Special Mail Delivery

Maggie is 9 months old and is trying out her new toy. It's a little pushcart for delivering the mail. She really likes it! Someone in the neighborhood gave it to us. So it's been wiped down and made part of our home. She also got a little pop-up toy for $2. It has numbers on top of the popups and a different animal under each number. The squeaker toys remain a big draw for the dogs. In fact, all of Maggie's toys are a hit with the dogs.

Reading Books

Maggie had her 9 month checkup on Monday and after a great nap she decided it was a perfect time to take out all of her books. She loves to empty her bin of board books and casts them aside with emphasis. The dogs have learned to keep clear! But when it comes to the paper books, she's very gentle and I wanted to capture this fun time. At this appointment she weighed in at 17 lbs. 5.5 oz. (50%), grew to 27.5" (50%) and has a head circumference of 17-3/16" (40%). She also had her flu shot along with both of us.

This weekend Maggie and I were in Colorado visiting Lisa, Mark, Markie, Jack & Kate. Kate turned 1 on Friday, September 11th and we had a fun special day for her that ended with pizza at Woody's in Golden and some delicious ice cream from a local shop. On Sunday, Kate had wonderful birthday party for all of her local cousins and neighbors. What a lucky girl! Maggie had a great time playing with her cousins and enjoying climbing up Lisa's carpeted stairs, over and over again.

To add to her dining repertoire, she had turkey, Cherios, whole wheat bread, and a little bit of pizza crust. Sleeping during the visit was not her strong-suit, but as soon as we were back home, Maggie is sleeping much better. Our pediatrician is gently reminding me not to feed her during the night. So on Monday night we soothed her in her crib when she woke at 1:30, but I fed her at 4:15 as it was 12 hours from her last feeding. Last night she went to bed at 8 and didn't get up until 4:30. The progress is great, but I must admit I woke up at 3:45 and was awake until 5:15. Thank you doggies. :) Enjoy the video!

Playing Piano in Redding

We arrived in Redding on Tuesday morning and we're enjoying all of the fun toys that Grammy keeps for all of the children. We got out this piano toy for Maggie to play with today and she just loves it! She's 7 - 1/2 months old. More later...

Crawling

Last night while we were Skyping with my mom, Maggie crawled across her crib. We looked for a repeat today and she was ready to go on camera. We're not sure about all of her growling, but she loves to do this when she's playing with her toys or the flower on her excersaucer. She's 6-1/2 months old.

Acting very silly with her mom and dad

...yes, I feel silly posting this video of Jeff (and me) making baby noises for Mags, but she just enjoys this time so much that I couldn't resist! She's already started modifying her activity once the camera goes on. Must find way to turn off the tell-tale red light.

One Notch Down

Today we moved the little Peanut's mattress one notch down. She scoots to the sides of the crib, climbs the bumper, eventually peals it down and grabs the rungs of the crib to do a side crunch. She's very strong and although it's not likely, I was too worried that we were going to hear a thump in the night and find her on the floor.

Maggie is moving around like crazy. She scoots all around and generally moves backward to the upper right side of her crib where I usually find her, up on all fours, when she wakes up. Last night around 9 (way past her bedtime), she had her first deliberate crawl that I've seen where her knees and hands were coordinated. So exciting!!! I think she was awake from all of the excitement and trying to master her new skill. As of today, she didn't have much time on the floor to see if we can duplicate this or if it was a fluke. Although, this morning I had her on her blanket on the floor and she scooted backward almost under the bed while I watched her. She's quite a happy baby in general, but will definitely let you know if she's frustrated or stuck.

As for her dining fun, Maggie had apples for the first time today. I whipped up a batch last week and froze them alongside a batch of yams. With the apples (and pears) she makes a tart/sour face at first, but she gobbles them down. So far, she's had rice cereal, oatmeal, peas, sweet potatoes, pears, carrots, yams, bananas, and apple. And I'm pretty sure it was in that order. :)

I generally give her a fruit in the AM with oatmeal and a veggie at night with rice cereal. I'm anxious to have her try mangoes and avocado. I love the combination, but will serve them separately to her first. I also let her try out her hands with a sippy cup today and within 30 seconds of placing it in front of her, she'd grabbed both handles and took the mouth piece right to her kisser. We weren't really expecting her to drink anything, but we were more interested in getting her used to this as we're already in the 100's in Dallas and keeping hydrated beyond her milk supply might be challenging.

We had a play date today with Harper/Crystalyn and Sarah/Lana. It's so nice to gather with other moms and let the babies play, but she was exhausted tonight and went to bed at 6:15. Maybe this is a nap???

Yesterday was a little emotional as I packed up her next phase of clothes that she's outgrown. It's always fun to get her into the next biggest size, but it always means that this little girlie is getting so big. She totally done with any 3 - 6 month outfits and has some 6 - 9 that doesn't fit. It really depends on the brand. And the way the weather is heating up, we'll probably have her in the bare minimum to keep comfy in the house. I had the thermostat at 78 for a few days, but I couldn't take it. I'm a 75'er, otherwise none of us can sleep, even with the fans. Embracing the heat is fine during the day, but nighttime is a whole new game.

One last thing...these last 3 nights Maggie has been going to bed between 8 and 9 sleeping through until 4 or 5 respectively. This is so nice. My body will take a few days to adjust to this, as I'm still waking up to find her asleep, but this is going to be sooooo worth it! Yeah for sleep!

Rocking Around

Maggie is now 6 months old.  She had her well child checkup yesterday and she weighs 14 lbs. 14 oz and is "thriving" in Dr. Nale's own words.  She's 35% and has a good deal of chunk on her little legs and arms.  She's totally mastered rolling over and never sleeps on her back anymore.  We had a great trip to Minneapolis for Jeff's work a few weeks ago.  She slept through the night (9 PM - 5 AM) every night, but when we got back to Dallas, she reverted back to waking up once or twice during the night.  Go figure!

Her latest move is to rock back and forth on all fours (hands & knees).  She also likes to get up on her tip tops and her hands (downward facing dog) and squeals!  She loves her rice cereal and gets 1/4 - 1/3 cup twice per day and we are starting her on vegetables as well.  Yesterday she had peas for the first time and she really wasn't into them at all, but did continue to take bites.  More on that later.