Elephants Galore!

I've been busy (in a fun way) getting things ready for Baby A's birthday party coming up in just a little more than 2 weeks (crazy!). We've been saying that Baby A's favorite animal is the elephant, so we're having a elephant theme for her party.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon making special elephant crayons for the other little ones who come to her party. I got the idea from from this post on Prudent Baby. I looked at molds online, but when I found one for $1 at Joann Fabric, I decided to go with it. My mold had several different animal faces, but I only used the 2 elephant faces to stick with the theme.

I have a lot of old crayons from school, so I was able to make the crayons by recycling those. It took some time to unwrap the crayons, melt them, and then wait for the crayons to cool to start again, but I'm really happy with how they turned out!

11 Months

Today we mark Baby A's 11 month birthday, the last which we will only count in months. 4 weeks, and we will be counting her age in years! It is so hard to believe that almost a year has gone by!



Baby A has started eating a lot more table food now. She loves crackers, green puffs (made with spinach, kale and collard greens, which makes me question how she's mine), macaroni and cheese (that's my girl) and tonight, pizza. She still likes yogurt, applesauce and squash, and she's doing better with green veggie purees too.

It doesn't seem like Baby A grew too much this month. She's still in 12 month clothes for the most part, with a few other sizes mixed in.

One of Baby A's very favorite things right now is other babies. She loves reading books with babies in them, her baby folder (pictures of babies glued on a laminated file folder) and pictures of herself. She likes to see other babies face to face too, but sometimes gets a little overwhelmed by groups of babies.

This month's pictures were very hard to take. Baby A was trying to get off of the chair (dive off and grab my camera) every chance she got. In the past couple weeks, she has started crawling! E and I are glad she's able to move around, but glad she waited too, because she is now in to even more! This combined with her picking up the smallest little pieces of anything and putting them in her mouth, means the floors need to stay much cleaner.

Now to enjoy one more month with my sweet BABY girl.

Bee My Valentine

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

LOVE, BABY A

(Baby A and I made bee themed valentines this year, hence all of the bees)

10 Months

My big baby girl is not 10 months old! Just a couple days before turning 10 months, she got her first real cold. It was so sad to see her sick. She had a really high fever and a runny nose. So we had a few days of snuggling and rocking together to help her feel better. Even after the fever went away, we could tell she just wasn't feeling like herself. She was a much more mellow, cuddly baby girl.
Even sick, she still helped Mommy and posed for a few pictures. She showed off her favorite tricks, clapping and waving. E and I think both are absolutely adorable! Baby A figured out how to crawl backwards, and generally move herself around, but she's not crawling forward yet. She's pulled herself up on a few things, but it's not something she does regularly. One thing she does do, and LOVES to do, is kick her legs, pounding her little heels in the ground. I can't believe it doesn't hurt!

We took Baby A in to the doctor when her temp was so high, and she was just about 20 pounds (which means we have to figure out the next car seat soon... any suggestions are welcome!). She's in a wide variety of sizes, but primarily 6-12 month and 12 month clothes. There are still some smaller sizes of onsies and jammies that she wears from time to time.

This month, Baby A has been eating a lot more. She still loves squash and applesauce, and really likes yogurt. I've been buying yobaby 3-in-1 yogurts mixed with fruit and veggies to trick her into eating some of the veggies she doesn't like so much (like sweet potatoes and green beans). She's also getting a lot better at feeding herself. She loves cheerios and any crackers.

Baby A also went on her first plane ride and big vacation to Anthem, Arizona this month (more on that to come).

First Christmas

Annabelle's first Christmas was so much fun! We traveled to visit E's family the weekend before Christmas, and then spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my family. Baby A was thoroughly spoiled during our travels, and then again when we returned home the day after Christmas.

She had a lot of fun opening presents. She loved the wrapping paper so much, and some of the gifts were so exciting that it was hard to get her to open anything else (like her baby from Nana and Papa).

Her little feet have to help with everything. They are constantly kicking!

It was a little hard to keep ourselves under control when it came to shopping for Baby A. Daddy did help pack her stocking pretty full, and we got her a few other gifts. Her main gift was a wooden rainbow stacker from little sapling toys. She loves to knock down the pieces when we stack them, and chew on the different layers. So far it's been a big hit, and I think it's something that can grow with her for many years.

So, our first Christmas as a family of three was certainly a success. We are so thankful for all of the gifts we received, especially for Baby A from our families. Baby A has had so much fun playing with them this past month and a half!

Wonder...

I can't believe how quickly January is slipping by. It seems as though the new year just started. It can't possibly be approaching the second month (and I haven't even posted about Baby A's first Christmas)! This shot is of her checking out the Christmas display at the downtown Macy's. Baby A had a blast, and she got to check out that Santa man a second time.

9 Months

Baby A turned 9 months old on Christmas (but we had to take the pictures on the 26th, because she was far too tired by the time we got home Christmas night).

As of her checkup today, Baby A is 18 lbs, 11 oz and 28.75 inches long. She's a tall and skinny baby (but still with such a cute little belly). She's moved up to a lot of 12 month clothes, especially in pants, but she still wears onsies and dresses that are 6 to 9 and 6 to 12 months.

Baby A still loves her wooden blocks, and rubber duckies. She also has a few toys that make noise that are really fun. And the water bottle with popcorn seeds inside is a total hit.

While she's not crawling yet, Baby A still finds ways to get around. She turns herself all around, and pushes backwards on the hard wood floors. She'll dive after things that get away from her, stretching her whole body out to try to get it.

As I was leaving day care one morning in early December, Miss J was holding Baby A, and Baby A waved goodbye. It was a day that I had to work all day, and it made me a little sad to see her waving. Now she waves constantly. She hasn't quite figured out the appropriate times, but it sure is cute.

This month Baby A has continued defining her personality. I'm afraid she may have a bit (or maybe a whole lot) of her mom's stubborness. She knows what she wants (and what she does not want) and she lets everybody know about it!).

These next photos probably best represent Baby A this month. Yes, she has entered E's dreaded squeeling phase. She squeels when she's happy, upset, bored and any other time she sees fit. And it is SO LOUD.