfrog activity table. At first, she was terrified of the walker - she wouldn't even go near it! After about a week though, she realized that she could freely walk around our kitchen, and she absolutely loves it now! She also can walk with her push-toy across the living room, and stands and walks around her activity table. A few times, she stepped away from the activity table and stood on her own for a few seconds before falling down (we caught her of course!). It was almost as if she was attempting to take a step, but then got too nervous at the last minute! She loves it. She even throws tantrums (yes, REAL tantrums) when she wants to walk and we won't walk with her. We think she will be taking her first steps in the next couple of weeks.

During the month of July, we have enjoyed taking her to the park, to the pool, and to our first family vacation in Michigan, where she spent her first day (or hour and a half!) at the beach! She has been adorable in the water! When we went to the pool for the first time, we stayed in for about 2 hours total - she was so relaxed, she almost fell asleep in my arms! We're going to have to get to the pool a few more times this summer. She was a little more timid at the beach. She liked walking into the water on the shore, but once the water reached above her waist, she got a little nervous! And of course, no trip to the beach with a baby is complete without her taking a bite out of a clump of sand!! (the one SECOND that Sam and I were both looking away!) Yuck!

Here is an update on Taylor's likes and dislikes...
Taylor likes... playing in her crib, rolling around on the ground, WALKING, her jumperoo, her walker, her activity table, her push-toy, WALKING, books, mango puff snacks, water, WALKING, remote controls, dolls, brushing her teeth, putting things in her mouth, WALKING, exploring, listening to music, listening to mommy singing, biting things... oh yeah, and WALKING.
Taylor dislikes... when no one will walk with her, sleeping in new places, her bath (when she's too tired), getting her diaper changed, putting her pajamas on after her bath (she would rather roll around on our bed), becoming too tired, nightmares (she seems to be having them lately, though not too often), getting her nails clipped, and hearing mommy and daddy say "no!"

Summer Fun and 7 Months Old!

Mid-shriek!

Trying to sit up - check out the determination in her face!

Lounging around!

Out for a walk!

Relaxing in my exersaucer!

Check out my new swimsuit!First time in the pool!I love the pool!

Summer is officially here, and we have thoroughly been enjoying our summer at home with Taylor! She has become so interactive, and showing more personality every day. On June 24th she turned 7 months old. So far during this summer, she has enjoyed her first kiddie pool experience, a couple of trips to the zoo, and a countless number of walks outside.

She is sleeping through the night now (WOOHOO!) typically from 7pm-6:30am. She also takes two solid naps, one in the morning for about 1.5-2 hours, and an afternoon nap about the same length. Depending on the timing, she might also take a 30-45 minute nap in the late afternoon. She has tried a lot of new fruits and vegetables - some of her favorite include butternut squash, avocado, sweet potatoes, bananas, peaches, mango, and carrots.

She has begun babbling earlier this week, putting together strings of "bababa", "mamama", "tatata", and "dadada". She also shrieks, spits, and blows bubbles all day long! Her favorite hobby is still WALKING while holding our fingers. She doesn't want to do anything else! Although it goes against the recommendations of most pediatricians, I might break down and get her a walker. We'll see....

I hope you all have a wonderful Independence Day weekend!