10 months and walking!!

Ok, so she hasn't completely taken off yet, but she has taken some steps on her own. So exciting! I know that walking opens up a whole new world of additional baby-proofing and chasing around an unsteady toddler, but I'm so excited that my little girl has reached this milestone! She is constantly coming up to me and grabbing my hand so that I can help her walk around the house now. I think she'll be much happier when she can do it on her own and go, go, go!

She also started eating a lot more foods about a week ago. We were at a birthday party, and I gave her a few pieces of shredded chicken. This usually ends in her putting it in her mouth and then spitting it out, but to our surprise she started chowing down! She also ate a couple small slices of watermelon and hasn't stopped since. She loves fruit and veggies, but tofu seems to be her favorite right now. It's amazing how much she has advanced in just a couple weeks. I'm enjoying every second of it!!

New wall decor made by Auntie Candice!

Mini-Me

It’s always funny to hear who people say your baby looks like. “She looks exactly like her daddy!” “She looks exactly like her mommy!” “Oh! She is the perfect combination of both of you!” Sometimes I can hear each comment all in one day. My mom is always telling me how much Emma looks like me when I was a baby, so the last time she came out to visit she brought my baby books. Kyle and I were pretty amazed at the similarities. It might be hard to tell with just a few picture comparisons, but once you know her “looks” and little expresions, it’s definitely like looking is a baby mirror!

Me at almost 7 months

My mom got this same record for a picture with Emma

Swim babies!

Tucson, Tantrums, and Thunder Thighs

We took a last-minute trip to Tucson last weekend to see family and so Kyle could get the house ready for some new renters. He went on Thursday and Emma and I flew out on Friday morning. Not only was it an early flight, but it was my first solo flight with her! I was really worried since she had a cold and a really rough night prior to our flight. I’m not really nursing anymore, unless she can’t be consoled any other way, but I nursed her on takeoff and she slept the whole flight! We had a fun weekend with cousins down from Flagstaff and catching up with friends.

Emma has started getting really clingy with me, and it’s especially bad when we’re in a new place. She slept amazingly through the night during our trip, but she didn’t really nap. Being tired, combined with being in a new place, caused her to be glued to me most of the time. She did have a great time with her cousins though. It’s so fun to see them all starting to interact!

When we got back to San Diego, she had her 9 month wellness check. She is closer to 9.5 months and her stats are great: 21 lbs and 28.5 inches long! This puts her at 88% for weight and 85% for height. To compare, at her 3 month appointment she was at 1% for weight and 3% for height. I have to admit that it makes me pretty happy when people say my child looks “healthy”. We’ve come a long way from those first couple months of struggling with eating and being able to see those baby ribs! Now she’s all chunk. She is really moving a LOT these days, so I’m sure the thunder thighs will slim down soon enough.

Another interesting note is that Emma has started throwing mini tantrums. This has started over the past couple of days, but I feel like it’s pretty early for this phase. It mostly involved her throwing the weight of her body and head backwards if she doesn’t want to be picked up/put down somewhere. She’ll throw her head back and whine briefly, until she realizes that you’re going to do it anyway. I’m hoping that if we ignore it, it will go away soon and not be the start of something bigger!

Days of Summer

Now that the weather is warmer, we have started Emma on her SoCal girl training at the beach. Our first big beach outing was on the 4^th of July. We went to the Torrey Pines State Beach with Ben and Amber (and baby A). Emma was such a trooper. We were there for almost 5 hours and Emma enjoyed playing with her new sand toys (so did Daddy!). When she got tired, she crashed out under a little tent we brought from Uncle Alex.




We took another trip to the beach during a recent visit from Auntie Colleen and cousin Grayson.We went to Coronado beach for a picnic lunch and fun in the sun. Neither Grayson nor Emma was too excited about the big waves but they loved playing in the sand.

When we’re not at the beach or over at one of the neighbor’s pools, Emma has enjoyed a little pool that Daddy found at a garage sale. It’s perfect for splashing and getting some extra use out of the bath toys. Cousin Grayson enjoyed it as well.

First Father's Day

Our first family Father's Day was a double Father's Day. Ed and Carol came to visit from Tucson and Emma got to help both Daddy and Grandpa celebrate. Her gift to Daddy was her first finger painting!

We also had a short photo session to make Daddy a fun card.

Bring on the Bibs!

I really think there is a market for baby outfits with matching bibs. Emma has been drooling since she was three months old and there have been days when she’s soaked through six or seven bibs. Never mind all of the cute onesies or dresses I put her in. Most of them get covered up by the bib. Occasionally I can find a matching bib for an outfit (luckily she wears mostly pink) but usually I just grab whatever is most absorbent. It’s also starting to interfere with pictures (take off the bib for the picture!) and with her learning to crawl (she’s caught on her bib!). I am thinking about losing the bibs this summer when hopefully her clothes can just air dry. The bibs were originally meant to keep her dry and from getting a rash under her neck, but now she’s getting a rash in the back of her neck from the bib rubbing!

Bibalicious!!

Better Late Than Never

Ok, so I admit that this post is obnoxiously delayed. However, I really do want to continue blogging, so I guess that a much delayed post is better than just deleting the page and giving up! After a busy few months of maternity leave, visits from family and friends, getting back into work, and then another medical leave, I am finally ready to get into a routine. I know that things will never "slow down" but I do think that I finally have a better sense of what I have time to do. So instead of stressing about all the events that I should have included on my blog, I am going to play catch-up with pictures. Hopefully after this I will be ready to continue on a regular basis! :)

2 months - First Christmas, four generations


3 months


3 months - La Jolla


4 months - Valentine's Day with my future supermodel!


5 months - Honoring cousin Taylor for St. Patty's Day


5 months - Go Cats!!


5.5 months - Great-grandma comes to visit


6 months - First Easter


6.5 months - My first Mother's Day!


7 months - Back to Washington for Memorial Day Weekend