11 Months Old

In the past two weeks, Delaney got her 8th tooth. It has been working its way to the surface and bothering her for awhile, so it was a big relief for her once it came in. She is fascinated with Cash and laughs at him constantly. She loves taking his toys away from him and waiting for him to take them back. She's obsessed with climbing the stairs and could spend all day doing it. Bath time is one of her favorite play times, and she bounces her legs and slaps her hands on the water to make the biggest splashes possible.

Thanks to Noni and Grandpa Winchester, babysitters extraordinaire, Brad and I were able to go on a baby moon and escape to Key West for 4 days. We had such an amazing time hanging out together with no schedules, no responsibilities, and perfect weather. We spent most of the time laying by the pool during the day, and we ventured out for an incredible dinner every night. We went to The Flaming Buoy, Seven Fish, and Santiago's Bodega and we highly recommend all of them! Brad woke up earlier than me each morning, and he let me sleep in until I woke up on my own. I put in 11 hours of solid sleep every night! I probably could have kept sleeping, but I didn't want the entire day to pass by. We missed Delaney so much, but Kristi was great about frequently sending pictures and videos. We looked at the pictures over and over again, and we watched each video about 50 times. Baby boy Winchester must have enjoyed all of the rest I was getting and all of the sugary nonalcoholic daiquiris I was drinking at the poolside, because he was nudging, kicking, and rolling around the entire time we were on vacation. At times, it feels like he sticks out his feet and pushes his tooshie outward as far as it can go. I can see a huge bulge sticking out to the right of my belly button and my tummy looks very lopsided. He pushes so hard and stretches my tummy so far that my skin turns pink over the bulge. It's actually kind of painful, but it only lasts for a few minutes each time. He's a strong little guy!

We got back from vacation and couldn't wait to see our little Laney bear! When we walked in the door to pick her up, she was sitting on the floor in the living room, playing with Noni. She looked up at us and just kind of stared for a few seconds, then a huge grin spread across her face and she started waving both of her arms in the air. She crawled around ecstatically, lied down flat on her tummy with her arms stretched above her head, yelled, and bounced her tooshie into the air. It was hilarious! She obviously had a blast with Noni and Grandpa, but was so excited to see us that her entire body celebrated our return. What an incredible feeling. :)

On the morning Delaney turned 11 months, she woke up with her first cold. The poor girl was having a hard time breathing through her nose, and every time she sneezed, it was very...messy. She was cranky (understandably), and wasn't sleeping very well. She developed her first fever, but fortunately it only reached 101.4. Despite being sick, she was eager to climb the stairs, crawl around, and explore the house per usual.

11 months old! The only picture I was able to get while she was lying still.

Playing with goofy papa

Shopping for flowers with Noni

 

Bath time = crazy time

Loving her time at Noni and Grandpa's house

Oh hey! Dinner at the country club

Laney and Grandpa

Being silly at dinner. She clamps down on the spoon and won't let go.

Just arrived in Key West! Awake since 3:30am but excited to be there

Settling in properly

 At our hotel, the Casa Marina

Going out to dinner. Relaxed, refreshed, and recharged. So happy!

10 1/2 Months Old

Keeping up with the blog posts isn't easy these days, and I realize it's just going to become more difficult. My prime opportunity to write an update is during Laney's nap, but sometimes I just have too much to do while she's sleeping. Now that I have to keep an eye on her at all times, her nap time is my only chance to hand wash and sanitize bottles (which I have to do once or twice every day), vacuum Cash's fur balls off the carpet and hardwood (which Laney loves to stuff in her mouth anytime she comes across a little tuft of fur…gross), dust (how does dust collect so quickly?!), do laundry (how do those laundry piles grow so quickly?!), or (if I feel like really spoiling myself) I take a shower. There are always a variety of other random household chores to keep up with in addition to the ones I need to do on a regular basis, plus I've been trying to spend some free time figuring out what to get for baby boy's nursery. With just 2 months to go before his arrival, I guess I should probably get that in order. Updating the blog at the end of the day, after Laney has gone to bed, isn't really an option because I'm too exhausted and my brain can't handle much activity. So... sitting down and typing a blog update tends to get put on the back burner, but it's important to me to keep up with it for Laney and baby boy. The whole reason I keep this going is for our kids to read when they're older. My parents aren't exactly the best historians, and anytime I ask them something like "When did I get my first tooth?" or "When did I start to walk?" the answer is always "Ohhh…you were the average age." I had a broken leg when I was a baby, and my entire leg was in a hard cast…my mom says it happened when I was 10 months old, and my dad says it happened when I was 17 months old. Both of them are guessing when they respond. While I don't blame my parents for not remembering major events or keeping track of milestones (they were both very busy), I want to be able to provide accurate details for our kids. That said, I'll continue trying my best to keep up!

Now that Laney has mastered the ability to crawl around, she loves to crawl under things (under the dining room table and chairs, under her jumper and exersaucer, under Cash's belly while he's eating a meal) and she loves to crawl over things (over Cash while he's lying on the floor, over my legs or belly while I'm lying on the floor, over pillows that are meant to be obstacles to block her path). Nothing stands in her way!

Another new skill she has been working on is crawling up the stairs. The first time she tried it, I was in the kitchen, not paying close attention to what she was doing. I heard her hands slapping the floor as she crawled towards the stairs, and then all of the sudden there was silence. I peered over toward the staircase but couldn't see her. I walked around the kitchen island, looking around for her, but couldn't find her. Then I walked over to the stairs, looked up, and nearly had a heart attack - she was standing on the 3rd step and quickly working her way up! I have no idea how she figured it out so quickly, but she made it all the way up the first 8 steps with a huge grin on her face. She was a little wobbly going up, and there were a few times her little legs gave out from fatigue, but she has done it so many times now that she is able to quickly make her way to the 2nd floor without any help. I never let her go up the stairs without following two inches behind her, and I definitely don't let her try to go down the stairs. She's fearless, and she has no concept of how to get down safely yet. I'm worried she'll nose dive off the top step if she gets the chance.

Laney is constantly looking for new and exciting challenges. She quickly becomes bored with her toys and likes to look for new things to explore. She enjoys putting her hands in Cash's water bowl and tipping it over. She pulls herself onto her feet and grabs things off higher surfaces. She's very determined, too…if she sees something that interests her but I pull her away from it before she has a chance to grab it, then it becomes her sole focus to get her hands on it. It doesn't bother me one bit when I have to pull her away over and over again - I love her determination!

Great-nona and Great-bumpa are back from FL for the summer.

She has grown so much since the last time she saw them!

Climbing into the ottoman is one of her favorite activities right now. She climbs in, then out, then in…over and over and over.

Bedtime?

Climbing over Cash...

Sweet, patient Cash.

Constantly entertained by her buddy!

Hanging out with papa after her bath. Her blonde hair is really starting to get curly :)

Crawling under Cash, because she can.

Best friends.

So proud of herself crawling up the stairs!

Reading a bedtime story.

10 Months Old

Delaney is 10 months old and seems more like a little kid than a little baby these days. She knows when she's being funny and constantly makes us laugh. She definitely understands some words, like: bottle, hungry, more, nap, mama, dada, noni, grandpa…to name a few. She learned how to clap her hands and claps whenever she's happy or proud of herself. She crawls on her hands and knees at lightning speed - sometimes too fast to keep up with herself, and she trips over her arms and lands on her face (but every time that happens, she always picks her head up with a huge grin on her face). When she sits up, I don't have to worry about her tipping over anymore. She's pulling herself up onto her feet, and she even took her first (assisted) steps as I held her hands! She isn't close to walking on her own yet, but understanding how to put one foot in front of the other is a major accomplishment if you ask me. It's unbelievable how much she has learned in the past few weeks! To me, it seems like Delaney's main focus for the first 9 months was just being the cutest little snuggle bug possible…then within this past month, she has learned and grown so much that I'm constantly amazed by everything she's doing.

Her daily routine has been quite predictable for the past few weeks. She wakes up between 7:00-8:00am… takes 2-hour-long naps around 11:00am and 4:00pm - or sometimes takes one long 3- or 4-hour-long mega nap around noon and that's it for the day… and goes to bed around 8:00pm give or take a half hour, depending on how tired or wired she is. She eats constantly! I give her a bottle right when she wakes up and right before she sleeps, and I squeeze in meals with solid foods 3 times per day. Basically, she eats about every 1 1/2  hours. If I space out her meals any longer than that, she turns into Hangry Delaney and nothing else matters until there's food in her mouth (I can think of someone she might get that from…cough cough Brad cough…).

Laney celebrated her first Easter last weekend and visited the Easter bunny. I was so curious how she would react once she saw the huge, creepy bunny with the oversized head. When we arrived, she stared at him and looked slightly suspicious of him. I was sure she would cry as soon as I sat her down on his lap. She sort of froze and turned to look up at his huge bunny eyes, and then all of the sudden she burst into smiles and giggles and started kicking her legs and bouncing on his knee! She got such a kick out of him! Her first Easter bunny visit was a total success.

Brad's season just ended, so the whole family is back in Madison for the rest of the summer. He is so excited to be able to spend a lot of quality time with Laney, and he's planning lots of daddy/daughter dates around town. His work break came at a great time, since I'm getting bigger and really slowing down. Baby boy Winchester is growing quickly and I couldn't be happier about how much he's kicking and moving around. Hip and pelvic pain are making it a bit more difficult to walk, but I experienced the same thing with Delaney and realized it's nothing a great chiropractor can't fix (I'm counting down the minutes until my appointment with him tomorrow). Less than 3 months to go until we get to meet this little man!

10 months old!

She's very focused on that ribbon.

Can't get enough of that ribbon.

Out to dinner with Noni and Grandpa.

Quite content with a mouth full of food.

Busy picking out a toy (and I love those round cheeks!)

Being a clown, making me laugh.

Sleeping beauty

All ready for her date with the Easter Bunny!

Not sure what to think… 

She loves him!

Ready for Easter brunch with mama. Thanks for the adorable dress, Noni!

So happy that papa's summer vacation has begun!

9 1/2 Months Old

In the past couple weeks, Laney has come a long way with her gross motor skills! She is crawling much more on her hands and knees, she pulls herself up into a kneeling position, she tries to stand, and she'll stand for awhile if she has something to hold onto or someone holding onto her. The only problem is that she hasn't figured out how to get down yet. We're working on it…

 Reading the baby gate instructions to me

Admiring the craftsmanship

Enjoying story time with grandpa

FaceTime date with her papa :)

Peek-a-boo!

Figuring out how to reach up for things 

First time she pulled herself up on her knees!

Snack time is always a happy time!

In her closet, trying on clothes

Her first time swinging!

 Crawling around in her (my) favorite overalls

9 Months Old

Delaney is already 9 months old! I can't believe I have a crawling, squealing, giggling, high-pitched screaming little comedian, AND I'm past the halfway point in my pregnancy with baby boy Winchester! At Laney's 9 month physical, she weighed in at 17 lbs 15 oz, 28 in long, and her head is in the 83rd percentile at 17.75 in.

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: