18 months! Hi out of town family!

Hi out of town family!

I'm Alex. I'm 18 months old now! Mommy has no idea where the time has gone. I'm a girl always on the go. I've been busy exploring and enjoying life. We haven't writen in a while. I thought I'd write about a few of my favorite things:

Mommy is still my favorite person, but daddy is pretty awesome too. We are done nursing. Mommy misses the cuddles. But I give her snobbery kisses, wet bath hugs, and raspberries at night to make up for it. 

As I go throughout my day, I often sing a little song I made up. It goes something like this, daba-daba-daba-daba" as I play with my toys. 

I love playing hide and go seek. I often hide my whole body except my feet. Mommy finds them and tickles me! 

Our dog, Cash is my best friend. Every morning, I say joyfully say "hi" to him as he wakes up. I also enjoy calling Cash back into the house when he escapes. I clap my hands like mommy and shout, "ta-ta-ta." Sometimes it works! I love throwing the ball at him and playing keep away with him. I can't figure out why cats don't appreciate this game. 

My favorite toy is a baby doll. I carry it around the house daily. I swaddle her and dress her. I'm practicing to be a good mommy when I grow up. I get very excited when I see another baby at the store. I often stop and point. I exclaim "baby!" Just so everyone knows and sees a cute baby when I do. With my love for babies, I know I will be a great big sister someday. 

I spend time pointing out babies in magazines. I love reading about baby Moses and baby Jesus. Mommy tells me that like Moses to save the Israelites from slavery, Jesus saved us from the slavery of our sins. I know how to put my hands together to pray and talk to Jesus. Many nights, I remind Mommy if she forgot to pray. 

I'm still having some tummy issues. Were hoping with God's strength, well get through them. Things like prunes, probiotics,excerise, camille tea, and miralax are helping me a lot. We'd appreciate your prayers for my tummy. 

I'm getting taller and blonder every day. My hair got so long already that mommy gave me a hair cut! I even sat down long enough for her to paint my toes orange! I love being a girl already. 

I can say words like, "that, cup, baby, mommy, mama, dada, juice." These few words seem to communicate anything I need all day. 

I am a good girl. I will put toys away, bring my dishes to the counter, wiping up my mess, and close the door when asked most times. I'm a good eater too. I'll eat many dishes like jambayla, paella, curry, when mommy remembers to cut down the spice. I also enjoy making and eating my own guacamole, peeling bananas, and helping myself to getting a drink of water. 

I am a little shy around when strange older kids try to hug me. But mommy says it's ok. I seem to warm up in a new environment after a little while. I do enjoy play groups and going to the park. 

I love talking on the phone. I will talk really loud and laugh a lot just like my mommy does on the phone.  After telling a long story, I'll say, ummmm.  Soon I'll be enjoying long conversations with each and every one of you!

We miss you all! And can't wait until our next visit!

Hugs and kisses, 

Alex

Monetssori: how we montessori!

Hey Alex!

I thought I'd write a little about what I've learned about Montessori! I like many ideas in Montessori and incorporated a little into our home to promote learning and accessiblity! Here we go!

Sorry for the dark pics! I took them after putting You down so it'd be clean. It try my best to keep it clean but it's a struggle! Lol. I thought I'd show you how it should look clean so u can get the Montessori idea!:-) but just know that I'm not perfect 😊 lol. Anyway, I have different stations through the house for you. 

Here's the first place I started - the toys in the living room. (Some Montessori moms have a dedicated playroom but I don't have that. So the living room will have to do. I'd encourage you to do what works in your house) It was probably the most challenging for me! I'm bad at organizing tho. Lol. It's is our entertainment center. It has two book shelves that I noticed Alex was drawn to continually. So I put some of her toys here. Mostly the kind of toys that I need to help her with or /and supervise- puzzles , blocks, and shape matching toy. It also has a mat rolled up to use with the puzzles and shape matching toys. I found this spot easy to watch her here. But you can move supervised toys wherever works for you to watch them. I'm working with her to put her puzzle on the the mat and keep the puzzles on the mat to teach her to organize and not to scatter them around the house! In Montessori mats are used when a table isn't close by. (In  a Montessori school most activities  are on a tray on the shelf and a table close by for them to put it on.) so instead the child puts the mat down and then the activity. I hope that makes sense. With the shape toy, the pieces are together and zip into it. She can't get to them on her own so when I notice her playing with it and sit down with her, use the mat, get the pieces out for her to use, and show her how it's done.

Also in the living room. These low shelves are for free play meaning I don't need to watch her with and she can play when ever. The toys should be spread out probably a little more than I have here.  There is a basket with music toys and bin with trains. I plan to rotate the basket with other similar toys when I have a minute and other ideas. In Montessori baskets are used to keep similar small items. I have to confess in true Montessori I don't think the top shelf is used. But it's ok with me.😊 also the bin should be in the shelf ideally. But it's to big. So like I said this works for now:-) I hope I not going into too much detail! Or overwhelming you! Hopefully this will give you some ideas on what would work in your home:-)) 

anyway on to the kitchen, I have a picnic table and hutch here for here. This is an area I'm still perfecting. In Montessori a weaning table or toddler table is a must. Ideally the child should take a tray of an activity and place it on the table to work on. I really wished I would've gotten a weaning table. But it's a long story and I'm stuck with this stupid picnic table until we can get funds for one.😊 also the hutch is probably not the best but I got it for free so it'll do for now. 😊 in the hutch, there's two shelves one for coloring and other for puzzles with a lot of pieces. This is also a good place for me to supervised her with these little pieces type things. I need to get a tray to put the coloring item on. I plan to do more tray activities here as well. ( the books here are to weight the hutch down since it's top heavy. Ideally in Montessori you could put more trays, their cups and plates here for them to reach.)

This is a learning tower or kitchen aid which aim really excited about! My hubby made to so she can reach the counter and do kitchen activities. This isn't an essential. I've read a lot of moms do fine with a stool under supervision. I like his because she can climb in and out of it to wash her hands, get a drink, and do kitchen activities. I have a blender and toaster here so she can use with my supervision. We made smoothies together, toast, crack eggs, and cut bananas.

This is our pantry lol. Nothing here really except the dog food in the orange bucket. She like to feed the dog and it's a great scooping activity.

This is Alex's room. I have her on a low twin bed on the floor. There's her close in the closet on a low hanging rack to encourage self dressing. I also have a dresser with her clothes in the lower drawers. The changing table is used for displaying toys instead of changing diapers. I recently moved that to the bathroom. ( that's not true montessori I don't think. I moved the diaper changing there to start with potty training. Tho i did get the idea from a Montessori site.) I've seen some kids bedrooms with heir own potty. I might move it here someday we'll see.

Here's the bathroom. With the changing pad on the counter, to encourage her to associate the bathroom with going. Also her own little potty to sit on. I don't except her to go yet just getting used to sitting on it regularly. I hope it helps with potty training! We'll see! 

So far, Well that's what we get done in our house with our budget and what we have ! Hope you like it! 

11 months! Oh, where has the time gone?

Hello my baby, soon to be toddler! 

Ahhh! It's so hard to believer you're almost a toddler and not a baby anymore. I see that slowly changing everyday. It's very exciting, challenging, exhausting, and fun! That sounds like motherhood in a nutshell isn't it? This has been an exciting, busy month of new physical developments. You are growing up right before my eyes!

          

Highlights- you are crawling! Woohoo! You are crawling on all fours. It brings joy to my heart! It's nice that you come move from room to room with me. You are a late crawler which is just fine! I have to remind reminding myself that all kids learn at a different pace. I was sure getting pretty nervous though. It seems like late crawlers are early walkers. I think you might be one of them. I love how you vpcan move from room to room. You love to follow me around the house and to explore different rooms. In every room, you find something to pull up on. Once you have a good grip, you'll inch along the cabinets or furniture until you reach the end. Then, you'll start to cry because you'll want me to come get you and hold your hand. Many times a day, you'll use me to pull up to stand. 

Favorite moments-I have so many. You're such a sweet baby. I cherish our little moments together and our family memories. Here are just a few little moments I can remember. 

I remember we were playing with the dogs with Grammie. They were growling at something outside. You turned and looked at them. You grawled back at them! It was hilarious! Your Grammie and I were dieing laughing. 

           

One night, we were playing as a family on the floor. I decided to grab your white bear from the nursey to mix things up a bit. You loved it and immediately grabbed it. You were so excited you were holding it and waving it around calling it, "bawb!" It sounded like you were calling it Bob! Me and your dad looked at each other and laughed. So it stuck. The bears name is officially bob the bear! 

At a ladies tea, I was holding you 

Other little favorite moments, I love how you will pull up to a stand and then reach for my hand. As you take my hand, You smile, throw back your head, arms open, laugh, and run excited to me. I love it! We do this a few times a day. I love the smiles and laughs you have for doing this. 

Happy saint Patricks day! We had a very quiet holiday. Grammie came over and visited. You love to see her. Every time she comes you smile and wave your hands around! Grammie had been a big help to me as I try to catch up on sleep and chores! I don't know what I'd do without her! 

          

Nursing-you are more interested in nursing lately. You will nurse about 2-4 times a day. I think you're only really eating twice a day- 8 am and 8 pm. The other times it may be for comfort, drinking water, or just to reconnect with me. I love any extra mommy time. You do to. I never realized how much a child need mommy time and their mommy. I can tell our bond is so strong and deep from nursing. I hope it'll always be that way. As you get more independent and your own personality, I hope that bond won't change. 

Naps/night time-they are rough still. Nights especially. It's hard not to lose hope. I knew you're a great sleeper when nothing is going on. I know the gas and constipation are keeping you up. I feel so bad. At night it hurts so much that you are sleeping on your tommy now with your butt up  in the air.  I've tries to change our diet around and exclude different foods. I can't nail down any particular food. I've taken out all species and vegetables. Those seem to cause the most gas. 

I've realized you like to take a nap at 10 or 11 am. I don't know why I was fighting you at go down at 1 pm. I thought most kids take naps at the same time. But after asking parents, it sounds like they all take one at different times which makes sense to me. So now I plan things in the afternoon and not the morning naptime. After your morning nap, You are up all afternoon usually going nonstop. When you sleep in the afternoon, you don't go down to bed very well, late, or sometimes not at all! 

         

Likes/dislikes-you love playing wih the door stops and emptying the diaper bag. You love pulling out the tissues from the tissue box. So I made you your own box with scarves you can pull out! You love dogs! You squeal every time you see one! 

Developments-you are making lots of developments! You can stand up without using anything. You are becoming mobile too! You inch along the couch and you move from one surface to another. You circle the coffee table a few times a day. :-)) nana and papa got you a little walker. You use that to walk and push it across the room. You are even making little steps towards me and daddy! Its so cute to watch! 

I've moved you out of the crib! You like to roll a lot when you sleep. So I was thinking the crib is so small for rolling. You can't even strech out in it. So I put a bed on the floor. 

I also moved you out of the baby car seat into a rear forward facing car seat! Other developments have been-Crawl backwards to sit, Talking, Eating a grape, chewing on a bottle (like what's the heck is his mom? Face lol), Sharing and taking back.

         

Leaps-During these weeks, Alex will make the eight leap in her mental development, known as the 'world of programs'. For the first time, Alex is able to perceive a whole sequence of actions as one thing. Now she recognizes that putting a dirty plate in the water, moving the brush or sponge over it, and placing it in the rack for the water to drip down, is 'washing dishes'. She loves to help you with such tasks. And of course she likes to produce a lot of foam.

Challenges-we are still battling constipation pretty badly and with it comes painful gas. It's funny how it changed your perspective when you have a challenge you face. I never thought I'd pray the prayers I've prayed as a parent. "Lord,  please let this be a poopy diaper!" I pray frequently for a poopy diaper. And when you go, I get so excited and praise The Lord! I'm so thankful for a poppie diaper! Funny, how my prayers have changed! I definitely appreciate the little every day things a lot more now! 

Now that you're mobile, it's getting harder and harder to keep up with you! You're pulling up to stand on everything and trying to walk anytime anywhere even on slippery surfaces. You need to be watched all the time and I can't leave you for a moment! Well at least, I won't miss out on anything you do! 

What I've learned as a mom- I've learned from you this month! I'm sure I will learn a lot from you as you grow up! Lately, I've noticed you fall all the time as you are trying to master walking and pulling up to a stand. (Totally normal). But you always get back up. This is so inspiring to me. You get back up like you don't have anything to fear and fully willing to try it all again. You don't get burned out, don't throw a fit, or frustrated as much as I would. (Yes sometime you cry only if you're hurt but not for long). As an adult, I think that we tend to give up, get burned out, make absolutes, get angry, or hold grudges. I love your perseverence and innocence. I hope that you are always willing try and eagerly pick yourself up after making mistakes. I hope you won't focus on the past ( mistakes) and strive forward. Like Paul does in phillipians 3:13, "dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead!"

No matter what, I will always love you regardless of what mistakes you make or how times you fall down. I reminds me to keep this perservence and an open heart. It reminds me to Love people even when they fall or make mistakes, that means even myself! We are all just big kids at heart. 1 Peter 4:8 says, "Above all else, deeply love each other, for love covers a multitue of sins." I'm so happy this is true! I love you so much!! I know I'll make mistakes in parenting you. I know that Gods love covers me completely even those sins. I hope you can always forgive me of all mistakes I'll make. because, you know I love you. And most importantly, because you know God does too. 

Love you baby girl, 

Mom 

Ps- I'm so sad not to get a 11 month old pic! Bah:-/ I totally forgot! Just trying to keep up and enjoy you more!:-))! Xoxoxoxoxox!!!

10 months!! And on the move!

Hey meow meows!!

Happy 10 months! You're getting so big now! It's really unreal! Every day you are turning into more and more a child and less a baby! This makes me very excited and sad at the same time! No matter how big you are you'll always be my baby! Here what happened this month! 

Highlights- you have two more teeth that came in! It was your two front teeth! I'm so glad! You can bite and chew your food better. you look less like a vampire now. Jk. You have a total of six teeth! 

You're on the move! You can army crawl any direction. It seems that fowards and backwards are the toughest for you unless you're on the tile. You like being there since it's easier to slide. When you're on the carpet, You love to roll across the room to get around. Since it's easier,  you'll turn 360 to roll to what you want instead of going forwards. So we try to put toys in a forward direction to have you practice crawling and not roll! You'll always try to fight that though. Little stinker! Also You are sitting on your knees more easily and rocking forward putting your wight on your arms. Youll even be in the crawling position and move your legs out from under you at the last minute. You're so close to crawling on all fours I can feel it! 

You'll even Pull up from a seated position. You'll be on my lap and use the coffee to pull to a stand! Pretty cool! You find it pretty amusing too! Many times you'll laugh or have a big smile. You always want to do it again! 

Favorite moments-it's been really fun cherishing the little moments with you and with others. I'll never forget, I walked in on you and dad laughing hysterically. You're at the top of the bed. You were rolling off the bed and daddy would catch you. You two were doing trust falls! Your dad looks up at me and says," I was trying to teach her not to fall!" Lol. You were having too much fun instead!

Another favorite time I cherish is when we were on the bed together getting ready for bed. I was brushing my wet hair while you were trying to reach for it. I let you have it. I helped you brush your hair and mine. By the look on your face it was a whole new experience! You were holding the comb and started to brush mine! I was so impressed with how smart you are!

Ok so there are a lot of favorite moments with you! The last one I'll share today is one with Grammie. Your Grammie and I were talking while you were playing on the floor. We had paused in our conversation and Grammie asked you," what to hold this toy?" No joke, you turned around, looked at her and said," huh"? We couldn't stop laughing it was so funny!! 

Likes/dislikes- you love dogs! You get so excited to see them. You also get excited to see Grammie walk in the door! Many times you'll wave your hands around and smile. You love applesauce packets, rice cakes, Cheerios, tearing up magazines, camera flash, and all electrics. You love blowing and talking into empty cups. You love to hear your voice echoe in them. 

You dislike bibs and try to pull them off at mealtime. It makes for extra laundry for me. It's been sad to say goodbye to a lot of cute outfits you've had. You hate when I wipe food off your face after a meal. 

Valentines day- we had a very quiet holiday. We were both sick with a cough and sore throat! I had the cold first and then you got a little sick. I am so thankful you're cough went away within a week or so. I think you're nightly nursings really help you beat it. I'm so glad you didn't need antiboditics again.  

Nursing- you are losing interest in it. were hardly nursing at all. On busy days we nurse a lot less maybe only twice! On days that are slow and were at home it can range from 2-4 times. We always still to nurse in the morning after waking up (around 7 or 8 am) and before bed (8 pm). I really see that you're slowly weaning yourself since you're nursing so little. You're eating more and more every day. I'm starting to miss the cuddle time of nursing already! I almost don't mid waking up at night for a little more cuddle time. 

Naps/nights-the naps are all over the place still. You will always get tired right at lunch time 11 am or noon ish. You want to nurse and it puts you to sleep. It makes it a little tough to know what to do. I'm not sure to keep you up not nurse and force lunch. I hate to wait to nurse since you get cranky and won't eat your lunch. Or if I should offer earlier like around 10 am before you really want to. It may be good to let you sleep when you need? two naps? It's a good theory. So I'm going to test it out and I'll let you know! Some days when you'll sleep two, one or skip naps completely! I try not to street about it and remember that if you're really tired you'll sleep anytime anywhere! 

Nights have been all over the place to. You want to sleep through the night and you will if everything's perfect. Only if you're not teething, gassy, constipated or fighting a cold. That's rare I feel like. But even when you're, it seems you'll sleep around 5-6 hours straight! That even is a big huge blessing! I'm all so considering sleep training. I'm not sure when to start. I have a hunch that it'll be when it's time to wean the nightly nursing. It doesn't make sense to me to start sleep training and then do it again to wean the bedtime feeding. I'm even not sure how to do it. I'd like to have a set plan before starting anything. But that may not be realistic since I don't know what will work. 

Developments-you have made so many physically and mentally. It's hard to recap all of them! You are 17 pounds! It makes me so happy at you're gaining weight! You are sitting better and putting your more weigh on your arms! You're sticking out your tongue more. You are more curious with objects and will reach for them more frequently. You love waking in your walker since it gives you a lot of mobility! You can turn it, go backwards and can even run! Many times you throw back your head and arms to chase daddy! It's too cute! You also in your big girl car seat (rear facing still).

Leap-In the world of 'sequences' your baby learns to recognize and manage the flow of events and relationships over time. Eating cereal with a spoon for example, means grab the spoon, put the spoon into the bowl, scoop some cereal onto the spoon, bring the spoon to your head and put it in your mouth (and not in your eye). Your baby starts to link actions together to reach a 'goal', such as feeding himself, but may miss a component or two in the beginning. At this stage, your baby likes to feel needed and will want to help. In general, your baby will show the same characteristics with this leap as he did while making former leaps. However, the way in which he does that will differ from before. For instance, he will show more attachment behavior, but not in the literal way he used at an earlier age. Now, he will keep an eye on you more, stay close to you, and will regularly come to you to sit on your lap; as if to "refuel mommy or daddy." On the other hand, it might be he starts screaming if you leave the room. However, some babies like the old-fashioned way and literally cling on to you. No matter which form your child chooses to manifest this behavior, give him what he asks for. This way you help him by making the leap easier for him and also for you!

Other signs and symptoms of this leap:

• Your baby is angry when you put him down;-yes!
• Plays with emotions, such as naughty or nice, to get your attention (does that "not knowingly!")
• Sits quietly, daydreaming;
• Often sucks the thumb;
• Cries more often, is cranky, grumpy or moody;
• 'Chats' less;
• Is whining more often.

Challenges- it's hard to keep up writing the blog! You're on the move and you want to play! I remember that I'm writing for you which keeps me motivated. I can see that I'm already forgetting many of the little moment and memories that I cherish so much. I want to share them with you someday! I hope my word bring you encouragement when you have your own kids. And I hope this blog also encourages other moms too! Moms need a lot of support! This makes me wish that our culture was more supportive of our moms and understanding of how hard they work. I hope that you will find support when you're a mom someday. I can't wait for grand kids already!crazy I know! I totally agree with this verse-"Grandchildren are the crown of old men, And the glory of sons is their fathers." Proverbs 17:6.

Other challenges keeping healthy from colds, gas, and constipation. I m pretty sure that you're getting all of it from me! So I've been trying to change. I'm trying to drink more water, take a 15 minute walk, and take milk of magnesia regularly. It seems to be helping but not solving it yet. I keep you on Gas x since its helped you prevent it. As u get older, I notice that I need twice the amount of water then I needed before which I think that really the root to the problem. I think I'm up to needing 6 32oz waters a day! I'm pretty convinced that motherhood is going from one illness to the next! It makes me glad summer is coming soon and hopefully cut down on that!

I guess I'm really challenged because i always have a huge challenge section to write about! Lol! I'd like to do a few things better on a day to day basis for a healthy life style. It's a really struggle to do them all in the same day. Ive tried not to be too hard on myself. Every effort is a step in the right direction. I really like to focus on reading a book a day to you, a walk a day, getting some fresh air with you, washing your hands as much as possible, brushing your teeth, nurse more often, make one dinner for everyone, as much tommy time (crawling) as possible, and having you have more social interaction through play dates or church activities. These things are really important to me and your dad. However, I have to remember to live one day at a time and here's only so much that can be done in one day. 

What I've learned as a mom-I thought I was a patient person until I had you! I thought I was averagely patient. But I've realized that I'm not that patient of a person without sleep or unending crying. I'm reminded that God goodness is higher than our own! "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." -- Isa. 55:8-9. My goodness or anyone's goodness pales in comparison to Gods goodness. 

As a parent, you need a lot of patience. Even now, I struggle with being patient with you. The long nights and stubbing my toe really get to me! What is it about being a mom that makes you stub your toe? Seriously! My poor toe:-) I'm convince I'll need even more so as you get older! I pray that The Lord will give me his as a I need more and more. He's shown me that Patience is a powerful parenting tool. He was telling me that gently in this verse," through patience, a ruler can be persauded and a gentle tongue can brake bone." proverbs 25:15. If even a ruler can be persauded through patience, then I'm hoping that it'll brake the backbone of  a strong willed toddler someday! 

Love you my baby,

Mom

Oh my 9 months!

    

Hello my kitty!

Happy 9 months! You are growing so fast! I get a little weepy thinking that you'll be a year in less than three months!! I'm not sure if I'm ready for that. Anyway, here's what happened this month! 

Highlights-you have two more teeth! You got your canine teeth in. So you have a total of 4 teeth and more on the way! I see a whole row of white coming in. These are your top teeth coming! Other highlights are that you are eating whole mangos, cooked pears, cooked apples, big slices of avocados, whole or sliced tomatoes, Cheerios, whole grain pasta, bananas, and avocado toast. Many times, I'll hand you a whole fruit and you'll eat the whole thing!! You also clap your hands now! Grammie taught you how and you clap them all the time! You even clap your hand when you start to cry! I think that's kind of a funny! Also, You put together your first almost word- buggie! I'm not sure if ur trying to say doggie. You love your doggie so much. He always makes you smile. You say buggie to everything. So it might be too early to say it's your first word.  

Favorite moments- lately, I've really enjoyed more family time we've been having. my favorite time has been our family time at night. we play on the floor together before bed every night. Were also eating dinner close to the same time. It's nice to have a family dinner. I'll start you at 5 pm since it takes longer for you to eat. then we'll finish all together. I'm looking forward to more family dinners together!

            

My other favorite moments are the little ones that make you laugh. You are laughing and smiling all the time which warms my heart! Many time you'll laugh when I give nose kisses. You love to try to give us high fives. 

Thing you like-you love my moms dog ozzy. Every time he comes over you smile and watch him play with cash. You love mangos, tomatoes, avocados toast, and rice cakes. 

Nursing-we are still nursing but not much maybe three or four times a day. It only takes five minutes. You still get distracted, but not as bad as when you were four months. You aren't really eating through nursing. I think it's more drinking or comforting mommy time. 

                    

Night time/naps- they have been rough! We nurse at 8 pm and you're done at 9 pm.  Then You'd wake up an hour later. You wake every hour until one or two o clock in the morning!! Turns out you had pin worms!! After two long weeks, I was telling your Grammie how frustrated I was about your sleeping pattern lately. You were waking every hour and you were completely miserable! I knew something was wrong but the doctor couldn't find anything. When I mentioned how you were waking up screaming at ten o'clock every night, a lightbulb went off in Grammies mind. She realized it was pinworms! I got it as a baby and it was hard for the doctors to diagnose. The doctors think that pinworms are only for older kids who play in sandboxes or with cats. But really anyone can get it. So we checked that night around 11 pm and we saw them! It was pretty gross. But I was so relieved that we found what was wrong! Hopefully that's it. Well see. As far as naps goes, you're napping well when the nights are bad. you'll nap for an hour or hour and a half. It's is ironic. since I was praying for them to go better which they have The expense of the nights! Argh!

Developments-ypu are 16 pounds and 29 inches!! you are close to crawling! You not on all fours yet. It's more like creeping and rolling around! You'll roll across the room very quickly by rolling and go straight to the tv wires. I have to watch you more closely these days for those and choking hazards like fuzz. The picture below is Grammie motivating you to crawl by trying to get the toys. You mostly roll for it. So we try to put it where you have to move forward for it. You barely get it by crawling army style!! You're also standing really well. I don't have to hold you under the arms to support you anymore. I just hold you hands and you walk really well. I ink it's because you're getting a lot of practice from your walker Grammie gave you! Often times you walk across the room into the bathroom and make circles around the counter. You're really mobile!! I think you love the freedom! 

         

Leap- In the world of 'sequences' your baby learns to recognize and manage the flow of events and relationships over time. Eating cereal with a spoon for example, means grab the spoon, put the spoon into the bowl, scoop some cereal onto the spoon, bring the spoon to your head and put it in your mouth (and not in your eye). Your baby starts to link actions together to reach a 'goal', such as feeding himself, but may miss a component or two in the beginning. At this stage, your baby likes to feel needed and will want to help. You will also see Alex mastering skills she was mentally able to learn in previous leaps, but didn't physically show yet. After having gone through the previous leap, the changes in Alex 's behavior are dramatic. Now, your little baby is developing into a child.

Examples of what Alex 's skills and interests might be after this leap:

• Shows us that he knows some words
• Makes it clear to you that she finds something dirty, for example by sniffing
• Imitates adults
• Recognizes herself in the mirror
• Can really exaggerate her moods
• Plays peek-a-boo by herself
• Challenges others to play a game
• Calls for a song by example by clapping his hands
• Begins to practice crawling. 

                    

Challenges- it turns out the rough nights were due to pin worms!! Poor baby! It's been painful for you and very challenging for me! It was very frustrating not knowing what it was. I knew something was wrong and no one believed me. Now I know that you sleep through the night normally ( except for the occasional gas). When you don't sleep good, I realized that's a sin that something is wrong! Other challenges are that You still have a little constipation and gas. I try to offer you lots of water and pear juice to help with the constipation. I've had to cut out raw fruit, beans, and diary ( mostly milk) to help minimize the gas. I think these are mostly due to you not feeling good. with the nights being so bad, it's kind of giving me anxiety. I would put you down and couldn't sleep scared that you'll just wake up. It's pretty silly. Here's a lot of other much worse than losing a good nights sleep! This verse has helped me handle with that anxiety. "Don't be anixous about anything but in everything through prayer and sublication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God that tranpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus ( phillipians 4:6). I'll repeat that's n my head and start praying for you, your health and a good nights sleep. Other things I've found challenging are Staying on top of Laundry and getting all the food stains out of your clothes!

What I've learned as mom- "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not changelike shifting shadows." James 1:17. Every good thing we have comes from God even the little things or most frequent ordinary things like a good nights sleep, a nice meal or a little laugh from your baby. And when these things don't happen like a good nights sleep, God is still good even when we aren't. He doesn't change and can't deny himself. So we can always count him because of his perfect character. He always gives us a new morning and hope for tomorrow. 

Love you sweetie pie!

Mom

Ps your first selfie!

Happy 8 months!

Hey boo!!

Happy 8 months!! And Merry Christmas sweetie!! I'm so happy the holidays are here with you around! I don't know why the holidays just seem more special with you in our life! It gets me a tad weepy just thinking how it's your very first Christmas!! Although I'm a little relieved the craziness is over. We've had a lot of fun this busy month!! 

                

Highlights- Christmas definitely. More to come on that below. The second highlight is that you tried tomatoes. You loved them!! You will eat them whole and with a a little italian seasoning on top. I'm so excited to try other soft pieces and seasonings! It's very fun to watch you self feed while I make dinner. It's such a relief because not only are you learning motor skills but also eating the perfect amount you need without the guess work. 

                               

Other ones are that you are sitting up taller and more steady. You are raising up more on your tommy. It makes me think that your building your arm muscles for crawling. You are inching your way up on your back. Many times I'll find you higher in your crib than before. I'm guessing you'll start to crawl in a month or so! Part of me feels ready and the other doesn't. I don't even know how to baby proof the house!

Favorite moments-I will never forget the day we played in the snow!! It snowed 4 inches here! Its quite unheard of around here in this mild desert! As you'll find, it hardly rains around here. So snow in this warm dry desert is pretty unbelievable! It really makes your first Christmas feel more Christmas-y. 

                    

 

Other little fun moments that made us laugh is when you were trying Laughing while hiccuping or crying. It's pretty funny. You have this puzzled look on your face! It's the cutest! A few times you sneezed and then said Doy Doy like you were saying bless you afterwards!! Very precious! I love to watch you play with daddy.  It will always be a favorite moment for us. I can tell daddy is excited to play with you. When he comes home, he helps more feed you and plays with you while I cook or clean up. Many times I'll catch you two playing and one day I walked into this. :-)

                          

Other moments I love is when you reach out to daddy and many times you'll say da da. We got excited and then realized you say it for everything. It's still fun to hear your sweet little voice. You love to talk especially when we are at church! Many times you'll gab through the service and fall asleep in the last five minutes of it. Everyone loves to hear to babble through service. They always smile at you and laugh when they find you fell asleep. 

First Christmas!!- it was wonderful! We were busy because a lot of family came to town. your grandpa Charlie and jane came a week before to visit. We had a little pre Christmas party with them and auntie al. It was nice to get together and visit. I loved watching you grab for the tissue paper and your surprised expressions on what the commotion was about. You were such a VIP. Everyone wanted to hold you. On Christmas Day, we visited with nana and papa in the morning. We got to have a nice breakfest and visit auntie Tara & uncle Nathan. You watched your cousins play around you and take a sweet picture with them under the Christmas tree. Your cousin Caede read us the Christmas story. You watched your cousins unwrap their presents and swat at your own. Everyone was very thoughtful and generous to you on your first Christmas! Then we were off to Grammies house for a second Christmas. There we visited with auntie al and uncle scot. We had a nice salmon dinner and opened presents. Some items you got were much needed clothes, car seat, walker and lovely books! I am very excited to read you the stories I read growing up! Of course me and your dad gave you your presents on Christmas Eve. I gave you your birth box of the things on your very first birthday!  And your dad gave you a fun camo onie! You can tell he's just a little excited to take you hunting someday!:-) 

It was a very special Christmas together. I am sad that you're first one is over but relieved. I am looking forward to the next ones where we can share more Christmas activities- reading the Christmas story together. I am excited to explain to you the real meaning of Christmas- it's about baby Jesus! It's the holy day when God came down in a form of a baby named Jesus to save us from our sins and give us everlasting life with him. Philippians 2:6-8 says, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!" I'm so glad God choose to come as a baby. It made me realize how important babies are to God. You are so important to him and part of his plan like baby Jesus was. He is the greatest gift of all!

New Years- we had a great New Year's Eve. Your dad got off early. We hang out at home and enjoyed being together as a family playing with your new toys on the floor. We were all so exhausted for Christmas. We went to bed early! Here you are in the new year and new Jammie's!

                      

I don't have a New Years resolution per we this year. I want to keep myself open to your needs. Some things I'd like to do more of this year would be more sunshine, tommy time, social time , and cooking healthy dinners.

Nursing-it's going good and super fast. It's only taking me 20 minutes. Many times it feels like 5 minutes. At this time, were nursing only 4-5 times a day sometimes more when you're sick. Many times you'll be wiggly, turn your head, pinch, or smack me while nursing. It's definitely not the still sleepy nursing like when you're younger. When you were little you'd drift off to sleep so peacefully. Now you kind of fight it. Many times you'll get wiggly or arch your back in protest ( hate that). 

Nap/ nighttime- naps are tough! It's hard to find a routine or system down. The more food you eat the better you sleep for some reason. I've realized this months that I need to feed you three times before you'll take a nap ( nurse, food, nurse). I'm not really sure if you're really nursing on the third. But it put you to sleep. I've realized you'll wake up if you can't move your arms. So I try not to have them stuck or swaddled (just your legs swaddled). It's pretty sad I'm finally realizing some of this stuff after 8 months. Many times I'll tuck in an extra blanket to keep you warm. I call it the double swaddle. Genius I know. 

Development- you are a whooping 15 lbs! you make more sounds like- da, blah, hi, gee, Doy, blowing and lots of clicking sounds. you are drinking out of your sippy cup!  This is great that you figured this out in your own! You figured out that the sucking is different with the cup. Other developments are that your hair is growing long! I think your hair color is very close to mine. Daddy says that you're looking more and more like me these days. Most people agree that you look like him. We all know that you really look like you as your own perfect little self! 

               

Leap-With this leap, it time for the world of 'categories'. Now your baby learns that a large dog is not a horse. Or that a checkered cat is not a cow. You will notice your baby investigating everything in his path and studying every detail as he starts to categorize things around him. That takes a lot to consider and compare, and your baby is in love with you and everything in his ever widening world. Just as with former leaps, there are several characteristics you will recognize when your baby is going through this leap. Your baby will cry more, sleep less, have mood swings and clings to you more.

Typical signs of this leap are also:

• Jealousy: Your baby wants that you only play with him. If you pay attention to someone else, he becomes difficult. One can say he is jealous, but not consciously. (Yes!)
• Nightmares: Babies dream, so they also have nightmares. During this leap you will notice he may suddenly wake up screaming, or make crying sounds while he is asleep. These are signs of nightmares. ( yes!)
• Being extremely lovely: For the first time, your baby will alternate between his bad temper and good; going from being difficult to extremely lovely and nice. Obviously, this is another way to get attention. (Yes!)
• Behaving more babyish: Your baby can suddenly act as if he were a younger baby, although he does this unconsciously. It's like going back in time. After having gone through this leap, the changes in your baby's behavior are dramatic. Now, your little baby is developing into a child.

  Examples of what your baby's skills and interests might be after this leap:

• Shows us that he knows some words;
• Makes it clear to you that he finds something dirty, for example by sniffing;
• Imitates adults;
• Recognizes himself in the mirror; ( you love this)
• Can really exaggerate his moods;
• Plays peek-a-boo by himself;
• Challenges others to play a game;
• Calls for a song by example by clapping his hands;
• Begins to practice crawling. 

Note: many mothers are fed up with breastfeeding after this leap. Your baby's ability to 'nag' during this leap can be rather irritating. Remember: a leap will go away and it's really best for your baby to continue breastfeeding for a least one year! ( nursing does get old. But it's worth it!)

Challenges- you have been constipated for quite some time. I keep talking to the pediatrician about it. He recommends pear juice, pears, peaches, plums, and apricots. This foods are your staples. I try to limit lots of carbs since it makes the constipation worst. I'm hoping its on its way out since you are starting to drink more water. I've tried pear juice, pears , plums, and including applesauce in your diet. I'm hoping that will help. I'm also trying a different method of eating called baby weaning or self weaning. Instead of solely spoon feeding you, I leave piece of chucks of soft fruit for you to have. I hoping this will ease the constipation. So far it working beautifully. But I'll let you know next month! 

On a different note, I'm starting to see you acting up in little fits when you don't like something. I'm not sure when to start discipline. (When I mean discipline its small corrections at this age. Does that make sense?). They say the earlier the better. I'm trying to repeat phrases like gentle, no hitting, etc to get you used to them. I need to do more research on that. Other challenges are trying to keep you healthy and ease you teething pain.  

What I've learned a s a mom-Weirdly enough, I'm starting to miss the little baby things. I keep rememissing when I'd hold you or nurse while drifting to sleep. I miss the little moments of bonding after nursing. We still have those every once in a while. But now you are more adventurous. I look forward in sharing more adventures and outings with you as you get older. I think I will have things I love and miss about each phase of your life. This month I've really enjoyed having you always by my side. I love how you always want to be with me (well most days). I love how you always look for me. I love how I can make you happy instantly and how I'm your favorite person in the whole wide world. I'm going to miss that when you're a teenager! As Grammie daily reminds me - enjoy every moment!:-) julienne Moore says it best- "as a mom, the days are long but the years are short."

Love you my side kick!

All the hugs and kisses in the world, 

Mom