Already Eight

Sweet little Sammi. You are eight months old. Before too much time passes I just wanted to jot down a few thoughts.

You are such a little joy. In the last couple of months you have really mellowed. You are pretty much just a content little bundle of sweetness. Unless you're very hungry or tired. Then you let us know!

Your smile lights up the room. I love all it's different variations. The wide mouthed delighted beam, the crinkle-nosed grin, the eyes downcast shy smile, the half-hearted sleepy twitch, the I'm not amused, but I'll humor you smirk. It is so fun to draw them out of you. You are quite ticklish and I love hearing your little belly laughs when I run my fingers down your ribs. You watch with wide eyes as your siblings caper around you and sometimes let out guffaw at their antics.

You have the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes. I love their seriousness when you stare at my face. I love how they light up in the morning when I come get you out of your crib.

You don't growl as much as your siblings did, but you do use your growl on occasion. Mostly when you are really annoyed or really happy. Your most favorite thing to do is blow raspberries. You do it when your happy and it is also your preferred method of letting me know you're full and don't want any more food. You love it when someone blows a raspberry back at you. Your whole face lights up.

Your favorite toy is any remote control. Yeah, so much for actual baby toys. You also like things tat are easy to hold and will fit into your mouth.

You are a good little eater, even though you have gained hardly any weight. You weigh a little over 14lbs. Your pediatrician is worried about you, but he hasn't been able to find anything wrong thank goodness. I pretty sure it's because you won't take a bottle and are still nursing. Peas and carrots just don't have very many calories! So far you have liked every kind of food I've given you. Some you like more then others, but you'll eat them all. Hopefully I can convince you to drink out of a bottle or cup soon. You aren't sleeping through the night yet. You usually wake up once or twice, but since you're such a light weight I figure you can use the snacks.

My dear Samantha. You are such a blessing. You bring our family so much fun and joy. We are so glad God gave you to us. We love you!

Five Years

Trinie Bee. You are five. My sweet, snuggle bug of a baby is five! You have really slimmed out this year. You have always been tall, but you kept your toddler chubbiness up until this last year. Watching you get even taller and losing your little tummy really makes you seem like a big kid, not a little kid anymore.

You finished your last year of preschool this year. It was a good year. You had lots of fun and you liked your teacher. On of your classmates threw up in school right before Christmas break. You really didn't like that and went through several weeks of crying and insisting that you didn't like school and just wanted to stay home. I felt so bad for you because you really loved school, but now you are fairly ambivalent about it. Which is better then a couple of months ago, when you absolutely hated it. It took me awhile to even get out of you what the problem was, but then I finally figured out that you are really, truly terrified someone will throw up again. You even stopped eating school snack for awhile, which is one of your favorite things about school. :) Back in January when I figured out why you were having a fit every time we pulled into the school parking lot, I sat with you and we talked. I reminded you of all the things you love about school. We talked about fear, how it's ok to be afraid, but if we let our fear take control it can cause us to miss out on some really great things in life. We made a plan, about praying, talking to your teacher and closing your eyes if the worst should happen. Then we prayed together. You were still afraid, but you stopped freaking out and started going back to school without tears. I'm so proud of you that you conquered your fear. My brave girl.

When you are not in school you love to play with your siblings. You do a pretty good job of playing with Micah, and you love to play with Emily. You love dolls, dress-up, and all kinds of imaginative play. This past year your love of coloring and making projects has really taken off and you are most happy when you are creating stuff. You still like to help, especially in the kitchen.

I love how you are so quick to make decisions and have complete confidence in your choices. I love your quick smile and your laugh. I love how affectionate you are, always ready with a hug or kiss.

I hope this year I can encourage your servant's heart. I'm not always very patient with little helpers. I hope you always keep your open heart that is so ready to love. i hope I can help you to balance thinking through your choices and making wise decisions, not always rushing in without looking ahead, while still keeping your spontaneity and confidence. I love you Katrina. You bless me and fill my days with joy.

Eight Years

Emily. You are eight. How is it possible that I've been a Mother for eight years. I remember sitting in the hospital in the early morning hours the day you were born, holding you in my arms and looking at you, absorbing every detail of your beautiful face and trying to wrap my head around the fact that I had a baby, that YOU were my baby. Sometimes it still seems hard to believe.

Well, what has happened this year... You finished first grade. You enjoyed having Mrs C. again and really liked Mrs P. You learned even more Spanish. You love Math and your reading has really taken off. Your favorite books are the Junie B. Jones series. You made some new friends in addition to the ones you had in Kindergarten.

Last Fall you decided to ask Jesus into your heart. You had a lot of questions and it was a very thoughtful decision on your part. Then you followed that decision by deciding to get baptized last month. You love going to Sunday school and think it's really cool that you can read the Bible on your own.

You also love gymnastics. You are getting pretty good at flips and twists. You conquered your fear of heights and are will swing on the high bar of the uneven bars. My favorite was watching you teach another little girl from church how to do a cartwheel. I think you have a gift for teaching.

I love to watch you playing dress up, ponies, and/or Strawberry Shortcake with your sister. The two of you get along pretty well. Of course you fight pretty often, but you love each other and usually want to be together.


I love how your sense of humor has developed. You can always pick up on when Daddy's joking and shoot the joke right back at him. You love magic and have learned several magic tricks. It's so fun to watch your face as you perform them. You have also developed a love for origami. You and Daddy even got to do a presentation for your class. I'm getting the impression you like attention to detail. :)


Well my sweet girl. I love you. Thank you for making me your Mama eight years ago. I'm so glad you did.

Expression

"Baptism is an outward expression of an inward faith." ~Watchman Nee

Emily was baptized today. It was wonderful to see her make this choice, work out what she believed and why she wanted to take this step. She wanted to choose a verse to say at the baptism. After thinking about it she choose Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I will trust in you." It is a good verse for our timid girl. She is working hard on doing things even when she feels afraid. It was wonderful to see my beautiful girl take this step of faith in her Christian walk. We love you Emily.

Someone's Three

Katrina Bee, you are three. My happy little go-lucky girl. You are growing so fast. How can it be possible that you are turning into a little girl right before our eyes?

This last year has been a busy one for you. You learned to use the potty. You started preschool. You figured out how to amuse yourself while your big sister is away at school. You got a baby brother, who you love to pieces. You have risen to every challenge and embraced each one. You bring happiness to everything you touch.

You keep us entertained with your mis-pronunciations and unique view of life. You are a busy little girl. You love to explore and work to understand the world around you. You climb and get into mischief much more then your older sister ever did.

This year you developed a love for drawing and coloring. Your favorite thing to do is make "projects" and use copious amounts of paper every day toward this end. You have not lost your love of babies and playing dress-up. If anything it has only grown.

You are still my little snuggle bug. You love to be cuddled and always want me to sing to you as you fall asleep for your nap. You can not be without your blankie. It is a strong bond.

You have a strong love for food that has not abated with age. You especially love anything sweet. You always want to know if you are going to get dessert. It is so wonderful that you are not a picky eater and love almost anything I give you. You also love to help. You especially love to help in the kitchen, but you are willing to help just about anywhere. You are so good at getting things for me when I have my hands full with your little brother.

You are a smart little girl and are doing wonderful in preschool. You know your ABC's and can distinguish all of the letters by sight. You know your colors, shapes and numbers too. It's good that you're smart because you are also tall. You are consistently above the 90% on the growth charts. That, combined with how well you speak and express yourself, makes people think you are older then your actual age. Even your Dad and I make that mistake sometimes! We find ourselves getting frustrated with some behavior and thinking you are too old to be acting that way! Then we realize, "Wait, she just turned three, she is supposed to be acting that way!"

Sweet Katrina, the last three years have been so much fun. Being your Mommy is an adventure. I hope I can help you keep your love of exploration, I hope I can teach you when to blaze forth and when to use caution, without being fearful. I hope I can foster your servant's heart, using that spirit to teach you important life skills and what a gift helping others is, and not squelch it with my impatience. I love you! Watching you grow up is so much fun!

Six Years

*Editor's note:  This post was slated to be published closer to March 29, 2009. Unfortunately due to scheduling constraints there was a delay. I hope this in no way affects your enjoyment. Stay tunned for further postings which are also past their deadline.

Emily Marie. I'm not sure who told you it was ok to grow up. Last time I looked you were still a sweet little toddler, now suddenly you're a sweet girl, not even a little girl anymore. Almost all traces of your babyhood are gone and sometimes I can even catch glimpses of the woman you will become. The chubby cheeks and tummy have faded into long thin legs and a gentle smile. I can't lie and say I don't feel a little sad that my baby is disappearing, but how sad can I be when the girl you have become is so wonderful? There are so many things I love about you. Your sense of humor, especially the glint in your eyes when you are being subtly funny. Your love of learning and of teaching others what you have learned. Your compassionate heart. Your gentleness with your baby brother. Your loyalty to your friends. Your creativity. Your love for your little sister.

I still see little girl wonder in your eyes. I'm glad about that. I hope you can hold on to that wonderment for the rest of your life. You have learned so much this year. How to read, how to write, how to add and subtract, how to speak Spanish. You've learned how to ride the bus and find your way to your classroom. You've learned more complex conflict resolution skills. And you're starting to learn piano. You absolutely love to pass all your new found knowledge on to Katrina.

You still love to play dress-up. You love to draw and color and all kinds of crafts. You still hate to perform in front of people. You don't like change. You prefer to have plenty of warning about activities so you can have time to think through how things will go. When you need to make a decision, you carefully consider all your options. Sometimes you take things a little too seriously.

I love you so much. I hope I can teach you to take life as it comes. To cope with the unexpected. To be flexible. I hope I can help you hold on to your creativity and believe in yourself. I hope I can help you understand how amazing our God is and how much He loves you. I hope you will always trust me, even though I make mistakes all the time. I hope you never doubt my love. The last six years have had their ups and downs, but through it all you have been a gift. I can't wait to see what the years ahead have in store.

December Seventeenth

Micah had his six month well check today. He was a little trooper through his shots. He only cried for a couple of minutes. Katrina was with me on this trip, maybe that helped. She is so sweet. She likes to stand next to him and say, "It's ok baby Micah, don't cry, I'm here with you." If Emily comes she has to stand out in the hall during shot time. =)

I fully planned to take the camera with me to snap a shot of the two of them together at the Pediatrician's office. After running around getting Emily ready for school, the other two ready to go with me, breakfast for everyone, myself ready, it wasn't until I was checking in at the office that I realized I had forgotten the camera. On a side note-we've been having lots of snow here. I had explained to Katrina when leaving the house that morning that I needed to concentrate on driving and couldn't be handing her things. When we pulled into a parking space at the doctor's office she suddenly pipes, "Yay Mommy! You didn't slip on the ice and we got here safe!" It was pretty funny.
Micah's stats are:
17lbs, 1oz
26 1/2 in

December Eleventh

I've tried giving Micah solids a few times before. He hasn't been very interested up until now, mostly refusing to open his mouth and pushing it away with his tongue.

I've been feeling a little guilty that I haven't given him very many opportunities to try. When things are hectic a bottle is so much easier and faster. Anyway, last night I decided to give it another try. He LOVED it. Wide open mouth and eyes tracking the spoon anticipating the next bite. Guess this will have to squeeze itself into our routine!

**Sorry it's late, it's bound to happen. I'm sure there will be days where I do two or even three posts at a time. As long as I take the picture the day of, right?!

December Fourth

Micah, you're six months old today. Halfway to a year already. It's hard for me to believe. It's also hard for me to believe how incredibly sweet you are. Your gentle grin can brighten up the grayest day. You have the most patience of any baby I've ever seen, which is good because your sisters can be very demanding. You've mastered the skill of rolling over from your back to your tummy, but haven't yet connected that with the fact that your tummy is a place you hate to be. For some reason you've decided that sucking on the back of your hand, only your right hand mind you, is the most comforting thing you can do for yourself. You've given yourself a little hickey that never quite heals. You're following in the tradition of your sisters and are quite the little growler, although I'd say you've kicked it up a notch. Their growls were never quite as nuanced as yours are. You carry on entire conversations just in growls. I love the little sense of humor that you're developing and the gleam of delight that appears in your eyes when your sisters move into your line of sight. You enrich our lives everyday and I love you!

Another First Day

I told myself we wouldn't do it. We had decided it would be better to wait. Then like the squeaky wheel, the drip, drip of water against a stone, you wore me down until I gave in. So, at the tender age of two, you-my sweet Katrina, started preschool.

Emily started Kindergarten almost a month ago. You've missed your playmate so much. The first week you hardly left my side. I would tell you to go play and you would just look up at me sadly and say, "I can't, Mommy." You also started asking every single day when, where, and how you were going to go to "pretty school". Since potty-training is somewhat in hand (a requirement for school) we decided to let you go.

Your first day you were very excited, although shy at the same time. Things didn't go very smoothly and so we were fifteen minutes late. Not how I wanted to start your first day. Perhaps it was for the best. By then all the other parents were gone and things were pretty quiet. We went into your classroom and washed your hands and met your teacher. You looked very nervous, but you didn't cry. When I picked you up you excitedly rattled off all the things you had done. Sat in a circle, sang songs, had snack, played on the playground, and made crafts!

I have to admit, I'm more sad about you starting school then I was about Emily. I wasn't planning on letting you go until you turned three. I think part of my sadness is because I feel like your baby-hood slipped by so fast and now I see your toddler-hood slipping by too. You are my fast paced little bundle of joy who loves to snuggle and loves to play with babies. I'm glad you like preschool. I know you are going to have so much fun there and learn lots of new things. I'll do my best to treasure all the little moments and never forget to cherish your sweet hugs and kisses.

Milky Smiles

There's a little phenomena that happens between a mother and her baby that I will call a milky smile. I've seen it with all three of my kids, but managed to forget about it until recently reminded by Micah. For me at least, it doesn't seem to be a long phase, it mostly happens when a baby first starts to smile and is exercising their new skill as much as they can. And of course, you have to still be breastfeeding. I want to remember it this time. The unabashed delight at seeing me in the morning, contrasted so sharply against my five year old's crankiness as I pry her out of bed to get ready for school.
Have you ever noticed that babies are almost always morning people? At least at the beginning. They may outgrow it later, but early on everyone is a morning person. Maybe it has something to do with all the naps during the day. So, here's the set-up. Take a snuggly, warm, just woken up baby. His diaper is changed and he is just soo hungry since it's been four hours since his last dark, nighttime feeding. As soon as you sit down, he almost lunges for your breast, sucking greedily. Then he glances sideways up at you, and he's just so happy to see Mommy, he can't help but get a huge grin, but he can't stop eating to socialize, he's much too hungry for that! So, it turns into this hilarious lopsided smile wrapped around a breast with milk dribbling out everywhere. You just can't help but smile back. It's so funny and cute looking at the same time. Then back to eating, but wait there's Mom-Milky smile-back to eating, and repeat.

Why do I think this is so special? Only a Mother will ever see that face, that angle, that expression. A baby can smile around a bottle no matter who's feeding him, but there just isn't that same intimacy, that same angle with the sideways glance. It's something unique between a breastfeeding Mother and her baby. A little slice of pure joy to soothe your sleep deprived consciousness and get you started on another day.

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Congratulations to Kristen and Rebecca. I wish you many moments of joy, and here's hoping I win something for once! =)
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Virtual Baby Shower

Off To School

Yesterday was the big day. We've known it was coming. We've discussed it and planned for it and tried to prepare you as best we could. There weren't any worries about you not being ready, or not being able to handle it. You are such a smart girl and you have loved going places basically since you were born. The only tears at the nursery, or daycare and preschool were when you had to leave to come home. You've been anticipating starting at your new school ever since you caught sight of the playground when we drove past it two years ago. This last week you've literally been counting down the days. Now, finally, it was here.

It wasn't quite as easy for me. After this you are officially a grade schooler. For the next 12 years you'll be spending hours of your day in school. It's almost like your first real job in a way. You're gone from home for six and a half whole hours. You have to navigate hallways and classrooms. You have to get out your lunch and budget enough time to eat it. You have to get along with others and you have to learn.

Our morning started off a little hectic, since we stayed up a little too late Sunday night, but you were so excited you didn't even mind being dragged out of bed. We rushed you through your breakfast and getting ready. I paused to snap a couple of pictures and you were out the door. And just that fast the moment was gone. Somehow in my mind it went by much more slowly. Daddy said when he dropped you off excitement was radiating from every pore, you could hardly contain yourself. He helped you get situated, find your seat and your cubby, then stood back to watch. The day started off with Spanish time and he was curious to see how you'd take it. Other then a few glances his way for reassurance, you seemed to take it in stride. You told me later the only thing you didn't like about Spanish time was you couldn't ask as many questions. He left about 40 minutes later and you were on your own. It was no surprise when he picked you up that you said you wanted to stay longer. When you got home you were happy to tell me all about your day. There were a couple of stories that illustrated what a different world it was. You told me you really liked the lunch I packed, but the bell rang before you were done and you had to stop eating, even though you were still hungry. I was happy to see you had eaten all your carrots, crackers and cheese and what was left was some of your chips, your grapes and your cookies. Even when no one is watching you save the sweets for last. You also told me that during recess you lost track of your teacher and that made you sad. So you sat on a bench and a friend ("who wasn't in my class")kept you company for awhile. Then the bell rang and the friend left and you didn't know where to go.Then another teacher came and took you to your class. I have to admit that my mommy imagination runs wild with scary thoughts of you being vulnerable and alone on the playground. My mommy heart breaks at the image of you sitting there all alone, afraid even to play because you don't want to be lost. Together we'll make it over the little bumps, and before you know it, school will be old hat. In the afternoon you told us you wished you could go to school everyday. We reassured you that except for weekends you would be! This morning you were just as excited to start another day. You told Daddy you were starting to dream, but then you remembered you could get up and go to school, so you decided to wake up instead.

I know it the future there will be days you'll complain about school and talk about how much you hate it. So, for now I'll share in your excitement, nurture your love for learning, thrill in your discoveries of new things and making friends, and hide in my heart the twinges of sorrow that my baby is so big.

Mellow Yellow

Three months old today! Where has the time gone? I knew it would fly by and yet I'm still surprised. Everyday you get a little bigger and a little more fun. You are such a contented baby. You are just happy to sit and take in the world. If you start to fuss, it's usually because you're tired and you want to be put in your bed.

You are so social now. You frequently reward us all with your big sunny smiles. Your sisters love to come over and talk to you, just to see your little face light up. In the last week you have started to get ticklish and also started laughing. It is so fun to run my finger across your tummy or blow raspberries in your neck and be rewarded by your funny baby chuckle. Every morning after you have your breakfast you look up at me and coo and gurgle and smile. You are so happy to great the day, and it makes my day better too.

You really like your bouncy chair now. It's so funny to watch your brow furrow in concentration and then your legs go kick, kick, kick. The music plays and you sit back and smile. You are also convinced that the ceiling fan is your best friend.

I sit in your room at night putting you to bed and just soak in the peacefulness. It's dark with just the light from the night light and your moblie which is playing it's quiet song. You snuggle up against me occasionally giving a little kick and making your baby sounds of contentment. In the other room I hear your sisters being put to bed and I know all too soon you will be part of the melee; yelling, laughing, begging for another song or drink of water. Protesting that you have to go potty one more time. Crying because you can't find your bear or blanket. So I snuggle you a little closer, breath in deep your sweet baby smell and just be.

Six Weeks

Micah, I can't believe how big you are already. I was expecting the time to fly by, but it is still catching me by surprise. Last night for the first time you gave me a genuine smile. You've be practicing for a few weeks now, especially those sweet little smiles in your sleep. Lots of those getting ready smiles, when you're staring into space and they seem to be elicited by some mysterious force. Then last night the smiles were the full-fledged, absolute, real thing. I took you out of the bath tub and wrapped you in your towel and I was snuggling you a little bit and staring into your eyes and you cooed and I smiled at you and you gave me a huge grin. You were trying so hard to talk, your mouth would work and work and then a little coo would come out. I'd talk back and you just kept smiling and smiling. Of course I called Daddy over to see, and you looked into his face and rewarded him with a big smile too! It's one of the most beautiful things a parent can see. It wasn't a fluke either, because you did it a few times today too.

You are growing like a little weed. We went to the MD for your check up and you weigh 11lbs, 5oz now! You still have deep blue eyes and your funny little cowlick that looks like a silver streak across your head when the sun hits it. You still get the hiccups several times a day, but it never fazes you. Your little arms and legs are filling out and getting those Michelin Man creases I just love to squeeze. You lare landing somewhere in between you sister on the pacifier/thumb issue. Emily was a hard core thumb sucker. Katrina didn't want to have anything to do with either. You will sometimes take the pacifier and like to suck on your fist, but haven't fully committed to either. We'll see where that goes. I've been taking hundreds of pictures of your perfect little toes which Daddy teases me about unmercifully. I can't help it, I just love you and you are so beautifully and wonderfully made.

You are making your place in our little family. Your sisters love to talk to you and have been great little helpers. It's a challenge sometimes keeping them from smushing you in their excitement. You are getting more fun everyday and soon you'll be in the mix, keeping up with the best of them. Love you sweetie!

Birthday

My girls are growing up. Last Saturday they turned five and two. We had a big all day bash starting with a small party for Emily (she wanted to invite three friends). She picked a daisy cake and wanted to have piñata. We also painted flower pots and planted little flowers to keep with the theme.

 Then after Katrina's nap we had friends and their kids come over for Katrina's ladybug themed party. I thought about a ladybug shaped cake, but the thought of kids and all that black and red frosting was too much for me to stomach! I bought live ladybugs and let the kids play with them. It was a big hit! I felt a little evil, since the weather was still so cold, but the whole next week was nice and sunny, so they had chance to survive. It seemed like everything went smoothly and people had fun. I was tired!

Emily: This last year has been one of change for you sweet girl. You are growing up in every way. Looking back over pictures your face has lost the last of it's baby chubbiness and your long, thin legs seem to stretch on for miles. This year you stopped sucking your thumb, you got stitches, your ears pierced, not to mention lots of little milestones. You amaze me at every turn at the intellectual questions you ask me and your sweet view of the world. You constantly strive to figure things out and oscillate between a super sweet helper and an ornery complainer. If I've learned anything this year it's that you are one determined little kid. this can either be your strongest asset or your biggest deterrent. You love music, building and creating things, and playing make believe. I love you!

Katrina: I can't believe you're two! My baby is sprouting right before my eyes. Of course this year was full of change for you, the year between one and two always is. You changed from a crawling, cooing baby, to a walking, non-stop talking, toddler. You keep me busy with your constant curiosity and very active hands. I love watching your personality emerge more and more every day. You love to "help" me in the kitchen (is that because you can snitch bites when I'm not looking?) and could play dress up all day. Your current favorite question is "What doing?" and that just about sums you up little one. You always want to be involved in whatever is happening and always seem to be doing something! No one can melt my heart faster then you with requests to cuddle, kisses, and your sweet, "I la-you, mama". I don't get as much done with you around, but I get other rewards in return. I love you!

Eleven

Here we are, only one short month until your first birthday. I am trying to cherish every second of your last month as a baby. You are crawling towards toddlerhood as fast as your little legs will take you.

This month you went to your first wedding! Your Uncle Peter was married on February 10th, so we had a little road trip down to Woodland CA. You did very well in the car, and were a good girl for the most part. You got pretty impatient during the wedding. Thank God for your Auntie Brooke and Auntie Amy. They were so helpful and kept you entertained by feeding you a banana. Daddy was in the wedding and so was Emily. I was trying to help her make it down the aisle, so I was very thankful that they were willing to hold and entertain you during that time.

You are pulling yourself up to stand now and have taken a few steps holding on to things. You started crawling up the stairs. It freaks me out a bit, but you are very steady. As soon as you decided to crawl up I started working to teach you to safely crawl back down. I want you to be able to navigate the stairs safely. You caught on pretty quick and are loving having more of the house to explore.

You still love to play with your ball toy. You also love to play with anything that Emily is playing with. She has learned to keep her stuff up high.

You have a ready smile and a mischievous twinkle in your eye. Your are babbling Ma-ma-ma now too, but not really associating it with me or Da-da-da with Daddy. I can tell you have a lot to say though and it's going to be bursting out before we know it. You have learned a couple of baby signs, "more" and "hungry" which you seem to enjoy using.

I am really enjoying being your Mommy. You make me smile and laugh and I love you cuddles. Thank you for bringing so much sunshine into our family. We love you! 

Ten

Wow, here you are 10 months old. I think I say this every month, but the time is just flying by. You are officially a total chub at this point. Now that you are on formula and solids your weight has jumped right back to the 90th percentile! Your thighs are just luscious. =)

You had your 10 month old well check and they did the Denver on you. You did pretty good on the social section, but you don't wave bye-bye which 80% of ten-month olds do. You are a couple of months behind in the language and gross motor section, no words other then da-da-da, which you use for everything, and you aren't pulling yourself to stand yet. That is no surprise. Your sister was "late" on crawling, walking, ect. too. You did awesome in the adaptive section, scoring at about the 13 month level. The nurse said she has never seen a baby put the block in the cup as fast as you did. That could be because your favorite toy involves putting balls into little slots. You sit and grin and laugh and plunk the ball through over and over. You are very skilled at picking things up and moving things around. I don't worry about all this, I know you're cruising along at your own pace and you'll get to the walking and talking soon enough. It is kind of interesting to think about it from a personality angle. You definitely like manipulating the world around you! Emily made the observation after your appointment that your eyes were following Dr Bartlett's stethoscope the whole time he was examining you.

You are such a sunny, smiling baby. You have decided you are done with baby food and only want to eat big people food. The problem with that is you still only have four teeth! So, we have been experimenting with chunks of things that dissolve easily. It's hard not to have a carb heavy diet this way, because the other thing is, you like a lot of variety. We can't get away with feeding you the same thing day after day. You'll eat three bites of green beans and then spit them out until we offer you something else. So opinionated already!

You love your big sister and she loves you too. she gets frustrated sometimes when you get into her stuff, but she loves to make you smile and no one can make you smile quicker then her.

I love you baby girl. Everyday holds more delights with you in our world!

Nine

You are nine months old sweet thing! Where is the time going? You are such a little chunk now, it's getting hard to carry you around. You celebrated starting your ninth month by getting your top two front teeth. That brings you up to four chompers! You are glad to have them too because baby food is getting really uninteresting to you. You watch others eat with rapt attention, smacking your lips, but when you're offered a bite of your food, you clamp your lips shut and turn your head away. I can't say that I blame you, but there is the whole choking factor to consider. We are experimenting with different kinds of food to offer you. You love cut up banana and (shhh) French fries.

We celebrated your first Christmas and it was pretty fun. You were of course initially more interested in the wrapping paper then the gifts, but you quickly developed a love for your Care Bear. It is so cute to see you snuggle up to it.

You are so mobile these days. You can get from sitting to lying and then back to siting again. You don't crawl so much as slide, but that doesn't slow you down at all. Soldiers could take lessons from you. You pull yourself all over the house, sliding along on your stomach. Some day you'll figure out that those legs are good for more then just the occasional extra leverage and steering.

You are mostly a cheerful little girl. We can always tell when it's nap time, because that's the only time you're cranky. You love being able to chase the kitty and try to involve yourself in anything big sister is doing. Both of them are going a little more crazy the more mobile you get. I've noticed that Emily has gotten very bossy this last month. She's going to keep you toeing the line. We are starting a new year and I can tell it's going to be so much fun! I love you!

Crazy Eight

Wow, I can't believe the last month is gone already. Obviously it caught me by surprise and that's why this post is twelve days late. I was debating skipping this month and combining eight and nine, but I know if I wait November will just be a blur in my mind's eye.

So little Bee, here you are, eight months old. You are getting so big. Literally; you weigh 21 pounds now! You know what that means, no more infant car seat. Your sister got moved into a booster and bequeathed you her old seat. Emily was a little sad at first. but she seemed to get over it pretty quickly. You, on the other hand are not completely thrilled with your new upright position. It is much harder to fall asleep in the car these days.

Your first tooth broke through on Nov 18th! The second one is taking it's sweet time to join it's mate. It is just under the surface and should break through anytime. I think you look a little funny with just one tiny white tooth peeking out when you smile. It will look more balanced when there are two.

You are a busy little girl. You like to grab everything that's in reach, and if you can't reach it you squirm and roll and scoot until you can. There will be no stopping you once you start crawling little girl! Considering what a grabby girl you are, and how little you are, you have an amazing grasp of what the word "no" means. Even if it is said in a calm quiet voice you immediately stop what you're doing and get this little pouty look on your face. If it is said at all forcefully you burst in to tears. So, you are very obedient, but not happy when you don't get your way.

Overall, it has been a month of firsts. First tooth, first Thanksgiving, first snow, first time in a big girl car seat. I'm looking forward to your first Christmas! It will be fun to see if you get excited about ripping wrapping paper or not. You are such a little cutie and I am loving every second of watching you grow up. Every time I turn around some kind of subtle change seems to have happened. I love you precious girl!

Sweet Seven

Here it is already. Seven months old baby girl! You are so suddenly mobile this month. You added rolling front to back to your repertoire and now you can gradually roll yourself around the whole room. I never know what position I'll find you in when you wake up from a nap, or in the morning. Horizontal, vertical, sideways, upside-down. You are also sitting up really well and you really love being able to see what's going on and grab everything in reach.

You started teething too. That's a new thing you are not enjoying. You can get very cranky, but overall you are still your smiley self. I can tell those two bottom toofers are going to pop out any time. Working on adding teeth hasn't slowed down your babbling one bit. Now you're saying Da-da-da as well as Ma-ma-ma. You're still growling up a storm and you love to get in squealing/screeching battles with Emily whenever we're in the car. The two of you are like dueling banjos trying to see who can squeal most elaborately. It really makes you giggle when she blows raspberries at you and you don't hesitate to blow them right back.
You really enjoyed getting to meet Grandpa for the first time, and renew your relationship with Grandma when they came to visit from Ecuador for a few weeks. It didn't take you very long to warm up to them. You really loved grabbing Grandpa's glasses and it was Grandma who finally got you to take a bottle. Yeah! Uncle Jonathan also came to visit while they were here. Auntie Linda is up here staying with Grammie and Opa, so you've had lots of opportunities to meet/see extended family this month.

You had your first Halloween and I must say, you looked awfully cute. You didn't make it trick or treating, you were too tired to be happy in the cold dark, but you did go to the carnival and garnered a few compliments there.

You are a ray of sunshine and I love you sweet baby.

***For those of you who are wondering, after three weeks of trial and error, Katrina gained 3 whole pounds. She is up to 18lbs, 1oz! In the process she completely weaned herself and is now loving her bottle. I wish I could have just supplemented her, but she only wanted one or the other (formula or breastmilk) not both. I'm just glad she's getting her thigh rolls back! It has been amazing to see the subtle changes in her activity level now that she's not mildly starving! :( Poor baby.