9 Months

Sweetest baby girl,
You have learned so much in the last month. You have started to clap your hands and it is absolutely adorable! We have also started to teach you some baby sign language like "more" and "all done". We are hoping this will help you to communicate with us while you're eating. Right now your "more" is basically you clapping your hands. And when you want more food, you screech and bang your hands on the table, it is quite a noisy experience. You're figuring out your own way of communication and it is really fun for us to watch you learn and figure things out.

When you are standing and holding on to something, you've started letting go and are slowly figuring out your balance. You are crawling everywhere and once you get to a piece of furniture or a wall to hold on to, you stand up and cruise right along them. We picked up a little shopping cart toy for you a couple weeks ago and you love pushing it around the house. It took you a bit to figure your balance with it, but you love it now. Everyone has started to guess when you'll take your first steps, I'm sure it will be soon. If you see something you want, you crawl over there just as fast as can be. At bedtime when you are getting sleepy and just want to be held, if I walk to a different room, you will chase after me and climb up holding my legs. You certainly love to snuggle up with us at bedtime to read a book, have some milk and drift off to sleep.

You are starting to get more hair and after your bath, the hair on the back of your head gets the cutest slight curl. Right now it is a light brown, but in certain light it has a reddish tint. Your eyes have been changing color too. They are the most beautiful hazel. In some light they look brown and other times they have a green/gold color. People often comment how beautiful you are, especially your eyes. I wonder if you'll end up with dark brown eyes like your dad or if they'll stay a hazel-green like mine.

Your top two front teeth came through this week. So now you have two on top and two on the bottom. Apples, celery and carrots are your favorite foods while you're teeth are working on coming through. For the most part you really don't seem bothered by teething discomforts and you go about your day, just as happy as always. You have been waking more at night and you like to be held more during the day to help comfort you, but you also still love to play a lot.
Speaking of playing, you absolutely love playing with your dogs and us. You could also occupy yourself for hours if you had the right toys. You love to entertain yourself. You also love to work a crowd. If you know someone is watching you, you can be quite the entertainer. You laugh and laugh and if someone has a reaction and starts laughing with you, you just laugh harder. You are such a happy little girl, full of so much personality and joy.

You are still nursing multiple times a day and have bottles of pumped milk while I'm at work. You love trying new foods. Some of your favorites are: Greek yogurt, avocado, apples, carrots, green beans, chicken, hamburger meat, cheerios and applesauce. We give you finger foods and you love feeding yourself. You also love sharing with the dogs and passing out food when you're done with it.

At your check up today, the doctor said you look very healthy. You made your presence known and were squealing and jabbering and babbling on and on the whole time. We were cracking up at how much you had to say. The doctor said most babies will say their first word between now and 12 months old. We are all guessing what your first word will be. You babble on and on with different syllables like: da, mmum, baa. The doctor said you are quite the active little girl and are healthy as can be.

Love you,
Momma


Weight: 16 lbs 11 oz.
Height: 28"
Head Circumference: 17.5"
Wearing: 6 month clothing, 9 month pajamas
Size 3 diapers

Loves:
waving to us, to the dogs, to anything really
climbing the stairs
bath time
feeding the dogs from your high chair and getting into their dog bowls at their mealtime
"helping" do the dishes - mostly climbing onto the dishwasher or holding the rack
being mobile and crawling everywhere - learning to balance and stand on your own now
pushing your toy shopping cart around the house
apples

playing peek a boo

clapping your hands
pointing at things and laughing


During this month's photos, you were cracking up laughing at your daddy. I just love your expressions and baby belly laughs. Your laughter is contagious and these photos bring me right back to that moment, hearing your giggles.

New Traditions - Apple Picking

I have always wanted to go apple picking and a few weeks ago we decided this would be the year to try it out. We were planning to go in a couple weeks, but some plans fell through this weekend and we ended up with a free morning. The weather was cool enough to feel like fall, but still warm enough that we didn't need coats. After a quick search online for pick your own apple orchards we had it narrowed down to 3 farms that all had great reviews. We opted for the one closest to home as this would be our first apple picking experience and we really didn't want to spend over an hour driving somewhere, especially when we had limited time before little one's naptime. We went to Iron's Fruit Farm which is just about 40 minutes away from home.
Little La was snoozing away when we pulled into the parking lot. Todd loaded her up into the baby carrier in hopes that she would stay asleep just a little longer. As soon as we approached their little shop, she heard the kids running around and was wide awake and checking out the scenery. Once we figured out where to go to pick the apples, we hopped on the hayride out to the orchard. The weather was just perfect, I would have liked a little more sunshine, but Todd said he wouldn't have changed a thing.

After seeing so many cute photos on Pinterest of families apple picking and babies in the orchard, I had it set in my mind that I wanted some cute photos of our little girl apple picking. Of course, she is working on her 3rd tooth right now, her first one on the top, so all she wanted to do was chew on an apple to ease some of her discomfort. Despite her teething, she had a great time. She loved picking up the apples and chewing on them. She was not a fan of trying to pick one off the tree. We held her up several times thinking she'd reach out to grab one, but she didn't love touching the branches and leaves.

She LOVED the hay ride back. She stood there the whole time just giggling away and waving her arms and bouncing up and down. She would wave at everyone in the trailer, then wave at all the trees we were passing and start cracking up watching the wheels on the tractor. When we arrived back by the shop we passed by some of their animals. La thought the emu and pony were so funny. We paid for our apples and picked up some fresh apple cider, apple butter and a pastry to snack on. We sat out at a picnic table and enjoyed our little treat. They had an old tractor out that you could climb up and sit on. I climbed up and Todd passed La up to me. She loved standing up there, waving to everything and holding the big steering wheel.

All in all, we had a great day. As we were leaving the farm we decided this is something we should do every year. I love making homemade applesauce so I'll be pretty busy this week peeling, cutting, cooking and mashing apples. I think this could be a fun tradition every year. Now that we have all these apples, I think I'll try baking my first ever pie this fall.

On Sunday, we went to a birthday party for the neighbor's little boy. They had the party at the park just up the street. The weather was just beautiful. While we were there we went over to the playground hoping to find some swings, but they didn't have any. Instead we opted to try out the slides. La had so much fun sliding with us.

Such a fun weekend of firsts for our little girl. We're looking forward to many more fun firsts with her. It is so fun starting new family traditions. I'm hoping to go apple picking every year, it will be so fun to watch her grow and change from year to year as she becomes more interested in picking the apples. 

8 Months

Sweetest baby girl,
My goodness, you are growing so fast and discovering something new every day. You are totally mobile and into everything these days. You crawl so fast and are pulling up and cruising along our furniture and down the walls in the hallway. People keep telling us you'll be walking before we know it. We must always keep the gate closed by the steps or before we know it you are halfway upstairs. You move so quickly! You generally tattle on yourself though and start giggling as you are heading towards the stairs or to the dogs' water bowl or anything you know you aren't supposed to have. You get this cheeky grin and just start cracking up as you speedily crawl away from us. You are such a little goofball, full of personality. Everyone comments to us how happy you are and ask if you are ever grumpy. While you do have your moments, you are generally the happiest baby I've ever seen.

It is so much fun watching your personality develop and change. I can tell you will be extroverted like your dad, but you also have a quiet side too. You've started this new thing where you'll blush and put your head down and look up through the top of your eyes at us. You are so happy and friendly to everyone. Always waving, giggling and smiling to everyone you see. You do get shy and quieter around strangers and people you don't see often. You generally save your chattiness and conversations for at home and around those you know the best.

You got your first two teeth this month. The first one came through just 3 days after we got home from vacation (August 10th). I could tell you were uncomfortable since you were clingier than normal (you typically like your freedom to crawl about on your own). You just wanted to be held all the time, but you were in good spirits and still happy as ever despite the teething discomforts. Just a week and a half later (August 19th or so) your second tooth came through. Both are on the bottom in the front.

This month we went on our first family vacation to Burt Lake. You had so much fun! You didn't really love the boat rides, though I think it was mostly the life jacket you hated. You did great though and would snuggle up with me or dad and fall asleep in our arms. You had so much fun playing with your cousins all week. It was so sweet watching you play with them. We so treasure those times with family.

My darling, I don't know where the last 8 months have gone. One minute you were a brand new baby, a tiny newborn just starting to discover the world, and what seems like just a second later, you are 8 months old and more alert and aware of your surroundings. You love discovering new things. You'll pick up anything you come across at home and examine it closely. You especially love checking out the things dad and I use often: the dog bowls, our phones, shoes, my purse, the diaper bag, wipes container, dishwasher, etc. I can tell you are studying them closely to see what everything does and how things work. You love studying our faces, touching our eyes, noses and mouths. You've also discovered my jewelry and love to hold it, so I have to be extra careful that you don't pull an earring out or tug my necklace too hard.

Your bond with your family is so sweet. Your face lights up when you see your grandmas and grandpas. I love picking you up after work and seeing your face just light up when you see me or when dad gets home from work and you see him. You get so excited when you see your loved ones and it is so precious. I can tell you absolutely love your family and it feels so good to be loved by you sweetheart. You are full of joy and love, it just radiates from you and always brings a smile to my face. I love you sweet baby girl.

Love you,
Momma


Weight: 16 lbs 2 oz.
Wearing: 6 month clothing, 9 month pajamas and still some 3 month separates.
Size 2 diapers, size 3 at night

Loves:
waving to us, to the dogs, to anything really
blowing raspberries
climbing the stairs
bathtime
making a click noise with your tongue by pushing it to the top of your mouth and clicking it down
feeding the dogs from your high chair and getting into their dog bowls at their mealtime
pulling up on furniture and cruising along
"helping" do the dishes - mostly climbing onto the dishwasher or holding the rack
being mobile and crawling everywhere


It is getting more difficult to get your monthly photos with the blocks. You don't like to sit still for long and love to grab the blocks to play with them. I love seeing your personality in these photos, an active little girl, being silly and excited to get down and play.

You love making this face lately - scrunching up your nose and making this sniffing sound. Then you crack up laughing. 

7 months

My dearest little girl,

I say it every month, but my goodness, time slow down, you are growing up so quickly. At your 6 month check up the pediatrician said most babies start to crawl around 7-8 months and around 9 months start pulling up on things. Well, just a few days after that check up you were on the move! A week after that check up, July 3rd, you pulled up on our couch for the first time! I could hardly believe my eyes. Every time you do something new like this you look to me and to dad with this big grin. It is so precious. I can tell you are checking in with us for our approval and you are so proud of yourself and your new found talents.

You are now totally mobile. You love crawling everywhere and seeing what new things you can pull up on. You are cautious not to let go of things, but you are slowly starting to find your balance. You've had a few spills while holding onto the chairs or couch, but you are getting even better at maintaining your balance and landing on your bottom gracefully. Everyone comments how they can't believe how petite and strong you are and that we'll have a walking baby on our hands in no time at all.
One of your favorite things to do is play hide and seek. All I have to do is step out of your line of sight (behind a wall or into the next room) and go "lala, where are you?", you come crawling out and when you see me you stop and sit in the hall and get the biggest smile on your face and hold your hands together under your chin. It is the most adorable thing.

You love when I'm in the kitchen doing dishes or cooking. If the dishwasher is open, you make your way over so fast and pull yourself right up to "help". You do the same thing if the refrigerator door is open, you love checking out the lower shelves inside the fridge and also pulling any papers that are hanging on the door. You love mirrors and seeing your reflection in the glass on the oven door.

You've discovered where we keep the dogs' water bowls and you love "helping" them at mealtime. You climb right into Niah's bowl or spill Ellie's food on the floor. They mostly ignore you and keep on eating. They especially love our mealtime now that you are having solid foods. They always stick close to your side when you are in your high chair since that means treats will be coming their way. You love trying new foods, but I think you love sharing your food with the puppies even more. You are always leaning over your tray with a hand full of food and Niah is right there ready to lick your cheeks and hands hoping for a treat. Some of your favorite foods are watermelon, green beans, pancakes, peaches, scrambled eggs and avocado. You love trying new flavors and textures. We haven't been giving you traditional rice cereal or purees, just steamed veggies or whatever we are eating that is soft enough for you to gum. You love sitting at the table with us. You don't have any teeth yet, but the pediatrician thinks they could come this month. We'll see, only time will tell.

We will go on our very first family vacation soon to dad's favorite place in the world, his uncle's lake house in Michigan. We are so excited to spend time with daddy's extended family and to watch you play with all your cousins for days on end. You love the when we swim in the pool, so I'm sure you will love the lake too! Your cousins just adore you. This past weekend Miles and Sophie were amazed at how you were standing on your own. Miles kept putting his hands on your cheeks and looking you in the eye saying "Charlotte I'm so pwoud of you for standing. You're so big. I'm so pwoud of you". It was the most precious thing.

I love you sweet baby girl. You are the happiest baby, always smiling and waving to us. I can't wait to see what the next month has in store for you.

Love,
Momma


Weight: 15.2lbs
Wearing: 6 month clothing, and still some 3 month separates.
Size 2 diapers

Loves:
waving to us, to the dogs, to anything really
feeding the dogs from your high chair and getting into their dog bowls at their mealtime
pulling up on furniture
mirrors or glass to see your reflection
being mobile and crawling everywhere
swimming
blowing raspberries

6 months

 
Sweet girl,
You are growing up so fast right before my eyes. Time slow down. I want to savor these sweet moments and soak them all up so that I'll never forget. You have learned and grown so much this month. In the last few weeks you've learned how to army crawl across our floor and you are now sitting up on your own, I know you'll be full on crawling and making your way around the house in no time at all. At your check up yesterday the doctor said you are such a strong little girl and you'll be crawling on your own very soon and that we had better start baby-proofing the house. I don't know where the last 6 months have gone baby girl.

I just love watching you learn and discover new things each day. You've started waving to us which is so sweet my heart can hardly take it. Your eyes light up when we get home from work. You've started to be more clingy to us and hesitant of being held by someone new, but you are never shy to offer up a big grin and squeals of giggles when in the arms of someone you know.  You love to babble away and blow raspberries. You are perfectly content to play on your own but also love playing with others. Your cousins just adore you and it is so sweet to see you learning how to play with them. You absolutely love seeing other babies or children. Your face just lights up and you want to hug and play with them right away. I have a feeling you may be an extrovert like your daddy but I definitely see a softer, sensitive side to you as well. As you are growing I see the perfect mix of us in you, you have your daddy's gentle eyes and my smile. You have a gentle heart and love to be held, but you can also be very independent and want to do your own thing. You are such a happy baby, always with a smile on your face. You have so much personality packed in that little body of yours. I love watching your personality develop and change as you are getting bigger.

Love you baby girl, I can't wait to see what you'll learn next month and how you'll grow and change even more.

Love,
Mom



Stats:

length 26” - 55%

weight 14lbs 3oz - 15%

head 16.75” - 60%

wearing: 3-6 month separates and 6 month sleepers

Loves:
swimming lessons and playing in grandma and grandpa's pool
Niah and Ellie - you three are inseparable
big belly laughs
when daddy sings and plays guitar with you
babies and kids
waving to us

Waving to Dad as he was trying to get you to smile and look at the camera.