It's been a busy few weeks again. Delaney and I have been to Iowa a few times to spend time with her papa while he's hard at work. I hit a milestone with her last week - it was my first trip away from her, and it was her first long weekend with her Noni and Grandpa Winchester. I left for a wedding in Panama at 4am on a Thursday morning and got back at 3:30am on a Monday morning. Although the trip was absolutely incredible, I had quite a few mommy moments where Laney was all I could think about. Fortunately, Kristi and Gary frequently sent me pictures, text messages, and email updates every day! Laney had so much fun with her Noni and Grandpa. She played, went on strolls, met lots of friends, and loved crawling around their house, exploring and playing with new toys. I think it was probably good for her to spend some time away from me, since we're practically attached at the hip. Plus, I knew I was leaving her with childcare pros! Coming home to see her was the best feeling in the world. (I also missed Brad, of course, but fortunately we were able to Face Time almost every day. I would have loved it so much if he could have come with me - I'm sure he would have loved it, too - but he couldn't take time away from work.)
Laney has recently figured out she's able to scream at a very high pitch. It's an ear piercing scream, and she puts everything she has into it - she clenches her fists, locks her legs, and uses every muscle in her belly to make the loudest squeal possible. At home, it's pretty funny. At stores and at restaurants, it gets absolutely everyone's attention. At least the huge grin on her face reassures everyone she's screaming for fun.
She is also practicing crawling on her hands and knees, instead of dragging her body across the floor. She moves herself forward and loses her balance, but she's determined! She has decided she's ready for it, so she's been working on it nonstop. Her personality is continuing to grow as well. She has started throwing mini tantrums where she screams, cries, pounds her fists and kicks her feet. It's pretty funny, except when I'm changing her diaper and she wants to roll onto her tummy. Sometimes I don't have her new diaper on, and she twists her upper body as hard as she can to flip herself over. I have to wrestle with her and practically pin her down (gently, obviously) while I'm scrambling to get the diaper on, and that's when she'll throw a tantrum. I figured out that giving her a new toy (right now a pink stuffed doll), and only allowing her to play with it when she's getting her diaper changed, helps distract her enough to prevent any tantrums. And she has figured out that she can throw the doll onto the floor over and over again, and mama will pick it up and give it back to her every. single. time. When it comes to keeping her distracted, whatever works... :)
9 months old!
It's freezing outside. Mama tends to overdo it with the winter apparel.
Bath time with Noni
At the hotel swimming pool, treading water like a pro...
Just kidding. Papa is holding her up.
Ready to watch her papa's warm ups (her favorite thing to do)
Wiped out from all of the excitement in Iowa:
Food = happy baby!
It's finally 45 degrees and sunny! Out for a stroll:
