Tuesday, July 16, 2013

nine months


Took Ri to Dr. C on June 7 bc she was cranky & pulling on her ear. He pointed out a second tooth that was about to come up from under the gums. 1st two teeth in one week. Phew. She wasn't been all that "bad" but just fussier than her normal happy self. She weighed in at a whopping 14 lbs 15 oz. Dr. C informed me that she definitely wasn't going to be on a fat farm. Good to know, doc.

At her 9 month check up, Ri weighed in at 15lbs 6oz and 28 inches long.

She is now waving at everyone and everything and says ba-ba but not always at the right time. We still aren't hearing Mama but she babbles a great deal of convo to herself much of her day.

Ri's crawl is at a very quick pace these days, giving her an advantage to getting to Copper's tail just in time to give it a quick tug before he runs away.

I caught her standing up on her feet in her bed as well as the blinds on June 8. Her favorite thing now is to stand up, hold onto the coffee table with one hand and bang on it with the other. She pulls up on everything and will climb into the dishwasher and her carseat. However, she pulls up to a stand and will then whine when she wants down and won't try to figure it out for herself.

The exersaucer has been moved out for the time being. She acts totally done with it although I know it's just because all the crawling, standing, etc is way more fun right now.

She is kind of saying Hey and imitates my laugh, as well as everything else. She chews when she sees people eating, points and has imitated me throwing Copper's toy when she has a ball in her hand.

Due to being off work for the summer, it is like she instinctively knows she can sleep in to 8 or 8:30 which is fine by me but it has thrown our schedule WAY off track. Naps are consistent in the fact that there are 2 a day, but whether it is in the car or in her bed is a toss up. Eating has been the same. She gets 3-4 6oz bottles a day but has been rather finicky about whether or not she wants baby food as well. Dinner is usually the meal a day that she could devour a city in one sitting.

Mickey Mouse is her favorite character on tv. Minnie is ok, but Mickey is outstanding.

Ri ONLY sits on her knees and I hope she changes that before the doc advises me to do it. She gets mad
when I move her to her bottom. She sits on her knees to play and when she gets excited, she bounces and flails her arms. Cutest.thing.ever.

We go to the beach at the end of July and although I don't think we will be walking at that point, I do think she will be pretty damn close. I just envision myself running down the beach after a kid who has never seen waves or sand before, nor does she have a clue how to swim, and I panic.
But just in case, we are stocked with a baby pool, a lifejacket and a brand spanking new pair of REAL shoes.

As for everything else going on in life, being at home all day with a kid full of energy and needy of constant supervision is exhausting and I have had ZERO time or energy to sit down and blog. In addition to getting house projects complete, our summer bucket list and helping Mom organize and decorate the new house. We have visited the pool 2 times and be away from the house almost daily. Hopefully this last month of summer break will be at a slower pace than the first month. I am devastated that it is going so quickly, but so so grateful to have this time with her. Some mommies don't get this time at all.

This kid is fearless and that makes me extremely fearful. Freefalling on the couch from a standing position is a game to her (yes, I am lying on the outside portion of the sofa so she cannot get hurt!), so I may soon ban us from the sofas if she is in the room. Floor time for the family... which then prompted me to go out and buy a large, soft rug! :)








 

Monday, June 10, 2013

eight months



This is SUCH a fun age! And I am stoked that I get to spend the next 2 months at home with her during this stage of development. The summer forecast looks sunny with a lot of pool, park and play dates! 
Ri is now heavy enough that her + the Peg Perego are barely gettin' out of the Denali these days. I am 5' on a good day so lifting her carseat up and out of the bucket is proving to become nearly impossible. It probably calls for me to start working out again but seriously, I am just going to have to start taking her out of the carseat instead. She is sitting up in the big girl part of her stroller now anyways and with the Southern heat, she is probably cooking in that carseat.

Ri loves her solids now. She has put herself into somewhat of a routine:
6:45          Wake up for the day
7:00           6oz bottle
8:30           Breakfast- 1/4 jar of baby food (usually a fruit/oatmeal/yogurt combo)
9:30           Nap (usually 45 mins or may even skip it to merge into second one and skip 3rd-  ideal)
11:00         6 oz bottle
12:00         Lunch- jar of a veggie and finishes jar from breakfast
1:00-3:00   Nap
3:00           6 oz bottle
5:30           Nap
7:00           Dinner- jar of veggie/meat + fruit
8:00           5 oz bottle
9:00           Down for the night (hope to push this a little earlier this summer)

Ri loves the new swing on the back porch. She will sprawl out and just lie there quietly looking around and enjoying the breeze. She also just loves being outside to watch the birds and dogs and take it all in. 

She is a squirmy little worm. She likes being held when she is tired and will fling her head into your shoulder/chest. But other than that, she wants down buddy, because she is on.the.move. Baby-proofing will be happening asap. It's like she deliberately goes for the dangerous stuff- straight to the fireplace to play in the rocks... straight to the cabinet that has the steak knives. I mean, how do they know this stuff is even in there?! 

Ri still enjoys her acrobatic fun with daddy and gets a kick out of it. She still has no fear- dogs barking in her face, swinging upside down and splashing her face with a ton of water- those are all very funny to her. 

Noteable moments: 
May 13- heard a quiet "Da-Da". She has never been much of a babbler and then May 13 and 14 she was moving that mouth like she had a whole bunch to tell us. 
May 13- very fussy and needy for her paci that weekend- thought it was teething but still no sign of 'em
May 20- said Da-Da loud and clear while looking at a picture of Daddy. Now, Da-Da is her go-to when she is sleepy, wants out of her crib, wants someone to pick her up, wants her bottle and so on. 
She knows how to work it. A whiney, pitiful 'Daaa-daaaa" gets him every time. 
May 23- cried out in the night 2 separate times. It alarmed me and I went to check her. Gave her the paci and she went back to sleep. Still thinking it might be her teeth? 
May 26- Ri woke up with a tooth bud! Finally!!
May 27- woke up and decided to wave bye-bye at everyone and everything 


Out of all of her stuffed animals, she chose Doggy. Doggy was my loyal companion since my 1st birthday. 

Discovering her friends, finally!
Ri + Will
Ri + Harper

My loves

So thankful that Ri gets to play with her great-grand.

The carseat is her favorite toy. Serious.

Goofball!

First time sitting up in the bath! Look, Mom, no hands!

Yea. This happened 2 days into crawling.

Proud of herself for climbing into her chair
Playing in the morning- Copper watching from "his" chair

All my girlfriends from high school + 1 and the babies! How times have changed!!

Sitting in a high chair like a big girl- and loved
A LOT has happened this month. Can't wait to see what the summer holds- more teeth? walking? both of those make my summer sound long and exhausting. But I am blessed either way.