9 months

My most favorite thing that I will remember this month is how she is starting to show love and affection  more and more. Laurel will crawl up to us and give us a quick cuddle and then crawl away and play some more and she repeats this several times some days. I love how she puts her head on my shoulder when I come to get her in the mornings or after nap times. Oh, its the best thing ever, she is so content.

She also has a fast crawl she can do in spurts now that cracks me up. Usually she's wanting you to follow her to her zebra so she can take a ride for a few minutes. The zebra continues to be her favorite toy. This week I've started putting them to work so I can get laundry put away. I'll put some clothes in the front and back of Laurel and we'll deliver them were they need to go. This reminds me so much of how I would scoot the twins around not long ago at my nanny job and do the very same thing. I remember their sweet squeals of joy. 

Starting to get a little picky in the food department, as in she's staring to refuse her baby food and wanting our food. She likes spagetti (spicy), mashed potatoes, guacamole (likes her avocados spiced up too). She has started trying yogurt and likes it some. She is still nursing good most of the time four times a day, I have no idea how much she is getting have a feeling its on the low side so since her 9 mo appointent I've started supplementing her with formula in her sippy cup. I've tried to do this several times and she's finally taken to it, she still loves her water but I offer milk at meal times. I'm holding off on juice unless she has constipation issues that come up or till she can ask for it. At her 9 mo appointment she was in the 10th percentile for weight and 50-60th for height. Doctor said her weight had probably dropped from the 25th percentile because she's so active. 

Sleep is going really good this week at least. I like to tell Andy that our girl is predictably unpredictable.  She has been doing at least one 1 1/2 hr nap a day for the past week. Thank you Lord!! This is huge because sometimes she would only take two 30min naps a day. 

I'm starting to see more and more defiant behavior that kinda scares me. For the most part she is pretty obedient, but every now and then she will throw and all out fit. The first time she did this was around 8 months and I think its only happened a couple times since then and its usually because I'm not paying enough attention to her. For instance, if I'm pumping and she can't give me a cuddle she lays on the floor and throws a fit, or if I'm doing dishes and won't pick her up so she can see what I'm doing she just sits there with clenched fists and screams! We are working on keeping her from standing up in the bath, which has lead to a couple of spankings. She knows the word no, but no does not seem to help when it come to touching computers, outlets, or standing in the tub. It's in her best interest to learn some self control. I pray it will come easier for her to obey and easier for us to discipline. It is funny how after a little reminder how obedient she will be for a couple days on the issue and then it comes right back up. The look in her eyes says it all. All of this has reminded me of how I treat God sometimes when I choose to do something that I know is wrong. I'm glad He cares enough to bring conviction to my heart, discipline me, and put me back on the right path. 

Helping momma put away diapers

happy to see daddy in the mornings

Laurel is standing more and more without holding onto anything. I have yet to see a step out of this, but it's still pretty exciting. She's almost cruising along the furniture doing no more than a couple steps at a time. 

Excited about getting a bath

Almost has 4 upper teeth now along with the two bottom ones. Teething really isn't too bad with her. I've only had to give her tylenol twice and other times I give her a cold teether or try to distract her. 

Not ready for this ride to be over daddy

I love my pink heart overalls Aunt Callie

8 Months

Oh my, she is getting to be more like a toddler and less like my baby. This month we got to see her crawl for the first time. She's been trying for the past month and finally decided she could do it. I actually wasn't cheering her on at the time but kind of ignoring her and talking to Andy when we noticed she was crawling, after she got to where she wanted to go (her little people barn) she pulled up on it and turned back and smiled.  So glad I've gotten to experience these moments with Andy, they are priceless.  

When Andy got back from the youth mission trip to Cincinnati Laurel busted out saying da da. I had decided to go to Knoxville the day after he got back and left Andy alone with Laurel and they did great! I think the one on one was exactly what they needed to catch up with each other and she gained a new word. She also started saying ba ba, no particular meaning to us, but I'm sure she knows exactly what it means.

Laurel's new found independence is nice sometimes, I'm hoping it will get better once she realizes what she can and can't pull up on. Most of the time she will go with me from room to room, but sometimes she would rather go to another room without momma. This week I'm working harder on baby proofing. I've taken books that she can tear up and put them away, we will install ceiling fans this week so I can get rid of the box fan in her room (kind-of an eyesore anyways). This weekend we are putting a few cabinet locks on and possibly anchoring a book shelf and then I'm leaving it at that. She knows what the word no means and makes sure to give me her bottom lip pout when she hears it.

Separation anxiety has set in and she seems to be one of the harder ones in the nursery. I'm thinking its because she's the first child with no siblings to share my attention with and the fact that I'm here with her 24/7. She may be ready for a couple mornings out of the week to be away from mom in the next few months, I sure hope this helps. I think it would be healthy for both of us to have some time away from one another.

Staring at the door waiting for a rescue. 

Her favorite toy is a v-tech zebra, she loves to be pushed around! She crawls up to it and gets the music playing and turns around and smiles like "take me for a ride momma". It's so fun to give Laurel new things to play with but she's still fascinated with air vents, socks and fabric in general.  I love how simple it can be to make her happy.

7 months

My girl thinks she's big stuff, the days of laying her on the floor and coming back and finding her in the exact same place are over.  If I leave the room now she gets stuck under stuff or bangs her head on something or falls over and cries, so I think its time for a confined play area when unsupervised.

It's so fun to see her explore and learn new things everyday! I feel like she has a new facial expression or mannerism each and every day. Her currant thing is scrunching her nose up with her mouth open wide.

Here are a few more things she's doing these days:

•  She has a favorite toy that she gravitates to throughout the day ( looks like a steering wheel, but it tweets like a bird) 
• Can scoot backward to a sitting position, very close to crawling 
• Rolls across the room
• Only word is still momma since around 6 1/2 months, we are working on other sounds
• Loves to go for walks, we usually go for two a day one after her morning nap and one after her dinner
• Enjoys Solid food, now eating: Sweet Potatoes, Yellow Summer Squash, Carrots, Green Beans, Butternut Squash, Avocado, Pear, Apple, Peach, Bananas, Mango, Peas are next on the menu
• Nursing 4-5 times a day. Don't know how much longer I can keep this up, she is one squirmy little girl, with sharp teeth!!! She is also having issues off and on with nursing while awake. She's been doing good first thing in the morning and her feed before she goes to bed, but the rest take more patience and guessing. I either have to wait till she falls asleep at nap time to nurse her or if she gets super still for a long time before she falls asleep then I can give it a try. 
• Taking 2-3 naps a day. I think she is dropping the late afternoon nap. This next week I'm going to work on extending her awake time by a few minutes every day and hope that she will nap longer. I'll also push back breakfast and lunch and see if that helps us get through the day with only two naps. 
• I really thought she would be better at sitting up before she attempted crawling, but she seems to want to do it all. She can sit up for long periods of time but forgets to balance herself when she sees a interesting toy. 
• I starting feeding her puffs around 7 1/2 months and she loves them. 
• While Andy was at camp with his students, I took Laurel to visit my parents and had a wonderful time. She had her first time in the pool and LOVED it!! She's my little froggie swimmer.
• I'll take Laurel to Lexington this next week to spend time with Andy's parents while Andy is in Cincinnati. on a  mission trip with the youth. 
• Likes to stand on one leg and hold the other out like a ballerina 
• Lets it be known when she wants someone to play with her, especially her daddy
• Loves sitting in the shopping cart and looking up at the florescent lights at the store, she really wants you to kiss her neck when she does this
• Starting to sit up in the bathtub, I don't trust her yet but she likes it
• It's a struggle to change her diaper without her rolling over (this is going to be our first discipline issue)

Her scrunched up nose face

Jumping with Mammaw. So glad she came to visit!

Love her bath time

Helping Daddy water plants, she love to stick her hand in the water.

6 Months

I'm one proud momma to see Laurel growing and loving life. She is one of a kind and I can't wait to see what God has in store for her in the future. As you can see, she still looks like her daddy, but thats ok. Her eyes have stayed a deep blue, and her lashes are to die for! Her hair is growing and is a pretty strawberry blonde. Maybe some day her hair will be long enough to put a cute bow in?

She is loving some cereal these days. She eats oatmeal in the morning with pears. In the evening she eats rice cereal with summer squash. Just this week (June 15) I added a third meal of sweet potatoes for lunch. I was going to wait till she was 7 months to add a third meal but I think she was ready. We have also started her on a sippy cup with only water and just give it to her after solid food. She only gets a few sips in but it sure is fun! It's so cute to see her holding it up with both her hands. Such a big girl!

I'm looking forward to trying more foods on her this month. Next up is bananas, then green beans (Yikes). So far I have made my own squash and sweet potatoes, and pears for her but in the long run if I have coupons I'll keep buying them pre-made. I've heard green beans are hard to get a good texture with if you make them yourself so I'll probably just buy those already made up too. I've also heard there is a nitrate issue with carrots, but I think as long as I buy them with the green stalks on them and make them right away and freeze right away we should be ok. Plus, its not like I'm going to feed her carrots every meal. I'm dreading adding meat into her diet, and think we might can do without? I may opt to keep feeding her iron fortified cereal and start her on lentils, yogurt, cheese, and eggs?

At her 6mo check up on the 13th of June she is back at the 25% for weight (14.12 oz) , at 4 mo she dropped to the 15% and it was questionable if I would continue nursing her, but we pushed through and I'm glad we did. Her height is around the 55%.

Her favorite thing to play with is probably a wet wash cloth. She loves playing peek-a-boo with it and chewing on it. I love to watch her excitement after meal times when I get the warm water going to wet a wash cloth, so funny. I call her my little swimmer/ froggie because she kicks her legs when she gets excited to be picked up or if she's really into what she's playing with.

Napping is still an issue sometimes, but I choose not to dwell on it. I'm thankful she sleeps anywhere from 11-12 hours at night and maybe someday when she's only taking two naps she'll get into a better groove. I can't seem to figure her out, but on most days she takes a 1 1/2 hr nap in the morning and for her last two naps she just does 30 min. I've been holding her for her last nap of the day and love seeing her wake up and rub her eyes and stretch.

5 months

Laurel has grown up so much this month. She is truly a wonder and I'm so blessed to see her grow and learn. She finally rolled over a day before she turned 5 months, she had gotten so close sooo many times before. It kinda scared her the first time she did it and both Andy and I were there with her (glad we both got to see that special moment). 

Laurel also has chompers now! Beware they are sharp. The bottom two popped through without any trouble, I had noticed some congestion, but no fever. I was expecting some major fussiness, fever, rashes but so far we are good.  

I also started her on some solid food just before she turned 6 months it took a good two weeks before she decided she liked cereal. She seems to go for the rice cereal more than the oatmeal. 

Her excitement to see Mom and Dad is too cute. She straightens herself up and grunts and smiles. It feels so good to be loved and recognized. I can't wait for when she can walk/ crawl up to me and give me a big hug all on her own. 

She got the hang of how her exersaucer works and can fully rotate around and looks so busy when she is playing. There's a toy on there that she finds frustrating to get in the exact place she wants it, and grunts and cries when it won't do right for her. Its fun to see her personality blooming before my eyes.  She also figured out her johnny jump up, it took a while but now she loves it. 

My favorite time with her continues to be before bed when I can nurse her to sleep. I also love after she finishes eating throughout the day and I put her on my shoulder to burp her and she cuddles right in and lays her head down on me. So sweet!  

4 months

What our girl is up to this month:

• Starting to sit up better in exersaucer and bumbo
• Passing objects from hand to hand
• We think she might be left handed, all her toys end up on the left side of her
• Likes to pretend to drink out of our cups
• Enjoys being outside playing with wind chimes
• Still hates being in stroller and prefers to be held or in baby carrier
• Enjoying baths more, likes to look at the water going through her fingers 
• She can now show love in her own fun ways, like laying her head on our shoulder, holding Andy's thumb when she's tired, gives sloppy kisses. Not only that but she loves on us in different ways by giving me hugs and squeals when she's done feeding and laying her head on Andy's chest when she's tired.
• Likes to look at yoshino cherry trees in bloom at my mom and dad's 

Laurel meets Uncle David and Aunt Brooke

Glad we got to see these world travelers before they headed off again. Laurel was excited to meet them for the first time.

What a furry face you have Uncle David

They look pretty content with one another. 

Valentines Day

Andy has cooked me Valentines dinner for a few years now. I'm glad I married a husband who can cook, and when he does it's amazing!!! He outdid himself this year and made me shrimp for an appetizer! He knows me well. Thank you Andy for going through the trouble to make me a wonderful meal. I love you!!

In action at the stove.

Proud Handsome Man right there!

Steak, mustard roasted potatoes, asparagus, and salad!

Laurel Loves to look at the Valentines tree I made up.  I still have it up even though it's mid March.

Happy First Valentines Day Laurel. She even took a catnap while we ate.

Tea roses for Laurel and big red ones for  Momma.

3 Months- Where does the time go?

I can't believe Laurel is already 3 months, that's a quarter of a year. Each day I continue to discover more of here likes, dislikes, personality quirks and she is simply amazing.

• Laurel is now sleeping in her crib, we started this a couple days before she turned three months. 
• Nursing is getting better, last month was bumpy to say the least. 
• Sleeping between 10 and 11 hours a night, usually winding down by 7pm and up by 6 or 7am. Back to waking up once a night now, was twice for awhile due to a growth spurt. 
• Naps are 30 min. on the dot unless I hold her or sleep with her beside me. I've been letting her do this at least once a day for the past couple weeks. I may be creating bad habits, but I love it.
• Sometimes when she wakes up super early I slip her in-between me and Andy and she'll usually sleep another hour and a half. 
• Laughed for the first time when I kissed her belly and neck! The best feeling ever!!
• This girl is strong, she can now undo any swaddle with a regular blanket so I've started using the swaddleme and kiddopatamus for naps and at night and even then those little hands find their way to her mouth. I wish her hands would self soothe her back to sleep, but she still wants a paci for that. 
• Oh, she has a new trick. She loves to stick one or both of her hands so far in her mouth that she gags herself and throws up her entire meal. Bulimic baby??? She is completely happy before and after this happens, it's only 20 min later or so that she gets cranky because she has a empty belly. I've tried pulling her hands out and putting a paci in, but she either spits out or pulls out the paci to get her hand in there. I'd say she was teathing, but she has always loved her hands in her mouth. I have ultrasounds with her hands in her mouth or right up against her face and many of the pictures we have from day one are with hands hands in her mouth.
• Feeding every 2 -3 hours. She would last longer if she would stop gagging herself. 
• We are now cloth diapering. I have a good routine down and love the accomplished feeling I have after hanging up a fresh load of diapers to dry. 
• Laurel loves to lay on a blanket on the floor and coo and squeal.  She even does this when she is alone sometimes.
• Definitely a people person. She stayed in the nursery the first time on 3-5 and did great. Her first Sunday in nursery went well too.
• We learned she travels well at night if we need to be in the car for a few hours. 

2 months

Little miss Laurel is starting to show some personality.

Here are a few things she has been up to:

• Sleeping 5, 6, or 7 hour stretches at night. Not consistent on which one bc. sometimes she will do a dream feed and other times I can't wake her up to do one. 
• Likes to kick and pump her legs up and down, especially likes the rocker chair we have on the wood floor, she can really get it going
• Has started to focus on her hand, she gets cross-eyed when she brings her hand really close to her face.
• Loves her new mobile and likes to coo and talk to it
• Best time of day is in the mornings
• Still likes to be swaddled for naps and at night
• Doing well for the most part when I take her into church, sleeps most of the time.
• Loves taking naps on her Daddy
• If I can't get her back to sleep at night I put her next to her Daddy and she falls right back to sleep
• Does not like tummy time! Can't stand it for more than a minute
• Still takes one longer nap around 1:30pm
• Poops are starting to slow down, she now has one or two a day (if just one it's usually a blowout)
• We were using the Fisher Price Rock n' Play for her to sleep in at night, but we have transitioned her into a flat bassinet so she will be ready for the crib. The first couple of nights she had an extra feed, but she is sleeping just fine now. 

Yay, Dad is home bc. of snow!

Best naps are on Daddy's chest.

First Snow

This mirror has already provided hours of entertainment!

Looking at Daddy, she loves that boy!

Vitamin D face, she loves this stuff