first teeth.

i had to trick mary into smiling big while i stood above to snap a picture of her pearly whites.  it will likely be another 1-2 weeks (or longer) before they are all the way in... which is good.  she's been toothless for so long, it will take awhile getting used to seeing her with teeth.

Easter.

jay represented us at the Easter Vigil last night.  hopefully next year mary and i can make it.  she was in bed before the service ended.  so today we all dressed in our sunday best and had brunch at tupelo honey cafe.  mary looked beautiful in her dress that my mom made for her.

the easter bunny made a visit to mary and she dumped the basket out in one quick move and checked out her new toys (and a toothbrush!).

i am certain we took pictures on easter last year but i cannot find them.  i do have some from a month later... amazing how life can change so much!  (jay had us looking into the sun today... so pardon all the squinting!)

may 5, 2012

march 31, 2013

here is a close up of the hand-smocked dress mary's mimi made and, of course, her in it.  she's a bit blurry in one because she will not sit still these days!  surely you mamas out there understand.  :)

happy easter everyone!

9 months.

Dear Mary,

I am actually writing this in the same week you turned 9 months old.  (The boys are on Easter break!)  You have done so many new things in the last 2 weeks- it's amazing!

You finally figured out how to crawl forward.  It's a pretty rough army crawl because you keep your toys in your hands all the time.  I think if you would free up those sweet hands you would be up on your hands and knees... but I know it's coming soon enough.  You can go from lying down to sitting up and have been busy practicing this skill all week.

You have been babbling "mamama" a lot this week and instead of saying it to you and having you say "dadada" back, you are actually saying mama back.  I love hearing you say it!

Your two bottom teeth started pushing through last Saturday and you can see them now (barely) when you smile.

You clap when we cheer "yay!" and you are consistently waving "hi," "bye," and "night night."  You are also making kiss noises.  You have been a busy busy girl!

You are still a happy, smiley girl.  You want to be down on the ground exploring the world now.  You are happily exploring finger foods and love broccoli, chicken, and bananas so far.  You love your bottles and we keep exploring sippy cups to find one you like... I may have found it today.

You are still busy growing and I will update your stats in a couple of weeks after your 9 month check up.  I'd say you're 18-19 lbs and 28-29 inches.  You are outgrowing your 9 month pajamas and are definitely in 9 month clothes.  Your feet used to be tiny and all of the shoes we had from your Gigi were too big- now, all of a sudden, they are too small.

Keep up the hard work growing and learning, my sweet girl.

Love,
Mama

dog days of winter.

we've had lots of playtime indoors and cannot wait to get outside!  the dogs are going stir crazy!  so am i!  here are a couple of pictures of mary and the girls... they are pretty adorable when they try to play with her.

barley rolled into mary- and then mary leaned against her.

omg!  i got her foot!

sweet kisses.

8 months.

Dear Mary,

You are growing so fast these days!  You continue to do something new every day, it seems, and you have the sweetest disposition.  You still rarely meet a stranger, although, you do play "shy" sometimes and lean into mama's shoulder.  You are learning to wave bye-bye and hi and seem surprised when your arm pops up when you hear the words.  You still aren't crawling yet.  You do rock on your hands and knees- sometimes- and you can scoot backwards when you are really trying.  You prefer to pivot on your belly and roll to your desired destination.

We just completed weaning and you now drink all formula.  You have transitioned really well and don't seem to mind at all.  That made it very easy but it also made me a little sad.  But mama needs to start back on her medicine for Meniere's disease and I know formula is not bad for you.  You drink 4-5 bottles a day, 5-7 oz at a time.  You also eat 3 "solid" meals a day.  You still like most everything we give you.  You eat Gerber puffs and have tried a few other finger foods- like green beans, peas, rice, peaches, and pears- but you still prefer purees.

You haven't been to the doctor in awhile but according to the scientific method of weighing you with me and then just me- you are somewhere in the 17 lbs range and are at least 27 inches long.  You are wearing a few 6-9 month clothes but are mostly in all 9 month clothes now.  You are now in size 3 diapers.

You really love to talk and screech all kinds of noises.  You have said hee hee, dadada, yaya, ba, ha, and mama.  You still don't put names- like mama & dada in association with us.  You also love to squeal.  You are still a great sleeper and are now sleeping about 11 hours at night (with no feedings) and you take 2-3 naps a day (at least an hour each).  You almost always wake up happy and get so excited as soon as your door opens when one of us comes to get you.

You continue to be such a joy and I am so blessed to call you mine.

Love,
Mama