11 1/2 Months Old

Our little sweetie is almost 1 year old! I can't quite comprehend it yet. Every time I look at her, I still think of her as a teeny little baby, not a soon-to-be 1-year-old. I can't believe it has almost been an entire year since she joined our family, and I can't imagine life without her!

Little miss Laney bear started waving. She doesn't do it consistently yet. We constantly encourage her by waving "hello" and "good-bye," and every now and then she'll wave back at us. It's exciting to see her understand the gestures we're making. It always amazes me when she makes a connection and communicates with us somehow.

She has also just started pointing at things, and it's fun looking at whatever she's pointing at and talking about it with her. In a way, it's sort of opening my eyes to her world. I get to see exactly what she's looking at, and I have a better understanding of some of the things she's interested in.

Occasionally while I'm feeding her, she will offer me a handful of her food. She'll reach towards my face and offer to put the food in my mouth, the way I do it for her. It's so sweet! Sometimes, just as I'm about to take the food from her, she quickly pulls her hand away and puts the food in her own mouth. Bait and switch. :)

Delaney knows when she's doing something she shouldn't be doing. We're sure she understands the word "no" because she often responds to it by stopping whatever it is she's up to. She seems to be a selective listener, though. She loves picking things up off the floor and putting them in her mouth, even though she knows we don't want her to. She'll find a little tuft of Cash's fur on the floor and look me in the eyes as she slowly picks it up and moves it toward her mouth. As I start walking towards her, ready to take it away and saying "no," she quickly shoves it in her mouth and crawls away from me as fast as she can. Then I have to chase her, pry her mouth open and grab the spit-soaked fur ball off her tongue. Sometimes she'll find a blade of grass or a carpet fiber fuzzball and sneak it into her mouth, and I won't realize it until I see her drooling and smacking her lips on something. She knows when she's been caught, because as soon as I start walking towards her, the chasing game begins.

One interesting new challenge is changing Laney's diaper. She hates it when playtime is interrupted for a diaper change, and it has really become a struggle to keep her entertained on the changing pad. The second I start carrying her up the stairs to her bedroom, she starts protesting - kicking her feet, pushing against me, and crying. As soon as she touches the changing pad, she kicks both of her legs really hard, tries with every ounce of her strength to twist around onto her stomach, screams, cries, flails her arms, and tries to knock every item around her onto the floor. I change her diaper at least 6 times each day, so it gets old pretty quickly (for both of us). She used to enjoy playing with new stuffed animals or toys during the diaper change, but that no longer interests her. Singing "Wheels on the Bus" used to work - she loved it when the kids on the bus went UP! and DOWN! Then she was entertained every time I sang a song called "Five funky chickens." (Brad discovered that song, and it gets stuck in my head constantly. I wake up in the middle of the night with the song glued to my brain.) Brad is pretty good at distracting her with songs, noises, and funny facial expressions, but he isn't able to be around for every diaper change. The funny part is that the second I'm done and reach to lift her up off the changing pad, she stops everything she's doing and happily smiles like a little angel. It's so ridiculous, I can't help but laugh. I know this is just a phase and it will pass, so hopefully it passes soon!

Another phase I'm hoping passes quickly is her new biting phase. This week, she has bitten me 3 times. It has only happened to me so far (thank goodness!). It happens when she's frustrated, and she doesn't yet know of another way to communicate her frustration with me. For example, if she's happily playing with her toys but I notice her getting sleepy, I'll interrupt her playtime by picking her up to bring her to bed. She kicks, screams, and then leans over and latches onto my forearm. I'm left with a teeny little 8-tooth bite mark. Over the past few days, I've received many different recommendations to stop a child from biting. I decided that I would just immediately say "No biting!" very sternly and then try to calm her down. I'm hoping that helps break the habit. I'm sure that once she gets a little older and learns how to communicate better, the biting phase will eventually pass.

First cabin trip of the season.

On a boat ride with Noni

Having a blast on our enormous bean bag chair

Laney is the captain of this ship!

Upset because I wouldn't let her dive off the side of the couch, face first.

Those curls!

Her very first trip to the zoo! And I'm 8 months pregnant with her little brother.

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