37 Weeks Old

I'm not sure how long I'm going to keep describing her age in weeks. "37 weeks old" sounds very strange. She's 8 1/2 months old.

The past few weeks have been quite eventful. The biggest and best moment was finding out Delaney will have a little brother! We're absolutely thrilled and can't wait to meet the little guy! He's been moving quite a bit. I can feel his little kicks and nudges, and every now and then he surprises me with a big roll in my tummy. It hasn't been very long at all since I was pregnant with Laney, but I've already forgotten how incredible it feels when the baby starts moving around. I'm loving every second of it!

Brad has recently joined a new team, the Wild, so we had the opportunity to check out Des Moines, IA last week. The hotel we'll be living in has a great pool, so we're excited to take Laney swimming. She'll be able to show us all of the cool moves she learned in her swim lessons, such as: slapping the water with her hands, kicking her legs underwater, and trying to dip her face into the water with an open mouth. Very complex moves. :) We're also excited to see what Des Moines has to offer outside of the hotel, so we'll explore when we go back later this week.

Brad celebrated his 33rd birthday while he was on a road trip. Brett Keintz had a wonderful idea to invite Brad over for dinner on his birthday, and he invited Delaney and me to come over as a surprise for Brad. We showed up about an hour before Brad arrived, and the look on his face when he walked in the door was priceless! He missed Delaney so much on the road trip, and he was so thrilled that we could be there with him on his birthday. It was a great day for all of us!

All of the sudden, Laney has 7 teeth and two more on the way! She was pretty fussy for a couple days, and I noticed two new teeth coming in on the top. I was paying so much attention to those, I didn't even notice one poking through on the bottom. It's so cute seeing all those little teeth that are too big for her mouth. It's already becoming difficult to remember her toothless, gummy smile.

Last but not least, we have a sitting baby! Laney has finally decided that sitting up is cool, so she's totally into it these days. She hasn't had much practice with it though, so if she gets distracted, she tends to tip over sideways. We're making sure to closely supervise all of her sitting sessions, ready to catch her, until she gets a little bit stronger.

Cash and Laney love helping with the laundry

Laney's first taste of pancakes. She couldn't get enough!

I love those baby blues!

 We noticed the neighbor accidentally left her dog outside in freezing temps, so Laney and I brought her home to warm up while the neighbor was at work. Cash loved the company, but they were running around so much that it kind of freaked Laney out and made her cry. 

Looking for the perfect toy.

Laney will chew on anything these days!

Papa gave her a new hairstyle in the pool

Happy girl after a long nap :)

Happy birthday, Papa!

Everytime I set her down on the floor in her nursery, she always winds up here:

Sitting like a big girl!

Family fun at Sunday brunch

She loves to sleep with her little booty in the air:

Fun Flashback

My, how things have changed!

8 Months Old

Our little 8 month old is a smiley, fearless little explorer. She loves crawling towards cords, electrical outlets, staircases, fragile objects that tip easily, and just about anything considered dangerous for babies. She also loves peering over the edge of furniture if she's on top of it (we no longer lay her on the bed…). I'm thinking we should probably childproof the house. I already plugged most of the electrical outlets, but that's about it. We'll be ordering baby gates and rearranging some things very soon.

8 months old… such a big girl!

She was crawling away from me, stopped, and looked over her shoulder with this pose:

Trying on her adorable new hat that one of her mama's old coworkers/friends made for her:

Good news! She LOVES the mall! She smiled and kicked her legs the whole time we were there:

Rough housing with papa (she can't get enough of it):

Sound asleep.

Grabbing a fistful of her very patient puppy's fur. She yanked pretty hard…poor, sweet Cash.

34 Weeks Old

When we first had Delaney, friends (and complete strangers) told us, "Just wait, it keeps getting better and better." It's so true! Watching her grow and develop a personality has been so much fun. She's developing a goofy sense of humor and giggles at the littlest things. She also knows how to make us smile and keeps us laughing all the time. Right now, she absolutely loves her jumper and will jump like crazy (arms flailing and head bouncing everywhere)…stop, look at me…then burst into giggles. Then she does it all over again, and again, and again. Sometimes seeing me laugh makes her laugh. She's also ticklish! Tickling her tummy and under her arms makes her squirm and let out a squealing grunt/laugh, which kind of sounds like she's thinking "this is unbearable but I think I love it."

She has really become comfortable in swim class. This week, she smiled the entire time and loved kicking her legs under water. Brad said she was being pretty goofy with him throughout class. She was talking, splashing, and trying to stick her face in the water. I love that she's getting more comfortable in the pool, and I'm so glad we're taking her to this class! It's such a great experience for her - especially seeing how much she's learning and enjoying it!

I've recently realized Delaney isn't sitting up yet - not because she can't, but because she doesn't want to. She's capable of it, but every time I put her into the sitting position, she arches her back and slides into a lying position. Instead of sitting, she likes lying on her side. She'll rest on one elbow and use her top leg for balance (see picture below). I guess she'll start sitting when she wants to.

Delaney's sleep schedule just recently changed pretty drastically. She was taking 5-6 naps each day, but all of the sudden she decided she wants to take 1 nap - sometimes 2. She falls asleep sometime between 9-11pm (she can be quite the night owl!), wakes up sometime between 6-8am for a quick bottle and diaper change, then goes back to sleep until 9-11am. Then she's up for a few hours and takes a 3-hour nap. Depending on how late she naps, sometimes she'll squeeze in one more short nap later in the day. Sometimes she won't. I let her determine her own schedule. I'm fortunate enough to be able to stay home with her all day, and we don't have a reason to get up early/at the same time everyday, so I follow her lead. She knows how much sleep she needs, and she's happy and healthy. It works for us. :)

Time to cover the electrical outlets! ASAP.

After petting her buddy Cash, he rolled over onto her. Crazy kids.

This is how she "sits." It's more of a pose.

Groggy in the morning:

Best friends.

Out to dinner with Grandpa and Noni. She loves them!

Loving her Wisco cap:

Happy Valentine's Day from Delaney!

32 Weeks Old

Delaney has been crawling so much! If she sees something that interests her, she'll go for it. It doesn't matter if it's two feet away or across the room. The more interested she is, the faster she crawls. It's still sort of an army crawl, but she just started practicing propping herself up on her hands and knees, so I'm wondering if she'll start crawling on her hands and knees soon. Her favorite word is still "mama." She LOVES saying it, but I still don't think she knows what it means.

In the past week and a half, both of her top two incisors have made their appearance! She was much less fussy as these teeth broke through than she was when her bottom teeth came in. She loves grinding her bottom teeth against her top teeth, and the sound of it kind of makes my skin crawl. It's like nails on a chalkboard. I'm getting chills just writing about it. Moving on…

Laney has started swimming classes! She has already been swimming twice. She's enrolled in a class with about 6 other babies and their parents. The first time we brought her, we changed her into her little pink, ruffled swimming diaper :) and brought her into the pool area. She became really nervous and panicked a little bit. Brad took her into the pool and we both tried to calm her down. As soon as he dipped her legs into the water, she started to relax. Once she figured out she was just getting into the pool for fun, she really started to enjoy it. She was all smiles! At the second swim class, she seemed much more comfortable. She loves kicking her little legs under the water! Brad will hold her out in front of him, submerged up to her armpits, and pull her around in the pool, and she'll smile and kick her legs the entire time. It might be the cutest thing I've ever seen.

A little unsure about the swimming pool...

Getting the hang of it:

Loving it!

Best buds.

Her thoughts on mango:

She found the perfect spot for a nap:

7 Months Old - Delaney's going to be a big sister!

I held off on last week's post so we could break our exciting news to family and friends… Laney is going to be a big sister! We're due July 26th and couldn't be more thrilled! I just got through the first trimester, which was a bit challenging, and I'm feeling much better these days. We'll find out the baby's gender in early March. I cannot wait to find out if Laney's going to have a little brother or sister!

Laney had an appointment to get her flu shot booster today, and I had her weighed and measured because she suddenly grew out of her onesies and her feet now hang over the edge of her carseat. In the last 4 weeks, she has gained 1 lb and grew 1.5"! She's 16lb 11oz (45th%) and 27.5" long (87th%). I'm wondering if she got her papa's height? :)

Over the past couple weeks, Laney has gotten better at sitting up. She isn't able to fully support herself yet, but she can sit for 5-10 seconds on her own. She's getting much better at crawling! I have to be very cautious if I set her down somewhere. If I turn around for one minute, she can move across the entire room. She also likes to lie on her side and prop herself up with one arm, almost as if she's doing side planks.

Delaney has mastered the word "mama!" I don't think she knows what it means yet, but she says it all the time. mamamamama…

So proud in her new big girl high chair:

If she isn't wearing a sleep sack, she loves to stick her little legs through the crib rails:

Testing out her head phones before going to one of her papa's games. I love how they squish her little cheeks and give her a double chin:

She loved - LOVED - going to her papa's game!

28 Weeks Old

Over the past 2 weeks, Delaney had her first Christmas and New Year celebrations! Her first Christmas was wonderful, and I'm going to list some details so we'll always remember it. We spent Christmas Day with Brad's family including her Aunt Elizabeth, Uncle Danny and cousin James. She woke up around 10am (I love this little girl's sleeping habits), we dressed her up, and went straight to Brad's parents' house. Noni (grandma Kristi) and Grandpa Gary created an incredible Christmas brunch including Gary's famous Christmas Eggs, sausage, bacon, fresh fruit, and my all-time favorite cinnamon rolls that rose overnight. Laney sat patiently in a high chair, chewing on a fabric book, and James jumped in the jumperoo while everyone ate. After brunch, we opened stocking gifts and then worked our way through the big gifts. The babies got to open theirs first, and Laney got some very cute gifts. She received toys and her first baby-sized tennis racquet from Uncle Danny and Aunt Elizabeth - let the competitions on the courts begin! She got her "Delaney" stool from mama and papa, and she got a lot of adorable clothes (a sailor dress, a Patagonia onesie and long johns, and a cute little pair of red shoes) and toys from Noni and Grandpa. Exhausted from the excitement, she took a nap while we opened the rest. After opening gifts, we played with the James and Laney until it was time for dinner. Kristi outdid herself by preparing beef tenderloin, roasted potatoes, sautéed broccoli and asparagus, and a delicious salad. We were so lucky to have such an incredible Christmas together! Laney's first Christmas was one we'll never forget.

The next day, Brad had to get back to work, and Laney, Cash and I drove to Kenosha to visit my side of the family. Chris, 5-months-pregnant Grace, Cora and Liesl were visiting and we didn't want to miss an opportunity to see them. It was their first time meeting Laney! She was still a little tired from all of the excitement the day before, so she was a little fussy throughout the day. But despite her less-than-happy mood, it was fun to see how fascinated she was with her cousins. She paid close attention to everything they were doing. Chris and Grace were SO good with her, which wasn't surprising since they have 2 incredible girls and another girl on the way! I hope we get to see them again before baby Jane makes her debut!

Delaney's New Years celebration wasn't incredibly exciting. She was in bed by 9pm and was sleeping peacefully as 2014 began. Brad and I caught up on some much-needed sleep, so I considered it the perfect New Years Eve. :)

In other news, Delaney isn't quite sitting up on her own yet. She can sit for a couple seconds before she starts to tip over, but she's getting there! She likes to sit up, supported by mama or papa, and reach for toys that are strewn around her. When she's lying down, she likes to roll over and over until she has rolled several feet away. I have to keep a close eye on her, because she can roll across the room very quickly. And her newest trick: crawling! She isn't exactly a mobile crawler yet, but she has learned the basics. While she's on her tummy, she will either pull herself forward with her arms (like an army crawl), or she will push herself onto her hands and knees and lunge forward. It won't be long before she's mobile! She never ceases to amaze me as she continues to grow and learn new things.

Just kicking back with papa.

Right after she woke up on Christmas morning:

Ready for the big day!

We caught a Christmas elf!

Merry Christmas from Delaney and James

Meeting Uncle Chris

Making snow angels: