10 Months Old

10 Months Old

Austin is officially crawling all over the place and is starting to get into everything.  Once she got the hang out it, it didn't take her long to discover how great being mobile is. She doesn't stay in one place for very long.

I actually wasn't even aware that she could crawl. No exaggeration, she was stationary one day and suddenly moving everywhere the next. I sat her down in the middle of our living room upstairs and went downstairs to do a couple of things. Next thing I know, I hear some thumps down the stairs followed by her screaming. Unbeknownst to me, she could crawl and had taken a little tumble down the stairs. She was a little shaken up, but sustained no injuries.

Austin is super fascinated with Blake's glasses and is constantly grabbing at them. She finally succeeded and got a hold of them.

Blake was screaming and super upset about her glasses...meanwhile Austin sat there like this:

She has thoroughly enjoyed all of the grapes we get from our garden.

Her hair continues to grow and is coming in thicker and getting longer each month. She has started pulling off her headbands and will not keep them in her hair, so I have started doing pony tails more often.

She generally takes a shorter nap in the morning, and then a longer nap in the afternoon. She is very easy to put down for naps. Basically I just lay her down in her crib, throw a blanket over her and walk out. If we are somewhere else, I can lay her down on the floor in a bedroom and walk away. As long as she is somewhat undisturbed and can't see anyone, she will usually fall asleep. She refuses to fall asleep if I am holding her or in the same room. This makes 1 pm church very difficult. There was one Sunday where I went into the mother's lounge, set her down on the floor behind a chair where she couldn't see me, and sat there while she fell asleep.

Austin still shoves her blanket in her mouth when I put her down to sleep. Sometimes I find her sleeping with it still in her mouth. I have to be careful when taking pictures, cause the flash will wake her up.

That nap was good while it lasted. 

Even though she is a great napper and is easy to get to sleep, she wont stay asleep for very long. She has yet to sleep through the night, though we seem to be making a little bit of progress. Waking up about 2 times a night is considered a good night for Austin. Some nights, she is still up 3-4 times. While I'm anxious for the day when I'll finally get some uninterrupted sleep, I'm aware that at least I am blessed that she eats so quickly and is back to sleep in no time. From the time I hear her crying to me crawling back into bed, it's usually only about 10 minutes. It could be so much worse.

Austin has advanced to the "big girl" bath time and now enjoys taking baths with Blake. She loves bath time and if she hears the water turn on, she'll immediately head over and wait for you to put her in.

She loves food. Since she didn't do baby food, we have pretty much given her anything and everything. She likes vegetables, bananas, noodles, chicken nuggets, eggs, and of course, anything with sugar.

When her momma is around, she expects mom to hold her. She doesn't like it when mom just sits there and doesn't pick her up.

Besides her table food, she is still exclusively nursing. Though I have been trying to get her more familiar with a bottle so we can maybe start to wean within the next few months. 

One of her favorite toys is the remote controls. She loves to drive her family crazy by constantly finding them, pushing buttons, and changing the channels.

One day after church, she managed to get hold of an oreo. You can tell from the picture just how much she enjoyed it.

Her top two teeth finally came in this month. She plays with them a lot and often has her tongue hanging out. Her bottom two teeth showed up around the same time. 

She loves being outside and watching the kids play.

Austin didn't spend nearly as much time in our pool as the other kids, but she was in it a fair amount. She didn't really like being in the floatie as much, but she loves being held in the water and being able to kick her feet. 

It's always easier to capture photos of babies because they can't move. It'll be interesting to see how that changes now that she is mobile. Until now, she has been pretty good at sitting still and letting me take pictures.

Austin has learned how to say hi and wave. Her favorite people to wave to are Will and Daddy.

She also really enjoys playing peek a boo. She will cover her own face, or sometimes she will even cover someone else face. 

Austin really is a beautiful little girl. Her hair and eyes attract a lot of attention, especially when we are grocery shopping.  

 She is a goofy girl with a big personality. She is growing quickly and it has been a lot of fun to watch her personality develop and see who she really is.

To say I am a bit obsessed with this squishy little face is an understatement. I just adore her and all of the joy that she brings to our family. We love you, Austin.

9 Months Old

9 Months Old

Time sure is passing quickly and Austin has hit her 9 month mark. I've misplaced all of our papers from the doctor so I wont be able to record her stats. She is growing great and there are no concerns. She is looking really well and thriving.

She still doesn't want to crawl, but she is getting awfully close and is starting to pull herself up to things. What better way to motivate someone than oreos.

Austin loves peas, carrots, noodles, yogurt, chicken, crackers, and pretty much any other food you give her. But her favorites seem to be melons - watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, etc. When she had watermelon for the first time, she pretty much devoured the entire bowl and was still looking for more.

Usually when I put her down, she will start to whine for a few minutes. If you wait a little bit, it generally stops and she will be content. But most people think they need to pick her back up right away and don't give her time to settle down. 

Her hair always seems to be sticking straight up and out of control. Even when it's wet or brushed down, it doesn't stay down for very long. 

When she is done eating or finds something she doesn't like, she will throw it on the floor or hide it in her lap. There is a hole in the tray of her high chair, and she has started shoving her food down the hole (which just drops onto the floor) when she is done.

She still enjoys chewing on a dirty pair of flip flops. Whatever keeps her happy. I'm obviously not too concerned about germs. 

Austin has some pretty good facial expressions and is always good at making a decent face for me.

She likes to drink water and milk from a straw. She is also getting better at holding a bottle or sippy cup, but a straw seems to be the easiest for her.

She had her first taste of ice cream and was super excited about it. She consumed a small cone all by herself very quickly. We were outside and I kept looking on the ground to see where she had dropped it, but we couldn't find it anywhere because she had eaten it all. She is Lance's kid after all.

Austin loves barbies, dolls, and stuff animals. When she sees one, she gets really excited and kicks her legs.

The kids like to try to get her to play their games with them. Sometimes she will go along with and and be happy to watch them run around. Other times, she isn't too thrilled with the idea.

She continues to have her tongue out most of the time, as evidence by all of the pictures.

Austin knows it is nap time when we walk into her room. She starts squirming and cries as you get closer to her crib. Once you lay her down and put a blanket over her, she will shove the blanket into her mouth and be asleep within minutes.

She still wakes up several times during the night and takes a couple naps throughout the day. I was going to start sleep training a little more, but at her doctor appointment, I was told she had a slight ear infection and that maybe it was why she wasn't sleeping very good. We got some antibiotics to give her, then we will try to crack down on sleep training here in a little bit once she is feeling a little better.

She makes the saddest little faces when she cries. She just looks at me like, why are you just sitting there staring at me. Why are you not picking me up.

Austin loves her mommy and does not like when I walk out of the room, or do anything for that matter. It can make things challenging, but you do what you have to do.

These pictures are all very similar, but I love her different facial expression in each of them and I had to share them all. 

 

   

I especially love when she gives me some of her big smiles. She gets so excited! 

  

 Where her hair isn't super crazy, sometimes I'll put a little pony tail or two into it.   

 She always has something in her mouth, whether it's her fingers, blanket, or food.

I can tell as Austin becomes more and more mobile that she is going to be quite the handful. She is already getting into things and making messes, and I know that this is just the beginning.

I am still constantly stopped by strangers commenting on her bright eyes or how cute she is. I can't say that I disagree! Goodness, she is beautiful and we just love her!