Nineteen Months

Filed Under Milestones, Nineteen Months, Talking | 1 Comment

Bailey, Bailey, Bailey. HOW is my baby nineteen months old already? It’s funny now to call you Muffin. You seem so tall and unsquishy (except your cheeks) and you are so brave and spirited and just not much of a baby anymore. I still call you Muffie (and so does Daddy and Grammy) but you know your name is Bailey. If someone asks your name, you tell them “Bay-eee.” It’s so cute.

Your very favorite things to do now are coloring and watching tv. You always ask for either Ernie or Barney videos. I don’t know how you picked those two guys out of all the things you have seen. You don’t like to talk to strangers. Once you warm up to someone you are very chatty, though. We took you to a wedding reception last weekend and you decided the prayer was too long. You started saying Amen quite loudly, and repeatedly, during the prayer. You got a few laughs from people around us but Mommy was a little embarrassed. You also know that you are cute. If someone says the word cute or calls you cute, you give the biggest hammiest smile ever. You enjoy demonstrating your jumping skills. You can hop across a room pretty fast. When you run, you remind me of Phoebe from Friends. I will have to show you that episode sometime. She flails her arms and legs out all crazy to the sides.

Lately, we have been going to the Magic House and the early childhood center and the mall play area, and we have had some playdates and friends houses. You are happiest when you’re out and about. You don’t want to sit still unless it is to color. You don’t even want to sit on my lap to read at bedtime lately. You pretend to sit and read next to your nightlight and then suddenly, you throw your book back in the basket and make a run for the living room. You’re tried that trick several times now. Your language skills are taking off like crazy now. People can understand you even without me translating a lot of the time now. You have a happy, cheerful disposition and endless energy. You never cease to amaze me, frazzle me, surprise me, and you make me the happiest mommy in the world. I love you, Muffie Muff.

Mommy

**I also wanted to update the vocab list- the words in italics were things she was saying before (only now with updated pronunciation),and the new words are in bold. This is really just for my own reference. Also she is combining two words at a time but not very often.

mama
dada
up
more
yes
no
please (pease)
go
moo
nay nay -horse
book (book)
home (home)
bird (birrrd)
ssss -what does a snake say?
roarrrrr -what does a lion say?
owl (owwullll)
hi
fish (shish)
cheese (cheese)
animal (me mi mo)
poop
rock rock -in rocking chair
slide (zide)
Dora (Dor-rahrah)
ah ah ah -what does a monkey say?
ball (ball)
toe
head
arm (ahm)
quack quack (duck duck)
tweet tweet (deet deet)
juice (joosh)
red
blue (bloo00) she can pretty consistently identify blue things
green (geen) at lights she now yells “Geen go! Go! Geen!”
dog
hello (howwo)
Elmo (Emmo)
meow
mom, mommy -instead of mama sometimes, so sad
papa -her great grandpa
help (hep)
OH NO
bad bad bad
Addie
Tiny (Tineh) great grandparents dog
sock
shoes (shoosh)
be bo -our word for belly button, from a Sandra Boynton book
knee
eye
nose (no)
mouth (muh)
ear
frog (fe ra guh) said in three whole syllables
Amen (ahmee)
love you (uvoooo)
bear
milk
more please
milk please
all done (ah done)
all gone (ah gone)
pee
pat -to pat someone on the back
hug
get down (geeeda)
get Dora (geeDorahrah)
tree (tee)
pillow
drink (dit)
penguin (peng)
turtle (turt uh)
cat
bunny
hop
jump (dump)
pumpkin (kump kump)
cup
chicky -for chicken, she loves chicken nuggets
fries (fwies)
baby
Donald (donnow) -McDonalds or Ronald McDonald tub toy
car
mail (meeeul)
man (meeeun) -snowman
flowers (flovversh)
color
paper
pen -pen or pencil
Kohl’s
play (pay)
Avon (A-not)
money
night-night (ny ny)
people
purple
black (blacksh)
yellow (lellow)
Zoe (zsjooo-eh) -from Sesame Street
cookie (cook cook or kee kee) -Cookie Monster
Telly (Tehleh) -from Sesame Street
Ella
Barney
Ernie
Bert
steps (deps)
class (clash)
ring
hair
bow
neck
cheek (keech)
hot
bye bye
scarecrow (geh go)
spoon (poon)
Grammy (Geeny)
Grandpa (Puh Paw)

16 Months

Filed Under Into Everything, Milestones, Sixteen Months, Talking | 5 Comments

I have been getting bad about doing the monthly posts on time. Our lives are so busy and Bailey keeps us on our toes. She really is a little monkey. Anyway I just wanted to try to write down all of the things she is doing right now. I want to be able to look back and remember because I know a few years from now, someone will ask us when Bailey did something and I won’t remember. At least if the memories fade in my mind I can have them on my blog.

Her Fifteen Month Pictures, a little late as we still haven’t sent them out… oops…

She has figured out how to open all the cabinets/drawers etc so we had to install latches on EVERYTHING, which is annoying. Also, she turns the television on by herself, puts a dvd in the dvd player, turns it on, and sits down to watch a movie. Not even kidding. And if there’s already a tv on show instead, she actually knows how to press the source button (she found it on the back of the tv) and switch it to dvd. Gah. So now we have to keep the whole thing turned off in the back with a surge protector on-off switch.

One of the other things she really likes to get into is my makeup drawer. It has a latch but if she is in there with me while I’m doing my makeup, she likes to get the blush brush and pretend to put makeup on herself. It’s the only thing I’ll let her touch out of there. She figured out how to open my jewelry box (I used to keep it on the nightstand) and I caught her putting my good rings on all her fingers so that also got moved up higher. She also likes to stand on Mommy’s scale and it looks like she’s almost 23 pounds. Oh, and she likes to take her diaper off and pee on the floor. Which is lovely.

As far as physical stuff- she is running pretty fast and her feet swing out to the sides almost like a penguin. It’s the cutest. She also walks backwards and is working on jumping. On rare occasions she can get both feet off the ground at the same time for just a split second, but mostly it looks like she’s just bending her knees and picking one foot up. She can climb onto chairs and couches, and slide down off our bed. Her new thing is going up and down stairs “like a big girl” holding on the railing. She can do it herself but I have to be right next to her because sometimes she gets distracted and lets go to look around. She also is kicking a lot. If you put a ball on the ground she will run up to it and kick it while she runs. Our Parents as Teachers educator said she’s really coordinated. Jonathon wants her to play soccer

She knows most of her body parts and can point to them when asked- head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, tongue (sticks it out), teeth (chomps them to show you), fingers, tummy, belly button or be-bo, she will point to my neck but can’t find it on herself, foot, toes/pigs. The only body parts she actually says is “Eyyyyyyye” and “no” for nose.

Animals she can point out- bird, monkey, tiger, zebra, horse/nay nay, cow, duck, dog, cat, fish, frog, koala, giraffe, elephant, snake.

Makes noises for cow, horse, dog, cat, and snake. Oh and zebra, she has decided it also says “nay nay” which I think might be right…

Words she says regularly-
mama
dada
gah or mama-dada-mama (Grammy)
eye
no (nose)
no no no
nana (banana or Nana, her great grandma)
apple
cheesh (cheese)
fish
more
puh puh ssss (please)
book
baw (ball)
bird
buh!! (balloon, always said emphatically)
shoosh (shoes)
duh duh (Dora)
Mo (Elmo)
mm-vah (movie)
woo woo, or gee (doggy)
hi
rah rah rah (rock rock rock)
inkeeee (Pinky, her lovey)
up
buhbuh (bubbles)

She still signs occasionally for “more” or “I want that” or “all done” and she also will put her hands up and shrug her shoulders if you ask her where something is.

She loves putting together puzzles. She has several of those wooden puzzles where the pieces have the little knobs to hold them. She can dump them out and put them right back together. She has also recently started playing with legos and other blocks. She knows how to stick them together and loves to put them together and then take them apart again. We put away her Little People Zoo for a while so that she would play with something different for a while. Her favorite books right now are Goodnight Moon, Personal Penguin, The Little People Board Books, Where’s Elmo’s Blanket, and Baby’s First Words.

15 Months Old

Filed Under Fifteen Months, Milestones, Talking | 7 Comments

Bailey was actually 15 months old more like three weeks ago… but we got her pictures last week and I wanted to share.

She went to the doctor last week for a belated checkup. Everything was great. She is still in about the 30th percentile for height and weight, and I think 85th for head! She was 22 lbs 8 oz and 30 inches tall.

We told the doctor that she was still just getting a bedtime bottle, but since then we have been able to cut that one out. I had originally wanted to keep that bottle for a while longer (I didn’t want to force her to grow up too fast!) but then I realized after discussing it with the ped that it would be easier to get rid of it now, rather than later when she could put up more of a fight and remember it longer. I think Bailey eats well most days, but we decided to continue with Poly-Vi-Sol, only now without iron. Her iron test came out good- I think it was like 10.5 and she said anything above 9 was normal, 10-11 was average. Whatever that means. She had to get her finger stuck for that one and she didn’t even cry. My brave little toaster. She also had her chicken pox vaccine, and two other boosters of things she had before. Those made her cry, but she got over it pretty fast when Grammy got out the fruit snacks!

We also talked about developmental things. She is walking backwards, and climbing, and saying more than 5 words (which was the goal for her, I guess). She can also go up stairs upright while holding on to someone/something. The doctor said she should be able to point to at least one body part when we asked, and she was surprised when I told her that Bailey knows her head, hair, ears, eyes, mouth, tongue, teeth, fingers, belly button, feet, and toes! She said that cognitively and socially, she is well ahead of what they expect at 15 months and that her 18 month appointment she will probably be meeting some of the two year old milestones. That made for a very proud mama

Here are her most recent new words:
apple
more
ah duh (all done)
no no no no no
nay nay (horse)
geeeeeeeesh (geese, at Grant’s Farm)
cheesh (cheese, said for the first time during 15 month photo shoot!)
rah rah rah (rock rock rock, for dollies or when we’re in the rocking chair)
mm-vah (movie)
deedle deedle deedle ??

That’s all I can think of now. I need to keep a list going while we are playing because her vocabulary just seems like it’s exploding lately. It’s so much fun! Lots of her words, you wouldn’t understand if you weren’t with her all the time or didn’t have a translator, but she definitely has specific words now and uses them in the right context.

Glistening In the Sun

Filed Under Fourteen Months, Milestones | 6 Comments

A few weeks ago Bailey and I were in the car, stopped at a light. I don’t remember if she was taking to me or what but I turned around and looked at her, and noticed- she had little leg hairs glistening in the sunlight! Leg hairs! She was not born with leg hair but I guess she is getting to be less baby now and more toddler because sure enough, they are growing. She doesn’t have arm hair yet at all though.

UPDATED to add: I paint Bailey’s toenails in her highchair during dinner. I use OPI polish (not linking to their website because they have virus issues). The polish doesn’t chip, it just kind of wears off after a while. Sometimes it tickles and she wiggles her feet, but she can’t grab them until after they are dry. I usually do just one coat. Even if the polish gets on her skin, it washes off in the tub. (That’s why I do it during dinner, lol)… I keep her toenails painted most of the time now

Almost 13 Month Evaluation (lots of bragging here)

Filed Under Milestones, Parents as Teachers, Talking, Twelve Months | 6 Comments

Today Bailey had her (almost) 13 month evaluation by our Parents as Teachers lady. They use the Denver Developmental Screening. For her, they used the 12 to 14 month range test. She rocked it!

She got the highest scores possible in all categories except fine motor (doesn’t place an object back on the ground when she’s finished; she just drops it, and doesn’t roll a ball). The PAT Lady (we’ll call her Alice) was very impressed by other things she’s doing that weren’t on the test, too. She said her communication and problem solving skills were great. Which I didn’t even realize. I guess I should be documenting this.

Bailey can “label” a lot of objects and can point out the following things:  Sconce, light, painting, balloon, kitchen, book, ball, doggie, baby, lion, there are probably a lot more that I’m not thinking of right now but those are the ones we did today.

She knows and points to quite a few body parts: Eyes, nose (for the first time today!), mouth, tongue (sticks it out and wiggles it), hair, toes, sometimes tummy.

She can take off her own socks and put her arms through the sleeves on her shirt.

She says: Mama, Dada, buh (balloon), goggie, woof, rrrrrr (roaring when she sees a picture of a lion), up

Signs for more, please, and all done. Waves hello/bye bye and claps. Points to objects, raises arms to be picked up, good use of pincer grasp to pick up little fuzzes and stuff, can imitate things like dumping out a jar, object permanence, bangs two objects together.

Follows simple commands without seeing gestures, like if we say, “Bailey, bring me your shoes” she will do it… if she’s in the mood that is…

Also she still loves to read and can turn the pages of books and point out objects in books. I mentioned that she has two favorite books right now that she always takes off the shelf and brings to use first, and Alice said that it was early to be showing preferences for stuff like that…. i don’t know if I entirely believe that because I think a lot of babies have preferences and likes/dislikes.

Overall, she said she was “very impressed and we are seeing lots of good things from Bailey.” There were not any concerns! Woo hoo!

Such a big girl!

Filed Under Milestones, Ten Months | 6 Comments

I can’t believe all the new developments! Yesterday she was really showing off some of her new skills and I managed to get a few pictures. Plus some snot.

Chatting on the phone- she loves to walk around with the phone and either say “Haaaaaaaaa” and hold it on her shoulder, or press all the buttons.

She has figured out how to play the xylophone

Continues to love to read…upside down…

And her most exciting accomplishment- walking! She would rather walk than crawl, now. She can also get to standing without pulling up on anything, WHILE holding a toy! She can read a book standing up, and she can bend over to pick something up without falling- sometimes. Way to go, Bailey

10 Months

Filed Under Milestones, Ten Months | 3 Comments

I can’t believe it, Muffie. You are ten months old. For some reason, this month didn’t make me as sad as when you turned nine months. Nine months just seemed so significant. Ten months, well, it’s been a crazy ride so far!

Saturday was your official “birthday” of being ten months. We spent the afternoon at Chuck e Cheese for AJ’s birthday party. There wasn’t much there you could do, but you seemed to have fun anyway. We tried to make you go on some of the rides but you weren’t interested. You tolerated them for a little bit and then held up your arms for us to pick you up.

You continue to be very busy. You are taking steps on your own now! About three to four steps is your average. You are so determined, and you love trying to walk. I have a feeling it won’t be long. You are also very wiggly during diaper changes, and you don’t like to sit still long enough to get dressed. It’s gotten difficult! You also have strong preferences when it comes to food (no pureed peas, squash, or peaches) and books (you LOVE the book I Love You Through and Through- if we try to read you something else before bed, you look for that one in the bin next to your rocking chair). You definitely have opinions.

Two weeks ago, you weighed 18 pounds and 1 ounce and you were 27 1/4 inches long. It was your belated nine month checkup. You are in about the 40-45 percentile for height and weight, and your head is in the 90th. I guess that’s why we have trouble pulling your shirts over your head Your doctor said you are doing great. You are meeting all your developmental milestones (and you’re ahead on a lot of them too!) and you are healthy and happy.

Yesterday, you definitely started saying “Da-Da” to Daddy! At first we weren’t sure if it was just coincidence… but it has been consistent. If we say, “Say Da-Da” you will just whisper it. But you also do it on your own, too. It’s so cute and makes your daddy so happy! Now we will have to work on saying Mama

You play your xylophone with the wrong end of the mallet. You can put your Peek a Blocks in the giraffe’s mouth now. You have figured out how to roll the balls down the track on your big toy in the living room. On Sunday you reached in the potty and splashed in the water. You like to empty trashcans and open cabinets. You love to turn on the tv and change the channels. I try to catch you and stop you. We want you to learn right from wrong, but also to be free to explore. It’s hard finding a balance of what to let go and what to correct you on.

You are my joy, and you make every day exciting. I can’t wait to see what this next month has in store!

Love, Mommy

(This picture was taken during one of our struggles to get you dressed)

New Things

Filed Under Food, Milestones, Nine Months | 3 Comments

In like the last week or two Bailey has started doing some fun new stuff. I wanted to post before I forget.

-Holds her bottle/cup/spoon up to our mouths to feed us
-”Shares” her toys but then takes them back, so really she is more like “showing” them when she holds them out
-She is back to eating Cheerios again
-Will eat chunky food herself, but not if it’s on a spoon
-Making more baby talk noises and different sounds
-Takes 2 to 3 steps on her own
-Got in a “fight” with her friend Elle over some Cheerios last week. It was funny to watch them pushing each other out of the way. Bailey would grab Elle’s arm and hold it back, then Elle would do it to Bailey. We just let them keep going because it was too funny.
-Wants to stop and look at the pictures in the hallway and this one particular framed picture in our living room
-She now crawls from one room to another if she wants to go do something else- like she’ll go in her room by herself to read (but then quickly gets bored and either freaks out or comes to find us)
-Pulls EVERYTHING off the shelves in my office (like today while I was trying to submit my Avon order, she pretty much trashed my whole workspace)
-Wiggles nonstop on the changing table, cries, tries to get away…. diaper changes have become a wrestling match

Something exciting-

Filed Under Me, Milestones, Weight | 1 Comment

My wedding rings fit again! It’s been way too long. I was able to get them on a few times just here and there since B was born, but for about the last two weeks I have worn them consistently, every day. They are still a little snug but I love being able to have them on again, and not wearing the random sapphire ring on my wedding finger anymore. I feel married again

Also, I am so glad that I didn’t end up getting them resized. They even fit those few warmer days so I don’t think it’s just because of cold weather. If I had resized I would have lost the engraving, so that would have been a last resort.

9 Months Old

Filed Under Being a Mom, Milestones, Nine Months, Talking, Thoughts | 10 Comments

My darling girl, where have these nine months gone? There are so many memories forever engraved on my mind, but it has just flown by way too fast. That’s why today, I held you a little longer. I didn’t rush to put you in bed and get something done. I feel like my time of holding you while you sleep is already limited.

I know it hasn’t all been easy (nap battles, stomach flu, non-stop nursing…) but I can honestly say that being your mother has been the best thing I have ever done.

You are doing so much now. Within the past month, you started clapping (first silently, with closed fists, but now you make the cutest little slap-slap sound). You started waving right after Christmas. You are standing and cruising along everything: The couch, entertainment center, your activity table… You like to let go and try to balance on your own for a few seconds but you fall on your bottom pretty fast.

You get into everything now. Just this morning, you were in the living room playing and I realized you were too quiet. I came in and found you with an index card. There were itty bitty pieces of it stuck on your chin, on your hands, and all over your jammies. You reached in your mouth and pulled out a piece, then stretched out your arm to hand it to me and share. I love your thoughtfulness. You also like to share your toys (for now!) and food, whether it’s been in your mouth already or not.

Did you know that we officially reached another breastfeeding milestone? When you were biting and having a hard time staying focused, I promised myself I wouldn’t give up before nine months. And we worked through it together. Now when I nurse you in the morning, you lay next to me in bed all stretched out. Your toes poke into my thighs now. You’ve gotten so long. Occasionally you look over to check for Daddy. If he’s already up getting ready for work, you will settle back down and snuggle longer. But if Daddy is in bed, forget it. You’re ready to play, and he’s much more fun than Mommy!

You are “talking” more and more. You consistently say Dada (although not directed at Daddy), ba ba, ga ga, and your newest is VUV! Vuv is always said with enthusiasm. Just today you heard a dog barking outside and said, “Woof.” It was so clear. I guess that’s your first word. You are in love with dogs, and chase Koby and Tiny (grandparents and great-grandparents’ dogs) whenever we visit. You also love pictures of dogs, and any stuffed animals.

I think those are the highlights of the new things you have been doing, although I feel like I am cheating you to just sum up a whole month in one post. I hope you always know how much I love you. If I could have one wish, it would be that you would know without a doubt how deep, complete, and forever my love is for you.

Love, Mommy

Our nine month photo shoot… complete with carrots in her nose

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this yet

Filed Under Clothes, Eight Months, Milestones | 6 Comments

Bailey started waving the other day! I think the day she DEFINITELY waved was on December 31st. It started out as a Hitler type salute but now is obviously a wave and her arm is less stiff now I tried to take some pictures but they don’t do it justice!

And these pictures are from the first time Bailey wore overalls. She got these for Christmas. They are 12 months but they are already tight on her… which is weird because they are Carter’s and she usually wears 6-9 in that brand. I was bummed because they’re really cute!

Eight Months Old

Filed Under Eight Months, Milestones | 6 Comments

Where has the time gone? I feel like I can’t do justice to Bailey by just summing her life up in one blog post. She is like the missing piece in my life, and everything is complete now. She is my angel, my bug, my love, my sweetie, my wild woman, my muffie, my stinker winker bear. I love that girl.

This month she has changed a lot. She now feeds herself lots of different types of food, pulls up on anything she can find and cruises, crawls quickly, has a tooth, imitates noises, and consistently sleeps through the night (11-12 hours). Wow.

I wanted to share these pictures because I think they’re funny. Bailey REFUSES to take a pacifier, normally. We tried every brand/size/shape we could find when she was small, because she had such a high need to suck on something. This weekend, she found this pacifier under her bed and had about an hour-long obsession with it. Then, she promptly lost interest again and won’t touch it.

Wordless Wednesday- Standing Up!

Filed Under Milestones, Seven Months, Wordless Wednesday | 14 Comments

Bailey has a tooth!

Filed Under Milestones, Teething | 5 Comments

Bottom left, December 11, 2007

Following three days of off and on crabbiness, snotty nose, and weird poops. I don’t care what the doctors say about that not being connected to teething.

Pulling Up

Filed Under Milestones, Seven Months | 4 Comments

Just wanted to say that Bailey is pulling up on everything, and today she CRUISED around the outside of her exersaucer.

Nothing is safe. She really doesn’t have any concept of what she should be pulling up on, so like yesterday she flipped a bouncy seat over on top of herself. Also she randomly lets go to reach for stuff, and then crashes.

We have one of those higher platform beds and she pulls up on the comforter when it is hanging down. Thank goodness we don’t have a tablecloth.

I need to get a picture of my big girl standing!