This age is SO MUCH FUN!
Only one more month until the big BIRTHDAY! I know I say it all the time, but I seriously cannot believe how much she has changed and how fast these last 11 months have gone by. Maria, you are a joy and a treasure to Mommy and Daddy!
Ten months and ten times the entertainment! Maria is EVERYWHERE these days and into EVERYTHING! Never a dull moment in our home. She has 4 teeth and her hair is growing by the day. She's still cruising around the furniture (and anything else she can hold on to), but the first steps are soon to follow. Lately, she has been practicing her balance and enjoying walking with mom and dad holding her hands. So close! Pretty soon she'll be an official "toddler." Such an amazing little girl!
Maria's nine-month birthday has already come and gone and it seems like SO much has changed in just one month! After her check-up yesterday, she is measuring at 19lbs. 7oz. and 27.25 inches long. She is average according to the doctor, but we think she's extraordinary! Her squishy, little body is so fun to snuggle; the pudginess too adorable to ignore. Lately she is crawling like mad all over the house. She is starting to follow us when we move from room to room and getting into all kinds of things. Her favorite "no-no" are cords. I'm not sure what makes them so interesting, but she will seek them out time and time again. If crawling wasn't enough, now she is pulling up everywhere and starting to cruise along the furniture. I'm pretty sure that she'll be walking by 10 months! Wow - are we ready for that??! Needless to say, we are having the time of our life with this precious girl and can't wait to see what she does next!
Again, I am a few days late posting Maria's 8-month update, but it's never too late to post pictures of this adorable face! I just love this picture of her! Now that she is 8 months old, I realize that we only have 4 months until her first birthday and it seems so surreal. Each month has gotten easier for Tim and I and each month we enjoy her more and more. She is developing such an amazing personality. Right now she is extremely close to crawling, but she gets around well by scooting and crawling backwards. She entertains herself plenty by playing with toys on the floor and trying to reach things she shouldn't have! Just 3 days ago she started saying "Mamamama" and it was the sweetest sound I've ever heard! "Dada" definitely came first, so I'm relishing every "Mama" I hear! We have been trying some new foods lately too, like banana puffs (which are hard for her to grasp still) and tonight she tried some grated mozzarella cheese and seemed to like it. She is a great eater. I'm looking forward to giving her yogurt because I love it so much. Pretty soon we will be past this whole baby food thing and it seems like we just started. Tim and I couldn't be more proud of our little girl. She is seriously a joy to be around!
This Easter was wonderful and especially so now that we have our beautiful little bunny to celebrate with. I should clarify that I'm talking about Maria, but Oliver makes a pretty cute bunny as well! My mom was in town visiting, so she joined us for church and took plenty of pictures of Maria in her Easter dress. Tim suggested we buy her a dress and then also picked it out himself, which made it all the more special. We ended up having a delicious dinner that night of ham, asparagus, homemade rolls (Mom, Kathy's recipe!), deviled eggs, scalloped potatoes, and apple crisp. Our friend (and neighbor), Sara joined us for dinner as well as my cousin, Tyler who is a freshman at WSU. What a celebration it was. We are so thankful to know and love our Savior, Jesus Christ! We're also thankful that He is risen and He is coming again!
Has it been 7 months already?? Maria is growing up right before our eyes and she is such a joy to us. This last month has been especially fun because she is becoming so expressive and vocal. She now eats 2 solid meals a day and has devoured almost everything we've given her (as long as it's not green). She sits on her own and plays games like peek-a-boo and copy cat. The big news, though, is that she started sleeping through the night consistently! Amen to that! Since I've gone back to work part-time, Tim watches Maria in the morning and that has created such a precious bond between them. She absolutely lights up when she sees her daddy and it melts my heart every time. We are so blessed to have such a good girl!
