Olivia 9 Months!

Pumpkin! You are NINE months old! You are the absolute cutest and I can't believe how much I keep falling in love with you more and more each day. 

This has been a big month for you and you've achieved some big milestones!



We, along with you, experienced our first Tropical Storm. Hermine visited Labor Day weekend and turned out to be much stronger and more intense than we had expected. I suppose I assumed the Weather Channel was exaggerating the severity of the storm. However, I learned I was mistaken. We didn't have very strong, scary storms, but we did have crazy intense wind! We had a lot of debris and damage from the wind, including a tree top that fell on our porch and destroyed some patio furniture. We didn't have power for 36+ hours, but that didn't seem to faze you one bit. You are a trooper and just rolled with things, like having no AC, like a rockstar. In fact, this leads me to your next big milestone...

Princess you were NOT feeling the photos today 

... the first night we were power-less, girl... YOU. SLEPT. THROUGH. THE. NIGHT!!!!!!!!  Huzzah!! Mommy couldn't believe it when I woke up around 5:30 am and realized you hadn't been up once. I may have mildly freaked out and ran into your nursery to check on you, but overall I was just really happy! Daddy and I think maybe you just needed your room to be slightly warmer to get a good night's rest. Since that night you have hand a handful of nights that you sleep really well. I am so grateful. I feel like a different person now that we are collectively getting more rest. You still wake up occasionally but we let you cry it out and you usually go back to sleep fairly quickly. Woo Hoo for more sleep!

We've been busy filling our days with a lot of activities. We're still going to story time at the library and you've got the routine down like a pro. This month we've also started attending a music class that you really seem to enjoy. The class sends curriculum back with you to practice at home too. I've also started going to MOPS and am excited about that. We've also been having fun at some playdates with friends.

You've been working hard on those upper teeth!

I think Daddy is your favorite person, probably because he does fun things with you like letting you climb the stairs, bike rides, swinging, and goofing off with you. You're lucky, you've got a wonderful Daddy!

During the day at home you play, play, play. You love your walker and we do many laps around the living room. Flap and texture books are your favorite and you're really proud of yourself when you turn a page, open a flap, or point out a texture. Your favorite toys are an egg shaker, your monkey shaker, the ring stacker, keys (from Aunt Sarah), and any kitchen tool we let you play with.



Most days I'll turn on Disney or Toddler music and we dance around for a bit. You giggle and giggle and it makes my heart soar! You seem to really respond to anything musical, which I hope is a sign that you will be more musically gifted than mommy. You must get that from Daddy. This month you've started clapping and you can open and close you hands when we sing "open and shut them"  and "twinkle, twinkle, little stars". You "sing" along sometimes and it's the cutest!



You went to North Carolina this past month and added another state to the list you've visited. So far that makes 4 states. Not too bad for 9 months! We visited Charlotte with Lolly and G-daddy and you got to splash around in the pool with them, which you loved!

You got to spend some time with Aunt Jessie and Uncle Juan when they came to visit and you loved it! You even got to watch TV for the first time while you cuddled with Aunt Jessie!

Look at those teeth!

We also were able to spend some time with your Aunt Sarah, Uncle Jared, and cousins this month. You love your cousins. It's adorable watching you watch them and trying to keep up. I'm so glad you have two great cousins in your life to play with! Karis and Evan are SOOOOO sweet with you and it just warms my heart! 

You're still nursing. We tried formula for the first time this past month... and you straight up, absolutely refused. I mean, you weren't having any of it! Ha. So yeah, we're still nursing. It's my goal to nurse you for at least a year anyways, we were just trying formula right before bed in an attempt to get you to sleep better, but you seem do be doing that on your own now anyways. You're eating solids really well and this month you've tried cauliflower, spinach, and yellow squash in addition to everything else you've had.

You attended your first major league sporting event this month! Daddy and I were so excited to take you to a Braves game! We had our first date there over nine years ago and went to many, many games over the years. It felt surreal to take our daughter to a game. We went with Lolly and G-Daddy, you did really well, and we all had a great time. And the Braves won!! Whoop whoop!!

Baby girl, you've achieved so much this month, BUT the biggest thing you've accomplished so far also happened a week before you turned 9 months! YOU STARTED WALKING!!! That's right, my strong, determined girl, you started walking at 8 months!!! Mommy and Daddy are incredibly proud of you. And you are pretty tickled too.

You took your first steps at your Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jared's house. I've had a hard time getting a video of your walking because you see the phone and know you can get there quicker if you crawl. But I finally got one where you took more than two steps.

Olivia, you truly are our joy and delight and we thank the Lord for you. You are our precious, precious gift and we cannot believe how enriched you've made our lives the past nine months. We love you to pieces little one. Happy nine months!! XOXOXO

Olivia 8 Months!

Princess, do you remember when I used to post your month recaps on your actual month birthday? No? Well, the first couple of months I did! It's a bit harder now that you're mobile and don't want to sit still for photos or while I blog. 

You are SO much fun, Olivia! Oh my goodness. I can honestly say - without the slightest exaggeration - that sometimes it overwhelms me how much I love you and how much joy you bring to your daddy's and my life! It is my sincerest wish that everyone can experience being a parent, because there is just no greater gift from the Lord, truly. 

You're definitely coming into your personality and you crack me up. Recently, you've become more and more giggly. Your laugh sounds like heaven! After hearing you laugh, Lolly said, "You can understand why J.M. Barrie wrote that fairies are born from baby laughs".  Yes, completely! Nothing cracks you up more than the dogs. But, you also have "found" yourself in the mirror this month and just laugh and laugh and laugh at your reflection. You also think mommy is hilarious when I put one of your toy links or paci in my mouth. You laugh and then remove it and then try and put it back in my mouth. Turning on and off the xbox is also a favorite of yours. You think the light turning on and off and the little noise it makes is great. 

I may have also accidentally taught you to grab people's noses. I made the mistake of honking once when you grabbed my nose and you may have the expectation that people honk when you grab their noses now... oops. 

Anything that rattles is a win in your book too. You particularly love your monkey rattle and the top ring of your ring tower thing. You sometimes crawl around with one of the baby links in your mouth, and it cracks me up and I think it's pretty cute. We've started keeping some little lovies in your crib too, that you seem to love. You're usually holding one when I go pick you up out of your crib. 

You're interacting with books more and more. You can turn the pages, open the flaps, and you reach out for all the textures. Your favorite books seem to be That's Not My Bunny, Peek-a-who, and Peek-a-boo Farm. I love reading to you, mostly because I love you curling up in my lap and cuddling with me while I read to you. 

 We go to story time each week and you're really getting more and more into it. You like to dance and shake the egg shakers and "sing" along in your baby babble way. 

You're crawling like a rockstar! You are super fast! We've had to install a lot of baby gates and each morning I have to push furniture around to baby-proof the room now that you're on the move. You've mastered pulling up and can walk yourself around furniture. You can also stand on your own for a considerable amount of time. I think you'll be walking soon. Daddy and I walk you around each day and you squeal with excitement. You're also quite proud of yourself when we let you climb the stairs (mommy and daddy are spotting you of course). You also try to climb out of your bath now, so bath time is definitely an adventure. 

You've tried more solids this month. In all you've eaten bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, zucchini, peas, avocado, and kale. Recently, you have become distracted while nursing and very busy. You flip back and forth and take breaks to look at things. We've gone back to see the lactation consultant and we're trying some new techniques, but I'm a little nervous that we may be coming to the end of our nursing days, and it breaks my heart. However, we weighed you and you're just over 17 pounds, so it's not like the doctor is worried about your growth, but we're still nursing about every 2-3 hours and still getting up to feed multiple times a night. 

You seem so biggie to me and it just blows my mind. We put you in the church nursery for the first time last weekend, and though mommy was super nervous to leave you, you did really well. You're busy, busy now and dislike taking breaks for such silly things as diaper changes... and taking photos for blogs (see below) ;) Too many things to explore. Never stop being curious little one. 

Munchkin, you are SO loved. Thank you for the best 8 months of our lives. 

Olivia 7 Months!

Beautiful, sweet Olivia... I'm sorry that I'm late this month on posting your 7 month blog. Things have been pretty busy this past month and you've achieved some major milestones! Including... CRAWLING! You officially started crawling the weekend of July 4th. We all knew you'd be a happier baby once you could move around on your own, and it's true! Miss Independent! This has also made taking your photos for this post very difficult. You do not want to sit still and smile for the camera! I tried a couple of different times to take pictures of you for this blog, but we just had no luck with smiles or sitting still. That's okay! I think you're still pretty cute even when you're mean mugging for the camera! =)



You're super fast and are obviously very proud of your achievement. You love to sneak off down the hallway and when I follow you and 'catch' you, you flop down, turn around and give me the biggest grin and giggle.

You also are tickled that you can now go after the dogs. They are two of your very, very favorite things in the whole world and you are so happy that you can crawl at them on your own accord. They don't often stay put when you're on the hunt towards them, but sometimes they do. You squeal with delight anytime they let you touch them and are beside yourself when they give you kisses on your cheeks or top of the head. Emma is slightly more patient than Jackson. We're trying to work on being gentle with them - not sure how much of this concept you can even comprehend at 7 months old - but there have been many times when I have had to remove chunks of dog hair from your tiny, impressively strong, baby grip. Poor puppies! Haha!

You're also pulling up on the furniture and are able to "walk" your way around the ottoman and sofa. You greet me standing up in your crib each time I go to collect you from your nap or in the morning. I  love seeing your grinning face looking up at me. It also just breaks my heart when you're protesting sleep and I now have to walk away from you standing at the edge of your crib, crying and reaching for me. It takes everything in my power to not just scoop you up and hold you forever.

Child. You. Are. Still. Not. Sleeping. Through. The. Night. We had a good run there for a couple of weeks where you were sleeping for pretty long stretches and only waking me up once a night (after a late night dream feed). But due to some new teeth trying to come through, we are back to some pretty sleepless nights. Good thing you are stinkin' cute and totally worth it. ;)

You also have lots to say and speak gibberish often. Car rides are some of your chattiest times. We listen to baby lullabies, baby hymns or veggie tales in the car and I think you may actually be trying to sing along. You also say "mamma" pretty clearly and are working on "dadda". You say 'mamma' while crawling over to me and it makes my heart explode.

You also started solids this past month!! We knew you'd like eating real foods as you have always shown an intense interest in food. So far we've made all your food from scratch. We got the Baby Bullet and it's made things really easy. You ate bananas first and loved them. Since then you've also had carrots, sweet potatoes, and avocados. You love them all, but I think bananas seem to be your least favorite and maybe avocado is your most favorite.

You've started making a humming noise while you eat - both nursing and eating solids - and it cracks me up. I was attempting to nurse you in church this past weekend and you drew quite a bit of attention our way with your 'mmmmmmm'-ing.

You are still quite serious. Especially with people and situations that are new to you. However, you're definitely a happy baby and seem to thrive with routine and in your own setting. You're pretty attached to me and I have a love-hate feeling about that. I love being needed and wanted by you, but sometimes I need a break and a baby-free lap. Most days we spend chilling at the house and I push the furniture out of the way and we both hang out on the floor. I'm right down there with you. This is because you are happiest when I'm right next to you or close enough to be accessible.



You're a good errand running buddy and I love taking you places with me. You sit up in grocery carts now and love to be charioted around a store with the freedom to turn about and look at everything around you. You still get tons of compliments whenever we're out and I still love hearing them. People often remark to me about how you're obviously studying the world around you.



We also go to story time at the local library each week and you're really starting to warm up to it. We see many familiar faces each week and repeat the same songs and activities. Afterwards there is a play time and you really love the Easter egg shakers.

Daddy and I also like to take you on walks in the evenings - when it's not melt you to the ground hot. You love it, we enjoy it, and it calms you down before bath and bedtime. We are really enjoying our new neighborhood and I'm so grateful to be in a safe community.



You're at a really fun age right now baby girl. The world is so full of possibilities and I love watching you learn and soak up all that is around you. I love seeing your personality develop and shine through. I know there isn't anything else I'd rather be spending my time doing than being your mommy. You are so, so, SO loved little one. Happy 7 months, princess.