Dear M: Eight Months Old

Little Miss M,

You are such a joy! Month after month you change and you grow. You are starting to become your own little person and you are finding your voice in this family. I love watching you learn new skills and get excited about new things. You love watching and interacting with everyone around you and make everyone who meets you smile.

What's outside?

This past weekend right before you turned 8 months old (on Sunday) you went with me to BlogHer'11. Because you hadn't yet successfully taken a full bottle I was worried that you wouldn't be happy with Daddy at home or at the daycare center they set up at the event. So I grabbed the Ergo and the diaper bag and went to the conference with you. You were such a little trooper! You never once complained. But that might have been because everyone who met you wanted to talk to you and play with you. You were spoiled with love and affection.

During the conference you learned how to wave! I was so surprised to see you wave back to Jessica after she waved hello to you. Then you started to wave back to others who waved to you as well including vendors on the Expo floor, other blogging women and anyone else who we passed by. I was so proud of my little girl and her new skill.

"Crawling" outside (in her new Charlie Banana diaper)

A few short days after the conference you also started crawling! And you did/do it a bit differently than we saw your brother do it. You kind of hobble crawl and it's so adorable! I'll be posting video soon so everyone can see the cuteness. But you get to where you want to go. And if you get stuck you just let us know that we need to come get you!

I love how easy going you are and how happy you act no matter where you are or who you are with. I am enjoying being your mom so much and am really loving how much we have bonded over the past few months. I cannot wait to see what kind of woman you become because right now you are one awesome baby! I love you, little girl.

Love,
Mommy

 

No, Mommy, I don't sleep here... I just play here!

Whaaa? (in your adorable new Bitti Tutto diaper)

*** If you haven't already entered, check out my Charlie Banana giveaway and win a Charlie Banana diaper that looks exactly like M's in the picture above! ***

Dear M: Seven Months Old

Ok, six months I can handle. But seven months already? No, it just can't happen. You cannot grow any more baby girl!

You are a firecracker. You know exactly what you want and will make sure you get it whether you're with Mommy, Daddy or anyone else. You love to explore the spaces around you and are pretty good at maneuvering around the floor without crawling. You like to get up on your hands and knees and rock and than you get on your belly and reach with your hands in the direction you want to be going. Then you get very frustrated and start complaining. It's quite amusing :)

And when I say complaining you really do vocalize your frustration. "Ahnananana! Ahnananana!" is what you start to say when you get frustrated. "mmmmammmammma" is what you say when you're tired and trying to fall asleep. You also say "bababa" and "dadada" all the time (Daddy loves hearing that). I hope you start to associate Dada with Daddy soon so you can start asking him to come change your diaper ;) Just kidding! 

You love to stand and love to take steps while holding onto Daddy and Mommy's hands. You prefer this over sitting on the ground or tummy time. And whenever you can you try to pull up to your knees. Every single time I put you in your crib (no, not to sleep... just to play) you immediately go for the edge to pull you up. Luckily you haven't pulled up all the way to a standing position yet. I think if you did that now you'd give Mommy a heart attack!

We are going to start swim lessons with you next week. I cannot wait to see how you do in the water. Your brother is a fish so it'll be fun to see the two of you learn together. Sadly you don't care much for bathtime and I'm not sure if that's because your brother is in there with you or because you just don't like baths. I'm hoping that pool time is a different experience. Lucky for us Grandma Ann will be coming with us to swim lessons to help Mommy out. My main objective in having you two in this class is to make sure you know what to do in the water should anything happen since we'll be going on our first family trip together since you've arrived next month.

You seem to be growing longer and longer but don't seem to be getting any heavier. You are so light and Mommy is so thankful for that. Holding your brother and you at the same time can be quite a task and I couldn't imagine how much harder it would be if you were heavier. Guess I'll find out in a few months, right? Your hair is starting to come in more. Still not enough for a clip but it's definitely growing.

I'm always so excited to see you grow and change. You amaze me every day!

My thumb sucker #2

Whaaaa?

And a few outtake pictures:

Loved the lighting here but couldn't get her to look at me

She finally looked at me and I knew she was done...

Dear M: 6 Months Old

 

Happy 1/2 Year Birthday beautiful girl! You, as always, are such a joy to your mommy, daddy and brother. You are a pro at sitting up and babbling and you can now scoot yourself backwards when you want to go forwards. I predict that you'll be crawling in the next two months. Still no teeth though but that's ok! You can gum anything and everything with skill :)

I love your little personality. You are so sweet and laid back but know what you want and if you don't get it you let us know! You have all of us wrapped around your little finger but we definitely don't mind. You are starting to have a little bit of separation anxiety when I leave the room and you aren't preoccupied with toys or your brother. I'm not used to this since your brother could be anywhere with anyone and not mind at all.

You still are refusing the bottle but are catching on little by little to a sippy cup. We have also started solids with you. You've tried sweet potatoes, bananas, peaches, pears, asparagus and avocado! We're going to start plain full-fat yogurt next. Then I can start mixing some of your purees with yogurt too. You want to eat everything we eat so hopefully now you can start doing just that. Yogurt and fruit with mommy in the morning :)

Because you won't take a bottle when Mommy is away from you I've had to quit my job. So over these next six months I hope to really learn and grow from being a stay at home mommy to you and your brother. I can't not be excited about that! Our summer is going to be full of fun!

You have started taking sign language classes with Joann at Sign4Baby and really seem to enjoy time with babies your age and a little older. I think that this mommy/daughter time will really help us bond together each week. I've started signing more with you at home. I have even seen your happy reaction when I ask you if you want to nurse and do the sign for nursing. I think you might pick up on this quickly!

You're still a petite thing, 14 pounds 8 ounces and 25.5 inches long (25th %tile for weight, 50th %tile for height) but you are very healthy! I get stopped all of the time when we're out and about by strangers who tell me how beautiful you are. It makes me swell with pride every time!

I am loving every minute of being your mommy and am enjoying watching you grow into your own person. I love you, Molly!

 

Not much time for more pictures this month but stay tuned for professional 6 month photos soon! Done, of course, by the crazy talented Tessa of Grin & Share It Photography.  You can also check out some practice photos I took last week of both kids.

Dear M: Five Months Old

 

Has another month really gone by this fast? I cannot believe it! I almost forgot to take pictures this month. I was all ready to do it yesterday but the day got away from us! I'm so glad I remembered this morning though :) Luckily it was overcast so we got to take a few photos before church outside. Not sure what's going on with the color on my computer though so I apologize if the pictures don't look so hot. They looked awesome on the camera. I'm going to have to edit them on the desktop.

Enough about little things... lets get on to the big things, Molly! You're five months old! In one more month you will be half a year old. I am just shocked that you are growing so quickly. It's not like I didn't know you were going to do this to me; I guess I just wasn't as prepared as I thought I was.

You are now sitting up AND eating solids. You decided to start sitting up at about 4.5 months old but have gotten very good at it. Good enough that I've been just plopping you down on the bed or the carpet and working around you and your brother playing. You are very strong. You like to bend down to pick up a toy and than come back up like it's no big deal. But when you go a bit sideways you can't help but fall all the way down. But it's not a sudden fall like with your brother. You just kind of slowly roll down to the ground and than roll to your back or belly and look up at me like "oops!". 

You were just so darn interested in Mommy, Daddy and Brother while we were eating so I decided to jump in and give you food. We started at about this age with your brother too but I was very lax about jumping in and maybe took 2-3 weeks before we were really giving him meals every day. Well, you've had cereal for the past three days and tomorrow I'm planning on adding avocado! Maybe some sweet potatoes after that. Then it's on to some greens. I haven't decided what yet but I'm sure I'll check out Wholesome Baby Food for some ideas.

I am kinda hoping that this helps your grandma and great aunt as well when they watch you while I'm at work since you STILL aren't taking the bottle. Well... I lie. You take about 1 ounce for them and than completely give up. It can be a little frustrating since you get very hungry and the food is right in front of you. So hopefully with some oatmeal and/or purees in your belly you'll be happier for a little longer until you can get to mama. 

I also want to mention how much you move around. You aren't crawling or rolling everywhere but you sure do look like you want to. You are starting to pull your knees under your belly and look with longing at your brother as he runs around you. Your legs are very strong and you already stand up very well. I put you in your crib and you stood at the rail for quite some time until you lost your balance and sat on your bum. I think you really like to stand up. Almost as much as sitting :) 

I'm so excited to see you change and grow over the next few months and years. You are amazing and amaze me every day. I am so lucky to have you as my daughter and am so blessed to have such wonderful children.

Dear M: Four Months Old

Oh my little one, you are getting so exploratory. You are curious about the things around you and love to put anything you can grab in your mouth. You crane your neck to follow your brother and the dog around the room and are always happy to be held by other people.

I am loving how verbal you are getting. You say "bababababa" and "ahdadadadada" already and are starting to play with your tongue a lot. You like to stick it out of your mouth while vocalizing and making lots of fun noises. I'm thinking you may be able to communicate your wants and needs very clearly soon. Not that I don't already understand your cues for hunger and sleep already by just watching you. You like to tell mama what you want :)

You are starting to get more mobile as well. You hold your neck and head up very well and try to sit on your own already (although you just tip over right now). As seen in the picture above, you are trying to hold yourself in a sitting position but just can't quite do it just yet. When I am taking you out of your infant carrier you strain your head and neck out to try and sit up in an effort to help me get you out. You also are able to scoot your body around on your play mat to get to other hanging toys while laying on your back and laying on your tummy.

You are doing great at tummy time. You've never complained much about being on your stomach and when you get tired of it you usually just lay your head  down and nom on your fist. It's pretty cute. Your hands and fingers are almost always in your mouth. Much more so than your brother. You are constantly gumming and sucking on them. Not sure if this is just part of your oral exploration or if you're teething. I'm sure it's a little of both.

You are beautiful, petite girl. You are currently 12 pounds 10 ounces and 25 inches long. That puts you in the 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. Much different than your brother at this age. I was definitely wondering why you felt so light in my arms and than I looked at the difference between you and your brother. He was a whopping 5 pounds heavier than you at this point!! But you guys are only an inch different in height. It's amazing how different you two are. In a good way, of course! I hope that you get to keep your long and lean body... you'll appreciate it when you get older.

I can't think of anything else I wanted to mention but I'll update later if I do! I am loving watching you change, little miss! You are such a joy in our lives.

And some outtakes:

You were MUCH happier laying down on your belly than sitting up and kept on doing this over and over when Mommy was trying to take pictures. Such a silly girl!

Happy Birthday E! - 2 Year Photos

So since we splurged on newborn photos for Molly not too long ago we didn't have much in the budget for 2 year photos for Ethan on top of what we were spending for his party. Yeah, we could have gone to a picture place like Picture People, JC Pennys or Sears but I really don't like the studio photo look. I definitely don't knock it and it works for most people but I love the way pictures look in a natural setting outside.

With the outside in mind I decided to take him out to Balboa Park two weeks ago to see what I could do behind the camera. Now I want to put it out there that I am in NO way even close to being a pro photographer. Nor do I want to be. I'll leave that to the experts.

But I am very interested in photography and in getting the best pictures I can of my kids when behind the camera. I mean, that's why we invested in a nice DSLR, right? So I've taken a class, read tutorials and am now starting to practice more and more to get better shots. The shots below have their flaws (like one being out of focus, others may not have the right lighting) but that's what I love about photography. You can't get better without practice.

So I took photos of Ethan. Lots and lots of photos. In manual. Yup... my 50mm lens doesn't have the option to take photos in auto so I HAVE to focus manually and I have to remember to change the settings. And boy is that hard to remember when you don't do it every day. It made me stop and consciously think about the settings I had and what to do to make a better picture depending on the light, E's position, etc.

And below is the result. These photos (and a handful of others) were the best that I got from the 200 shots I took...

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Miss M's 2 Month Well Baby Visit - A Recap

So apparently Molly is going to BF till she's three...

I brought up the fact that Molly is refusing the bottle. She said you can't force it and reassured me that she wouldn't starve. Some babies have no problems going 4-5 hours without the bottle and some will even wait till their mom's get home 8-9 hours later until they realize that the bottle isn't the devil. Or they'll continue to refuse the bottle for 8-9 hours and than get their days/nights mixed up and will sleep through the day and eat all night. OY!

So after telling me all this she then asks how long I plan on BFing. I told her I plan on going until she weans herself just like I did for Ethan. She said that I should prepare myself to BF till she's in preschool because from how she's acting now she will probably prefer the boob over everything else (she also refuses pacifiers but uses her hands to self soothe when I'm not nursing). And that mixed with my not wanting another one will probably allow my body to continue producing milk as needed.

But even though all of the above sounds crazy if we make it past a year of BFing than I have no problem continuing until she's ready to wean. Even if this means 2.5-3 years. 3 years will be my limit though. I know I will need my body back by then. I just pray she doesn't give her dad hell when he watches her when I go back to work. And luckily I only work out of the home 2 days a week. I foresee stress in my near future!

Oh, and her stats:

10lbs 13oz - 50th %tile
23in long - 75th %tile

and I think her head was 15.5in which is 50th %tile

So all in all a good appointment. She also will most likely have eczema like her brother and dad but we're ready for it and know how to treat it. And she's super strong. She was holding her head up like a champ when the dr put her on her belly for tummy time. She was straining up with her head to see me past the doctor :) Love her.

Dear M: Two Months Old

Wow! Another month has already flown by! Miss Molly, you have been such a blessing! I love you so much and am sooo happy to be your mother. You make everyone smile when they're around you. Over the past month you've changed a lot. You are so strong. You can hold your head up like a four month old and are starting to become verbal. You coo and gurgle at us just like you were holding a conversation. You're getting a lot better and more tolerant of tummy time although you can't quite lift your head as high as Brother could at this age. But that's ok, sweetie! You don't need to.

You let us know exactly how you feel and what you want at all hours of the day. When you're tired you love to fall asleep in your swing. And when you aren't, you want OUT of there! You definitely let me know when you're hungry and wet as well. You will go from sitting straight up in my arms to throwing your head towards my breast in hopes of eating soon. And a messy diaper can make you go from happy, calm little Molly to wailing Molly in 2 seconds flat. So different from Brother who could care less if he was wet!

I can't wait to go to the doctor later this week and get your stats! You have definitely grown. You are starting to fit in a few of your 3-6 month outfits and your legs and torso are getting loooong. Your eye sight is drastically improving and you watch me move throughout the living room and kitchen as you start to fall asleep in your swing. You focus on things that get your attention and are calmed by certain sights. You like fans and lights and will stay pretty quiet in restaurants if they have them above the table we're sitting at.

You still hate your carseat and Mommy tries her best not to leave the house too much during the day. One trip a day is my limit with you until you can tolerate the drives more. I just can't stand to hear you scream (and you do... until you're in Mommy's or Daddy's arms) and know it upsets you. Brother doesn't mind slowing down his activities as he still gets to go to Grandma Ann's and Great Aunt Louise's every week and do fun things.

I'm excited to see you grow in the next month and the months after that. I am already in love with you and your personality and cannot wait to get to know you more! By the way, you aren't so serious all the time (as is show in your pictures). Mommy just isn't good at nailing focus just yet with her camera and all of your smiling pictures have turned out blurry :(