Juliet 9 Months!

JuJu Bug!!! Your 9th month of life flew by and I was very tardy in writing your blog post this month. I usually get pretty inspired by the photos I take and can't wait to get them up and write about your cuteness and current achievements. This month, however, you are a little one very much on the move!! We are certainly celebrating your accomplishment in the mobility department, however, it made taking photos very difficult! 

You have mastered crawling and are fast! Not only are you zipping around to and fro but you are taking after your big sister and are wanting to, and attempting to, climb everything. You can climb the whole staircase unassisted (with daddy right behind you of course) and giggle the whole way up - usually with helpful cheers and "you can do it Baby!" from Olivia. You are still furniture cruising and have started to wobble around using the walker toy. Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jared thankfully let us borrow their foldable baby pin and it has been quite a lifesaver for me while we struggle to re-babyproof everything now that you're officially on the move!

We've been letting you eat more table foods which you seem to really enjoy! I'm also enjoying the ease of sharing our meals with you. No more homemade baby food takes a chore off my to-do list (even though I was of course happy to do it for you). You devour any carbs we offer you first, though to be honest, you don't discriminate too much. I think you like to eat! Get it girl! 

Sadly, on your 9 month birthday you had Roseola. Poor girl. You became increasingly fussy, had no appetite and started running a fever. It is the absolute WORST when your baby isn't feeling well and there isn't much I can do! We happened to have your 9 month well visit when you were sick so I was glad to take you in and have you checked out. The doctor said it was probably teething but *might* be Roseola but we wouldn't know until day 5 when you'd break out in a rash. And perfectly on schedule, your fever broke and you broke out in a full body rash on day 5. Luckily, by then you were feeling much better and your appetite was coming back.

Sick eyes at the Doctor's office 😢

You celebrated your first 4th of July! We had a pretty low-key day which was nice. A couple of friends came over and Daddy grilled some food for everyone. We followed that up with some pool time with Uncle Jason and Catherine.

You're super cuddly these days and I LOVE it!! You grab on with your arms and your legs and often rest your head on our shoulders. It's the sweetest!

The extra cuddles you give help lessen the blow of the sleep regression you've developed. You're back to consistently waking up at least one time a night now. But those cuddles you give when I pick you up out of the crib sure help!

You and Olivia are starting to be able to play together more. It's so fun to watch y'all interact. I think the fact that you are more mobile has helped your interactions. 

Love you so much precious, precious girl!! These nine months have flown by (wayyyyy faster than the nine months you were in my tummy!) and they have been such a blessing because YOU have been here!!! Happy 9 months sweet, Juju Bug!

Juliet 8 Months!

JuJu! You are 8 months! WHAT?! So biggie!! I am loving this stage with you!! You are happy and loving life and are so easy! I feel like you're really coming into your personality and are becoming more and more expressive. 

We spent some extended time with both sides of the family recently, and you're visibly much more comfortable around everyone. You give more smiles and giggles now that you previously reserved mostly for mommy, daddy, and Olivia. 

Physically you're growin' growin' growin'! You've moved up to size 3 diapers and are almost out of 6-9 month clothes. You have plenty of hair (much more than your sister did at your age) and your eyes are still such a strikingly beautiful shade of blue. Strangers often comment on how pretty your eyes are. 

You are on the move! I wouldn't say you're technically crawling just yet, because you haven't figured out how to get those knees up under you and move forward. You have, however, pretty much mastered the army crawl and are fast! Just yesterday I set you down in the living room, ran to the garage to grab something, and when I came back you were already two rooms over and by the front door. You looked pretty pleased with yourself when I scooped you up. 

Your teeth have finally popped through your gums and you have two tiny bottom front teeth. With the appearance of teeth we've started giving you banana and sweet potato teethers, puffs, and yogurt bites. You're a big fan of food and I love watching you attempt to grab puffs and put them in your mouth. Gah, you're stinkin' cute, baby girl! This month we added butternut squash, apples, pears, and purple sweet potato to your diet. You weren't a fan of apples or pears (just like Olivia!) until we mixed them with banana and then you didn't seem to mind in the least!

You've started to make more intentional sounds. You can make a pffffffft noise with your lips and you  crack yourself up. Recently you've also started to say, "dada" and "mama". 

When I was pregnant with you I had so many people and strangers "warn" me about how "dangerous" it was to have a toddler around a baby. I grew increasingly worried about how Olivia and you would get along. However, it is one of my biggest joys in life to watch how well you and Olivia interact together. You adore Olivia and she loves you so much. Olivia lights up when she greets you in the morning and will often give you hugs and kisses and tell you "I love you, JuJu" out of nowhere.  Now that you're sitting up and can move on your own and now that your motor skills are getting better and better, you two can play together more effectively. I love watching y'all play together. Oh em gee. My heart. 

You're still a great napper (hooray!) and give me good morning and afternoon naps, usually an hour and half to two hours long each. We had you sleeping through the night, but that kind of got reset on our Leeper family vacation. The past week you've been determined to get up between 5:30am-6:30am and I'm not appreciating that so much. But you generally wake up so happy and chatty that I can't help but happily scoop you up. 

We took you to Hilton Head Island for the first time this past month. Mommy has been vacationing there since she was a baby and I love that you got to experience it too! (Thanks for the vacay and continuing traditions, Lolly and G-Daddy!!)

Sweet girlie girl, these have been the best 8 months with you. Daddy, Olivia, and I are so happy you're part of the family. Thank you for enriching our lives and bringing so much sweetness and joy with you wherever you go. Happy 8 Months munchkin!! 

Juliet 7 Months!

JuJu! You're seven months old!! Wow!! Time is FLYING girl! You are SO much fun! I really love this age! You're becoming more and more self-sufficient but aren't able to cause too much trouble yet. It's just such a fun age I think. Plus, you seriously have the squishiest, most kissable cheeks ever!!

In some ways I feel like things haven't changed too much in our day to day compared to last month, but in many ways there have been big changes. One biggie that comes to mind - you're sleeping through the night with some consistency now!! Woooooo hoooooo! Mommy and Daddy sure are grateful! You're sleeping from 7ish to 6:30ish. You wake up some still in the middle of the night, usually around 4 am, but we just let you work it out most nights. This week, though, you gave us 2 nights in a row with sleeping straight thru the night! 

After months of canceled well-visits (thank you horrible flu season), we finally made it to the doctor! You're healthy and fit and right around 50th percentile on the growth charts. You're weighing in at 15 pounds, wearing size 2 diapers still, and are right on track wearing 6-9 month clothing. Two teeth have an itty bitty bit of tooth poking through, but they are taking their sweet time.

You're still a pretty big fan of eating. This month we've added "greens" to your diet by trying out zucchini, peas, and avocados. You eat them all, but don't seem to love peas. Olivia likes to help feed you and it's pretty cute! 

You're still giving me pretty good and consistent naps, which I'm grateful for! You take an 1-2 hour nap in the morning and again in the afternoon after lunch.  Recently, you've starting sticking your little bottom up in the air while you sleep and it's just the cutest! 

One of your favorite activities is definitely bath time! You enjoy the water and love to splash and kick  and giggle at yourself. You're so biggie now though that, as of last night, we're bathing you in the big tub with your sister. Such a strange pull as a parent - it's wonderful to see you grow and achieve new things, but always slightly sad to move on from all the 'little' baby things, like the tub in the sink. 

Some "firsts" you experienced this last month include riding in a bike for the first time, going to the nursery for the first time, and spending the night away from mommy and daddy for the first time! 

We put a seat on the back on my bike, but we decided you're too little for that just yet, so we put you in the trailer on daddy's bike, and you seem much more comfortable there. We're excited to get back to riding bikes together as a family - one of our favorite family activities!

Since the flu season was so intense this year, we really delayed putting you in the nursery anywhere. This month I finally felt comfortable letting you go and so you went to the MOPS nursery on the last meeting of the year. They ended up calling me to come get you a little more than halfway through the meeting and so you got to come party with mamma, but for your first time, you did pretty well! 

80's theme 

Daddy and I went away one weekend in May to celebrate our 8th anniversary. Lolly and G-Daddy graciously came down to Savannah to watch you and your sister while we were away. I was quite nervous about leaving you overnight for the first time, but you did just great!! 

You're becoming more and more determined to move around and are getting pretty good at scooting to and fro! I think we'll have a crawler on our hands soon. 

Juliet, you are such a delight. I really just love you so so much. We are SO glad you're part of our family. Happy seven months, sweetie pie! XOXO